The room was small, cramped even, and it was made smaller by the two twin beds shoved against opposite walls. "This sucks," Max muttered as she threw herself onto the bed across from the window. She figured that her sister had given up enough, she could have the window.

Standing by the half filled bookshelf with a stack of books in hand Veronica replied, "it's not that bad."

"We're sharing a dresser," Max told her as if she didn't already know, as if Veronica hadn't thrown out half her clothes to make more room.

Veronica sighed setting the stack on a shelf and climbing onto the bed beside her. She wasn't any happier leaving in the middle of her senior year and having to share the smallest room in the house with her little sister – but she was the oldest, happy or not this was her job. "We've made do with worse," she said with a shrug. Max was still frowning. "Besides, I go to college next year and you'll have the whole room to yourself."

Hugging her knees to her chest Max replied in a soft voice, "that's not what I meant." She looked up at her sister not liking the idea of her being gone; she had a hard time picturing what home was without her in it.

"I know," Veronica told her wishing she knew what to say to make it better. But words weren't enough this time. "You're right, this sucks," she admitted watching Max's face open with surprise. "I don't wanna have to start over. But it is what it is." Get over it, it's basically what her mom told her and Max scowled at the floor. "I'm glad I'm not doing it alone."

Glancing at Veronica out of the corner of her eye Max saw she was smiling. The small one where the corner of her eyes started to squint. Max pursed her mouth not ready to give in.

"Come on," Veronica cooed knocking her elbow against Max's arm. "You know you wanna."

"Whatever," Max groaned rolling her eyes, but not before Veronica caught her faint grin. "You sound like one of your stupid books."

She quickly wrapped her arms around Max's small shoulders and gave a tight squeeze before sliding off the bed and returning to the bookshelf. She set about fixing the potted flower in the center of the shelf and arranged the porcelain figurines their grandmother gave her every birthday. Max watched her twist the figures this way and that, switching them all around before changing them back. Billy called her anal, Max didn't really know what that meant.

"Where's Neil and Susan?"

Speak of the devil. Max turned scowling at where Billy leaned in the doorway, his eyes fixed on Veronica. "They went to get pizza."

He traced the length of her back and the span of her hips as she bent to grab another stack of books from the box. His tongue snaked along his lips. "How long ago did they leave?" he asked, his voice lowered to a growl.

Max's face twisted knowing where he was looking, it's where he was always looking. And Veronica alphabetized her books pretending she was unaware he'd crept past the doorway with mischief and hunger in his eyes. "A while ago, they should be back any minute."

"How far away's the place?" His boots struck the ground as he snuck closer to the far wall, his cold blue eyes glittering.

"How should I know?" Max sneered trying to get a rise out of him, to get his eyes off her sister. Veronica was his sister now too but that didn't seem to matter.

His hands came around her waist and he pulled her against him inhaling the smell of her floral shampoo. It was the closest she'd let him get in weeks. In that moment he had a lot of wants, he'd come into her room with intention of carrying her back to his. But with his arms around her middle and his chin on her shoulder, the only thing he wanted was to hold her.

Ronnie had grown still at the feel of him at her back, had let go of the decorative box expecting him to pull her away from the bookshelves Neil helped her put back together. But she felt him sigh and his head grow heavy as he laid it on her shoulder, and she just stood in that moment letting herself have it a second longer before she picked back up the little blue wooden box Max had painted for her birthday last year.

"That where you hide the getaway money?" he mumbled, his lips against her neck.

"No, it's your box," she answered and turned to him. She watched his brows draw together wondering what she meant, the cautious suspicion that came with having learned to expect the worst from the people that were supposed to love him.

She stepped out of his arms and turned leaning her back against the bookshelf as she pulled the lid up. "I have the stubs to every movie you took me to," she said pulling out a stack of tickets bound in a hair tie. "And all the little photos we did." She handed him the smaller stack of photo series they'd done, glancing through them he found Max in a lot of them. "Here's the scorecard from the putt putt game I won."

"The only one you've ever won," Max chimed in quietly.

Billy gave a short one-syllable laugh in agreement. "You are embarrassingly bad at that game." His own voice was quiet, unusually so, as he looked at the side of Ronnie's face.

She chose not to acknowledge their teasing as she pulled another small memory out of her keepsake box. "Wristbands from the arcade," she raised the tri-colored bands she'd braided together to show them both. "It was the first date you planned for Max to come with us."

