Marsha apologised profusely, probably for the fourth time, as she placed down the bucket of KFC on the table. "I was gonna make that baked ziti you two like so much, but I just forgot about the time. And before I knew it, oh my god it's five o clock."

"It's fine!" Nancy assured with a kind smile, while Ringo nodded her head and reached for a chicken leg.

"It's great!" She beamed as she messily took a bite of the breaded chicken, "if it didn't make my chin break out like a World War I would eat KFC every day."

The Holland parents smiled politely, chuckling in amusement at the blonde's words. They seemed to be in much better spirits than usual today, which made the dinner itself ten times more bearable.

"So," Nancy began, pushing her food with her fork. "I noticed a 'For Sale' sign in your yard. Is that the neighbours, or...?"

The two shared a look, Marsha visibly excited at the news she was about to share as she set her drink down and leaned in.

"We hired a man named Murray Bauman," she explained. "He was an investigative journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times."

"He's pretty well known," her husband fished out a card from his pocket to hand to Ringo, who was slowly setting down her half-eaten chicken as she realised what they were insinuating.

"Anyway, he's freelance now and he agreed to take the case."

Ringo slyly handed the card to Nancy and used the interaction to make eye contact with her, their glance speaking volumes.

"Um," Nancy hummed, swallowing harshly as a lump began in her throat. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Means he's gonna do what that lazy son of a bitch Jim Hop-... sorry. What the Hawkins Police haven't been capable of doing. It means we have a real detective on the case."

Ringo reached for her coke and brought it to her lips, silently wishing it was somehow laced with vodka as she proceeded to down the whole thing out of nervousness.

"We're going to find our Barb," Marsha added, a light in her eyes that broke Nancy's heart.

"He already has leads, by God, he's worth every penny."

Every word they spoke weighed heavier on the two girls, but perhaps so much more so on Nancy. Ringo attended these dinners to support her, after all. As much as she sympathised for Barb, she hadn't even really known the girl well enough to be as crushed by her disappearance as Nancy was.

The girl next to her dropped her gaze to her hands, leaving her cousin worried.

"So you're... selling your house to pay for him?" Ringo deduced, sighing softly in pity.

"Oh don't worry about us, sweetie. We're fine. More than fine. For the first time, in a long time, we're hopeful."

Her words were the breaking point for Nancy, who began to stammer a quick apology and stood up from the table to dart off towards the bathroom. Ringo's eyes followed her until she was out of sight, anxiously chewing her lip as she thought of how upset she would be about this revelation.

While the town slowly began to forget about Barbara Holland, Nancy's guilt only exceeded tenfold as the anniversary approached.

"Is she alright?" Barb's father pressed, chewing into a breast.

"Oh yeah," Ringo waved off, shaking her head. "She just gets upset when the topic of Barb is brought up."

"They were such good friends," Marsha remarked sadly, nodding her head ever so slightly.

"Funny joke now that you mention KFC," Ringo falsely laughed, trying desperately to avert the attention away from Nancy's reaction. "Why did the rooster go to KFC?"

She continued when they didn't answer, "because he wanted to see the chicken strip."

Instead of laughing, they visibly stiffened in discomfort from her joke, leaving Ringo chuckling even harder out of embarrassment. Face bright red and the urge to run away overcoming her, she stood up and pointed to the bathroom.

"Just gonna go... check... ya know."

Nancy had left the door unlocked, thankfully, she was only using the bathroom to escape from the dinner as Ringo had burst in unannounced. The teen closed the door after her, furrowing her brows in worry as she spotted her cousin seated at the edge of the bathtub, crying into her hands.

"Nancy?" She asked tentatively, approaching her slowly, "are you okay?"

All she could manage through her sobs was a shake of her head, a signal enough for Ringo to plop down beside her and wrap an arm around her tightly.

"I know, I know," she murmured comfortingly, rocking them from side to side gently.

"It's all my fault, they're gonna lose their house because we can't tell them," she spoke between heaves of breathing, cheeks soaked with tears.

