TW for swearing, bullying, violence/fighting, mentions of abuse
Phil, May, Skye, and Jemma arrived a few minutes before the start of the game, and Fitz was eager to dash off to meet them. Bobbi watched carefully as he met up with the rest of them and promptly darted away with Jemma and Skye in tow. Raina had disappeared, along with Ward and the rest of his friends, but Bobbi wasn't going to take any chances where Skye was concerned. She knew that Natasha was making it difficult for Raina to get a word in with Skye at tutoring ever since last week's incident, but something like a soccer game would provide ample opportunity to get Skye alone and fill her head with whatever nonsense it was that Raina seemed determine to share. For now, at least, Bobbi hoped that being glued to Fitz and Jemma's side would be enough to keep Skye away from the silver tongue of Raina.
The game itself was relatively calm. Roncalli was decent, and the Manitowoc girls had to stay engaged to keep them at bay, but it was clear that there was no one on Roncalli who could quite match Kara or Elena's talent, speed, or precision. A few times one of their midfielders – a wiry, square-jawed girl named Fuller who played high-contact defense – would try something fancy, and the play would verge on getting out of hand before someone like Elena or Alisha could wrap them up and shut it down. Bobbi could see the girl getting frustrated every time it happened, her tackles getting harder and her pushes with the ball getting more aggressive. If she wasn't careful, she was liable to get noticed by the referees before too long.
When the whistle blew for halftime, the score was 1-0 in favor of Manitowoc, thanks to a late goal from Kara Palamas that she'd managed to slice past the (admittedly quite good) Roncalli goalie. Piper had helped lay a trap for that one, crossing the ball to Kara and then cutting away from the ball downfield like she was setting up to get the ball back closer to the goal. It was a nice move, and the Roncalli defense had bitten hard, tailing Piper instead of pressing towards the ball – leaving Kara a clear path to the goal.
"They look good," Joey remarked, once the players had trooped off the field. "I wish I'd gotten to see more games, but between football practice, homework, and my dad's work schedule, I didn't really have the time to get over here."
"Elena's been quiet this game," Mack said. "Solid, but not flashy. You should have seen her against Mishicot. She was on fire that night."
"She told us all about it the next day," Joey grinned. "Since her parents can't come to a lot of games, she always gives the whole family recaps of everything that happened. Her play-by-play is better than the guys you hear on TV."
"Do you live together?" Bobbi asked, wondering if Elena lived in a similar situation to Hunter.
"Next door neighbors," Joey clarified. "I know that sounds a little crazy, but that's just how our family is, I guess. Our grandmother lived with Elena's family while she was alive, but my dad didn't want to be far away from her, so he just moved in next door. It made babysitting really easy when me and Elena were kids," he laughed.
"I can't imagine living next door to my cousins," Clint said with a shake of his head. "We see ours once a year for Thanksgiving, and that's usually more than enough."
"Yeah, well, it's no picnic," Hunter smirked. "Living with your cousin can be a real drag."
"You're so full of it," chuckled Mack, reaching over to shove Hunter lightly. "You love having Turbo for a little brother."
"He's all right." A playful smile creased the corners of Hunter's mouth. "Speaking of the little monkey, I probably ought to at least lay eyes on him while it's halftime. I know I told him to stay away, but my aunt would have my head if I didn't at least make sure he was still in one piece. Fancy a stroll, Bob?" Hunter stood and stretched, the hem of his shirt riding up slightly the way it so often did whenever he pulled his arms above his head. Bobbi pulled her eyes downward, focusing instead on the trail of ants marching towards a lone piece of stale popcorn wedged near her foot. "I reckon you probably want to check on Skye and Jemma, yeah?"
"Um, yeah," Bobbi managed to get out. "Yeah, I should check in. Should stretch my knee, too."
"All right, well let's walk then," Hunter prodded. His brow was scrunched up, but his mouth was still smiling. A teasing face, or maybe a quizzical face. One wondering why she was acting so weird, why she was stumbling over her words and taking so long to get to her feet. Bobbi wished she had an answer for him. She wished she had an answer for herself, but nothing rose to the surface of her thoughts that could explain her wave of incompetence besides the unnerving sensation that everything was suddenly off-kilter and the world felt like it was tipping dangerously close to being just beyond her control. She took a deep breath, pumping her lungs full of cool, crisp oxygen and forcing herself back to reality. Everything was fine. Fine. Fine. Maybe a walk would do her some good.
