Into The Fire~A Stranger Things fanfiction

Russian Code Intercepted/Revealing My Secret

(A/N:I apologize for my crappy interpretation of Robin's Pig Latin and how she says Russian words in this chapter, but Netflix has turned off English subtitles for some reason at the moment, so I have no idea how to spell it)

The next morning I stood, stretching, and winced, my badly bruised knuckles throbbing. I sighed, remembering the events of the night before, and wished that I could take back everything I'd said to Robin. Having a best friend that didn't know your true identity was hard, but it was better than having no friends at all by a long shot. Now, I was alone, save my father, my superiors, and my fellow agents and workers, and knowing that left a bitter taste in my mouth. I quickly changed into a Dokken tee, and ripped black jeans, accentuating the outfit with my jacket and boots, and a wolf tooth necklace that had been given to me by my mother on my fourteenth birthday. I ran my fingers through my messy strands, not really worrying at that point about how it looked, and made my way out of the lab, climbing onto my bike. I revved the engine, then sped towards the mall, determined to at least explain to Robin that it wasn't anything she'd done; She deserved at least that much after all she'd done for me.

I parked my bike, then climbed off of it, and hurried inside, not even acknowledging any of the looks or comments I received that time, too worried about what I was going to say to make everything better between me and Robin. If I said too much, we'd both be in serious danger, but if I didn't say enough, she'd probably hate me forever. I pushed my way through the crowd to Scoops Ahoy, and caught Robin halfheartedly telling customers, "Have a nice day", as she handed them their ice cream. As they walked off, her eyes landed on me, and she quickly averted her gaze, pretending to be interested in her job for once. I sighed, and told her, "Look, I know I deserve that, but-" She glared at me, her face turning almost as red as her hair, and said, "You know what you deserve? All the shit people say about you behind your back. People kept telling me that you're just using me for sex, and drugs, and all kinds of crap, but I kept telling myself they're wrong..Now I see they're right..I mean, all you want is to get in my pants, right?" I felt a tidal wave of hurt and anger wash through me, and my face heated up. I swallowed hard, tears in my eyes, and told her, "Fine. I just wanted to explain, but you know what? Never fucking mind. I can see that nothing I say will change your mind about me.. And by the way, if you really wanna know, no, I don't want in your pants! I just want my best friend to forgive me, and if I did like you that way, which I don't, I'd settle for a nice date at the movies!"

She looked surprised, and opened her mouth to say something, an expression of either shame or sadness flitting through her gaze, when a familiar, curly haired kid shoved his way in front of me. I turned around, and rushed out of the ice cream parlor, sitting on the bench right outside of it, not wanting Robin to see my tears as they fell freely. Never in my whole life, except for when my mother died, had anything hurt me so badly as the words that had come from Robin's mouth. And I had lied to her; I really did like her that way, and cared about her, more than I should, and had, upon occasion, had a fleeting thought of what could happen if she and I were alone in a room together. But those thoughts were always pushed aside, erased by the burning desire to be better than everyone thought I was, and the desire to treat Robin with respect, like she should be treated. As I sat there, I heard Dustin say, "Hi." Robin awkwardly replied, "Hi." Dustin told her, "I'm Dustin." She replied, "I'm Robin." Dustin told her, "Pleasure to meet you. Is he here?" Robin asked, "Is who here?" Seconds later, an excited Steve called out, "Henderson!Henderson! He's back! He's back!" Dustin excitedly replied, "I'm back! You got the job!" Steve said, "I got the job!", and then, they imitated the sound of lightsabers clashing, and Robin asked, annoyed, "How many children are you friends with?"

About thirty minutes later, while Dustin and Steve talked about some girl named Suzie, who apparently was hotter than the actress Phoebe Cates, I forced myself to swallow down the hurt and anger, and walked over to the front counter. Robin looked up from the ice cream she was handling, a few strands of her hair falling into her face, and she swallowed hard, before inclining her head towards the back room. I nodded, and snuck around the counter, pushed the back door open, and made my way to the table, sitting down. Moments later, Robin walked in, and sat down across from me, setting her sailor hat down on the table. I studied the tabletop, looking at every crack or mark on it, not wanting to meet her eyes. I heard her sigh, and she told me, "Ana, I didn't mean what I said to you. You just wanted to explain, and instead of letting you, I just-" I finally looked up, and interrupted her, "It's fine.. I'm used to it, anyway. And I did deserve it. I just wanted to tell you that the reason I said what I did isn't because of you.. You're my best friend, Robin, and I wouldn't be telling you we can't be friends anymore, unless there was a damn good reason." She looked confused, and asked, "What reason?" I swallowed hard, and replied, "I can't tell you that..Trust me, it's better if you don't know." She sighed in annoyance, and stood up, grabbing her hat, and put it back on. As she walked out the door, she told me, "I thought you trusted me, Ana, but clearly, I was wrong! You're giving me the, "It's not you, it's me" bullshit, but can't tell me what's so bad about you! I think you need to go look up the word "best friend" in the dictionary, because it's obvious you don't get what it means." I sighed, as the door shut behind her, and laid my forehead against the table. I'd tried to apologize, but only made it worse, and now, she thought I didn't trust her.