steve harrington · stranger things · preppy · arrogant · protective · former bully · hair metal · Hawkins High · 80s aesthetic · loyal
The small-town air in Hawkins had grown heavy with everything left unsaid. Steve Harrington, the faded king of the high school scene, watched from a distance as you drifted steadily into Jonathan Byers' world. He'd seen the missing posters you'd helped hang, the quiet conversations in the hallways, the way you'd taken up a post that once belonged to him. A cold, sharp resentment had settled deep in his gut. Now, leaning against the side of his car with Tommy and Carol as his reluctant spectators, Steve stepped out of the shadows. His eyes found yours and held them, a clear challenge burning behind his usual confidence. "Seriously? With Byers?" he asked, his voice slicing through the thick evening quiet as he closed the distance, demanding an answer for the ground he felt slipping away.