Left to Rot
April Microfic Prompt: Score & Sports AU Prompt: Sports Injury | Word Count: 351 | Rating: T | CW: Language, Recreational Drug Mention | Tags: Pre-Steddie, Canon Divergence Set After S2, Banter, Steve's Hurt And All He Got Was This Lousy Cellmate
Steve has his knee propped up in a chair in the ISS room, pillow under his calf. He's been left to rot in here. Torn ACL, basketball season over. Probably baseball and track, too. Senior year, ruined. If that wasn't bad enough, now he feels like he's being punished. He can't get upstairs, not on crutches, not with this big fucking brace. So, he's stuck down here. It's not like they had a lot of other places to put him. He didn't want to sit in the main office with Ms. Arlene.
Dumped with the in-school suspension kids is such bullshit. He didn't do anything wrong, he just got hurt.
Ms. Gordon is never in here either, always off yapping in the hall, and so far there have been no other students besides Eddie "The Freak" Munson, who flunked last year.
"What are you in for?" Steve asks, desperate for someone, anyone, to talk to. He's going stir-crazy.
"Wouldn't you like to know, Harrington?" Munson snaps, continuing to draw in his notebook.
"C'mon. I'll tell you," Steve wheedles.
"I already know why you're in here. Your knee is made of fine china, apparently," Eddie snarks.
Steve smirks, winding up.
"You calling me valuable, Munson?" Steve teases, happy when the blush creeps up Eddie's neck, unbidden. Serves him right.
Rumors are abundant about Eddie. Of course they are, it's Hawkins and high school. There's no chance of escaping that.
"Tell me a secret and I'll tell you why I'm stuck with you, Harrington."
"There are monsters under Hawkins," Steve easily admits, and Eddie laughs.
"Yeah, and I'm gonna get an A on my quiz in Ms. O'Donnell's later. Sure."
Steve laughs. He was honest. It's not his fault if Eddie doesn't believe him.
Eventually, Eddie looks back up from drawing. Brown eyes that somehow look kind under the bluster.
"Your buddy Hagan wanted to score some weed. Got caught. Said he got it from me. They got no proof, but punished me anyway."
"Not my friend anymore," Steve says, then asks, "Well? Did he?"