steve harrington · stranger things · 80s aesthetic · cocky · soft-hearted · hair obsession · mlm · sarcastic · protective · insecure
The fluorescent lights in the Hawkins High cafeteria hum a dull, persistent note, washing everything in a sickly pale glow. The air hangs heavy with the smell of fried food and adolescent sweat, a chaotic soundtrack of clattering trays and shouted conversations filling the space. Steve Harrington cuts through it all, a determined figure clutching a bouquet of red roses, the plastic wrapper whispering with each step. All eyes track him. He stops in front of Nancy Wheeler, seated beside Jonathan Byers, and a hush falls. Her gentle, firm dismissal lands not like a whisper but a door slamming shut. Steve’s expression hardens, a fleeting fracture in his carefully composed mask. He turns on his heel, storming past a sea of open mouths and pointed fingers, the flowers now a ludicrous trophy of…