Max sat cross legged on her bed looking between them. She didn't remember them meeting, didn't remember the point in time when they became Ronnie and Billy. Max's entire life they'd always been Ronnie-and-Billy. All together like it was one name, like they belonged together. "That was a fun date."

"Yeah it was," Billy agreed, shuffling through the photobooth pictures until he found the ones from that day. It might've been his favorite.

"I even have the ring you spent your last tickets on." She fit it on her pinky, the cheap silver clashing with the gold ring she wore on her index finger. There was another gold ring on the middle finger of her left hand with a pale blue stone, similar to the blue of Billy's eyes. He'd gotten both of them for her. But she'd always loved this stupid fake ring.

He looked at the cheap plastic ring with a comically large plastic diamond, remembering the way she laughed when he swore he'd marry her. He'd laughed too but he'd meant it. Ten years he'd been swearing to marry her, and he meant it every time. "What can I say, I'm trying to drape my girl in diamonds." He watched her face break open with her laughter, her eyes almost shutting from how wide she smiled. God he loved that smile. "What's in there?" He pointed to what looked like folded parchment paper, wanting to see everything she'd cared enough to keep.

"Dried flowers," she answered rattling the paper as she fit everything back in. "And a couple other things I'm not gonna show you in front of my sister." She heard Max scoff on the bed, hating to be told she was too young.

His eyes were on the closed box she held, his expression veering towards vulnerability. Sometimes he wondered if anyone had ever loved him more than she did. Sometimes he had to remind himself she wasn't made just for him. "I didn't know you kept all that."

"Of course I did," she told him with an easy smile. "It's you."

He looked at her annoyingly pretty fairytale face, feeling how much she loved him in the curve of her lips and the warmth in her eyes. He didn't know what to do with all that love. Once upon a time he'd been softer, kinder even. But it'd been ground out of him until all he had now were sharp edges that would only hurt her. And she was already hurting. Yet he raised a hand to her face, the pad of his thumb gently running along the sharp line of her jaw. Trying, or at least pretending, to be the kind of man that deserved her.

A throat cleared and Billy was quick to pull away with a hissed curse, Max jumped up from her bed and skated around where Neil now stood in their doorway to find her mom in the kitchen, and Ronnie turned setting the box in between the last book and what was left of her sheet music. Billy ducked his head as he tried to get out of the girls' room but Neil's sharp fingers dug into his middle when he pushed him back, his eyes on Veronica. She moved around him and headed for the kitchen, pausing when she heard the door close before helping Max set the table.

Inside her room Neil was glowering at Billy, who was doing his best to hold his head up under the weight of that stare. "I didn't do anything."

"Cut the crap," Neil warned, seeing the way Billy swallowed and knowing he'd been right in their want to take it further. "She's your sister now you keep your hands off her, is that clear?"

Silence hung thick in the air between them, a timid dare. But Billy gave in with a quiet, "yes sir."

After another long look Neil threw the door open and stormed into the kitchen where Veronica stood putting pizza slices on plates for them. She'd always been a good girl, respectful. He took the plate Veronica handed him holding her wide-eyed stare; she had no right looking this innocent. He should be harder on her. She smiled sweetly, warmly, and he was wrapped once more around her finger as he reached a hand to ruffle her long auburn hair.

As he made his way to the table she turned for the hall, her smile falling. With a sigh she slapped two slices on a second plate and carried both hers and Billy's to the table. She set his plate in the space across from her and slid into the seat beside Max with Neil at the head of the table on her left.

"Where the hell is he?" Neil demanded turning for the hall with a heavy sigh.

"I forgot the salad," Veronica said jumping up. "You want salad mom? Neil?" She looked from her mother to Neil, both of whom nodded. She grabbed a large bowl setting it on the counter and glanced at the table seeing both her mother and Neil looking at Max as she stalled them.

Slipping into the hall she walked back to her room where Billy stood with his face turned to the bookshelf. She only wasted enough time to grab whatever part of him was closest, which happened to be his sleeve, and dragged him to the kitchen. She opened the fridge looking for the lettuce. "I already got your pizza," she whispered when he moved around her to reach for a plate. Grabbing the bag of lettuce she held it up to him and rifled around for the dressing.

Max was telling them about the comic she was reading, it was the only thing she could think of after Veronica nudged her before running off to make a salad. This was their life now, covering for Billy to keep Neil from yelling.

