iv. africa

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"it's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you

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"it's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you."
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COLBY WAS SWEATING HARD. It rolled down his forehead as he panted, narrowing his eyes at the boy in front of him.

Billy Hargrove.

The new kid had been at Hawkins for a total of five minutes, and Colby already hated him. He had a really smug smirk, and his bright blue eyes were laced with bitterness. He grinned at Colby and Steve every time he scored on them, and the two teammates looked to one another and grumbled under their breaths.

"Hey," panted Steve, coming up beside Colby, "where'd you go last night?"

"Uh... home." muttered Colby, lying through his teeth. "Sorry, I just... I was tired."

"Oh." nodded Steve, putting a hand on Colby's shoulder. "Yeah, I figured, I mean... I went to your house to make sure you were okay, and you sister told me— well, she told me you were home, I mean, I thought you took Nancy home or something, but I know you don't drink or anything-"

"No, yeah, I was home. I, uh... I think Jonathan took Nancy home." affirmed Colby, trying not to let a smile cross his face. Steve smiled at him, however, before jogging off down the court again.

Colby hadn't been sure how to feel about Steve, even though they'd always been teammates. However, prior to the events of the previous year, they hadn't necessarily been close. Steve didn't seem to care. Not about anyone else, at least. He was self-absorbed, and everyone he talked to would simply turn into a mirror.

"Come on, Martin, bring up the ball!" shouted Billy arrogantly, slapping his hands on the ground to egg Colby on. The boy, clenching his jaw, ran forward.

"Martin, Martin..." mumbled Billy as soon as Colby was close enough. "Come on, buddy."

Colby passed the ball to Steve. Billy immediately switched onto him, pushing him backwards and whispering into his ear mockingly, getting on Steve's nerves— and then he took the ball out of Steve's hands and to the hoop, jumping and crossing it through his legs before laying it up against the backboard. Steve grimaced as Billy smiled at him.

"Steve?" said Nancy's voice, and both Colby and Steve turned to see her standing timidly near the doorway. Almost immediately, Colby turned back so he was looking at Billy again. The taller boy with long hair smirked at Colby, brushing past him to get back on defense.

"I hate that smug bastard," grumbled Colby to his nearest teammate, before accepting the ball from them.

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like i can \/ nancy wheelerWhere stories live. Discover now