chapter nineteen
sleeping dracula
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28th june, 1985
THIS IS THE STORY OF THE WORST WEEK of Ruby Brenner's life... Like, yeah, she knows she said that last year, but this time she really means it! Last year is nothing compared to the nightmarishness of this week. Ruby could fight fifty demo-monsters — from demodogs to, like, demo ... hippos — and it still wouldn't compare to this week. Last year, that naively-named "worst week" saw Ruby finding herself and being rewarded Snowflake Queen for it. This year, she doesn't lose herself — her entire body is stolen from her, a sleeping Dracula swooping in from the deepest shadows of the Upside Down. Because, as Ruby's beginning to realise, the good guys don't always win. Sometimes, the monsters succeed.
And this is how Ruby's monster won.
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IT STARTED ON A WARM DAY IN JUNE — the sun was slowly setting into the night, and Ruby had just come back from a couple week's working in New York City. Through raw talent (... and abilities that made her charismatically magnetic), Ruby landed herself a gig modelling for Sports Illustrated, the swimsuit issue. She's yet to tell her dad, because the photos are a little more Playboy than Sears, but she looks so good! She posted Steve a copy the second they arrived, and he rang her immediately to say how great she looked, how proud he was. "You're the world's greatest model, Rubes!"
Now, she's back at home. Her auntie's working away so Ruby's spending the night at her dad's house — which would have been lovely, had it not been for Hopper's new hatred for El's boyfriend, Mike. Her dad finds every reason to barge into Ruby's room to complain about the teenage boy, and his lack of respect for parental figures. Ruby's just grateful that it's Mike he hates, not Steve...
... Although, it wasn't until Ruby told a Very Big Lie that Hopper allowed Steve to even step foot into the cabin. (He had been in there, let it be known — it's just that Hopper wasn't aware.) Even now, sometimes it's just easier for Steve to sneak in. Like, if Ruby and Steve want to have a, uh, sleepover. Hopper would never allow that — even considering Ruby's Very Big Lie — so it's just easier for Steve to climb through her window.
The only issue is that it creates certain issues. Issues like this:
"Ruby! You will not believe this!"
Ruby is lying on her bed when she hears her dad shouting. She looks down at Steve, who's head's between her legs. Her eyes widen, as a topless Steve jumps up, to hide in the closet. Ruby's bedroom is the opposite end of the hallway to Eleven's, which gives her just enough time to hide Steve every time her dad comes to her to complain. It's helpful that her dad likes to begin to conversation outside of El's door, unintentionally warning Ruby of the impending sheriff, about to walk in on his daughter and her boyfriend.
She looks at Steve, who's already hurling himself into the closet. Ruby pulls her underwear back up, making sure her dress lies flat. Her mind shuts the closet door just as her dad storms in.
"You know," says Ruby, crossing her arms. "I could be naked in here!"
Hopper looks at her weirdly. "It's nine o'clock, why would you be naked in here?"
Ruby thinks of the boy hiding in her closet.
"Maybe I want an early night," she tries. She can imagines Steve's face now, rolling his eyes. An early night for Ruby, ever the night owl, doesn't exist.
Her dad frowns, but decides to focus less on his daughter's suspicious comment, and instead on his other daughter's terrible boyfriend. "I keep on telling her to keep the door open, and she just won't listen to me! I keep on saying, three inches!"
Hopper hates Mike. Ruby finds it funny because her dad loves Steve, but Mike? Mike could be found dead and Ruby would instantly blame her dad... In fact, she'd be more surprised if someone else killed Mike.
"Mike just doesn't respect me as a father, he's such a whiny brat! I'm not asking for much, am I, wanting them to keep the door open? I just don't want any funny business going on, they're young—"
"Totally," says Ruby, putting her hands on her hips. "That's exactly why I'm waiting until marriage."
This is the Very Big Lie she was talking about.
Don't get Ruby wrong, there's nothing wrong with waiting until marriage, but that's not the life for Ruby. Have you seen her boyfriend? It's a miracle she isn't pregnant.
But, back when she first started spending nights at her dad's, he refused to let Steve visit. And, her room's positioning meant that an open door made no difference — no one could see in anyway, unless they stood directly outside of it, so the 'three inch' rule wouldn't even work. So, her dad was apprehensive about Steve coming over. To combat this, Ruby told her father the fattest lie of all time: that she was waiting until marriage to have sex.
And, somehow, Hopper believed that.
The issue is, the current situation with Mike is making Ruby worry that Hopper will become more strict with her and Steve, Very Big Lie or no Very Big Lie. So instead, Steve sneaks in — which Ruby prefers, because it means Steve can sleep over. It's only a problem in these moments, when her dad needs someone to complain to about the newest teenager in the family, and Ruby has her half-naked boyfriend hiding in her closet.
"Maybe you should speak to her," Hopper suggests. "She looks up to you! I bet she'd trust you more if you told her how important it is..."
