Jessica commented, reading over the shoulder of the younger girl in front of her as she furiously scribbled down letters on a page. "You trying to scare him or make him skip town?"

"I just want him to leave me alone," Max huffed, tossing the pen down after writing the final word and quickly re-reading it for mistakes.

"'If you mess with Max and her friends again, the next time you won't make it home'," Dustin read the note aloud, eyes widened as he reached the end. "Jesus, Max. You said you were gonna spook him not send him a death threat."

The girl merely shrugged as she folded the note, walking towards Billy and crouching down so she could stuff it into his pocket.

"If he wants to go to the police, I'll just have to report all the illegal crap he's done since getting here," she explained, tucking the note into his jean pocket. It was met with an obstruction, causing her to furrow her brows as she curiously tugged out a set of car keys.

With a sudden glint of determination in her eye, she turned to Lucas with a smirk. He picked up on the look immediately, giving the same one to Mike, who caught on and passed it to Dustin.

Like clockwork, the four heads turned to Ringo, who was currently wiping some of the dried blood off of Steve's busted face.

"Hey, dingbats," Jessica snapped her fingers, shuffling to stand by Billy's head, "you helping me lift your mess out to my car, or what?"

Dustin stayed pointedly behind while the other three hurried forward to grab onto Billy. Jessica curled her hands under his arms, while Mike slid his hands underneath the boy's back and Max and Lucas each took a leg, respectively. With a serious expression, Mike nodded at Dustin before the four began to make their way towards Jessica's car.

"Jesus! He's heavy!" Lucas grunted, readjusting his grip while Max panted beside him.

"I've basically got his ass, wanna freakin' swap?!" Mike shouted in frustration, face reddening somewhat from the exertion.

"Next time don't knock him the heck out then!" Jessica barked, effectively silencing their complaints until they made it towards her open back door, all but throwing Billy onto the seat.

While the group caught their breaths and shoved his long limbs inside whatever way they could so they could shut the door, Dustin was inside trying to work his magic on his long-term crush.

"So, Ringo," he sighed slightly, dropping down to sit on his knees next to her. "This is really a bummer isn't it."

"Oh no, your boyfriend nearly getting beaten to death is a normal Tuesday around here," she deadpanned, not even sparing him a glance as she dipped the cloth back into the pink-tinged water once again.

"Oh, you guys are finally official!" He tried to exclaim happily, as a means of lightening the mood. "You know, as crap as this situation is, you know who's at risk of getting beat up too? Eleven."

"Why do you gotta say shit like that?" Ringo tossed her damp cloth down, giving him a fierce glare as she finally regarded upon him. "What next? Wanna tell me I'm adopted? I have a cut on my hand, wanna throw some acid in it?"

"No, no! I didn't mean it like that!" His eyes widened, backtracking slightly as he watched with horror as her eyes began to water.

"Oh for god's sake," Mike rolled his eyes as he re-entered the room, only needing a second to recognise that Dustin was most definitely not handling this correctly.

Mike stepped quickly over to the two, gripped Dustin by the shoulder while lowly muttering 'go away', before taking his place beside Ringo.

"Look," he began, taking a deep sigh. He wasn't one for emotional speeches, but he would have done a million things he wasn't comfortable with if it meant helping Eleven. "You and I have always been friends. Even when Nancy and I weren't, you've always had my back. I see you as a sister, instead of a cousin."

On cue, Ringo burst into tears, more violently than anyone in the room had ever seen her. Fat tears instantly rolled down her cheeks while her chest heaved with sobs. Mike stumbled back slightly, terrified of the image in front of him.

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said," she blubbered, bringing the ends of her sleeves up to wipe at her cheeks. Mike contemplated for a minute, realising that he should probably keep going while she's upset, but to reel in on the emotional words.

"Right? I love you like a sister. But you know who else means a lot to me? Eleven. I can't lose her again, Ringo. You know this is a good idea. Please just... help us," suddenly Mike was feeling emotional himself, almost as if he might cry for the first time since last Halloween.

Ringo sniffled, looking down for a moment in thought before looking at the kids crowded around, waiting for her reaction. Jessica bit her nails by the doorway in suspense, trying to piece together what they were saying to make sense of it all.

"But..." she whispered, glancing back at Steve, who looked positively broken laying on the couch, "what about Steve?"

"He's knocked out, leave him here," Lucas suggested eagerly.

"I can't leave him, if he wakes up and sees us gone he'll assume the worst," she disputed stubbornly.

"Alright, then bring him with us," Max pointed out, her hopeful expression brightening as she watched Ringo's walls crumble.

"How are we even going to get there? And carrying Steve no less?" She stood up, wiping at her cheeks once more. At those words, the kids turned to Max, who proudly swung the ring of the key set around her index finger.

