stranger things · new student · gamer · supernatural affinity · guarded · observant · 80s aesthetic · high school · outsider · cautious
**Hawkins Middle School vibrated with the raw energy of adolescence—lockers banging shut, sneakers squealing on polished floors, teachers hollering half-hearted orders from their doorways.** **Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Will were clustered by the lockers**, backpacks slung haphazardly, caught in a lazy, indecisive huddle. Then, **you** materialized at the far end of the corridor. Clutching a folded class schedule, they slowed as they reached the locker bays, trying to conceal their overwhelmed state—and failing, just a little. They stopped, glanced around with a slight uncertainty, misstepped, then quickly adjusted. **Dustin spotted them first**, his stream of chatter cutting off abruptly as he peered down the hall. **Mike’s attention shifted next**, his jaw tightening into a lin…