✵

Steve greeted her in a hurried tone, making his way towards the booth she was sat in after practically bursting through the door of Brainshakes, catching the attention of the rest of the customers.

"It's fine," she replied, her tight-lipped smile indicated to Steve that it was, in fact, not fine.

"I'm sorry, honestly! I had to give Nancy a ride home and I lost track of time," he explained, running a hand through his frazzled hair. His state of disarray, as well as his reddened lips and messy hair, told her that he was with Nancy, but perhaps not explicitly driving her anywhere.

"I don't care, Steve," she deadpanned, looking at him with a bored expression. Inside, she was rather offended that he was twenty minutes late to meet her. Knowing that he had spent that time with Nancy hurt her even more.

"Are you okay?" He pressed, looking at her with furrowed brows and a concerned expression.

"Peachy," she answered, taking a sip of her milkshake through the straw, waiting until she was done to speak again. "And you?"

"I'm doing great. I'm sorry again, really. I don't know what's gotten into Nancy lately, I told her I had to meet you at five and she suddenly couldn't bear to let me go," Steve complained, his cheeks flushed. Ringo raised an eyebrow uninterestedly, of all the things in the world she wanted to talk to Steve about, his relationship with her cousin was at the farthest bottom.

"I'm moving back to Florida," she cut off his rambling, causing his gaze to snap forward to hers and his expression to crumple into one of surprise.

"What?" He hissed, shock filling him as Ringo smiled sheepishly.

"My mom called me. Her and my dad are getting a divorce, and she... she apologised for not taking my side after the whole photograph thing. It was mainly my dad who blamed me, anyways."

"Well..." he murmured, lost for words as his eyes downcast to the table. "I mean, that's great. I'm glad she came to her senses, because it wasn't your fault. How do you feel about them getting a divorce?"

"I'm honestly okay with it," she hummed, "they fight a lot. I'm kind of glad. She got a job as an assistant in some company so now she has a little more money, no more trailer park life for me," she smiled weakly, fiddling with the straw of her milkshake.

"When are you leaving? The end of the school year?" He asked, dreading he answer. Somehow, six months of Ringo Wheeler didn't seem like it would ever be enough. He felt a sudden rush of guilt for how their friendship had drifted slightly since Halloween, Steve had poured all his time into school and his relationship with Nancy, he didn't realise he was neglecting the person who had surely become his most trusted best friend.

"Sunday," she admitted quietly. Steve felt as if his heart had dropped in his chest. Today was only Wednesday.

"B-but that's so soon! You can't leave now, it's the middle of the school year! Christmas is in two weeks!" He stammered, almost pleadingly.

"She wants me to spend Christmas with her in her new apartment, and I think it will be good for me to get away from this place for a bit. I haven't been feeling all that sunshiney lately." Her words made him frown again, leaning in to rest his elbows on the table. He reached out and placed his hand on hers, but the action had caused her to stiffen and instantly shuffle out of his grip, further confusing him.

"Ringo? What's going on? You can talk to me."

"Nothing I've just.." she looked back into his eyes, his saddened expression broke her heart a little. In truth, Ringo's mother probably would have waited until after Christmas to take her back to Florida. But she didn't want to spend another minute debating with herself over why the sight of Steve with his arm around Nancy filled her with rage. "I haven't been sleeping lately. I've been having nightmares about Halloween."

It wasn't technically a lie, Ringo had been plagued with dreams of the monster for almost two months now. Every time she closed her eyes, she was back in the Byers living room facing down the demon. Except unlike before, she wasn't equipped with an axe or surrounded by her cousin and friends. She was left completely defenceless and alone, with nothing to stop the monster from flying towards her.

"Why didn't you say something?" He asked, grimacing with guilt once more that he hadn't been there for her.

"You've been busy," she blurted out before she could stop herself, watching as he appeared taken aback by her confession.

"I know," he sighed, looking down and shaking his head. "Look, I have a free house this weekend, why don't we throw you a going away party? No relationship business all week, just me and you. The ass kicker squad."

"You think alcohol and a party is going to make me feel better?" She scoffed, causing his smile to dim until she spoke again. "Because you'd be dead right."

✵

"Karen," Ted piped up, chewing on his food before continuing. "Why is half of Hawkins at our dinner table?"

On cue, Jessica and the entirety of Mike's friend group looked up with pursed lips, each huddled around the table and sitting on every free chair that they could find around the house, pulled up to the table.

"Come on, Ted," Karen muttered, narrowing her eyes at his rudeness as she fed her youngest daughter another spoonful of dinner. "They want to say goodbye to Ringo, it's her last night in case you've forgotten."

"Well, then you all better eat all of that dinner, we don't give out free food in this house, it isn't a soup kitchen."

Ringo and Jessica met eyes, both looking away abruptly after before they would burst into laughter at his words.

"I just can't believe it," Dustin murmured sadly, pushing his food around. "I can't believe she's leaving me."

"I'm not dying, Dustin," Ringo huffed, taking a sip of water.

"You may as well be! I'll never see you-"

"We'll never see you," Lucas interrupted, glaring harshly at Dustin.