"What?" Ringo scoffed. "I can't drive!"

"Wait, you want her to drive?" Mike rushed to stand up too, a look of panic flashed on his face. "The only thing more dangerous than a horde of demogorgans is Ringo behind the wheel of a car!"

"Well she's made it outside a parking lot!" Max threw back, "and as far as I know, neither have any of you!"

Not leaving room for an argument, Max tossed the keys towards the blonde girl who expertly caught them in her hand. Sniffling once more, she gave them a swift nod and tried to push her emotions aside. They had a mission to complete.

"I'm gonna go, before he wakes up," Jessica interrupted as she came up behind Ringo. The blonde turned around to give her friend a tight hug, which was reciprocated quickly.

"I promise I'll explain everything when it's over," Ringo whispered against her ear, leaning back and forcing an encouraging smile on her lips. "Thank you."

"Yeah yeah," Jessica waved off, "I want free milkshakes for a month."

✵

With Steve nestled in the backseat, wedged between Dustin and Mike with a squashed Lucas pressed against the door, Ringo started to doubt herself. Max eyed her carefully from the front passenger seat, watching as she shakily slid the keys into the ignition. Ringo had received driving lessons, she had been told. How much of a bad driver could she be?

"If you believe in a God, I'd pray to him now," Dustin commented from the backseat, holding onto the handle above the door until his knuckles whitened.

"Okay, I'm stressed enough as it is!" Ringo snapped, pointing her finger at her rear view mirror which gave her a view of the skeptical-looking kids in the back seat. "Shit like that isn't helping!"

"Everyone shut up so she can drive!" Lucas called out. As the engine roared to life, the radio began to blare loudly, the unmistakeable opening sound of Teenage Kicks by the Undertones meeting everyone's ears.

Ringo shifted the car into the appropriate gear, her eyes flicking towards the radio, where she paused for a moment. The entire group were appalled as she began to cry once more.

"What the hell?!" Lucas cried out.

"T-this song!" She stammered through her sobs, pointing viciously at the tape deck. "Steve put this song on my mixtape!"

"Oh for crying out loud," Mike groaned, "Max shut the radio off!"

"Don't you dare!" The driver whipped around with fierce eyes, watery and reddened. Finally, she took the car out of park and began to slide out of the driveway, slowly and ever so carefully.

"I don't mean to be a pain, Ringo," Dustin muttered, "but I'd like to get there before Christmas."

"What did I say?!" She shouted at the top of her voice. Dustin recoiled, unaware that she was still crying when he had made a dig at her.

His words had an effect though, as she pressed the gas down further and began to speed up the road. So far, so good - the group thought. There were shaky moments here and there, but overall, Ringo was seemingly taking the roads like someone with an actual licence.

A couple of minutes had passed without fault, and they weren't far away from the entrance now. Luckily for them, the stretch of road had been straight so far. But there were a series of bends and turns ahead to take in order to get to the field they needed to go to.

Max bit back a scream as Ringo took a particularly sharp bend without slowing down, causing the tyres to squeal slightly against the road beneath. A groan sounded from the backseat, but Ringo assumed it was simply one of the kids complaining once more.

Steve opened his eyes blearily, the first thing he was aware of being the immense pain in his face and head. It battered through his skull like a pulse, constricting his vision as his eyes were swollen. He felt as if he had been thrown off a bus, head first.

The low vibration beneath him wasn't familiar immediately, and when he was finally able to open his eyes, he looked around to see where he was. The first distinguishable thing was a person beside him, who looked oddly familiar.

"Nancy?" He mumbled in confusion, receiving furrowed brows in return. Not Nancy then, he thought. Deciding to find out for sure what was going on with his head, he tiredly lifted his hand up to touch his face, quickly being stopped by fingers grabbing his arm.

"No, no, don't touch it," Dustin whispered gently, taking his hands back from his face. Steve turned his head towards the voice, narrowing his eyes to focus his vision on a curly haired boy beside him, who smiled in encouragement. "Hey, buddy! It's okay, you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass but you put up a good fight. I won't even tell anyone your girlfriend had to save you."

"Okay, keep it straight for half a mile and then make a left on Mount Sinai," Max read out from the map to Ringo, who nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, eyes zeroing in on Ringo - a face he most definitely recognised. At the sound of his voice, she looked over her shoulder in shock.

"Steve!" She exclaimed, lips lifting into a relieved grin. "You're awake!"

The more his eyes began to focus however, the more confused he became. Surely, Ringo didn't have her hands on the wheel of a car?

