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“Time to whip you into shape!”
John Lawrence snapped awake as the sounds of Steve’s screams resonated through his consciousness, rattling him to the core. He sucked in a harsh breath as sleep faded, but the jagged edges of the dream remained. “Honey?” Patricia mumbled from besides him, shifting in bed and blinking open her eyes. He turned towards her, and whatever he was feeling must have shown on his face, because the sleep quickly evaporated from his lover’s eyes. She reached out to him, and he jerked away from her, turning his back to her and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.“”Baby? What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Patricia whispered in concern, reaching slowly to press her palm against his hunched back. “No. Yes. I don't know. I…” Lawrence pinched the bridge of his brow, as he started to remember more and more of the dream in detail. He felt bile rise in his mouth. “There's nothing to be ashamed of. Don't you remember when you held me every night when I would wake up terrified to be in the same bed as him?” Patricia tried to scoot kimcloser across the bed, but he couldn't bear it. He stood up quickly, putting more distance between himself and his girlfriend. He didn't have to turn around to see her wounded expression in the moonlight, he could see it in the mirror over their dresser across the room. “Do you remember when I told you I blacked out a while ago?” John heard himself whispering, even through he was horrified of what he was only just starting to realize himself. “Yeah..” She replied, slowly and carefully. “I...I think I should go clear my head. Get my thoughts in order. I'll see you later, I love you.” He chickened out, fleeing from the room before she could reply. He hurried down the stairs, throat tight and heart pounding. He needed to put as much distance between his family and him right now, until he figured out what the hell he’d done to Steve. He paced back and forth in the kitchen, straining to sort through the flashes of mayhem in his mind. As reason swallowed the viper’s tail, he realized with a glimmer of hope that it was entirely possible these weren’t real memories. They could be memories distorted by dreams, his mind sorting through his forgotten actions with the natural disconnection of sleep. Maybe. God, he hoped so. There was only one way to be sure, however. He would have to confront Steve. He had only remembered them hugging- finally - in the
gymnasium. Steve hadn’t really explained how they'd gotten there, but he would now, because Lawrence had sworn to himself he would never be that man. He had to know the truth. --------Coach Lawrence had to get to the school before Steve even woke up, so he would have to confront him sometime during the school day, before he ran off to help the Trollhunter after school. Which totally didn't terrify Patricia and him, but they'd already had days of arguments over that subject. If he thought his stomach had been in knots when he found out the paranormal existed and that their first line of defense was a bunch of kids, his guts must have been downright woven into a loom right now. There was no scenario that Steve could get himself into Creepslaying that was more dangerous than the possibility of Lawrence laying a hand on him.Steve and Patricia had finally gotten out from underneath the fist of an abusive man, they were both finally starting to heal and be happy. If he was the one to put that into jeopardy, he would never forgive himself. Coach Lawrence rubbed his eyes and leaned against the gym wall as he tried to force the images of Steve’s tear filled eyes from his mind. Being in the gym only seemed to make the memories surface more, and all he could do was cling to the hope there was a good explanation. Across the gym, Steve was doing push ups next to Eli and Toby, chattering to each other without a care in the world. Even though everyone knew that these kids had more to worry about than half the town. Finally, the bell rang, and the students pushed and shoved each other aside to get to the locker rooms. For once, Lawrence didn’t bother to reprimand them. Besides, all the little minor rules had started to seem a little silly after the town had almost been the ground zero for paranormal world domination. Coach Lawrence headed into the boy’s locker room and left his office door open, putting his head between his hands when he sat down at the desk. He would wait until most of the others had left - Steve always had a tendency to stick around until after the locker room had emptied out to change his clothes. That was how Coach Lawrence had first noticed the bruises on Steve, but when he had first tried to confront the boy he’d ran away like the devil was chasing him. If these memories resurfacing in his mind where true and not distorted, how long would it be until someone was asking Steve about the bruises Lawrence’s hands had left on him? Would Steve run and lie to cover for him like he had for his father all those months ago? Doing the best to push aside his nausea, Coach Lawrence stood up and headed back out into the locker room, just In time to catch Steve and Eli chatting on their way out the door. “Hey, Palchuk, do you mind hanging back for a minute?” He called, hoping he didn't sound as terrified as he felt. He was a grown man and his palms started to clam up as the younger boy approached him.