Your little sister (Max) and mom have been having a hard time. You decide to move to Hawkins to help out, and while giving up California and your senior year might be hard, there is a boy across the trailer park who just might make it worth it...
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Dustin did not shut up. This kid had talked unceasingly since you'd walked out of the small theatre. He had started by talking about the session, but he soon transitioned to telling you far more than you needed to know about long range radio transmissions. You felt like you were listening to him through a haze. After your intense, post-D&D, table top role playing session, you were overwhelmed with feelings, but you were struggling to figure out what exactly those feelings were, and the chatty freshman was not helping. "Music?" you finally interrupted him to begin searching for something on the radio.
"Oh sure! Eddie made me a tape of a bunch of metal songs that he thought I would like," Dustin clearly had no problem switching gears and rummaged in his bag until he found it. Even when he wasn't around you, you couldn't escape Eddie. Dustin put the tape in, and you recognized the familiar strains of Judas Priest. Glancing over at him, he was opening up his mouth to begin speaking again, so you tried to beat him to the punch.
"SO, tell me about that girlfriend of yours!" you interjected. He began singing her praises, which was incredibly sweet, and making bold proclamations about their future. The pragmatist in you couldn't help the twinge of sorrow that arose when thinking about them. Never minding that they were children, the physical distance alone would make any real future between them near impossible. But what did that say about you? Did you and Eddie actually have a future? What was he planning on doing next year? And why were you so concerned about it? And why did it feel like there was a gapping pit opening in your chest?
"Y/N? You okay," Dustin's voice broke through your spiraling thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just tired," you replied to try to comfort him. You really needed to save the panic for when you weren't driving or around a kid. "Is that it up there?"
"Yup! Thanks for driving! Steve usually picks me up if I'm running late, but he has a date tonight," he explained.
"Sure thing," you said, as you pulled into the driveway. You put the car in park and the light came on while Dustin was ejecting and putting away his tape. He looked up at you while reaching for the door and frowned.
"Hey, you've got something in your hair," he stated and reached out. You turned to allow him access, feeling a slight tug as something came loose. In the over head light, Dustin held up a small figurine of a troll. "That's weird. How did that get there?"
Your eyes widened and felt crimson flood your face. "Umm, it must have dropped on me when I was picking something up. So weird!" you finished with a short giggle. "Okay, good night, Dustin."
"Night," he called still holding on to the figure. You watched him walk from the car to the door still holding the creature and trying to puzzle out how it got in your hair. As soon as he opened the door, you quickly left the driveway. He was a smart kid. There was no way your 'it must have gotten there by accident' excuse would work, and you really didn't want to have to explain and corrupt the kid with the wicked things you and Eddie had been up to seconds before he had entered.
