friday, 30th october

"Sorry. I'm not coming."

"What? Why? Please Beth, don't do this again." Cassie said from the other end of the line, her voice sounding hazy trough the phone.

"Do what again?" Beth sighed, prepared for a lecture-type talk.

"Cancel plans on last minute. C'mon, can't you have fun for once? Now you've ruined our night aswell. We have to completely rearrange everything, and Amy, she-"

Beth slowly lowered the phone from her ear. She gently put it on the table, Cassie's voice still echoing from the speaker.

You've ruined our night aswell? What? Why does everything have to be such a big deal with Cassie. It's a stupid party. It's not the end of the world, if Beth doesn't go.

Stupid party.

She had made her decision. The party would be no fun for her. The ending of her week had been just as miserable as the beginning -Robin hadn't shown up, and yesterday she had crashed into Steve Harrington who definitely wasn't happy with her, saying that Beth ruined his sneakers. In conclusion, she was over everyone in the school. She didn't care anymore. And right now, all Cassie was doing was crumbling Beth's remaining confidence.

The girl picked up the phone again. She covered the speaker with her hand, and took in a deep breath. It was time to give her real opinion for once.

"Cassie." She said, cutting of the other girl's mindless rambling.

Beth heard Cassie sighing on the other end.

"It's just a stupid party." Beth stated.

Cassie didn't answer her.

"I'm sorry. But, hey, don't take it so personally."

And then Beth hanged up the phone.

She laid down on her bed, but couldn't stay still. She squirmed around, stuffed her face into a pillow and groaned. Ugh.

It shouldn't be such a big deal, really.

Soon she heard the ringing of the telephone echoing from downstairs, and her mom picking it up.

Shit.

As she expected, soon her mother yelled: "Beth! The phone!"

Beth adjusted herself to a sitting position.

"Tell Cassie that I don't want to talk with her!" She shouted back with a bitter tone.

Sandy Parker scoffed, already irritated, and yelled again: "It's not Cassie. It's the Robin girl!"

Beth's body shot up as she heard the name. What? She paced around and tried to keep her voice normal. "Fine, mom, connect the call!"

Her mother connected the call to the phone in Beth's room- the phone in her bedside table.

She picked up the phone and spoke: "Robin?"

The other girl excitedly gasped on the other end. "Beth! Hi! How- how are you?"

"I'm fine, Robin. You?" Beth chuckled.

"Never better. So, listen, is it any way possible that you could hang out?"

Beth's heart skipped a beat. "What? Today?"

"Yeah.." Robin said. "But if you don't want to, it-"

"No, I want to! But.. you weren't at school today."

"What?" Robin laughed. "I'm pretty sure I was. I would've asked you in school, but I didn't get the chance."

"Oh! Okay. Well, uhm, I'd love to hang out."

Five minutes later, Beth sprinted around her room, feeling better than she had trough the whole week. She got a sweater from her closet and put it over the t-shirt she was wearing. It was already getting cold outside.

She fought with her left sneaker, hopping in place trying to get it on properly: looking absolutely ridiculous.

Beth walked downstairs, ready to ask for permission.

"Mum?"

"Yeah?" Sandy turned her head around to face her daughter.

"Can i go to Robin's?"

"Whoa, that was quick."

"Yeah, I know it's kinda last minute-"

"Very last minute." Her mother cut off. "Beth, it's friday, and I don't like the idea of you biking in the dark."

"Mom, I'll be fine, really. It's Hawkins. No one's out on a friday night."

Sandy debated on her mind. "Well, you have a point." She nodded. "Fine. But you better be home by eight."

"Okay! Thanks, mum." Beth gave her mother a bright smile and went to grab her keys from the kitchen table.

"Wait, what's Robin's last name?" Her dad yelled after the girl.

Beth returned to her parents. "Buckley. Why so?" She furrowed her brows.

"No reason. Just curious." Her dad smiled.

"Oookay.." Beth gave her parents a confused smile. "Bye!"

"Bye!" The door was already slammed shut.

