Two Stores Down

chapter two - fists

Over a week has passed since last Saturday, and Steve is off for today on a Sunday. He mindlessly drives around, having nothing better to do. It’s a nice afternoon, the sun beams down on the grass and trees, the wind blows through his hair, and he’s humming along to the music. He plays Tears For Fears with the windows down, his left forearm hanging out of the window. He’s about to head back home, when he sees Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Eddie outside of a gas station. They’re getting confronted by the basketball team, mainly being yelled at by Jason Carver. He quickly makes a U-turn and drives back.

Before he has time to park or turn off his car, Jason pushes Lucas’s shoulder. Eddie jumps between them and shoves him back as hard as he can, causing the basketball player to stumble backwards. Jason then throws a punch at Eddie, but he eats it and punches him back twice before the whole team jumps on him. “Hey! Get the fuck away from them!” Steve runs out of his car and pulls Jason off, causing the blond to elbow him in the stomach. Two of the players continue kicking and punching Eddie, while the other three turn their focus to Steve. “Get the fuck out of here, Harrington. This is none of your business.” The blond warns.

Head Over Heels plays on full blast through the car speakers - all the windows are down and the drivers door is wide open. “Fuck you.” He replies, holding his fists up in front of him. One of the guys throws a punch at Steve, and he dodges, punching him hard in the chest. Jason punches Steve in the cheek. Dustin jumps on Justin’s back, putting him in a headlock as much as he can, giving Lucas enough time to kick him in the balls. Mike tries to get one of the guys off of Eddie, “Get the fuck off of him, he didn’t do anything!” He grabs Mike’s hair and yanks it back, so the thin boy grabs that same arm and bites it as hard as he can. The teen screams in pain. Eddie seizes the moment and sinks his teeth into his left ankle, drawing blood.

The other guy that’s on Eddie kicks him in the face, audibly breaking a bone. “Get off, you toothless freak.” One of the teammates yanks Dustin off of Justin and shoves him to the ground next to Eddie. Lucas kicks him in the knee, causing him to stumble. He takes the opportunity and throws a handful of gravel at his face, making him cover his eyes. Mike grabs a small rock and hits him in the side repeatedly. 

Jason kicks Lucas in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. Steve sees red and gets a rush of adrenaline, “Don’t fucking touch him!” He tackles Jason to the floor, wraps his hands around his neck and uses his weight to cut off Jason’s air supply. He keeps his left hand on his neck, and uses the right to continuously punch him. Another player punches Steve in the cheek, but he ignores the pain and focuses on choking and beating the life out of Jason. The gravel-blind teammate finally clears his eyes and punches Mike down to the ground.

Eddie gets up while the others are focused on getting Steve off. He runs and tackles the guy who hit Mike, punching him in the face. “Hey! Over here, fucker!” Dustin punches another guy in the ribs, hardly causing damage but distracting him long enough for Lucas to throw a rock at his head. One of the last players standing kicks Steve hard enough in his side to finally knock him over. The same one helps Jason off of his feet and pushes Eddie away from the guy he tackled. They stumble back, and Jason spits blood. 

“Don’t talk to his sister or go near her again, faggot.” He says, pointing at Eddie, referring to one of his teammates.. He just wipes blood from his nose and laughs, “How can I hit on his sister and be a faggot at the same time? Fucking idiot.”  

They ignore him, and get in their van. The sister sits in the backseat, deliberately not looking at them. 

They all sit on the gravelly floor, gathering their thoughts. Mike examines all the scrapes on his arms and legs, and sees bruises forming. He sighs, holding in tears from the pulsing on his face. Dustin hisses in pain and holds his head, seeing some blood leaking from his scalp. Lucas holds his stomach, wheezing. A tear rolls down his cheek, but he wipes it before anyone sees. Steve can’t really feel his bruised and bloody face, the rush of adrenaline wearing off but still present enough to numb his pain. Eddie holds his cheek and ribs, groaning in pain. He stands weakly and grabs his bag.