chapter thirty-three
the untouchable ruby brenner

🖤

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T tell me."

Robin rolls her eyes; ever since the awkward reunion between her two best-friends-that-also-happen-to-be-exes, Steve's been moping around the video store like a sexually frustrated ape. Or... what other animal mopes around? Sloths? Pandas? Robin feels like they're just lazy, they don't have the belligerent angst Steve does. So... Steve's moping around the store... like a sexually frustrated doofus, who's trying to force a slutty phase when all he wants is one specific girl. (Robin calls this creature 'The Harrington.')

"Why would I tell you?" says Robin. "You'd explode either way."

"Explode?" says Steve. "I didn't explode."

"You did in your pants," says Robin.

Steve splutters so much he starts to choke.

Look. Robin and the gang were devastated to hear about Steve and Ruby's split, but it's getting tedious now. If she has to hear one more pining moan from Harrington about his ex-girlfriend, Robin's going to scream. And it's not as if she's jealous — she's over that now, thanks to pretty Vicki. It's just really freakin' annoying.

"I'm going to stack those shelves," says Steve, avoiding the inevitable conversation altogether. And by inevitable, Robin means this: the fact that he is not over Ruby, no matter how much he tries to mask it, saying he hates her.

As he walks away, Dustin swivels around in the desk chair, parked behind the rental store's front counter. He faces Robin, irritation muddling in his expression.

"I'm going to kill him," Robin says.

Dustin furiously nods, agreeing.

"Why is he this hung up?" says Robin, crouching down so Steve can't hear them bitching about him. "It's been over six months, he hasn't even seen her until today—"

"Because! They shouldn't have broken up," says Dustin, trying to keep quiet. "It only happened because she got Flayed!"

"If only they could move past that," says Robin, hating how invested she feels in someone else's relationship. "God, if they could just be left in a room for fifteen minutes, I just know they'd make up..."

"There's no way we could do that," says Dustin.

Robin looks across at Steve, who picks up a stack of VHS' wrong, and they tumble down onto the floor. She looks back at Dustin, raising an eyebrow.

"Well. We could trick him," says Dustin, having witnessed the same embarrassing act. "But Ruby would kill us. She'd have to be drugged to not get suspicious."

Robin leans against the counter. Outside of the store, she sees one of the school jocks, suspiciously rolling a keg into his family's truck. She turns back to Dustin, a plan formulating in her head.

"Or... drunk?" she says.

It's simple, it's basic, yes — but it could work. And then she'll have her life back to normal again. She won't have to spend another minute hearing Steve whine about Ruby fucking Brenner.

But there's a flaw in this ingenious plan, one Dustin quickly points out: "What parties do we go to?"

"We don't go to any... but do you see that outside?" she says.

Dustin stands up to get a better view. He frowns. "What, Brad Dunne?"

"Yeah, who's on the basketball team," says Robin, her eyes lighting up with inspiration. She feels like Thomas Edison inventing the light bulb.

"What does that have to do with—?"

"The basketball game tomorrow! The team always throws a party afterwards. They'll invite Ruby, duh — so we tag along, we convince Steve to go... And once they're both drunk—"

"We lock them in a room together!"

"They'll be making babies in no time," says Robin.

She cannot believe this is her life sometimes.

"I'm in," says Dustin, grinning.

Robin gives him a thumbs-up. She stands up, and calls over to the doofus in question, "Hey, Steve?"

He looks up from the sci-fi section. "What now?"

"Wanna go to a party on Friday?" says Robin.

"Is it a cool one?" he says, putting his hands on his hips. "No offence, but I'm not going to one that's got anything to do with band or Dungeons and Dragons. Steve Harrington doesn't do loser parties. No hot chicks will be there."

Robin cannot cope with this any longer.

"It's the basketball team one, I was invited," Robin lies.

Steve goes quiet for a moment. "... Yeah, I guess we can swing by."

Step one, complete.

🖤

RUBY TAKES A MOMENT BEFORE walking back into Hawkins High.

