Chapter Thirty-Three:
You
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
Ramona groaned, resting her head against the cold red wall, her eyes falling shut as she shakily reached her hand up to brush against her bruised neck. A silent whimper left her lips as she brought her knee up to her chest, counting her breaths as she let her mind wander. She hadn't seen the state she was in, but based on how she felt, Ramona could tell that she didn't look good. Because the drugs she had been given had finally worn off, Ramona felt the pain of every injury she'd been given. Every last inch of her body seemed to be aching in pain, screaming for relief. But she knew, deep down, that the battle wasn't over yet. So neither was she.
In the stall beside her, Steve's eyes fell onto her shoes peeking from under the stall. Cracking a weak smile, he reached under and poked ankle to get her attention. Ramona peeled her eyes open, looking down at the hand poking out from the space. A smile ghosted her face as she rested her hand in his, smiling as he interlocked their fingers. Because of the awkward angle, it was slightly uncomfortable for Ramona, but she didn't mind it.
"The ceiling stopped spinning for me." Robin's voice broke her out of her trance. "Is it still spinning for you?"
Steve knitted his eyebrows together, looking up towards the ceiling. Ramona shook her head to herself, muttering a weak no.
"Holy shit." Steve muttered, shaking his head. "No. Do you think we puked it all up?"
Ramona nodded to herself, "Probably."
Her voice came out hoarse, the pain in her throat spiking as she squeezed her eyes shut. Robin spread out her arms beside her, "Maybe. Ask me something. Interrogate me."
Ramona's lips curved into a small smile at her fake Russian accent. "Pretty good."
"Okay, interrogate you. Sure." Steve nodded, shifting his position but keeping a firm hold on Ramona's hand. "When was the last time... you, uh, peed your pants?"
"What the fuck.." Ramona whispered, rolling her eyes. "Weirdo."
Steve scoffed, shaking his head. "Oh, come on. When was it?"
Ramona shook her head, her shoulders shaking with a quiet laugh. "Like.. I don't know."
"Today." Robin answered with a giggle, "When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw."
"Oh, my God." Steve laughed.
"It was just a little bit, though!"
"Yeah, it's definitely still in her system." Steve said as Ramona hummed in agreement.
"Okay, all right." Robin interrupted Steve's laughter. "My turn."
"Okay," Steve said, "Hit me."
"Have you..." Robin's voice trailed off as she ran her fingers through her hair, "Ever been in love?"
"Jonathan Byers." Ramona muttered, shaking her head as she looked down at her tattered tennis shoes. "8th grade and freshman year. We were just better friends, I'm over him."
Steve felt a pang of jealousy hit his heart at the thought of Ramona ever being in love with him, even if it ended three years ago. He cleared his throat, haking his head to rid himself of his jealous thoughts. "Yup. Nancy Wheeler. First semester of senior year... boom."
Steve mimicked a gunshot going off as Ramona sighed, squeezing his hand before pulling away from him and standing up carefully. She left the stall, keeping her face hidden from Steve as she joined Robin in her stall, sliding down the wall and sitting next to her. Robin hummed in acknowledgment as she processed Steve's words.
"Oh, my God!" Robin rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "She's such a priss."
"Tsk." Steve clicked his tongue, "Turns out, not really."
Robin paused, swallowing and glancing over at Ramona before continuing. "Are you still in love with Nancy?"
Ramona's back straightened as an uncomfortably awkward atmosphere fell over her. She dug her fingernails into her golden skin as she squeezed her eyes shut. Holding her breath as she waited for him to speak. Seconds passed agonizingly slow as her mind wandered to Nancy, wondering if she still had his heart before he finally spoke again. "No."
"Why not?" Robin continued, glancing over at Ramona again. She looked uncomfortable, like a tiger trapped in a cage as she awaited his response.
"I guess because I found someone whose a little bit better for me." Steve said after a moment of silence. Ramona's breath caught in her throat as she looked at his shoes through the space under the stall. "Heh, it's funny.. Ever since Dustin got back, he's been tellin' me, find your Suzie, you gotta find your Suzie."
