Jailbird || Stranger Things

twenty-four ➵ guy talk

Steve lifted up the trunk door, reaching in for the buckets of meat and the gasoline. He started to pack his bag, while Dustin's radio came to life and he stepped away to answer.

    "Well, well, well, look who it is," he said with a small displeased smile.

    "Sorry, man. My stupid sister turned it off," Lucas apologised.

    "Well, while you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped, and I'm pretty sure he's a baby Demogorgon."

    "Wait. What?"

    "I'll explain later. Just meet me and Steve at the old junkyard."

    "Steve?" Lucas asked incredulously.

    "And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket."

    "Steve Harrington?!"

    "All right, let's go," Steve told him, slamming down his trunk.

    "Just be there, stat. Over and out."

    As they made it to the train tracks, the boys each took a bucket, dropping chunks of meat periodically as they walked.

    "All right, so let me get this straight," Steve returned to the conversation Dustin had started up in the car. "You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who... who you just met?"

    "All right, that's grossly oversimplifying things," Dustin started.

    "I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?" Steve asked, obviously not after the same girls as Dustin.

    "An interdimensional slug? Because it's awesome," Dustin replied as if it was obvious, ad for him, it definitely was.

    "Well, even if she thought it was cool, which she didn't, I— I just— I don't know," Steve shrugged, "I just feel like you're trying way too hard, man."

    "Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, all right?" Dustin shot back.

    "It's not about the hair, man. The key with girls is just," Steve shrugged, trying to find the right words for a kid. "Just acting like you don't care."

    "Even if you do?"

    "Yeah, exactly. It drives them nuts," Steve nodded.

    "Then what?"

    "You just wait until, uh— until you feel it."

    "Feel what?"

    "It's like before it's gonna storm, you know? You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh—" Steve tried, "electricity, you know?" he looked to Dustin again.

    "Oh, like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere-"

    "No, no, no, no, no," Steve chuckled lightly, "Like a... Like a sexual electricity."

    "Oh," Dustin uttered, blushing the slightest bit at the idea.

    "You feel that and then you make your move," Steve agreed, nudging Dustin.

    "So that's when you kiss her?" he asked, looking at the older boy again.

    "No, whoa, whoa! Slow down, Romeo!"

    "Sorry," Dustin looked dow at his feet, slightly confused by the sudden turnaround.

    "Sure, okay, some girls, yeah, they want you to be aggressive. Strong, and hot and heavy, like a... I don't know, like a lion. But others, you gotta be slow, you gotta be stealthy, like a— like a ninja," Steve finished.

"What type is Nancy?" Dustin asked

    "Nancy's different. She's different than the other girls."

    Yeah. He could say that again.

    "What about Teresa?" Dustin asked, watching as Steve paused before shrugging his shoulders again, continuing to drop chunks of meat beside him.

    "I don't know," he admitted. "Wait, you're not into her, are you?" he whirled around in surprise, but Dustin immediately shook his head.

    "God no!"

    "Right," Steve replied, narrowing his eyes for a second before he turned to walk forward again. "Nancy and Reese are special."

    "Yeah, they seem pretty special, I guess."

    "Yeah," Steve agreed, one of the girls playing on his mind more than the other. "Yeah, she is."

    "But this girl's special, too, you know. It's just, like, something about her," Dustin continued, the words making Steve stop him again, both boys forgetting to linger on what Steve said.

    "Whoa whoa who, hey hey hey," he nudged Dustin's shoulder instead. "You're not falling in love with this girl, are you?"

    "Uh no," Dustin wasn't sure, "No."

    "Okay, good," Steve nodded, walking again as he reached into his bucket. "Don't."

    "I won't," Dustin agreed.

    "She's only gonna break your heart, and you're way too young for that shit."

    As the boys walked again, Dustin's thoughts overwhelmed him, unable to perk up once more. Was Steve really saying what he thought he was?

    Realising he'd really broken down the younger boy's resolve, Steve let out a sigh before divulging some top secret information. "Fabergé."

    "What?" Dustin picked his head up.

    "It's Fabergé Organics.," Steve pointed to his hair, "Use the shampoo and conditioner, and when your hair's damp... It's not wet, okay? When it's damp," Steve told him, avoiding his eyes.

    "Damp," Dustin nodded in acknowledgement.

    "You do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray," Steve finished.

    "Farrah Fawcett spray?" Dustin masked his laugh.

    "Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. You tell anyone I just told you that and your ass is grass. You're dead, Henderson. Do you understand?" Steve pointed a yellow gloved hand at the kid, bringing them to a stop.

    "Yup," Dustin agreed, smiling at the reveal of the information.

    "Okay."

    Two beats of silence, before Dustin couldn't help himself. "Farrah Fawcett, really?"

    "I mean, she's hot," Steve shrugged, masking his slip with some faux macho attitude. God, Teresa would have a thing or two to say about this whole conversation.

    "Yeah."

    Perhaps they should have been paying more attention to the rot that had reached the trees lining one side of the train tracks on their way.