𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧

.𝟎𝟒 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐜𝐤

Plant your feet; November 2022

Steve's feet slip from underneath him, the loud squeak of the rubber part of his shoe sliding on the gym floor catching everyone's attention. His footing is lost as his right foot slips further ahead than the other causing him to lose balance. He proceeds to then fall on his ass, he's not embarrassed. It happens. Not like there weren't accidents in basketball. Quite the opposite really. The number of times a kid took a basketball to the face was far more than what Steve could count on one hand.

What was embarrassing was the fact that he fell because of a new kid. Hawkins Highs star athlete fell on his ass over a new kid, who could barely dribble the ball between two hands. The same guy whose greasy curls fell past his shoulders and stuck to his forehead as he held the most obnoxious grin known to man. Licking his lips in a way that was way too much, and maybe a tad suggestive. Steve's heart was racing, anxiety going through him. His representation would be absolutely fucked if he let Billy Hargrove one-up him in basketball as well. Already beating his record at the keg during a party the other night. That he didn't care about, he wasn't getting a scholarship for being able to drink so much beer in one sitting.

He's still frozen to the ground, sweat pooling through his shirt as his breathing stays heavy. He was a bit lightheaded, but he assumes that was from dehydration. Sometimes he couldn't keep up with the amount of water his body needed. Though he isn't completely sure he could rack up all of his symptoms under being dehydrated. It was that time of year again which meant he was going to be coming down with something any day now. Normally the flu hit him a couple of days after Thanksgiving, but this year it didn't seem to be all that forgiving.

There was a dull sore ache in his body, a slight pinch of pain whenever he tried moving his joints. That was probably one of the reasons why he didn't plant his feet well enough when Hargrove came out of nowhere jabbing his ribcage with a dirty hook from his elbow, nearly knocking the wind out of Steve and causing him to lose balance. Making the dirty play more obvious as Billy nearly fell on top of him in the process.

Steve moves sitting up a little with a wince, fighting back the urge to stand back up and start swinging at the culprit who did this. The small ache that had been dull, was now blooming into something far worst. The reason behind the permanent scowl aimed towards Billy, who was currently taking it upon himself to bend down to take his hand and pull him to his feet. "Think you need to learn how to plant your feet, King Steve." He hisses in the most obnoxious tone ever. God, Steve really should have started to swing right then and there. It would bite him in the ass later but at least he would feel better knowing he wiped that cocky smirk off his face.

Steve rolls his eyes in response. Gaining balance as he hears the school bell ringing. His eyes never move away from the other guy as he taunts him, afraid that if he even flickered his eyes from the other, he would only shove him back down on the ground. This is why he stays frozen in his spot watching the other take a step back, still looking Steve up and down like he was the unpredictable one in this situation. The guy was confusing the hell out of Steve. He's never dealt with a guy who's acted like Billy Hargrove. Who constantly held a condescending tone, a flirtatious look, and judging eyes all at once. It was a very confusing combo, normally Steve could read people but that was not the case here.

Steve runs a hand through his hair, feeling his shoulders more tense than normal. He was probably going to have to spend longer in the shower in hopes of the hot water to loosen up some of the knots that stuck themselves to his muscles. Similar to Billy, who has decided to stick himself on Steve's ass like a leech for everything. He wonders if the stress that he has been feeling so much more lately was causing him to feel like shit. With schoolwork, his job, and the anxiety about what Billy Hargrove was going to do he just couldn't catch a break.