Ah okay here we're cooking.
WIP 3- April 5, 1985. Steve showing up at Dustin's house on foot after getting into and losing a physical fight with his father.
Couldn't quite work out *why* this fight would happen, but turns out it's quite simple.
He found the rejection letter from Tech and confronted Steve about it. Tossing out all sorts of insults and lukewarm threats about his intellegence and his wasted potential and being a disgrace to the Harrington name. Correctly blaming his tanked GPA and struggle to even graduate on him losing so many fights over the last couple years (Jonathan wasn't the first one, just the first one that he LOST lost/fought all on his own. Usually he was breaking up ones that Tommy started)
So, the deal is this- if Steve wants to fight so bad, then let's go. If he can hold his own, he'll be free to live his life however he wants.
But here's the thing. Dan Harrington? Took up boxing in college. Never really did anything with it, but he was pretty good. He's *still* pretty good. Fighting him- especially now when there's so much resentment behind the offer -is a bad idea. It's a BAD idea. And Steve knows this is a bad idea. But he's also 18 watching his future spiral down the drain and he just had the worst six months of his entire life and he is hurt enough and *angry* enough to not care.
He swings first, cutting his father off mid sentence and hitting him hard enough on the mouth to draw blood. Dan's impressed by the sheer power behind it. Maybe there's hope for Steve after all.
Instead of just humiliating him immediately, which was the original plan, he turns it into a coaching opportunity. How to block better, how to read your opponent and try and stay one step ahead of them. When to duck and when to take a hit. That sort of thing. Idk I don't box. It could almost be considered quality bonding time for a minute or two. But then he gets bored of it all. Ultimately baits Steve into leaving his right side wide open and then knocks him to the ground with a surprise left hook that splits the skin over his eyebrow.
Playtime's over. This bullshit coasting along throwing his future away is over. If Steve wants to stay under his roof, he's got two options. Shape up and get his grades up enough for college (basically too late for that), or continue as is but pay his own way working whatever job he can get. No more credit card, no more gas or takeout money. Nothing but the use of the car (and only that becasue they put it in Steve's name when it was gifted to him and, regrettably, Dan does have morals about taking back gifts). If he doesn't have minimum 2.8 GPA or a job by graduation, they're done. He's already 18. They don't *have* to support him anymore.
And, as a taste of what *that* might look like, he marches a dazed Steve back through the house and out the front door. Doesn't even let him grab his keys, just slams the lock and leaves him out front to figure things out for the night.
There's thunder overhead and Steve starts walking without a clue where to go, still reeling from whatever just happened. There's blood dripping into his eye, and rain on his face long before it starts to fall from the sky.
By the time it's actually properly pouring down rain, he's made it to Dustin's house, even though he doesn't quite recognize it due to being on foot and it being so dark. He certainly wasn't planning to *go* there.
But then there's Claudia, hurrying down the driveway to him and getting soaked herself. First worried he's crashed his car on the wet roads, then concerned with getting him warm and dry and the cut on his head patched up. He can explain what happened later- although, she already has a pretty good idea.
Claudia Henderson has two sons.
