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Nancy commented from across the bedroom, tilting her head to the side as she watched her cousin flick mascara onto her eyelashes.

"You think so?" Ringo beamed, snapping the wand back into the tube and turning to Nancy, smoothing her hands over her red dress. "Green looks so much better on you though!"

"Don't start with me, you look amazing," Nancy rolled her eyes playfully, sitting on the bed as she waited for her to get ready.

"Fuck naw! You're cute as hell!" Ringo argued, placing her hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow.

"I told you not to start with me, you beautiful brat!" She stood up from the bed.

"Ohhh! You're so pretty! Noooooo, you're so pretty!" A mocking voice sounded from the doorway, the door having opened a crack to reveal an unimpressed Mike Wheeler. "Will you two get over yourselves? Moms complaining that the living room reeks of teenage boy."

"Get lost, you little asshole!" Nancy huffed, marching over and shoving his head back through the door, closing it swiftly behind her. She blew her hair out of her face as she leaned back against the door, smile dimming. "Hey.. I have to go to Barb's parents house tomorrow for dinner. Usually I'd go with Steve but, well, you know..."

"What do you mean?" Ringo asked confusedly, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm talking about Steve and I breaking up," she commented casually.

If Ringo had a drink in hand, she was sure it would be spat out across the floor.

"W-WHAT?" She spoke in a strangled sounding voice, composing herself to look calmer than she really was.

"Didn't he tell you?" Nancy's eyebrows furrowed.

"No," she shook her head, managing to dull her expression down to the widening of her eyes. "But... why?"

"It just wasn't working out, it was pretty mutual," she shrugged with a soft smile, "but anyways. Will you come with me tomorrow?"

"Nancy, of course I will," Ringo walked to her, wrapping her arm around the girl for a quick reassuring hug.

Despite her exterior, inside she was freaking out at the news. But of course, it didn't change things - not really. Steve was still Nancy's ex, their relationship was still relevant and that in turn, left him untouchable.

Nancy and Ringo finally walked down the stairs towards their friends waiting in the hallway, but as they rounded the corner they realised their audience now extended to Mike's friends too.

They were waiting in a straight line, with Jonathan, Steve, Dustin and Lucas standing, watching the girls with eager eyes. Mike and Will stood at the end out of obligation, far less interested in the girls than the others.

As if on cue, Bust a Move by Young MC began to play on the radio as the girls trailed downstairs, practically moving in slow motion and revelling in the reactions they received.

Nancy looked amazing to be sure, and Jonathan couldn't help but stare, but Steve's gaze, as always, drifted to the blond behind her. Lucas and Dustin smirked wildly, teenage hormones getting the better of them, while Mike rolled his eyes.

"Okay, come on!" The Wheeler boy shouted. "Neither of you are Queen Elizabeth! Get a move on!"

Jonathan was the designated driver for the night, therefore the group would be taking his car. It shocked Ringo that Nancy and Steve were still travelling together, perhaps their breakup had been truly amicable, after all. It was probably the reason Nancy darted to get to the passenger seat before Ringo could, and the blonde allowed it, given the circumstances.

"I don't understand why we're going to this asshole's party," Ringo ranted from the back seat, Jonathan throwing his free hand in the air to show that he agreed.

"Hey, it's a party, right?" Steve beamed, grabbing one of the cans of beer he left by his feet and popping open the tab. For the courage to get through this party, Ringo bent over and grabbed one as well, failing to notice the way Steve eyed her up.

He hated being the one who would have to tell her to stop tonight, but something about Ringo told him that no one had ever told her when she was drinking too much. For she was too young to realise her limits herself yet.

So even if she hated him for a night, Steve decided he'd allow her to get buzzed before he'd step in. And even then, he hoped he'd only have to distract her enough so she wouldn't want to get another drink, instead of outright telling her what to do.

"He makes one move, I'm kicking his ass," Ringo threatened, being careful not to spill beer on either her dress or Jonathan's car seats.

"If he makes one move, I'll kick his ass," Steve added.

"Jessica isn't coming again?" Nancy turned around in her seat to ask Ringo, receiving a shake of a head in response.

