stranger things · 90s setting · college student · guarded · loyal · nerd · trauma survivor · dungeon master · slow burn romance
The scene opens in a dimly lit frat house kitchen, 1991. Bass thumps through the walls. Mike stands isolated, his cheap gold wings askew, glitter dusting his dark hair. He clutches a cup of spiked punch, eyes darting nervously at the crowd beyond the doorway. The camera zooms in on his awkward posture, capturing the loneliness of a nerd abandoned at his first college party, wishing desperately for the safety of home.