Finally. It took a whole week - curse responsibilities! - but I've finally got the next chapter up.
It's a bit of a rollercoaster. We've got a lot of happy moments. We've got the introduction of a new character (thanks again to Boris Yeltsin!). there's a couple of new OCs, all of whom are friends with Robin, because we have some Robin content in this chapter! Yay!
There's also a fight. Just in case of a trigger, this is a physical fight between our girl and Tina's boyfriend. There's no sexual assault or abuse, but he does try to strangle her so be prepared. Don't worry, Veronica's fine. It even brings together two of the biggest rivals in Hawkins High, if only for a moment. Also, Carol - she's awesome in this chapter. Still not a great person, but when it counts? Totally cool.
Alright, I hope you enjoy!
The next morning, I wake up sore and stiff. My neck aches, and my shoulders feel like I'm holding the weight of the universe. That's not surprising, I spent the night sitting up. Or at least, I fell asleep that way, because when I open my eyes I'm staring up at the ceiling, head on a pillow and a thick blanket covering me. I panic for all of a minute when I realize El is nowhere in sight, before my ears catch onto the loud giggles coming from outside. With a long stretch and a prolonged groan, I roll off the couch clumsily. Peeking out the window, I smile at the sight of El and Steve chasing each other around the leaves.
I brush my teeth and decide to take a quick shower, hoping the warm water will help me loosen back up. It's refreshing, but I'm still sore when I dry off and get dressed. Hoping some coffee will help me feel more human, I return to the kitchen to start a pot. Steve and El are still outside, only this time he's helping her climb a tree. I can't really hear what they're saying, but my boyfriend looks happy and the girl is bouncing around like she's on a sugar high.
I blush, remembering what I'd let slip only a month before to my father. "And years down the line, if we end up married and we've got kids of our own, he's going to be there for us. No matter what." God, I can see it so clearly. Steve and I, married. A couple of kids to drive us crazy. We'll have a house, with a backyard. Steve can teach them to play baseball, I can show them how to string a bow. We'll have a Bernese mountain dog, all big and cuddly. Boy or girl, that doesn't matter. They'll climb into our bed all the same. Steve'll get frustrated, but he'll let it go.
A pair of strong arms wrap around my waist, breaking me from my daydream. I smile at Steve's reflection in the window, eyes closing as he presses kisses to my jaw line, nipping just by my chin. "Good morning, Roni."
"Mm. Hi, Stevie. Where's El?" I murmur, a slight edge of concern in my voice.
He hums and brushes his nose against my cheekbone. "I promised her breakfast after you woke up."
"Let me guess, Eggos?" Steve snorts and tries to release me. I just turn in his arms, hands in his messy hair. He shakes his head as I pull out a couple of leaves, squirming as I poke at him.
There's an awkward cough, and we both turn our heads to blush at the curious El. Her head's tilted, and there's a confused smile on her lips. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing, kid." Steve practically yelps. He pats me on the shoulder and shuffles away, pouring both of us some coffee. El blinks at me again, and I grin.
"Eggos?" She nods. "How 'bout you turn on the TV? We'll spend the morning watching cartoons."
"Okay!" El perks up, practically leaping onto the couch. With her attention no longer on us, I smack Steve on the ass as I walk to the freezer. A hand comes up to stop me from pulling it open. He flips my body around, and before I can let loose a snarky quip Steve's lips are on mine. It's so passionate he practically has me phasing through the fridge.
"El -"
"Isn't focusing on us." Steve reassures me, voice deep. I bite back my moan, eyes fluttering as he nips at my throat. "I gotta make up yesterday to my girl."
There's still sadness in his voice, and I find myself glaring towards the living room, where his rejection letters lie in wait. "Baby, it's okay."
He shakes his head, tilting my chin so we're looking into each other's eyes. "No. It's really not. I wasn't just a dick, I was dangerous. I was everything I never wanted to be to you and to Dustin. He doesn't hate me, does he?"
"No. Of course he doesn't." I kiss him again, smiling reassuringly. "My brother's incapable of hating you. We were just scared."
"Of me." Steve hums sadly.