"She said, and I quote, 'I'd rather die of a diarrhoea than go near Billy Hargrove.'"

"Jesus," Jonathan grimaced.

✵

As much of a drag as his personality was, Ringo couldn't help but admit - at least to herself, he threw one kickass party. Despite not a semblance of furniture in the house, save for a lone fridge, a boom box and a few kegs of beer, the atmosphere was lively.

The men in the group had made it their mission to steer the girls away from Billy, at their own request. So whenever the boy caught their eye, Steve or Jonathan would swoop in and drag either girl to the kitchen for 'another drink'.

The saviour and the saved this time was Jonathan and Nancy, who darted out to the back yard when they caught Billy giving her a once over. Ringo couldn't help but chuckle into her cup, being only her third beer so far that night.

"He's like a freakin' predator we have to actively escape from," she giggled, leaning against one of now-empty kegs as a sort of seat.

"He reminds me of that movie Alien," Steve offered, causing the blond to snort laughing. "Just a big ol' head, dribbling everywhere and looking for anyone he can bury himself inside of."

"That's disgusting!" She howled with laughter, smacking her hand playfully against his chest. When their conversation cooled to a comfortable silence, an earlier revelation sprang to Ringo's mind, and it was the perfect time to mention it.

"So," she started, swinging her legs against the keg casually and taking another sip. "Nancy told me you guys split up."

His eyes widened immediately, playing off the surprise by taking an overly long gulp of his beer before he could reply.

"Yeah, like, last week," he shrugged.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She pressed, hoping her chipper tone masked how offended she was by the withholding of their break up. Doubts began to fill her mind since Nancy had told her - had Steve kept it a secret in case it would encourage her affections?

"I swung by your house last week," he revealed, appearing embarrassed. "Your mom told me you were sick and it just... it didn't feel like the right time. And every other time I've seen you since then you've been with the rest of the guys, and I didn't wanna blurt out in front of Nancy, 'hey Ringo! Me and Nancy called it quits! Catch me a train to Splitsville!'"

She laughed at his booming voice, her insecurities momentarily quieting for the reminder of her painful weekend to take over. It wasn't often Ringo was too overcome by her emotions that she couldn't even leave her bedroom, but when it did happen, the emotions of that time would leave her with a rather deflated mood for the rest of the week.

"You're okay, right?" He asked, raising his brows with concern. There was something in his voice that had her convinced he knew, but she didn't dare acknowledge it.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she smiled softly, lifting the hand that wasn't holding her cup to nudge her fist against his shoulder.

✵

Ringo had consumed just enough alcohol to leave her with a happy, buzzed sensation. And Steve intended to keep it that way.

The second she finished off her plastic cup, he knocked the empty holder from her hand and dragged her to the dance floor. His positively obscene dance moves weren't something he liked to practice in public. But for Ringo, he'd make an exception.

Thankfully, she didn't realise he was distracting her, so when Take On Me by A-Ha came on, he began to swing her in circles.

Their dancing was absolutely ridiculous, flailing their limbs in every direction with Steve occasionally grabbing her hand to spin her around on the spot. But her bright laughter was music to his ears, so he didn't care who wanted to watch.

Nancy and Jonathan watched comfortably from the sidelines, thankful that the attention wasn't on them - something that made both of them anxious.

The latter of the two had heard of their break up, and couldn't help the soaring sensation that picked up his heart rate when he had. He tried to watch his friends dance, but all he could think about was how Ringo looked absolutely alive dancing with Steve. Jonathan was sure he had never seen her smile brighter, and that was just being friends with Steve.

He could imagine he had a similar look whenever he would glance at Nancy. Ringo had wanted Steve, and he had wanted Nancy - they split up, and he couldn't ignore the inkling of hope building that everything was falling into place.

Jonathan chanced a glance at Nancy, checking to see if she watched the scene with envy. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she looked rather serene, not at all affected as she had been weeks prior. It startled him so much when she spoke again, he realised that he forgot to look away after staring at her for the first time.

"How long do you think it'll take them to get together?" She mused, with a cheeky smile.

