Robin and Eddie walked out of the family video story and Robin turned around to lock the store up. Once she was finished, they hung against the wall, waiting for Steve to pick them up with Nancy. Eddie had called Steve earlier and informed him that Robin wanted to go to Chili's and that he needed to pick up Nancy.
Moments later, Steve drove into the parking lot, rolling down his window. "Get in." He pointed his thumb at the back seat, as Nancy was in the front with him.
Eddie walked over to the right side of the car and sat behind Nancy, while Robin slipped in on the left side of the car, waving at Steve.
They removed their work vests and set them on the middle seat in between them two.
Nancy glanced back at Robin, her curls falling into her eyes. "Happy Birthday, Robin!" She smiled. "Thanks, Nancy. Are you excited to go to Chili's?"
"Uhh, yeah I am!" She held up her own fake ID, and Steve slowly shook his head in disappointment. "Where did you guys even get those?" he exclaimed. "You shouldn't be drinking, you're literally 19!"
They both rolled their eyes in response, and Robin retorted with, "You're as uptight as my grandma." Eddie covered his mouth as he snickered at Robin's response. "Yeah, people drink underage all the time. We're just trying to have fun, we won't let anything bad happen," Nancy chimed in. "Fine," Steve huffed, holding up his right hand in defeat.
Robin got excited as she saw the red chili's sign from the window of the car. Steve turned into the small strip mall which contained it, parking the car. It was very dark outside, but the lights from the strip mall stifled the darkness. "What a fine establishment," Eddie said in a British accent as they exited the car. Robin and Nancy laughed in response as they walked inside to the host. "Hey, could we get a booth for four?" Steve said, holding up four fingers. "Yeah, sure." The host grabbed menus and led them to their booth.
Steve and Eddie slid into their spots, looking over as Nancy and Robin fought over who would go into the booth first. Nancy ended up going first, sitting across from Steve.
The waitress came over to their table, holding a pen and notepad. "So, what can I get for you guys to drink tonight?"
"Uhhh.. can I have a beer?" Robin asked, nervously.
"What kind would you like, ma'am?"
Robin had a lost look on her face, so Eddie leaned over and quietly whispered, "Ask for bud lite."
"Can I have a bud light?"
"Of course, and what about you ma'am?" She looked over at Nancy. "I'll get the same as her please."
"Make it three," Eddie chimed in.
"And for you sir?" She pointed her pen at Steve.
"Just water is fine."
"Alright, and can I see some ID from you three, you look a bit young."
Eddie held up his as Robin and Nancy fumbled for their fake ones, holding them up.
"Alright, all good. We'll have those right out to you." She walked off.
"Steve, why are you always the mom of the group. Does drinking make you too drowsy?" Robin teased.
"Well, you guys need someone to drive you home. I'm not gonna risk getting a DUI 'just to have a little fun'."
"Whatever you say, Stevie-pooh." Robin winked at him. "I told you not to call me that." She rolled her eyes, smiling.
"What do you guys want to do after this?" Nancy asked, resting her chin on her hand. Robin had a gasp of excitement. "We could go back to my place and hang out there, maybe watch a movie." Eddie placed his hands on the table, sitting up straight. "We should watch something scary, like The Shining," he suggested, excitedly. They all nodded in agreement, reaching a consensus.
The waitress came back with their drinks, setting them down on the table.
"Alright, what can I get started for you?" They all gave the waitress their orders, taking drinks from their beers.
Nancy held up her empty bottle, asking for another one. Eddie and Robin both shared looks, but didn't say anything.
"So Robin, how has your birthday been going so far?" Eddie questioned, moving his brown and blue bottle up to his lips and taking a small sip.
She beamed, looking over at Nancy. "It couldn't be any better, I'm out with my three best friends and I'm drinking and having fun."
"Glad to hear that." Nancy looked back at Robin, and Robin could tell that she was already getting drunk, even though she was only on her second beer. Despite this, Robin panicked and hastily looked away, scared to make eye contact.
