✵

which was playing on the radio in the small diner - only stopping when Steve returned to their booth with two milkshakes in hand.

"I figure since you're new and all you haven't got a chance to come to Brainshakes yet," he smiled brightly, slipping one of the milkshakes towards her. Ringo's head tilted with curiosity at the sheer brightness of its colour - neon blue, with a vast dollop of cream on top.

"It looks like a cavity in a glass," she joked, directing the straw towards her mouth and taking a small sip. Steve watched carefully for her reaction, taking a drink of his own identical one.

"Woah," Ringo spoke, eyes wide as she pulled away. "That's actually pretty good."

"See how much easier your life would be if you listened to me?" He raised his eyebrows, sipping through his straw, causing a giggle to rise in her. He smiled at the sound, happy to see that she wasn't as down now as she had been a short time before.

When Steve had realised Ringo was upset, he was at a loss with himself about how to react. But it seems this had been the right option, it was where he would always go to feel better himself.

"So," he began hesitantly, lifting her gaze up from her shake to meet his eyes. "Who was it?"

She visibly cringed, obviously not wanting to talk about it but answering none the less.

"Daniel Ashford."

Steve sighed, he knew the name well - everyone at school did. The two had never gotten along since middle school, with Daniel being jealous of Steve's athletic abilities and Steve taking advantage of that fact to use as an ego boost.

"I used to call him Daniel Assford," he offered, her lips turning up at the name.

"His breath does smell like ass," she chuckled.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll accidentally key his car tomorrow," Steve winked at her, daring her to smile, which she did.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Ringo asked suddenly, taking him by surprise.

"Well, we made a truce..."

"Yeah, a truce doesn't mean picking me up from the side of the road and telling corny jokes to make me smile when I'm upset," she said in a gentle tone, trying not to cause offence but desperate for an answer.

Steve looked away, wondering himself what the answer was. He couldn't explain it, not even to himself. But there was something about Ringo that made him want to be a better person, like he had to meet her standards of what she defined a decent human being

"Maybe you're not half bad, Wheeler," he smirked, watching as her expression softened.

"Is this the coveted secret side to Steve Harrington that only Nancy gets to see?" Her jaw dropped in feigned shock, eliciting a groan from the man in question.

"I'm not even that bad! You like my friendship, admit it!"

"No!" She laughed, shaking her head enough for a small curl to fall from the up-do she had styled her hair in.

"Admit it or I'll take the milkshake away!" He reached for the end of her glass, sliding it back towards him teasingly. Ringo gasped and shot her hand out protectively around it, narrowing her eyes playfully.

"Fine," huffing, she looked up towards the ceiling instead of into his eyes, "I like the fact that you took me here and bought me a milkshake. There. That's all you're getting," she scrunched her nose up, as she often did to show she was joking.

"I'll accept it," he pulled his hand back, a grin falling on his lips.

When it came time to leave, Steve drove slower than usual back to the Wheeler residence, watching the blonde from the corner of his eye as she gazed out of her window curiously.

She gasped loudly out of nowhere, startling him enough to jump and swerve the car slightly.

"What? Jesus! What?" He shouted in shock, looking around wildly for an obstruction.

"Nothing, I just like this song," she laughed loudly at his reaction, eliciting an eye roll from him. She reached forward and fiddled with the knob, turning the song up louder.

"Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac?" He asked, already knowing the answer when she nodded her head. "You get that album yet?"

"No," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I told you, I'm cursed!"

"Calm down, this isn't the Twilight Zone," he mulled over whether or not he would ask his next question, making the decision in a split second. "Want to go check again?"

"But the record store will be closed by now," she furrowed her brows, pointing to his watch circling his wrist.

"So?" Steve grinned wickedly, taking a turn to head back into town instead.

"Steve! I'm not going to break in and steal it!" Her eyes were wide with shock, although the excitement of such a venture definitely appealed to her.

"We won't steal it!" He denied. "If its there we'll leave cash!"

Steve pulled in to park further down the street, to avoid raising suspicion. Turning in his seat, he looked to her patiently, waiting for her answer.

Ringo bit her lower lip, looking back and forth between the Harrington boy and the record store further up. She supposed that as long as they didn't get caught, it would be okay. They wouldn't dare steal anything.

"Okay, let's do it," she beamed excitedly, adrenaline rushing through her as she opened her door and exited quickly, Steve following suit.

They rounded around the back of the store, wondering how they would enter the building without breaking a window, which Ringo was adamant against.

"Look!" He pointed upwards, drawing her attention to a small window higher up than them which was left adjacent.

