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Steve couldn't sleep. He spent the rest of the night thinking of ways to apologize and make it up to Ronnie. First thing in the morning, Steve headed straight to the store to grab flowers then drove to Ronnie's house. He was relieved when her car was still in the driveway, making his way to the front door when Robin and Dustin stormed out of the house.
"How pissed is she?" Steve greets them.
Both Robin and Dustin walking straight past Steve, giving him the impression that Ronnie was super pissed.
"Super pissed then?" Steve asks, turning around to them, and they finally stop them their place, jerking around to glare at him.
"She's gone." Robin answers dryly.
"Where'd she go? Her car is still here." Steve asks.
Dustin scoffs, rolling his eyes at him. "Don't you get it? She's gone. She left early." Dustin spits at him.
"What? What do you mean gone?" Steve starts to panic.
"She flew to California early you idiot! She was so upset that she didn't want to be here anymore, so she just left." Robin explains angrily.
"She's coming back right?" Steve asks lowly.
"Yeah Steve. She's coming back, but I just don't know if she's coming back to you." Robin adds, finally bringing her voice back down.
Robin and Dustin riding off in their bikes, leaving Steve speechless, and alone on the driveway.
✧✧✧
For the rest of that week, Steve spent every chance he got apologizing and begging Dustin and Robin for a phone number to reach Ronnie. He eventually won them over, seeing how desperate and sorry Steve genuinely was.
Ronnie spent every night falling asleep to Steve's voice. Listening to his voicemails at the end of her days, when she could listen or had the ability to listen to them.
"Ronnie, I'm sorry it took me so long to call. Robin and Dustin finally gave me your parents' number. I am so sorry, please come home."
"Hey Ronnie, I miss you. Let's talk about this, we can work things out. Call me back."
"Me again, I don't know if you're getting these messages but... I was an idiot, and I don't know what else to do besides say I'm sorry."
"Veronica... We're gonna be okay. I-I don't care how long you're gone, at long as you come back to me."
School started in Hawkins weeks ago, but Ronnie wasn't missing much, besides being with her friends, and that sucked the most. Her parents finally agreeing she could go back to Hawkins, Ronnie didn't hesitate to call Robin right before her flight home.
"Robin, hey, it's me, Ronnie. I don't know if you left for school or not yet but, I'm on my way home and I'll come straight to Family Video to see you at work. Okay, bye dingus, see you soon." Ronnie says onto the payphone.
She was eager to get back home, to her room, to her friends, and to her boyfriend. If there was still a chance that he was even waiting for her, but she held onto every word of his last message while she was away. No matter how long she was gone, as long as she went back to him.
Rushing inside the house with her things, not even making it to her room, she dropped her things in the living room and grabbing her keys.
"Honey, you're home!" Her Aunt Claudia greeted her, surprised on the couch.
"Yeah, hi Aunt Claudia, bye Aunt Claudia, I'll be home later!" Ronnie replied rushing out the door, not even hearing what her aunt replied to her on her way out to her car.
Although the warm breeze and hot sun in California kissed her golden skin, she missed the small town of Hawkins. The small town where everyone knew everyone, but it was the town where her favorite people were all together. Her eyes lit up when she saw Steve's car parked in the front of Family Video, parking like a maniac, running inside the store, searching for Steve behind the counter, only seeing Robin.
"Ronnie, you're home." Robin announces, looking at her friend clearly shocked, giving her a nervous smile.
"Where's Pretty Boy?" Ronnie asked happily, with Robin's mouth open with no words coming out, Ronnie's smile dropped when she saw Steve walking in from the back room with a blonde following behind him.
"Call me Steve."
"Um, yeah, okay." Steve responded, watching the blonde walk past the counter, and that was when his eyes met with Ronnie's.
He could see the disappointment in her eyes, filling with tears, blinking before they could drop and storming out the door. Steve looks over at Robin behind the counter, but she has no words either and runs after Ronnie. Running around to the side of the building seeing Ronnie walking to her car, still not believing he was right in front of his eyes.
"Ronnie." Steve says, but she continues to walk, ignoring him completely.
"Veronica!" He adds, she stops in her place, knowing calling her by her full name would get to her.
She turns around slowly, her heart breaking and mending at the same time just looking at his beautiful face paired with his infamous voluminous hair. It was crazy that she had only been gone for only 2 months at most and his face had matured significantly.
"It isn't what it looked like." Steve mentions, walking slowly towards her until he was 2 feet away from her.
"Really? Because from where I was standing it looked like you were showing her the back room and she slipped you her number." Ronnie counters, crossing her arms.
He throws his head back, putting his hands on his hips, getting the smack of remembrance of how sassy she was. He missed it, but also hated it.
"She just wanted to see the back stock of movies, I swear, and it isn't like I was going to call her."
"I don't care how long you're gone, as long as you come back to me." Ronnie recalls. "You said that, or do you not remember all the girls you say that to?"
"You left, and weren't returning any of my calls. I didn't even know you were going to come back! You were gone for like 2 months." Steve argues.
Ronnie scoffs, running her hands through her hair. "What and you couldn't keep it in your pants for 2 months?"
"I wasn't doing anything, and I haven't done anything. Please, can we just talk after my shift?" Steve pleads.
"How many?" Ronnie brings up.
He furrows his brows unsure what she was referring to.
"How many girls since I left, Harrington?" Ronnie adds.
His hesitation gives enough of an answer than she needs, rolling her eyes and turning around back to her car. Steve runs around to her window, resting his arms on the top of her car as he leans into her window.
"Ronnie, please." He begs.
"I never want to talk to you again." She spits, unable to even look him in the eye and turning her body to reverse her car, forcing Steve off.
Wiping her tears as she drives off, leaving Steve throwing his hands up in frustration, storming back into the store.
