You only moved to Hawkins a year before the disaster.

Your father got a better job here that paid a lot more than whatever the coast could offer him—something to do with lab work.

Starting a new school—Hawkins High—in your freshman year was different. Here the city felt more tight knit, where neighbors knew neighbors and where graduating class size was only a fifth of your previous school.

Here you met him. Black curls, deep brown eyes and stories that he just whispered at random times throughout the day. Mike Wheeler, became one of your first friends here.

You weren't even supposed to be friends. He—part of that unique play-pretend-club. You—someone who easily climbed through the social ranks at Hawkins High.

Sophomore year, that friendship changed into something more. You watched him and Dustin fight with Lucas over something they never included into—something that stemmed from their years of being friends before you came into the picture.

Mike became more irritated, and something pushed you two together. An accidental brush of fingers, a shared look that left you both looking away in embarrassment.

And somehow this became a norm—a stolen kiss in the woods surrounding Hawkins, brush of your fingers in his black curls, watching the posters on Michael's ceiling over his shoulder as he hovered above you. Quiet. Private. Behind the scenes.

Nancy was polite or rarely there. Holly watched you from her room when you followed Mike to his room. Mrs.Wheeler liked you from what you could tell. Mr.Wheeler mumbled something from behind the newspaper.

You were just one of his friends coming over.

And then—Mike left for Cali. To see his childhood friends like he explained to you.

And then, the earthquake happened. The lockdown of Hawkins. Whatever happened to Lucas's girlfriend. And half the basketball team. Something was happening over the summer after your Sophomore year.

Suddenly, normal was different for your Junior year.

Military moving into the town, doing something. You father picking up more shifts at the lab he works for. Metal plates covering the cracks in the earth. Random power outage.

---

School year was different, but okay. A few less students than last year.

Walking down the hall you saw them--Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and their friend from Cali, Will. Their faces familiar, even if you weren't really friends with anyone except for Mike. You walked up, casually listening to their conversation.

"—she's with Hop and Joyce, training." Mike insisted.

"Yeah, well maybe going to school with us will be a good influence on her mood." Lucas argued back. This sounded like an old fight—that mysterious something you weren't privy to.

"He just wants to keep his dear lovely girlfriend safe." Dustin teased, making a kissy face at Mike, who rolled his eyes and nudged the shorter boy away.

Something shifted. Girlfriend.

What about the past year? His hands tracing your spine at the lake. Accidentally biting his lip until he bled—and laughing through it.

You tilted your head, finally making your presence known. "Since when did Wheels have a girlfriend?"

Thank god, your voice didn't waiver. It sounded like you were joking—because they didn't need to know.

"Oh like, it's been almost 3 years now." Dustin looked at Lucas as he thought of the number. Mike didn't say anything. He didn't need to.

Now, it made sense. Why Mike insisted on keeping whatever happened between you two in the past year a secret. So many other things falling into place to paint the picture.