Better off as lovers (And not the other way around)

by Wheelerson

Summary:

Sudden changes in Dustin's personality lead Wil into spending a lot more time with his old friend.

Notes:

Kudos much appreciated! I hope you enjoy this even if it's honestly just word vomit ... Tips and criticism are appreciated...

Chapter 1: And I read about the afterlife, but I never really lived

The first week after Hawkins went to hell was crazy for everyone, not just for the party, but for every resident of Hawkins. Everyone in town was affected, leading to an absolute shit show.

 

The residents were, to say the least, confused. And even then, confused didn't even come near to explaining their emotions as the days passed. No one but the party understood why their town had split itself into four and then had magically repaired itself in no time.

 

Hawkins had been in absolute disarray. Buildings had been destroyed in the process of their town's splitting, leaving people either injured or worse, homeless. Hawkins wasn't a big, bustling town either, they didn't have much money to spend on helping rebuild residential areas after they spent most of their money building the Star Court Mall back in ‘85.

 

Hawkins High had been turned into a shelter for the injured and homeless, being run by a bunch of volunteers, mainly devoted moms and teenagers who wanted it to look good on their resume for the future, if there was going to be a future... The public still believed it was the end of the world, while the party knew the worst of it was finally over.

 

The entire party volunteered. Not just the core four, but Steve, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, and Erica frequently volunteered. They all did different things while volunteering. Robin and Jonathan would help prepare food or meals for the homeless, while Steve would raid his cupboards for food to donate. Nancy donated old clothes and Erica donated old toys she didn't need anymore. She felt better knowing that these toys were going to bring joy to a child who desperately needed it during these tough times. 

 

The party had a hard time believing it was over. That the nightmare was finally over, that the worst part had passed. It was over. El had finally managed to end Vecna, with help from the others. They had managed to all come together, despite being physically separated, and finish him off. It was nice, knowing that the monster was finally gone.

 

Nothing would be like how it once was, but that was unfortunately inevitable. Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin weren't little kids playing DnD in Mike's basement anymore. They were teenagers who were horribly traumatized, and no amount of therapy could fix the otherworldly damage done to their psyches. But that was alright because they technically still had each other.

 

Fatalities were an unfortunate reality not just to the party, but also to Hawkins residents.  But with all the chaos it was really hard to process anything, let alone the loss of people close to them.

 

It took a really long time for normalcy to return to Hawkins. “Normalcy” for the Residents of Hawkins, of course, there was no longer such a thing as normal for the party. They'd all come to terms with the fact that their lives were anything BUT normal when this shit had come back for the second time. That's what brought them together, the abnormality of the whole situation, and helped them end it once and for all. 

 

While no one outside their little group would understand, they had all bonded through their shared trauma. They were all together again, and for good this time, since the Byers had decided to STAY in Hawkins.

 

While the rest volunteered, Lucas insisted that he needed to stay with Max. They all understood he wanted to be there when she woke up. If she woke up, some of the adults would correct Lucas, but he would ignore it and would try his hardest to stay positive. He had to stay positive for the sake of himself, Max, and Eleven. He knew the key to helping Max was to stay positive, since nothing good ever came out of being negative. 

He would often read her stories or play her favorite songs, all while he held her hand, unable to stop the inevitable, when he would reminisce, and then start to feel guilty because he could've done better and he could've saved her if he was useful, the little voice in the back of his head told him. Eleven would join, often bringing Max crafts and flowers. She would listen to Lucas vent his feelings and would insist each time he did all he could. They all did.

 

"There's no use in feeling guilty for something that we tried our hardest to prevent.” Eleven would say, holding Lucas's hands in her own, “You did what you could, I did what I could, and because of that, she's only in a coma. Not dead.”

 

That made Lucas feel better. Eleven was really good with her words, despite the fact that she still had a limited vocabulary. Eleven always made Lucas feel better. He was glad they got to bond over such an amazing person in their lives.

 

Will was finally able to catch a break. It felt like a whole lot of weight was lifted off his shoulders knowing that he was free. There was still a bit of weight he could feel lingering, which he had just come to terms with the fact that it wouldn't go away. The wounds opened by the upside-down were still healing and he was slowly trying to get better.