"If he is not out here in the next ten seconds," Neil fumed as he turned once more for the hall. He found his son dumping lettuce in a bowl while Veronica grabbed everything else.

"Can you get the bacon?"

"You actually gonna eat a salad?" was her quick retort, knowing he'd just put it on the pizza. But she grabbed the small yellow bag and handed it to him. They made their way to the table and settled in the tense silence as Neil stared heavily at his son who refused to look at him. "Can you pass the water?" Ronnie asked looking at her quiet mother. She first filled Max's cup then her own then Neil's before setting it back on the table and reaching for the salad.

"Is everyone excited for school tomorrow?" Susan asked looking at her daughters and step son, all of who were staring at their plates. And then at her husband who drank his beer in muted anger.

After a long pause Veronica lowered her fork wondering why it always had to be her. "I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's gonna honestly answer yes."

"Yeah," Max agreed, her mouth full. "That's what happens when you're a nerd."

"Hey," she exclaimed turning to see Max grinning behind her hand.

"It's a good thing you're cute," Billy said and Neil stiffened beside him, "you'd never get a date."

The whole table seemed to be holding its breath waiting for the storm to break and Neil's voice to crack like thunder. But Veronica raised her glass to her mouth as though she didn't notice, as though her indifference was the only thing that could keep the storm at bay. "Whatever," she responded in a voice that sounded older than she looked, "there's more for me than just being someone's girlfriend." She took a gulp of water and set her glass down not needing to look at Billy to know she'd hurt him.

"That there is," Neil agreed, his eyes heavy on her face as he reached a hand to the back of her head. He held it there a moment looking at her bright green eyes, staring with such unassuming trust, before he shook her head making her smile. Across from the Billy glowered at how quickly and easily his dad had taken to her.

There wasn't much conversation after that, what with them having just gotten to Hawkins, what with Max having runaway less than a month ago, what with Billy being Billy and Neil being Neil and her mom being a shadow. And that just left Veronica, picking up everyone's pieces to keep this charade from falling apart.

She and Max did the dishes while their mom and Neil talked softly in the living room, or rather Neil did the talking and she voiced her unnecessary agreement. "Veronica."

She looked up at her name, the only word to come out of this man's mouth gently. Drying her hands she met him by the door, her auburn brows just slightly creased. His hand fit on the small of her back and she straightened. Behind them Billy stood in the doorway to his room having heard her name and now watched a little too close to be considered casual. He knew what his dad's hands could do. She did too, even if Neil never raised them to her.

"Your mother and I wanted you to know how much we appreciate how good you've been with the move, helping us out and taking care of your sister," he said pulling the front door open and leading her outside. At the sight of the old truck her eyes lit up and the beginnings of a smile worked its way onto her mouth. "It's not exactly the one you've been saving up for."

"It's perfect," she said without hesitation. He expected no less and he looked down at her not quite smiling but pleased. The corners of her eyes were squinting from her wide grin as she looked up at him. "You really put up the other half?" she asked quietly, as though waiting for the inevitable shoe to drop.

But Neil nodded handing her the keys. Her truck looked massive next to Billy's Camero, it never ceased to amaze him how completely she overshadowed his son. Billy was seething as he returned to his room throwing the door shut behind him. His dad always liked her, too much and more than Neil had ever liked him. Billy hated her so much sometimes. Even Max sulked gloomily having always known Veronica was his favorite; pretty perfect Veronica with her bright smile and big eyes. She was their mother's daughter, Max wasn't.

"Wanna go for a ride?"

Max looked up at Veronica's openly happy face, and even though she wanted to hate Veronica too she rolled her eyes to hide her smile as she nodded. Veronica threw her arms around Neil's waist squeezing him tight, feeling his hand on her hair before she darted down the steps and to the driver's side. Max wasn't far behind her, and with a quick wave from Veronica to Neil she backed the truck out and they headed for the highway.

With the wind tearing at their sun licked hair they belted every song that came on before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Max and Ronnie, Ronnie and Max. How it'd always been and how it was supposed to always be. She wished it never changed.

They were parked at an overpass watching the sky bleed into night from the bed of the truck. Max glared at the sunset like it wronged her. She didn't wanna be here, she didn't wanna start at a new school with new friends, she didn't wanna live with Neil or Billy, she wished she knew how to make her sister happy again, she wanted everything to be like before her dad left and it was never going to be.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Veronica's soft yet warm voice had Max sighing as she pressed closer to her side. "Do you really think everything's gonna be okay?" Max asked because that's what Ronnie always said. And Max really didn't think so this time.