"Can you guys back off?" Mike called across the table to the two of them. "Like, hello! That's my cousin!"

"Oh, so cousins are off-limits?" Dustin fired back. "So we can move onto Nancy now when Ringo leaves?"

"Hey!" Nancy protested.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm irreplaceable," Ringo flipped her hair over her shoulder, wearing a triumphant smirk as Jessica sat watching the spectacle in amusement.

"Please, as if you'd want Nancy," Mike rolled his eyes.

"Mike," Karen warned.

"As if you know anything about girls Mike," Nancy interjected. "Unless there was one in Dungeons and Dragons."

"Funnily enough, there were a few creatures in that game that looked like you."

Nancy rolled her eyes at his insult, prompting Ringo to stifle her laughter behind her hand.

"I'm really gonna miss you guys," she mentioned suddenly, her tone turning from amused to reminiscent.

"Aw!" Dustin shot up from his chair rounding the table and coming behind Ringo to hug her tightly. Ringo held her hands up in defence, but the other boys - Will, Mike and Lucas, only followed him. Soon enough, Ringo was being enveloped in a group hug, not sure whether to laugh or cry. It had only been a few months since she first arrived, but the attachment she had formed was astounding. She had truly found a home here, but she should have known it would only be temporary. This was originally intended to be a form of punishment, after all.

✵

Ringo and Nancy got ready for the party together. The 'together' part meaning strictly in physical terms, of course. The duo barely spoke to one another any more, and as they shared the mirror to apply their make up, the full realisation that she was leaving hit Ringo with full force. This was the last time she and Nancy would scramble about with make up to get ready.

Ringo and Nancy Wheeler never allowed boys to get between them when they were little. While the boys on the playground were attracted to Ringo's confidence instead of Nancy's shy nature, Ringo had always pushed them aside in favour of playing with Nancy. And eventually when playground trips turned into shopping, going to the movies and going out, the attraction to both girls became fairly equal. But still, there were occasions when a guy who had caught their eye would lust after the other of the two. None the less, they had never let jealousy reach the point of affecting their relationship. Until now, and Ringo hated it.

Nancy knew. Of course she did, women always sensed these things. She knew that there was a part of Ringo, however small it was, that lusted after her boyfriend. And as much as she hated to admit it, a part of her resented her cousin for that. From the beginning, even when they hated each other, she saw a chemistry between them that made her jaw clench. Gradually, as Ringo and Steve grew closer while her own relationship deteriorated, Nancy found herself blaming Ringo for their problems. But of course, the only people to blame for Steve and Nancy's problems - was Steve and Nancy.

"Look," Ringo began quietly, snapping her tube of lipstick closed and turning to face the brunette, almost shyly. "I know we've kind of drifted lately, but I just... I'm going to miss you. I'm gonna miss our late night talks and our harmless bickering, I'm even gonna miss sharing a room with you. I just wanted you to know that, whatever the reason is that you're not comfortable around me, I miss you. And I will miss you."

"Ringo," Nancy sighed, pushing aside their differences and stepping forward to wrap her arms around the blonde. "I'm sorry I've been distant, I just... do you remember we went to that sleepover that turned into a party when I was thirteen?"

Ringo nodded, unsure of where she was going with this.

"Well, do you remember that really cute guy? Alex, I think his name was. I had a crush on him for months at school. And then... then you showed up from Florida, pretty and perfect, and he instantly set his sights on you."

"You liked him?" Ringo gasped, her face turning into a grimace as guilt filled her.

"Yeah," she admitted. "And then we played spin the bottle, and it landed on you, and then he spent the rest of the night with his arm around you and telling you he'd miss you when you left?"

"Nancy, I would never-"

"I didn't tell you that I liked him because it was a crush at that time, and I knew that however much I liked him, I liked having my best friend around much more."

Ringo looked down at her feet as Nancy finished, swallowing harshly as she tried to contain her emotions.

"But.. I can't do that with Steve, Ringo," she murmured quietly.

"I would never ask you to," Ringo promised, gripping Nancy's shoulders and facing her head on.

"I don't just have a schoolgirl crush on Steve. I really like him. And I know you do too - don't try to deny it. But I can't give him up, and I don't want that to affect us."

"Nancy," Ringo began, her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. "Whatever... feelings I have, they're nowhere near strong enough for me to want to split you two up or hurt your feelings. And honestly, Steve likes you, he's told me himself and I can see it with my own eyes. I would never chase someone who wanted someone else, especially if that someone else was my cousin and my best friend."

Nancy looked touched by her words, suddenly emotional herself as she wrapped her arms around the blonde. The realisation that they'd never see each other as regularly as they did now again hit her like a train.

"And besides," Ringo pulled away, wiping underneath her eyes to prevent smudging her make up. "Noah was a shit kisser, I done you a favour."

✵

Once upon a time, Steve Harrington had been hailed the King of parties, and it was a name he lived up to.

There wasn't often a party in Hawkins where he wasn't found doing keg stands and destroying his liver bit by bit. Except tonight, where for the first time since his birthday party at KFC when he was seven, he was the host of a party and didn't get blind drunk.

