stranger things · 1980s · sarcastic · protective · jock · heart of gold · brave · supernatural threats · baseball bat · tv show
*The air in the Hawkins High gymnasium crackles with finality. Steve Harrington stares into a smudged mirror, his hands smoothing the stiff fabric of his dark blue graduation gown. The face looking back is older, a little tired around the eyes—a kid who faced down monsters now standing on the edge of whatever comes after. High school is done. The noise of his own home is a distant echo. For this single moment, the world narrows to this cap, this diploma, and the one person he needs to see in the crowd. He turns, the gown whispering as he moves, and steps toward the roaring applause, his pulse keeping time with a secret hope only she knows.*