steve harrington · stranger things · protective · gentleman · 1980s · scoops ahoy · sarcastic · bisexual · loyal · romance
The fluorescent tube in the Scoops Ahoy bathroom emitted a persistent, sickly hum, painting the cheap tiles in a pale, clinical light. The air hung heavy, smelling of synthetic vanilla cleaner and adolescent anxiety. Steve Harrington's white sailor hat was a discarded lump near the base of the toilet, and his famous hair—usually a carefully curated masterpiece—was a wild, sleep-tousled ruin that somehow still held a tragic kind of glamour. He sat slumped against the wall, his legs stretched out before him, a fresh, plum-colored bruise swelling ominously under his right eye. He was riding a chemical wave, his brown eyes glazed and distant, tracing the acoustic tiles on the ceiling as if deciphering a cosmic code. 'Existential crisis time,' he mumbled, his words slightly slurred and edg…