fast car | STEVE HARRINGTON [2]

26. one way or another

tw: mentions of suicide

*also a brief note for anyone that wants to get in the mood for this chapter I highly recommend listening to Memoir #2 by Maria Pseftoga and May Roosevelt!*

"HELLO, JESSICA'S MORGUE SPEAKING. You kill 'em, we chill 'em! May I ask who's calling?" The familiar voice resounded through the phone, in an entertaining enough of a pitch to actually elicit a smile from Ringo Wheeler at her friend. The group had relocated to Nancy's house - their regular den for world-ending situations, where Ringo was currently leaning against the wall and saying her 'goodbyes'.

"Why do you always answer the phone like that?" the blonde chuckled nervously, twiddling the cord of the phone around her index finger and anxiously looking around the kitchen to make sure Nancy's parents weren't listening. They weren't supposed to be home at that point in time, but you never know.

"Eh, it weeds out the prank callers if I prank them first," Jessica responded without a pause. "How are you doing, darling?"

Ringo hesitated, she had already made her mind up that this time Jessica was being kept in the dark about what was going on. Hopefully by the time her own Spring Break began, this would all be over. She didn't see much use in worrying the girl, even if it meant she could end up dying without giving her friend a proper farewell.

The truth of the matter was that in the two hours since Ringo's last 'vision', she had been in a downward mental spiral that seemed to have no end. Vecna's words had seeped over her brain like a fog, dragging out every insecurity and planting new ones to boot. Sitting in the basement with the frazzled teenagers and Steve, the blonde had come to the conclusion that she had put so many people in the firing line without realising it.

After all, if it weren't for her Jessica and Ben would never have been involved with the Upside Down. If she hadn't been going on a date with Steve when Dustin had shown up to her house after his cat was eaten, Steve probably wouldn't have been involved either after the first time. Her mother, sister - countless people she loved yet she hadn't tried hard enough to keep them from the entanglement that was about to claim her life.

"I'm... fine, how's college?" she answered instead, masking the truth and flooding her voice with a chipper tone.

"You know college is a lot of fun," Jessica sighed dramatically, "but there is a real lack of Ringo Wheeler around here."

"Oh please, I'm sure you've fallen in with a group of hardcore college feminists from cities instead of small towns and forgotten all about your band of misfits from back home," Ringo laughed.

"Are you kidding? These guys are so boring I'm starting to miss Steve. I'd give anything to smell the overpowering whiff of Farrah Fawcett spray that he emits every time he turns his head."

Ringo laughed again, feeling lighter for a moment before the reality of the situation began to settle into her bones once more, dimming her smile.

"I really miss you, Jess'," she remarked suddenly, when all she really wanted to do was to cry down the line to her friend and tell her how much she loved her, tell her how much she was sorry and that she hated the fact she wouldn't be around for the day that gay marriage would hopefully become legal and see her get married to Robin. Ringo even had a wedding speech prepared, assuming Jessica would allow her a microphone in the first place.

"That was uncharacteristically soppy for us," Jessica stated, her tone laced with suspicion. "Ringo... is something wrong?"

"No! No, not at all!" The blonde exclaimed a little too quickly. "I'm just in my emotions this week and I wanted to thank you for being such a good friend through all of this."