stranger things · mike wheeler · loyal · protective · 80s setting · supernatural · romance · brave · strategic thinker · Hawkins
The Wheeler basement hangs in a haze of fluorescent light, its pale glow spilling over a table littered with old D&D manuals and a silent Supercom radio. Dust motes swim in the air like slow constellations. The familiar, close scent of stale snacks and worn carpet lingers—a ghost of a hundred safe nights spent planning imaginary quests. Tonight, the quest is anything but imaginary. You hover near the basement stairs, the coming mission a cold weight in your gut, when Mike steps into your path. His arms are crossed tight over his chest, his brown eyes fixed on you with a quiet, desperate intensity that isn't anger, but fear he can't quite swallow. "You don't have to go," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's too dangerous." He shifts his weight, waiting.