 

Mike and Nancy became closer, which simultaneously confused and pleased their mother. At least she didn't have to deal with their constant bickering anymore, like when they were little. Mike and Nancy had agreed to never tell their parents about what had happened, understanding that if they tried to explain it they'd probably be called insane and sent away by their father, who was harsh to say the least.

 

Dustin wasn't doing the greatest but was trying his best to stay afloat. He would busy himself with volunteering alongside Robin, or upscaling old clothes that he could then donate to the high school. But he just couldn't seem to evade the constant night terrors anymore.

 

Chapter 2: "What did it ever do for me?" I say

Summary:

I word vomit....

---

The night terrors had started weeks after everything. Dustin would, more than three times a week at the least, wake up in a cold sweat. His heart would be hammering in his chest and his breathing was rapid. He had to blink away tears as he came to reality.

 

It felt so real. Like he could still feel the weight of Eddie in his arms as he died. He could still feel the blood seeping into his sleeves as he tried to help. Any and all pressure he tried to apply to Eddie's numerous wounds would just cause more blood to gush out. Dustin wasn't the greatest with blood, so it was hard, but he forced himself to do something, anything to save the person he looked up to.

 

Those were mostly what his nightmares were about. Every time he'd wake up, blinking away tears, as he remembered that Eddie was truly gone. Someone who had become such an important figure in his life in such a short amount of time was just gone. It made his stomach churn. 

 

Dustin knew he had Steve to look up to, but they were different. Steve knew how to give good advice and was always there for him, but above all, Steve knew how to be popular. Eddie was different; he was more authentic, and Dustin felt like he could be himself without judgment with Eddie. Losing Eddie was like losing an older brother. Even if Eddie wasn't really an older brother to him, it still felt like it.

 

Dustin couldn't even grieve properly. He felt weird going to Steve about it, he felt bad going to Mike or Lucas, and he felt guilty going to Will or anyone else. He didn't want to burden them with his problems. They were his alone to solve. Given that he was a generally intelligent person, there wasn't much doubt that Dustin could figure this out on his own.

 

Eddie didn't have a tombstone, so it wasn't like Dustin could go visit it. Even then, Dustin supposed that having a tombstone wouldn't be the best idea given his reputation. Everyone in Hawkins still believed that he was a murderer, instead of a person who played a hand in helping save all of them.

 

He also knew that the pain of Eddie's death was worse now, given that it took so long to catch up to him. He'd spent so long busying himself with volunteer work that his mind couldn't completely grapple with the fact that Eddie was gone. Now that his brain was able to register this fact, he was doing worse.

 

When Wayne told him that Eddie finally had a tombstone, Dustin began to visit it often, alone, and during hours when other people wouldn't be around. He didn't want to see it being vandalized, because he knew it would happen eventually, and it did. When he came to the graveyard one day, he noticed red spray paint all over the front of it. Dustin spent the day cleaning it with tears in his eyes.

 

The constant disrespect against his dead friend was starting to tick Dustin off. He knew that Eddie's reputation wasn't the best but he started to wish that people in Hawkins would just stop, let it go, and start to focus on the things that actually mattered, like building homes for the families that lost theirs not too long ago.. 

Chapter 3: Don't approve a single word that we wrote

“Can't believe they're still having them go to school after all of this,” Joyce murmured in disbelief as she scooped mac and cheese onto Will's plate, “I mean where are all the homeless people going to go when the kids need to go to gym class?”

 

“Hawkins has to go back to normal eventually,” Hopper noted as he began to spoon the meal into his mouth, Joyce just shrugged in response.

 

“Yeah, but it just, doesn't sit right with me.” Joyce sighed. Will nodded solemnly in agreement. He had been enrolled back into Hawkins High now that he was back. He wasn't excited to go back to school after all of this but he was happy to be back with his friends.

 

“Nothing Hawkins ever does sits right with anyone,” Hopper looked up at Joyce, “this town is fucked up and they don't even try and hide it.”

 

Will continued to eat the meal his mom prepared, “It should be fine, right? We probably have other buildings that can be used as shelters...” 

