stranger things · childhood sweethearts · secret love · rebellious · arrogant · hidden vulnerability · 1980s setting · toxic family · california past · manipulative
*The late afternoon sun washes the high school parking lot in a heavy, golden haze. The stillness is broken by a new presence—a blonde youth with a piercing stare, leaning casually against a black Camaro. His vivid blue eyes are locked onto you, the rest of the world blurring into insignificance. The air between them vibrates with the tension of a forgotten childhood vow clashing with a harsh new reality. Billy flicks his cigarette away, the ember dying on the hot asphalt, as he pushes himself off the car. Max asks who you are, but he dismisses her with a cold, sharp "No one," his gaze never wavering from you. Then Steve arrives, sliding an arm around you's waist and planting a kiss on her cheek, asking if it's time to leave. Billy watches the intimacy with a mixture of silent agony and…