#god dustin really would be like 'buddy why did you throw my keys in the TRASH' and she'd go god forbid women do anything 🙄

[buddyapologist]

old buddy art from 2018-2020

i need to start drawing again lol

[screensirenfic]

Black Leather - Chapter 39

What happened next was so fast, I barely had time to register it.

Steve was on the floor; Billy throwing punch after punch down on him as he forced him to fall further into unconsciousness.

I was standing shell shocked, shotgun limp in my hand at my side, because after all this time; I still couldn’t do it.

I still couldn’t shoot Billy.

Then out of nowhere, Max sprang to action, snatching up a needle of Will’s sedative from a side table, and plunging it into Billy’s neck without a seconds hesitation.

Billy’s head spun to see what happened; his hand rising to pull the syringe from his neck.

“The hell is this?” He asked; already breathless and slurred, although I couldn’t tell if it was kicking in already, or it was just exhaustion.

He rose unsteadily to his feet; all thoughts of Steve abandoned in favour of confronting Max, only to stumble on the first step.

“Max— what— the— hell’s— ths—“ He slurred, only for him to fall to his knees, before collapsing on his back on the floor.

His eyes began to flutter; his consciousness fading, and I could feel my stomach clenching; guilt and fear and worry bringing nausea bubbling in my throat.

Max had no such reservations, snatching up Steve’s forgotten nailbat and wielding it over Billy’s limp form.

“From here on out; you’re gonna leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?” She ordered; the same wild look in her eyes that he had just five minutes ago.

“Screw... you.” Billy managed to slur from the floor; the curse sounding weak compared to his usual profanity.

Max swung the bat, embedding the sharp nails in the floor inches away from Billy’s crotch.

“SAY IT!!! SAY IT!!!” She screamed, and it scared me how much she sounded like him.

“O—Kay” Billy mumbled his eyes struggling to focus on the very implement that nearly ended his womanising ways for good.

“I couldn’t hear you...” She continued; wrenching the bat from the floor to wield as a threat again.

“I... I under— understand.” He slurred; his eyes barely staying open.

“What?!”

“I... understand...” He managed to repeat, before falling unconscious completely; his eyes falling closed.

Max dropped the bat to the floor; exhaling with relief as if she didn’t know she had that in her in the first place.

To be honest; no one did, the shared mood of astonishment and perhaps even approval still buzzing in the air.

Not me though.

I was still frozen solid; my hands shaking uncontrollably at my sides as I found myself unable to tear my eyes away from the unconscious blonde on the floor.

Then I heard a groan; my eyes shooting across to a still knocked out Steve laid out flat on the floor.

“Shit!” I cursed, throwing my shotgun to the floor, before rushing over to him, falling to my knees at his side.

“Steve... Steve; wake up—“ I pleaded; my hands reaching up to grab his bloodied cheeks, fingers stroking blood slicked hair away from his face.

“Steve; come on. You can wake up...” I continued to beg; hands shaking as they stained red with his blood, tears starting to fall down my cheeks.

———————————————————

He didn’t wake up.

He didn’t wake up; goddamnit!

But I could still see him breathing through the rise and fall of his chest; the gentle sighs and moans of pain as we attempted to carry him to Billy’s Camaro.

Max had wasted no time in snatching up his keys from his jacket and beckoning us out the front door.

We may be one man down, but my dad and El still needed us, and one close call tonight was already enough.

We’d piled into the car; me having done a slapdash first aid job on Steve’s injuries, which mostly consisted of cleaning away the blood and some micropore tape.

I probably should’ve insisted I drove, but my nerves were honestly too frayed to have to refresh myself with gear shifts, and really; I just wanted to be with Steve.

I knew he was gonna be alright; that he was just pretty beaten up and he’d heal, but I felt guilty.

Maybe if I hadn’t of been there, Billy wouldn’t have taken it so hard on him…

Maybe if I’d just shut my mouth and did what Billy asked; this never would’v—

No; I couldn’t be thinking like that.

Billy was a manipulative, controlling asshole, and he’d hurt Steve, and goddamnit!

Why did the idiot have to be so fucking noble?!

Couldn’t he have just let me take my beating like a man just this once?!

“Mhmmm— Lo—Lola”

I could feel him stirring against my leg; the position probably a little more incriminating than preferable, but it was the only way we could keep him suitably horizontal in the car without risk of further head injuries.

