✵

"Bye, Mrs Wheeler!" Ringo waved as she stepped out of the car along with Nancy, the older woman huffing in response.

"I told you to call me Karen!" She called, but her shout was cut off by the slamming shut of the car door.

Ringo gripped the straps of her backpack tightly to prevent her hands from shaking, unable to stop the fact her stomach was in knots. Nancy was quick to pick up on her cousins reluctance.

"Don't worry, Ringo," she soothed, smiling warmly at her. "You'll be okay. You have me and Barb. And... Jonathan, by the looks of last night."

Ringo's eyebrows furrowed at her tone towards the end, but deciding to ignore it, trudged onwards towards the entrance.

Almost like a scene from a movie, the second she stepped in, all eyes had turned their way. It wasn't as if Ringo considered herself something to be stopped and stared at, but the fact was - Hawkins was a small town. Anyone new was bound to attract attention.

"Do you need me to show you to your locker or anything?" Nancy offered kindly, her body half turned towards the right hand hallway.

"No it's fine, you go ahead," Ringo urged, waving goodbye at her and walking on to find her locker by herself. She actually did need her help, but she could tell Nancy was antsy to be somewhere and didn't want to be a bother.

After walking around aimlessly for about ten minutes, she finally located her locker, sighing in relief. Shuffling through the pocket of her leather jacket, she uncovered the small piece of paper with the code that would hopefully unlock the lock.

Unfortunately for her, it didn't budge after she turned the knob in the correct sequence.

"Oh shit," she muttered, looking around and hoping no one saw her anxious state. Concentrating even harder, she entered it once more - but once again the lock refused to give way.

The last thing Ringo wanted to do was go to the office and complain about her locker.

"Here," a familiar voice resounded from behind her, startling her enough to cause her to jump. "I had this locker last year, you have to push the centre in afterwards."

Steve Harrington leaned around her and pressed the centre of the lock harsh enough for his thumb to turn white, but sure enough, the lock opened and she was able to get inside her locker.

"Um, thanks," she stammered, confused by his random act of kindness. In truth, Steve was one of the main reasons she was so backward about having to go to school today. From what she heard, he seemed to be a rather popular figure head here - if he tainted everyone's view of her so early in her time there, it would make things quite difficult.

"So, how's being the new kid?" He asked, leaning against the locker beside hers as she placed her notebooks inside, crossing his arms over his chest.

"As horrible as you'd expect," she admitted, chuckling softly. If he was being civil, she decided she would be too.

"What's your first class?" He asked, rudely taking her timetable from her hand and looking it over. "We have a lot of the same classes, are you a junior too?"

"Yeah," she narrowed her eyes slightly at his gesture, but again, ignored it and turned back to shut her locker door.

If he was going to ignore their argument last night, then she would too.

Steve handed her back her timetable, which she neatly tucked back inside her leather jacket.

"Well, see you around Rin'," he spoke as he turned around and began to walk back up the hallway.

"It's-" she began, ready to correct him on her name, expecting him to have forgotten it, but he beat to her to the punch.

"I know," he interrupted her, not even looking back as he did so. She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering where the nickname had come from. But it didn't matter she supposed, because she rather liked it.

✵

Sitting in her English class, Ringo had luckily escaped the "introduce yourself" segment so far today, by some stroke of luck.

Her teachers hadn't seemed to care enough to force her into it, which was just fine with her. Mrs Snider handed her their curriculum for the semester, informing her she would need to catch up on the material they had read so far if she hadn't already covered them in her previous school.

Taking a quick skim over the list, Ringo raised her eyebrows and let out a small huff, muttering under her breath.

"One female author on the whole list?" She shook her head, catching the attention of the girl in the desk beside hers.

"It's ridiculous right?" The girl whispered to her with a roll of her eyes, Ringo blushed slightly, embarrassed she had been caught talking to herself. "She only has one female poet on the list as well, and that's Sylvia Plath. It's like, fuck Emily Dickinson, right?"

"Right? And 'Pride and Prejudice' is amazing don't get me wrong, but what about the Brontë sisters? Or Harper Lee? They even have Romeo and Juliet down here, I swear it feels like we have learned that play ever since kindergarten," Ringo ranted along with her, her desk mate waving up her hands in agreement. They started to laugh after she finished her speech.

"I'm Jessica, by the way," she told her, smiling brightly.

"I'm Ringo," she replied in return. If Jessica thought her name was weird, she didn't comment on it.

That was how the rest of their class went, with each of the two passing comments about their teacher and her 'laid-back' approach to teaching. After the bell rang, they walked out together to the hallway, where they unfortunately had to part ways to go to their individual classes.

"Hey, we should hang out sometime!" Jessica called to her, walking backwards so she could face Ringo.

"Definitely!" She agreed eagerly, a warm and fuzzy feeling enveloping her, knowing she made a new friend.