She sits in her car, checking her hair and makeup in her car's mirror. The past twenty-four hours have been weird — she drove to her auntie's and couldn't get out of the car, and since her dad's cabin has a hole in the roof (thanks, Mind Flayer), she ended up letting herself into her grandpa's old house. It seemed like the least traumatic house to sleep in. And, since she's been waiting for this stupid award all day, she's been sat around her grandpa's house, filling out the crosswords in old newspapers, flicking through the books he abandoned when he faked his death. She found her mom's boxes in the spare room, and was a hundred pages into Valley of the Dolls when she had to get ready for tonight.

So. Here's the agenda (she wrote this down earlier, because she had nothing else to do but remember the horrors she inflicted upon her loved ones the last time she had her feet planted in Hawkins...)

— Basketball game: Go early to meet Munson. (Dear reader: she had the finest Californian goods in her car, but low and behold, Jonathan stole them. So she has to get crummy Indiana soil instead.) Get special present. Go and accept Dad's award. Pretend to care about basketball

— Afterwards: Basketball team's afterparty (pray the Hawkins team wins so the vibe is good). Get so drunk you forget everything that's happened to past year (this will be the fun part)

— Tomorrow morning: Soak up alcohol with waffles

It's a short plan, but still. Ruby's had a lot of time to kill today.

She checks herself in the mirror one final time, before stepping out of the car. She's decided to wear her most respectable-but-going-to-a-party-later outfit: her favourite pair of Levi's, a cropped jean jacket she found in a West Hollywood thrift store, and a black jumper. Underneath, she's wearing a black camisole she was given after a modelling shoot last month, one a size too small so it fits like a corset. Once this game is over, the jumper goes off, and Ruby's ready for this party.

The high school is bursting with energy, the game starting in forty minutes. Students make their way to the gym, a few sneaking looks when they realise who she is. It's been almost a year, and yet, Ruby feels as if the myth of her — the one and only Ruby Brenner, the Snowflake and Spring Fling Queen — is still thriving at Hawkins High. The world revolves around her, even when she doesn't want it to anymore.

She slips around the corner, towards the normal meeting spot, the supply closet next to the D&D club's meeting spot (Ruby only knows this because Munson said it once... also because she worries her kids might see her, and clock on what she's doing. If they know what Munson sells, anyway).

"Ruby!"

Dustin grins at her, and Ruby freezes. She forces a smile, hoping she can shoo him away.

"Did you wanna watch us play?" he says.

Ruby frowns. "Uh..."

Just like that, a dirty hand with steel rings wraps around the door, flinging it open. Dustin looks to his side to greet the person, as Eddie Munson steps out into the hallway.

Munson pauses for a second, before he smiles at her. "Oh, hey, Brenner."

Ruby shifts on her feet, awkward. Either Dustin's going to figure out his newest idol is a drug dealer, or he's going to think Ruby's sleeping with Munson... She isn't sure which one is worse.

"You guys... know each other?" says Dustin, confused.

"He's been a senior fifty times, of course I do," says Ruby, rolling her eyes. She looks at Munson, trying to give him a knowing look. "Do you, uh, have a minute?"

He knows what she's on about, because why else would she be looking for him? "Oh, yeah, 'course." Munson scrambles, rushing back into the classroom. He slips back out, shoving a plastic bag into his back pocket. "Head off, Henderson, the grown-ups are talking."

Ruby smiles awkwardly at Dustin. "Are you going to the party after the game, Dus? I know Robin's going."

"Uh, I might swing by..." says Dustin, scratching his arm.

Ruby frowns. He keeps on looking over at Munson, and Ruby knows the look, it's the one she was on the receiving end of for years. Dustin wants Munson to respect him, to approve of him, to like him. And by Ruby being her, showing that Dustin is friends with the complete antithesis of his new idol, it makes her wonder... Is Dustin... embarrassed by her?

She gives him a funny look. "OK, your loss. See you."

She waves her hand, as if to shoo him away. Munson slips past her, opening the supply closet, inviting her in first. Dustin looks at them both, entirely confused, until he gives up for now, walking back into the classroom. Ruby steps into the supply closet, Munson closing the door behind them both.

