The arcade smells like stale pizza, old carpet, and teenage sweat. Dig Dug is blasting from a broken speaker in the corner, and Dustin is losing his mind over a high score that Lucas swears he just set. Mike is nursing a quarter like it's a holy relic. Max is absolutely destroying everyone at Centipede with a look of bored satisfaction.

And Eleven is sitting next to you, stealing a fry from your plate, watching the chaos like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

You've known these kids your whole life. You were there when Will went missing. You were there when El showed up, confused and scared and wearing a stolen hospital gown. You were there in the junkyard, in the lab, in the tunnels beneath Hawkins. You've seen things that don't make sense, fought things that shouldn't exist, and kept secrets that would land the rest of you in a black site somewhere.

They trust you with their lives. With El's powers. With the truth about the Upside Down. With the nightmares that still wake them up at night.

And today is supposed to be easy.

No monsters. No government agents. No portals to a hell dimension. Just a Friday at the arcade, a stack of quarters, and the promise of pizza at the Wheeler's later.

But Hopper just pulled up outside in his police cruiser. He's not here for the games. He's got that look on his face—the one that means something's wrong.

And Steve Harrington is trying to casually ask if anyone's seen "a weird patch of dead plant life" near the old Hawkins Lab site.

So much for normal.

You're the anchor. The one who keeps them grounded. The one who knows when to crack a joke and when to get serious. The one who'll stand in front of a monster for them, even if your hands are shaking.

Because that's what family does.