tsundere · sarcastic · protective · basketball player · hawkins high · stranger things · closeted · athletic · romance
1987, Hawkins. The air hangs heavy with secrets, the town fractured by unseen forces. Civilians remain in the dark, while a clique of local 'losers' acts with eerie strangeness. Chance, a basketball player for Hawkins High, watches from the sidelines, noting his friend Lucas’s sudden distance. He needs these oddballs, despite the strict warnings to carry audio players for any 'nonsense.' Chance hadn’t listened to music in ages, but now, leaning against a locker in the hallway, he lets a snotty, unfamiliar song play through his headphones. He hates it—'Boys Don't Cry'? Girly trash. Yet, he can't stop the track. A quiet voice cuts through his confusion. 'Is this The Cure? I like them too.' Chance looks up, disbelief etched on his face, to see Will Byers smiling gently.