His cheek was pressed to the inside of my thigh; a thin trail of drool spilling out of his mouth and onto my leg, but I didn’t care; I’d just tease him about it later if he got better…

When he got better.

“It’s okay; Steve. I’m right here…” I cooed, gently threading my fingers through his thick hair, and trying to ignore the sticky sensation of the blood that clotted there.

He moved his head, nuzzling further into my thigh as one hand reached up to meet my own, fingering at the deep gash Billy had left there.

“Lo—“ He groaned, shifting to sit up a little more on the Camaro floor.

“Shhh, shhh.” I soothed; my hands reaching down to brace him as he moved to sit more firmly against the cushion go my seat.

“Take it easy, buddy. You took quite the ass kicking back there.” Advised Dustin from the seat next to me; a can of gasoline sloshing in his lap.

“What— What happened?” Steve mumbled, rubbing his hand insistently at the back of his head, only to pull it away and find it bloody.

“It’s okay; Steve. Just keep still.” I comforted him, gently stroking his hair in a bid to get him to relax.

He really didn’t need to see that there was a thirteen year old behind the wheel; let alone that she couldn’t reach the pedals without duck taping books to them.

Steve panicked enough without the added stress of a head injury, and I really needed to keep him calm if we had any hope of seeing this plan through.

“Okay, you're gonna keep straight for half a mile or so, then take a left on Mount Sinai…” Lucas instructed Max from the front passenger seat, and already I knew all hopes of it going unnoticed was lost.

Steve’s eyes shot to the two preteens sat in the front of the car, one of which was driving it with the same sort of tense hesitation that came when you went out on the open road for the first time.

“Don’t worry. She’s driven before—“ Assured Dustin, but to Steve it must’ve seemed anything but reassuring.

“In the parking lot…” Mike unnecessarily added; still not over the fact that despite my apparent panic, I still hadn’t let him drive.

“That counts—“ Lucas countered, taking his eyes off the spread map of Hawkins in his hands.

“Oh my God—“ Steve groaned, reality dawning upon him and panic setting in.

“Steve—“ I warned; really not needing him to freak out right now, when Max was stressed enough as it is.

“They wanted to leave you behind — But me and Lola said you’d be cool—“ Dustin tried to explain, but only succeeded in winding Steve up further.

“Oh my God!” Steve openly panicked on the floor of the backseat; his position and the bumps in the road leaving him unable to do anything but complain.

“Steve—“ I tried to get his attention again, but it really was no use when he was in full blown panic mode

“Stop!!— stop the car; STOP THE CAR!!” Steve yelled, struggling as if to stand, but clearly being unable to in the moving vehicle.

“I told you he’d freak out—!” Whined Mike; his attitude really not helping in the situation.

“Steve; calm down—“ I instructed; more firm this time, because the last thing we needed was Max to crash the car because of his screaming.

“STOP THE CAR!” Steve continued to yell; all thoughts of calm abandoned in the face of sheer panic.

“WOULD EVERYONE SHUT UP I'M TRYING TO FOCUS!!” Yelled Max, taking her eyes off the road for a second to glare back at us.

“That’s Mount Sinai—“ Interrupted Lucas, drawing all our attentions back to the front of the car.

“What—?”

“Turn left — LEFT!!” Yelled Lucas, just as we were about to miss the turning.

Max spun the wheel to a hard left; the tires squealing as the car fishtailed into the turning, whipping wildly from side to side.

My stomach lurched, and I could hear Steve screaming as we drove straight through a mailbox, before swerving back onto the road.

——————————————————

It didn’t take long for us to reach the pumpkin patch; Max’s driving, reckless but fast, much like her brothers.

She revved the car into the near barren field, driving straight over the “Pick Your Own Pumpkin” sign, before emergency braking to a halt mere metres from my dad’s tunnel.

She turned the engine off and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief, pleased to finally be stationary after what had been a hair raising ride.

Well; all of us, except Steve, who currently looked like he was gonna upchuck all over the Camaro’s upholstery.

“Whoa!!” Exclaimed Dustin; an exhilarated smile on his face.

“That was—‘ Began Lucas with that same thrilled grin, only to be interrupted by Steve flinging open the passenger door and racing outside.

BLURGHHH!

Steve puked all over the dirt outside, falling to his knees as he hurled up what must’ve been what’s left of this morning’s breakfast.

