ruby's body ━━ steve harrington

003. 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬

She doesn't know what to do now. Maybe Harrington and Carol were right, maybe this party was enough to grant her immortal popularity. She'll suss it out today at school, and take it from there. But, still, if the thought of Billy is making her puke...

... She is hungover, though... Maybe it's just that. Yeah, no, it's that. She's hungover, and to be fair, the idea of anything in her mouth makes her feel ill right now. Her boyfriend triggering that isn't weird. It actually makes sense, provided, you know... the circumstances. Of things that have recently been in her mouth... Anyway.

She gets herself off the floor, and brushes her teeth. She has a shower, and opens her bedroom window so the smell of Billy goes away. She strips the bed, too, to get rid of all reminders of him. She hates that, when your bed smells of someone else. It was never a problem when Harrington crashed for the night (dear reader: she would sleep elsewhere that night) but she guesses it's different. She doesn't know how it's different, but maybe it is.

She gets dressed, mindful of the bruises on her. Her lip upturns, kinda grossed-out, but finds a top to cover the worst ones up. Last time, she had one on her left tit for two weeks. It was so annoying.

She plucks out a black turtleneck and matching mini skirt, and puts on the radio as she searches for a pair of stockings without holes in. She'll feel much better once she's dressed nicely. And this is her favourite outfit. It makes her feel like a Chanel girl.

Maybe she'll make herself some eggs, and toast a bagel, and all those carbs will give her some strength again. Hangovers don't last long for her — she's decided it's her mind looking after her, yet again — but she can still speed up the process.

It's only just 6AM, and now she's up, she can't go back to sleep, especially considering the lack of bed sheets. She styles her bangs (it's days like these where she regrets getting curtains cut) and puts the rest of her hair into a ponytail. There are bigger problems than the rest of her hair. Like, her finding her boyfriend repulsive. Or her kissing Harrington last night — she cheated on her boyfriend last night! That makes her feel even worse, because she almost forgot that part. That by kissing Harrington, she's cheated on Billy... But if she doesn't even find Billy attractive...

Ruby pulls out a pen and paper, and frowns, as she writes out, pros and cons for dating Billy Hargrove.

The cons were pretty easier to think of.

— Kind of a dick

— A little scary when angry?

— Find repulsive

— Has zero ambition aside from being 'king'

— Kind of stupid?

She pauses for a second, before adding the final:

— Not Harrington

Now. She does not mean that like she likes Harrington. She means that as in, her best friend knew how to help her. How to make her feel better. How to comfort her when she was sad, when she was overwhelmed, when she was hungover. He got her. And Billy... doesn't. He lives with the perception he's got of her. A sort-of bitch with a big house and a nice ass. He doesn't know how to look after her, because why would he? He's... OK, she doesn't mean this in a bad way, but like, they did start dating just to benefit off of each other's popularity. Is it... surprising, that she doesn't feel that strongly about him, now she thinks about it?

She then writes, pros, and she pauses.

... What are the pros?

Well... She guesses he's good looking, and he has a nice car. And he's a pretty good kisser, albeit heavy on the tongue. He's a good flirt, too, but she also hates being called baby. OK, no, she thinks she hates him calling her that, because she tries to imagine Harrington's voice saying the same and she thinks, oof. So it's definitely a Billy thing.