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warnings: mature language
Ruth cut the engine on her car, taking a second as she stared at the number printed on her wrist. She shut her eyes, trying to remember everything about her power all at once. She didn't know much, but she knew that she could feel peoples emotions by touching them, and could alter emotions. She was an empath.
She could remember the first time that she'd done it to Steve. They were both five years old, playing on the playground during recess. He'd fallen from the swing and started crying, so she laid a hand on his arm to comfort him. She immediately felt every ounce of his pain from his broken arm, and started to cry with him.
She'd gotten home that night with Steve from the hospital, and her parents had asked her why she was crying, too. Ruth'd told her parents she felt Steve's pain, and that was the first time she'd learned of her powers. Her father told her to never speak of it again, but Ruth continued to feel other peoples emotions when she touched them.
At some point, she had to stop herself from comforting people in tough situations. But, one day, in sixth grade, she had put her hand on one of her friends shoulders why they were crying. Ruth just wanted them to stop crying, and to be happy. And they immediately stopped. They laughed until their stomach hurt. Ruth had no idea what she'd done, but she never told anyone about it.
Then she met Eleven. She had the exact same tattoo on her wrist, but she was Eleven instead of Four. Eleven could move things with her mind, and was more powerful than Ruth could imagine. But, she sacrificed herself to kill the demogorgon and save everyone. So, Ruth went on living her life.
She hated that she couldn't find Eleven, and she wanted to try harder. But, doing that would result in more consequences she didn't want to face. So, Ruth carried on with her life the best she could.
She climbed out of her car, shutting and locking the drivers side door. She walked into her house, hanging her keys on one of the open hooks by the front door. Her feet naturally carried her into the kitchen to see there we leftovers from dinner still on the table. She examined it and deduced it to be meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes. She took a deep breath, then turned to the pantry and grabbed a granola bar from there instead.
On her walk to her room, she could hear her brother, Steve, in his room laughing. A feminine laugh rang out with his, Ruth automatically assuming it was Nancy Wheeler. She'd grown accustomed to seeing the Wheeler girl around her house, or joining them for dinner on Sundays. She wasn't surprised to hear her there now.
Ruth rolled her eyes, walking into her room and turning on her music to block out the sound of them most definitely having sex. At some point, she could heard the slide of Steve's window, meaning Nancy was sneaking out once again. Ruth picked her head up as she heard Steve's door open, and she knew he would start knocking soon. She was correct as a few knocks rang out, a smile falling on her face.
"Yes?" she questioned. Steve opened the door, eyes narrowing at Ruth.
"Do you have to play your music so loud?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"Do you have to have sex with Nancy every time she visits. You know, you could just lay there, but no, you have to ruin my night," Ruth argued with him, pushing her homework aside for the time being.
"Yeah, yeah, just turn that down," Steve said, motioning to the record player.
"Oh, this?" Ruth questioned. She turned it up louder, Steve rolling his eyes.
"Ruth," he persisted. She finally caved, turning it down to a low enough setting that only she'd hear it in her room. "Thank you."
"Oh, I almost forgot. I got hit on tonight at work," Ruth said, leaning back against the wall. Steve immediately turned at her words, eyes wide as his over protective instincts kicked in.
"Who?" Steve asked.
"Some new kid. He's got a mullet, real cool car, surprisingly attractive," Ruth told him as she remembered meeting Billy. "But, I'm pretty sure he's like you from last year."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve asked, confused with her statement.
"A douche bag of the highest level," Ruth said, standing from her bed. "I'll point him out tomorrow. Now, get out. I have work to do." She ignored Steve's protests and questions of what this new boy had done, and shut the door in his face to avoid the interrogation. Once it was shut, Ruth turned to her bed and continued her work.
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The parking lot of Hawkins High School was packed as always. Ruth never rode to school with her brother, seeing as he liked to pick up Nancy every single day. Ruth was currently sitting against her car, smoking before she had to go inside to her first class of the day. She was about to throw her cigarette to the ground when a familiar Camaro sped into the parking lot. A smile grew on Ruth's face at the sight, and it parked two spaces down from her.
