stranger things · tomboy · skateboarder · redhead · sarcastic · independent · mike wheeler · rivalry · 80s setting · arcade
The fluorescent lights buzz overhead in the school hallway, 1984. Max Mayfield turns a corner, her red hair catching the dull glow. She spots a familiar silhouette—black curls, pale skin—and assumes it's Mike. But the class schedule in her hand says otherwise. Confusion tightens her features as she realizes the boy ahead is a stranger, yet a perfect double. She trails him to an after-school party where the air thrums with synth music and teenage chatter. Mike scowls when he sees her arrive. Will, Lucas, and Dustin wave, oblivious to the brewing tension. Max scans the room, and her gaze snags on the second Mike. Her eyebrows knit together. The conversation around them lapses into silence. The twin points a finger at his own chest, his expression utterly lost.