𝐷𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑛, 𝑂𝑥𝑦𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑛- 𝑅𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

𝑂𝑛𝑒- 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

"-And then she went 'I'm sorry, Steve, but I have a boyfriend.' and I've not seen her since then. Then Alexandra, the other one, just very obviously wasn't interested."

"You know, I don't think the first one is entirely your problem. It sounds like that's on her."

"It's like they've all of a sudden woken up with preferences? Like, am I not good enough for them anymore? The previous king of Hawkins High, most desirable guy in school, is right within reach, but they're attracted to literally any other guy like a moth to flame. Am I doing something wrong here, Robin? Have I seriously stooped that low?"

Steve Harrington was not in the greatest of moods. Unfortunately, only moments before the sudden outburst of commotion, yet another of his numerous dates had come clean with an already existing partner and the whole experience had just menacingly torn through his last strand of being able to cope with it. The dam had broken loose, and the river was powering through.

There he paced, slap-bang in the middle of the Family Video storefront. It was a solemn day, the low mood of the two workers not adding to the addition of the cheer, and the opposing staff member was falling deeper into the thought of snapping at him completely.

"Steve... shut up."

"-but it's actually tragic because I've been single for nearly two years now. Do you realise how long that is?"

His coworker huffed, stretching out her arms across the counter from her seat, head buried deep in sleeve fabric as she suppressed a groan.
"You're literally talking to the person who's never been in a relationship. Of course I know how long it is. Now be quiet and stock those shelves before I give you the most realistic piece of advice I could give, and admit to you that you're completely repulsive."

As much as Robin Buckley gleamed in satisfaction at giving her closest friend the best advice he's ever been gifted with time after time (about literally any other topic- she might add), Steve's continuous rant- which had been blooming for nearly months at that point- had quite simply become another tone to ring in her ears.
In that given moment, mixed with the recent act of having become quite conscious at her own lack of partner and the pure headache she was forming, Buckley snapped, and Harrington hushed.

"Fine, yeah, sorry."

"Might I add- I do know the story. You bored us with it at Eddie's the other week, too. You go on dates, they turn out shit. They have boyfriends, they want to stay friends, they're just not interested in you. You twist it every time you speak it, Steve. Should've listened to Eddie and admitted that you were doomed there and then."

Steve silenced for a moment, bringing a hand to his chin to gently scratch the area.
"I did admit it. I just didn't say that I did."

"You are a mystery for the ages, I swear to God."

"- I was also baked."

"Yeah. Yeah you were."

A downpour of rain thrashed against the wall-length windows, clouds overhead rhythmically lighting and darkening the space where the two were working. Stray stockpiles of merchandise lay abandoned, the hope of organisation long in the past. As Robin straightened herself up to sit normally in her chair once again, she sighed.
Summer. The time everyone longed for for all of fall, all of winter, all of spring... but just as quickly as it had arrived, so had the woman's longing for the colder months.