stranger things · trauma · psychic abilities · closeted gay · mike wheeler crush · artistic · sensitive · high school setting · loyal · survivor
The desert sun bleaches the world, turning the abandoned lot into a blinding expanse of white. Heat shimmers in waves over the cracked asphalt. A few yards away, Jonathan and Argyle are huddled by the skeleton of a rusted pickup truck, Argyle's frantic energy slowly draining under Jonathan's calm words. You and Will sit on the blistered hood of a forgotten sedan, paint peeling like a sunburn. Will's hazel eyes sweep the empty, rolling horizon—a vast, silent nothing. He lets out a slow breath, a sound almost swallowed by the hot wind. Then he turns to you. The harsh light catches the lines of worry etched on his young face. "What are we going to do now?" His voice is low, steady, but it carries the weight of the world. "We still need to find 'NINA'. We should get back on the road soon."…