Robin shifted her focus to Steve. "So, Steve, how has your luck with girls been?" Eddie set down his drink, giving her a hard stare. Steve fixed his vision on Robin. "I don't know, I haven't really been thinking about girls," he responded, not making eye contact. "So, just as horrible as always, I presume." she snickered. "Ok, my luck isn't horrible . Why are you even asking, anyways?"
"Just asking for a friend." Eddie grinned at Robin while Steve rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.
They continued drinking, and after an hour, Robin and Nancy stumbled out of the Chili's laughing. Eddie and Steve trailed behind talking, as Steve was completely sober and Eddie had only had one beer.
"So…quite the night, huh?" Steve stretched his palms, glancing over at Eddie. "Yeah, when they said they wanted to get drunk, I didn't think this drunk." He smiled, chuckling.
Eddie lowered his voice, raising his lips to Steve's right ear. "Also, you know how Robin's gay?" Steve nodded, holding his head still. "She likes Nancy." Steve looked at Eddie in shock.
They arrived at the car, forced to stop their conversation to make sure that the girls wouldn't hear.
"Alright, you two get in the back," Steve sighed, pointing to the back of the car. They giggled, climbing into the car. Steve and Eddie got into the front, glancing at each other and sharing a smile at the ridiculousness of the situation.
"Alright Robin, do you still want to do the movie at your place?" Steve asked, starting the car. "Of course we do," Nancy interrupted, falling over onto Robin's lap. "Yeah, c'mon, I wanna watch The Shining." Robin twirled Nancy's soft curls with her index finger. "Alright, alright, calm down back there." Steve held his hands up in defense, heading towards Robin's house.
Steve turned onto a road which led them to a neighborhood, quickly arriving at her house. Her house was two stories, but a fairly humble middle class home; nowhere near comparable to Steve's.
The four got out of the car, and Eddie steadied Robin as she clumsily exited the car. "Easy, Robin. I don't need you getting hurt tonight." Eddie remarked, firmly placing his hands on her shoulders to guide her over the steps and into her house.
"My parents are traveling right now, so we'll be all alone." Robin was slurring her words and Eddie sat her down on her couch, which was very long and could fit at least half a dozen people. "Wait right here for just a second."
Eddie walked over to the front door, watching Steve attempt to get Nancy in safely. "Where are the cups, I think both of them need some water." Steve pointed him to the top cabinet of the kitchen. Eddie got two tall plastic cups and filled them up to the brim with water from Robin's fridge, and handed one each to Robin and Nancy, who were sitting next to each other on the couch.
Steve stood over the couch, watching over them. "Want a beer or soda? They have heineken in the fridge." Eddie gestured towards the kitchen, scratching his head. "I'll probably need a beer to get through the movie and we can just spend the night here since her parents are gone, so it's fine to have a little alcohol." Eddie laughed, "What, are you scared of horror movies?"
"You aren't? I just hate all of the jump scares, they freak me out."
"That's the best part of horror movies," Eddie snickered, walking to the kitchen and bringing over two beers.
Steve shuffled over to the tv stand, which held dozens of VHS tapes. He pulled one out which read The Shining and shuddered at the cover art. He inserted it into the VHS player, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV.
"Alright, you two can stay over there," Steve pointed at Nancy and Robin, "And Eddie and I will be on this side, with the pull out."
Eddie walked over to where Steve had designated them to be, pulling out the sofa and grabbing two blankets. He tossed one to Robin and Nancy, who promptly snuggled underneath it together. Nancy rested her head on Robin's chest, catching Eddie's eye and making him smile.
Steve collapsed on the pull out, making himself comfortable. Steve had a long pillow propped up behind his back, with his legs stretched out on the right side of the sofa. "Only one pillow?" Eddie complained, leaning on the makeshift bed. "Yeah, but it's super wide so it should be fine."
Steve fumbled with the remote and started the movie. Eddie extended his legs out across the bed, huddling closer to Steve to get some pillow room. He stretched the blanket out over them, looking over at Robin and Nancy. They were whispering to each other, and would appear to be a couple if an unknown bystander were to be watching.
