Ringo decided. When the news broke of the sinister happenings going on in Hawkins Laboratory, they were forced to admit their part in Barb's death and cover-up.

She felt guilty for not helping Nancy before, for choosing to put her fear of breaching a contract over the loss of an innocent teenage girl. Barb's parents were heartbroken at her funeral, but ultimately, they were better off knowing the truth, before they ran themselves into debt by paying investigators.

The scene of her funeral was a tragic one, her mother's soft cries reaching Ringo's ears as she nestled into Steve's side. She didn't know Barb as well as Nancy, but that didn't stop her from feeling the guilt that was hanging over herself, Steve and Nancy.

They were inside the house when it happened, after all. Mere feet away from potentially being able to save her life. If Ringo had drank less, perhaps she'd have woken up to sounds. As if sensing her thoughts, Steve squeezed her side with the hand he had wrapped around her waist, grabbing her attention.

"You alright?" He whispered, eliciting a soft smile of reassurance and a nod.

Barb's parents grew more emotional as the casket was slowly lowered inside, a bouquet of white lilies on top - her favourite. Following Nancy's lead, the couple walked towards the mound of dirt beside the grave, reaching down and picking up a handful to gently toss inside.

It was such a small ceremony, but Ringo supposed Nancy had been right. Everyone really was starting to forget about Barb, now that the novelty of her unusual death was wearing off once again.

Ringo gently detached from Steve, giving him a nod towards Nancy that explained her actions as she slipped away to her cousin's side, linking their elbows together. The Wheelers, with Steve following closely behind, headed towards their respective cars.

"How are you doing?" Ringo murmured to her cousin, keeping her voice low. Nancy shook her head, it was clear from her under eyes she had been crying, but she held a somewhat peacefulness to her expression.

"Better than I thought," she admitted, sighing wistfully. "I'm just glad we got to give her the goodbye she deserved."

"Me too," Ringo agreed, nudging the side of their heads together in a side-hug.

When they reached the parking lot, Ringo let go of her arm. She had arrived here with Steve, but wasn't exactly sure she wanted Nancy to be alone tonight.

"Do you want me to come with you? Have a girl's night?" She suggested.

"No, no," Nancy shook her head tiredly, "I think I'd rather just spend the night alone, if that's okay?"

"Of course," Ringo nodded, starting to retreat backwards in Steve's direction. "Will I see you at school tomorrow?"

"Sure, can't wait," she drawled sarcastically, lips lifting in a half-attempt of a smile. Steve placed his hand on Ringo's lower back as she neared closer, opening the passenger door for her.

When they were safely inside and out of hearing distance from Barb's family, Ringo allowed her shoulders to slump, hand rubbing her forehead to soothe the headache that was forming.

Steve grimaced at the sight of her, knowing she was still reeling from the events at Halloween and her own father's death anniversary was up and coming. But he knew well how to handle his girlfriend by now - and that was by playful distraction.

"So, I think it's my turn to pick the movie for Wheeler Friday's tomorrow night," he mused, starting the car into drive. "I was thinking Sixteen Candles."

His words managed to break the essence of a smile on her lips.

"What?" She laughed, looking at him incredulously. "That's a chick flick, you know?"

"And what, Ringo?!" He slapped his hand over his chest, faking offence. "Can't a guy watch a good chick flick?! What happened to your feminist rhetoric?"

"Well maybe I'm the one who doesn't want to see it, hm!" She started to laugh, already becoming distracted from her thoughts. "Maybe I want to watch a good ol' horror movie that will give the kids the shakes!"

"Ringo Wheeler," his eyes widened dramatically, "it is El's first Wheeler Friday, hasn't she been through enough?"

"Clearly not, because Mike's asking her to the Snow Ball dance," she snickered, visibly relaxing in the seat and crossing her legs.

"Ah, the Snow Ball dance," he hummed in thought, lips curving with amusement. "Good times. Tommy tried to spike the punch one year."

The conversation lulled into a comfortable silence, but the events planned for that evening soon had Steve frowning in thought. It was bad timing, they recognised, to hold the official 'meet the mother' dinner on the night of Barb's funeral. But it was the only night that accommodated both Julia and Steve.

Steve adored his girlfriend, but that feeling was far overshadowed by his fear of her mother. It wasn't that he thought Julia was a generally mean woman, but he was well aware that her approval meant the world to Ringo.

That, and Julia liked to intimidate Steve as if she were ten feet taller than him, rather than a relatively small single mother.

"What am I supposed to wear tonight? A suit?" He asked nervously, eyes casting down to the black one he had currently donned for the funeral, wondering if that was suitable.

"You do know my mother will roast you like a chicken if you arrive in a suit," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Just wear something casual, it's my Mom, not the First Lady."

