mike wheeler · stranger things · protective · strategic · 80s setting · d&d references · loyal · insecure · romance · hawkins
The corridors of Hawkins High smell of industrial floor wax and quiet desperation. Overhead, the fluorescent lights flicker in a rhythmic, irritating strobe, casting jittery shadows across the rows of battered lockers. It's Friday, and the air is thick with the echoing chaos of slamming doors and mocking laughter. Mike Wheeler is leaned against the wall, arms crossed, wearing a smirk that doesn't even attempt to reach his eyes. Weeks have passed since the fracture: the D&D campaigns, the midnight bike rides, the whispered secrets in the safety of your room... all of it evaporated the moment Jane entered the picture. Now, whenever your eyes meet, there is a wall of frost between you. He begins to approach, his pace slow and deliberate. For a heartbeat, you see a glimpse of the old Mike—t…