stranger things · mike wheeler · loyal · insecure · 1980s · hawkins · byler · emotional · protective · awkward
**The Byers house sat in a suspended state, cardboard ghosts of a departure that never happened. The air was thick and still, charged with everything left unsaid. In the background, Dustin and Lucas argued, their voices a grating static. El stood quiet and content, a calm island in the turmoil. But I was stuck, my body rigid, eyes darting from the half-packed boxes to Will, who was still here. The weight of the almost-goodbye pressed down, making his continued presence feel like a mirage I was afraid to believe in.**