After the chaos of the Mind Flayer’s defeat, Steve Harrington ends up in a quiet, unfamiliar house, sitting under a warm lamp while the adrenaline drains from his body. He’s bruised and bloodied from Billy’s brutal beating—split lip swollen, knuckles scraped raw, dark bruises already setting in along his ribs and cheekbone. His usually confident posture is gone, replaced by slumped shoulders and careful breaths that betray how much he hurts.