"I- o-oh, oh I don't know. I don't think-" he stammered, redirecting his gaze back to Ringo and Steve.

"Save it, I know you know that Ringo likes Steve," she smirked at him knowingly, causing his cheeks to blush. What else did she know? "I wonder how long it will take."

"I don't think it'll happen," he started again after clearing his throat, "Ringo respects you too much."

Nancy narrowed her eyes confusedly, never having taken into account that Ringo would be reluctant about it.

"Lets go get them a drink," she turned and headed into the kitchen, filling two cups from the keg and handing them to Jonathan, before filling another two and keeping them in her own hands.

When they trailed back into the living room, Nancy made eye contact with Ringo and nodded her head to gesture for them to come over.

The blonde smiled and rushed towards her cousin, Steve following suit. The easy smile that had lingered on his lips faltered when he saw Nancy hand Ringo another red cup, hoping that all of his efforts weren't for nothing.

They stood for a minute, casually commenting on the party and sipping beer before they were interrupted by the party's host.

"So, you guys came," he wrapped either arm around both Ringo and Nancy's shoulders, causing their expressions to screw up in disgust and wiggle out of his reach.

"Yeah," Ringo grunted as she moved away, forcing a fake smile, "nice party!"

"Glad you could come!" He eyed her tight-fitting dress, causing Steve to tense beside her, trying to remind himself that his cup was plastic and would be destroyed if he squished it. "Shame your friend couldn't come though."

"Hey, man," Ringo's facade dropped with her smile, turning entirely serious. A look they didn't often see on the blonde. "Jess is a lesbian. She's not interested, alright?"

"Alright," he held his hands in the air, a cheeky glint in his eye that spelled trouble. "Even though, between you and me, you know what they say about lesbians."

The four of them stood up straight immediately, preparing to give him a reaction if he dared to say something derogatory to follow.

"And what's that?" Ringo asked through gritted teeth.

"They just haven't met a guy who can fuck them good."

Their reactions were not instantaneous, in fact, the only one to even appear as if they heard him was Ringo- who's lips stretched into a tight grin. The rest of the group were too frozen in surprise, absorbing that he truly was that much of an asshole.

"Steve?" She turned, voice sugar sweet. "Can you hold my beer? My hands sore."

"Sure?" He agreed in confusion, taking her cup in his free hand. "What's wrong with your-"

Before he could finish his question, little Ringo Wheeler, who barely met Steve Harrington's shoulder, shot her little fist forward and connected it with Billy's nose. It was a move he had seen her do before, but only when she was royally pissed off.

He stumbled back, hands dropping his bottle of beer to fly up and clutch his bleeding nose. Without waiting for his response, Ringo turned swiftly and flew towards the door, steam practically blowing from her ears.

"Asshole," Nancy insulted him, placing her cup down and following after Ringo.

"Fucking loser," Jonathan added, following after Nancy.

That left Steve, who felt that Ringo had enough of a response for the four of them put together. He couldn't help but smile, with pride and with satisfaction that he had gotten what he deserved. From a girl, no less.

"Something funny, Harrington?" Billy threatened, dropping his hand to reveal the small trickle of blood from his nostril.

"Yeah, your whole persona, Hargrove," Steve erupted into chuckles, shaking his head in amusement before dropping both cups, the contents spilling all over the ground. "Stay away from my friends, or else we're gonna have a problem."

Steve jogged to catch up with the group, just as they were walking towards Jonathan's car, throwing an arm over Ringo's shoulders.

"Ringo, that was amazing," he gushed, smiling from ear to ear.

"He got what he deserved," Nancy added, a small satisfactory smirk on her lips.

"I've told you all that just cos I'm small doesn't mean I'm not deadly," she beamed, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "He knew better than to fuck with my best friend."

"Black Mamba over here!" Steve howled, tickling her sides and reducing her to a giggling mess, the four of them clambering into Jonathan's car and calling it an early night.

Julia Wheeler went to sleep with a smile on her face that night, because for the first time in a long time, Ringo came home from a party, sober and radiating happiness.

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