I climbed out of the car after him, reaching his side to put a steadying hand on his shoulder as he continued to heave and retch over his pool of vomit.

When I was sure nothing more would come up, I reached into my pocket, pulling what I was thankful was an unsoiled grease rag and handing it to him.

“Thanks…” He mumbled, wiping his face with the rag, before going to hand it back.

“Uhh… you can keep it—“ I declined, and I meant it!

There was no way I was taking Steve’s vomit home with me; no matter how many times he saved my ass.

I offered him a hand and he took it, before pulling him to his feet with a mighty heave.

He smiled at me; one of those grateful closed-lip smiled that made me melt inside.

I was so fucking thankful he was okay.

If something had happened, and it was my fault; I honestly don’t know what I’d—

“We should probably get back to the kids… Make sure they stay out of trouble…” He said, jolting my attention back to the mission at hand.

Gratitude could wait until later. We had rugrats to wrangle.

[letmeletmetrashyourlove]

The Scarf

Welcome to the Four Horsemen collab fic! Each of us will be writing and posting parts of this story, but you never know who is going to post the next part, so keep your eyes peeled on all of our blogs!

Dot: @stevesdacre

Emma: @hairringtonsteve

Lidi: @letmeletmetrashyourlove

Rachael: @dacrethehalls

PART ONE (Biology Notes)

PART TWO (Careful)

PART THREE (Almost)

PART FOUR (Carnival Rides)

Summary: All hell breaks loose because of a goddamn scarf.

          “You two look cozy!” Nancy’s chipper voice made me jump and pull away from Steve.

          “Where’d you two run off to?” Steve asked, “Too much fun in the photo booth?”

Nancy’s ponytail was somewhat disheveled and the top button of her blouse undone. Her cheeks went bright red.

We all silently agreed not to talk about the awkward scenario we had gotten ourselves into and instead watched the kids spin around on the ride. Matty let out a squeal, throwing his hands up in the air. The roar of the ride filled my ears as I turned to glance at Steve, who still had his arm around my shoulder. He showed me a smile, rubbing my upper arm reassuringly.

The ride ground to a halt, the kid’s sneakers rattling the metal steps.

          “Ooooh. I don’t feel so good.” Matty groaned as he staggered off the ride.

The other kids were woozy as well, all of them dazed as they wavered back onto the grass.

          “Told you you should’ve waited to eat funnel cake until after you were done on the rides.” I scolded Matty.

          “You’re always right, I should listen to you more often.” He hiccuped, clambering up into my lap where I sat on the bench with Steve. He pulled out a bottle of water for the boy who enthusiastically accepted it, chugging down the rest.

          “Why don’t we go play a few games while you get your land legs, huh?” Steve offered.

Matty nodded in agreement, climbing off my lap and reaching up to take my hand. He tugged me from my spot beside Steve, even though I didn’t particularly leave the comfort that was found under his touch.

          “Matty, let’s go see if we can win a goldfish!” Dustin offered. Matty left me behind, forgetting that he wasn’t feeling so well as he chased the older boys.

          “How’s he doing?” Steve asked, settling into step beside me, our shoulders brushing as we strolled.

          “It’s hard to tell.” I replied, “Fine one second, sobbing the next.”

Steve nodded,

          “We went to see Billy the other night when my parents were fighting.”

I could barely see Steve’s jaw clench at the mention of Billy, but I knew he at least had the decency not to trash him to my face.

          “He was crying, and then he showed Billy his new shoes and suddenly he was fine again… I guess I’m just thankful for his limited attention span.”

          “Can’t get it off your mind?” Steve murmured.

          “Yeah. It’s just… Like… Everything reminds me of my parents. The families here, the games and rides at the boardwalk in California.”

��         “Steve! Come play basketball!” Matty cried, waving him over.

He glanced over at me with a look asking if I would be okay without him. I nodded, shoving my hands into my coat pocket as I watched him take off with Matty.

The boys spent their combined tickets to get a teddy bear for me from the prize booth. The cheap, pink toy already had a hole beginning to tear in the side, one of the eyes was stuck on sideways. But Matty presented it to me with a toothless grin and I couldn’t help but love it.

          “Steve won it for you!” Matty beamed.

          “You helped, little man.”

          “Yeah, but he got the most points on the basketball one. I guess I’m gonna have to practice with Billy some more.” Matty yawned.