I don't want to lie. "Yeah. But also for you. We love you, and we can't lose you." I cup his face and smile. "I love you. So much. Every part of you. Alright?" He inhales shakily, eyes closing as tears slip down his face. "You and me, we're a team." I rise onto the balls of my feet, pressing our foreheads together. Steve lifts our hands, and kisses my knuckles. I do the same to him, then smile as he opens his warm eyes. "We'll figure it out."
"Okay." He whispers back, kissing me gently.
"Okay."
"Eggos." Steve and I jump apart, and I groan when my head bounces against the freezer door. Steve winces and immediately checks on me while I blink sheepishly at a blushing El. "Sorry."
"No, not. It's fine, sweetheart. Why don't you help Steve finish up? I'll set the table." With an awkward pat on Steve's shoulder I get to work, smiling wide the whole time.
That grin stays on my face well into the night, when I find myself outside, gazing up at the twinkling stars. Steve's wrapped himself behind me, letting my back rest against his chest, knees bracing my torso. El sits in front of me, bundled up in a plaid blanket while I play with her curls. My grin grows as Steve's arms cross around my chest, holding me tight. He kisses my left shoulder blade, his lips warm against my skin.
El starts to doze, her tiny snores almost cat-like. I laugh quietly, Steve muffling his own chuckles in my blonde curls. "Thank you."
"Hmm?" I grunt questioningly, peering up at him. "What did I do?"
Steve pecks the tip of my nose, then nuzzles are temples together. "For being you. For making me happy. For having my back."
"Always, baby." I swear, then look back up at the stars.
You know, there's very few things Carol Perkins and I will ever agree on. We'll never be best friends, either. At best, we're "close acquaintances". Despite her slight change in attitude towards me - and mine towards her - she's still not a nice person. Not always. She has her moments. The thing is, we can come together on certain things, like Nicole and Vicki being a couple of braindead bitches. Or Tina, one of the nicest people in Hawkins, being cheated on by her insanely moronic boyfriend.
So, no, Carol Perkins and I will never be best friends. Even with her change in attitude towards me, there are choices she makes I'm never going to be able to agree with or forgive. She's not a nice person. Good. Right now, I'm not in the mood for nice, either. Not after what we both just witnessed.
It starts like this; a week after Steve's heart was broken by every college he applied to, I find myself going to the "Beginning of Spring Bonfire" at the quarry. With Steve at a dinner with his parents and Jonathan and Nancy having a date night, I'm on my own. I'm not alone, though.
"Veronica!" Robin shouts from further down the quarry, over where all the school band kids have gathered. Everyone at Hawkins High is welcome to come, but unless you're part of the "in" crowd, most of my classmates are on the outskirts of the bonfire.
I wave over towards Tina on my way to my physics partner, frowning at the girl when she's pulled into an argument with James the Giant Prick. Carol looks just as irritated by our boyfriends' teammate, and sends me a nod while gesturing over at the distracted Tina.
"Hey. How's your guys' night goin'?" I ask Robin and her friends, having finally completed the trek down the quarry shore.
Robin shrugs in that aloof way of hers. Always too cool for school, she's leaning back against a log, legs folded onto a nearby rock. I snort at the latest collection of doodles on her converse, and she rolls her eyes at me. "What? Physics is boring."
"I'm in physics with you. I'm your partner." I teasingly remind her.
She raises her eyebrows. "I know. Like I said, physics is boring."
I gasp in mock offense, clutching my chest. "Why, I never - in all my life, Robin Buckley, I've never felt more betrayed!"
Robin inhales sharply, but her eyes twinkle with mirth. "Promise me right here that you'll never move to California to become an actress." I poke my tongue out at her, and she flips me off in return.
Realizing I've been one-track minded, I turn my attention towards her friends. All nameless faces, but I recognize them immediately. Hawkins High isn't that big of a school, and I've heard through the grapevine that my reputation precedes me. "What about you guys? Having as much fun as you can with a bunch of assholes from our school?"
"Aren't you one of those assholes?" Robin teases, and I wave her off without looking at her.
One of the girls - I think she plays the sax - smiles. "Yeah! It's chill."
"I bet. It's all a show over there, anyways." I nod back over to the larger group. "Here's a well-known secret; half of them don't even like each other." Robin and her friends get my attention, and I tip my cup to them. "Sticking with your real friends is better."
