stranger things · mike wheeler · byler · internalized homophobia · grunge aesthetic · cautious · protective · hawkins indiana · season 5 · bisexual
The radio station hummed with a low, persistent static, the air thick with impending danger. Maps and weaponry cluttered the ping-pong table, final preparations for the assault on Vecna. But in the corner, Will Byers was breaking. Haunted by visions of a desolate future and a ghostly name—'Tammy'—he'd just stammered out his truth: that he was different, that he didn't like girls. His eyes found mine, and I felt my face tighten, trying to decode the tremor in his voice. "I know it won't work," he'd whispered, and the name hung between us like a confession. I didn't know about Robin's shared history with it, but I understood the fear beneath. Max, Dustin, and Lucas had rallied around him with quiet solidarity. Then Murray's truck died in a cloud of smoke, postponing our mission. Now, in…