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tw:mention of the r-slur; nothing derogatory
"WAIT, SO YOU'RE TELLING ME all that stuff from last year happened again?"
It was odd how quickly things could alter within the span of a few days, how Amara's identity could shift from nobody to crowbar-wielding babysitter and back so rapidly. Except she wasn't exactly a nonentity anymore; word of Steve and Billy's skirmish had circulated throughout school, and her involvement was enough to earn her stares from peers who wouldn't have paid her any mind beforehand. As in all rumors, Amara was sure that none of them reached the truth of Steve holding off Billy to protect a bunch of middle-schoolers and her stepping in when Steve lost the ability to fight back. But whatever the stories were, whatever people thought of her now, she tuned it all out. She wasn't about to take crap from individuals who had only learned of her existence today.
Robin had been bemused as to why everyone was staring at the two of them as they made their way down the halls, and her first conclusion was that the school had figured out that she was gay. Amara had already been prepared to tell Robin about the resurgence of the supernatural world, and assured her best friend that the attention was most likely reserved for her. Now they were back in their little corner of the cafeteria, Robin having skipped extra band practice in all her curiosity to learn why Amara was earning so many looks.
"Yeah, it did," Amara responded in a hushed whisper. "And hopefully that was the last time. The gate to the other dimension is closed now."
"That's good, that's really good," Robin shrugged her shoulders, but it was clear that she was more interested in the newfound attention Amara was receiving than the details of how everything from a year ago had come back. Amara was grateful for that – she could only explain the Upside Down so many times. "I just don't get why everyone's staring at you now." Her eyes widened as she deciphered a possible explanation. "Wait, you don't think – "
"No, I don't think they found out about that," Amara kept her voice low. As if on cue, Steve entered the cafeteria on his own and all eyes were drawn to him and his battered face, concealed the best he could with sunglasses. He was quick to grab a lunch tray and exit but not without shooting Amara a smile, one she returned. "You know that new kid Billy?"
"You mean that asshole from California who basically became the new King of school in a week?" Robin queried. It was nice to know that Robin wasn't enamored by the charming façade Billy painted for all the girls to see, but she already had better taste than most girls.
"Yeah, that one," Amara confirmed. "One of the kids involved in all of this happened to be his stepsister, and he tracked us down while searching for her. Steve had to fight Billy off after he attacked another kid, Lucas, since apparently he's a racist, but Billy knocked Steve out so I hit him with my crowbar and his stepsister sedated him."