"Where are yours?" Another girl asks. She has red hair and freckles everywhere - if it wasn't for the pink outfit, I would have thought she was an older Max. "Sorry. That was rude."
I shake my head. "No. No, I get it. Tina's still over there - she was my ride - but Jonathan and Nancy bowed out for date night. Steve's at a dinner with his parents, so it's just me.
"Well, you can hang with us. We ain't doing' much, but any friend of Robin's is welcome." It's the big blonde again, the one who looks like he can take on Andre the Giant.
I smile over at my physics partner like a maniac. "Aw, we're friends?"
"Acquaintances!" She quickly corrects the blonde, and her buddies roar with laughter. "I don't know what's going on with them. They're all high."
"Don't listen to her, she says the same about us and I've known her since kindergarten." The same redhead shoves at Robin, who blushes high in her cheeks.
"Haven't all of y'all known each other since kindergarten?" The southern giant jokes, and the redhead shrugs.
"I mean, I guess. But you know how it is - the size of the town never really matters. Hawkins isn't even that big, and I barely know half the kids in my math class." The redhead admits, shrugging before smiling up at me. "I'm Angie, by the way. In case you didn't know."
"I'm going to be completely honest here, I don't know any of your names." I bashfully admit, rubbing the back of my neck. "I mean, I probably did at some point, but - yeah. Sorry. I'm Veronica."
"It's nice to meet you. Again." Angie smiles. "That's Willow." I wave over to a girl with brown hair. "Frankie, Alex, and Ri-"
"Veronica!" I jump at the loud roar and turn, Angie's introductions cut off. Carol is waving to me, hurrying over with Tina in her arms. My friend's sobbing hard, her whole body shaking.
"Shit. Sorry. I'll talk to you on Monday, promise. Sorry!" I drop my cup and hurriedly wave to my new friends, unable to hear their responses as I sprint over to Tina. "Hey. Hey, what happened?"
Tina's sobbing too hard, so a murderous Carol speaks for her. "James said he wanted to cool down, so he went into the woods. After a while, Tina went looking for him. I didn't want her to go alone, since, you know." Carol looks away, and I shiver as she refers to what happened to me. "We found Kate going down on him. They've been fucking behind Tina's back for a month."
I glance down at our heartbroken frown, certain I look as bloodthirsty as Carol. "Come on. We're going. Before I kill that asshole." I tug Tina into my arms, Carol nodding along as she glares towards the bonfire.
"Join the club. C'mon, I'm actually sober. I'll drive us back."
"Wh-what abou-about y-you?" Tina barely manages to get out, and Carol shakes her head despite our friend being unable to see it.
"I'm more concerned about you. C'mon, let's get you home." She strokes Tina's hair as we walk towards the parked cars, the three of us walking close to the shore. None of us want to be anywhere near the trees, and that's unfortunately as far as we can go to avoid the rest of our classmates.
"We're nearly there, okay?" I whisper to Tina, who's slowly starting to calm down. "I'll stay the night. Mom wasn't expecting me back, anyway. Do you want me to?" Tina nods, my shoulder wet. "Okay. What about Carol? Do you want her to sleep over, too?" She nods again, and Carol smiles sadly at me, our eyes radiating anger.
Tina is the sweetest person I know. She's always ready to help, no matter who the person is. She smiles as bright as the sun, she's funny. She gets along with basically everyone. Hell, she and Barb used to play chess on the weekends, whenever we met up at the park. Tina deserves better than a guy like James. Honestly, he and Kate are lucky I promised Steve there'd be no bloodshed.
"Aw, baby, leaving so soon?" The cheating devil himself shouts out, getting a few laughs from his followers. He's not like Billy, who has the whole school eating out of the palm of his hand. He isn't Tommy or how Steve was, with a posse of supporters trailing after him. James collects the assholes the other guys don't even want to associate with, and the girls with them are all the ones happy to run around and help break their girlfriends' hearts.
I briefly turn my head to see Kate clinging to James, smirking with messy lipstick at Tina. Our bubbly brunette is doing her best to hide herself, but even with Carol and I it's no use. "Look at the little prude. She's so cute."
