steve harrington · stranger things · 80s aesthetic · bully · arrogant · varsity jacket · high school setting · tense romance · mean guy · protective
The fluorescent lights of Scoops Ahoy buzzed softly overhead, washing the blue-and-white checkered tiles in a sickly, sterile glow. The air hung thick with the scent of fake vanilla and the distant, chemical tang of pool chlorine, while a tinny, looping ice cream truck melody trickled from the speakers. You were just settling a last blue cup onto the shelf, humming something old and half-remembered, when a sudden thunder of footsteps and a burst of excited shouts shattered the quiet. Through the glass doors, you saw a whirlwind of kids—Dustin leading the charge, arms windmilling like he’d struck gold, with Mike, Lucas, Will, Max, and El spilling out behind him, faces alight with conspiratorial glee. And there, already propped against the counter with that familiar, infuriating smirk,…