Billy's gone.
Ruby Buckley's world ended with him.
But Hawkins isn't done with her yet.
When strange deaths begin again, Ruby is pulled into the heart of the storm. Between shadowy nightmares, the town's newest outcast, and someone she was never s...
( songs for the chapter ) eyes without a face // billy idol she's like the wind // patrick swayze
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There was a comfortable silence for a while, the kind that only existed because they were all too exhausted to fill it.
Then Dustin shot up from his spot on the back bench like he'd been launched, pacing the narrow aisle.
"What the hell is taking them so long?" He demanded after a few minutes.
As if summoned, the RV door flew open.
Steve climbed in first, breathless, flushed, dressed in combat boots, a brand-new army print shirt and a brown leather jacket Ruby had never seen before. It sat on him like armor, borrowed, slightly stiff, but worn with purpose.
He looked good. Really good.
Ruby swallowed from her place on the floor.
Eddie noticed. Of course he did. He smirked, but his eyes, still bruised with something raw and unhealed, flickered away a second too late.
Steve tossed the denim vest into Eddie's lap. "Thanks, man." He said.
"What happened?" Lucas asked, twisting around from the table.
Steve didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached out a hand to Ruby.
She hesitated only a fraction of a second before taking it. His grip was firm, grounding, and he guided her into the passenger seat like it was instinct, like it had always been hers. Then he vaulted back into the driver's seat.
"We gotta go."
"Your old friends are here," Erica said flatly as she entered, lifting a paper bag so full it looked ready to tear.
"Shit," Lucas muttered.
Robin and Nancy climbed in next, Nancy with a shotgun strapped across her back, Robin juggling two more overstuffed bags.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Dustin shrieked as Max came in last, slamming the door behind her.
"I'm going! I'm going! Sit down!" Steve yelled back, flooring the gas.
They tore past the store entrance and out of the parking lot.
Ruby caught one last glimpse through the window, blurry figures in Hawkins High letterman jackets, standing too still, watching them leave.
Her chest tightened.
***
The RV was too loud and too quiet at the same time.
The engine rattled beneath them, something loose knocking rhythmically under the floor, every bump in the road sending a shudder through the frame. But no one was really talking. Not in a way that mattered. The air felt tight, stretched thin, like if anyone said the wrong thing it might snap.
