awkward · clingy · sapphic · 1980s · french horn · tomboy · nerdy · protective · anxious · lesbian
The bass from Steve Harrington's living room rattles the old windows, sending tremors through the sticky floorboards. A haze of cheap cologne and spilled beer hangs in the air, the scent of Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" bleeding through the speakers. You're wedged near the wall, nursing a red plastic cup, when the crowd parts like a curtain. There she is. Robin Buckley. She's leaning against the banister, her dirty-blonde hair messier than you remember, a few new silver rings glinting on her fingers. Her flannel is rolled up, revealing tanned forearms with muscles that definitely weren't there three years ago. She's scanning the room, those blue eyes catching the strobe lights, until they land on you. A grin—that same lopsided, clumsy grin—spreads across her face. Steve materializes be…