The night in Hawkins was quiet, peaceful in a way that felt almost untouched by the chaos of the outside world. Unlike bigger cities, nothing ever seemed to rush here. With a population of only ten to fifteen thousand people, the town moved at its own slow, predictable rhythm.
Even though the clock had only just struck eight, the streets were already empty. Porch lights glowed softly, windows were shut, and most families had settled into their homes for the night.
That was Hawkins.
A quiet, simple, almost too-perfect kind of place.
The local police rarely dealt with anything serious. Most of the time, the complaints they received were about kids messing around with spray-painting walls, breaking streetlights, or causing small trouble around town.
That's just how Hawkins is.
And the Wheeler family was no different.
Their nights were calm, routine is eating them. The soft clicking sound of the automatic sprinklers in the front yard echoed faintly through the still air, but even that felt like part of the silence rather than a disturbance.
There were no teenagers blasting loud music.
Just a quiet night, no…. there's something slightly different...
Karen Wheeler, the wife of Ted Wheeler, had just finished putting their youngest daughter, Holly, to bed. As she stepped away from Holly's room and walked past the basement stairs, her peace was interrupted by loud voices, shouting, laughter, and excited yelling echoing from below.
Her son and his friends playing god know what they were playing from the sun on top of their head to the night crawling their day.
Karen let out a long, tired sigh.
She walked over to the basement door and pulled it open.
"Mike!" she called out sharply, one hand resting on her hip. They should be asleep by now, and his friends should have already gone home, but instead, they were still down there, completely absorbed in whatever game they were playing.
"What?!" Mike shouted back from the basement. "We're in the middle of a campaign right now, Mom!"
Karen had no intention of going down there. She was already telling her son to stop the game and get to sleep a few minutes ago.
So she raised her voice again, louder this time, making sure every single one of them could hear her.
"You mean the end?! It's already been fifteen minutes, young man!" she snapped.
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away, leaving the basement door wide open behind her.
"No! Mom!" Mike shouted back, but there was no reply from his mother, only silence.
Mike let out a frustrated sigh, pushing himself up from his chair as he prepared to go upstairs and try convincing his mom to give them more time.
But before he could even take a step away from the table, Dustin Henderson stopped him.
Dustin, the curly-haired boy with missing teeth, his head half-covered by a cap, grinned as he looked at Mike.
Something from his face telling Mike that he has some kind of plan, yup, he has some kind of plan.
"Mike," he said, "my brother's gonna pick me up later. Maybe you can use my brother's name."
His smile widened, clearly proud of the idea.
Lucas Sinclair, a boy with dark skin and short, tightly coiled hair, immediately lit up at the suggestion.
"He's right! Mike, use Chris's name."
William Byers, the boy with the bowl-cut hair and soft, innocent face, simply nodded in agreement. He didn't say much, he just wanted to stay a little longer and keep playing with all of them.
Mike fell silent for a moment, glancing at each of them before finally nodding with a slightly annoyed face.
"Ugh, fine. I still don't get why Chris is so close with my parents," Mike muttered.
"Uh… because your parents want Nancy and Chris to date?" Dustin said, a little unsure because he didn't really know that answer either.
Christopher, his older brother, was close with all of their families. He was the cool older brother Dustin both admired and resented.
He even protected them from bullies at school… even though Dustin always tried to push him away, insisting he didn't need help.
Dustin didn't know how to feel about him.
Part of him loved it.
Part of him hated it.
Jealousy constantly lingered in the back of his young mind, even if he appreciated how protective Chris was.
And the worst of all reason of that is…
…..His brother was way too handsome.
That's why he really hated him.
It wasn't fair!.
Still, moments like this, when they needed something, they had no problem using his name.
Heh… Dustin was definitely taking advantage of his brother's reputation right now. It's not like it's the first time he's using it anyway.
"What's the point if he doesn't even like her? Nancy's already dating that douchebag, Steve," Mike said, tilting his head.
He knew Chris didn't have feelings for Nancy. As far as he could tell, they were just normal friends.
"It's not like Nancy doesn't like him, right?" Lucas said with a grin, making Mike groan.
"I'm pretty sure Steve is just… a rebound or something for Nancy," Lucas added, glancing over at Dustin.
"He's right," Dustin said, recalling Chris's words that he and Nancy were just friends. "But I'm sure if Chris actually tried, Nancy would fall for him."
There was a strange mix of pride and irritation in his voice.
"Son of a bitch…" Dustin muttered under his breath, annoyed as he thought about how easily Chris could win girls over….while he was still stuck being the nerd.
Will chuckled at that. He knew it was true….and he knew something else, too.
He knew his brother, Jonathan Byers, liked Nancy.
But he didn't say anything to all of them now or ever.
He also knew that Jonathan and Chris were good friends. A few times, Chris had come over to their house, they'd listened to music together, arguing over bands and songs like it was the most important thing in the world.
"I better get going before my mom comes back," Mike said and nodded his head, stepping away from the conversation.
He quickly headed up the stairs, his thoughts lingering on what they had just talked about.
Chris is a cool guy, Mike admitted to himself. And he's good to all of us.
If he had to choose, he'd definitely pick Chris over Steve for Nancy.
Well… it wasn't really his problem who his sister was dating.
But if he could choose?
Chris. Or even Will's brother for second choice.
Mike walked into the kitchen, where his mom was busy cleaning up. His dad stood nearby in the living room, fiddling with the TV antenna, completely absorbed in it as if nothing else in the world mattered.
His father was… something else.
"Mom," Mike called, ignoring his dad and focusing on Karen, who seemed determined not to engage with him.
"Twenty more minutes, please!" he pleaded.
Karen didn't look at him as she put away the leftover food.
"It's a school night, Michael," she said firmly. "I just put Holly to bed. You boys can continue next week."
Now she turned to him, her expression making it very clear she wasn't in the mood for negotiation.
Mike grumbled.
Time to use his trump card.
"Mom, please. It's gonna ruin the flow of the game!" he insisted. "This campaign took us two weeks to plan. We can't just stop now!"
Karen opened her mouth to refuse again, but Mike quickly added. "Besides, Chris is picking Dustin up later. I'm sure he'll make sure everyone gets home safe!"
"Chris is coming?" Ted's voice suddenly cut in.
Both Mike and Karen turned to him. Ted was still holding the TV antenna.
"You think he can fix this junk?" Ted added casually.
They both stared at him, speechless.
Karen sighed, completely ignoring her husband before narrowing her eyes at Mike. "You think dropping Chris's name is going to make me let you off?"
"Please?" Mike tried again, realizing Chris's name might not be as powerful as he thought.
"…Fine."
Mike blinked.
Well, he was wrong…because Karen actually looked more at ease knowing Chris would be there to keep an eye on the kids.
"Yes!" Mike didn't wait for her to change her mind. He rushed out of the room immediately.
Karen shook her head, a small smile forming on her lips, but it didn't last long as she glanced at Ted, who was still overly focused on the TV.
Mike ran back toward the basement, but paused for a moment as he passed the stairs leading to the second floor.
Should he tell her?
He hesitated… then shrugged.
Why should he care?
She's dating Steve anyway.
"Guys, we've got more time!" Mike announced as he burst back into the basement, immediately greeted by cheers.
"We better finish this campaign quickly," he added. "I don't think Chris can hold my parents off for long."
"Alright! Let's kill this shit-face!" Dustin shouted excitedly, making Lucas and Will chuckle at his crude words.
Mike slipped back into his role as Dungeon Master, and the three of them dove right back into their campaign, completely unaware that the sound of a motorcycle had just reached Karen and Ted outside the house. Only a few minutes after Mike had convinced them.