"To, what, respect you, or not have sex?"
Hopper protests at the word sex.
"She's, what? Thirteen? You don't need to worry about anything crazy for a while," Ruby tells her dad. She tries not to glance over at the closet, knowing her dad will quickly pick up something's wrong. Really, she's surprised her nonchalance to sex has not made him question if she has had it. "But I'll talk to her tomorrow... I'm kinda tired, so I'll see you in the morning?"
"Yeah, sure," Hopper scratches the back of his neck, looking lost. "See you tomorrow..."
He leaves his eldest daughter's room, closing it behind himself. There's a moment's silence, filled with the sound of Hopper's footsteps moving further away, before Steve steps out of Ruby's closet.
"Hey, Mrs Harrington," he says, quietly.
"What?"
"I just figured, 'cause you're waiting until marriage—"
See, Steve finds it hilarious that she made up a lie like that. If it wasn't for her aunt putting a stop to it, Ruby would've bought a purity ring too. But ever since Steve found out that Ruby made up an elaborate lie — and got her aunt to back her up, Carrie wanting nothing more but to cause chaos in Hopper's life — he's been calling Ruby his wife. Ruby cannot stand it.
"I can't take your name if I want to be a famous model anyway," says Ruby. "I'll have to start all over again as Ruby Harrington..." She sticks her tongue out in disgust at the idea. Ruby Brenner is going places. Ruby Brenner, if she plays her cards right, could transition from catalogue to high fashion by next summer.
"See, I'm hearing a lot of hypotheticals for something that happened," says Steve, smirking still. "Because if we weren't married, then how can I do this—?"
He rests his hands on her upper thighs, moving underneath her dress.
"Or this...? Or this...?"
He's moving further up her skirt, and moves her closer as he kisses her neck. Ruby starts to smile, pushing him away.
"You're going to get us caught!" she says. "My dad likes you, we want it to stay that way, right?"
Steve shrugs. "I guess..."
Ruby kisses him on the lips. "You're the greatest."
"Yeah, I know," he says, and he smiles at her.
She's so in love with him.
"So, you're working tomorrow?" Ruby lays down on her bed, and he lays beside her. She rests her head on his chest, glancing up at him as he runs his fingers through her hair.
"Sadly," he tells her. "The girl that works there, Robin, is so annoying. We've got this company scheme, right, where the employee that sells the most sundaes gets a bonus, and she's made this whole board tallying up her wins!"
"I'm sure she's not so bad," Ruby tries.
"Oh, she is," says Steve.
Ruby doesn't respond for a minute. She doesn't know what to even say — all she knows is that she feels weird about how... much her boyfriend talks about this girl he works with. She knows she's overthinking, but with her being away with work over the summer, and with college in the fall... It's making Ruby worry, Steve being left with Robin. Robin. Ew! Did her parents have no creativity? Did they just see a robin out of the hospital window, or something? Boring! Ruby was her mom's favourite jewel, and her grandmother's birthstone. Rubies shine bright. Robins... robin around, or something.
Steve must've realise something was up, because he stops playing with her hair, instead cupping her face with his hand. "Maybe you could swing by tomorrow?" he says. "It'll be the best part of my day."
"Uh, duh," she says, starting to smile.
"I've got that poster of you in our break room," he tells her, referring to the one she sent from the Sport's Illustrated shoot. There's one of her in the sea, her bikini wet, salt water dripping down her chest, that Steve's claimed as his favourite. Thank God he's her boyfriend, or else that would be super pervy.
Ruby snorts. "I bet Robin loves seeing that."
Steve shrugs. "She's indifferent."
"It's meant to be nice weather tomorrow, it's a shame you don't lifeguard anymore," says Ruby, pouting at him. Her fingers lightly trace his abs. "I can't believe you're wasting summer in a shitty air-conditioned hellhole."
"I thought you liked the mall?"
"I've spent a month in New York, small-town life has been ruined for me," she says in defeat, and buries her head in his chest. As she looks up at him again, she frowns to herself. "I guess I could go to jazzercise... OK! Here's my plan for tomorrow." She sits up, clapping her hands together. "Jazzercise, see you, then sunbathe at the pool. I wanna get a nice tan for my shoot next week."
Steve sits up, frowning. "You're already going?"
Ruby sighs. "Yeah, to Malibu, but only for a couple of days..." She looks across at him, and she knows that he's upset about this. Ruby keeps on telling him, if he waits a year, she'll make enough for both of them, and then he can just travel around with her. He keeps on saying that his dad would disown him, letting his girlfriend be the breadwinner. Ruby gets the feeling Steve thinks the same, too. But, she still suggests it, because she wants him to come. "You know, you could always come with me."
"I don't know if I can get time off that soon," he tells her, and she nods, feeling a little upset. She knows that makes sense, but she keeps on thinking about this. What if she makes it big in fashion, and has to travel all across the world for work? Even the best couples struggle with long distance. "Maybe in the future."
