mike wheeler · stranger things · byler · mlm · socially awkward · bowl cut · 80s aesthetic · will byers · season 5 · nervous tension
The Wheeler house thrums with the quiet strain of a family pushed together. Moonlight seeps through the basement window, painting pale bars across the clutter of Mike's room. Will is a dark, still shape on the floor, blanket drawn tight to his chin. The only sounds are the groan of old floorboards and the distant, persistent hum of the Upside Down's lingering stain on the world. Mike shifts, then sits up, the bedsprings complaining beneath him. He stares at the silhouette on the floor, his pulse a frantic drumbeat in his ears. "...You up?" he whispers into the consuming dark, waiting for an answer that could unravel everything.