 

The thought of innocent families not having any place to go made Will feel bad. He wished they could've done something to avoid splitting Hawkins into four, but what was done was done. They couldn't go back into the past and magically fix it like that.

 

“Oh, um, did you get my schedule?” Will remembered, suddenly turning to his mother. 

 

Joyce's eyes widened slightly and she nodded, “Yes! I did, sorry hun I completely forgot about that. I should probably give that to you so you're prepared for Monday.”

 

When Sunday morning came around, Will held his schedule in his hands as he walked around the convenience store. His mom had gotten him color-coded notebooks and folders, one for each of his classes. But he was looking for art supplies.

 

“Is this good, Will?” Joyce asked, looking up at her son before looking back down at the paint palette in her hand.

 

It was a watercolor palette. He hadn't done much watercolor, besides a few times in drawing and painting class, but he knew he liked the medium and definitely wanted to explore it more. 

 

“It's great,” Will smiled, “thank you.”

 

“Is there anything else that you know you want?” Joyce looked around at the other art supplies in the aisle they were in. Will eyed a hardcover notebook on one of the shelves below them. He bit his lip, questioning if he should ask his mom to get it. He didn't want to make her spend more money on stuff that wasn't as necessary, but it was something he'd definitely use. 

 

Before Will could say anything, Joyce kneeled down, grabbed the notebook, and tucked it under her arm before starting to walk out of the aisle. 

 

“Oh, mom, you don't have to get that for me, it's okay—" Will started but he was interrupted by his mom. 

 

“I know you'll use it, and you need a sketchbook to even use the paint we already have, it's alright, honey, I swear.” Joyce smiled, “Let me spoil you, ok?”

 

Will sighed, but the smile on his face belied his true emotion. She was very determined when it came to him. He was seriously grateful that he had such an outgoing mother. 

 

After checkout, they decided to go straight back to the cabin. Will packed his lunch for the morning and placed his bag by the door before trying to go to sleep. 

 

He was nervous to go to a new school again. He knew his people, obviously, but there were going to be so many more people he didn't know, or that used to bully him in junior high. 

 

He was eventually able to go to sleep after an hour of tossing and turning on the couch. When he was rudely awoken at four in the morning by a nightmare, the darkness of the cabin didn't help his racing heart. He couldn't get back to sleep, so he just huddled under his blanket.

 

Chapter 4: Have some composure, where is your posture?

Monday was off to a terrific start. Dustin had another nightmare and it was time to go back to school. He woke up, shuffling into a pair of jeans and a comfy shirt.

 

He limped to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He cursed the fact that his leg was still hurting, as it was only more of a reminder of his incapability to save his own friend. That, and the fact that he had spent the past few weeks doing nothing but walking and denying any medical attention. 

 

He picked up his hamper and walked over to the laundry room to dump his dirty laundry into the washer. He noticed his Hellfire shirt still stained with dirt and a little bit of blood around where Dustin had propped Eddie up. It made Dustin shiver, so he put the detergent in before shutting it and closing it.

 

He ate breakfast with his mom, deflecting each time his mom asked if he was okay. He didn't need her to know of his failures. He appreciated her looking out for him but it was starting to get on his nerves how everyone around him kept asking if he was okay every three minutes. If he could hold up the past few years, he could continue to keep himself afloat on his own.

 

School wasn't much easier either, but Dustin was happy to see Will there.

 

“Dustin!” Will smiled, going in to hug Dustin, “It's good to see you, I feel like I've been here way too early.”

 

Dustin hugged back, “It's alright. What classes do you have?”

 

As they exchanged schedules the two noticed that they had a few classes in common. Will's new schedule matched up with Dustin's pre-existing schedule. Dustin was glad that he would have a friend in almost all of his classes. He wasn't excited for what was going to happen over the next few months.

 

As they stood off to the side in the hallway Will couldn't help but notice someone kept giving both of them a dirty look. Will furrowed his brows, “Why's that person looking at us?”

 

A confused look flashed onto Dustin's face before he looked to where Will was. As soon as he did, the person sneered at him before rushing off.

