ruby's body ━━ steve harrington

004. 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬, 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬, 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬

"Thank you, Ruby," says Joyce, walking towards her.

Ruby shrugs her shoulders. "It's nothing."

"I know it isn't for you," says Joyce. She smiles sympathetically. "But we still don't understand all of this, and for you to help out... It means a lot to us."

Ruby doesn't know why that hits her. It's a nice thing to hear, but still. She doesn't think anyone's ever acknowledged it like that; the way it should be acknowledged, to be fair. And hearing it out-loud, especially from a actual adult like Joyce... It's nice.

She has to look away, blinking quickly. The wind is just... windy, that's why her eyes feel watery. "This isn't my life," says Ruby, crossing her arms to keep Joyce out. "I just... feel obligated to help kids like Will."

"I understand that," says Joyce, nicely. She's such a nice mom. Ruby wonders if her mom would've been like Joyce, all smart and understanding and knowing what to say at the right time. She hopes so. "It's still good of you."

Ruby forces a smile. Not because she doesn't like hearing this, but because she feels like she might cry and there is no way she's breaking down in front of little kids. How pathetic would that be? Ruby's all fire and ice, she can't just start crying!

"I, uh, do you mind if I go?" says Ruby, to Joyce, who nods and thanks her again. Ruby awkwardly says goodbye to the boys, and to the redhead girl they're hanging out with. The girl gives her an odd look, which is weird, because Ruby's never seen her before in her life.

It does make Ruby wonder, though, why her first thought was El. She presumes she's just hoping that one day she'll show up again, and that's why her mind went straight to El. Or maybe... Maybe it does mean something...

Ruby isn't sure, but she drives straight home, a plan set in motion. She starts running the bath, grabbing the special bath salts from underneath the sink. She doesn't always need water, nor does she need the smell, but they speed up the process. The smell of mint and lemon, for some reason, triggers her memories of the lab. She figures it's because they smell clinical together; last summer, she poured the two different mixtures into a jar, to make the perfect scent. Hawkins Laboratory Eau de Parfum.

She tried to do this once in the pool, too, but she almost drowned... So the bath'll do. As long as she feels enclosed enough by water, it works.

She grabs the scarf from her bedroom, and ties her hair up, getting herself ready. She slips her clothes off, and ties her satin dressing gown around her waist, waiting for the bath to fill up. If the smell wasn't so off-putting, this would be relaxing. Ruby hates the lab, but this part, this ability to look into people's lives? She loves it. It makes her feel so at ease, being able to leave this world and enter someone else's.

So she gets into the bath, and ties the scarf around her eyes. She lets herself sink deeper into the bath, so her head's resting against one end, and takes a deep breath. In, out. In, out. She keeps her eyes closed, even though she can't see anything anyway, letting herself drift out of this world...

... And into the next.

In the real world, her dressing gown is wet, but here, she's bone dry. She can't call the space she's in a black room, because it isn't just that; the whole reality is black because there's nothing here. Nothing's here except for her, and who she wants to see.

She thinks about Eleven, and how she wants to see her. She keeps the image clear in her mind; she thinks about nothing but Eleven, nothing but Eleven and how she hasn't been seen all year. Let me see where she is. Ruby prays she can find her, because maybe if she's lost, Ruby can find her and bring her back...