"Don't stay away too long," Mack called, as Hunter led the way down the bleacher steps. "Ward's going to be on the warpath soon. If you're not back by the start of the second half, we're coming to find you."
"We'll be fine," Hunter cheeked. "You worry too much, mate."
"Or not enough," grumbled Mack. Hunter was already out of earshot and didn't hear, but Bobbi gave Mack a pointed look before she followed Hunter down the steps, lurching a little as she navigated around her brace.
"Come on, slow poke," Hunter teased. He was smiling, though, and he waited at the bottom of the stairs for her to catch up.
"It's not nice to make fun of people in knee braces," Bobbi teased back, drawing level with him.
"I'm not exactly a nice person," Hunter smirked, as they started to walk towards the concession stand. "I've been told I have a bit of an attitude problem."
"I'm shocked." Bobbi shot a playful smile his way. "If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one."
"Somehow I can't see anyone saying you have an attitude problem, Bob."
"That's just because I've been on my best behavior lately." She paused, took a deep breath. Maybe this was her window of opportunity to finally tell Hunter the truth. "You ask around Two Rivers and you'll get a different story."
"Oh, that's right," Hunter chuckled. "Your secret double life back in your old town. You said before that you were a different person there. Is this your way of telling me that if I dug out an old yearbook I'd see you hanging out with the kids who get busted for spray painting the school, maybe with some dark hair and piercings? 'Cause I've got to tell you, Bob, you look much better blonde." He was laughing harder now, but the queasy feeling in Bobbi's stomach was making it hard for her to join in. "Or, no no, let me guess, were you secretly a cheerleader in another life? Or in the marching band?"
"That's not what I mean," Bobbi said weakly. Something in her voice must have caught Hunter's attention, because he stopped laughing and a new expression slid onto his face – furrowed brow and straight-line mouth.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize we'd stopped joking around."
"No, it's okay, I just…" Bobbi took another deep breath. Her fingers twitched. She wished she had her crutches to squeeze, or, even better, her batons to twirl. Nervously, she raked her gaze across the pavement in front of the concession stand, determined to look anywhere but at Hunter's warm, worried brown eyes. Two small figures caught her attention. "Is that Fitz and Jemma?"
Hunter spun around and looked where Bobbi was pointing. Something about Fitz and Jemma seemed off – they were standing nearly shoulder to shoulder, and Fitz's eyes were darting around nervously. Jemma's hands were twisting in front of her, fingers tapping on themselves at an agitated pace and plucking at the beads on her DNA bracelet.
"Something's wrong," Hunter said bluntly. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Something was indeed wrong. He started walking towards them, his pace forceful, and Bobbi followed right on his heels.
"Where's Skye?" she wondered aloud, the fact of Skye's absence starting to sink in. A stone of dread clunked down in the pit of her stomach as a million possibilities started rifling through her brain, each one worse than the last.
"What's going on?" Hunter asked, once they'd reached Fitz and Jemma. The two younger kids jumped slightly at the sound of Hunter's voice before turning and realizing that it was just him and Bobbi who had come upon them. Neither one spoke immediately, and the bad feeling intensified in Bobbi's stomach.
"Jemma, where's Skye?" Bobbi asked gently. Jemma's eyes flitted around momentarily before landing on Bobbi's face.
"She's… she had to go…" Jemma stammered. "She said she had to talk to someone, and that she'd be back soon, but we watched and… she went with Raina."
"Raina?" Hunter's expression darkened. "Fitz, why would you let her do that?"
"I can't tell Skye what to do," Fitz said indignantly.
"When did she go off with Raina? And where did they go?" Bobbi wanted to know.
"Just a few minutes ago," Jemma said softly. "I think they went back behind the bleachers."
"So we still have time to find her before Raina can do too much damage," declared Bobbi, immediately setting off in the direction that Jemma had indicated. She had no idea if the others were following behind her or not, and frankly, it didn't matter to her one way or another. All that mattered was getting to Skye before Raina could.
She ducked around the corner of the bleachers, following the dirt path that wound along the backside of the large metal and concrete structure. The support beams were big enough back here to obscure people from view, if they had a mind to be hidden, and Bobbi was certain that Raina would have steered Skye somewhere where they could talk without interruption. Still, it didn't take Bobbi long to spot a flash of floral print flapping in the breeze behind one of the pillars.
"Bobbi, slow down," Hunter hissed from somewhere behind her. Bobbi paused briefly and turned around to face him. Fitz and Jemma were nowhere to be seen, so Bobbi figured Hunter must have instructed them to stay put.
