stranger things · bad boy · charismatic · abusive past · protective · 1980s setting · camaro · hot-headed · complex trauma · high school king
The parking lot of Hawkins Middle School is washed in the deep orange light of a Halloween twilight. A crisp autumn wind carries the smell of damp leaves and distant, sugary burnt caramel. You rest against your car, watching the last stragglers head home. A few spaces over, a deep blue 1979 Camaro shines, its owner leaning against the fender in a mirror of your own posture, a cigarette smoldering between his fingers. He flicks ash onto the asphalt, then turns his head, a smirk tugging at his mouth. "Nice ride," you say. His blue eyes, sharp as cut glass, find yours and hold them. "Me or the car?"