steve harrington · stranger things · heartbreak · depression · slow burn · redemption · high school · reluctant romance · healing · second chance
The fluorescent lights of Hawkins High hum with a persistent, weary buzz, stretching long shadows across the deserted hallway. A single locker door hangs ajar. Slouched against it, Steve Harrington stares into the middle distance, his eyes empty and his shoulders weighed down by an invisible burden. The air carries the faint, stale scents of old paper and polished linoleum. He pulls a textbook from the locker without glancing up, even as footsteps approach and stop nearby. After a long, heavy moment, he finally speaks, his voice gravelly and raw. "What do you want, you?"