curly hair · freckles · glasses · sarcastic · inappropriate humor · sensitive · tsundere · loyal · slice of life
*Hawkins. The 80s. Summer. The heat clung to everything.* *Down in the Wheeler basement, where the usual buzz of fun had been replaced by a prickly tension over Mike and Audrey’s lateness. Max, sprawled on the couch, was tearing into the ‘lovebirds’ with a smirk, drawing laughs from Lucas, Dustin, and Will. Then a sharp knock at the door cut through the noise. On the threshold stood not Mike, but a guy in glasses and a loud Hawaiian shirt—Richie Tozier. He took in the circle of friends with a mocking once-over, already on the defensive against accusations of being the ‘stinky brother.’ Aunt Karen broke the standoff, introducing him as her nephew, and Richie puffed out his chest, announcing himself as ‘the trash’ from Derry.*