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So, there's kind of this unspoken understanding between Robin and Eddie. Robin didn't know Eddie before this Spring-- well, she knew of him. In the way you "know of" the dude who is on his third run of senior year, the dude who set off fireworks in the faculty parking lot once, the dude she used to be in band with that she stood next to at a comp, like, once, the dude who comes to the video store at least once a month to rent out The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But, like, they hadn't ever talked to each other before shit started to hit the fan.
In a way, Robin sort of empathizes with him. It wasn't even a year ago that she was in his same position, being thrust into a world that was so much bigger and scarier than she thought it was, learning that everything she thought to be true was just a coverup for something completely different. And not that she really trusted the government before-- she assumes neither did Eddie-- but the kind of stuff they're currently uncovering made the FBI look like a circus tent.
She can't quite say that he's handling it super well. He isn't. He's freaked the fuck out. And who wouldn't be, after watching Chrissy Cunningham get twisted like a pretzel in front of you? She hadn't handled it super well either-- she was still having nightmares about being stuck in that stupid Russian elevator. So yeah, they kind of get each other. She pulls him aside before they leave Rick's one afternoon and says, "Hey, this is messed up, dude," and that's sort of all she needs to say to communicate that they're on the same page about things.
But there's... another thing. Something she hadn't even considered before. 'Cuz, they're sitting on the boat in the middle of Lover's Lake, and Steve's getting ready to jump in there, the dumbass, and she's watching Eddie wrap up a flashlight in a plastic bag. And he looks up at Steve and hands him the flashlight, and he gives him this... up-and-down. And he swallows, and looks away. And it's not really something she thinks about in the moment.
She sort of thinks about it later, when Eddie tosses his vest to Steve, saying something about "modesty." And she and Eddie make eye contact for a fleeting moment, and she can't quite piece it together. She FULLY thinks about as they're walking through bizarro-Hawkins-- Nancy and Steve just barely ahead of her and Eddie. And she's staring at the back of Nancy's stupidly-soft looking hair-- has been for the last half-mile, wondering how early she must have to wake up to get it looking that nice. And Eddie clears his throat next to her. She looks over. His eyes dart between her and Nancy, clearly trying to communicate something. She tilts her head, eyes squinting, confused. Then, he vaguely motions between him and Steve.
And, oh, that makes sense. That's like, so sad it's almost funny.
She had started encouraging the whole Steve-and-Nancy thing because, like she said, she just wanted her friends to be happy. Her brand new crush on Nancy oh-so-straight Wheeler didn't stand a chance against whatever shared past she and Steve had, and besides, he had been trying to find his "perfect girl" for months now. And it was kinda funny, right? First Tammy, now Nancy. It almost made her head explode.
Before the Asylum, the only word she had for Nancy in her head was prissy. Then, as they're running for the car, she adds a couple words to her mental vocabulary-- clever, pretty, selfless, compassionate, stupidly awfully woefully straight. And by the time they make it to the upside down, she's come to terms with it. No amount of staring at Nancy Wheeler's hair is gonna make her turn around and fall head over heels for her.
But it's... you know, it's sort of nice. In a sad way. That Eddie gets where she's coming from with this, that she gets him. That they both have to watch whatever Nancy and Steve have going on right now.
If they make it out of here alive, they so need to talk about this.