He had been trying to hide his exhaustion since he got off the last ride, but I could tell the boy could hardly keep his chocolate brown eyes open. Steve squatted down beside him,

          “Piggy back?”

          “Yes, please! I am sleepy!” He declared, climbing on Steve’s back.

          “I think it’s time to head home, bud,” I told him, earning a pitiful sound of protest before he rested his cheek on Steve’s back, eyes closed.

          “Hey! Kids!” I hollered to the party as they clustered around the prize booth, arguing over whether they should each get something or if they should combine their tickets for one item.

          “I’m gonna head home, tell Nancy and Jonathan when you find them.”

          “They’re probably making out somewhere again.” Mike grimaced, sticking out his tongue.

They all said their goodbyes to Matty and I,

          “I’ll carry him to the car for you.” Steve offered.

          “I don’t think you have much of a choice.” I grinned, glancing at Matty who had passed out in a matter of minutes despite the bustling crowd and roaring rides. If Steve hadn’t been holding onto the boy’s legs, he would’ve slipped off.

We trudged in silence to the car, the only sound being our feet on crunching gravel and dry dirt. I dug my keys from my purse, unlocking the car before gently prying Matty off of Steve’s back and getting him set in the backseat.

          “Thanks for inviting us.” I exhaled, closing the door behind Matty.

          “Yeah, no problem. Anytime you need anything, just… you know where to find me.” He smiled.

I opened my arms, pulling him into a brief hug before getting back into the car. He stepped aside as I pulled out of the drive. He waved in my rearview mirror, illuminated by my tail lights.

          “Matty.” I coaxed, unbuckling the dozing boy’s seatbelt, “We’re home, bud.”

He let out a groan, flinging his arms around my neck as I placed my hand on top of his head to keep from hitting it as I hauled him out of the car.

I fumbled with holding the dead weight of a sleepy boy against my hip while I dug my keys out of my handbag.

I unlocked the door, stepping inside to see the house in disarray. Two broken glasses laid in the kitchen sink, a smashed bottle of some sort of alcohol on the ground, and the bar stools had been knocked over.

I let out a sigh, carrying Matty straight to his bedroom and setting him on the bed.

          “Stay here, buddy. I’ll be in in a minute.” I told him, smoothing his hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

I peered into my mom’s bedroom, seeing her passed out on the bed. She hung off halfway, another spilled bottle laying on the green shag carpet. Adding yet another stain to the impressionist artwork that was the floor. I let out a sigh, running a hand through my hair. I closed the bedroom door as I went into the kitchen, I cautiously stepped around the shattered glass minefield, grabbing the phone off the receiver.

I didn’t even have to look at the sheet of paper that I had scribbled phone numbers on, dialing the Wheeler’s house from memory. It rang a few times before Mrs. Wheeler picked up,

          “Hey, Karen. Hey. Uh, it’s Y/N. Sorry to call so late.”

          “Is everything okay?”

          “Yeah… Uh…  Kinda… I guess… It’s…”I blabbered, “No. Not really. Can Matty and I come stay the night?”

          “Yeah. Of course, sweetheart. I’ll get blankets and stuff out for you.”

          “Thank you.” I sighed.

I threw the dish towel over the mess on the floor, soaking up the liquid before I took out the broom and cleaned up the glass. The last thing I needed was Matty running in here barefoot and tearing his feet open.

I tore a piece of paper off the notepad by the phone, scribbling a note on it for my mother. Not that she would see it or actually care that we were at the Wheelers.

I returned to Matty’s room to see him struggling not to fall asleep while sitting up.

          “Can I sleep in your room tonight?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.

          “Bud, we’re going to stay with Mike and Nancy and Holly,” I told him, grabbing his backpack and loading it up with his PJs and a change of clothes for tomorrow.

          “Got Scooby?” I asked as I slung his Scooby Doo backpack over my shoulder.

He clutched the ear of the dingy stuffed dog that he slept with every night, trudging over to me and leaning against my leg with a tired groan.

I decided it was best not to take the car, knowing that mom would wake up and panic thinking that we didn’t make it home last night.

I picked Matty back up, lugging him off the steps of the front porch and down the street.

          “Y/N?” Somebody called out from behind me.

I twisted to see that Billy had just pulled into his driveway and was stepping out of his car.

          “Everything okay?” He questioned as he trotted over to us.

