trouble | steve harrington / billy hargrove

one

"people usually pay attention in class, ms. williams," mr. o'neil sighed and pointed at sam with his ruler.

sam shook her head out of the trance she was in and stared at the teacher sheepishly. "sorry, sir. i didn't get much sleep last night," she answered truthfully.

"must've been a rough weekend for you and your family, huh? my encounters with your dad weren't all that great, but you know it's still sad," mr. o'neil told her.

she looked around slowly. people were now staring at her sympathetically. she knew she should have just stayed home the whole week . . . or month, if possible.

"with all due respect, sir, i don't think something so personal should be discussed so publicly," jack raised his voice.

"oh, um. right. let's continue, shall we?" mr. o'neil turned to the rest of the class. he was obviously very embarrassed.

sam turned to jack and gave him a small smile. she appreciated the world for giving her a jack henderson. he has been her best friend since the two of them were old enough to talk. mr. o'neil's reaction to jack's outburst wasn't rare. many people respected jake. he was a model student. good grades and captain of the hockey team.

"let's get out of here, yeah?" jack suggested.

yet, he always seemed to be able to ditch and still balance school.

"i'm always ready to leave school," sam muttered. without a second thought, they both exited the classroom quietly.

immediately after leaving the front door, jack roped sam into a hug.

"he's an idiot. are you okay?" his voice was muffled because of his face buried into her shoulder.

"i'm okay. it's hard, obviously. we knew for months that this was coming. for it to actually come i-i . . . it's just so . . ." she stopped due to his arms wrapping even stronger around her.

"it's okay. i understand completely. i'm here for you, always. even if you prefer basic vanilla ice cream, remember?"

"even if i prefer vanilla ice cream." she replied with a small smile. she wiped away her tears.

the "vanilla ice cream" thing was sort of a thing they had. instead of saying "always" or "through it all" they decided—well jack decided, actually— that they could poke fun at sam's "basic" likings.

"i love you so much, bub. c'mon," he held out his hand for her to hold. she grabbed his hand and let him lead her off the school grounds.

as they walked towards jack's car, sam was stopped by steve harrington. as soon as that happened, jack seemed ready to fight him. the thing is, steve was always looking for a fight. 

"samantha, right? i heard about your dad. officer williams was such an awesome guy. i'm really sorry for your loss." steve gave her a smile.

"thank you, steve." she replied. she turned and looked at jack. steve harrington rarely spoke to her. it was probably because jack was around.

steve had a sudden bond with jack's younger brother, dustin. it's probably where he found out. that or the fact that he also talks to chief hopper. in that moment, she thought about him. how he must be feeling. after all, her dad was his best friend.

"also," he called out. she turned around, "i know this is probably the wrong time, but mrs. simmons suggested i come to you for assistance in chemistry. i was wondering if maybe you could help me?" he rubbed the back of his neck and stared at sam for an answer.

"sure. i'll give you my number after school." she smiled and turned back around.

"asshole." jack started as soon as sam was close enough for steve to not hear. "asking you for help at such a sen-"

"i'm okay, jack. honestly, i'm glad he wasn't overly sympathetic like everyone else, you know? people who don't even know me have been talking to me and looking at me like the most fragile thing. i mean it's a very nice gesture, i know. it's the thing you learn to say or do when someone loses a person, but when you're on the receiving end, it sucks. my dad was my bestest friend, jack. yes, it's only been two days, but it feels like forever without him. i miss him so much."

jack completely understood how it felt to lose someone and to be reminded of it every single day. he understood why samantha felt overwhelmed. instead of saying anything that might cause more tears, he hugged her.

—

after school arrived quickly. once they returned to school, two periods had passed. leaving only two more out the six they have everyday.

sam stood by her locker longer than usual. finally, steve found her and approached her quickly.

"hey! sorry for the wait. had a bit of a problem," he mumbled.

she hadn't seen him well until he came close. his bottom lip was bleeding and his right cheek was bright red.

"steve, what the hell happened to you?" she wasn't too surprised, but she still gasped. it was different seeing him up close.

"that new kid being annoying again." he groaned.

sam instinctively reached for the first aid kit in her locker.

when steve noticed he shook his head, "i'll be fine."

"well i won't if i know that i left without helping," she applied a clean cloth on his lip, "to stop the bleeding," she informed him.

he winced a little when she added a bit more pressure. "are you the school nurse or something?" he was clearly amused.

"my dad made me have one of these things everywhere," she told him.

"oh, i'm sorry."

"it's okay. it was good advice. you see? i can help boys who like to fight wherever and whenever."

"i don't like to fight, samantha. trust me, ever since last year i'm a different man. hargrove just asks for it." he sounded offended that sam would assume he liked to fight.

"pardon me, mr. harrington. also, it is just sam," she added quickly, "one would assume you love it since we hear about your fights almost every other day. plus, i definitely remember my dad arresting you for fighting as well."

"every fight is different, samantha. i fight for reason. i fight for the greater good! i fight— ow!"

sam laughed. she put hydrogen peroxide on his busted lip. finally, she attended his cheek. she applied a butterfly bandage to a small cut that he had on his cheek.

quickly, she scribbled her number and address on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

"just call whenever you would like to show up," she smiled at him.

"thank-" he started but she had already closed her locker and walked away, "you." he finished, but she was long gone. he lingered by her locker for a bit before deciding it was time to go.