Chapter Text
"You can't move like that on the board, Robin," Finney insisted. "You can't jump squares!"
Robin scoffed. "Says who?"
Finney whipped out the game instructions, shaking the paper viciously. "The rules. The paper of printed rules that tell you how to play. You're cheating!"
Robin loved to mess with Finn. He always got so worked up over little things that didn't really matter, which only made it easier to get under his skin. Now was a good example. The board game, Sorry!, was out on Robin's coffee table, the TV quietly playing in the background.
"Where does it say that?" He pushed, trying to annoy his friend further.
Finney skimmed over the paper, lips silently forming the words as they passed. Robin watched him with an amused smile. It was just a game – that Finn was winning, mind you – but he was fighting to prove Robin's guilt like a lawyer in court.
Finney whacked the paper with his finger. "Here!" He turned it around so Robin could see where he was aggressively pointing. "Right here. One. Square. At. A. Time."
Robin didn't even read it, just lazily glanced over at it. "Yeah, yeah, fine. I see your point."
"Move back a square then. Like the rules say."
Robin flicked the game piece back one square, as Finney requested, then looked at him with raised eyebrows. Finn huffed at him.
"You're winning anyway. Why does it matter if I pull a few strings?" Robin pointed out as he pulled another card. This was their third game in the past hour. Finney kept asking for rematches and was finally closing in on a victory.
"Morals." Finney scowled. "And I'll be damned if I let you cheat a game after I lost so many times. Have you been cheating this whole time? Is your integrity really that shot?"
"No, it's not. Besides, this is my first time cheating. I've been playing by the rules, Scout's Honor." Robin flashed him a grin and tried to raise his right hand, but Finney swatted it back down.
"Oh shut up. You were never in Boy Scouts and they would've kicked you out if you were."
Robin only snorted in response.
They finished out their game and Finney managed to beat Robin, much to his delight. After his brief celebration, though, he glanced at the clock and Robin deflated a little, already knowing what was coming.
Don't say it. Don't say it.
"I told Donna we'd go to the movies tonight," he said with an apologetic smile.
Oh my god.
"They're showing some new romance or whatever," he continued. "She wanted to see it."
Robin did his best to mask his irritation. Robin and Finn hadn't gone to see a movie in months. But Finn could always go with Donna. Oh, he could do anything with Donna, but Robin was just a "Sorry, man, maybe next time." It was their thing to go to every drive-in or to see new movies in theaters if they had the money. Finney and Robin, Robin and Finney. Now, Finney did it most often with her.
Although it was annoying, he reminded himself that he was supposed to be happy for Finn. He didn't mean to hurt Robin, he just wanted to see Donna more now. Which was fine.
Totally fine.
He definitely understood.
"Yeah, that's cool man," Robin replied, forcing a casual tone.
"You sure?" Finney asked as he helped put the pieces back in the box. "I know I do this a lot, I just–"
"Nope, you're good," Robin interrupted. He'd heard this speech before, he didn’t need to hear it again. "I get it. You've got a girl now. It makes sense you hang out a lot."
Finney's face flushed, which only served to bother Robin more. "We're not, like, dating or anything, dude. It's just...I don't know, actually. It's complicated right now." He glanced at the clock again and his eyes widened. "Ah, shit! I'm gonna be late, I have to run!"
He sprang up from the couch, sloppily pulled his shoes on, and was half-way out the door before he even thought to shout his departure. "Bye, Rob! See ya later!"
He was gone before Robin could even get a word out.
For a moment, Robin stayed where he was, staring at the door where his best friend had just been. He’d left like he couldn’t wait to get out of here. Hell, the game box was still on the table.
If anyone had told him a year ago that Finney would be seeing a girl and leaving Robin for her, he would have called them crazy. Finney and a girl? Yeah, right. Finney perpetually ditching hangouts with his closest companion? Robin would laugh right in their face.
But here he was, barely even getting a goodbye from Finn over a girl he wasn't even dating.
Fucking Donna, Robin thought bitterly to himself.
Not long after Finney left, Robin had gone to Bruce's. Usually, he would go to Billy or Griffin's, but Billy was taking his dog, Daisy, to the vet and Griffin was working on a school project.
