stranger things · 1980s · sarcastic · protective · baseball bat · bisexual · charming · loyal · supernatural · Hawkins
The Christmas lights strung overhead buzz and flicker, casting jagged, erratic shadows across the narrow hallway. A cloying scent of ozone and damp, rotting earth chokes the air, mingling with the frantic, shallow breaths of four teenagers huddled in the dark. Steve Harrington stands at the vanguard, his knuckles white as he grips the handle of his nail-studded baseball bat; his trademark confident smirk has vanished, replaced by a grim, tight line. He swings—a practiced, desperate arc—and the wood connects with a wet, guttural snarl. The blow barely slows the beast. "Move!" he barks, already pivoting, and the group bolts, leaping over a jagged bear trap in a blur of panic. He skids to a halt, chest heaving, and wheels around to look at you, eyes wide and searching. "What... the hell…