𝐷𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑛, 𝑂𝑥𝑦𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑛- 𝑅𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

𝐸𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡- 𝑀𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔

A faint murmur rumbled from behind the front door. The walk along the driveway had felt freakishly long, the giddy excitement of the life inside spilling over the top. They had made it to the entrance, and Robin's hands were still gripped tightly on the wheelchair handles as Steve stepped ahead and opened the door. It was barren in the entryway.

The party had moved further in; the hallway was bare. Buckley made the push to escort her friend over the lifted step, and they all trudged their way inside. The murmurs continued to carry through, hinting at the whereabouts of their location.

A stray leg was the first to be spotted from around the kitchen counter; then another, then another. Just in front of the three of them, laid two couches full of occupants, smiling and rising at the sight of the newcomers. Robin released her grip from the handles as she took a deep breath, hiding her nerves as one of the new arrivals stepped closer to her position. A crowd of excited greeting waved over them as Buckley was pulled into a tight hug by the grinning Joyce Byers. It was easy to hug back around her little frame, lowering her head slightly to smile down at the woman.

"Hey, sweetheart," the mother greeted with a gentle smile, pulling away from the contact before moving down to hug the other woman of the group. "how're you all?"

The three of them nodded as Steve was also pulled into a hug. The answers were fairly similar; a cascade of 'good's' and 'alright, thank you's'. Joyce returned to her seat and Robin took the chance to peer upon the rest of the people in the room. It was evident by the sight, and also by the noise, that the younger people of the group had piled their way down into the basement to catch up, and had left the older ones to mull about with the adults. Max had noticed as well.

The two females met eyes, and Robin immediately offered to help Mayfield down there, if she wished to go. The comment was met with a snicker and a sly shake of the head.

"No offence, but I'd rather save the headache. I'll say hi when they come up for food or something."

Robin huffed, lips turning into a slight grin.
"Fair enough."

"Bet it still smells absolutely foul down there, anyway."

"Wouldn't be the Wheeler's basement if it didn't."

"Brutal truth."

The people on the couch sat with quiet conversation. Hopper, Karen, Ted, Joyce and Nancy. Jonathan, however, was nowhere in eye-view. It was a simple explanation, the newcomers assumed.
He'd gone to the restroom.

Robin followed the two others as they perched around the room. Nancy, who was sat on an end position, nodded as a hello, lips curling slightly at the sides. It was a casual reunion; the normal friendly greeting. Robin sat beside her on a spare, unattached seat. Conversation between the two was scarce.

Max, who had joined at the side of them both, also sat and listened for a while, picking at the rim of her sweater sleeve. Robin could tell that she'd of been down with the rest in the basement if it was an easy decision, and she even considered telling Steve to round them up so they could all hang out on the same level. Max was one to not always show what she was truly feeling.

Harrington was chatting carelessly with Joyce, Hopper and Karen at the opposite end of the room, and it was only the three others- plus Ted, who never really spoke anyway- who were sat in silence, thinking things over. It was quite boring, to say the least, and when twenty minutes of eavesdropping had passed and Jonathan still hadn't shown, Robin started talking.

She turned her head, tapping her fingers on the arm of the adjacent seat to grab the woman's attention.

"So," she started, looking down into her lap, "where's Jonathan?"

Nancy caught air of her words, turning to face the direction. Robin could sense her eyes growing wider for a second, before she looked down to the floor to respond.

"Oh," Wheeler spoke, covering her shock, "he's actually still in California."

Robin blinked and Nancy huffed with a grin.
"-You know how it is, with college and everything. Busy times."

Buckley nodded slightly, mouth tipped open.
"Yeah- yeah, of course. Is he coming here at any point?"

Nancy visibly tensed her jaw, but Robin didn't take notice.
"Yeah. I'd say it'll be about a week before he's done."

"How're you two doing, anyway?"

Silence.
"Yeah, we're good."

Robin nodded again, slowly and carefully.
"Great."

"Yep."

There was a moment when the room laid still in one of those awkward silences where everyone hushes in synchronisation with no reason to explain it. Then there came a crash; a crash coming from the stairway which didn't fail to catch the attention of them all.

A dark head of hair marched into view, followed by a whole army of giddy teenagers. There came Mike, and then Will, followed by Dustin, Lucas, and lastly, Eleven. The frenzy of greeting set alight once more.

Robin watched as Will trudged his way over to Steve with a smile, participating in a handshake where you grab and then pull each other close with a pat on the back. It was obvious that it was something the others had told him to do, as he didn't exactly look the most confident during the display.

And then it was time for all hell to break loose. Eleven had spotted, and was homing in with rapid speeds, on her best friend. Her grin was humongous; full deck of teeth on proud display. She ran forward, arms stretched out for a hug- but then she stopped.

A pause, a moment where she stilled. Her grin fell into a peaceful smile. Robin could read through the peace. It was guilt, it was wishing that she had properly been there to intervene more than she already had. Saving her life was one thing, but saving the quality of it was another. Eleven leaned down for a hug.

Robin watched on as the girls next to her reunited, emotions high and happy. This was the hello that she had been waiting out to see. It was nice to know that the journey was worth it.