DANCIN' ► DUSTIN HENDERSON [1]

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DUSTIN AND STEVE RODE IN SILENCE other than the music softly blaring from Steve's speakers. Night had casted its dark blanket over the town of Hawkins, and they were driving back to Dustin's house.

"I still can't believe you almost hit somebody today," Dustin sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "I mean, what are we gonna do with you?"

"Hey, that is not entirely my fault," Steve replied defensively, holding out his free hand. He was quick to place said hand back on the wheel after earning an alarming glare from the Henderson boy. "You can't just drop the D word like that on me, you know?"

"D word?" Dustin echoed in confusion, his eyebrows knitting together. "When did I ever talk about dick with you?"

"WOAH!" Steve yelled, nearly losing his grip of the  steering wheel again. "I mean the fucking word 'Demogorgon'! Holy mother of..."

"Oh!" Dustin chuckled, slapping his palm against his forehead. "Well, shit, Steve, I mean you can't just say 'D word' and expect me to think of that. There's at least like twenty different curse words that start with D!"

"Oh because you just have an entire library of cuss words up there?" Steve taunted, disbelief heavy in his tone.

"Well, sure," Dustin chirped, holding out his hands as he began counting off his fingers. "There's dick, damn, douche, douchebag, dickwad—"

"Dude, stop, just stop!" Steve cut him off, waving his right hand wildly in front of Dustin's mouth.

"Hey, both hands on the wheel!" Dustin snapped, shoving Steve's arm away from him.

"Okay sure, Dad!" Steve replied sarcastically, quickly becoming annoyed with the little shit he feels like he's babysitting. "Where'd you even learn all those words anyway. Aren't you like, twelve?"

"Fourteen, asshole," Dustin responded drily. "And you clearly haven't been to middle school."

"Not anymore but I spend everyday at Hawkins High and I swear I've never heard somebody with a mouth as dirty as yours," Steve fired back, running a few fingers through his matted hair. "Moving on from the curse words, how big did you say this thing was?"

"When I first got him it was about the size of your fist," Dustin explained. Steve held up his hand, clenching it into a fist to observe the size. "Now, he's about as long as your legs."

"How do you know it's not just some lizard?" Steve asked, raising a dark eyebrow at the boy.

"How do I not know it's just some lizard?"

"Yeah, how do you know—"

"Because his face opened up and he ate my cat!" Dustin replied in frustration, propping his arm up on the window and burying his face in his hand.
"I'm fucked." Dustin sighed as the boys began speaking over one another.

"You're a dumbass." "I am."

"Admit it." "I admit it."

"He admits it," Steve trailed off, his car gradually coming to a stop in front of the Henderson house. There was soft glow of light coming from inside the house, causing the Harrington boy to narrow his eyes suspiciously. "Is your mom home?"