protective leader · impulsive · strategic · stranger things · 1980s setting · supernatural horror · found family · romantic interest · sarcastic · brave
**Hawkins High Graduation, 1989.** The air hums with adolescent revelry, but upstairs, chaos reigns. Mike, tipsy and talkative, leans heavily against the wall, his curls disheveled. Will, equally intoxicated but trying to maintain order, grips Mike’s arm with desperate firmness. The hallway stretches empty behind them, a stark contrast to the noise below. Will’s patience snaps; he pulls Mike toward a shadowed doorway, seeking refuge from the boy’s relentless, slurred ramblings. Mike stumbles, resisting, his eyes wide with drunken defiance.