ruby's body ━━ steve harrington

029. 𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐲, 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 (𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐢)

"Rasputins," says Ruby, crossing her arms. "Boney M would be so mad with me right now."

Steve, who's since appeared at Ruby's side, rolls his eyes. "You and Boney M."

"Uh, Daddy Cool is a lyrical masterpiece?" says Ruby.

Dustin groans. "They were Russians."

"Squashed Russians..." says Robin, nervously.

Ruby glares at Robin, feeling defensive. "Oh my God, like they wouldn't have killed you earlier? A thank you would be nice—?"

"Erica?"

Lucas finally notices his little sister, who had been hidden by Robin's taller frame. His eyes narrow at her, pissed off in the way only a protective older sibling can be. "What are you doing here?"

"Ask them," says Erica, pointing towards Ruby and the other three. "It's their fault."

"It's not my fault," says Ruby, raising her hands.

"Yeah, but it's totally, absolutely our fault," says Steve, nodding.

Robin nods. "Yeah, but it was like, totally necessary—"

Nancy raises her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Robin," says Robin, her eyes widening like Bambi. Ruby wants to roll her eyes — she does roll her eyes. Ruby isn't one for ignoring intrusive thoughts. "I work with Steve."

Nancy exchanges a look with Ruby, uncertain. Ruby feels a little less delusional now, thinking something's weird.

"She cracked the top-secret code," says Dustin.

Steve nods. "Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians."

"Russians?" Jonathan frowns. "Wait, what Russians?"

"The Russians I just flattened... with a car..." Ruby gives Jonathan an odd look. "Come on, Johnny, catch up." She clicks her fingers, which seems to annoy him. Ha.

"Hang on — what do you mean, what Russians?" says Dustin, noticeably annoyed. "I thought you guys worked at the newspaper — shouldn't you be aware of these things—?"

Ruby looks over at El, realising how exhausted she looks. Ruby's brows furrow, the two sisters quietly stepping away from the others. El leans against an oversized plant pot, rubbing her eyes.

"My powers..." El says, quietly. "My battery's weak."

Ruby knows this shouldn't be her first thought, but she can't help but think, fuck. Because without El, that means that it's Ruby left. Ruby, and only Ruby. The others are here, yeah, but they're not the same back-up as El is. But, Ruby knows she can't let El feel guilty in any way, so she nods, trying to play it cool.

"Maybe you're just tired," says Ruby.

"I... don't know," says El, her eyes glassy. "And my leg..."

Ruby stiffens. "What do you mean, your leg?"

El raises her jeans, revealing a bloody wound on her calf. Ruby's brows furrow, and she moves El, encouraging her to sit down. She tries to examine the wound, kneeling beside her sister, but as she rolls up the fabric, something crawls underneath El's skin. Ruby looks at her little sister, panic settling in.

"What happened?" Ruby demands.

"It found us," says El.

Ruby's eyes widen. "The Mind Flayer?"