"Shut your fucking mouth, you dumb whore!" Carol growls, and we keep walking away from the bonfire.
"I'd feel more sorry if it wasn't your fault!" James shouts after us, words aimed at Tina. "I mean, maybe if you gave it up, I wouldn't have had to look for something better."
"You mean 'easier'." I call back. "Kate must not care about dick sizes, if she let your pine needle dick poke at her."
"The hell did you just say?" Kate shouts over. "Are you calling me a slut?"
"No." I pause and shake my head, letting Carol hold Tina. "I called you 'easy'."
"Watch your mouth, you fucking bitch!" James yells. The quarry starts to get quiet. "You're just hurt you weren't my first choice. I mean, poor you. You're stuck with a college reject. I'm off to Iowa."
"I weep for Iowa." I shrug, nails biting my palms as I tighten my fists. "Goodnight."
"Yeah, you better go. Take that little trainwreck with you, she's spoiling my night!" James throws an arm around Kate, kissing her deeply. "I've got better things to do."
Kate giggles, and it sounds like nails on a chalkboard. She's tugged back into a kiss, their buddies cheering as they practically screw each other by the blazing fire. Carol freezes beside me, and we look at Tina. Her eyes are broken, the light gone from the wide brown orbs.
Carol Perkins and I will never be best friends. Even with her change in attitude towards me, there are choices she makes I'm never going to be able to agree with or forgive. She's not a nice person. Good. Right now, I'm not in the mood for nice, either.
"One minute, honey." I say to a sobbing Tina. Then Carol and I are off, quicker than we've ever run in our lives. That includes every time I've had to face the Upside Down. I unlock that rage - that need to hurt - the minute we reach the bonfire. Carol tugs Kate away from James, delivering a quick punch to her cheek that has the girl meeting the ground with a scream.
I don't give James the time to react to his fellow cheater's pain. Instead I lift my knee, letting it meet his dick. He howls and crumples over, and I bang his face against my knee, barely missing his nose. The crowd chants for us to fight, and I distantly hear Carol and Kate exchanging physical and verbal blows. Tommy's voice rings out, too, and I'm distracted from my own small victory when I notice a bunch of James's friends holding him back from reaching his girlfriend. Carol looks good, though. She's got a busted lip and a cut on her cheek from Kate's ring, but the other girl is -
And yes, that's a fist hitting close to my eye, then a hand slapping me across the face, knocking me flat on my ass. Dazed, I shake my head and look up at the smirking James. He looms over me and I scramble back, hollering as he grabs my hair and tugs me onto my feet. "Look at that. The Ice Queen fell." He taunts. He punches my gut, winding me, and I lick my bloody teeth. My smile's deranged as I knee him again, harder.
"I'm not that girl anymore." I snark, punching him. My fist meets his eye, and James retaliates by throwing his whole body at me, slamming me back to the ground. He falls with me, hand finding my throat and squeezing. People are screaming, some with joy and the others with terror. I keep kicking up, letting my nails scratch wherever they can. I manage to get his cheek and James's hand loosens as he checks the damage. The distraction gives me a chance to breathe and scramble away.
James tries to follow after me, but before he can come any closer a large hand grabs his shoulder. He's tugged up and gaping at the giant standing between us. It's Robin's friend from earlier - the southern guy with the bright blue eyes. "I don't know how your ma raised yah, but where I'm from?" The southern boy tsks, and I duck as his arm rears back. His fist pounds into James nose, and I wince at the crunch of bone and spurt of blood as the basketball player falls, dazed and nearly unconscious. "We don't hit girls." The boy finishes his scolding. He turns to me, his hulking mass almost blocking James's friends as they try to grab their guy and run.
Eyebrows raised, I frown up at the new guy, impressed. "Jesus Christ, who are you, Superman?"
He blinks. "I'm Richard. We have English together." He reminds me.
All it gets him is a tilted head. "Huh. Since when?"
"Since September." I blush. Oh. I seriously thought I'd never seen him before, well, that first time I saw him in the hall. "You alright?" Richard asks, peering down at my face and my throat. "Does it hurt to breathe? You should probably go to the hospital."
