𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 ➤ 𝑹. 𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒚

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄

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"𝙄'𝙢 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙢𝙤𝙨, 𝙄'𝙢 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜"

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(𝟑𝟐 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞)

𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟑𝐭𝐡, 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 the empty halls of Hawkins High School, Valerie couldn't distract herself from the overwhelming dread settling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of having to choose a partner.

Valerie wasn't a people person. No doubt she was confident, and often tended to exude an air of 'I really couldn't give a fuck', but making friends didn't come naturally to her. She didn't mind all that much though, she was picky anyway, however, this was where group projects posed a challenge. Being paired with someone with no decision making involved whatsoever was fine, it involved a mutual understanding of responsibility, neither decided it, it just happened it be, but choosing someone, well that required a little more consideration on her part. Valerie had find someone who would tolerate her, but then they also had to be someone she could work with, and well, as said above, Valerie was picky.  

Up ahead she spotted Robin waiting outside the designated classroom, slumped lazily against the wall by the door. Valerie empathized with her stance, somehow it felt odd to be productive on a Wednesday morning, especially during summer break, and she couldn't help but want to drive straight home and crawl back under the warm, safe covers of her comforter. But alas, she was already here and there was no turning back now.

Taking the last few steps, the teenager stopped abruptly next to the tall blonde, waiting idly for the girl to notice her. A few seconds passed, and finally, with a lopsided smile, Robin pushed her headphones to sit around her neck, music still faintly blasting from the device. 

"Morning, I'd usually say good but well..." Valerie gestured to her surroundings. Robin snickered at her attitude.

"Don't you look like a ray of sunshine," she commented, taking in Valerie's expression, the dull shine in her eyes and downward tilt of her lips. Valerie shrugged, her eyes darting around the hall for anyone else she might recognize, but so far they were the only students that had arrived.

Succumbing to the wave of tiredness rushing over her, Valerie opted to lean against the wall as well, weary from her early departure, "Is it too early to drop out?"

Robin chuckled and shook her head but before she could form a reply, the doors to the classroom opened.

An apathetic "come in" had the girl's both reluctantly entering the room as they sent each other an annoyed glance. Robin didn't seem to like Mr. Sullivan any more than she did, although she was certain he probably treated her a lot better than he treated Valerie.

The teen's eyes linger on Robin a little longer, taking in everything from the mildly jaded expression on her features to her clothing. It was rare she saw her outside of school or work, and even then, it wasn't like they ever interacted. Escaping the limitations of the Scoops Ahoy uniform, she actually dressed nice, Valerie noticed, in a loose long-sleeve button up that was tucked haphazardly into a faded pair of wide high-waisted jeans, finished off with her usual converse. Casual but...charming. That seemed to sum up Robin pretty well from what she'd gathered by their limited time spent together.