"So... Do you have it?" she says.

"Not even a 'hi'? A 'hello'? A 'how are you?'" Munson rolls his eyes. "California took the last bit of politeness out of you, huh?"

"Suck my dick," says Ruby, opening her purse to retrieve the money.

Munson starts to smirk. Ruby scowls.

"This is a little forward—"

"As if," Ruby grumbles. "Just give me my weed."

Munson smiles. "Not until you say 'please'—"

"Wow, you've really grown a pair of balls since I graduated—"

"One 'please', then I'll hand them over. I'll even discount you."

Ruby sighs, rolling her eyes. "Please."

"See, that wasn't so hard," says Munson, and he starts laughing to himself. "You're so easy to annoy, I get why you need this stuff."

She extends her hand, and finally, he digs the plastic bag out from his back pocket, exchanging the bill in her palm for the bag. His sleeves move up his arm slightly, and she sees the massive tattoo on his forearm. She's reminded briefly of Winter Boyfriend, which grosses her out.

"Pleasure doing business with you," says Munson.

"The pleasure's all yours," Ruby smiles.

"That's not—"

"I know what I said," says Ruby. Munson gives her a funny look. "See? You're easy to annoy, too."

She opens the supply closet door, having shoved the bag into her purse. Munson darts to open the door for her, which makes her raise an eyebrow. He lets her out, scratching the back of his neck.

"You're not with Harrington anymore, right?"

Ruby frowns. "Uh, no..."

"Well, uh, maybe if you're..."

Ruby looks around awkwardly. "I'm driving home tomorrow, sorry."

She walks away, back towards the gym, as Munson quietly sinks back into the D&D classroom. Ruby feels bad, a first for her when talking to Eddie Munson. She just didn't see that coming. What if her saying no fucks things up for Dustin, and he loses his club? Ruby thinks Hellfire is weird, but still. It's not fair on her friend...

But then, if Dustin goes to the party later, and is seen with her, he won't need to be included by Munson. If he just went to this party, let people see he was friends with her, he'd be sorted. He'd be golden, he'd be untouchable. He'd never been bullied again. And yet, he's choosing Eddie Munson over that. Weirdo.

"Ah, Ruby!"

God, who now?

The principal smiles warmly when he sees Ruby; she puts on her best smile as she greets him, shaking his hand. You're a model, you can fake a smile, she reminds herself, hating every second on this already. You're here for Dad, you're here for Dad...

"Thank you so much for coming along, I know you're very busy now..."

"Anything for my dad..." She says, making polite chatter as Principle Torrance asks about her new life. He walks her into the gym, students and family members filling up the bleachers. The band is playing a rendition of Daddy Cool. Ruby smiles, and this time, she means it.

The trumpets swell, just as she looks towards the audience, spotting her ex-boyfriend standing next to a girl, talking her ear off.

Her stomach drops.

He's seeing someone? She thought he was single still — Robin made it seem as if he wasn't seeing anyone! Who even is that girl? Ruby doesn't recognise her at all. She must be the grade below them, a senior now. But why's he even bothering? That girl will be off to college soon... Fuck. That girl is pretty. Maybe not as pretty as Ruby, but still. She's pretty. Does he like her? Do you think he sees something serious with that girl? Oh my god, how he is there, and I'm on my own? she thinks, misery swelling around her insides—

"Uh, Ruby? Ruby?"

Ruby blinks, and looks back at Principal Torrance.

"Sorry, uh... It's a lot, being back."

God. This is pathetic, isn't it? She can accept an award for her dad, but she can't see her ex-boyfriend with another girl without feeling like the world is crashing around her? She's meant to save this town one day. She needs to toughen up.

"I can imagine," the principal says. "OK. So, before the game, we'll get the award out for your dad, then Tammy will sing the national anthem..."

Ruby cannot wait for the vodka later.

this is short yes but the next chapter is long!! i needed to cut it into two so the next one can have the full effect🥰🤪