I wave off his concern, checking if I can swallow. There's minimal pain, I'll probably just have a bruise for a while and oh fuck, Steve's gonna kill me. I clear my throat, trying to smile. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just some light bruising." I make a couple of fists, glowering at my swollen knuckles before glancing back up at the giant. "You good?"
"Yeah." He glowers over at the whimpering James. "Ain't seen a tussle like that in a while."
I hum. "Well. Thanks, for the help. Carol, you alright?"
Carol has Kate in a headlock. "I'm perfect." She drops Kate on the ground, letting a few girls fuss over their bleeding and crying friend as she walks over to Tina. I shake my head at the mess, then clap at the shocked crowd.
"Shows over. Go back to your partying, nosey assholes!" I crow, getting a snort from Richard. I clap him on the shoulder as the crowd starts to disperse. "Seriously, thanks man."
"No problem. Like I said, men ain't supposed to put their hands on a girl."
I clear my throat. "It was a fight, I struck first."
The blonde shrugs. "Don't matter much to me. Y'all alright to get home?" He nods over at Tina. "She's too pretty to be cryin' over a worm like that."
"Veronica!" Carol calls over, taking Tina from a pissed Tammy. "C'mon, girl. Party's gone stale anyway."
I nod and smile over at Richard. "And that's my cue. Thanks for the help, uh, Richard."
"Yeah. I'll see you Monday." He ambles off to his friends, hands in the pockets of his jackets. The crowd splits for him, everyone looking awed or terrified at the soft spoken boy. Robin and the others flutter around him, even throwing me a few concerned looks. I flash them a thumbs up before heading over to Carol and Tina.
"Shit, man, Steve's gonna be out for blood." Tommy mutters the moment I reach them, having been checking on his girlfriend. "Not just him. You know Hargrove's gonna flip, too. James better not show his face." He exhales and turns to Carol, giving me time to mull over his words. "You sure you're okay, babe? Your lip's busted."
"Kate's face looks worse. I'm alright."
I can't help but smile at them, disappointment bubbling in my chest when I remember that as sweet as they can be to each other and a select few, they're still assholes. I can put that aside, though. Right now, Tina comes first. "Let's get you home."
One hour later, I'm icing my neck with a bag of frozen peas. My cuts sting from the rubbing alcohol, and I'm a stiff block as Tina cries on me. It's good her parents are out of town visiting her big brother, or I'd be at the hospital with my mom panicking for no reason. I'm fine, just bruised.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm like this." Tina sobs. "And you're so hurt, you should be at the hospital. Oh, God, why haven't you called Chief Hopper yet? Are you going to be in trouble? I -"
"Tina, honey." I shush her, carefully wrapping an arm around her shoulders as we cuddle in her bed. "I'm okay. Seriously. I've had worse." I frown at my bandaged knuckles. "A lot worse." Tina sniffles. "And you have every right to be like this. I'm not going to tell you to stop crying, or that he doesn't deserve your tears. This isn't about him, it's about you and how you feel. Alright? That asshole hurt you. Sometimes the best thing we can do is acknowledge that pain. If I'd done that earlier, I might have had a different year. So you go ahead and cry."
Tina nods, sobbing harder. "Thank you."
"Of course." I smile up at Carol as she walks in with a steaming mug of tea, the peppermint wafting over from the doorway. "We've got your back."
"Hell yeah. Plus, James is dead, anyway. Steve's gonna lose it when he finds out what that asshole did to you." Carol nods at my face as Tina blows on her tea.
I pale. "Oh, shit. Forget James, I'm the one he's gonna kill. I promised I'd keep outta trouble."
"I'm sorry." Tina murmurs, wiping her tears. "I should have known better. Everyone told me what he was like, I was just so sure we'd be good together. "God, I can't believe I was so stupid. I thought he cared about me. I wanted him to, so bad." Her sobs pick up, and I take her mug of tea so she can cry into my neck. Carol follows, wrapping herself around the brunette's back. "Why do boys suck?"
"Because they're boys?" I offer up, getting a snort out of Carol. "James is an idiot. Kate's a bitch. Both of them fucked you over."
"God, I have to see her everyday, for cheer. Maybe I should just quit. Save myself the drama."
