Concept: Robin and Nancy are seen leaving the Wheeler house together after Robin has spent the night. Chaos and rumors ensue.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Nancy rubbed the edges of sleep from her eyes and opened the door to see Robin. Suddenly she was wide awake. A visit that wasn’t from one of Mike’s friends was rare. Because she didn’t have friends. Except…for Robin. And here she was, rain soaking her to the bone and shivering. Nancy had no idea what to say for a solid minute or so before Robin broke the silence for her, as was customary.
“Can…I c-come in, Nancy?”
“Yes,” Nancy blurted, entirely too loud of a volume for the time of night that it was. She stepped aside and went on a dash for some towels to dry the soaking wet girl.
“Sorry to bother you so late, I just couldn’t. I had nowhere to. Uh. Never mind. Sorry. Maybe I should go home. I mean, it’s 2:30 a.m. and I probably woke you up.”
“Here,” Nancy said simply, handing over a stack of towels. “Bathroom is that way.” She pointed. “Take all the time you need to get dry.”
“T-thanks.” Robin sounded on the verge of tears and Nancy thought it would tear her apart.
She wasn’t sure why Robin’s pain was affecting her so much. It wasn’t like they’d been friends for very long. Not like her and Barb, who she had known forever. Definitely not like her and Barb. First of all, Robin was still alive and not dead by her hand. The secret dreams she had of the blood she had on her hands because of her ambition and since. It was enough to bring her to tearful panic under her covers every night.
Did she tell anyone about this? Of course not, why would she?
“Hey, Nancy?” Robin called faintly.
Nancy pushed her way up the stairs, moving through fog inside her and past the urge to open the bathroom door as fast as she could. Her heart was in her throat as she looked at Robin’s pale, wet face once again. Damn her for coming here at all. And damn herself for answering the call. What the hell were they doing? For once, she didn’t have a Nancy Wheeler-esque answer and it bothered her to no end. It really bugged her, not knowing something. It was worse than getting a test question wrong at school. Especially if it was her best subject.
“What’s up?” Her voice sounded normal. Thank god.
“Clothes aren’t getting dry, I’ll have to borrow yours,” Robin said as if she was announcing the weather and not the single most panic inducing thing she could’ve possibly said that night.
“Right, right…”
Was it too late to declare this as some kind of fever dream and wake up to the sound of her alarm? She forced herself to move. Grab an outfit for her to sleep in. Return to her friend.
“I’ll get changed now. I mean, with the door closed. Duh. You probably don’t wanna stare at me. I mean if you do, that would be-”
“Close the door,” Nancy said. She wanted to jump out the window.
Robin emerged in clothes that were a bit small for her because of Nancy’s size, but it was passable for the night till her actual clothing dried. Nancy threw it all in the dryer and switched it on.
“Can I stay in your room?” Robin whispered.
“Sure.”
Nancy didn’t ask questions. If Robin wanted to talk about what happened, she would. So she kept quiet and let her guide the moment. It seemed to be working so far. She had barely laid down when she felt another presence in her bed. She was too exhausted to be able to tell if this made her uncomfortable. One thing was for sure, she didn’t dislike it.
BEEP BEEP BEEP—-
“Stooop,” Robin whined, slamming the alarm violently. Nancy was up and out of bed before Robin had even finished her sentence.
“Your clothes should be ready in the laundry room. I can drive you to school.”
“Hey Nancy?” She turned and looked back at her.
“Thanks…for not asking questions. I don’t like talking about home stuff, you know. Shit’s embarrassing.”
“Of course, Robin.”
The drive to school was uneventful. Nancy stopped and got them both some much needed caffeine to get through the day after such a sleepless night for the both of them. Robin’s clothes were rumpled, like she had slept in them. She didn’t seem to much care. Meanwhile, Nancy was touching up her makeup in the parking lot, even triple checking it. They couldn’t be more different and yet they seemed to be closer than ever.
“Oh. My god.” Dustin snorted as they walked up to the school together.
“What?” Nancy rolled her eyes and sipped at her coffee. Vanilla, caramel, whipped cream. Oh she so needed that.
“You guys spent the night together?” Mike said in disbelief. “How did I not even notice??”
“Because you’re all hung up on Will,” Nancy quipped.
“I’m not!”
“Why does it matter so much if we stayed the night together?”
“There is a running bet,” Lucas spoke up. “On whether you guys are dating.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Nancy spluttered, her face going as hot as a stage spotlight. “I’m still dating Jonathan.”
“Barely,” Dustin pointed out. “You said yourself..”
“I said NOTHING of the sort.”
“Right,” Robin said nervously. “That would just be silly. Us, dating. Nobody even thought of that besides you weirdos!” She chuckled. For some reason, Nancy felt a twinge of regret at how vehemently she had responded.
“I mean…I’m not really into girls,” Nancy continued quietly.
“Now that’s a lie if I ever heard one,” Will said through a mouthful of Poptart. He appeared with Jonathan.
“Hey babe!” Jonathan smiled. “What are we talking about?”
“Umm look at the time we have class!!” Robin shrieked, grabbing Nancy’s hand and disappearing down the hall with her. It was in that moment Nancy realized Robin holding her hand made her heart race than anything else in her life up to that moment.
Well the rumors were sure gonna fly now…
