𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻 // 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎

Chapter 2 | Consequences

"What did I tell you about fighting with Hargrove, Harrington?!"

Okay, well, maybe Steve shouldn't have thrown a basketball at Billy's face.

Coach John Simmons, the leader of the basketball team at Hawkins High, paces around his office with anxiety practically written on his face. "How many times this week have I told you about changing your behavior towards Hargrove, Steve? How many?!" he shouts, slamming his hands on his desk as he steels his gaze of disappointment towards the said brunet.

Steve clears his throat, a bit of shame washing over his words. 'Uh..." he trails off, crossing his arms. Stubbornly enough, Steve still feels no remorse for the huge bruise Billy's left cheek has, nor for the nosebleed that occurred soon after. "Five, I think?" the brunet glances at the Coach's indifferent facial expression and shudders. "Okay, yeah, uh... five."

"And how many more until you stop for good, Harrington?" John presses, but it's not a question—it sounds more like a threat. Something that sinister coming from a good coach like Simmons is enough for all the words in Steve's mind to halt at his throat. He must've pissed Coach Simmons off.

Swallowing dry, Steve doesn't respond.

After a few seconds of silence, John sighs in distress, rubbing his temples with his fingers. Simmons sits back in his chair and fixes Steve with a look of a pitying parent rather than a ticked-off boss. "Listen, Harrington. Many people have already requested that you be removed from the exercise, especially Hagan's mother, but I've stopped them—barely." he takes a breath, pausing a moment to study Steve's blank reaction, then continues, "And that's before this incident. What you just did moments ago? How the hell am I going to convince the staff that you're fit to play in the team?"

Steve blinks, baffled. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a sec," he laughs, completely shocked. He can't believe what he's hearing from the coach he's trusted the most in all his school years. "I'm in the wrong? You're telling me that Hargrove didn't deserve that half-court after what he said about me and Nance?" the brunet points out, and John exhales shallowly.

"I never said that, Harrington, I'm just telling you that the rest of the school won't be on your side for this one." Simmons explains, but his voice shakes a little—not from fear, but from festering anger. "You have never started a fight with the other students that previously called Miss Wheeler worse things, yet you throw a full-on basketball at one of the best players on the court. What changed?" he asks, bringing up a good point: Why Billy?

Steve truly doesn't know either, so he answers with the closest thing to how he honestly feels. "I don't know, Coach. It's—It's different, okay?" he mutters, burying his face in his hands. "I've been having a rough day, alright? I guess Billy just pushed me too far."

That seems to piss Simmons off even more. "A bad day? What the hell are you going to do if you have another one? If Hagan throws a joking comment at Miss Wheeler, are you going to—to toss a dumbbell at his head?!" he snaps, flailing his arms to show how outrageous the idea is. "Send Hagan to the hospital? Is that what you'll do, Harrington?!"

Against every smart part of his mind, Steve murmurs under his breath, "Well, Tommy's an asswipe by himself, so he doesn't need a reason to get flat-lined."

Coach Simmons immediately freezes in his tracks, making Steve's blood run cold. "What did you just say, Harrington?" his voice comes out void, almost freakishly nonchalant—like the calm before the storm. Steve stays quiet, but this time John doesn't accept the wordless action. "I said, what the fuck did you just say, Harrington?!" he basically screams that last inquiry, and Steve clears his throat, eyes nervously landing on the wall.