"I know," Ringo whispered. "But there's nothing we can do... we signed a contract, Nancy. And who knows, maybe this guy will find out and we won't have to be the one to tell them?"

Nancy stiffened, making her concerned that she had said the wrong thing. Clearly, she had, as Nancy shuffled away from her hold and stood up swiftly. The brunette swiped her cheeks and adjusted her sweater, trying to appear as presentable as she could.

"Are you okay?" Ringo prompted, eyes focusing on her face.

"Fine," she responded in a clipped voice, indicating the exact opposite. But before she could ask further, Nancy walked swiftly out of the bathroom and returned to the table, as if nothing had happened.

✵

It had been two days since Steve Harrington had seen Ringo Wheeler.

Two days since they had shared their first kiss.

Two days since he had last spoken to her.

It wasn't from lack of trying, he had called the Wheeler residence multiple times and each time only received an answer from her mother. Of course Julia grew frustrated eventually, and threatened if he didn't stop calling that she'd get a dog and train it to attack him on sight.

Like mother, like daughter.

It was now the day of Halloween, and the party they had intended on going to fell that night. Unaware if they were still attending as a group or not at all, Steve seeked out the one person who would sort the situation out - Nancy.

He found her in the school library, where he expected to find her as he knew she had a free period at this time. He crossed the room quickly when he spotted her sharpening her pencil, but his determination quickly flipped to concern when he began to notice she didn't stop sharpening it.

She appeared to be in a daze of some sort, staring off into the distance and forgetting where she was. Steve called her name repeatedly, and brought her back to reality by gripping her arm when she didn't answer.

"Are you alright?" He asked immediately, head tilting in concern. Nancy didn't answer right away, which was enough for him to use his grip to steer her into an empty study room that was close by them.

Just because they weren't dating, didn't mean he didn't still care for her. Nor did it mean that he wasn't able to tell when something was bothering her.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He demanded in a soft tone, waiting patiently for her to open up.

"I just... I can't keep doing this," she admitted, shaking her head in defeat.

"Doing what?" He pressed.

"Pretending like everything's okay..." Nancy confessed, taking him by surprise. He wondered briefly if her feelings had something to do with him, but she followed after with an explanation. "Barbara... It's like everyone forgot. It's like nobody cares except her parents. And now they're selling their house to pay for a PI and they're going to spend the rest of their lives looking for her. It's destroying them."

"I know, I know, okay?" He tried to calm her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I get it. But listen... I'm sorry Nance, there's nothing you can do about it."

"I can tell them the truth," she persisted.

"You know we're not allowed to do that."

"We don't have to tell them everything!" She continued, desperate for at least one person to take her side on this.

"Nancy, they could put you in jail. Okay? Or worse, they could destroy your family. We shouldn't even be talking about this, they can do anything to us. Just think about what you're saying, please."

She shook her head quietly, holding back the building tears in her eyes and trying to keep it together in front of Steve. He didn't understand, nor did Ringo. They never would.

"Look... let's just go to Tina's party tonight, wear the costumes Ringo is forcing us into and just pretend that we're stupid teenagers who don't have to go through shit like this, okay?"

Nancy looked at him incredulously, finding it hard to believe that he was genuinely mentioning a party while she was confessing how she truly felt.

But she agreed anyway, pushing down her emotions like she always did.

✵

"Oh, Mike!" Ringo gushed as he opened the front door, a dry expression on his face as always. "You're absolutely adorable. Look at you with your portable vacuum cleaner."

"Portable vacuum cleaner?" He echoed in offence. "This is why you need to watch movies that we suggest on Friday nights, maybe then you wouldn't fit the blonde stereotype so well."

"I was joking," she glared at him, shoving his head lightly with her hand as she stepped inside the hallway. "I hope that thing didn't suck out the last essence of your personality."

"Ringo!" Dustin exclaimed, hopping off the couch he was seated on, wearing an almost identical costume. "Daphne from Scooby Doo? Dope costume. You really suit her."