“What's up, Coach? You want to shoot some hoops after school?” Steve asked as Eli left. He had loosened up a lot more about people knowing that they were living together at school. Coach Lawrence had assumed it was because secrets didn't really seem that in style in this town anymore. But now, maybe he wasn't so sure. He remembered yelling in front of everyone, he remembered the tears in Steve’s eyes as he humiliated him in front of all his peersSurely, if he had really done that to Steve, the kid wouldn't be smiling and offering to hang out with him now, right? Hope began to finally blossom above the fear in his gut.“Yeah, maybe. But I wanted to talk to you about something. Remember the other day when we hugged in the gym? Well, I’m having a hard time remembering the day before that…” Before Coach Lawrence could even finish what he was saying, he saw it. He saw the smile drop away to reveal fear. Fear of what?Steve cleared his throat, and gave the older man a laughably fake smiles “Uh, yeah, that was a crazy day! Lots of mayhem! But it's not that important right? What's important is that we hugged it out.” Jake Lawrence knew when kids were hiding things, and he felt the hope in his chest start to shrivel up and die. “What exactly did we hug out, Steve?” He asked seriously, holding his breath for the answer. Steve looked like a deer caught in headlights, and he visibly scrambled for a cover up. Which told Coach Lawrence enough to be sure his fears were justified. “Uh, you know, just regular dumb teenager and father figure stuff, nothing unusual.” Steve stammered, turning to glance towards the exit, as if looking for a way out. A way away from him.“You can tell me what happened, Steve. You don't have to cover for anyone anymore. Especially not me.” The Coach said seriously, every word out of his mouth tasting like blood.Steve’s eyes widened, and he seemed to be at a loss for words. On instinct, Jake reached out a hand towards his shoulder, hoping it would bring him back to earth. And that was when it happened. If he hadn't known Steve so well, he might have even missed it. The blink of his eyes, the sudden tension in his spine, the way his head jerked just a tiny bit to the side before he seemed to realize what he had done. He had flinched. Steve had never jerked away from him in fear like that - he had shoved him away in anger many times, but he had never flinched. According to Patricia, Steve had worked hard to make a point of not even flinching when he had known for certain his dad was going to hit him. But here they where, both frozen in their tracks, staring at each other in shock. After a moment of disbelief, reality sunk in and the Coah recoiled like a spring. He began to walk backwards, desperate to put as much distance between himself and the poor kid as possible. “Coach, it's not what you -”“You’re dismissed, Palchuk!” The Coach heard himself bark, turning away and slamming the door to the office closed behind him. He need to put as many barriers between Steve and himself as possible. And Patricia - oh, god, Patricia. How could he have done this? He had never done anything like this before! This was the last thing he had ever wanted. But what if it wasn’t? What if there was something wrong with him? He couldn’t take any chances. He knew what he had to do. That didn’t stop him from sliding down the door and squeezing his eyes shut against the tears. He had finally had everything he’d always wanted, and he’d ruined it. He wouldn’t let himself ruin them.-----------Steve spent the rest of the day miserable, his anxiety eating at him constantly. The Coach was starting to remember what he had done while on that crazy Trollcaine shit Jim had, but he didn’t understand that it wasn’t him. And to make matters worse, stupid Steve and his stupid problems and his stupid nightmares he’d been having ever since that incident had made him extra jumpy around the Coach ever since. In his mind he knew that that hadn’t been the Coach, that the Coach wouldn’t never lay a hand on him, but apparently his gut thought differently.
He thought about leaving class, but he knew that would only raise more suspicion. Besides, the Coach wasn’t going anywhere. They could talk about this later, once Steve had time to think about what to say. It was almost a godsend that Morgana had tried to take over the world, because now at least his parents knew the basics about the Trolls and the Creepslayerz.
Steve groaned aloud, banging his head down onto his desk. He should have told Coach what happened after that! Then this never would have happened! Wasn’t he supposed to be working on opening up, anyways?
“Mr. Palchuk, are you alright?” Senor Uhl called from the front of the room, causing everyone, including Eli, to turn and stare at him. Steve didn’t even bother to lift his head from the desk.