"I have to go get her," she said, like she was explaining the obvious. "Raina can't talk with her. It really freaked Skye out the last time."
"I know," Hunter said, in an almost identical tone. "But just think about it for a second, Bob. Skye went with Raina this time. Raina didn't come to her. Obviously there's something Skye wants to talk about with her. Maybe you shouldn't interrupt."
"What are you saying? We should just let Skye sneak off and let Raina lie and twist everything around for her?"
"You don't even know what they're talking about," Hunter pointed out.
"Exactly. Raina could be saying anything. She could be convincing Skye to run away again, or telling her lies about her parents. We can't let her manipulate Skye like that."
"I'm not saying we should sit back and do nothing," Hunter huffed, raking a hand through his hair. "I'm just saying you don't want Skye to resent you if you go and break up something that she's trying to accomplish. There are other options. Subtlety is key."
"'Subtlety is key' is probably the least Hunter-like thing I've ever heard you say," Bobbi said. "But you're probably right. So what do we do?"
"A little espionage and eavesdropping never hurts," Hunter shrugged. "We can hear what Raina's on about, and we'll be close enough to step in if things get out of hand."
In silent agreement, Bobbi and Hunter crept close to the support beam shielding Raina and Skye from view, being sure to stay behind their own columns so as not to be spotted. Once they were close enough, Bobbi could start to hear snippets of the heated conversation taking place a few yards away.
"—you can skip the small talk," Skye said crossly. "How did you know I'd be here tonight?"
"Just a hunch," Raina said coyly. From where Bobbi was standing, she could see part of Raina's face with a crane of her neck, but all she could see of Skye was part of the back of her head. "Besides, you came to me. Couldn't figure out the clue? I didn't expect—"
"It was a daisy, wasn't it?" Skye asked. "The flower you drew." Bobbi scrunched up her brow and shot Hunter a quizzical face. He looked just as befuddled as she felt, and shrugged.
"Oh, very good, Skye," Raina said. A sly grin seeped across Raina's face. "I underestimated you. Your father didn't, of course. He knew you'd figure it out. He can't wait to meet you."
"Who says I want to meet him?"
"Isn't that what this whole search has been about?" Raina looked confused, and for a brief moment, Bobbi watched as the unflappable mask slipped from Raina's face. "I thought there was nothing more you wanted than to finally be with your family."
"He's a bad man, isn't he?" Skye asked quietly. "He's the one in those arrest records. I saw what he did."
"Skye, you've got it all wrong," Raina soothed, the mask firmly back in place. "Your father has done nothing but search for you. He's trying to put your family back together. Sure, he might have made a few mistakes along the way, but it's only because he loves you so much. Haven't you ever done something for another person that turned out to be a mistake?"
Skye was silent, and Bobbi's skin started to crawl. She could tell that Raina was starting to get to Skye. She made to break their cover and go to Skye's side, but Hunter's hand on her arm stopped her short. He put a finger to his lips and shook his head as Bobbi extricated herself from his grasp as quickly as she could without making a scene.
"I never hurt anyone." Skye's voice was small. Raina tutted.
"Haven't you, though? Maybe not in the same way, but you have hurt people. All the fights—"
"Those were self-defense!"
"And all the times you broke the hearts of the people around you. All the people you've disappointed and let down. That hurts them, Skye."
"Stop it."
"Your father understands, though. He knows that sometimes you have to hurt people to do what's right in the end, just like you. He loves you. He doesn't think you're a disappointment."
"You don't know that. You don't know him. You're lying."
"Am I? I thought my little clues would have been enough to prove to you that everything I'm telling you is true. You know your name now, thanks to me."
"That's not my name. I'm Skye."
"I bet you haven't been able to get the name out of your head. You dream of daisies now, don't you?"
"Just be quiet."
"Your father dreams of daisies, too, Skye. He dreams of you."
"You're crazy." Skye started to move like she was going to storm off, but Raina caught her wrist and held her tight. Bobbi's breath snagged in her ribs.
"I'm not the crazy one," Raina hissed. "What's crazy is throwing away your one chance to have the only thing you've ever wanted."
"I don't believe you. Let me go."
"You do believe me. You just don't want to. It sounds to good to be true, but I promise you, it's not. He's real, Skye, and he's ready to meet you."
"I should never have listened to you," Skye spat, yanking her hand free. "I don't want to meet him. And I don't ever want to talk to you again. Leave me alone."
