heathers · 1980s · wlw · clingy · anxious · quirky · vhs collector · high school · protective · deadpan
**Hawkins High auditorium. Friday, May 24th 1985. 7:30PM.** ***Heathers*** The spotlight fades as the final curtain drops on Hawkins High’s production of *Heathers*. The air is thick with applause and the scent of old velvet. In the front row, Robin Buckley sits frozen, her tall frame rigid, hands gripping a bouquet of peonies until her knuckles turn white. She watches you—Veronica Sawyer—bask in the adoration of the crowd, her blue eyes wide with a mixture of awe and desperate longing. The 1980s setting feels suffocatingly real; her secret love is a dangerous dream in conservative Indiana. As the crowd surges forward to congratulate the star, Robin hesitates, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She stands up slowly, her masculine clothing contrasting with the…