Ruby Baker was cursed - a curse that had started after sleeping with her best friend.
Heading back to Hawkins after two years, Ruby had a plan: find a job, find somewhere to live (preferably, not an old fling), and get custody of her brother. Yet, r...
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RUBY'S HANDS TREMBLED AS SHE lit a cigarette, letting the smoke temporarily distract her from her doomsday. Close by, Steve and Dustin had continued bickering, but it was more urgent now with Steve's constantly developing panic.
And Robin hovered, eyes stuck on Ruby as if she might vanish at any moment.
If there was conversation, then it was drowned out by Billy Joel, who was back on a loop again with the hope that he would be enough to save Ruby. Though, for Ruby, she knew it was no good — already, the music had been used against her.
"Oh, boom! Bada bing, bada boom," said Steve, pushing through a the green shrubs with his spirits lifting for a moment, where Ruby pulled a headphone from her ear to hear him. "There she is, Henderson. Skull rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."
Ruby took another long toke of her cigarette before putting it out as she followed behind Steve, eyes falling on the rock that she had heard so many rumours about.
"Doesn't make sense," Dustin exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah," said Steve. "Even with it staring you in the face, you can't admit it. You just can't admit that you're wrong, butthead."
"I concur," Eddie joined them, having jumped down from the tree with Ruby turning, eyes falling on him with relief. "You, Dustin Henderson, are a...total butthead."
Dustin was smiling, though. "Jesus, we thought you were a goner."
"Yeah," said Eddie, accepting the embrace. "Me too, man. Me too."
Then, Eddie's eyes were on Ruby again; there was a second of hesitation, fingers twitching as if Eddie did not know whether to hug her or not. To Ruby's surprise, she found herself being the one to go to him as his arms wrapped around her, silently sensing that something was wrong.
"Ruby," Eddie whispered to her — the nickname forgotten. "What's going on?"
"Eddie..." Ruby didn't know how to tell him as she retreated from his hold. "You're the one on the run and you're worrying about me?"
"Worrying about you is the only thing keeping me sane right now," Eddie confessed.
Ruby stared down at the floor, feeling guilty as she was about to be the next death. "I... I'm next, Eddie."
Eddie stilled at that, knowing what those words meant. His hands ran through his hair, eyes becoming wide. "Shit. Shit. Shit."
Even with everything, Ruby had a hint of a smile as she remembered how Eddie used to tease her old habit of repeating that word. Now, though, Ruby felt sunken with the grief that Eddie was another person who would end up hurt because of Ruby.
So, as the supplies were handed to Eddie, they summarised what was happening on their end before it was Eddie's turn. Beneath skull rock, Eddie crouched as he processed everything that was going on, where Ruby was aware that his eyes occasionally found her, full of fear.
