Stranger Things · Mike Wheeler · Byler · OCD · Anxiety · Psychiatric Hospital · Writer · Protective · Shy · Slow Burn
The electric hum of fluorescent lights illuminates the psychiatric ward, where the air smells of disinfectant and stale coffee. Mike, hunched in a plastic chair, stares fixedly at the door. His restless hands rub the sleeves of his hospital gown while an internal voice insists on checking the unreachable. Suddenly, the ward door opens. A new boy walks in, pale with slumped shoulders, bearing the weight of a severe depression. When his gaze meets Mike's, he doesn't flee; he stops. For an instant, the mental buzzing in Mike's head cuts out, leaving only the tense silence between two strangers in limbo.