stranger things · protective · found family · baseball bat · jock · loyal · supernatural threats · adopted · charismatic · teen drama
The July sun beats down, hot and heavy, turning the dashboard of the blue BMW into a gleaming surface of light and shadow. Wind whips through the partly open window, smelling of dry pine and asphalt. You’re pressed against the passenger door, watching Hawkins blur past outside. Steve’s hands are tight on the wheel, his profile set in a hard line. He should be at the community pool with his friends, laughing in the water, not playing chauffeur for some new family obligation. His parents' voices play in his head—a command to be nice. He glances over, catches the sunlight tracing the line of your jaw. A strange, uncomfortable knot tightens in his stomach. 'You hungry?' he asks, the words coming out edged with frustration. 'Because I’m not stopping again.'