Ruby sighs. She doesn't want to keep on bringing it up, but she keeps on getting the feeling that Steve's hoping this problem will go away. But Ruby might not even need college if modelling works out for her. Models are becoming celebrities now, thanks to Versace. That could be her, and she could be set for life, being a supermodel. Her career won't have an expiration date, she could do this forever, and she won't need college debt to pay off.
"You know, I might not always have time to come back here," she says.
"I know," he says. "But I don't want to rely on you like that, it's not fair."
"Househusbands are in right now," she says with a frown.
"Can I not have goals of my own?"
Ruby raises an eyebrow. "Is scooping ice cream to middle schoolers one?"
Steve rolls his eyes. "No, but if I stick with this over the summer, my dad will let me work for him, and then I can take over the family business one day. I can't go to college like you, it's going to take me longer to get a good job, and it's not going to make things any better if I just live off you."
"OK."
Steve looks confused, as if waiting for her to saying more. "OK?"
"Yeah. OK."
"Ruby." Steve looks rather serious now, and she purses her lips. Whenever she argued with Billy, she'd push him away. She knows she needs to stop doing that, but it's so much easier, leaving people alone. "I love you, and I don't want us to argue about this, but you can't expect me to just follow you around our whole lives."
She sighs, knowing that it's him that's right, and she's being stubborn about this. Sometimes, Ruby forgets that the world doesn't actually revolve around her, and that other people do, in fact, have their own thoughts and feelings, their own goals and motivations. "Yeah, I know... It just sucks that I won't see you as often," she says.
"I know," he says. "Wouldn't it be great, if you could do any job from anywhere in the world?"
Ruby smiles. "Wouldn't it?"
And this is when her dad walks back in.
"RUBY HOPPER!"
Shit!
Both Ruby and Steve scramble up off the bed. Ruby puts her hands up, as if her dad's going to shoot her. Steve grabs his t-shirt, embarrassed.
"Mike told me you had him in here!"
Mike, you snitch!
"I—Uh—Sir—Chief—"
"Dad, please just listen!"
"Oh, yeah? And I bet you're not actually waiting for marriage, are you? Put your shirt on!"
She looks back at Steve, who was still topless, frozen in fear — and is now scrambling to put his t-shirt back on. Why did her dad have to come in? Now Steve will never be able to come round! Her dad will never forgive her for this, she's going to be grounded for life! She wishes she could take back the past minute—
Wait, she can!
Ruby concentrates, imagining her dad walking in again, and it just being her in here. She imagines her dad not even seeing Steve in her room right now, instead thinking that Mike's talking bullshit.
Blood trickles from her nose, which she wipes quickly, before her dad notices.
"Uh..." Her dad's tone has shifted. Ruby keeps herself still, concentrating on Steve staying invisible to Hopper. "Mike told me you had Steve in here?"
"Can you see him?" she says, trying to act sarcastic. She's still, though, trying to remain focused whilst acting casual. When she's done this before, it's so that she can hide — she's never done it like this before, hiding someone else whilst pretending they're not there. It's hurting her brain.
Hopper grumbles, shaking his head. Ruby is thanking every God that this is working out for them. She's thankful for every heavenly being that her powers get her out of messes like this.
"I can't believe Mike lied like that," says Hopper.
"Craaaazy," says Ruby, her focus starting to wean.
"Well, uh..." Her dad frowns. "I'll leave you to it."
Her dad scratches the back of his neck as he walks out, confused.
As the door closes, Ruby lets out a sigh of relief.
"Maybe you should go..." she says, quietly, to Steve.
Steve nods. He walks towards her, and pulls her into his arms, kissing her on the head. "Come and see me tomorrow?" he says.
"I promise," she says. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he tells her, and he moves her hair out of her face, before kissing her. They smile at each other, and her heart flutters in her chest.
As Steve climbs back out of her bedroom window, Ruby leaves her room to find Mike and El. Mike's just leaving, and Ruby catches his gaze for a second. She narrows her eyes, and mouths to him, "Fight me." Sometimes, she thinks Mike forgets she has powers.
"I'm gonna go to the mall tomorrow," Ruby tells her dad as she sits on the couch. Eleven reluctantly joins them now that Mike has left — reluctant, because she and Hopper have been arguing all summer about Mike, especially the whole 'door-three-inches' rule. "I haven't seen Steve in a while, so..."
Eleven frowns, but Hopper nods.
"Sounds good," says Hopper, and Ruby thinks, score! Her powers worked!
Ruby winks at Eleven.
What else can Ruby say? The world revolves around her! Not Eleven, not Hopper, it's all about Ruby fucking Brenner!
... And, dear reader, this is exactly why things went to shit.
heheh hope u enjoyed!! season three won't be as long as season two for rubes but it's still gonna be fun!!! let me know what you thought!!<3