A/N: I'm baaaaaaaack! Please review and thanks for reading!


"When I was younger, so much younger than today,

I never needed anybody's help in any way.

But now these days are gone

I'm not so self assured"

-The Beatles, "Help!"


Teddy's tirade hit Robin like a ton of bricks.

She was lost in thought as she trudged home from school, his words ringing violently in her ears: "You might be more fucked up than I am."

She was solely focused on school and succeeding. She had been completely closed off to other people, at least until Chris and Teddy had come along. She pushed her mom and Diane away after her dad died, and she would be rude to pretty much anyone who had said a word to her. She never let herself have fun anymore. She told herself that all she cared about was getting the hell out of Castle Rock and changing the world.

Maybe I am fucked up, Robin thought. And the irony of Teddy Duchamp being the one to point this out wasn't lost on her.

But some things had started to change. She started being nicer, she started having fun, she tried to make amends with Diane. She started caring about other people around her: when Chris and Teddy had come along.

Teddy had charged in, full force. Meanwhile, Chris kept slyly sneaking in. How was it that these two guys—completely opposite from each other, who she had barely spoken to until a month ago—had somehow wormed their way into her life?

Well they don't want to be part of it now. And why would they be? Teddy hates you, and Chris will after Gordie gets through to him.

Shame and sadness washed over her. This is why it's better to be alone, Robin thought bitterly.

And alone she was when she reached home. Robin jimmied the front door and was surprised to find it locked. Nobody ever locked their doors in Castle Rock unless they weren't home. She took out her key and turned it, stepping inside her home.

"Mom?"

She was met with silence. It was strange for her mother to not be home at this hour: usually, she would be back from work, already bustling about the kitchen to prepare dinner for them both. Though Robin didn't spend much time talking to her mother, it felt odd to know she wasn't there.

The phone rang from the kitchen, and Robin quickly grabbed it.

"Hello?"

"Robin, hi sweetie!" Norma Hayes's voice answered on the other end.

"Mom, where are you?"

"I'm so sorry, but I'm still at the office," Norma informed her, "I'm going to have to work pretty late tonight."

Robin furrowed her brow. Since her mother started working as a secretary at Morton & Macafee law firm, she never had worked later than 5, and that only happened twice.

"Late?" Robin asked, twirling her finger in the phone's coil, "How late?"

"Well, I'm not sure…but I wanted to let you know. There are some leftovers from last night that you can put on the stove—"

"You're not going to be back by dinner?" Robin questioned, taken aback.

"No…" her mother said hesitantly, "There's a lot going on at the office right now. But there are leftovers for you for tonight, but I didn't have a chance to go to the grocery. You'll have to get lunch at school tomorrow, okay?"

Robin tried to not let out a groan. "Sure. That's fine."

"Alright, I better get back to work. Bye, love you."

"Bye."

Robin hung up and sighed. She didn't want to think about going to school tomorrow, let alone having to eat the repulsive slop they tried to pass off as food. The thought of skipping crossed her mind but only for a second: there was no way she was going to let her emotions stand in the way of her perfect attendance record, and that was definitely going on her Stanford (and University of Oregon) applications.

She trudged back out into the hall with her book bag, planning to go to her room to study as she always did. On her way to the stairs, she suddenly froze: she had the distinct sensation of someone's eyes watching her. She walked the few steps back to the last framed photograph hanging on the wall and finally faced it, after never looking at it—at him—dead on before.

Her father was dressed in his army uniform from the Korean War, an obvious detail that disgusted her too much for her to look at the photo after his death. Robin had always known it was of him smiling, but really looking at him now for the first time, something seemed wrong. It wasn't obvious; his disguised grin would have fooled a stranger or even those who had known him decently well. But it wasn't the same smile Robin had been met with when she came home from school or when she laughed while swinging high in Middle Rock Park. It was a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes.

The photo was black and white, but Robin knew the eyes staring back at her were the same as her own. They were a little wider, more open, as if assessing for danger, and yet, shadows lingered underneath them that the black and white couldn't hide.

She stared back into her father's face. She took a breath to steady herself, then with one last look at the photograph, she headed to her room.


Going back to school the next day on Friday was easier than Robin thought it would be. She went back to doing what she had always done: keeping to herself and focusing on her schoolwork.

Walking through the halls had been simple enough; it was the only place she would have had a strong chance of running into Teddy, but it seemed as if he had cut school for the day. Homeroom and history weren't so bad either. Her gaze remained fixed on the blackboard in front of her despite the familiar feeling of a particular pair of eyes boring into the back of her head. She didn't dare turn around, but her stomach gave a twist.

What wasn't so easy was lunch.

Robin swore underneath her breath as she entered the overcrowded cafeteria. Of course when she actually needed to come in here and eat lunch, it was a madhouse. She couldn't remember the last time she had waited in the long "food" line, but the alternative was not eating, and after skipping lunch once before—when Chris gave me his Ruffles, she thought, her heart missing a beat—she wasn't going to put herself through that again.

Robin searched desperately around the cafeteria for an empty table after receiving her food, but there was nothing. She walked a little ways into the crowd of tables and people. Her eyes found Gordie chattering away at Chris, who she realized, with a jolt, was looking right back at her. Robin tore her eyes away from him and kept looking. More than see him, she could hear Teddy's cackle: he must've cut the first few periods.

