Chapter Thirteen:
Payback
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
Ramona groaned, looking up at the house. She knew exactly what was coming for her the moment she opened that door. Hell fire. Hell fire from her mom because of her nearly forty-eight hour disappearance. A sigh left her lips as she quietly opened the door, praying to God that her mother would be sleeping or away.
"¿Dónde, en nombre de Dios, has estado?" Ramona rolled her eyes as she shut the front door behind her, listening to Steve's car speed off towards his house.
"Work." Ramona answered, pressing her back against the door. Her mother crossed her arms, clenching her jaw as she narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Then I stayed at Nancy
"No me mientas!"
"I'm not lying." Ramona defended.
"Whose jacket is that?"
"Shit." Ramona cursed, looking down at the jacket.
"Excuse me?" Ramona's mom stepped forward, fire in her eyes as she set a glare on her. "What did you say?"
"Nothing, mamá." Ramona mumbled, fiddling with the sleeves of the jacket as she avoided the woman's gaze.
"Jet City called." She answered, "Said you hadn't shown up for work."
"I-I-"
"No. Do not even try to defend yourself! Are you kidding me, Ramona? This is America! The land of opportunities! Your abuela and abuelo did not uproot their entire lives for you to throw it away!"
"I'm not throwing it away!" Ramona defended, "Am I not allowed to have a little fun?"
"You work and then you can have fun!" The woman pointed at her, "Do not test me, Ramona!"
Ramona crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes and pulling her gaze away from the woman's angry expression. "I will not be disrespected in my own house."
"I'm not disrespecting you." Ramona murmured.
"Murmurando, querida." The dark haired woman crossed her arms, "Where have you been? La verdad, por favor."
Ramona sighed, looking up at meeting her eyes. "I was with Nancy Wheeler."
The woman inhaled sharply, hardening her glare hardening as she stepped closer. "You have until the count of three."
"I'm telling the truth!" Ramona insisted, shaking her head quickly. "Mamá!"
"Oh, really? Then why did Nancy Wheeler's mamá call me asking where her daughter was?"
Ramona's heart dropped and she gulped, "I-I don't know."
"Uno."
Shit. Shit. Shit.
~~
"Don't worry, Dusty roads. Red won't know what to do with herself once she sees you." Ramona grinned, patting him on the shoulder. She glanced out the window, smiling at the memories of when she went to the snowball.
"All right, buddy, here we are." Steve said, putting the car in park. "So, remember, once you get in there-"
"Pretend like I don't care." Dustin cut him off, nodding his head in confirmation. Ramona scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Steve, not again." Ramona scoffed, rolling eyes and shaking her head. "You give shitty advice."
"You don't care." Steve said, the corner of his lips turning into a smile as he glanced back at the girl.
"I don't care." Dustin repeated, causing Ramona to let out a huff as she leaned back in the car seat. She pulled out her small hand mirror from Steve's jacket's pocket, flipping it open and looking at herself in the mirror. Her fingers brushed over the barely noticeable bruise forming on right cheek from where her mother had smacked her the few weeks ago. A small sigh left her lips as she tossed the mirror to the side, resting her cheek in her palm as she stared at the school.
Memories washed over her in waves, seemingly endless. Nostalgia flooded her body and the girl suddenly became overwhelmed with the feeling of sadness. She missed when she was Dustin's age, how excited she was for the snowball. How excited she was for life itself. Now she was just.. tired.
"There you go! You're learning, my friend. You're learning." Stevie knitted his eyebrows together, watching as Dustin reached up and pulled the mirror down to check his appearance. "Hey."
"What?" Dustin asked as Steve closed the mirror.
"Come on. You look great, okay? You look-You look great. Now, you're gonna go in there-"
"Yeah."
"And you look like a million bucks." Steve said, causing Ramona to mindlessly nod in agreement as a sigh left her lips.
"Yeah!"
"And you're gonna slay 'em dead." Steve continued, his voice softening.
"Like a lion." Dustin nodded, purring. Ramona laughed, glancing away from the middle school and looking over at him.
Steve grimaced, "Don't.. Don't do that, okay?"
"Okay." Dustin nodded, shaking Steve's hand.
"Good luck." Steve smiled.
"You got this, Dusty Roads!" Ramona called as the boy shut the car door behind him. Steve sighed, his eyes landing on Nancy.
"Hey." Ramona said softly, causing the boy to turn to look back at her. "It's her loss."
Steve laughed, shaking his head. "Isn't she your best friend?"
"Yeah, of course." Ramona nodded quickly, "But still. It's her loss, you're less of an asshole than I thought."
"Gee, thanks." Steve scoffed, shaking his head. Ramona giggled, her eyes brightening as she rested her hand on the car seat in front of her.
"Hey, turn right." She said, "I think it's time for our tradition. Root-beer floats, my treat."
~~
Ramona sighed, plucking the cherry from Steve's drink, a small smile forming on her lips when he smacked her hand away. Steve watched as she rested her chin on her palm, his eyebrows knitting together when his eyes landed on her cheeks. "What's that?"
"Huh?" She hummed, turning to look at him as she pulled the knotted cherry stem from her lips.
"That." Steve said, reaching forward and poking just below the bruise. Ramona blinked slowly, glancing down at his hand.
"It's nothing." Ramona shrugged, "Don't worry about it."
Steve shot her a look as he retreated his hand, pulling the root-beer float closer to him by the glass's base. Ramona let out a sigh as she looked down at her drink, "Steve?"
He gulped, looking up from the root-beer float he drank, his heart skipping a beat when he saw that she was already looking at him. "Ye-Yeah?"
"Do you ever feel like time moves too quickly?" Ramona let out a sigh as she looked up from her drink, "It feels like just yesterday I was the one getting ready for the dance, too nervous to ask Jonathan to dance.. Because I didn't know that he liked me too. And now.. here I am, almost seventeen years old.. Sitting with Steve fucking Harrington, and actually not hating it."
Steve laughed, "Yeah.. Never thought I'd see the day where I liked talking to Ramona Garcia."
"Aw, are you saying you enjoy spending time with me?" Ramona teased, a hint of sad nostalgia hidden in her tone.
"Yeah." Steve nodded shyly, "Yeah, I do."
Ramona blushed, a nervous scoff leaving her lips as she tore her eyes away from him. "I like hanging out with you, too.. Steve. Kinda crazy how fast a root-beer float can bring people together, isn't it?"
"Yeah.." Steve whispered, "Yeah, it is."
She knitted her eyebrows together as she watched Steve reach into his pocket and pull out three crumpled dollar bills. "Steve, no. I got this."
"It's the three dollars I stole from you.. Last year." Steve said, avoiding her eyes. "I was an asshole."
Ramona's eyes softened as she watched him shake the money, waiting for her to take it. "Ramona, take the money."
"Little bit of an asshole." Ramona giggled, pushing his hand down. "But you don't have to -"
"Yes, I do." Steve answered, "Just take the money, will you?"
Ramona sighed, pulling the three dollars from his hands and shoving them into the jacket pocket. "Thanks, Steve."
Steve sent her a small smile, sipping his root-beer float as she turned to look out the window again, her mind wandering back to how fast time changes and how quickly it passes before your eyes. How fast having fun can become a memory.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
{ A/n: steve and ramona >>>>> also I start s3 next chapter im so sad ,,, also,, my writing went down at the end bc its 6 am and i havent slept lmfao ok goodnight}
{ Translations: Where in the name of God have you been, do not lie to me, mom, grandma and grandpa, mumbling darling, the truth please, mom. }
{ Edited: No }