"That Robin girl has got her acting weird." Sandy thought out loud.

Michael sighed. "Agreed. Do we even know the Buckleys?"

—

"Wow."

"What?"

"Your room is so cool!" Beth looked around.

Robin stared at the other girl's face, confused and self-conscious. "You know, you don't have to say that just out of politeness. I'd much rather have your real opinion." She grimaced.

"That is my real opinion! God, how do you keep these plants alive? I once killed a cactus."

Robin laughed a bit. "How do you do that?"

Beth shrugged, moving on to Robin's wall.

"Altough, this Elvis poster is a bit disturbing." Beth admitted, staring at the man's giant face.

"Believe me, I agree." Robin joined the girl. "It's my mom's old."

"Why is he staring so.. murderously?"

"Drugs?" Robin suggested.

"Right." Beth laughed.

"Once I get enough money to buy other posters, I swear I'll take that off." Robin promised, pointing at Elvis' face.

"Do you like his music?" Beth asked.

"Eh, I don't know. It's alright, I guess. But I definitely like Queen, Elton John, David Bowie etc. more."

Beth smiled widely. "No way! You just listed my three favourite artists."

"Well, haven't we got taste." Robin smirked. She pointed her hands at Beth, and smiled even wider. "Do you want hot chocolate?"

An hour later, the two girls were now laying on Robin's bed: staring at the ceiling, which was starting to be Beth's favourite hobby these days.

Their hot chocolate mugs were on the floor, already empty. Neither of them could even remember how long they had been lying down, time passed fast when talking.

Robin moved around, her hand brushing Beth's ever so slightly. She turned her head to face the other girl.

"They don't seem like they're really great friends to you." The freckle-faced girl said, trying to be comforting.

Beth smiled, sadly. "I know. But... you know. High school drowns you, if you don't have a life jacket."

"And they're your lifejacket." Robin nodded.

"Exactly."

"That kind of me reminds me about Barb."

"Right. You lost your first life jacket. It's really sad, that they still don't know what happened to her." Beth smiled. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah." Robin sighed. "But I lost her even before I actually lost her."

At what point their conversation had turned so deep, they didn't know. But it was weird, yet so comforting how they already trusted eachother. How they had the same experiences from school, from losing friends.

Beth couldn't help but wonder, if she would dare to tell Robin her actual secret. The fact that she likes girls.

And if she someday dared to do that, she could find out if Robin was like that too. If her growing crush was just a waste of time.

Her attention had caught on something, something that took her mind away from her thoughts.

Beth got out of the bed and stood up, staring out of Robin's window.

"Robin, look!" She gasped, reaching for Robin's hand.

"What?" The girl lifted up, looking around. Then she suddenly stopped, staring out of the same window.

"Wow." Robin sighed.

Both girls turned to eachother, smirking. A silent nod was an agreement, and Robin's hand grasped Beth's tightly as she pulled the other girl out of the room.

They rushed downstairs, laughing like children, hand in hand.

Once they got outside, both of them gazing to the sky.

"Wow." Robin repeated.

"We say that too much."

"I love snow." Robin breathed out.

Beth turned to look at Robin's face. She felt a little snowflake melting on her face.

"It's really snowing." Robin stated, and lifted her hand up to catch a few flakes. She looked absolutely stunned, so in awe and happy.

"It really is." Beth agreed. She turned her face back to the sky, watching those little white diamonds falling down from the dark sky.

It was beautiful. And rare. It never snowed this early in Indiana.

"Hey, Robi-" Beth was cut off by a splash, followed by an icy feeling on her neck and a mischievous laugh.

She lifted her hand and felt her neck, finding bits of snow on her fingertips.

"Oh, you wanna fight?" Beth laughed, grasping a pile of snow to her fist and throwing it Robin's way.

The other girl screamed and dodged he snowball.

"Terrible throw!" Robin laughed.

"Watch this!" Beth yelled, throwing another ball of snow, which now landed right on Robin's face.

"Hey!" The other girl shouted, ready to fire back.

"Just so you know, I always win these!"