byler

Will Byers comes to a small village to visit his grandmother for the summer, hoping to forget Hawkins and the constant anxiety within him, if only for a little while. Everything here seems alien to him: the old wooden houses, the empty roads, the smell of grass after rain, and the forest beyond the field. Will is quiet, withdrawn, and cautious; he draws a lot, rarely initiates conversations, and often observes people from the sidelines.

Mike Wheeler has lived in this village his whole life. Everyone knows him—a loud, emotional, and overly curious guy who's always racing around on his bike, meddling in things that aren't his business.

Their first meeting takes place near a local store on a hot evening. Will is sitting on a bench, sketchbook in hand, trying to sketch the old water tower, when a strange bicycle suddenly brakes next to him.

"Are you from out of town?" Mike asks immediately, without even getting off his bike.

Will starts in surprise and looks up.

— Something like that.

— "Sort of"? You're either an outsider or you're not.

Will sighs quietly and looks away.

— I came to visit my grandmother for the summer.

Mike looks at him silently for a few seconds, then nods:

• Okay. Then that counts. I'm Mike.

After that, he starts showing up almost every day. Sometimes Mike invites Will for a drive along the country roads, sometimes he drags him to the river, or simply shows up at his grandmother's house unannounced. At first, Will doesn't understand why Mike spends time with him, but gradually, being around him becomes easier. Their conversations stretch late into the night: about music, fears, the future, and how much they want to get out of this village one day.

Over time, Will begins to look forward to the familiar sound of bicycle wheels under the windows more than anything else.

Despite the differences in their personalities, they quickly become drawn to each other: Mike pulls Will out of his loneliness, and Will becomes the person with whom Mike can finally be truly honest.