"We'll never get up there," she sighed, the dreaded curse coming back to bite her.

"I won't, but you might," he backed against the wall, crouching ever so slightly and cupping his hands together in front of him. "Come on!"

She held in a giggle, excitement bubbling over as she placed her foot into his hands, which he then propelled upwards until she was high enough to reach the window.

Using her upper body strength, Ringo hauled herself up and inside of the building, grunting from the exertion.

She had landed inside a small employee bathroom, so using the lightest of footsteps, she stepped out and half-ran downstairs to the record bins before they were caught.

Outside, Steve paced around anxiously, waiting for the blonde Wheeler girl to reappear so they could make a quick getaway.

Eventually, within ten minutes of Steve looking for anything in the near vicinity to use as a step up, to no avail, he heard scuffling at the window again.

Ringo began to shakily back out of the window, backwards, holding onto the window and slipping her feet down the wall, desperate not to fall. Just in case, Steve held his hands beneath her.

"Any luck?" He asked, slightly confused by how much he hoped she had retrieved it.

"No," she rolled her eyes in annoyance, stepping down into Steve's waiting hands as he gripped her hips to stop her from dropping straight down.

"Sorry, Ringo," Steve cringed as they began to trail back to the car.

"It's fine, I wasn't expecting to find it anyway. Plus, it was kind of exciting," she chuckled like a schoolgirl, her laughter contagious enough for Steve to join in.

They walked together back to the car, their quiet conversation halting at the sound of sirens nearby.

"Oh my god," Steve gasped, his step slowing, sure they had been caught.

"Fuck!" Ringo cursed, grabbing Steve and hauling him into an alleyway behind them, pressing her body flat against the wall to hide herself, Steve following her action.

"How did they find out?" Steve whispered, but Ringo didn't answer, absolutely terrified of getting arrested what Mrs Wheeler would say. There was only so many family members she had left to go and love with.

They held their breath when the flashing blue lights passed by the alley, soaring down the street. When they continued to get further and further away, Ringo's expression dropped to one of suspicion. She leaned closer to the edge of the alleyway and peaked down the street, noting that the cars did not stop at Groovy Tunes and instead continued on.

"They're going somewhere else," she sighed in relief, her hand cupping her forehead. Steve deflated, clearly thankful that they hadn't been caught.

"I wonder where they're going.."

When he finally pulled into her driveway, admittedly, she was slightly reluctant to get out of the car, fiddling with her fingers and smiling awkwardly.

"I.. um, I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" He asked in confusion.

"For making this night suck a lot less."

He settled for a nod of his head, but she took him by surprise again when she leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. Steve was frozen for a moment in shock, but eventually wrapped his arms around her in return and hugged her back.

When Ringo pulled away, the car was silent as she turned and exited through the door, bounding up the driveway to the Wheeler house.

Steve watched until she stepped up to the door, smiling and waving back when she gave him a small wave. When she was safely inside, he started up the engine and left.

✵

The second she stepped inside the door, Ringo's mood instantly shifted by the scene waiting for her. Nancy's soft cries could be heard from the kitchen. Ringo followed the sound, and found her cousin there, crying into her mother's arms.

"Woah, hey, hey," she rushed forward, worry flooding through the teenager. "What's going on?"

Nancy tried to explain to her, but she was so overcome by sobs that she couldn't get the words through, eventually her mother explained for her.

"Barb's missing," she murmured, "and they found Will's body."

Ringo couldn't bring up words to reply, she was so overcome with shock, she didn't know where to start.

"Barb?" She began with, eyes widened as they looked back and forth between Nancy and her mother. Come to think of it, she didn't see the redhead at school all day.

"Her car is still where she left it, and she left the party before we did and didn't go home," Nancy managed to say, sniffling and wiping her cheeks with her sleeves.

"The police were here already," Karen murmured, rubbing her daughter's back.

"And... Will?" Ringo's voice cracked, she had felt so ridiculous for getting worked up over her problems earlier, when there was a mother out there who had lost her child and would never get to see him, alive and healthy, again.

"They found him in the lake by the quarry," Karen explained. Ringo shook her head in denial, running her hands over her face and sitting down on the ground she was already crouching over.

"Shit," she swore, tears pricking at her eyes.

✵

"Ringo?" Nancy's voice called out that night, knowing that she too, would be wide awake and unable to sleep.

"Yeah?" She whispered back. It was a common occurrence for Ringo and Nancy to share late night talks about their day ever since she moved in, but this was completely overshadowed by the events of the evening.

