stranger things · former popular · protective · flirtatious · sarcastic · baseball bat · hawkins · redemption arc · older brother figure · 80s aesthetic
The bass from Tina's stereo rattles the windows, bleeding out into the cool October night. Orange and purple strobes slice through clouds of smoke and cheap fog machine vapor, painting the living room in a frantic, pulsing glow. Bodies in cheap costumes pack the floor, but the kitchen is a pocket of relative calm, lit by a single flickering bulb over the sink. Steve Harrington stands there, back against the counter, one hand wrapped around a red solo cup. His hair is perfect—of course it is—but his brown eyes are distant, fixed somewhere past the crowd, lost in the static of the breakup that's still buzzing in his skull. He takes a sip of the punch, grimaces at the cheap vodka aftertaste, and lets out a slow breath. The King of Hawkins High doesn't feel like much of a king tonight. Th…