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RUBY BAKER WAS CURSED. No matter how hard she tried to craft the perfect life, she always found a way to screw things up. Yet, for Ruby, the curse began the moment she decided to sleep with her best friend — Steve Harrington.

Before that, though, Ruby had found a blessing within her life. Having caught her stepmother cheating, prompting a separation that saved two children from a toxic environment, Ruby could not see anything going wrong in her life. Though, from the separation, came the news that they were moving away from Hawkins. Ruby could not comprehend the thought of leaving her best friend, but it was a fresh start that the three Baker's truly needed.

Leaving Hawkins meant one thing: a party. Ruby was determined to make it a night to remember but didn't imagine the night being defined by two teenage boys. The first: Eddie Munson, who had crept into Ruby's life after buying a few drugs here and there from him, had become a series of secret hook-ups (even Ruby had been surprised) before she had invited him to her party. Yet, Eddie had not come to Ruby's downfall, which had probably promoted her second screw-up: Steve Harrington.

Whether it was the alcohol or the way her heart had always thudded for Steve, Ruby had made the foolish decision to sleep with her best friend, believing that it had meant something. At that moment, Ruby's curse had struck: Steve had used her like every other girl with Ruby moving to hear that he had found himself a new girl. Then, months later, the letters and calls trickled to a stop with Ruby losing her best friend from one foolish mistake.

Two years later, Ruby had given in to the curse, believing she was nothing more than a nuisance to those around her, and that everyone ended up leaving anyway. Though, it was Ruby's father that had destroyed her. All it had taken was one drunken driver to crash into the front of their car with her father's body slamming through the front window. Ruby had screamed, trapped in her seat as she had been forced to watch her father die.

Everything crumbled apart after that — they had lost the house, but worst of all Ruby's little brother was handed back to his mother. Ruby was alone, struggling to fix all the pieces of her life together. The one thing she was determined to do, though: get her brother Chase back. So, with that, she headed back to Hawkins, starting her custody case as a dropout college student with no job or home, but with a heart so full of love for her brother.

So, Ruby had a new purpose — a new plan. The plan involved a job at a family video store, where she was going to save up to prove that she could provide better care for her brother. However, Ruby never expected to be working with her ex-best or falling into Eddie's bed again with the naive belief that it was just somewhere to stay.

Yes, Ruby was fucked up, especially when Eddie ended up being wanted for murder. But, Ruby's certain that Steve and his friends were all batshit crazy too, where trouble seemed to follow her old friend now with Ruby being dragged into it all. While Ruby doesn't believe them, all she knew was that Eddie Munson was innocent – and maybe, Ruby cared enough to stick around to help him out.

However, with Ruby's headaches worsening and her nightmares becoming more frequent, it came to be no surprise that Vecna's curse had struck Ruby.

For Ruby, saving herself might just be impossible; for two, they were willing to defy all the odds to save her.  

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CAST

Madelyn Cline as Ruby Barker.
"Either you're full of shit or on shit, Steve, so don't you dare lie to me."

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington.
"You're too good for this place, Ru. I thought letting you go was for the best."

Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley.
"It's none of my business, but at least hear him out. Steve is Steve, but he had good intentions."

Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson.
"This is my year, Little Red. I'm gonna graduate, but maybe I'll get the girl too."

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DISCLAIMER

I don't own anything other than Ruby and her story!

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WARNING

This story will contain themes of horror, violence, death, grief, depression, suicidal thoughts, PTSD, trauma, strong language, and sexual themes. I will update if needed!

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So republishing this with a few changes! I ended up seeing Madelyn as Ruby so it felt right for me to change the fc. Then, writing and planing it, I realised that there was so much more between Eddie and Ruby than I had though (plus Eddie deserves the world)!