"I didn't need a hero, Billy." Darian sneers, dusting off his coat, eyes glaring.
Billy only smirks, reaching over and untangling one of Darians dark curls, quickly catching himself, pulling his hand back. "It didn't seem like that a minute ago." B...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Hawkins, Indiana
November 1984
。.✦ ☾
Hawkins Middle School
。.✦ ☾
Darian stared at Dustin with wide eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. No this can't be happening.
Dustin stares at him with a wide smile, the others stand around them. "You're shitting me, Dustin?" Darian asks "His name is d'Artagnan." Dustin says proudly as if he wasn't keeping a monster. Slowly Dustin reaches over and he grabs the small creature. Darian straightens up and slightly hides behind Mike, who rolls his eyes at his brother.
"Cute, right?" Dustin asks
Darian shakes his head, fuck no. "D'Artagnan?" Mike asks "Dart for short." Dustin says, holding up the slimy creature with pride.
"And he was in your trash?" Max asks, lifting an eyebrow as if she didn't believe him. Darian turns to look at her, not recognizing her, he'll ask Mike about her later.
"Foraging for food." Dustin says with a small smirk on his face. He was a proud mama. Darian wanted to find him adorable, but not with that disgusting creature in his hand. "You wanna hold him?" Dustin asks
Max instantly starts shaking her head. "No, no." Max states Dustin chuckles and he approaches her with Dart. "He doesn't bite." Dustin says
"I don't want to-" Max quickly cuts herself off when Dustin places the creature in her palm, grimacing in disgust. "Oh, God, he's slimy!" Max exclaims, quickly handing it over to Lucas, who cringes. "Ugh, he's like a living booger." Lucas exclaims
Lucas passes it over to Will who gags. "Ugh, oh, God!" He exclaims, handing it over to Mike, who lifts it to eye view, the creature squirming.
"What is he?" Mike asks, Dustin and Darian peer over his shoulder, one with a smile and the other with a grimace.
"My question exactly." Dustin says
....
Dustin slams down a couple of books onto the table. "At first, I thought it was some type of pollywog." Dustin says
"Pollywog?" Darian asks, everyone looks confused. "It's another word for tadpole. A tadpole is the larval stage of a toad." Dustin says
"I know what a tadpole is." Darian says amused.
Dustin opens up the book, peering up at everyone. "All right, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right?" Dustin asks, now staring straight into Max's eyes. "Well, Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water." Dustin says
"Yeah, but aren't there nonaquatic pollywogs?" Lucas asks "Terrestrial pollywogs? Yep. Two to be exact." Dustin says as he opens up a book. "Indirana semipalmata." He opens up another. "And the Adenomera andreae." Darian finishes for him, reading the passage.
"One's from India, one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash?" Dustin asks, looking over everyone.
"Maybe some scientists brought it here, and it escaped?" Max asks
"Do you guys see that?" Mike asks, cutting off the conversation, and making everyone look down at Dart. "Looks like something is moving inside of it." Mike says
Something was moving inside of the creature. Darian wanted to gag with disgust. Everyone but him moved closer, to inspect it. Lucas grabs the lamp and moves it over. Dart screeches. Everyone gasps. Dustin quickly catches it before it can escape.
"Whoa." Dustin breaths
"God." Darian breaths, covering his mouth, holding back the bile in his mouth. Everyone watches with a grimace as Dustin cooes at the animal.
"And there is another thing. Reptiles, they're cold-blooded. Ectothermic, right?" Dustin states, posing it as a question, something they all already knew.
Darian had his own questions, his eyes meeting Will's, this was something they feared. The upside down was spilling into their world.
Suddenly the bell rings, startling them all. Darian sighed, this was a waste of his time. Dustin had dragged him to the middle school, he wanted to show him a new discovery.
The others were leaving, Will stayed behind with him. "Are you okay Will?" Darian asks, concerned. "It's already happening." He whispers
Darian's heart jumps. Quickly he brings the young boy in for a hug. Why the fuck couldn't the poor kid catch a break.