"I'm not used to meeting the 'mom', okay?" He scraped his hand through his ever-growing hair. "I'm used to climbing through windows and avoiding parents."

"Well I wouldn't recommend climbing my window," she scrunched up her nose, "I'm on the fifth floor."

"Hey, a man will do what he has to do to get some," he held his hand over his chest in defence, eliciting a laugh from her and a gentle slap against his shoulder.

✵

Julia beamed the second the door opened, looking far more friendlier than Steve had ever seen before. The bouquet of yellow tulips in his hand clutched tight enough to whiten his knuckles, as he forced his cheeks into a smile and outstretched his hand.

"I told her to be nice," Ringo's voice rang out from further inside, her figure appearing suddenly behind her mother. Julia's stiff posture broke with amusement after a moment, taking the flowers from his hands and leaving the door open for him to enter.

"Lighten up, Steve," she called back, moving to fetch a vase and fill it with water. "Thanks for the flowers, but I'm not Cinderella's stepmom. Yeesh."

"You sure about that?" Ringo asked teasingly, after pressing a kiss in greeting to Steve's cheek. "You sure do work me like a slave."

"Slave! Ha!" Julia laughed once, full of sarcasm as she set the flowers into the newly filled pot. "There are spiders in this house who do a better job of shifting dust by simply moving."

Steve was still quiet since arriving, running a hand over his coiffed hair and awkwardly fidgeting. He didn't want to interrupt their banter. In truth, he didn't want to do anything at all that would make him the centre of attention. This was, after all, his first time sitting down to dinner with a girlfriend's parent. Nancy's parents had settled for casual 'hello's' in the hallway.

"Sit down, Steve," Julia urged, nodding towards the dining room table that he all but flew towards. Ringo laughed at his nervous demeanour as she slid in beside him. "I've made a pot roast, is that alright?"

Steve made an executive decision at that point to respond to Julia's humour with comments of his own, hoping it would ease the awkwardness of the night.

"Actually, I only eat fish on Thursdays," he faked a sad smile, shrugging with regret. Julia's eyes twinkled at his newfound relaxed attitude. "You'll send my digestive system totally out of whack."

"Oh, forgive me!" She cried out dramatically. "Let me just go down to the lake on the other side of town and hand-spear your dinner!"

Steve laughed heartily, sipping from the glass of water that was left at his place at the table. It had been a while since he had been at a family dinner. With his parent's flakiness, any time either his mother or father was present, the other wasn't.

"Do you want a beer, Steve?" Julia called from the kitchen, Ringo jumping up to help her carry in the dishes of food. Steve's eyes widened desperately at his girlfriend, who kept her expression blank in order to keep up the rouse.

"Hey, now," he played along, holding his hands up, "you're a wonderful host. But I'm afraid I must obey the law!"

"Right answer," Julia confirmed, carrying in a large plate containing the pot roast, while Ringo brought another with mashed potatoes.

"I told you, mother," Ringo shrugged, placing it down and returning to her seat. "We're law-abiding minors. Steve and I spend our days doing entirely legal things, like solving world hunger and definitely not drinking at parties."

"Oh no," Julia sighed, concealing a smirk. "I couldn't have a daughter who drinks and smokes weed. I got the kid that grabs an axe and tries to stop inter-whatevery monsters."

"Inter-dimensional," Steve offered. "And by the way, Mrs Wheeler, I just wanted you to know that I'd never let anything happen to Ringo. I'd put her first, always."

"Don't worry, kid," Julia nodded, "I've already told Ringo to let you die first if it comes to it."

Although her words were spoken in a serious tone, the trio broke into a round of laughter, delving into the meal the Wheeler mother prepared for them.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Ringo excused herself, wiping her mouth and sliding her chair backwards to leave the table.

Julia waited until she heard the sound of the bathroom door close before speaking again, her serene expression an exact representation of her mood.

"You're good for each other," she commented, a proud look in her eye as she glanced him over. And for her, it was true. Julia didn't like to feed into the narrative that Ringo needed to be saved by someone, but the two played off of each other's characters perfectly - it was of mutual benefit.

It was the only wish she would have asked for as a mother, for her daughter to meet someone who respected her, adored her and was completely frightened by Julia herself.

"Thanks, Julia," Steve murmured, looking towards her with gratitude. As far as 'meeting the mom' went, he assumed this was a successful attempt.

Until of course the serious moment was broke by Julia again, pointing her dinner knife at him across the table.

"Get her pregnant and you'll never use your pecker again," she grinned, almost psychopathically. Steve chuckled to mask his discomfort, but he supposed Julia's humour was something he'd grow accustomed to, now that he was becoming closer with their small, close-knit family.

