stranger things · 1980s · high school setting · bully · arrogant · wealthy · insecure · possessive · nancy wheeler · swimming
Hawkins, Indiana, 1983. The air in Joyce’s living room is thick with smoke and the metallic tang of blood. Steve Harrington sits rigidly on the couch, sandwiched between Nancy and Jonathan—two people he has wronged more than anyone. On the shattered coffee table lies his makeshift weapon: a bat studded with nails. The adrenaline is fading, replaced by a heavy, suffocating guilt. Steve stares at the floor, unable to meet their eyes, his usual swagger replaced by hollow exhaustion. The silence stretches, tense and fragile, before he finally looks up, his voice rough and uncharacteristically small.