“I’m fine.” He replied. The class resumed without him, but he could feel Eli’s eyes burning holes into the top of his head. When the bell finally rang to release them, Eli wasn’t the only one who stayed behind to investigate.
“What crawled up your pants and died?” Toby asked, standing over him with crossed arms.
“Coach remembered what happened when he drank that stupid Grape Sand.” Steve sighed, standing and shrugging his bag over his shoulder.
“It’s Grave Sand, buttsnack.” Toby corrected him, rolling his eyes.
“Well, whatever it is made the Coach try to whip me with the climbing rope and now he thinks he’s as bad as - “ Steve stopped, realizing that it wasn’t just Eli and him. Weird. He had gotten way too used to hanging around with Toby…
“Woah, he tried to whip you? Yikes. But he knows it wasn’t his fault, right?” Toby asked, as Eli shared a knowing look with Steve over what he hadn’t said. They all walked out of the hallway and onto the sidewalk outside, as Steve turned to shake his head at the Trollhunter.
“No, he doesn’t. He thinks he just turned into a monster and tried to hurt me all the sudden. So you can imagine he’s upset right now.” Steve lamented. Toby winced, and Eli grimaced.
“Yeah, the Coach can be strict sometimes but he really prides himself on not being like...you know. Like that. He’s probably pretty torn up…” Eli muttered.
“Why didn’t you just tell him what happened? He knows about Trolls now.” Toby asked, as they approached their matching Vespas. After the repairs had started underway on Arcadia and Toby’s status as the lone Trollhunter had earned him a complimentary Vespa, same for Eli. Steve would have gotten one, had he not already had one. The memory made him happy, but it also made him strangely sad, as it reminded him of Jim and Claire.
“Well, I was going to, but then he locked himself in his office and wouldn’t come out.” Steve left out the part about his flinching away being the cause of the latter, but he figured it wasn’t that important overall.
“Rough...but maybe he’ll remember it more clearly as time goes on and know it wasn’t him?” Toby suggested, as he swung his leg over his orange Vespa.
“Yeah, I hope so. I really don’t want to have to talk to him about it right now, though, so let’s just go on patrol and i’ll deal with it when I get home, alright?” Steve suggested as he mounted his own, buckling his helmet.
“Sounds like a plan to me!” Eli agreed, smiling supportively at Steve from his lime green Vespa, which Steve kind of hated, because he really missed when Eli used to ride on the back of his and wrap his arms around him.
And with that, the Trollhunter and the Creepslayerz where off.
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A few hours and a lot of goblinslaying later, Steve pulled up to his house alone and covered in a fair amount of gross stuff he’d rather not think about. He tossed his helmet aside and shook goblin guts out of his hair, and then got ready for what he knew he’d have to do inside.
When he opened the door, he didn’t feel any sudden shift in the atmosphere or the light. It wasn’t until he was walking past the living room towards the stairs that he heard the crying. He whipped around, rushing into the room.
“Mom?!” He exclaimed in concern, looking around for any Creepers that could be threatening her, or worse. She was alone on the couch, hunched over. When she turned to look at him, her face was red and streaked with tears and snot. She looked...more heartbroken than Steve had seen her in a long time. It felt like a punch to the gut.
“Mom, what happened?” He asked, kneeling next to her and tentatively putting a hand on her shoulder in the way he knew comforted her without causing panic. Her breath hitched in her throat, but she struggled to speak, trying to sit up and compose herself for her son. Just like always. But for one, Steve wasn’t frustrated. Just worried.
“J-John left. H-He said it was to keep me safe, but -” She stopped, unable to say anymore, suddenly bursting into a fresh fit of sobs. Steve felt his blood run cold, understanding clicking into place.
This was his fault. He hadn’t properly taken care of what had happened between him and the Coach, because he couldn’t handle emotions half the time, and the Coach had broken up with his mom to protect her. That goddamn stupid selfless son of a bitch! Ugh, he had to fix this, fast.
“Mom, i’m really sorry, but I think this might be a big misunderstanding. So please, just hold on, and remember that we both love you a lot, okay? I’m going to be right back and Co- John’s going to be with me. Do you know where he went?”