Carol shakes her head. "You love cheerleading. Don't let that skank ruin it for you."
"I just wanted what you two have!" Tina cries, wiping her eyes. "He was so nice, at first. He picked up the phone when I called, he listened, he took care of me even when I thought I didn't need help! What did I do wrong?"
I shake my head and lift her chin so we're looking into each other's eyes. "Tina, listen to me. You did absolutely nothing wrong. Everything you just said he did for you? You did the same, always. You were more supportive than that dickless piece of shit ever deserved. Okay?" She nods, but there's clear doubt in her eyes. "You know, this whole thing can be handled real easily. One of us can just call Jordan."
Jordan Bennett, Tina's older brother, is as protective as they come. Seriously. He makes me look negligent of Dustin. He's also only a few hours away at Northwestern University, but you bet your ass he's making it a quick drive the minute he hears what James did to his little sister.
"No." Tina shakes her head. "He's got a bunch of papers to write. I'd rather just... let this go. I don't want him finding out."
Carol huffs. "You sure you want us to let this go?" The brunette nods. "Fine. Whatever."
"Thanks." Tina smiles wetly at the two of us before hiding once more, this time burrowing herself in Carol's curls.
We spend the night like that, and all of Sunday. Tina's still heartbroken, but she sends Carol and I off with a smile that can light up all of Hawkins. It's a real trick sneaking into my house, making as little noise as possible as I take a shower and deal with the mess James and I created. My right eyes's bruised at the outer corner, my bottom lips are split in five different places, and there are finger-sized bruises at my throat. They aren't terrible looking, but I'm going to need to do some heavy cover up tomorrow. I can probably get away with wearing fingerless gloves to hide my knuckles - the kind I wear for archery- but... yeah, I'll just save myself the trouble and tell Steve.
With one last sigh I shake my head, stumbling away into my bedroom for a good night's sleep.
"What the fuck happened to you?" Is the first thing Dustin asks when he comes to wake me up for breakfast. I put my finger to my mouth, and he glowers angrily. I hurry to close the door and turn to him.
"There was a fight. I won. Well, I had help. That's not important. What is important is that you don't tell mom, or else this whole thing gets blown out of proportion."
"You have somebody's hands imprinted around your throat!" He nearly shrieks. I cover his mouth with my hand.
"I'm serious. Please?"
He doesn't look any happier, but he nods anyway. I remove my hand, watching him as I go through the process of covering up my wounds. There's nothing I can do about my throat, so I usher Dustin out of my room and pull on a short-sleeved turtleneck.
Gloves on and everything else covered, I join my family in the kitchen. I keep the conversation away from the bonfire, even with Dustin doing his best to ignore my one request. I practically shove him out of the house and onto his bike, making sure to follow him in my car the whole way to school, just in case he decided to turn around and tell our mom the truth.
I'm one of the last to pull into the lot. Tina's with Tommy and Carol, dressed to the nines. Her eyes are still sad, but she's dressed to kill. She'll bounce back. We all know she will. "Thank you, again. I'm sorry you got so hurt." Tina mumbles as she pulls me into a hug.
"I'm fine!" I argue through my wince. "A little sore, but I'm all good. I mean, compared to last year, this is nothing." I brush off her concern, then glance over at Tommy. "Steve doesn't know yet, right?"
"No. But he will." Tommy gestures over to the school. "Everyone's talking about it."
I deflate. "Yeah. Figures. I'll tell him first."
"Won't matter. He'll still want a go at James." Carol reminds me. "He'd probably even win that fight."
I nod, then turn in time to watch Steve's Beemer drive towards the school. "Well, wish me luck."
Steve parks, and I walk towards him. I frown as he barely acknowledges me, only taking my hand and tugging me towards the crowd gathering in front of the entrance. "Steve, whoa. Baby, I didn't even get a good morning kiss!"
He ignores me, though. He just pulls me closer, moving us through the crowd until we're staring down the busted up James. He's got a bandaged nose, and both eyes are bruised as dark as a raccoon's. Kate's not there - probably too embarrassed, Carol did a lot of damage - and I smirk at the scratch marks I left on James's face and arms.
