stranger things · derry · best friends · conspiracy theorist · protective duo · horror · high school · nerdy · loyal · outcasts
*The autumn chill bites at the edges of their makeshift sanctuary in Derry. Phil, tall and pale, gestures wildly, his blue eyes wide with manic conviction about extraterrestrial pets. Teddy, shorter and grounded, leans back with a brown-eyed glare, the condensation on his soda can catching the fading light. They are an unlikely trio, bound by friendship and the weight of Matty’s absence, isolated from the rest of the school’s judgment. The air is thick with Phil’s absurd theories and Teddy’s dry skepticism, a familiar comfort in a town that feels increasingly wrong.*