cigarettes - robin buckley

prologue.

robin sat at the front desk of family video. it was her first day working there, with her best friend, steve harrington.

steve was through the back, sorting through some broken videos that needed to be scrapped, when robin heard him yelp.

robin stuck her head through the door to see what the commotion was about. "what the fuck is going on, dingus?!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"look what i found under these old cartoons!" steve said, his eyes wide, beckoning robin over. he waved a magazine at his best friend.

"what's that?" robin asked innocently. she craned her neck as steve flicked through the pages. "oh my god!" robin exclaimed, covering her eyes. every page was plastered with topless women.

steve chortled. "it's keith's, i'm assuming."

"put it away," robin whined, jokingly shoving steve in the arm.

"you make a pretty shit lesbian if you can't even handle a topless woman," steve joked, play punching robin.

robin's eyes dropped to her feet. "i've never seen a topless woman, steve," she said quietly, chewing on her lower lip.

"oh," steve mumbled, "well, wanna see one?"

robin shrugged, still looking away. "steve, i've never even kissed anyone. it's shitty."

"so, do you want me to put the magazine away?" steve asked quietly.

robin was silent for a little. "no," she mumbled after a moment, "can i see for just a little bit?" steve handed the magazine to robin, open. her eyes widened. "holy shit," she whispered under her breath. looking at the pictures sparked something inside her. it was a weird, tingly, fuzzy feeling. a little bit sick, and a little bit excited, and a little bit nervous, all in one.

"boobs are pretty awesome, aren't they?" steve laughed quietly.

"yeah..." robin muttered, her eyes glued to the pages, her heart racing.

"hello?!" a voice called from inside the shop, "is this place open?!"

"shit!" robin exclaimed, shoving steve and scrambling through the door out of the storage room and into the shop area. "hi! i'm robin! welcome to scoops ahoy!" the girl said in a flustered frenzy.

"scoops ahoy?" the voice giggled. robin realised now that the voice was coming from a girl, about her age, maybe a little older. she had long brown hair, almost to her waist.

"fuck," robin muttered, "welcome to family video. how can i help?"

the brunette peered over to read robin's name tag. "robin... robin," she said quietly, testing the name out on her tongue.

"yes?" robin asked, nervously. the girl was gorgeous. she was wearing a graphic 'wonder woman' t-shirt, high rise jeans and checkered vans. robin felt the same fluttery nauseous feeling that she'd felt earlier looking at the magazine.

"you're new here," the girl stated.

robin nodded, "yeah it's my first day."

"where's keith, robin?"

robin shrugged. "next best thing we have is steve harrington."

the girl raised her eyebrow in confusion. "who?"

"oi, dingus!" robin called.

steve's head appeared around the door of the store room. "yeah?"

robin turned back to the pretty brunette. "this," she pointed, "is steve."

her jaw dropped, "oh my god, you guys were totally just hooking up!"

robins eyes widened in shock, and her faced flushed red. "god, NO!" she exclaimed.

"she was actually telling me about how she's never kissed anyone," steve corrected.

the brunette giggled softly, "but you're so pretty... it's crazy that the boys aren't all over you."

robin blushed harder. "well, uhm, thanks! do you need any assistance in choosing a movie?"

steve internally sighed, laughing to himself at how much of a useless lesbian robin was.

"no," the brunette smirked slightly, "i'm just browsing." she turned around, floating in the direction of the r-rated movies.

robin turned around and grabbed steve by the collar of his uniform, and dragged him back into the back room. "holy fucking shit, steve, she's so gorgeous. my heart is beating so fast. am i having a heart attack?!"

steve laughed to himself, "no, stupid, you're crushing."

"god, i hate it."