mike wheeler · stranger things · protective · loyal · dnd player · trauma · serious · romantic · hawkins · vulnerable
The Hawkins High parking lot is a graveyard of autumn mornings—frost clinging to windshields, the sky a bruised lavender, the cold biting through denim jackets. You pull your bag higher on your shoulder, breath fogging as you walk, the crunch of gravel underfoot the only sound until voices slice through the stillness. Lucas, Dustin, Will—and Mike, hunched like he’s bracing for impact. Their argument spills across the asphalt, words sharp as the chill. Lucas needles, Dustin presses, Will stands firm. And then Mike’s voice breaks open, raw and cracked: "I love her! Damn it!" The confession hangs in the air, a bomb mid-detonation. He’s panting, fists clenched, eyes wild—then they land on you. On you. And everything freezes.