Bobbi had had enough. Raina looked like she was about to offer a sharp retort, but she froze when she saw Bobbi step out from behind the column and into view.
"She said leave her alone, Raina," Bobbi said, as menacingly as she could. "I think it's time for you to go."
"Why is it that you always manage to appear at the most inopportune times?" Raina drawled. "You know, the first time was annoying, but now you're really starting to piss me off."
"Skye doesn't want to talk to you anymore," Bobbi snapped. "And neither do I, so take the hint and move on."
"Skye's curious, Bobbi. You can't fault her for that. I know things about her that she wants to hear. I know things about you too, now."
"No you don't," Bobbi said. She was trying to channel some of Skye's defiance from earlier, but all that came out was a strangled-sounding yelp of an objection. The blood was starting to drain from her face and a roaring was building up in her ears. As much as she didn't want to believe it was true, somehow she knew that Raina was telling the truth. Raina knew. She knew everything.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Bobbi said quickly, turning and pulling Skye behind her. She gestured for Hunter to follow them. They had to get away before Raina could say anything else, before she ruined everything for Bobbi.
"I think it matters," Raina said smugly. "I bet your boyfriend here would think it matters, too."
"We're not—" Hunter spluttered. "We're just friends."
"We need to go," Bobbi pleaded, trying desperately to leave before everything blew up in her face.
"You're both so buddy-buddy, but I bet she hasn't told you about her father," Raina called. Hunter froze in his tracks, bristling slightly.
"Look flower child, I think it's high time you shut it. I know about the accident, okay, you've got old intel."
"Accident?" scoffed Raina. "Is that what she told you?"
"Stop. Talking," Bobbi said through gritted teeth. Her hands were shaking. Everything around her was growing hazy, like a smoky film was closing in around her vision. She needed to twirl, she needed to run, she needed to get Hunter away from Raina. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
"Her father wasn't in an accident," Raina crooned. "He was arrested. He's got a violent streak, apparently. Tried to assault an orderly in the hospital. Wouldn't surprise me if your sweet little Barbara's got a bit of an edge to her, too. Clearly she can't control her temper."
"Arrested?"
"Of course, that's not the only thing she's been hiding—"
"Please don't do this—"
"Turns out Mr. Coulson isn't a kindly uncle, like she wanted you to believe. He's her foster father. Once dad got locked up there was nobody who wanted old Bobbi, so it was off to foster care for her."
"Foster…" Hunter's jaw was slack and his eyebrows were pulled low and straight over his stormy eyes. Bobbi had no idea what kind of a face that was supposed to be.
"Hunter, I…" Bobbi's throat was swelling shut and tears stung in the corners of her eyes. "I wanted to tell you. I tried to tell you, but—"
"Why would you lie about that?" he asked slowly, turning to look Bobbi full in the face. Now his face was changing, his mouth turned downward, his brow creasing deeply. Hurt face. Angry face. "I… I told you everything. I told you about my dad, about getting kicked out of school in England… You met my mum. And you lied to me. You've been lying this whole time."
"Hunter, I'm sorry, I—"
"I need to go," Hunter said abruptly. He turned without another word and vanished around the bleachers.
"Why would you do that?" Bobbi demanded, wheeling around on Raina. Raina just smiled, a triumphant, self-satisfied smile that Bobbi wanted desperately to wipe right off her face.
"I told you, I don't like being interrupted. And frankly, I don't like you. Besides, what is it they always say? The truth will set you free?" With one final, sickeningly sweet grin, Raina slid into the shadows under the bleachers and headed in the opposite direction from Hunter, leaving Skye and Bobbi standing alone, shocked and shaken.
"Bobbi? Are you…?" Skye faltered. She stretched out like she was going to put a hand on Bobbi's arm, then thought better of it, pulling her fingers back. "I'm really sorry she did that to you."
"I… she's…" Bobbi was having trouble getting the words out. Her breaths were coming ragged in her throat, like searing jabs in her chest rather than helpful oxygen. Her hands trembled.
"It's all my fault," Skye continued, her chin starting to quiver. "I shouldn't have gone with her. I shouldn't have listened to her. She went after you because she's mad at me."
"No," Bobbi shook her head. "It's not… your fault. Fault." She was breathing harder than if she'd just run a mile. Her chest rose and fell sharply with shallow breaths that did nothing to quell the buzzing hive of anxiety that was swarming around in her head, her ribs, her arms, her ears. She needed to twirl.