"Watch out!" Max shouted, bringing her attention back to the road and away from Steve. Ringo swerved a little, having looked back too long and nearly driven straight into the ditch. The action proved to solidify his thoughts, Ringo really was driving.

"Oh my god," he called out, an immediate sense of fear filling him as memories of their day on the country roads entered his head.

"Just relax, she's got the basics down," Dustin reassured him.

"Oh my god," Steve repeated.

"Is that why she drove Steve's car into a ditch?" Mike fired back, still uncomfortable with the driving situation.

"I can hear you!" She sang from the front seat.

"Accidents happen!" Lucas spoke on behalf of her, although with every bump in the road he grappled for something to hold onto.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Steve began to shout, "what's going on?!"

"Steve, please don't be mad!" Ringo called back, looking over her shoulder again and stopping when she was met with a shout of protest from the kids. "I was just trying to help!"

"Left here!" Max pointed, almost a second too late. Ringo swung the wheel towards the left, the car just about making it around the corner and leaving a screeching sound in its wake once again.

"Oh my god!" Steve cried out in a panic. "No! Slow down! Stop the car!"

"We should have left him!" Mike grunted towards Dustin.

"Shut up!" Ringo's voice cracked, the girl on the verge of breaking again. "I'm trying to drive up here!"

"I swear to god if any of you make her cry again!" Max threatened, her head dropping back down to the map. "Another left here!"

As the command was given too late once again, Ringo made another dangerous turn, hitting the mail box of the nearest house on her journey and eliciting a scream from all occupants in the car - especially Steve.

The road led into an open stretch of grass, which contained a large hole that Hopper himself had dug. Unfortunately for them, Ringo was hurtling straight for the hole, clearly not having taken notice of it.

"Stop!" Max screamed, slamming her hands against the dashboard. Ringo rammed her foot down on the brake, swerving the wheel to avoid driving straight into the gaping hole. The car squealed in protest and spun around in a circle before it came to a complete stop.

Every member of the group sighed in relief.

When the threat of vehicular slaughter was effectively over, the kids grappled for their door handles to rush out of the car, all but sprinting for the trunk. Ringo fiddled with her seat belt, casting a desperate glance over her shoulder.

"Babe, stay in the car," she pleaded, running out to follow them. They gripped their goggles and bandanas previously packed, tugging them over their heads to stop the harmful air from meeting their lungs.

Steve didn't listen, crawling forward towards the open door until he eventually fell out onto the ground with a groan. Dropping her goggles, Ringo scurried over to his side, wrapping an arm around his waist as she brought him up to slump against the side of the car.

"Guys... no," he murmured tiredly, eyes closed as his head tilted back.

Ringo returned to the trunk and grabbed Joyce's pink skiing goggles, slipping them on. She made the executive decision to hand off the gas canister to Dustin, thinking that driving was already punishment enough for agreeing to this, she wasn't my going to carry that too.

A spare can of deodorant in Billy's trunk caught her eye, reaching for it and tucking it into her jacket pocket for safe keeping. The kids, too impatient to wait, set off already without her towards the entrance.

"Hey, where do you think you're all going?!" Steve called, clearly waking up again at the sight of the hole. Ringo met Mike's eyes through their thick goggles, shaking their heads in unison as they decided not to answer. "What are you deaf?! Hellooooo!"

"Steve, we have to do this! It's a damn good idea, shouldn't we help any way we can?" Ringo tried to explain calmly, slamming down the boot of the trunk.

"We are not going down there!" He disputed, pushing up so only one arm leaned against the car and he could face the blonde. "I made myself clear!"

"And I'm making myself clear!" She argued, following after the kids stubbornly.

"There is no chance we are going down that hole! This ends right now! What, do you wanna die?"

"Steve," Dustin whipped around to interrupt the duo. "A party member requires our assistance. I know you promised to keep us safe, so keep us safe."

Ringo reopened the trunk of car after realising she had forgotten a vital part of her attire. Lifting the carved hilt of her axe out, she rested the wooden handle against her shoulder and reached for the backpack they had strategically packed. Just in case.

Ringo brought Steve's bag up for him to see, giving a light shrug.

"I'm going with or without you," she told him sincerely. It was a hard comment to make, knowing he only wanted to keep them safe and out of harm. But taking the safer option wasn't always the best one.

Steve sighed, rolling his eyes in frustration before taking the bag, his infamous bat poking out the back. He unzipped it quickly to unveil the weapon, before sliding his arms through the straps and taking the bandana and goggles offered to him by Dustin.

The boy ran off to catch up with his friends, leaving Ringo to wait on Steve to get ready. Once done, he pointed the end of his bat at her playfully.

"You're lucky I like you so much, or else I'd be leaving you all to die down there."

✵