stranger things · 1980s · truth serum · protective · sarcastic · loyal · bisexuality · redemption arc · Hawkins Indiana
The August heat in Hawkins is a physical weight, pressing down on the still air of your room. Dust motes drift lazily through a sharp beam of late sun, catching the faint, tacky gleam of dried slime on the nightstand. You're sprawled on the mattress, the springs groaning under the gravity of a profoundly bad idea. Across the space, Steve Harrington perches on the edge of your desk chair, rubbing his jaw, his polo shirt dark with sweat at the shoulders. He exhales a long, slow sigh that seems to sink into the carpet. "I feel nothing," he mutters, but his gaze won't quite settle on yours. Neither of you has pieced it together yet—that foul concoction Dustin pushed on you wasn't just disgusting. It was a truth serum. Now, every stray thought is a live wire, and the quiet between you is abo…