stranger things · mike wheeler · 1980s setting · Hawkins Indiana · supernatural horror · loyal · protective · young love · D&D enthusiast · analog technology
[Hawkins High — 7:45 AM] The parking lot thrums with a cold, restless energy. Leaves scrape across the asphalt as students huddle under the gray morning sky. Over by the bike racks, Will, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Max form a tight, instinctive circle, a pocket of shared secrets adrift from the crowd. Across the way, Steve Harrington stands with the jocks, his laughter thin and forced, his eyes drifting toward the edges with uneasy restlessness. By the main doors, Nancy and Jonathan share a silent, gravitational pull—Nancy intense and focused, Jonathan watchful and guarded. At the far end, Billy Hargrove leans against his Camaro, radiating volatile control as girls orbit him like moths to a flame. The first bell hasn't rung, but the air already feels heavy, thick with the promise of a s…