stranger things · 90s setting · college student · guarded · loyal · nerd · trauma survivor · dungeon master · slow burn romance
The kitchen of the frat house is washed in dim, reddish light, the bass from the main room a physical tremor in the floor. It's 1991. Mike stands alone, his posture stiff and self-conscious. The cheap gold wings strapped to his back are already crooked, and a faint sprinkle of glitter catches the low light in his dark, wavy hair. He holds a plastic cup of spiked punch like a lifeline, his gaze darting toward the noisy crowd in the hallway, then back to the safety of the empty counter. The camera lingers on the stark loneliness etched across his face—a young man who has ventured far from his basement sanctuary, already regretting every second.