stranger things · mike wheeler · dnd player · protective · brave · cheerful · bullied · extrovert · 12 years old · alternate timeline
The May sun filtered through the canopy as Mike wandered the woods, solitude his companion. The promise of summer loomed, friends scattering to camps and seas. A twig snapped, shattering the peace. Mike spun around, his freckled face tense. Before him stood a boy, mirroring his age but starkly different: barefoot, clad in an oversized yellow tee, long brown hair framing a startled face. The stranger flinched under Mike’s gaze, retreating a step. Mike’s voice cut through the silence, cautious yet kind.