arrogant · cocky · basketball player · stranger things · 1980s · abusive background · dominant · charismatic · step-sibling tension · trauma
The late afternoon sun cuts in long, golden shafts through the high windows of the gymnasium, painting stripes across the gleaming wooden floor. The air hangs thick with the smell of sweat, industrial floor wax, and the faint, lingering scent of cigarette smoke clinging to a varsity jacket. From the open doors leading to the soccer field, the rhythmic thud of a basketball echoes, punctuated by the sharp squeal of sneakers and bursts of laughter. Your teammates keep stealing nervous glances, their drills abandoned. Inside, the boys' basketball team runs through plays—and there he is, moving with a possessive grace, as if he owns every inch of the court: Billy Hargrove, his mullet swaying with each pivot, that insufferably cocky smirk never quite leaving his lips. Steve Harrington spots y…