I shifted Matty’s weight on my hip, earning a whine as he buried his head deeper into my neck. 

          “Yeah. I uh… We’re just going to stay with the Wheelers for the night.”

          “You’re walking?”

          “Yeah.”

          “Jesus Christ, their house is like, three miles away. No. You’re not walking, come on.” He ordered, placing his hand on the small of my back as he led me back to the Camaro. I put Matty in the back seat, buckling him in.

I let out a sigh as I climbed into the front, leaning my head back against the seat. I was thankful that the car was already heated.

          “What’s going on?” Billy whispered, resting his hand on my knee as he pulled out of the driveway.

          “I… I don’t know.” I covered my face with my hands as I struggled not to cry for the second time today, “I just… I went to the carnival with the kids and Steve and Nancy.”

Billy let out an annoyed grunt, but I just ignored it,

          “And I think Matty had fun. But we came back and the house was just… a disaster zone. Mom went off the deep end.”

          “Did Matty see it?” Billy asked.

          “No. Thank god. I just… I don’t know what I’m going to do, Billy.”

          “You’re smart, you’ll figure it out.” He encouraged.

          “I mean, mom can’t go to work like this. And then what? We have no income, lose the house, lose the car. God forbid, Matty and I having to go back to California with my dad.”

          “It’s not gonna come to that, you can get a job. Make at least enough to make up for what your mom isn’t making. I think The Hawk is hiring.”

          “Then who's gonna take care of Matty? Pick him up from school everyday, help him with his homework, tuck him in? Because I know for damn sure that Mom isn’t going to do that.”

          “I can help out some.”

          “Billy, I can’t ask you to do that.”

          “You didn’t ask. I offered.”

I sighed, wiping my tired eyes.

“Thanks for the ride, Billy.” I smiled, giving him a pat on the knee as I climbed out of the car. I moved my seat up far enough to let Matty step out. I grabbed his bag and sent him to the front door as I stayed behind to talk to Billy.

          “I… I don’t know about you taking care of Matty… I just…”

          “You don’t trust me,” Billy muttered, glancing down at his feet as he pulled a cigarette from his front pocket.

          “What? No. That’s not it at all.”

          “It’s okay if you don’t, not many people do.”

          “Billy. Stop it.”  

          “Then why don’t you want me to help you more?”

          “He’s had nothing but shit men in his life, Billy. And I’m just being too cautious.” I admitted, “Besides. Dad just left, mom is MIA, I don’t want him to think that I’m abandoning him too.”

          “Shit men.” Billy scoffed, “Yeah. That seems to be a trend, doesn’t it?”

          “It’s not personal, Billy, okay? He worships you. Wears that denim jacket you got him every day, won't even let me wash it.”

          “I know, but I mean, now that you’re with Steve-”

          “With Steve? What are you talking about?” I interrupted.

He gestured with his lit cigarette to the scarf I had forgotten I was wearing.

          “Oh. He just lent it to me at the fair. Forgot to give it back.”

He scoffed, running his tongue over his bottom lip.

          “What?”

          “Nothing.”

          “It’s obviously not nothing.” I retorted, placing my hands on my hips.

          “It’s nothing, okay?” He snapped. This was the closest he had ever come to sounding anything like the Billy that everybody warned me about. I was taken aback by the bite in his voice.

          “Fine. Whatever.” I quipped, pushing myself off the hood of his car and heading towards the door.

          “Y/N! Wait!” Billy called after me, but I ignored him.

When I got inside the Wheeler’s house, Matty was already changing into his PJ’s and settling into his spot on the couch. I didn’t even bother to change my clothes, I just climbed on the couch beside him, letting him curl up against me.

Despite our argument from the night before, Billy still picked me up for school. Matty ran over and hugged his legs,

“B! Y/N said you’re gonna come to the fair with us before it closes!” He exclaimed.

          “She did?” Billy glanced up at me with a grin that quickly collapsed when he saw my disgruntled expression. It wasn’t necessarily directed towards him, although his little freak out over his fragile ego from the night before still played in my head. I was exhausted, never really being able to completely fall asleep. I would doze off, only to wake up and glance at the clock, watching the hours tick by between my short slumbers.

Billy leaned over to whisper something in Matty’s ear. His brows furrowed as he looked at Billy and then to me.

          “Why are you pissed off, sissy!?” Matty shouted.