 

“That's weird. I don't know what that's about..." Dustin mumbled, trailing off before he gave a sign of recognition, “They, uh, they probably recognize me from hellfire...”

 

“Hellfire...?”

 

“Ah, yeah, it was this DnD club that me and the others were in, but it doesn't exist anymore.” Dustin mumbled, “Sorry about playing DnD without you, Will... I know you wanted to play really badly all summer, and I'm not gonna make excuses for myself.”

 

“Hey, it's alright. I appreciate the apology. Actually, I think it's pretty cool that this high school had a DnD club.” Will said with a sad smile. It hurt, but Will was glad that Dustin could admit fault and apologize without excuses. Will wasn't the one to hold grudges. “...What happened to it?”

 

“Um, well, my friend who ran it... died. He was helping us in the upside down and he got killed. Also, he was a suspected murderer before that,” Dustin rambled, “although it wasn't Eddie who did that to her, it was Vecna.”

 

“I'm really sorry to hear that...” Will frowned. He realized that's why Dustin was so, off these past few weeks. Because he had just lost a friend. Will also decided to ignore the fact he didn't bat an eye at the phrase 'suspected murderer'. 

 

The warning bell startled them out of their conversation, “Shit, we should probably head to class before we're late.” 

 

Will nodded, “I'll see you in second period!” he said, as he and Dustin separated to go to their respective classes.

 

As Will was walking to class, he was suddenly curious as to where Lucas and Mike were.

 

But that curiosity was sated when he noticed not only Mike, but Lucas, AND Dustin sitting down together in his fourth-period class. He gladly joined them as soon as Dustin noticed him in the doorway.

 

It was fun to have classes together like this again. Not only that, but this was a creative writing class, something all four of them liked in some way, shape, or form. The teacher gave them an easy partner assignment before sitting back down, clearly too tired to teach after the events of the past few weeks. Will didn't blame him.

 

Will and Dustin assumed being partners while Mike and Lucas paired off. Will noted that he and Mike were usually always partners during two-person assignments, but Mike hadn't asked; instead, Dustin had done so first.

 

Mike had been awkward too the past few weeks. Will noticed that almost immediately. It was like Mike didn't want to be around him for no good reason. It hurt way more than finding out that Mike was playing DnD without him. Will tried his hardest to ignore it and focus on doing the assignment with Dustin.

 

Will was distracted by the fact that a trio, two girls and one guy, were whispering pretty loudly and giggling right behind Dustin, all while looking over at him every few seconds.

 

Will knew this behavior. He knew this behavior intimately because it happened to him all the time. Not only him, but it happened to the rest of the party. But now, this bullying seemed to be aimed directly at Dustin. Which didn't make much sense to Will, since Mike was also a Hellfire member, but not a lot of Hawkins High students were intelligent enough to put that together.

 

However, Will wouldn't really use whisper to describe the tone of voice the trio was using. Will could hear them and he was further away from them than Dustin. Dustin could obviously hear them.

 

“Makes sense that he'd be friends with that freak looking like that,” the guy sneered, making the girls erupt into giggles. Will furrowed his brow, noticing the way Dustin tensed up.

 

Will leaned closer, “Don't mind them.”

 

Suddenly Dustin snapped, “I'm trying.” 

 

The tone of Dustin's voice caught Will off guard but he brushed it off. Getting laughed at right in your face wasn't the funniest thing to deal with.

 

Will just hoped that the rest of the week would be better.

Chapter 5: On the go and it's way too late to play

They decided to go to the arcade after school on Tuesday. Well, Will decided to. He asked Lucas, forced Dustin, and then asked Dustin to ask Mike to come. He didn't really want to talk to Mike right now; he'd made things awkward with him in the van, and he'd been beating himself up over it ever since.

 

Will and Dustin played Dig-Dug while Mike and Lucas looked around, earnestly discussing which one they should play. It felt normal, if Will ignored the lack of shine in Dustin's eyes and the way Lucas avoided the ones Max had once beaten their high scores on.

 

“I forget how good you are at these games, Dustin,” Will commented, almost missing the way Dustin smiled even as he focused on playing the game. “This is nice, isn't it? Like old times.”

