The three of us

The reality

Dustin turns, so he looks at us.
'Steve?' He asks. 'Is that true?'
Steve's eyes widen. 'What?'
'What you just said?'
'Oh, Dustin.' Steve sighs. 'Did you hear everything?'
'Yeah.'
'I'm sorry, man.'
'No. No. No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've changed.'
'Dustin, it's not your fault.' Steve sits up and grabs Dustin's arm. 'It's not your fault you've changed.'
Dustin sits up too and looks at Steve.
'But I'm never happy anymore.' He says.
'You're happy when you're alone with me. That's all I could ask for, buddy.' Steve runs his hands trough Dustin's curls.
'Really?' Dustin asks with tears in his eyes.
'Really, Dustin. Really.'
I just look at them. From the moment I met them, I knew they were meant for each other.
Not in a relationship way.
In a brotherly way.
They love each other the most.
It wouldn't hurt me if Dustin loved Steve more than he loves me.
I actually know he loves Steve more.
It doesn't bother me. It actually brightens me every time I think about it.
I wasn't paying attention, because Steve pulled Dustin into a hug. Which isn't a smart idea, because they almost fall out of the hammocks.
'Now, are we gonna have a great time?' Steve asks, breaking the embrace.
Dustin nods and wipes his eyes. 'Yeah.'

'Hey, guys? We're leaving!' Steve yells trough the window.
Will turns around. 'Are you guys having a sleepover?'
'Yeah, we'll be at the cabin tomorrow.' I say.
'Have fun! And good luck sleeping.' El says.
'Thanks, bye!' I yell as we walk away.

It's 8pm and we're sitting on the couch.
'Alright, lets just take it slow and watch a movie.' Steve looks at us. 'Okay?'
Dustin nods. 'Yeah.'
Everyone's wrapped in a blanket.
'But I'll fall asleep.' Dustin says. 'So I'll have the nightmare.'
Steve nods. 'That's why we're watching a movie.'
'Oh.'
Steve puts on the movie and we watch.
Dustin falls asleep after exactly 20 minutes.
I look at Steve. 'Should we join him?'
Steve nods. 'Yeah, I'm kinda tired.'
'Good night, Steve.'
'Good night, Y/N.'

I'm at Dustin's funeral, standing next to Steve.
He's holding Dustin's baseball cap, clenching it to his chest, crying his eyes out.
'Steve Harrington, would you like a word?' It sounds.
Steve looks at me and I nod at him.
He walks on stage and looks at Dustin's cap.
His shaky voice sounds.
'I met Dustin on a Tuesday, I think. I was bringing flowers, to Nancy Wheeler, when I saw him.
He was walking towards me. He needed my help.
I chose him over my girlfriend.
I saw something special in him.' He sniffles.
'We had a lot of adventures together, you don't wanna know.' He squeezes the cap.
'I patted this cap so many times.
I ran my hand trough his curls every single day.
I rested my head on his head every single day.
I loved him, every single day. And I'll never stop.
I never got to say it to him.'
He walks off stage and shoves back into his place, next to me.
'Are you okay?' I ask.
He nods, squeezing the cap to his chest again.
'I'm okay.'

I wake up and look around.
Steve and Dustin are sleeping peacefully.
But then they wake up, at the exact same time, having the exact same reaction on their dream.
They're gasping for air, holding each other's arms.
'Good morning.' I say.
They look at each other and Steve starts to cry.
Yeah, Steve starts to cry.
Steve has a soft spot for Dustin and I KNEW it.
Steve cries as he wraps his arms around Dustin.
'We have to kill the nightmare monster.' He sobs.
Dustin doesn't know what to do. His arms hanging in the air.
But he finds his comfort and wraps his arms around Steve.
'What happened?' He asks.
'Funeral.' Steve sobs. 'I won't get to say goodbye to you.'
Dustin sighs. 'You will. I'm not gonna die.'
'You are. And I won't get to say goodbye to you, ever.' Steve lets go of Dustin.

'What time is it?' Dustin asks.
I look at the clock. '1am.' I say.
'Oh. Guess we have to sleep again.' Dustin says.
'Are you ready?' He looks at Steve, who nods.
'Ready.'
And... We close our eyes again.