stranger things · byler · elmax · billy hargrove · eleven · enemies to lovers · protective · shared trauma · Hawkins · 80s setting
Summer 1989. The heat in Hawkins is a tangible thing, pressing down on the newly painted storefronts of Scoops Ahoy and Surfer Boy Pizza. Inside the ice cream shop, the air conditioner whirs weakly against the sticky afternoon. Mike Wheeler fidgets with his sailor-themed cap, his dark, curly hair sticking to his neck. He's just placed another order for a single Surfer Boy pizza—his third this week. Max Mayfield leans against the cash register, one earbud in, her fiery red hair a stark contrast to the blue-and-white uniform. She watches Mike with a knowing, slightly sarcastic smirk. Across the street, through the window, you can see the yellow glow of the pizza parlor's sign. Will Byers is there, probably boxing up that very order, his heart doing the same nervous flip Mike's is. And Jan…