 

“Yeah. I missed this.” Dustin honestly responded, sighing as he failed to defeat one of the enemies, “Your turn.”

 

Will shuffled slightly so that he could see the screen clearly, but made no move to move Dustin out of the way entirely. Dustin's presence was comforting. His best friends mostly reminded him of the good times in his life.

 

They continued to play on the arcade machine until they got bored with it, which was quite a while. After that, they began roaming around to find Mike and Lucas, who were playing at two different machines side by side. Well, Mike was playing, but Lucas was staring at the screen. 

 

When Will craned his neck around to read the screen he immediately noticed just what had Lucas so fixated. In big, white capital letters read MADMAX. Will frowned. 

 

“I can't believe this was such a long time ago. When we didn't know Max.” Lucas commented, “Before I screwed up her entire life by getting her involved in all of this shit.”

 

Dustin frowned and turned away, picking at his nails nervously. He didn't have anything to say. That was becoming more of a common occurrence and Will wasn't so sure if he liked this new, quiet Dustin. It wasn't Dustin if he didn't have a quip, or a comment. Will decided to speak up.

 

“It's not your fault, Lucas. Don't say that about yourself.” Will frowned, “We didn't know this would all happen. You need to give yourself a break.” Ironic for Will to say that since he hadn't been doing that much himself.

 

Mike nodded, “We'll figure something out if the doctors can't do anything. I mean, El literally started her heart again. Who knows what else can happen?”

 

Will was grateful for Mike's positive outlook. Dustin just nodded solemnly, probably also feeling guilty since, technically, he had also dragged Max into the group. 

 

“Yeah... I'm sorry for ruining the mood.” Lucas sighed, feeling awkward that the focus was suddenly on him.

 

“Don't feel bad for having feelings but please know you're not alone in them.” Will patted Lucas's shoulder comfortingly.

 

The party left the arcade, all to go to their respective houses. Dustin decided to make sure that Will got home safely. Will sent him home with a hug and a promise to see him tomorrow. 

 

Will was grateful that their trip to the arcade had been good. It wasn't amazing. They were all doing far from amazing. Not only that, but the fact that things were tense between him and Mike was only making things more awkward. As soon as he opened the door he noticed the door to El's room was wide open with Hopper and her building a bunk bed. 

 

“How was it, hun?” Joyce smiled as soon as she noticed her son, “Hop and El are building a bunk bed for the two of you right now.”

 

“It was great,” Will answered honestly. Any time with his best friends was great, even if things were tense between them, “though Lucas is still beating himself up over Max being in a coma... I wish he didn't have to be sad. I wish none of us had to be sad anymore...”

 

“I understand,” Joyce nodded as she rested her hands on her son's shoulders, “He'll get better. Lucas is one strong boy, I know that for sure.”

 

As soon as Hopper and El were finished with the bunk bed, Will immediately made his. He placed his old, worn-out stuffed bear in the corner as he lay down. El climbed up to the top bunk before peering down.

 

“This is so fun, why didn't we do this earlier?” she giggled. Will couldn't help but agree. Having a bunk bed with his sister was SO much fun.  Will also noticed her hair was growing out again, curly like it was when he first met her.

 

“Curly hair suits you, el,” Will commented.

 

“Does it?” El asked with awe, “Lucas said he likes curly and wavy hair.”

 

“I'd have to agree with him on that,” Will found himself giggling. He knew a good number of people he found attractive with wavy or curly hair. 

 

“Well, I'm going to go to bed so I can get up super early for school tomorrow.” El quickly changed the subject, “Goodnight, Will.”

 

“Goodnight El,” Will mumbled as he got up to turn their lights off. The room was dark, but dimly lit near the bed by an old nightlight. Will climbed back into his bed, before pulling the covers over his torso and closing his eyes for the night. 

 

Notes:

Warning for next chapter, it will have depictions of self harm if that is a triggering topic for you. I will inform you where to skip if needed.

