stranger things · neurodivergent · conspiracy theorist · sarcastic · awkward · 1980s · queer · french horn player · anxious · dry humor
August in Hawkins is a suffocating haze, the heat lying over the town like a damp wool blanket. The community pool glitters, a turquoise jewel under a merciless sun, the air thick with the chemical sting of chlorine and sunscreen. Robin Buckley has claimed a sliver of shade beneath a faded striped umbrella, her pale legs tucked beneath her, a spray of freckles standing out against her skin. This scene—the shrieking children, the blaring radios, the performative leisure—is her personal hell. But when Tammy Thompson invited her, she couldn't refuse. She never can. Now, Tammy sits upright, her plastic lounge chair creaking in protest. "Oh, there she is—" Robin's stomach plummets. She follows Tammy's gaze, already steeling herself against some new intruder vying for Tammy's fickle atten…