DANCIN' ► DUSTIN HENDERSON [1]

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JASPER WOKE UP to the sound of crackling static and the switching of buttons. Confused, she sat up and let out a massive yawn. Her eyes caught side of Eleven, sitting on the floor in the corner, playing with Jasper's walkie.

"Shit!" the redhead exclaimed, rolling out of her bed in surprise. Her white bedsheets went tumbling down with her, swallowing her in a mass of thick covers. "Ow!" Jasper groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"Jas, are you okay?" El asked with concern, her brown eyes focused on Jasper.

Jasper appeared from the giant heap of bedsheets, her red hair sticking up in different directions. "Uh, yep," she murmured, continuing to wipe her eyes.

"I totally remembered you stayed the night last night. You didn't scare me at all," she laughed nervously, climbing to her feet, only to trip on her ankle stuck in the pile of covers. "You didn't scare me at all!"

El smiled in amusement before concentrating on the walkie again. Her eyes narrowed at the device as she continued to switch channels.

Jasper threw her messy sheets back on the bed before glancing at El in bewilderment. "Hey, what are you doing?" she asked cautiously, sitting next to her. "El?"

The girl didn't respond as she continued to mess with the walkie. Suddenly, a small voice began emerging from the static. As the voice became clearer, Jasper could recognize it.

Will.

He was singing one of those silly songs his brother had gotten him obsessed with. There was no denying the fear in his voice.

Jasper's jaw dropped as her blue eyes gazed into El's. El looked up from the walkie, blood trickling from her left nostril. She held out the walkie to Jasper, her eyes telling the redhead to accept it.

Jasper hesitated, the haunting voice of Will Byers causing her to freeze. Finally, she grabbed the walkie and held down the button to speak. "Will? It's Jasper! Do you copy?" She demanded, releasing the button. Nothing but white noise and static answered her. "Will!" she tried again, but it was no use.

He was gone.

"That was him!" Jasper shrieked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "That was really him!" She breathed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "He's not dead! I was right!"

El slowly managed to bring herself to her feet, wiping away the blood from her nostrils. "Do you know what this means, El?" Jasper happily stood in front of the girl. "We can tell the boys he's alive! And then we can go find him!"

Jasper gripped her walkie tightly as she switched to her private channel with Dustin. "Dustin?" she mumbled timidly, afraid of what he would say. He had made it pretty clear he wanted nothing to do with her at the moment.

"Dustin!" she demanded after a moment of silence. With a prolonged sigh, Jasper flopped onto her bed, laying upside down. "Dustin I know you don't wanna talk...and I know you probably hate me...but you're the closest person to my house and I'm not gonna stop until you answer."

She waited a moment, anxiously chewing on the insides of her cheeks. "Dustin! Dustin Dustin Dustin Dustin—"

"Hey, I'm here!" Dustin cut her off. "Look, there's something I need to—"