Chapter 6: Please let me know that my one bad day will end

Notes:

Major self harm warning!
I'm gonna be honest Dustin's whole segment is a little more triggering, if you need to skip, skip to 'Will bit his lip nervously'.

The school bullies didn't let up. One would think that bullying was a thing of the past, that people would realize how stupid it made them look. It was high school, time to actually focus on your studies so you could land yourself in a good college. But no, people kept taunting Dustin, calling him a freak and never leaving him alone.

 

And it was always over Eddie. Occasionally, people would talk about his other traits, like his genetic disorder or his overt nerdiness, but eight times out of ten, it would be about Eddie. 

 

All the while,  Dustin was still beating himself over the head about Eddie. They didn't know how badly Dustin wanted just to disappear, or to never be reminded of Eddie's existence and death again.

 

But those thoughts would make him feel guilty. He would punish himself for thinking like that. Eddie didn't deserve to be forgotten, whether he liked being reminded of his failure or not. He would punish himself. He would punish himself for his selfish thoughts and his inability to save his friend.

 

He'd punish himself by purposefully hurting himself in ways that could be brushed off as accidents. When he would help his mom with dinner he'd touch the hot stove. When his mom would freak out, Dustin would assure her that it was an honest accident and that it didn't hurt that badly.

 

His mom would give him an unsure look but would ultimately understand and stop prying.

 

But he would punish himself in other ways, too. He was hanging out with his friends significantly less. He spent more time than ever in his room, and when he would interact with his friends he was snappy at worst and sulking at the best. 

 

Will was probably the only person in his inner circle capable of making Dustin happy like old times. Will was a comforting presence. He meant it when he said everything went to shit when he wasn't around. He needed Will more than he liked to admit. But who was he to think that? He didn't deserve Will. He didn't deserve anyone, let alone Will Byers. Will Byers was too good for him. Dustin was a piece of shit and a horrible friend who didn't play DND with him when he wanted, and as soon as Will left he did just that. Dustin was lucky that Will didn't feel betrayed. He was so lucky that Will was levelheaded, kind, and understanding. Will deserved someone better. And better wasn't Dustin.

 

But Dustin would eventually get sick of burning himself. It just didn't seem to be giving the same effect as it did when he first started doing it. It didn't hurt as badly as he wanted it to anymore. He began to seek out other ways to hurt himself. 

 

That's when he discovered that he could be using an old box cutter of his. It was in his bedside drawer, collecting a little dust from disuse. It wouldn't hurt to try it, Dustin figured as he wiped the dust off. He brought it to his wrist and slightly pressed down until the blade pierced his skin. He dragged it against his skin until he noticed blood bubbling up. It was oh so gross, Dustin wasn't the biggest fan of seeing blood, but it hurt a good amount that it was a good punishment. 

 

The only downside was the fact that it was on his wrist. He knew that it would look suspicious. I mean, no one just has cuts that perfect on their wrist from an accident. People would know better, they'd know he was doing it on purpose. He didn't want people to figure this one out. Instead, he opted to use his shoulders. They were easy to hide and they hurt any time he moved his arms. It was practically perfect; no one would be able to see them, and they were a constant reminder or punishment.

 

---

 

After school, later on in a day that week, Dustin decided to go to see Eddie's grave. He hadn't been seeing it often and that was another reason Dustin liked to punish himself. What kind of friend doesn't visit their friend's grave? Dustin knew he wasn't a good friend. He didn't deserve the people he had. As he thought, he couldn't help but think he was forgetting something. Actually, multiple things. He blamed his newfound forgetfulness on the guilt and grief he was going through.

 

As he walked he couldn't ignore the feeling that he was being watched. He had a feeling like that a lot, given his past experiences, but it was different this time. It didn't feel like they were trying to hide, but each time he would look around suspiciously, no one was there. It was starting to weird him out. 

 

Dustin finally made it to the cemetery and immediately went to Eddie's grave. He sat down in front of it, immediately noticing that it was vandalized yet again. He sighed, pursing his lips. He didn't bring anything to clean it with. THATS what he had forgotten. Of course he forgot. Even though he knew this would probably happen, since it had happened once before on one of his first visits to Eddie's gravesite.  How useless could you be? Dustin asked himself. Now he just sat there. 