"Wait.. Whose Suzie?" Robin asked, looking over to Ramona.
"Girlfriend."
"Some girl from camp, I guess Ramona's right. His girlfriend. To be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure she's even real." Steve confessed, shaking his head with a laugh as his smile slowly fell. "But, uh.. that's not really the point. That doesn't matter, the point is... this girl, the one that I like.. It's somebody I never got along with in school. And I don't even know why. Maybe it's because Tommy H. would've made fun of me or-or I wouldn't be prom king? It's stupid. I mean, really stupid. She's the coolest girl I've ever met, and I was too caught up in popularity to even look her way. And when I did, I was an asshole to her. I still feel guilty about that. Because there was no reason. I just wanted to be King Steve. Dustin's right, I mean, it's just a bunch of bullshit, anyway." Steve inhaled nervously, shaking his head. Ramona's heart hammered against her ribcage, echoing in her ears as nerves pumped through her veins. "Because when I think about it, I should've been friends with this girl the whole time. I mean, first of all, she's hilarious. She's so funny, I don't think I've laughed more than I have these past few months. She's smart, so fucking smart. Way smarter than me, I mean.. She takes AP classes. She's... God, she's my Suzie."
Ramona's throat dried as she stared at her feet, her eyes unfocusing and her mind becoming fuzzy. Robin glanced over at her before leaning her head on her knees. At Ramona's silence, Steve began to panic. "Ramona? Robin? You, uh... Did you guys just OD in there?"
"No." Robin answered shakily, "We... are still alive."
"Oh." Ramona muttered, watching as Steve slid himself into the stall with them. "Hello."
"Floor's disgusting." Robin pointed out.
"Yeah, well, I already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt. So," His eyes trailed over to Ramona who had her gaze firmly set on his face. "What do you guys think?"
"About?"
"This girl." Steve answered.
"She sounds awesome." Robin answered, leaning back and subtly nudging Ramona.
"Bet she has cool style." Ramona half-smiled, shaking her head as Steve looked over at her.
"She is, and she does." Steve continued, nervously gulping as he shifted positions. "What about the guy?"
"He's a lot cooler now." Ramona said quietly. Steve bit back a smile as he looked down at his feet. "Now that he's just himself."
"If he's just realizing this, I think he's on drugs, and he's not thinking straight." Robin said.
"Really?" Steve rose his eyebrows, "Because I think he's thinking more clearly than usual."
"I hope he is." Ramona whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest.
Robin nodded slowly, thoughts swirling in her head as she took in a shaky breath. Steve's eyes lit up as an idea popped into his head, "And-and this girl, she has a friend. Her friend is really cool, and she deserves as much love as the girl I like will get."
Ramona nodded in agreement, forcing down the blush coating her cheeks. "She's the coolest. Her fashion sense... shocks me. In a good way. And I didn't think I could be as close with another person as I am with her. I want her to have a good ass boyfriend."
"They don't even know this friend." Robin disagreed, shaking her head. "Not really. And if they did know her, like-like really know her, I don't even think they'd wanna be her friend."
"That is incorrect." Ramona whispered, carefully nudging Robin. "So incorrect."
"Yeah, that's not true. No way is that true." Steve straightened his back, leaning on his knees as his eyes scanned Robin's face.
"Listen to me, Steve." Robin said, looking over at Ramona as an acknowledgment. "It shocked me to my core, but I like you. I like you both."
A flash of guilt hit Ramona as she awkwardly looked down at her feet, listening to Robin continue. "But I'm not like your other friends."
"Robin, that's exactly why we like you." Steve countered.
"Do you remember what I said about Mrs. Click's class?" Robin asked, looking over at Ramona. "About me being jealous? And, like... obsessed?"
"Mhm." Ramona hummed.
"Yeah." Steve answered.
"It wasn't because I had a crush on you." Robin admitted. "It's because she wouldn't stop staring at you."
"Mrs. Click?" Steve asked, knitting his eyebrows together.