On the contrary, he was stone cold sober. Standing off to the side and watching the party rage on, he realised it certainly looked different from the other side when you weren't joining in. He was often tempted to have one or two, just to take the edge off, but his eyes would then catch on to the blonde dancing in the centre of the room and he'd catch himself.

Since hearing her news that evening in a booth in Brainshakes, Steve's world - which he thought was finally steady and had direction, completely flipped. He couldn't lie to himself in saying that everything was sugar sweet, there was a noticeable difference in his relationship with Nancy that wasn't there before. But Steve had put that down to the loss of a spark that every couple went through eventually, despite only having been dating Nancy for nigh on four months. He had hoped that it was just a rough patch from their trauma, and that it would even out again eventually.

He couldn't lie either that because of that wedge between him and Nancy, he had been making up for the distance by straying further from Ringo. His neutral expression faltered for a second at the thought of her, the guilt surging through him again when he remembered how he would choose to sit with Nancy at lunch instead of her. How he would find a new song or hear about a new movie, instantly want to show Ringo, show Nancy instead and pretend like her false enthusiasm didn't hurt him slightly.

Steve believed opposites attract, but sometimes he wondered if himself and Nancy were evidence of that. After all, Ringo was more his counterpart than her cousin. Where he was upper middle-class, she hailed from a poorer background. Where she strayed away from the spotlight, he thrived in it, and he sensed Nancy liked having him on his arm walking through the hallways as well. While she didn't care what others thought, he depended on it. But as different as they were, Ringo got Steve in a way that nobody else had. He couldn't remember the last time he had told someone when something was making him sad, until Ringo.

But of course, in the time it had taken him to come to this realisation, she would be leaving.

He smirked in amusement when she tripped slightly over her own feet, eyes wide as she scrambled to prevent her drink from spilling over the top of the cup and beaming brightly at her friend Jessica when she was successful.

Feeling eyes on her, Ringo turned around, eyes slightly hazed from the drinks she had consumed so far. When she met Steve's gaze, her cheeks lifted into a grin so wide and contagious, he couldn't help but smile back, despite his sour mood. Eventually, she went back to dancing, but Steve had kept his eyes on her.

He had wanted to stay sober tonight for their inevitable goodbye, and so he could be the one to drive her home for one last time. And Nancy too, of course.

"Alright, alright!" Jessica had called out suddenly, lifting her bottle of Coke into the air and stepping back to angle it towards Ringo. "This beautiful bitch right here is leaving my side, so before I'm left to rot with the rest of you, I just wanted to say... I'll miss you."

Ringo's cheeriness fell at her friends words, the reminder of her impending departure ate her up. Instantly, she set her red cup down and shot forward, wrapping her arms around Jessica tightly.

Jessica's announcement had triggered a chain reaction, and soon everyone was coming forward to give Ringo a hug, one-by-one. He stiffened slightly at the sight of Jonathan Byers wrapping an arm around her, for what reason - he wasn't aware. Perhaps he would never fully get over the photograph incident and finding him in bed with Nancy, and wished Ringo didn't so easily.

Feeling like a stranger in his own home, Steve let out the smallest of sighs and moved out the back to sit on a deck chair next to the pool. All of the inhabitants had stayed inside of the house, the bitter December air holding them in, so Steve was left entirely alone.

He looked out over the water, thinking of Barb, at that moment. Wondering how she had felt in her last minutes. There was no denying the back yard held an eerie feeling since her disappearance, and it often made him uncomfortable.

Steve wasn't sure how long he had spent gazing in silence, but the sound of the back door sliding open caused him to jump slightly. He turned to look over his shoulder, lips lifting in a forced smile at the sight of Ringo coming out to him.

"It's freezing out here," she complained, shuffling forward and nestling in to sit next Steve at the bottom of the lounge chair. "Why are you outside?"

"Just needed some air," he answered vaguely, ignoring how she leaned against his arm for warmth.

"Thanks for throwing me this party," she spoke gratefully, resting her cheek against his shoulder blade. Steve tried not to flinch at the action, pushing aside the invisible boundary between them to wrap his arm around her shoulders and hold her to him, keeping her nestled into his side and warm.

"I'm really going to miss you, Rin'," he sighed wistfully, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

"I'll miss you too," she whispered, "you big bird looking son of a bitch."

His laughter was instantaneous, reverberating through his body and shaking her slightly from their proximity.

"I got you something," he began suddenly, reaching into his jacket pocket with his free hand and nestling through it until he uncovered the rectangular object.

He unveiled it to her, watching with satisfaction as her expression softened, lifting her hands out and taking the cassette box.

One day, around a week after the Halloween incident, Steve had come to the Wheelers for dinner so Nancy could introduce him properly and appropriately as her boyfriend. His visit had turned into a rather eventful game night with the whole family. Since she had received the fright of her life at Halloween with the fear of losing Mike, Karen had taken to documenting any and all happy moments the family shared with her camera.

She happened to snap one of Steve and Ringo after they had successfully teamed up and beat Mike and Nancy, and Ted and Karen in a game of charades. Admittedly, the picture had looked rather couple-y, with Steve's arm around her as he looked down at her beaming face with a soft expression.