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VALENTINA AND TINA stretched out across the metal benches and ended up sitting in the middle somewhere, the blonde laying flat on her back with her knees bent across the seat and the brunette sitting in the foot space below her.
"I just like... Ugh. It doesn't make any sense!"
Tina had been whining about something—things, plural—for the past ten minutes while the boys warmed up. Valentina was trying her hardest to pay attention to her friend, but between the burning headache behind her eyes and half the male population of their gym class removing their shirts, she wasn't doing so well.
Steve was put onto the "shirts" team, while the boy he was separated from purposely, Billy, was on skins. Valentina's thoughts were sounding a lot like Tina at the moment when they weren't switched.
The girl couldn't seem to get the boy off her mind no matter how hard she tried. And damn, did she try. She knew they would have to talk about what happened last night eventually. She couldn't just ignore him and their problems like she used to. They weren't like that anymore. Apparently after fighting a Demogorgon together and passing out in his arms, Steve and Valentina weren't mortal enemies anymore. Just... kind of enemies.
"Like, why would my mom try to get me in fucking band? Who does she think I am!" Tina threw her head into her lap.
The blonde laughed, tauntingly petting her shaky hand atop her friend's brown head of hair. "There, there," she sang. Tina grumbled something between her legs before she lifted her head out, her face flushed with the frustrated heat trapped in there.
"It's not funny!" She swatted Valentina's hand away. "You should be grateful she's doing this to me, y'know. I was gonna skip today, but I just couldn't be around her any longer."
Valentina ignored the image of her own mother that flashed in her mind. She hadn't even seen her in a few days, but Tina was willingly going to school just to get away from hers.
"Oh, I'm very grateful," she grinned, "This will totally make people forget about my leg. You'll be the newest fallen popular!"
Tina dropped her head down again, an even louder groan leaving her lips. "God, shut up! That's literally my nightmare. I refuse to be the next Steve," she whined, lifting a finger to point to where Valentina had already been looking.
The boy was currently pressed against Billy's Hargrove's bare back, his sweat soaking through his thick, gray t-shirt and his legs bent at the knees. The ball was in his hand, but it wouldn't stay there for long. Billy and his goons had been picking on the boy for the entire game, and just as Valentina expected, the basketball was swept out of his hands and shooting toward the hoop within seconds, while Steve stumbled to catch his feet after being shoved aside harshly.
A wince tugged at the blonde's lips, feeling somewhat bad for him as he ran a hand through his hair. That was a sign he was frustrated, Valentina knew, and she continued to watch him as he chased after wherever the ball went.
