| Selected | Steve Harrington x Reader |

You didn't choose Hawkins University because you loved it.
You chose it because it was free.

In 2025, Hawkins has rebranded; modern dorms, wellness programs, full-ride scholarships. A campus built on promises of opportunity and safety.

But some students aren't just accepted.

They're selected.

When classes disappear, IDs stop working, and a smiling "wellness" system starts paying a little too much attention, it becomes clear that Hawkins never stopped experimenting, it just learned how to hide it.

As pressure mounts, you're pulled into a quiet resistance with people who know exactly what it means to survive this town. Old wounds resurface. Patterns emerge. The past refuses to stay buried.

And an upperclassman with too many keys, a guarded past, and a habit of showing up when things go wrong slowly becomes more than just your protector.

The closer you get to the truth, the harder the system pushes back.

Because this time, Hawkins isn't studying monsters.

It's studying you.

| Slow-burn | Psychological Mystery | Found Family | Female Reader |