Max pushed herself out of the car first, speeding to the middle school on her skateboard. Billy flung his door open, both his boots hitting the ground hard as he stepped out. He pushed himself up, then took a look around as if to judge the school by their first encounter. His eyes landed on Ruth, who was watching him study the world around him. A smirk fell on his face, the girl rolling her eyes as she looked away. He flicked his cigarette away, slamming his door as he walked to Ruth.
"Nice to see a pretty face, angel," Billy told her.
"Hm, why are you calling me 'angel'?" Ruth asked.
"You are on, aren't you?" he asked, smiling. Ruth kept her eyes on him as he stood in front of her, then flicked her cigarette to the ground.
"Far from it, William," she answered. She grabbed her bag from her car, turning and walking into the school with a smile on her face. She could see her brother watching her, their eyes connecting. She just nodded at him 'yes' to answer the question she knew he wanted to ask. Steve's face scrunched in anger, eyes going to Billy again. He could feel anger pooling up inside him as he watched the teenage boy walk into the school with his chest held high. It would be a long senior year.
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The school bell rang through the halls for third period to end, and fourth period to start. For Ruth, that was her lunch period. She grabbed her lunch and headed out to her car to see Carol was already sitting there with Tommy.
"You meet the new kid, yet?" Tommy asked with a wide smile.
"I did. What's it to you, Thomas?" Ruth snapped, jumping onto the hood of the car.
"I have it on good authority that he's into you," Carol said, nudging Ruth slightly. "Maybe he'll be the King to your Queen."
"I'm not looking for anyone, Carol. Honestly, I don't know why you two are still here," Ruth said, breathing out smoke from her cigarette. "I feel like I've very clearly stated that you two suck."
"Well, you're still more fun than your brother," Carol inquired.
"God, again with my brother, Carol. Give it a rest," Ruth snapped. "You two, honestly..."
"There a problem, angel?" Ruth's eyes shut at the voice, eyes going past Tommy to see Billy walking up to them. More kids were beginning to flood to the parking lot for lunch, so it didn't seem as deserted.
"No, no problem," Tommy answered quickly.
"Tommy, right?" Billy asked, pointing to him. "I've heard about you a bit." Ruth rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where this was going. "You're, uh, you're looking for a new king since you won't man up and do it yourself."
"Tommy's always been a follower," Ruth piped up. "Imagine that freckle face as a leader." Billy chuckled lightly at her words, studying Tommy for a moment. Ruth looked to Carol who seemed to be checking out Billy a lot, eyes trailing all over his body. She could feel jealousy in her stomach, and the urge to grab Carol's arm just to see what she was feeling. But Billy's words snapped her out of her trance.
"So, I hear there's a party the night of Halloween," he began. "I feel like I should show you all what a real party looks like."
"Oh, really?" Ruth questioned. She pushed herself off the car, feet carrying her towards Billy. He watched her walk to him, something evil in his eyes. "And what's a real party look like, William?"
"Ruth!" She screwed her eyes shut again, recognizing the voice to be her brothers. She opened them again, placing a hand on Billy's shoulder. All at once, she felt a wave of so many different emotions. Anger, arousal, sadness, hatred, all of the feelings dark. None of them were happy, though. She managed to keep her smile, then pat his shoulder once. She walked around him to her brother who was walking with Nancy. "What are you doing?"
"Why do you want to know?" Ruth asked.
"Because you're my sister and I care," Steve answered. "He bothering you?"
"No, Steve, far from it. Can I live my life without you living over me like a shadow?" Ruth asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Steve took a second, then sighed out. "Thank you."
"Hey, wait, don't think I didn't see you grab his arm," Steve said, pulling her back to him. "What's going on with him?"
"Lot of anger, lot of hatred, zero happiness," Ruth answered.
"So you'll back off now, right?" Steve asked, hoping she'd say yes.
"Back off? No, no, no, Steven. This is all the more reason to try," Ruth told him with a toothy grin. She turned away from her, walking back to her car proudly.
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first. chapter.
y'all i'm so excited for this.
it's top tier.
i know mary is the original, but...
ruth and billy are something else
i hope you enjoyed, angels!