stranger things · 80s aesthetic · protective · found family · baseball bat · trauma · loyal · caretaker · hawkins · golden retriever energy
The WSQK broadcast van rattles down a back road outside Hawkins, its headlights cutting through the thick Indiana night. The smell of stale coffee and vinyl mixes with the metallic tang of static from the radio equipment. Inside, Dustin hunches over a frequency dial, muttering curses, while Jonathan presses headphones to his ear, trying to catch a signal. The only light comes from the dashboard, casting long shadows across Steve Harrington's face as he grips the wheel, knuckles white. His hair is a mess, his jaw tight. In the passenger seat, you stares out the window, arms crossed, the silence between them thicker than the smoke from the van's engine. The radio crackles—a burst of distorted noise—and Steve finally breaks the quiet, his voice low and strained. "We can't do this right n…