"We should go," Skye said suddenly. Her eyes were brimming with unease as she watched Bobbi spiral in front of her. Bobbi needed to pull it together. She couldn't let Skye see her like this. But she couldn't make it stop.
"Go," Bobbi echoed. "We'll go. Go. Go."
"Bobbi, you're scaring me a little," Skye said softly. "Let's go find May and Phil, okay? I'm sure everything's going to be okay. Hunter was just surprised. He's not mad at you."
"Mad. Mad. Mad," Bobbi murmured. Sluggishly, she registered that she was repeating Skye's words back to her. It had been a long time since she'd done that. Usually she was able to keep the repeats in her head. She couldn't figure out how to get the words back into her brain. She couldn't think straight. Couldn't see straight.
Somehow, Skye led her out from behind the bleachers and back towards the open space in front of the concession stand. A few people were milling about, and by the sounds coming from the field and over the PA system, it seemed as though the second half of the soccer game had started.
"Look, there's Hunter," Skye pointed out. "And there's Jemma and Fitz. See, it's… it's okay."
Clearly it was not okay, but Skye's effort to convince Bobbi otherwise was valiant. Bobbi's hands were shaking even worse now, and she could barely make out the shapes of Hunter, Jemma and Fitz ahead of them. Just as Skye opened her mouth to call out to their friends, another voice rang out instead – a furious, bellowing voice that made Bobbi's blood run cold.
"Hunter!" Christian Ward, red in the face, was storming over to where Hunter stood, something fluorescent orange clutched in his white-knuckled fist. Instinctively, Bobbi threw out and arm and stopped Skye in her tracks, keeping her back from the enraged boy who was barreling towards Hunter, Fitz, and Jemma. "You wanna explain what the hell this is?" He brandished the orange thing in Hunter's face, and through her cloudy vision and foggy brain Bobbi realized that it was a football jersey. A traffic cone orange football jersey.
"I see the laundry came back," Hunter said coolly. "I hate it when the machines malfunction like that."
"Malfunc– Are you serious right now? These are for the whiteout game against Reedsville next weekend. Does this look white to you?"
"Well, seeing as I'm not colorblind and I passed grammar school, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that looks more orange than white."
"You're such a piece of garbage, you know that? You and your whole damn team. Do you know how much it's going to cost to get these replaced?"
"Probably about as much as it's costing us to fix the nets you trashed," Hunter clipped.
Christian Ward's shouting had drawn the attention of his buddies, who had been loafing nearby. The one Bobbi recognized as Carl Creel from their history class looked livid, and the others, who she assumed must be Rumlow and Kebo, looked just as angry.
"You're a weaselly little punk, Hunter," growled Creel.
"Euro trash," glowered one of the others. Hunter stiffened as they drew in close, circling him like a pack of dogs. He gave Fitz and Jemma a little push and sent them over towards where Bobbi was still standing with Skye, her arm still holding Skye back.
"I forgot Mary Poppins the nanny doesn't like it when his babies get too close to his messes," sneered Ward, his eyes following Fitz and Jemma hungrily. Bobbi's breaths were still coming sharp and fast in her ribs, but she knew she had to keep Jemma, Skye, and Fitz safe from whatever was about to happen.
"Go… go get," she managed to gasp out. She waved her shaking hand in a shooing motion, trying to urge them away.
"We're getting help," Skye nodded, grabbing Fitz and Jemma's hands. The three took off towards the bleachers, and Bobbi felt her arms go limp with temporary relief.
"Help," she whispered to their retreating backs. "Help."
"You don't have anything on me," Hunter called towards Ward and the others. "There's nothing to say there wasn't a freak accident at the laundromat. Maybe your towel boy accidentally threw in one of his spare crossing guard vests."
"We know it was you."
"But even if it wasn't, I'd been waiting for a chance to knock some respect into that smug cockney head of yours," Ward snarled.
"Respect is earned, love, and frankly, you aren't worth mine," Hunter shot back. "I'd roll over in my grave before I groveled to you."
"That can be arranged." Ward cracked his knuckles menacingly, and Bobbi felt like her heart had stopped. The sound of popping knuckle echoed in her ears, ringing in her brain. The pop that came before the crack across her face, the click that came before his hands were on his belt or the iron or a drinking glass, whatever it was that he wanted to chuck at her.
"Four on one, yeah that's real respectable," Hunter said scornfully. "You lot are a bunch of cowards." Coward.
