wwisheux

[wwisheux]

Platonic with a capital P :)

!MY CONTENT PLS DON’T STEAL, GIVE CREDIT IF REPOSTED ETC!

It was the summer of 1988, and Hawkins, Indiana was still basking in the neon glow of the '80s. If you could time travel back to that year, you'd find yourself surrounded by a cacophony of Walkman headphones blasting Madonna, cassette tapes strewn across bedroom floors, and the unmistakable whirr of an arcade machine. The mall was the center of the universe, and if you weren’t hanging out there, were you even living?

But on this particular afternoon, two unlikely heroes—Robin Buckley and Steve Harrington—were not in the mall. Instead, they were tucked away behind the counter of Family Video, the only place where you could rent a VHS tape and a side of sarcasm, all for the price of a large pizza.

Steve, once the king of Hawkins High, had somehow turned into the reluctant babysitter of the younger generation. His hair was still perfect (as perfect as a wild mane of curls could be), and he still had a few lingering remnants of his “cool guy” days. Robin, on the other hand, had never cared about being cool. She was too busy being smart, sarcastic, and absolutely unstoppable. Together, they formed the most unexpected dynamic duo the world had ever seen.

“I swear, Steve,” Robin said with a dramatic sigh, pushing her aviator glasses up her nose, “if you talk about your hair one more time, I’m going to shave it off myself.”

“Hey, you know my hair is my crowning glory,” Steve replied, tossing his head dramatically as if he were auditioning for a shampoo commercial. “It’s basically my superpower.”

“Superpower? More like a super annoyance,” Robin shot back with a grin, flipping through the return pile of tapes. “You know, I always wondered—how did you go from prom king to… this? Babysitter to a bunch of kids? You’re like the 80s version of a boy band member that never made it.”

“I’m not a babysitter,” Steve said, sticking his chest out, trying to look serious. “I’m a—well, okay, fine, I’m a babysitter. But at least I’m a really good one.”

“Oh, yes, the best. You’ve got the ‘Don’t make me put you in the chokehold’ look down to an art form,” Robin teased, rolling her eyes. “And you’re the reigning champion of ‘I don’t know how to relate to children,’ which is really impressive.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault they all have weird taste in music,” Steve grumbled, grabbing a bag of chips and cracking it open. “Who listens to The Clash and thinks it’s a good idea to pogo to that?”

“You, my dear Steve, are a man of the past,” Robin said dramatically. “Those kids are revolutionizing music, whereas you’re still stuck on Poison and Whitesnake.”

“Excuse me, Robin,” Steve said with mock offense, “but Whitesnake is a classic! They’re iconic!”

Robin raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you tell yourself every time you play ‘Here I Go Again’ in your car?”

“Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it,” Steve shot back. “You wouldn’t understand—it's a mood.”

Robin could only laugh at his eternal optimism, which somehow never managed to fade despite his ever-changing life. “Whatever, man,” she said. “But if I have to hear you sing that song one more time, I’m going to pull a Steve Harrington and leave. And I know what you're thinking: I can’t leave. But I totally can.”

"Why? Because you're such an expert at running away?" Steve said, nudging her with his elbow.

"No, because I’m an expert at sarcasm and sarcasm is always on the move," Robin replied. "I don't stay in one place for too long. I mean, honestly, I get why you don’t mind—being stuck here is kind of your thing. You might as well have a neon sign that says ‘Hawkins’ favorite mall rat.’"

Steve paused for a moment, his grin faltering before returning stronger than ever. “It’s okay,” he said, standing up and giving Robin a dramatic salute. “I may be ‘stuck,’ but I’m fabulous while I’m doing it.”

Robin sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“Simple,” Steve said, taking a deep breath as if he were preparing for a grand performance. “You wake up every day and tell yourself, ‘I’m Steve Harrington, and I’m going to make it through this day with hair that defies the laws of nature and a smile that could light up the entire mall.’”

"Ugh," Robin groaned, “Well, it’s true that I never get bored. I mean, I can only laugh at you so many times a day.”

“Aw, Robin,” Steve said, his face lighting up. “I know you love me. In a totally platonic, ‘we’ll never date but I’ll always save you from rabid fans’ way.”

Robin stared at him with mock disbelief. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Steve added with a wink. "You know I’m only doing it because you make all my worst qualities look cool."

“You’re a weird one, Harrington,” Robin said as she rolled her eyes and grabbed a new tape to stack for the next customer. "But somehow, you're endearing. Like a forgotten mixtape."

“Hey, that mixtape will be a hit in the future!” Steve said confidently, raising his arms. “They’ll call it ‘Steve Harrington: The Greatest Hits.’”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one, buddy,” Robin teased, knowing full well Steve’s optimism was one of his most irritating qualities.

Just then, the bell above the door jingled. A young couple walked in, their hands intertwined. Steve and Robin shared a look. It was the classic “let’s mess with them” moment.

“Hey, you two lovebirds,” Steve called out, “you looking for a movie for date night? I’ve got a recommendation. Ghostbusters is always a crowd-pleaser.”

Robin rolled her eyes, half-smiling. “Or you could go for something a little more romantic, like ‘The Breakfast Club.’ Because nothing says love like a bunch of high school misfits.”

“Hey, if they don’t go for Dirty Dancing, they’re doing it wrong,” Steve added with a wink.

The couple looked at each other awkwardly before laughing nervously. Robin and Steve exchanged knowing glances. Mission accomplished.

“I swear, Robin,” Steve said as the couple moved down the aisle, “we’re never going to win ‘Employee of the Month’ with that attitude.”

Robin shrugged. “Who needs it? We’re the coolest ones here, and we don’t even have to try. We’re like… Hawkins’ unofficial saviors of the mall.”

Steve grinned. “More like the unofficial champions of annoying everyone in a 10-mile radius.”

Robin high-fived him. “Best. Job. Ever.”

As they watched the couple disappear down the aisles of the video store, they couldn’t help but feel like maybe, just maybe, they were exactly where they were supposed to be. In a town that had seen more than its share of strange things, they were the anomaly that made life in Hawkins a little bit more interesting.

And even though they both knew they were total disasters, they also knew they were a team.