"Thanks, Dustin!" She beamed, tucking the hair from her ginger wig behind her ears.

They had agreed to meet at Nancy's house so they could leave together, with a similar plan having seemingly been set up for Mike and his trick-or-treat escapades.

"Hey," Nancy greeted, her tone cooler than usual as she left the kitchen, donned in an orange jumper and skirt.

"Hey, Velma," Ringo replied excitedly, practically bouncing with happiness. Halloween was her favourite time of the year, after all, and costumes were her favourite aspect of it.

"Jessica and Steve are already here," Nancy pointed behind her with her thumb, and sure enough, the two appeared thereafter.

"There's my good girl!" Ringo called sarcastically when she saw Jessica, who was dressed in a Great Dane Dog costume and wearing the sourest expression she had ever seen on the girl.

She clapped her hands on her knees and whistled at her, only pissing off her friend even further.

"Bite me, bitch," Jessica spat, not realising that Karen was directly behind her and that her eyes had widened to the size of saucers at her language.

"She's not trained yet," Ringo smirked and waved at Karen, "so are we just waiting for Johnny?"

"He said he might meet us there," Nancy explained, grabbing her coat and preparing to leave.

"Might?" Ringo repeated, rolling her eyes. "If Jessica The Hermit Richards can come out, Johnny boy can come out."

"Keep going, I'll snatch that cheap ass wig from your scalp," Jessica bantered in return, heading towards the front door and straight for Steve's car.

"Hey, Fred!" Ringo smiled brightly, her attitude confusing him entirely. She was acting as if nothing had happened, which he supposed was better than ignoring him. He'd be lying if he said it didn't hurt to see her avoid the subject, but he figured having a small dose of Ringo was better than no dose at all.

"Uh, hey Ringo," he waved awkwardly, half running to the driver's seat. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the cars occupants had become accustomed to the blonde taking the passenger seat, and left it free for her to sit in.

✵

"You know what I think, guys," Ringo slurred her words, waving her cup through the air.

It was safe to say the blonde was more than tipsy, as Steve's usual techniques he employed to keep the girl from drinking too much weren't working that nights She refused every offer to dance with him and continuously sipped on her drink, staying quiet when he tried to talk.

It didn't help that Nancy was reaching oblivion as well, their increased intoxication a result of egging each other on. Steve had his hands full with the two of them, especially considering Nancy didn't often drink, Jonathan had yet to arrive and Jessica was flirting with a random girl by the kitchen.

"I think that you're my bestest friends. Like, you guys are like the Fallopian tube to my ovary, you know?" She rambled, her eyes glazed over.

"That's really nice," Steve commented, full of sarcasm.

"Or the sack to my testicles-"

"Oh wow," Nancy hummed, nose crinkled in disgust. Her drunk speech was interrupted by two of the biggest assholes (in Ringo's opinion) in Hawkins approaching the group - Tommy and Billy.

Both of them were bad enough as individuals, but together? They were unbearable.

"We got ourselves a new Keg King, Harrington," Tommy boasted, slapping his hands against Billy's leather-clad shoulders. Steve looked rather peeved by the situation, straightening up and standing in a face off with Billy, the two sizing each other up.

"Wow, I'm crushed," he drawled, breathing a chuckle. Nancy rolled her eyes in annoyance, and boredom, turning to leave their small group and headed towards the kitchen area.

"You know I heard a lot about this King Steve when I arrived," Billy announced, his voice louder than normal so everyone in the near vicinity could hear. "I've been here a couple weeks now, gotta say I'm disappointed!"

Tommy was grinning eagerly beside him, happy to see someone was willing to put Steve in his place. The two's friendship hadn't mended properly since the previous Halloween, and the more Steve hung out with Ringo and co., the less respect Tommy held for him.

"Is that why your face is always red, Tommy?" Ringo tilted her head, her happy-go-lucky mood fading quickly to defensive. "It's shoved five feet up Hargrove's ass?"

"Watch it, Wheeler," he threatened, visibly insulted and taking a step forward. Steve followed suit and angled his body in front of Ringo, ready to protect her if needs be.