Veronica blinked at the faint stars too frail to twinkle yet, but they'd get there. They'd get there. "I think we'll make it okay," Veronica said turning her head to look at her sister's disbelieving face. "We always do." She raised her hand extending only her pinkie. "Together or nothing, right?"

"Right," Max repeated feeling a very small smile at the corners of her mouth as she hooked her pinky with Veronica's. And for the first time since their mom said Neil proposed, Max actually thought it might be.

The two girls returned home still singing the last song as they made their way to the porch. Their song died out when their mother greeted them a step past the doorway, both girls having the same terrible thought. Max turned to Ronnie expecting to see her squaring her shoulders for a fight, but instead her shoulders dropped like she'd spent all her energy and didn't have enough left for anything else. Then their mom smiled, and she moved around Ronnie raising her hands to cover her eyes.

"You might have one more surprise."

Ronnie let her mom lead her inside, her hand reaching out to touch the doorway to orient herself. Susan steered her to an immediate left and lifted her hands from Ronnie's eyes, hearing the sharp breath she sucked in.

The tips of her fingers ran along the smooth wood of her old piano as pressure built behind her eyes. "I thought we didn't have room," she said in a small voice as she turned to her mom. It'd broken her already wounded heart to tell them it was okay to leave it, that Billy could have his weights, trying to make this easier for everyone.

"We couldn't get rid of it after hearing you play," Susan told her, a gentle hand brushing Ronnie's hair out of her face. "I still can't believe you never let me hear how good you've gotten."

The night before someone was supposed to come by to take it Susan had asked for a concert, to finally get to hear where years of paying for piano lessons had gone. And at the wildly fast beginning of Moonlight Sonata's 3rd movement, which had become muscle memory to Ronnie when she first learned it a couple years before, Susan turned to Neil knowing from his clear pride they weren't getting rid of the piano. It'd been sweet of Ronnie to offer leaving it, to give away the only thing in their old house she wanted in an effort to make this move work.

Ronnie hadn't been herself the last few months; she didn't speak, she barely ate, she slept most of the time, her grades started slipping. It was like living with a ghost. But Ronnie had come alive when she played that night, her body bending under the weight of the music, her fingers gliding over keys that only made sense to her. She'd been breathless as the final notes echoed in the small living room, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed as she finally woke up.

If the only thing this move did was give Susan her daughter back, then she could be happy with it. "Maybe you could play something before bed?"

Ronnie gave a shy smile, her mouth opening to speak a good few seconds before any words actually came out. Not quite ready to say what came out. "I only kept the music sheets of a few songs I wrote."

"You write music?" Susan asked, wondering how Ronnie had kept this from her for so long.

She shrugged feeling the first fluttering of embarrassed nerves. "Yeah. If you don't make a big deal out of it, maybe I'll play one."

Susan held her hands up giving a light, "okay, I won't make it a big deal." As Veronica stepped toward her room she added, "my baby's a musician."

Max moved from where she felt discarded at the door and sat on the couch waiting, hearing Ronnie laugh from their room as she picked a song. As Veronica sat herself on the bench, Max saw Billy's door open out of the corner of her eye.

It was a slow simple little melody. Her left hand stayed around the same few keys near the middle of the piano, laying the foundation of the piece while her right hand played a few keys higher up that tinkled like little bells. There was no impressive flourish or tricky key changes, there was no mad dash for glory and applause. It was sweet, and honest. Max watched her sister play catching her faint smile, wondering what memory this song belonged to.

Susan clapped lightly at the end, her eyes a little wetter. Ronnie gave a little curtsy before collecting her pages and bidding them goodnight. Max headed to their room, seeing Billy's door was closed again, but at not finding Veronica behind her she turned to see her kiss Neil's cheek with a sweet smile before she stood upright. Max saw the way that smile slipped off her face like it'd been wiped off with a rag, she ducked in their room before Veronica knew she'd seen.

Veronica showered and stood at their closet with her wet hair piled on top of her head staring at the shirts she hung up earlier. Max already asked her why she couldn't just pick out her outfit tomorrow like a normal person, Veronica only shook her head needing something she could control.

There was a loud knock on their door, hard knuckles striking the wood making them both jump. "Night girls," Neil told them, his eyes trailing the oversized shirt Veronica wore. It wasn't quite long enough to cover her soft pale legs, and he found it familiar. But she was in her room, that's what he'd come to see.