She finally found an empty table and beelined right to it. Just when she thought she could relax, a voice questioned:

"Why are you so mopey, Diane? It wouldn't kill you to smile. Are you mad at us or something?"

"No no, not at all, you guys didn't do anything! I'm just tired."

Diane was sitting right at the next table with Martha Whittaker and her clique. Great.

"Well, maybe getting us some Cokes might energize you. If you don't mind?"

"I—Sure."

Robin couldn't help but roll her eyes. Classic Martha: constantly fetching her things was part of the price you had to pay to be her friend.

Diane walked away to get Cokes, and Robin watched as Martha's smile turned into a scowl.

"I don't know what died and crawled up her ass," she hissed, "But I'm sick of her."

"Me too," Sue Prewitt agreed, "She's been dragging us down this year."

Robin felt a flare of anger: sick of Diane? How could you ever be sick of Diane?

"I've never been a fan," chimed in Peggy Smith, "Just saying."

"Well, she used to be fun," Sue pointed out.

"Yeah but she's never really been like the rest of us," Peggy argued.

The rest of them?

"That's fair," Martha replied, her head tilted in thought, "She's had a hard time falling in line. Like maybe if she smiled more, she'd stop the guys seeing her as just a friend and finally get a boyfriend…but probably not."

White hot anger pulsed through Robin's body.

Sue and Peggy laughed. "It is kinda weird she's never had a boyfriend."

"I mean, is it really that weird? It makes sense: none of the guys who are worth dating don't want to be with her." Martha smirked. "Diane's always been a little…common."

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?!"

Robin had pushed herself out of her chair and marched over to Martha's table. Indignant rage coursed through her; she could feel herself starting to shake. Martha, Sue, Peggy, and the other girls stared up at her in shock.

"I don't know where the hell you get off, being so mean about someone so kind!" Robin shouted, "And about someone who has been nothing but good to you!"

"Robin, you're making a fool of yourself," Martha hissed, "Cut it out before people think you're more of a psycho than you already are!"

"I'd rather be a psycho than a raging bitch!"

There was some laughter behind her, but Robin didn't notice. Her attention was solely focused on Martha and her clique.

"You're a loser!" Martha yelled back, "People have seen you, you know—hanging around with Teddy Duchamp? Please! And let's not forget slumming it with Chris Chambers?" She laughed derisively. "Seeing a mental case and trailer trash at the same time?! Classy!"

"It's classier than being you, Martha! Keep lying to yourself about how being a total asshole about Diane, who has been your friend since the 4th grade, makes you a better person…or how being a bitch about Teddy and Chris makes you superior—but it doesn't! It just makes you pathetic."

"You—"

"Hey, hey, hey! What's going on over here?"

Mr. Fletcher had strode over. He looked at them both expectantly.

"Well, ladies? What seems to be the problem?"

"Mr. Fletcher," Martha simpered, her eyes growing wide, "I was just eating my lunch with my friends, and then Robin started screaming at me—"

"Uh huh," Mr. Fletcher replied sardonically before turning to Robin, "Is this true, Ms. Hayes?"

Robin tilted her head. "Yeah, mostly. Except she left out the part where she's a fucking bitch."

Laughter erupted in the cafeteria. Mr. Fletcher's face was blank, but Robin couldn't help but notice the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Ms. Hayes, and Ms. Whittaker, you're both getting detention."

What would have been devastating to Robin a week ago was now well worth it.

"Okay."

"Mr. Fletcher, I can't do detention, I have cheerleading practice!"

"Ms. Whittaker, I have a feeling missing one cheerleading practice isn't going to derail the football's losing streak. Detention. And let's get moving, lunch is almost over."

A chorus of "oooooh!"s rang through the cafeteria. It was at that moment that Robin became aware of the many eyes staring at her.

As Mr. Fletcher walked away, Martha narrowed her eyes at Robin before gathering her things and motioning for her clique to leave. Everyone else in the cafeteria began making movements and talking again. Robin's eyes searched the cafeteria until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She spun around and was face to face with Chris: he was beaming.

"That," he said with admiration, "was the fucking best."

Robin grinned sheepishly. "Was it?"

"No doubt! Everything you said was the truth. And taking the detention on the chin? That's classy."

Chris's smile was almost blinding, like the sun was shining into her eyes. Before she could reply, she felt an arm over shoulders: she saw Teddy right next to her, and her stomach plunged.

"You showed that fucking cunt who's boss!" he cackled, "I knew you had that shit in you, Robin! You're a badass!"

Robin didn't know what to say: she felt torn between cursing Teddy out and throwing her arms around him. Teddy turned to look at Chris and shot him one of the dirtiest looks Robin had ever seen.

"Chambers," he snapped in acknowledgement.

Chris nodded curtly. "Teddy." He then looked back at Robin.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to do something–"

"I wanted to hang out with you—" Teddy had jumped in.

"Uh—" Robin stammered.

But then her eyes finally found who she was looking for.

"I want to hang with you," Robin told Chris before turning to Teddy, "And you too. But later, okay? I have to go."

Before either Chris or Teddy could say another word, Robin left them standing there as she headed toward the cafeteria's exit. She saw Diane, her arms full of Coca Cola bottles, about to walk out.

"Diane, wait!"

Diane turned towards Robin, her face tear-stained. "What is it?"

"I—I thought you might not be hanging with Martha anymore and…and that's a lot of Cokes for one person. Need any help finishing them this weekend?"

Diane smiled through her tears. "I'd love that."