✵

"There you are!" Nancy exclaimed, ten minutes after the final bell had rang. They were due to meet at the front entrance right away so they could leave, but Ringo had gotten caught up with boys in the class trying to talk to her. "What took so long?"

"Sorry," she muttered, hitching her backpack straps up higher on her shoulder. "Ready to go?"

"Sure," Nancy agreed, but her high tone of voice and the way her teeth nibbled her lower lip told her otherwise.

"What is it?"

"It's just... Steve's gonna give us a ride home," she said quietly, fearing her cousins reaction.

"That's fine," Ringo shrugged, moving past Nancy to trail down the steps.

"Okay then," Nancy huffed in surprise, following after her after a moment.

Ringo let Nancy lead the way towards the car in the parking lot, now that it was bright outside, she finally got a glimpse of his car and held back a scoff.

"A BMW? Really? How old is this kid, seventeen or seventy?" She complained quietly to Nancy, who shushed her quickly before they reached him.

He was standing, leaning against the car with sunglasses on, oozing cockiness. An easy grin fell on his face at the sight of the two Wheeler girls.

"Hop in ladies," he gestured to his overly fancy car, opening the passenger side door for Nancy while Ringo climbed into the back.

"Oh how the other half live," she sighed bitterly as he climbed into the drivers seat.

"What was that, doll face?" He called back to her, raising his eyebrows in his rear view mirror.

"Oh, nothing!" She called back, her voice high and sugary sweet.

Nancy reached over and began to turn the knob on the radio, static flickering as she would land on a station and then change it over if she didn't like the song.

Ringo's ears picked up at familiar tones of one in particular, flying her hand out to grab Nancy's shoulder.

"Woah! Stop there!" She commanded, and the slightly younger girl did so, frightened by her sudden outburst.

"I didn't take you for a Fleetwood Mac fan, Ringo," Steve commented casually. Nancy turned in her seat with an eager smile.

"Oh she's a huge fan, Ringo tell him the story about the album!" She suggested, hoping to form a friendship between them, or at least an acquaintance.

"I'd rather not," she huffed from the back seat.

"Fine, then I'll tell it!" Nancy continued, Ringo rolling her eyes.

"Ever since Ringo was ten, she's been searching for their Rumours vinyl but every time she goes into a record store they don't have any in stock," Nancy gushed, Steve furrowed his brows, not understanding the significance.

"I don't understand, go to a different record store then?" He suggested dumbly.

"Yeah, no shit," Ringo drily answered, "I've been to a total of sixteen different stores, numerous times each. So Nancy and I have deduced that I am completely jinxed. Or cursed."

"That's kinda weird," he mused, "isn't it one of the most popular albums of all time?"

"Yes!" Ringo threw her hands up frustratedly, still angry that she never got her hands on that record. To this day, she still tried.

"Well, how about we go to the one in town right now?" He offered, looking swiftly over his shoulder at the blonde.

"Oh," she was taken aback by the sudden kindness, "it's okay, I don't want to trouble you."

"No, it'll be fun. We'll see if you really are cursed," he smiled, taking the next turn that would lead them in the complete opposite direction of the Wheeler house.

Nancy narrowed her eyes in confusion at her boyfriend, trying to understand his motives. She liked Steve Harrington, truly, but she didn't necessarily like him for his kindness or generosity, or lack thereof. She always thought his sweet side was something only she would ever get to see.

They pulled up to 'Groovy Tunes' record store a few minutes after, another benefit of living in a small town. Ringo tried not to get her hopes up once again, but it was proving difficult. The last time she had tried this store, it was when she was visiting Hawkins at the age of fourteen.

The trio trailed inside, looking around at the expanse of record bins littered on tables around the shop.

"Okay, team," she became all formal, turning to the other two with wild eyes, "spread out! You have your mission!"

The small group dispersed, taking an aisle each and flicking through each and every vinyl, searching for the cream cover with the black and white depiction of Nicks and Fleetwood.

Eventually, Ringo and Steve were facing each other, searching through opposing bins on the same table. She tried to focus on the vinyls beneath her fingers, but couldn't help but let her eyes drift up in curiosity to see the tall boy she was insulting the night before - actually helping her.

She hadn't realised she was staring until Steve looked up, feeling her gaze on him. Ringo quickly looked back down, hoping he thought nothing of it, but the chuckle escaping his lips and slight shake of his head said otherwise.

Finally, twenty minutes later, they had to accept defeat after scouring the entire shop. Ringo marched up to the clerk at the till.

"Hi," she put on her most charming smile for the teenager, who's eyes widened upon seeing her in front of him. "I was just wondering, do you by any chance have Rumours by Fleetwood Mac anywhere in this store? I can't seem to find it."

Steve and Nancy watched in amusement as she completely dazzled the boy, who practically scampered off his stool to help her.