"Tammy Thompson." Robin corrected as Ramona straightened her back, glancing over at Steve to see if he'd caught it. "I wanted her to look at me. But she couldn't pull her eyes from you, and your... stupid hair. And I didn't understand because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor and you asked dumb questions. And-and you were a douchebag! And you didn't even like her. And I would go home and just... scream into my pillow."
"But.." Steve trailed off, looking over at Ramona in confusion. "Tammy Thompson's a girl."
Robin swallowed thickly, blinking away the tears forming in her eyes. "Steve."
"Yeah?" Steve knitted his eyebrows together, his confused smile falling as the realization hit him. "Oh."
"Yeah, oh."
"Holy shit." Steve muttered, shaking his head as his back hit the stall.
"Holy shit." Robin repeated, shifting under the uncomfortable silence. "You, uh, you guys OD?"
"No. I just, uh, just thinking." Steve answered. Robin nodded, looking over at Ramona as she anxiously waited for her reaction. "Ram-"
"I love you, Robin." Ramona said quietly, sliding an arm around the girl's shoulders and resting her head on her shoulder. "Liking girls isn't gonna change that."
Robin cracked a small grin, leaning into Ramona's touch as relief flooded her body. "I love you."
"Tammy Thompson." Steve repeated, blinking in shock as he processed Robin's confession. "I mean, she's cute and all, but.. I mean, she's a total dud!"
Robin gasped, shaking her head. "She is not!"
Ramona snickered, patting her on the shoulder. "I'd disagree."
"She is." Steve nodded, "I mean.. she wants to be a singer. She wants to move to Nashville and shit."
"She has dreams!" Robin defended.
"She needs practice." Ramona shrugged.
"She can't even hold a tune." Steve argued as Ramona giggled, shamelessly nodding her head. "She's practically tone deaf! Have you heard her? All the time, you see me now tonight, you see me more than ev-"
"Shut up." Robin cut him off with a laugh, "She does not sound like that."
Steve rose his eyebrows, "She sounds exactly like that, that's a great impression of her."
"She does not!" Robin shook her head quickly, "You sound like a Muppet."
"She sounds like a Muppet! She sounds like a Muppet giving birth."
Ramona covered her mouth with her free hand to hold in the laugh as Steve mimicked Kermit. "And if you can hold me tight, we'll be holding on forever!"
"Exactly." Steve laughed.
"I know." Robin finally agreed as laughs spilled from her lips. "I know."
Ramona jumped at the sound of a bathroom door being thrown open. She looked over, her laugh silencing at the sight of Dustin. "Okay, what the hell?"
~~
"This has to hurt." Steve whispered, his fingers delicately brushing against the bruises on her neck, being extra careful not to hurt her, his other hand cupping her cheek as his eyes trailed over her face. "Ramona.."
Ramona nodded weakly, shrugging as she looked up at him. "A little bit."
Steve's eyes softened as he traced the bruises, thoughts running rampant through his head as he delicately brushed his thumb along her bottom lip, still coated in dried blood. "What did they do to you?"
"Just a surface cut." Ramona waved him off as he pulled his hands away, glancing over at Erica, Dustin, and Robin who patiently waited for the movie to end in the corner of the bathroom. Ramona watched him curiously as he pulled a napkin from the dispenser, turning on the sink and wetting it carefully before walking back over to her.
Ramona cracked a smile as he slowly raised the napkin to her lips, gently wiping away the dried blood. "You know I can do this myself, right?"
Steve nodded, "I know."
A silence fell over them as Ramona's eyes trailed over his face. He stuck his tongue out in concentration, glancing up at her eyes to make sure he wasn't hurting her ever-so often.
"What's on your mind, Harrington?" Ramona asked quietly, glancing down at his hand as he gently wiped the blood from her face.
Steve stayed silent as he flipped over the napkin, a flurry of unreadable emotions swirling around his eyes. His hand dropped as he looked from her lips up to her eyes. Inhaling shakily, he finally spoke. "You."
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
{ A/n: stamona rights }
{ Edited: No }