sashahartashby:
The voices in the background was just that–background noise. Sasha was busy reading the assigned chapters in her book, but the conversation became harder to tune out when the voices started raising. Lifting her head from her book, she readied herself to call out whoever was talking so fucking loud, when she saw some moron picking a fight with River. The amount of ‘bros’ escaping this guy’s mouth was enough to give Sasha a headache.
Sasha wasn’t the type to come to a teammate’s defense, especially a new one that she hardly knew, but when she finally paid attention to the conversation, she realized what was going on. She wasn’t a nice person, she insulted her teammates, called out things that were too close to home, but there were some topics she didn’t touch. And it pissed her off when someone was so closed minded and bigoted that they felt they had the right to declare such uneducated statements.
She was already out of her seat, ready to tell the guy off when she saw him approach River, clearly ready to hit them. “Okay,” She declared as she stepped in between them, shoving the guy hard enough that he stumbled a few steps back. “First of all, stop pretending like you care enough about grammar to pick a fight about this, because we all know that you’re too fucking stupid for that to be true. You’re just a redneck asshole who feels the need to pick on someone’s pronouns, because it makes you feel all big and tough. Well, you’re not. And if you try to touch my teammate again, I’ll put your balls on display for the whole school to laugh at.”
Without letting the guy get another word in, she turned back to River and nodded towards the door. “Come on, River. Let’s go. He’s not worth your time.”
Their temper boiled and bubbled beneath their skin, adding a subtly pink tone to skin gently bronzed by outdoor practices. River's heart pounded in their chest, a violent drum beat that flooded their body with adrenaline and told them to fight. Fight or flight usually ended up on the wrong end of the spectrum when it came to River. They didn't like violence, but a good argument could suck them in like a Tsunami. They were ready to be hit, as much as anyone ever could be. The learned flinch that came every time their dad had looked at them the wrong way never went away, but you learned to live with it. River had told themselves long ago that sometimes it was worth taking a punch or three to make your point. As unhealthy a response as it might be, it was theirs.
But the punch never came.
Of all the Foxes that might have stepped in, Sasha was perhaps the most surprising. The two of them had hardly spoken and Sasha had never struck them as being friendly or even caring about River or the rest of the team at all. She had a loner vibe and was the first to hurl an insult or a snarky comment. It surprised River that this time she was doing it in their defense.
"You got a woman defending you now? All that time on the court and you can't fight your own battles? Makes sense. A pussy for a pussy."
River clenched their fist. They didn't hit people. They weren't their father. They reminded themselves of that again.
"And an asshole for an asshole," River spat back, their little argument and Sasha's interjection earning a few interested oooohs from the surrounding students. They tensed, forcing themselves to breathe and not rise to the challenge, and they walked away, Sasha in tow, as if she had just become their body guard or something. It seemed like minutes had passed before they knew what to say and were far enough away to say it.
"Watch our boys!" The jerk yelled after them. "She killed her sister, she might kill us next."
River turned their head, trying to meet Sasha's gaze, though surely it was now directed backwards.
"Like you said, he's not worth it," River repeated.