"Ooooooo," she rolled her eyes, twiddling her fingers in the air and screwing up her expression. "I'm positively shaking."

With a giggle at how pathetic she considered them to be, she hooked her arm around Steve's elbow and half-dragged/half-led him away from them.

"I swear," he stared to rant, hitting his left fist into his right palm. "All I need is one swing."

"No offence, sweetie," she cooed, patting him on the cheek with her free hand. "Even Jonathan laid you on your ass."

There was a moment afterward where her hand lingered on his cheek, eyes making contact with his as they stopped dead in the middle of the living room. He froze, not wanting her to pull away, because if her gaze and intensity were anything to believe she was about to kiss him again.

Movement behind Steve caught her eye, and that was all it took to break their moment, Ringo pulling her hand abruptly away as if she had been burned.

The quiet longing she held for him for months had increased tenfold since he kissed her. All she could think about was his lips, what they felt like, how much she wanted to do it again. He was a great kisser, no doubt about it, but there was a certain emotion to this kiss that Ringo never felt before. It was the night previously she had realised what it was - and the answer was, she actually liked Steve.

Any guy she had been with previously - her feelings felt forced, they had kissed her out of pure lust, because she was pretty. And Ringo had kissed them back because she felt as if she had to.

But Steve was different. He always had been different.

The blonde teenager made a beeline for her cousin just as she filled her cup up from the punch bowl, with Steve sighing audibly as he noticed how quickly she began to sink the contents.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Take it easy, Nance," he demanded, holding his hand out to stop her. Ringo didn't move to stop her, she was just as drunk as Nancy was, and the second she moved out of the way she was about to do the same thing.

"Why?" Nancy bit back, full of attitude. "We're just being stupid teenagers for the night. Wasn't that the deal?"

"What's going on?" Ringo demanded, but neither of them answered her. Nancy proceeded to drink another half a cup and left then, leaving Ringo confused and Steve apparently guilty.

His change in demeanour made her antsy, a thousand insecurities screaming through her head - did Nancy and Steve get back together?

Deciding that she didn't necessarily want to be around him right now, she swiftly turned around and made her way towards Jessica, who was still talking to a dark haired girl, as she had for the past hour.

"Jessie," she groaned, leaning against the girl's side and resting her cheek against her costume-covered shoulder.

"Woah," the girl dropped her conversation to turn to her friend, "what's wrong?"

"I hate feelings," she murmured childishly, pouring her lips for effect.

"You hate my feelings too apparently, you little cockblock," Jessica chuckled jokingly, wrapping an arm around her and giving her a small hug.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She stood up straight, mouth falling in surprise as she realised her interrupting, guilt flooding through her.

Before Jessica could tell her it was a joke, that she was always more than welcome to interrupt anything when her feelings were involved, Ringo darted off again.

She was actively avoiding the conversation with Steve, despite knowing full well that he wanted to have it. It wasn't more so that she was scared of him, she was scared of how much feeling she had poured into that kiss.

Ringo Wheeler liked Steve Harrington. Accepting it didn't help, nor did avoiding him. And kissing him until she was breathless certainly did not help either.

Whether it was newfound optimism, or the alcohol, Ringo had a rather outlandish idea of telling the very person she didn't want to find out. Perhaps if Nancy knew about her feelings, she would approve of a relationship and ease some of her guilty conscience. And then pigs would fly.

So when the girl next passed by her, sporting a newfound red stain on her orange sweater, Ringo promptly followed her into the bathroom and shut the door behind them.

Nancy had gotten wasted since she last saw her, while Ringo was still merely tipsy.

"What do you want?" The brunette grumbled, trying to wet a cloth with her fumbling hands.

"I'm gonna help you," she answered, lightly pushing her to the side and wetting the cloth thoroughly. Ringo turned to Nancy and reached for the end of her sweater and started to vigorously scrub it.

"Nancy, it's not coming off," she sighed, dropping the towel into the sink after her hand started to cramp.