Max flipped through one of her comics laying on Veronica's bed, and like clockwork after twenty minutes Veronica moved to their door. "He's mad at you," Max reminded her, having seen his brief flash of hurt at the dinner table before an ugly sneer replaced it.

"I know," Veronica replied quietly before cracking the door and looking down the hall to see the light under their parent's door was off. She snuck out of their room and closed their door the same time she opened Billy's and slipped inside.

He was sitting at the edge of his bed with his back to her rifling through one of his boxes. "Thought you were too good to be my girl," he said huffing smoke through his nose. The bed dipped as she climbed onto it and he inhaled sharply feeling her settle against his back with her arms around his waist.

"Too good to only be your girl."

He turned finding her bright eyes from where she had her cheek resting on the very edge of his shoulder, seeing love instead of the resentment he expected. At some point in his life he only expected the worst, especially from her. "You always did want the world." She was a planner. He used to plan with her, she'd taught him how to do that. But lately he wondered how he'd ever convinced her to include him in them.

She watched him turn to floor like he didn't know how to look at her anymore. Her fingers tenderly brushed his temple as she pulled a stray curl out of his face. "I didn't mean for that to hurt you."

He nodded without looking at her. Half the time he didn't know what to say to her but every time he opened his mouth nothing he wanted came out. She made this seem so easy, some days he really wanted to hate her. Mostly he just wished he was better at this for her.

Her arms fell from his waist as he stood, and she waited patiently for him to find the right box. He came back holding the tattered folder she thought she'd thrown out, stuffed full of all the song sheets she'd learned over the years. Stubbing out his cigarette on a small plate, he sat in the same spot and let his weight settle against her as she wound her arms once more around him.

"When'd you write that song?" It wasn't what he wanted to say but it at least was kind.

She knew how hard he was trying. Knew how tired he must feel at how hard he had to try for her. "The night after you took me to the lake."

He finally looked at her again, her head once more on his shoulder, his eyes wide and hurting. "You wrote a song about me?" His voice was a quiet breath, like he was scared if he said too loud she'd take it back.

Ten years and he'd never known she played piano, especially not the way he saw her play a few nights ago. That night had been her way of saying goodbye to something she very clearly loved. His response to that was digging her music out of a trash bag and packing it for her, refusing to allow her to let it go.

"They're all about you." It was supposed to make him happy to hear that, she was supposed to look happy to say it. Neither of them were.

The first time she saw him with another girl he'd been glad to see the rush of pain, to know she still loved him. Forgetting that when he went home he had to face her, that he didn't get to leave that pain behind he had to look at it, he had to live with it. He'd moved mountains trying to make it up to her. Until he did it again. And again. Because the worst part of him had developed a need to see that pain so he'd know she still loved him. It wasn't so bad when they were just Ronnie and Billy. But then their parents started dating and then they got married and they weren't just Ronnie and Billy anymore. They couldn't be Ronnie and Billy anymore.

"We have to get up early, I should go," she said in a voice like a soft brush of wind.

He felt how fast she pulled away and climbed off the bed, rushing for the door. Lately it felt like she couldn't wait to get away from him. But when he didn't hear the door shut behind her he turned to see her hand on the doorknob and her eyes on the frame. "Ron?"

Everything she'd ever been, she'd been with him. She turned to him with a deep frown and tightly knit brows. He'd learned that sadness sometimes looked like anger on her face. "Do you still love me?"

He was on his feet and stalking towards her, his eyes flashing and his expression steeled. But he got his hands on either side of her face staring hard at her as he told her in a low voice, "always." For the first time in a long while he could see a hint of the joyful girl he'd been promising to marry since he met her.

He was the only person in her life she'd ever been able to count on, and lately he'd been letting her down. She didn't know how much more she could take. Her hands were gentle on his wrists as she pulled them away. "Goodnight," she breathed before sneaking into the hall and into her own room. She wrapped her covers so tight around her she could barely breathe, needing something to hold her there so she didn't sink into the ground. Some days she was just so tired.

This is a re-vamped story idea I had when I first watched season two. Billy's gonna be a little softer with my OC Veronica, but not by much. Shit hits the fan in chapter 3, with a creature of my own making, and once it starts it's not gonna stop. So get ready, buckle up, because it's gonna be a messy ride.

Also, if anyone is wondering the piano piece that inspired what Veronica played is "To the Moon and Beyond," by Gavin Luke.