The age old story of two best friends falling in love...
... Only, one's a lab experiment with an entire Upside Down hunting her down, and the other won't leave her side, no matter how hard she tries.
steve harrington x fem oc / season 2 o...
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chapter eighteen r.i.p. the teen dream
🖤
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" THE VOICE OF RUBY's auntie, Carrie Brenner, pounces on Ruby the second she returns home. Her aunt's yet to be seen, and Ruby looks across at Hopper and Eleven, both looking a little awkward. Her dad dropped her off, telling Steve that they needed to have a talk about everything. (Ruby wanted to tell Steve to sneak in her bedroom window, but knew by that point, she'd be too exhausted for it to be worthwhile. She'd rather wait, so that she's ready and can enjoy it more.)
Carrie Brenner walks into the foyer — no, storms — but skids to a halt the second her eyes lay on Hopper. Her dead sister's husband. Her dead sister's alcoholic husband, that was so dependent that she had to adopt her niece. Carrie twists her lips.
"There better be a good reason you're in my house," Carrie declares. She turns to Ruby. "And you! Where were you? What happened?"
"Um..." Ruby drifts off, and she glances towards her dad, because she doesn't really know how to explain all of this. She doesn't really want her auntie to know about her powers — because that means Carrie will know the awful truth of her sister's death, and how it was her dad's fault. It would also make Carrie realise that she was the one driving Ruby to the majority of these 'doctors appointments', which made Ruby's powers stronger (and depending on who you asked, made everything better or worse.) But equally, how can they lie through this?
"There was an incident at the lab," her dad explains. "Ruby was in the woods with, uh... What's his name? The... uh, hair...?"
Both Ruby and Carrie go, "Steve."
"Yeah, Steve." Hopper nods. "But everything's OK now. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to warn you, but I was involved and I know Ruby's history with the lab, so I was worried she'd get into trouble with... what, uh, happened."
"What happened?" says Carrie, raising an eyebrow.
"Shooting," says Hopper. "I was there with the Byers' when it happened."
"Oh," says Carrie, and the idea of a shooting loses her interest the second it doesn't include her niece. Instead, she looks at Ruby. "You were with Steve? I thought you guys..."
Ruby starts to smile, and Carrie begins to grin.
"Oh my God, no way!" Carrie reaches forwards and takes Ruby's hands, jumping up and down. "You guys are friends again?"
"Uh..." Ruby trails off.
Hopper coughs. "You could say that—"
"Dad!" says Ruby, giving him a glare.
Carrie's eyes widen. "What does that mean?"
"I'll tell you later," says Ruby, and she prays to God that her dad doesn't say anything else. It's not as if she's actually dating Steve! They kissed, he said he loved her, and they're going on a date! But they're not boyfriend and girlfriend! Give her a second to breathe!