"Don't be such a coward!" her father was shouting, a glass baking dish exploding into a million pieces at his feet. "Stand up straight and don't be so emotional! Stop crying, goddammit. And look at me when I'm talking to you!" She heard his voice. She heard the glass shattering. She felt the stinging pricks as the shards sprayed around her bare ankles, the rough feeling of his hands as he grabbed her shoulders and shoved her back against the stove. The searing of hot metal against her skin.
"Make it stop," she whimpered. "Make it stop." She couldn't feel her legs anymore, could barely see three feet in front of her. Her shaking hands squeezed into fists, fingernails digging into the palms of her hands.
"Apologize now and we'll take it easy on you." Ward's voice sliced through her feverish thoughts and yanked her brusquely back to reality. She was swaying slightly on unsteady legs. Her palms stung where she had pressed too hard. She still couldn't breathe. "We won't make you look like a total loser in front of your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend," Hunter said sharply. "She's not even a friend."
"Aw, did she realize she was way too good to be hanging around a sorry sack like you?" Ward laughed cruelly. Bobbi watched as something dangerous flashed in Hunter's eyes for an instant before he lunged suddenly, his fist swinging in a perfect arc around until it connected squarely on Ward's jaw. Ward's head snapped back, and he stumbled for a step or two until his friends caught and righted him.
"You're going to regret that."
Before she could fully process what was happening, Ward and the others were on top of Hunter, fists flailing wildly. Someone was screaming for them to stop, and it took a second for Bobbi to realize that it was her. She was near the pile of bodies, then, desperately clawing at one of the boys to pull him off of Hunter, and then suddenly there were others there, too: Clint and Mack and Natasha and even Joey, all pulling and tugging, forcing the older boys away from Hunter, who was a heap at the bottom.
Ward was shouting, cursing, shoving Clint and launching a punch toward his head. Clint twisted away so the punch missed his face, but it caught him on the ear instead, sending one of his hearing aids clattering to the ground. Natasha and Joey were each standing nose to nose with Rumlow and Kebo, yelling and pushing to keep them away from the others, while Mack yanked Carl Creel off the pile and tossed him to the side like a sack of flower, then helped Hunter stand up.
Creel scrambled to his feet, desperate to get back at Hunter and Mack, and before she knew what she was doing, Bobbi stepped in front of him. Impeding Creel gave Hunter time to steady himself and wipe the blood that was streaming from a cut over his eyebrow off of his face, but it also forced Creel to careen into Bobbi, sending them both sprawling. She twisted as she fell, making sure not to land on her bad knee. Somewhere above her, the sound of fist against face rang out, and one of Ward's friends, Rumlow, maybe, went lurching backwards from Natasha, clutching at his nose.
The pavement underneath her was hard and unforgiving, and Bobbi's hip throbbed where she'd landed on it. Around her, there was shouting, shouting, shouting. So much anger. So much fighting. She knew she needed to get back up and help her friends, but her muscles had stopped working. She couldn't stand, couldn't move, couldn't do anything except roll over and tuck her body in on itself and wait for the worst to pass. Her hands scrabbled at her ears, trying to block out the sounds of rage and pain that were echoing around her and the words of her father that were echoing in her mind.
"Hey. Hey! Break it up!" A man's voice rang out, forcing everyone to freeze momentarily. "What's going on here?" Bobbi peered through her fingers to see Phil striding toward them, looking more serious than she'd ever seen him. Right on his heels was May, fire in her eyes, along with Skye, Jemma, and Fitz, all looking pale and shaken. Phil planted himself firmly in middle of the chaos and placed a restraining hand on Hunter's shoulder. He held his other hand up in Ward's face, a stern warning not to make another move. "This stops right now. You hear me?"
"This isn't what it looks like, Mr. Coulson," Ward panted, straightening his shirt, which had a tear in the collar, and massaging the blossoming bruise on his jaw. He wasn't the only one who was a sorry sight. Clint was kneeling on the ground, cradling his crushed hearing aid, while Rumlow was nursing a bloody nose and Hunter a black eye, the cut on his forehead, and a fat lip. Creel was picking himself up off the ground gingerly, and Natasha was sporting swollen knuckles. Bobbi herself began the painful process of getting to her feet without agitating her knee to badly, but it was complicated by the fact that her hands were still shaking violently. It wasn't until May crossed quickly to her side and gave her an arm to lean on that Bobbi was able to actually stand up.