Steve turns to face me, the crowd nonexistent as he tugs down my turtleneck. I watch with wide eyes as he nods and turns around, having seen all he needed to make his decision. His fist introduces itself to James's nose, and whatever bones weren't broken are definitely broken now.
James starts to stumble, but Steve lunges forward and grabs him by the collar of his dumb polo. "You touched my girl? You put your hands around her neck? Huh?" Steve spins and drags him through our parted classmates. James's body lands on the hood of the nearest car, and he grunts at the impact. The door slams, and I watch as black combat boots stomp over. My eyes track up, glued to my tense ex-boyfriend.
Billy isn't focused on Steve, though. In fact, he doesn't look all that eager to grab James off his Camaro. "I heard what you did, White." He hisses out James's last name. "You cheated on Tina with Kate? That's just dumb. I wouldn't even go near that diseased cow." Billy shakes his head. "But then you had to go after Veronica." He sucks his teeth and laughs that dangerous laugh of his. James flinches, but Steve actually smirks Billy's way. "See, that -" Billy chuckles again, leaning over the shivering teen, "that's gonna cost you something."
"Hargrove, man, c'mon. Harrington," James blinks up at Steve, then glares at me. "Your bitch went after me, first! Look what she did, man. My nuts are still on fire."
Steve slams James back against the hood of the Camaro, snarling. "You got off easy, then."
"Too easy." Billy growls. My boyfriend nods in agreement, and the next thing I know they're throwing James to the pavement. He lands in the center of the crowd, shaking in terror. His nose is bleeding profusely, and he's crying.
"Go the hell home. Stay outta my sight, and I'll consider not spilling any more blood. If you'd squeezed a little harder, a little longer, Veronica wouldn't be here. Do you understand that? Look at my girl." Steve forces James to look my way. I feel hands on my arms, and I blink up at Jonathan and Nancy. My oldest friend looks ready to kill, and it's only because I put my hand out in time that he stays back. "Say you're sorry."
"I'm sorry."
I wince as Billy kicks the winded James. "I don't know, Harrington. I don't think he sounds very apologetic."
"Hmm. You're right, Hargrove. Say it again." Steve orders, King Steve coming out full force.
"I'm sorry." James apologizes.
"Good." Steve pats his cheek. "Stay away from her. And Carol. Definitely keep clear of Tina." He holds out his hand and pulls James up, Billy standing behind their shivering teammate. "I want you to remember something. Hargrove and I hate each other. We aren't friends. You know what we can agree on?" James shakes his head. "Keeping Veronica safe. Consider this your only warning - you touch her, we break you."
"Boo." Billy whispers. James jumps and runs away, his buddies on his tail as they get in the car, burning rubber as they speed away. The crowd looks disappointed at the loss of entertainment, but it's forced to break up anyway as the faculty comes out, confused as to why half the school isn't heading to their class.
Billy leaves without a word, joining Tommy, Carol, and Tina. Vicki and Nicole start fussing over him, and he lets them. Jonathan and Nancy do the same to me, and I smile when Jonathan mutters, "Why the hell can't you keep out of trouble?"
"Because then you'd have no one to fuss over." I joke, but it falls flat when all three of my friends glare at me. "Look, it just kinda happened. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." I blink up at them, glancing at Steve last. "It wasn't because I wanted it to be a secret. I just didn't want to worry you. I'm okay. Really. Just sore."
"Idiot." Steve snarls. I jolt as I'm pulled into a hug, then let myself melt into his chest. "You're my girlfriend. I love you. You get a paper cut? I'm still gonna be worried. Do you want to tell Hopper about this?"
"No." I shake my head. "No, let's just let this go. James learned his lesson. Everyone did." I tilt my head back. I tilt my head back. "How did you find out?"
"Dustin." My boyfriend shrugs. I huff. Traitor. Then again, I never said he couldn't tell Steve - just our mom.
"Tattletale." I growl playfully. Then I blink over to the scene of the fight, stomach fluttering. "That was hot, by the way."
Steve snorts, gently kissing me. "Good morning, Roni." I laugh at his words, taking Nancy's hand in mine as Steve pulls me towards the school, ready to face the day.
Phew. There you have it. I'm thinking a few more chapters, and then I'll tackle the events of season 3. The next few uploads will be light, I promise!