          “Matthew!” I scolded, but my glare was directed at Billy, who I knew was the one to teach him that phrase.

          “I’m ticked off because I didn’t get enough sleep last night, bud,” I told him, opening the car door and letting him in.

Billy drowned out the painful silence of the car ride by blasting music. Matty happily sang along from the back seat, but neither Billy and I would face each other. Maybe it was just as well, since I didn’t want to argue with him in front of Matty.

When we pulled up in front of the school, Billy instructed Matty to stay in the car for a minute,

          “I wanna talk to your sister for a minute. Okay, bud?”

          “Okay,” Matty replied.

I climbed out of the car, crossing my arms over my chest as I stared at Billy. He refused to make eye contact with me,

          “Talk.” I spat, sounding much more irritated than I intended to.

          “Still wearing it,” Billy muttered, placing a cigarette between his lips and lighting it.

          “What?”

          “The scarf.”

          “Oh for god’s sake.” I jeered, “It’s cold. I wore a scarf!” I retorted, throwing my hands up in frustration.

          “His scarf.”

          “What the hell is your problem, Billy!?” I roared, my lack of sleep leaving me with no tolerance for bullshit.

          “What the hell is my problem? We almost kissed like, three times the other night and now you're walking around wearing some other dude’s scarf!” He hollered back.

          “Steve is my friend, Billy! He just let me borrow it because I was cold! He was just being nice!”

          “Just being nice. Right. Right." He chuckled to himself, taking another drag of his cigarette, "You clearly haven’t seen the way that he’s been staring at you since you got here.”

          “What are you talking about?”

          “Are you really that fucking oblivious? He’s totally got the hots for you!”

          “So what if he does!?”

          “We’ve got something here, okay!? You’re my girl!” Billy shouted, grabbing my arm to punctuate his point. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to startle me.

          “Your girl? Since when did you decide that you fucking own me!?” I spat.

          “Have we not been flirting with each other since the day you got here!?”

          “Jesus Christ, Billy! What does that have to do with the fucking scarf!?” I screamed.

          “I don’t know why I expected you to be different than every other whore in this shit town.” He snarled. 

I felt tears stinging the back of my eyes from anger, 

          “Fuck you.” I hissed, “Fuck you and your stupid fucking car and your stupid fucking hair and your stupid fucking jacket.” I threw pathetic punches at his shoulder in an attempt to get him to let go of my arm, but he held firm. 

          “Tell me you’re different.” 

          “What?” 

          “Tell me you’re not like every other girl I-” 

Billy was cut off by Matty running up between us. Neither of us had noticed the boy climbing out of the Camaro while we were arguing.

          “Stop it!” He shrieked, tears streaming down his face. He threw meager punches at Billy’s leg until he let go of my arm,

          “Don’t yell at her!” He shouted, resting his hands on Billy’s abdomen and pushing as hard as he could.

Despite being substantially smaller than Billy, he forced him to stagger back a couple of steps and bump against the hood of his car.

I brought my hands up and ran them through my hair. The last thing Matty needed right now was to have two of the most important people in his tiny world fighting.

          “Matty-” Billy began, his tone softer despite his labored breath from our argument.

          “No!” Matty interjected, he stood his ground against the larger boy, hands on his hips and his cheeks flushed with anger, “You don’t get to be mean to my sister. She protects me and I protect her!”

          “I know you do, buddy.” Billy tried to mitigate, crouching down to Matty’s level, “We were just talking.”

          “No. You were yelling.”

          “People argue, sometimes, Matty,” Billy explained, reaching out for Matty’s hand.

          “You sounded like mommy and daddy.” Matty barked, pulling his had aside before Billy could take it.

I felt my heart drop into my gut and my whole body froze. Billy and I had unwittingly become substitute parental figures for Matty. And he had just caught us arguing the way our parents were before dad left for good. Billy’s eyes flitted up to meet mine, both of us coming to the realization at the same time.

I managed to lift my feet from the pavement, despite them feeling like they were weighed down with concrete blocks, stepping towards Matty.

          “Matty, come on, you’re gonna be late.” I murmured, resting my hand on top of his head and redirecting him to the elementary school door.

          “Just go. I’ll walk the rest of the way.” I snarled at Billy.

          “No, you won't. It’s freezing.” He hollered.

          “It’s okay. I’ve got a scarf.” I retorted.