His mom looked up to stare at him with wide eyes, trying to control her breathing as she shook her head slightly. Steve sighed, standing up and pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Eli as he ran out the door, because he didn’t know anyone smarter, not just because Eli was the only person in the world besides his family he remotely trusted with his heart.
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“He what?” Eli asked.
“He ran away! He broke up with my mom and moved out on the spot...but I have no idea where he would go! That's why I need your help! Steve explained in a panic outside Eli’s front door. He tried to keep his voice to a rough whisper to avoid alerting Eli’s moms. Eli closed the door behind him, and they headed towards Steve’s bike.
“Does he have any friends?”
“Besides my mom? Just Senor Uhl I think, but they aren't super close.” Steve replied. Even in the stressful situation he was in, he couldn't help but be thrilled that Eli was choosing to ride on the back of his bike instead of drive his own.
“Isn't there a motel downtown?” Eli suggested. Steve pulled his helmet in, turning his head around to grin at Eli.
“See? This is why I needed you. I wouldn't have remembered that. You think we can say we work with Trollhunter and we can get information from the clerk like the cops?” Steve asked giddily. Eli laughed, and his arms wound their way around Steve’s frame, filling his chest with warmth.
Steve was still worried about his mom and the Coach and what he had to say. But as they drove past the calming city lights of Arcadia and eventually pulled into Avalon Inn, he felt confidant in what he had to say. Nothing like a good ride to clear his thoughts.
There was just one snag in his perfectly rehearsed plan. The Coach’s truck wasn't here, and when they went inside and “interrogated” the clerk, they found no sign of the man. Steve kicked the curb outside the Inn, frustrated.
“Don't worry, Steve. We’ll find him!” Eli assured him, laying a hand on his arm in support. Steve tried his best to return Eli’s hopeful smile.
“How? I have no idea where he would go…” Steve lamented.
“How about we try the school? It wouldn't be that hard to stay there on short notice, especially for him. And after the Eternal Night, I doubt anyone around town is gonna bother asking questions about something as mundane as that.” Eli reasoned. Steve’s expression perked up.
“You really think he might be there?” Steve wondered, following Eli towards the Vespa. Eli, reaching the bike first, grabbed Steve’s helmet and turned around, smiling at him as he handed it over.
“Only one way to find out!”
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They spotted Coach’s truck in the parking lot before they even got close to the building.
“He’s here! Let’s go!” Steve exclaimed in excitement, tearing his helmet off and rushing towards the building. Halfway there, he realized his pepperbuddy wasn't in pursuit.
Steve stopped in his tracks and turned around. Eli was sitting down on the curb, next to the Vespa, as if he intended to stay there.
“Come on!” Steve called in confusion. Eli smiled at him and shook his head. Steve walked back a few paces towards him, to avoid yelling across the parking lot. Not that anyone cared around here anymore.
“What’s up?”
“You need to do this on your own I think, Steve. But Ii’ll be waiting here for you guys! I’ll keep a lookout for Creepers while Ii’m at it.” Eli explained to him, giving him two thumbs up and gesturing towards the building.
Steve suddenly felt a lot less confident going into the dark building alone, but he knew Eli was right, per usual. This was a conversation that was best kept between the Coach and him.
He figured he’d start with the place the Coach was most familiar with, and pan out the search from there if he couldn't find him. After a surprisingly easy climb over the front gate, he made his way towards the locker rooms and Coach’s office.
Turns out, he wouldn't have the search far. He could see the office light on from the door of the locker room. Steve slowly crept through the dark lockers towards the door framed in light.
As he got closer, he could make out the telltale sounds of a grown man sniffling and sobbing. The Coach sounded absolutely gutted, and if he was fine with shedding a few manly years normally, he was really letting loose when he thought nobody was around to hear.
The sound was so heartbroken that it made Steve stop just outside the door. The Coach was never afraid to show his emotions. He never thought of himself as less of a man for it. That used to drive Steve crazy, get under his skin and make it crawl.
But he was starting to realize that his father had drilled those stupid ideas about masculinity in his head. The Coach was the most masculine person he new, and here he was, sobbing his brains out - like a man - because Steve wasn't enough of a man to deal with his emotions and communicate things normally.
