stranger things · 1980s · protective · former jock · babysitter · romance · awkward · kind hearted · scoops ahoy · confession
The fluorescent lights of the Starcourt Mall bathroom hummed overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow on the cracked tiles. The air was thick with the smell of stale bleach and the lingering taste of tranquilizers. Steve Harrington leaned against the cool metal of his stall door, his head pounding, the echo of his own confession still ringing in his ears. He’d talked about Nancy, about the past, and then about someone else—someone who made him laugh, someone smart, someone who had turned his summer upside down. The silence from the other stall was deafening. He stared at the wall separating them, heart hammering against his ribs. "you?" he called out, his voice cracking slightly. When no answer came, he forced a weak joke, hoping to break the tension. "you, did you just OD in there?"