Downside Up [W.Byers]

057

THREE MONTHS LATER

Ruby and Will place the last of their belongings in boxes. In the other room, Ruby hears Dustin shouting at Max and Lucas, who are singing. "Hold on, I'll be right back." She says, chuckling.

She walks out into the other room, clapping loudly as she takes a seat beside Dustin. "Encore." She laughs. Max and Lucas share an amused look, before bursting out in song once again.

"Turn around!" They clap. "Look at what you see."

"Seriously, Rube?" Dustin rolls his eyes. "It's fun!" She laughs. He turns over to look at the singing couple, flipping them off. "Shut up, you guys!" Dustin shouts.

Will walks past with a few books and games on his arms, motioning his head for Ruby to come. "I'll see you later, Dusty-Bun." She smiles, patting his shoulder.

Ruby walks up beside Will, holding up the donation box for him to place his things in. Mike curiously looks to them. "Whoa, dude. That's the donation box." Mike says, looking down at the D&D board.

"I know. I'll just use yours when I come back. I mean, if we still wanna play." Will replies. "Yeah, but what if you want to join another party??" Mike asks. "Not possible." Ruby smiles, placing a hand on Will's shoulder.

Mike grins, chuckling. Will and Ruby walk back into his room, searching for anything left behind. Ruby sighs, slowly turning to look around. "I don't wanna leave." She says, a tear rolling down her rosy cheeks.

"Hey..." Will walks forward, pulling her into a hug. "We'll make a life there. We're gonna be fine." He assures. "I don't wanna leave everyone. It's just.. it's terrible."

"I know." He lets out a shaky breath as the both of them pull out of the hug. Ruby stares into his sad eyes. "Will?" She says quietly, their faces close.

"Yeah?" He responds. "Do you remember when we first met?" Will shrugs. "I mean, of course I do. Yeah."

"You asked so many questions. You had so much to say. I hated it." She chuckles. "But now all I need to hear is your voice to calm me down." She smiles. "I love you, Will."

"I love you, too. Ever since the snow ball, I knew. I just knew it." Will beams, leaning in closer. The two share a sweet kiss, before Joyce calls out to them. "Ruby, Will! Come on!"

"Coming!" Ruby responds, taking Will's hand. They walk out, where everyone else is already waiting. "Dustin." Ruby lets go of Will's hand, running up to Dustin and hugging him.

"Thank you for everything." She smiles sadly, sobbing onto his shoulder. Dustin chuckles as Ruby pulls out of the hug. "You know, the scars on your hands make you look pretty badass."

Ruby grins, glancing down at her palms. "'Bitchin', as El would put it." She adds. "I'll miss you" Dustin states. "Me, too. I'll visit. And you better visit, too." She raises her eyebrows.

He nods, then pulls her in for another hug. "Suzie's great and all, but don't count on her next time we need to save the world." Ruby laughs. "Next time?" Dustin questions. Ruby playfully rolls her eyes, then walks over to Max.

The both of them hug, slowly rocking back and forth. "Hey, Mike." Ruby calls, wrapping her arms around the boy. "You know, when you're not being an asshole, you're pretty cool." She jokes.

"Thanks." He rolls his eyes, the corner of his lip curved up into a smile. El walks up, causing Ruby to nod towards her and finally hug Lucas goodbye.

"Alright, come on." Joyce says sadly. Ruby, Will, And El all say their final goodbyes, before getting into the car. "Bye, Ruby." Dustin sighs. "Bye, Dustin."

They say off to a new life, tears stinging their eyes. Ruby buries her face in the crook of Will's neck, letting her tears flow. "It's okay." Will whispers in between his cries.

I feel so empty inside. I can't believe that it's actually over now. I don't know if I should write a sequel to this book [ignoring the fact that there will be a season 4] and show what their life is like where they live now, but I'm also not very good at coming up with ideas. I'll let you know if I decide to make a sequel. Until then, thank you so so so much for all the support. This book got so much attention and really fast and so grateful. Love you all, thank you.