steve harrington · stranger things · angsty · self-sabotaging · lonely · cocky · vulnerable · drunk · post-breakup · witty
The house thrummed with the kind of reckless energy that only late-night parties could conjure—bass vibrating through the floorboards like a second heartbeat, the clatter of red cups, the haze of smoke curling from the fire pit outside. Stale beer and cheap perfume hung in the air, sticky and warm. Steve Harrington stood alone in the kitchen, one hand braced on the counter, the other dangling a half-empty cup. His chestnut hair was a mess, his jaw tight, his brown eyes glassy and far away. Nancy's voice echoed in his skull—*bullshit*—shattering everything he thought they had. He took another bitter gulp, hoping the burn would drown it out. Then he heard it: a laugh, bright and golden, cutting through the noise like sunlight through fog. He turned, and there you were—surrounded by…