𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 // 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

2-3: The Pollywog

After I took Steve home from the party, him and I started hanging out more. It was almost like we understood one another after the whole thing with him and Nancy. 

Him and I shared gym class together, and today the coach decided on basketball. I figured I could just watch from the bleachers, since only the boys were playing. One team had their shirts on while the other had them off to differentiate the teams. Steve had the ball and was dribbling it across the court until Billy stood in front of him on the defense. Steve trying to move past him but Billy blocked him from moving back. 

"Harrington, right?" Billy asked, and I watched the interaction from the bleachers. "I heard you used to run this school. That true?" Steve didn't respond as he continued trying to move past Billy. "King Steve, they used to call you, huh?" He smiled. "Then you turned bitch." 

"Hey, maybe you should just shut up and just play the game." Steve told him, out of breath and sweating profusely. Billy tripped him, knocking him to the floor as he took the ball and ran with it. Steve quickly got up to chase him but didn't make it in time as Billy jumped in the air, tossing the basketball under his leg before he shot it into the hoop. When he landed he let out a victorious holler. The people on Billy's team hollered and shouted , running around the court. Billy looked towards Steve and grinned, licking his teeth smugly. Steve put his hands on his knees and panted before his attention shifted elsewhere.

"Steve?" Nancy called out, standing by the door. Steve turned to her and glanced my way briefly before following her outside. I sighed to myself, knowing it wasn't going to end very well for the two of them. I turned my attention back towards the court where Billy was destroying the other team by a mile. It was interesting to watch, and he was showing off his athleticism by doing tricks or shoving people to the ground because he knew all eyes were on him. One of the members of the shirt team ran out of the gym to go get Steve since he was the only good player on their team. 

Steve came back, looking frustrated and hurt. I figured I could talk to him about it later when we had some free time. Gym ended and most of the boys headed towards the showers to wash themselves off of all of the sweat, but I noticed one staying behind and staring my way. 

Billy confidently walked over towards me, his shirt still off and covered in sweat. I tried to avoid looking at him, thinking he just was grabbing something near me and not actually wanting to start up a conversation. That is, until I heard him speak up. "(L/n), right?" He asked, and I turned to look at him with a bit of shock written on my face. "What's your deal?"

"What?" I asked, confused. 

"You're friends with Harrington, and you hang around those kids." 

"You mean the kids you almost ran over the other day?" I scoffed. Billy's expression contorted into annoyance. 

"Yeah, those shits." He muttered.

"Well, like you said. They're my friends. Are you done?" I asked, getting up from the bleachers to go change back into my regular clothes. I walked pass Billy but before I knew it, I felt a tight grip on my wrist. I turned to see him holding onto me, and I tensed up, trying to get away from his grip.

"You and I should hang out, (L/n)." Billy said, his tone more demanding than asking.

"What? Yeah, sure. Just let go of me." I told him, and he released my wrist and let me go. I held it in my hand as I turned away from him, walking towards the locker room feeling uncomfortable by him and his presence. 

~

Not even a minute after school had passed before the kids radioed me on their walkie talkies. They said it was an emergency, so I didn't hesitate to get to their school. By the time I showed up, I found the boys running into the AV room, so I came in behind them while the redhead girl, Mad Max, stayed outside of the room asking to come in. I felt bad for her, since she's new and now she's getting left out. But it was for her own good that she knew nothing about the Upside Down.