"How did your date go then?" She asked, trying to take her mind off of matters.

"I don't think it could have gone worse," Ringo sighed, burying her cheek further into her pillow.

"What happened?" Nancy reached up and flicked her lamp on so she could look down at her cousin.

"Let's just say I'm pretty sure I broke his nose and expect to be a social pariah within the next few hours."

Nancy's expression dropped to one of sympathy, holding her hand out of her bed for Ringo to hold in comfort.

"Maybe the family name is unlucky," Nancy mused thoughtfully, her tone quiet and sad. "First Will, now Barb..."

"Remind me not to make friends in Hawkins, then," she breathed a laugh, which felt entirely forced.

✵

The next day at school, Ringo could barely focus her gaze on any words on the book in front of her. Her classes droned on, and every time they broke by the bell, she expected to walk into the hallway and be met with judgemental stares or laughing.

Halfway through her chemistry class, once again she was incapable of listening. Ringo caught Steve's eye from across the room, furrowing her brows in confusion as he tried to mime something to her.

"What?" She mouthed, trying to read his lips and hand movements. Before she got the chance, she was stopped by the door to the classroom opening, and the school secretary stepping inside.

"Ringo Wheeler?" She called out, prompting the entire class to turn and look at the girl in question.

Ringo's heart hammered in her chest as she shoved her book back into her bag, clutching her strap tight enough for her fingers to whiten and following the woman out of class. The secretary led Ringo down the hallway, towards the now-empty cafeteria.

She was expecting to be called in for the events that happened last night with Daniel, perhaps he had concocted a story at her expense.

Upon entry, she saw that there was already a small group there - consisting of two police officers, Nancy and Karen.

"Take a seat please, Ms Wheeler," one of the cops gestured towards the free seat on the other side of Karen, their stares making her feel pressured as she sat down.

"Ringo, is it?" He made sure, continuing when she nodded her head. "We're here to talk to you about the night of Steve Harrington's party two nights ago. Did you witness this fight between Barb and Nancy?"

"It wasn't a fight," Nancy interjected exhaustedly. "Barb wanted to go home, and I didn't. So I told her to go, and that's it."

"No," Ringo answered with a shake of her head. "I fell asleep at that house, the last time I was awake and saw her, Barb was with us, having fun."

"That was the last time you saw her?"

"Yes."

He turned back to Nancy then, looking to her for an answer in his pending question.

"And then you claim that you went back the next day, and saw this... bear?"

Ringo's eyes narrowed at this, she wasn't aware Nancy had went back to Steve's, or that she saw anything suspicious.

"It wasn't a bear," she huffed frustratedly, "I think maybe it... took Barb. You need to check behind Steve's house-"

"We did," the other officer answered for the first time since Ringo arrived. "There's nothing there. No sign of a bear, and no car."

"What?" Nancy hissed, Ringo suddenly feeling defensive of her.

"Look, we figure that Barbara came back last night, took the car and went off somewhere else. Has she ever talked to you about running off? Leaving town maybe?"

While Nancy was stuttering for her reply, trying to formulate one, Ringo answered for her.

"No. Barb would panic if she was late for dinner at her parents house. She's not the type to just up and leave everyone."

"She wasn't maybe upset about the fact that Nancy was spending time with this boy?" Ringo watched suspiciously, trying to figure out what he was insinuating. "Steve Harrington?"

"What? No!" Nancy replied pleadingly, it was clear they weren't taking her claim as serious as she wished.

"Maybe she was jealous because she saw you go up to Steve's room?" The second cop intervened again.

"It wasn't like that. Steve and me - we're just friends. We just talked."

Ringo's eyes downcast to the table, Nancy almost sounded believable.

"Was that before or after you changed out of your clothes?"

"Hey," Ringo cut him off, "that's a little inappropriate, don't you think?"

"And you, you slept through the entire thing and didn't wake up? Were you under the influence?" They turned on Ringo, next.

"No," she shook her head, swallowing her lie, "I was just tired. I had a long week, with moving here and stuff."

"Must have been extremely tired," he replied disbelievingly, "is there anyone that can vouch that you were asleep?"

"I can," Nancy offered. "And Steve carried her, asleep, to the couch in the living room."

"He did?" Ringo couldn't help but ask, eyebrows furrowed. She couldn't remember that at all, she really had to have been in a deep sleep to not notice being carried and jostled.

"I think we have all that we need," one of the two sighed, closing up his file and moving to stand up. "We'll be interviewing the others that were at the party today."

"Thank you," Karen thanked them, prompting Ringo and Nancy to roll their eyes.