"Oh no?" Phil raised his eyebrows in surprise, but the disapproval didn't leave his eyes as he took in the scene before him. "Because to me it looks like ten of my students are having a full-scale brawl in the middle of a soccer game. Explain to me what I'm missing here." His voice was chilly, no trace of his usual jovial tenor. Part of Bobbi appreciated the seriousness, because it forced everyone to stop fighting, but another part of her shivered at the stern way his words attacked her ears. Her muscles tensed, and Bobbi was sure May had felt her flinch, although she couldn't muster the will to make herself care about that at the moment.
"Hunter attacked me, Mr. Coulson," Ward began.
"Oh, that's a load of—"
"He and his friends vandalized—"
"—Only after you cut our nets—"
"—Punched me out of nowhere—"
"—Four against one—"
"All right," Phil held up his hands for silence. "That's enough. I'm not interested in an argument. You all know the rules against fighting on school grounds. I'm going to have to report this to Principal Mace."
"But—"
"For now," Phil said pointedly, cutting off any protest. "My advice would be to avoid doing anything else that I'm going to have to report. Go your separate ways. Cool off. Stay away from each other. I'm not interested in breaking up another fight, got it?"
"Yes sir," Ward griped, shooting daggers towards Hunter as he turned on his heel. He jerked his chin to signal that Creel, Rumlow, and Kebo should follow him, and after a minute or two, all four had drifted away towards the gate.
"You guys," Phil said sadly, once Ward and his cronies had gone, "what was that all about?"
"It was nothing," Hunter muttered darkly. He lifted the hem of his shirt to mop the blood from his face, but he refused to look anyone in the eye.
"We've got it under control, Mr. Coulson," Clint said, a little louder than his usual speaking voice. "Just a disagreement that got out of hand."
"I'd have to disagree with you there," grimaced Phil. Bobbi noticed that Natasha was signing behind Phil, bringing her pointer finger from her temple down to the pointer finger on her other hand, then pulling the two fingers apart. Clint watched carefully, then shook his head and signed back, making a fist and flicking his thumb out from under his chin, then tapping his chin with his pointer finger and gesturing towards Phil.
"Are you all okay, at least?" Phil looked from person to person, taking stock of their condition. "You're bleeding," he said to Hunter.
"It's fine."
"Look, I can't help you guys unless I know what's going on here. Principal Mace is going to come down hard on you all for fighting—"
"It was Christian Ward, Mr. C," Mack protested. "He jumped Hunter over a stupid prank, and he and his buddies were going to kick the snot of Hunter if Fitz hadn't come to tell us what was going on. We were just trying to protect him."
"Ward's going to have a different story," Natasha grimaced, still signing as she spoke, for Clint's benefit. Her hands were fast and fluid, and Bobbi was starting to lose the thread of the movements. Her head was aching and trying to keep up with Natasha's signing was making it worse. "But it's the truth, Mr. Coulson. The football team and the soccer team have been pranking each other back and forth this year, and Ward just snapped tonight."
"Hunter? Did he attack you?"
"I hit him first," Hunter said shortly.
"Hunter—" Bobbi tried to say something, what exactly, she wasn't sure. That she was sorry. That the fight wasn't his fault. That he didn't need to try and take the blame for everything that was happening right now. All of her words got stuck in her throat and died before she could speak them. It was still so hard to breathe.
"Just don't," Hunter said, his curt tone marred slightly by an edge of pleading. "Don't say anything. I don't want to hear it." And with that, he stalked off, never once looking back at any of them. Fitz, who had been lingering at the edge of the group, cast an apologetic look over to Skye and Jemma before trailing after Hunter and out of the stadium altogether.
"What's his problem?" Natasha wanted to know.
Bobbi opened her mouth to explain, but all that came out was a shuddery breath. She couldn't make her stupid hands stay still, and every inhale felt like a knife to the chest. "Problem. Problem." No, no, no, stupid brain, stupid words. She didn't want to repeat what Natasha had said, she wanted to tell her what had happened between her and Hunter. Unfortunately, those were the words that were stuck in her head, and the echo words that should have been locked in her mind were the ones that were spilling out. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make her body cooperate, but it was no use. She was sure they were all staring at her like she had just grown a second head, the way she was acting.
"Raina told Hunter some stuff… about Bobbi," Skye said slowly.
"Raina? When were you talking to Raina?"
"What did she say? Hunter knows better than to listen to her."
