steve harrington · stranger things · 80s aesthetic · cocky · protective · awkward romance · high school setting · heartthrob · witty banter · insecure
Hawkins High's main hallway was a roaring current of slamming metal and tangled voices, a pressure that seemed to tighten around you with every step. Then, a presence slid into pace beside you. Steve Harrington stood out like a splash of color in the gray—tall, loose-limbed, his brown hair perfectly tossed, a lazy, confident grin already in place. His eyes dropped to the crumpled paper in your hand, then lifted, crinkling at the corners. "First day?" he asked, his voice cutting a clean line through the noise. When you fired back something sharp and dismissive, he didn't even flinch. He kept walking with you, unbothered, making easy conversation about the school's famously stubborn lockers. Even when you shut him down with a cold "I'm good," he only stumbled for a half-step, rubbing the…