"Well, I'm so sorry Miss but we just sold the last copy we had earlier today," he looked downtrodden to have to give her negative news. "Is there anything else you need? I'd be happy to help!"

"No it's fine, thanks anyway," she shook her head, stepping backwards. Ringo looked clearly deflated from the disappointment, her tone lower than before as she refused to meet the eyes of the other two.

She set off back to the car, moving into the backseat without a word. Steve and Nancy shared a glance before following after her, returning to their respective seats.

"So," Steve tried to break the tension, "you really are cursed, huh?"

"Yeah," she forced a chuckle, "thanks for taking me anyway, Steve. I appreciate it."

"I- no problem," he stammered, as confused by her politeness as she had been by him.

✵

"What are you dorks doing?" Ringo's voice called out as she stepped down to the basement, enthused by the shouting she had heard from upstairs.

"Dungeons and Dragons!" They called back, a chorus of voices. Dustin had completely abandoned the game, standing up to greet her, readjusting his cap.

"Hi, Ringo!" He greeted excitedly, causing her to chuckle.

"Hey, Dustin. It's good to see you all again, boys," she settled down on the couch cushions spread out on the ground near their table, eager to watch them for entertainment.

"Are you gonna stay here and watch us, dork?" Mike reared around and asked, causing her to hold her hands up in surrender.

"Yes I am, loser, problem with that?"

"No!" The other three called back, interrupting Mike before he could answer.

Ignoring her, they all turned around to continue on with their game, while Ringo tried to pay attention as best as she could and making comments here and there.

"Something is coming, something hungry for blood..." Mike began a speech, his voice dropped low and deadly serious.

"Ooooh is it Nancy?" Ringo asked in amusement, receiving a glare from all at the table.

"A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness," Mike continued after not-so-subtly clearing his throat. "It is almost here."

"What is it?" Will begged, the sweetest among the group, Ringo knew.

"I told you, it's Nancy!" She interjected again, causing Mike to whirl around and throw the pillow he was kneeling on at her face.

"Do you mind? This is a serious game!" He shouted at her, but she barely heard him over her fit of laughter.

"What if it's the demogorgan?" Dustin asked fearfully, "Jesus we are so screwed if it's the demogorgan!"

"It's not the demogorgan," Lucas disagreed.

Ringo began to zone out, leaning back against the wall and picking up a stray comic book to flip through. Until Mike suddenly shouted and slammed a figure down onto the table, and she nearly had a heart attack in shock.

"Jesus guys! I'm older than you, I'm more prone to heart attacks!" Her complaints fell on deaf ears, as they all started to shout over each other about their 'next action'.

Will had rolled a set of die, which subsequently fell onto the floor, prompting the kids to search after it.

"Move!" Mike shouted at her, "you could be sitting on it!"

"But I'm so comfy," she teased, relaxing further into her spot. Mike grabbed her foot and began to drag her, but when he wasn't strong enough to budge her, the other three joined in and each grabbed a limb.

"Alright Jesus! I think I'd know if a dice was digging into my ass!" She complained, getting up from her spot and letting them look underneath.

"Mike!" Karen called down from the basement door.

"Mom! We're in the middle of a campaign!" He whined in frustration.

"Not any more! Fifteen after!"

Mike sprinted up the stairs to beg for more time to play, so Ringo tried to help the boys search.

"Does a seven count?" Will asked Lucas.

"Did Mike see it?" Will shook his head. "Then it doesn't count!"

"Oh boys, you want me to hide that from my cousin?" She teased them, scrunching up her face.

"Come on Ringo! I'll give you leftover pizza!" Dustin purred at her, dangling the box towards her.

"If there's pizza leftover in this basement, guaranteed there's some type of bodily fluid on it. So no thanks!" She shook her head, helping tidy up the basement for Mike as Dustin ran off to ask Nancy.

After they had all left, waving goodbye to her, very quickly she became bored and missed the camaraderie.

Ringo walked back upstairs towards her and Nancy's room, and stopped before opening the door at the sound of her cousin's voice flooding through the wood.

"No, Barb. I'm not being silly. Steve's the most popular guy in school, guys like that don't go for me they go for girls like Ringo," her voice was full of sadness, making Ringo's chest twinge with guilt. She hated that Nancy felt insecure around her.

Ringo couldn't hear Barb's answer, but she did hear Nancy's.

"Because she's confident and brave and just perfect, and I'm like the dorky girl. It doesn't make sense on pen and paper."

Ringo sighed once more, this time in frustration. She hated how Nancy saw her as perfect, when the exact opposite was true. If she was half as brave as Nancy thought she was, she would tell her about her life in Orlando before she came here. Then Nancy would know there was no cause for envy.

Deciding she had heard enough, Ringo opened the door and went straight to her cot, tugging her headphones over her head and listening to her mix tape once again.