Her friends were all talking too fast, and Bobbi's hands twitched at her sides. She wished desperately for her batons.
"She found out, didn't she? And now Hunter knows what I know?" That voice was Natasha's, low and cautious. Somehow it broke through the rest of the cacophony and reached Bobbi's consciousness. Bobbi forced herself to nod.
"Knows what? What's going on?" Mack asked. "I'm lost here."
"It doesn't really seem like this is the best time to talk about it," Natasha said quietly. "We'll explain it all later, okay?"
"Okay." Mack's voice took on a gentler tone as he realized just how upset Bobbi still was. "Yeah, there's no rush. Are you okay, Bobbi?"
Bobbi couldn't make herself speak, so she just stood there numbly until she was able to jerk out a robotic nod. Mack didn't look all that convinced, but he was kind enough not to push for a more truthful answer.
"Look," Phil finally said, after an uncomfortable silence. "I clearly don't understand everything that's going on here, and you all aren't giving me much in the way of an explanation. I have to report this to Mr. Mace, but I'd like to have the story straight before I give him the details."
"I don't know what Christian Ward is going to tell you," Mack sighed eventually, "but if you want our side of things, then the truth is—"
A gasp rose up from the stands, where the rest of the crowd was still sitting, watching the game, followed by an anguished cry and a sharp whistle from the referee. Mack stopped short and swiveled his head around to glance over at the field.
"Someone's down," he said, worry punctuating every syllable. His eyes were wide with concern. "I can't see who."
"Whoever it is, it looks like she's one of ours," Natasha frowned. "Red jersey." She signed something quickly to Clint, who was trying along with everyone else to get a good look at the field.
"Injury timeout," crackled a voice over the PA system. "A red card to Fuller for Roncalli." That was the name of the aggressive midfielder who had been going toe to toe all night with—
"Elena," Joey said suddenly, his expression stricken. "That girl Fuller was playing too hard on her all game. Something's wrong." Hurt. Hurt. She was hurt. Bobbi's breath quickened again. She had been afraid of this.
"Are her parents here?" Phil asked.
Joey shook his head. "Just me."
"Maybe we should—"
"I'm going to go see—" Joey started off toward the field, catching up to Mack, who was already halfway there himself.
"Is she going to be all right?" came the small voice of Jemma. She was practically clinging to May's side, hanging off her arm like a koala.
"I don't know, honey," May said softly. "I'm not sure what happened."
"She's sitting up," Skye informed them, squinting over at the field. "It looks like she's grabbing at her ankle, though."
"At least it's not a head injury," breathed Jemma.
"Small miracles," agreed Phil. His brow was knit and the lines around his mouth were pulled taught. "Someone should call her parents. She'll need to see a doctor. I don't think I have…" Phil started rummaging around in his pockets, presumably for his cell phone. May put a gentle, albeit restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Phil, honey, I'm sure the coach has it all under control. Besides, I think we need to go." She cast a pointed gaze over at Bobbi, whose hands had started shaking again. She didn't feel like her lungs were full of glass anymore, and she wasn't having trouble separating her memories from the real world in front of her anymore either, but Bobbi was having trouble keeping her composure. While the adrenaline was ebbing away from her body, the stress of the evening wasn't, and she felt tired and tense and anxious to get away from the noise and the crowds.
"Right. Of course." Phil gave himself a little shake and reaffixed his attention on her. "Does that sound okay, Bobbi? Are you ready to go home?"
Bobbi swallowed hard and nodded, blinking back tears of relief. It was quiet and calm at home. Her batons were at home. No one was going to hurt her at home.
"We'll make sure everyone gets taken care of here, Mr. Coulson," Natasha said. "We can give Mack a ride home, and Joey and Coach Kitson will take care of Elena. Bobbi, we'll… we'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Thanks Natasha," smiled Phil. His eyes were heavy and a little sad looking.
"You… can tell," Bobbi told Natasha, wrestling the words out of her throat. Her voice sounded hoarse and choppy in her ears, but thankfully no one commented on the quality of her speech. Bobbi winced slightly at the stuttering way her words wrenched out into the world. She took as deep a breath as she could muster, trying to smooth out the sound. "You can tell Clint and Mack."
"Okay." Natasha nodded seriously. "Okay. I'll take care of it. And Bobbi? I know it sounds empty right now, but… it's going be all right. Everything's going to work out. All of us, we'll be okay."
"Okay," Bobbi echoed, barely above a whisper. "Okay."