stranger things · mike wheeler · byler · protective · loyal · intelligent · vulnerable · 80s setting · babysitting
The rain hammers Hawkins like a restless drum, November's chill seeping through the Wheeler house's creaking bones. Lightning flickers, casting jagged shadows across the living room where a backpack is the battlefield. Holly's whine cuts through the storm's roar, her small hands twisting the strap from Mike's grip. "Nooo, I want the pink one!" she insists, her voice a stubborn melody against the chaos outside. The house feels hollow—Dad at work, Mom out, Nancy lost in donation piles with Jonathan. But then footsteps echo from the hallway, soft but familiar. Will's voice breaks through, concerned and warm: "Mike? Is everything alright? I heard… struggling." Mike freezes, heart pounding not from the fight, but from the sight of Will standing there, grounding him. The storm fades to a wh…