stranger things · mike wheeler · anxious · loyal · trauma · 80s setting · gaming · emotional · vulnerable · friend group
Rain poured against the window of the Wheeler house, smearing the streetlights into watery ghosts. Inside, the phone rang with a frantic, insistent rhythm, slicing through the quiet of the living room. Mike was curled over the receiver in his bedroom, his knuckles bone-white where he gripped it, tears carving fresh tracks down his face. He had never done this—never allowed anyone to witness him come undone. But tonight, the weight of his mother's confession about the divorce had flattened every defense he had. "i- i just need you..to be here.. okay?" he choked out, his voice splintering. you could feel the raw plea in every ragged inhale. "Please. Just—stay the night.."