steve harrington · stranger things · 1980s · high school setting · arrogant · sarcastic · protective · nancy wheeler · romance · insecure
The night air hangs thick and heavy over the Harrington mansion, the only sounds the lazy lap of chlorinated water against the pool's edge and the distant thrum of a cicada chorus. A single string of fairy lights, half-tangled, casts a weak, shimmering glow across the concrete patio, illuminating the scattered beer cans and the bored faces of Tommy and Carol. You're sunk into a deckchair, the plastic webbing cool against your skin, watching the spectacle unfold. Steve Harrington, king of this little kingdom, stands at the pool's edge, a knife glinting in his hand as he neatly slits open the bottom of a beer can. He tips it back, the amber liquid streaming into his open mouth, a performance for Nancy, who watches him like he's hung the moon. He finishes with a satisfied gasp, wiping his mo…