          “Are you okay, sissy?” He asked once we were out of Billy’s ear shot.

          “Yeah, bud. I’m fine.” I reassured, offering a weak smile.

          “Are you sure?”

          “I’m sure,” I replied, squatting down in front of him and resting my hands on his shoulders. His cheeks were still flushed, brows furrowed in irritation.

I brought my gloved hands up to cup his cheeks,

          “I love you, Matty.”

          “I love you too, sissy.”

          “Have a good day, okay?” I pressed a kiss to the end of his rosy nose before sending him inside.

Murmurs of my name could be heard from every corner of the school, each person stopping to stare as I trudged by. The argument in the parking lot had been on display for everyone and those who didn’t witness it had heard of it by the time first period was over.

          “Ground control to major Y/N.” Steve coaxed, waving his hand in front of my face where I sat beside him at lunch.

          “What? Oh… Sorry.” I exhaled, pushing the poor excuse for food around on my lunch tray.

          “Are you going to talk about it or no?” He pressed, cramming a forkful of meatloaf into his mouth.

          “Talk about what?” I bristled, feeling vexed that my one moment of peace during the day was being shattered by my friend talking about something that I wanted nothing more than too forget.

          “Y/N,” Steve sighed, picking up on my indignation.

          “Talk about what, Steve!? What? Do you just wanna say ‘I told you so’? Is that it!?”

I flung myself from my seat, snatching my backpack and shoving past the crowd on the way to the bathroom. I didn’t mean to snap at Steve, but I couldn’t help but feel stupid for not believing him. For not believing everybody that told me that Billy could be an asshole. That he was going to do something that hurt me and Matty, whether or not he meant to. It wasn’t until I noticed the bathroom mirror that I realized I had started to cry.

          “Shit. Fuckin- Goddammit!” I blabbed, booting the door to one of the stalls.

The girls that were in there fixing their makeup quickly scurried away, leaving me to melt to the ground all alone.

          “Hey.”

I peered up to see Steve had followed me,

          “This is the girl's room, perv.” I sniffled, wiping the tears from under my eyes.

          “Seems like every time we’re together, you start crying. I’m starting to wonder if it’s something about me.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes as he sat down beside me,

          “I mean, is it the hair? I know it can be intimidating but I promise it doesn’t bite.”

I let out a feeble laugh as I reached up to the paper towel dispenser and pulled one out to wipe my nose.

          “What happened?” He asked, throwing his arm around my shoulder.

          “Billy.” I sighed.  

          “Well. I figured as such.” He exhaled.

          “It’s just that… I don’t know… I should’ve listened to you.” I murmured, propping my head on his shoulder.

          “What did he do?”

          “He saw me wearing your scarf from the other night and started getting all… jealous… possessive.”

          “Well. He hates my guts, so I’m not surprised.”

          “I know. I know.” I sniffled, “It’s just… I don’t know. I thought I could be friends with both of you without getting caught in the middle of whatever dick measuring contest you have going on.”

He chuckled, his shoulders bobbing as he did so,

          “I wouldn’t be so upset but-” I cut myself off as I felt another sob bubbling in my throat, “but-”

Steve rested his head on top of mine, an encouragement to keep going.

          “Matty saw us fighting…”

          “And he…” I smiled sadly to myself, “He put himself between Billy and I and nearly pushed Billy on his ass.”

          “Go Matty!” Steve cheered.

          “I don’t know… he just… with my parent's divorce-”

          “Dead horse.” Steve corrected, forcing me to let out a soft laugh.

          “He just…. He said that we sounded like my parents when they were fighting.”

          “Ouch.”

          “Yeah. Ouch.” I chuckled to myself, “He… he just looks up to Billy, you know? And… I don’t know… I guess I just thought he had found a good role model. Lord knows mom and dad aren’t good examples.”

          “He’s got me. Jonathan. The other boys.”

          “I know. And I am so thankful for you guys. But he just formed such a quick bond with Billy.”

          “To be honest, Matty’s the only person I haven’t seen Billy be an absolute dick to. Maybe he does have some standards as to who he torments.”  

          “I just… I feel like a shitty friend for not listening to you.”

          “Hey, no.” Steve reassured, “You’ve got a lot of shit going on right now, you don’t need to worry about that.”

          “Thanks for putting up with me, Steve.”

          “Yeah, well, you’re cute so I decided to keep you around.”

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