Steve noticed Eddie staring in their direction and decided to continue their conversation from earlier, since he still had unanswered questions. He moved his head closer to Eddie's, quietly asking, "When did she tell you?"
Eddie turned to face Steve, not realizing how close Steve's face was to his. Their lips were mere inches away from each other. "She told me today," He whispered, ever so softly. Steve quickly turned his head, trying to hide the blush that suddenly appeared on his face. Eddie eyed Steve, but turned away as well so that he didn't appear too interested.
Eddie shifted his gaze back to Robin and Nancy. They were still laying on each other, and Robin seemed to be having the time of her life. Was Nancy actually gay, or was she just drunk? Either way, Eddie was silently rooting for them. He looked over at Steve, longing for the same feeling with him.
The movie continued on, and Eddie did notice that Steve seemed frightened by a few scenes. As the scene where Jack entered Room 237 began, Eddie leaned over to Steve, who was silently watching the movie. "Did you know that they used a real corpse for the lady he's kissing?" Steve looked over at Eddie. "No, they didn't. You're just trying to freak me out even more."
"Awww, do you need a hug?" Eddie placed his arms around Steve, satirically smiling. Steve squirmed, trying to get free from Eddie's grip. Eddie removed his arms from Steve's body, but placed his right arm around his shoulders, with his hand hanging down from Steve's right side. Eddie saw Steve glance over at him but not object, so he left his arm around him and focused on the movie.
A pair of female twins in blue dresses suddenly appeared on screen, causing Steve to lurch onto Eddie's side, his head resting against Eddie's arm. "Holy shit, Harrington. It wasn't that scary," Eddie laughed, grinning at Steve. Eddie ruffled Steve's hair and Steve swatted at his hands, fixing his hair and leaning back against Eddie's arm. Steve's hair was dark brown and surprisingly soft, Eddie admired. "I've never watched this before, I have the right to be frightened," Steve said, defensively. Robin and Nancy both got up, and Robin drowsily explained, "We're going to crash in my room, you guys can sleep out here since you have the pullout sofa."
"Alright, good night." Steve said.
They stumbled to her room, shutting the door.
Eddie looked back at Steve, whispering, "I think Nancy's gay."
"No way bro, she literally dated me." Steve had an incredulous look on his face. "I mean, Nancy was laying on Robin for like, a solid hour of the movie. That's not exactly the straightest thing in the world," Eddie said.
"C'mon dude, don't get Robin's hopes up," Steve whispered back.
"I haven't confirmed nor denied that she's gay to Robin, I just need to find out for sure." Eddie
"Whatever, just don't say anything to them about it," Steve responded, looking back at the TV.
The movie soon ended, and Steve leaned forwards as he pointed the remote at the TV, turning it off. Eddie flattened the pillow on the couch and layed down, leaving room for Steve. Whenever Steve leaned back onto the pillow, Eddie could feel his hair slightly brush up against his neck. Eddie looked over at Steve. He was beginning to wonder if Steve wasn't as straight as he thought. Yeah, he was completely oblivious sometimes, but sometimes Steve did things that wouldn't exactly classify him as 'straight'. He definitely liked girls, so maybe he was bi?
Just then, a cool breeze flowed through the house, causing Eddie to shiver and turn towards Steve. "Steve, I'm cold," he whispered. Steve turned to Eddie, rolling his eyes. "Alright, just come closer and we can conserve heat," He sighed.
Eddie moved closer to Steve, their legs brushing up against each other. "Here, this'll keep you warm through the morning." Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie's body, placing his hands on his back. "Now you do the same," Steve whispered. Eddie reciprocated, placing his hands around Steve's neck and resting his head on his chest. "Thanks, Steve," he mumbled. Steve grunted in response, and Eddie felt him relax his muscles. Eddie never thought that he would be in this situation before; being held by Steve, who was supposed to be 'straight'. He didn't know what to think, and slowly drifted off to sleep, him and Steve continuing to hold each other through the night.