✵

"Jess'," Ringo rolled her eyes, carefully exiting the car after her friend pulled into park outside of Nancy's, "that's just a rumour. You don't know Miss Snyder and Mr Pendercrast were caught together in the disability bathroom."

"Why do you have to ruin it?" Jessica scoffed, tucking her hands into her jacket as they approached the front door together. "Let me live, it'll make English so much more interesting imagining him bursting in and declaring his love for her - sweaty pit stains and all."

"Hey, Wheeler!" A voice called from behind, catching the duo's attention. Jessica's eyes bugged out upon seeing Chief Hopper at the end of the driveway, one foot out of his truck, a familiar figure in the passenger seat.

"I'll catch up," Ringo told Jessica, who sauntered onward inside with a shrug. She returned to the bottom of the drive, grinning excitedly at Hopper, who had clearly been won over in letting El leave the house for one night.

"Who's that girl? Why would you invite someone outside of the circle? What if she finds out?" He whisper-shouted, a panicked look in his eyes that could only be described as fatherly worry. Ringo found it rather endearing.

"Oh, Jess?" Ringo pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, "she already knows, she's cool with it." Hopper raised an eyebrow at her choice of words.

"'Cool with it'," he echoed, "are you aware what was in that contract you signed when it told you to keep your mouth shut?"

"I had to tell Jessica," Ringo rolled her eyes, "I wasn't risking our friendship for the sake of some conspiracy coverup. We can trust her, she's alright."

"This was a bad idea," he refuted, shaking his head in frustration.

"Oh my god, Chief," Ringo groaned, gesturing through the window for El to exit the car and follow. "We're watching movies, not skewering her over a pit. Jesus, calm down."

"Fine," he huffed, against his own better judgement. "But I'm coming back at eleven thirty, and she better be okay."

"Of course," Ringo deadpanned, "we'll usually have dessert by then, but we may feel a little full up. It's been a while since we had a human sacrifice for dinner."

El cornered the car, an excited grin on her face as she trailed towards Ringo, anxiously waiting to go inside.

Ringo placed a hand on her shoulder and steered them both towards the front entrance, until a final call from Hopper stopped the blonde once again.

"By the way," he began, slipping his Sheriff's hat back on his head comfortably, "it's Jane, now."

Ringo nodded, giving him a small wave before continuing their trek. Giggling as she reached the door knob, she looked down at 'Jane' with furrowed brows.

"I sure hope he's talking about you. I've always seen him as more of a Janice than a Jane."

✵

Multiple parties in the room were acting significantly awkward, which just wasn't sitting right with Ringo Wheeler.

She herself was curled comfortable into Steve's arms, the two taking up a bean bag stashed in the corner of the basement. The kids had formed a circle around the television on the ground, but Jane was on opposite ends to Max - purposefully, Ringo noticed.

Jonathan and Nancy were finally sitting somewhat closer to each other, only reaching that point halfway through the film. They would never be the type of couple to openly display affection, but that was okay. They still liked each other, anyone could see that.

Jessica, meanwhile, was taking up a mound of cushions and blankets in the opposite end of the room, snoring soundly. The film did little to entice her, nor did it engage Ringo, but the latter liked to watch those around her nonetheless.

"You've never had a Coke?" Mike's voice met her ears, as he wore incredulous expression while angling an unopened can towards her. Jane looked visibly uncomfortable, with the object itself rather than Mike's words.

"Lighten up, dude," Steve called out in her defence, "it's not like she spent all her life in a cell or anything."

"Nice one," Ringo commented drily, "really sensitive."

"Okay," Mike dropped it, reaching for another can of soda instead, "how about 7UP?"

When Jane didn't have the same reaction as before, he took that as a positive sign in passing it to her. Their fingers brushing together caused a slight fumble, leading to the can tumbling out of Mike's grip and rolling in the opposite direction.

"Oh, I've got it," Max called out, gripping onto the metal can and standing up, stepping towards Jane to hand it to her directly.

"Thanks," Jane took it from her hands, still eyeing her wearily, although she was growing steadily more comfortable in her presence than before.

They'll be friends eventually, Ringo thought to herself. She'd make sure of that.

"Oh my god," Dustin whined, tossing an M&M at the screen, "who the hell put this on? We've got to stop letting the girls pick."

"Um!" Nancy voiced, "Steve picked the movie, so watch yourself!"

"Hey! I was just trying to pick something sweet for Max and Jane's first night!"

His mention of their names garnered their attention, the two girls fixing glares directly at him.

"Let's play a game instead?" Lucas suggested.

"Charades?" Jonathan offered, more awake now that everyone's focus was away from the movie.

"God help us," Ringo muttered, climbing off from Steve's lap to find the whiteboard.