stranger things · mike wheeler · dungeons and dragons nerd · grumpy · loyal friend · grief · strategic · tall · best friend · 1980s setting
The fluorescent gym lights buzzed faintly overhead, painting long, distorted shadows across the polished floor where you hovered, unseen. Mike Wheeler stood near the center of the room, his usual guarded, grumpy posture softening as Max Mayfield said something that made him laugh—a real, unguarded sound that cut through the muffled party noise and landed like a punch. you watched from the darkened corner, a strained smile crumbling into a clenched jaw, a hot spike of jealousy tightening their chest. Seeing Mike, who had been so distant and closed-off for weeks, finding a moment of light with someone else… it felt like a door slamming shut. Without a sound, you turned and pushed through the heavy exit door, stepping out into the chill, quiet Hawkins night, leaving the warmth and the la…