Bruce's room was exactly how you'd expect it to be – practically spotless. Not an ounce of dust was to be seen. He had a small, paper-littered desk by the window and his baseball stuff gathered in the corner adjacent. His closet was on the other side of his twin bed, closed as always. There wasn't much to see in here, besides a few Beatles and Osmonds posters on the walls, but it was refreshingly tidy. Everything in the room made perfect sense – except Vance Hopper lounging about. That would’ve been a jarring sight for anyone that didn’t know them.
Vance and Bruce were dating, so Vance was here often enough that when Robin called to come over, he expected that Vance would be there too. They were inseparable, with and without the group.
Although he loathed third-wheeling a couple without prior warning, there wasn't another choice. His mama wasn't home and Ernesto was at Gwen's and if Robin didn't talk about this to someone, he would lose his mind. The world was cruel, so instead of anyone else, he ended up passionately ranting to his two dating friends after rudely interrupting their time to themselves. He paced the floor, seething, while Bruce sat cross-legged at the bottom of his green sheets and Vance slumped lazily against the headboard.
"He always does this!" Robin complained. "We barely hang out anymore, and every time we do, it's Oh, Donna. I have to see Donna. Me and Donna – Stop! Like, Finn, you fucking idiot, what about me? It’s your best friend, standing right in front of you! Are you blind or something?"
Bruce, who was watching Robin closely, simply nodded. "He does that with us too."
"It's fucking annoying," Vance commented. "Hasn't he known her for like, four years? Why does she matter so much now?"
Robin held out his arms in exasperation. "Exactly! Like, he had a thing for her when we were younger, but I thought it went away. I don’t know where this even came from."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Rob," Bruce assured him. "It won't last forever. Even if they get together, they'll probably break up pretty fast."
"Teenage couples never last long," Vance agreed. Bruce shot him a glare, and he quickly corrected himself. "Most teenage couples."
"It seems kind of random," Bruce continued on. "They didn't interact much before, and now this? Yeah, it won't go far."
"You know why? Because it's stupid. Finney and Donna are a stupid couple and it doesn't make sense," Vance said bluntly.
Robin had to agree, despite wanting to support Finn. He and Donna didn’t make sense. What did they even have in common? Yeah, Donna was a nice girl, but she wasn’t for Finn. She just wasn’t.
"I miss when it was just the two of us," he admitted with a sigh.
Bruce made a face. "Ouch."
Robin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not like, without you guys. I mean, before Donna was such a big deal. Like, before he was so into girls. When it was just us and we hung out all the time, you know?"
Vance hummed. "Are you not into girls or something?"
Robin opened his mouth, then closed it, trying to think of a way to defend himself. In truth, he'd always just thought it was stupid to care about that kind of thing. Girls had never held his attention for long, and at some point, he'd just given up on the idea. It wasn't that he didn't like girls, it was more so that he didn't think about it much. He had better things to do than date.
Bruce’s eyebrows raised as the silence went on. Whatever he was thinking, Robin had to shut it down immediately. He didn’t need his friends assuming things about him just because he hadn’t had a girlfriend yet.
"Of course I like girls," Robin spat. "I just don't care that much. Finney never cared before now either."
Robin could practically see the gears turning in Bruce’s head as he slowly nodded. "Mm-hm."
Oh, great. Now he was being judged.
Robin kept talking, anxious to escape the scrutiny. "Listen, I'm happy for him, I really am. If he likes her that much, I hope it works out. I just wish he wouldn't ditch me for her all the time. Maybe don't make plans with her every weekend? Maybe hang out with me from time to time?"
"Maybe don't replace you with a girl?" Vance added.
"Exactly. Is it that hard?"
"Just talk to him about it," Bruce suggested. "I mean, you've been best friends for years. I don't think he'd throw you away over a girl he's not even officially dating. Maybe you'll hang out this weekend or something."
Robin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, if he hasn't already found something else to do with Donna."
"Are you done now?" Vance deadpanned.
Robin crossed his arms, glowering at the blonde. "I guess. What's the rush?"
"We kinda had something going on before you called," Vance groused. "And I'm tired of your whining."
Robin's face morphed into a fierce look of disgust as he backed toward the door. "Oh, ew! Don't share that with me!"
Bruce shook his head viciously, a look of panic on his face. He pointed to the papers strewn across his desk. "We were doing homework, Robin!"
Vance smirked. "Get your head out of the gutter, Rob."
"Ugh!" Robin shuddered. "I'm going home! Don't talk to me, I'm done!"
Bruce called goodbye after him as he left the room and Vance just laughed.
Robin huffed. He should've just seethed over the situation at home.