Steve took a deep breath, and pulled the office door open. The Coach was hunched over on the beat up red loveseat against the wall, his face streaked red with tears and snot. The older man jumped out of his skin at the unexpected intrusion, and his eyes went wide and horrified when he realized who it was.
“Steve! What are you doing here?”
“I was going to ask you that, Dad.” Steve decided not to correct himself this time. But instead of smiling like he usually did, the Coach flinched. Then he bowed his head, clasping his hands together.
“You shouldn't call me that. And you shouldn't be here.” The Coach said, In a voice that was right and pained. It made Steve want to scream. But instead, he just took another deep breath and stepped closer.
“I think I’ll call you Dad if I want. I’d rather say it to you than a flaky asshole who used to hit me for trying to talk to him at all.” Steve said matter of factly. The Coach squeezed hands together and shook his head, tears spilling out from between his tightly clenched eyelids regardless.
“I tried to hurt you. You need to stay away from me.” He said sternly, his voice hitching on every word.
“I know you think you did, and I’m sorry I didn't explain the truth sooner, but this is all a big misunderstanding-” Steve began, but the Coach’s eyes snapping open stopped him in his tracks. The Coach was staring at him through his tears fiercely, suddenly full of fire.
“If you are even thinking of telling me you did anything to deserve me verbally abusing you in front of all your peers and then trying to attack you with -”
“No!” Steve said hurriedly, moving forward and finally sitting on the seat next to the Coach as he cut him off. “That’s not what I'm saying. I know I don't deserve it now, I know. But you don't deserve to beat yourself up like this for something that isn't your fault!”
“What are you talking about? Lawrence asked, furrowing his brow.
“You where basically under a spell. That made you act like one of those evil Trolls we told you about. It wasn't you, Coach. You would never do that. You would never hurt me. That's why I l...why I like you so much. But don't let it go to your head!” Steve explained earnestly.
The Coach took a moment to process this. He reached up to wipe his face with his hands, before looking back at Steve.
“So...it was some weird magic? I didn't try to wipe you with the climbing rope pulley on purpose?” He asked hesitantly. Steve nodded, before looking down at his shoes in shame.
“I’m sorry I didn't explain sooner. I'm sorry I flinched. Even though I know it wasn't you, I guess I'm still more freaked out by the whole thing than I thought. But that's because I knew you would never hurt me. That's why it was so freaky.” Steve struggled to express. The Coach put a hand on his shoulder, and Steve turned to find that familiar smile beaming back at him again.
“I understand, son. You don't have to apologize. And I guess neither do I. I’m glad we both know i’d never hurt you or your mother. You two mean everything to me.”
“Speaking of mom, we should probably get back there and explain all this. Plus, Eli’s waiting outside. He helped me find you.” Steve said, standing up. The Coach followed his lead.
“You’re lucky to have that kid. Have you asked him out yet?” The Coach asked, as they walked together out the door. Steve felt his face grow red. His first instinct was to outright deny everything. But then he remembered everything they had just went through. The Coach didn't seem to care if Steve liked Eli, or if he liked boys for that matter. Hence the casual nature of the question. Steve swallowed his pride
“I’ve been thinking about it…” Steve admitted out loud for the first time. It felt strange to hear himself say it, much less to the Coach. But it also felt...nice. And when he glanced over, the older man was smiling. That was a good sign.
“He’s good for you, and you’re good for him. Just remember to communicate with words and you’ll be fine.” The Coach assured him. Steve blinked. He knew Eli was good for him, but he’d never thought about it the other way around. What did Coach mean by that?
“Maybe. As soon as you take that engagement ring out of your second desk drawer.” Steve replied smugly. The Coach nearly tripped over his feet in the dark hallway.
“How did you -” The Coach started to ask, but then decided it was pointless. He cleared his throat before continuing. “I’ve been meaning to ask your blessing for you mom’s hand in marriage, can I take it that was a yes?”
Steve made a face. “As long as you never talk like someone from the 1800s again, yeah. You two deserve each other.”
Coach Lawrence laughed, and wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulders, giving him a warm squeeze.
“I think we’re gonna be okay, kid.”
"Wait, if you remembered, does that mean the other teachers did too?"
"We'll deal with that in the morning."