 

To be frank, Dustin didn't really know what to do at graves. Dustin didn't know what to do at funerals, and he definitely wasn't the best at processing death. So, Dustin just sat there, pretending for a moment that he wasn't as bad as his brain said he was. But that would inevitably make him feel selfish and guilty again. 

 

That's when he heard it. There was a faint rushing coming from the greenery behind him. He turned around quickly and scanned the area, but he came up with nothing. Biting his lip he turned back to Eddie's grave. But he was nervous. Was someone following him? Given his and his friend's history, he had a lot to be worried about if there was someone following him. But he reminded himself that technically it was over. It was extremely hard to believe that all of it was over. 

 

Another rustle came out from behind him, but he ignored it, realizing that he had really no reason to be paranoid, and it was likely just an animal in the bushes. And then another rustle. And another, and suddenly, someone's hands were on his shoulders, shoving him down onto the ground before he could react. His shoulders exploded in pain. His scars weren't even fully healed yet, and there was a shit ton of them littering the skin of his shoulders. The ones that had managed to slightly heal just reopened at the sudden pressure.

 

He barely had time to react before he felt a fist connect with his face. More specifically, the blow landed right next to his nose. He flinched as he knew there were more to come. When he could get a peek to see who it was,  he recognized that it was the same basketball guy who had been tormenting him all week. Not only one, either, there were at the least two standing next to him.

Their movements were sharp as they punched him. He felt and heard the cracking of his nose, and he tasted the metallic blood too. He couldn't tell if it was from his nose or from his lip, which had busted open in the process.

“You're a sick fucking freak,” one of them spat, despite that, Dustin was unable to pinpoint who said that, since he was trying to push them away, trying to push them off of him but they were too strong. “Mourning that murderer after what he did to Chrissy, we oughta kill people like you.”

 

Dustin's head started to feel fuzzy as the blows just kept coming. He knew they were saying more stuff to him but he couldn't quite comprehend anything after that. 

 

“Are you even listening?” one of the jocks asked, to no reply. Dustin still tried to get up but his futile attempts were overpowered by the stronger jocks. 

 

The beating felt like it went on for longer than it probably did, only for Dustin. His entire face was in pain. It felt like his nose was broken, and pain throbbed in his jaw and eyes. He knew they lingered for a bit after stopping, because he heard them murmuring stuff to each other. He still couldn't quite put together the words. 

 

“What a fucking loser, what man can't stand up for himself?”

 

The jocks had to leave eventually, leaving Dustin disoriented and confused. He had a hard time believing that just happened to him at all. His face hurt. He wanted to go home and lay down in bed and not wake up until school on Monday. 

 

The curly haired boy tried to get up from his spot on the ground but his head throbbed and a massive wave of nausea crashed down on him. Suppressing a gag, he laid back down, deciding that a few more minutes of laying down was way better than throwing up. 

 

A few minutes turned into an hour after he passed out. He really had all day. 

 

---

 

Will bit his lip nervously. Dustin wasn't answering when he spoke over the walkie-talkie. Will knew it was an outdated form of communication, even for them, but Will knew Dustin always kept one handy. It was starting to scare him how Dustin just hadn't answered yet. 

 

Then he tried calling him on the house phone. Once, no reply. Twice, no reply, than a third time. The third time was when he finally got a response. From a very sleepy sounding Miss Henderson. 

 

“Hello?” Miss Henderson spoke into the phone, curious as to who was calling and why it was so urgent that they needed to call three times. 

 

“Hey, Miss Henderson it's Will. I was wondering where Dustin was? He hasn't been answering me and I was wondering where he was because he said he would come over to have dinner with me and El but he never came...” Will rambled, “I'm not mad or anything I just want to make sure he's okay, if he's sleeping or something...”

 

“Oh, my apologies, I just woke up from a nap. Hello Will!” Claudia said, her smile audible in her tone. “Dusty said he was going on a walk. He said he needed one really bad since he's been cooped up in his room lately. I thought he'd be home by now... Give me a moment.”

 

Claudia set the phone down to walk over to her son's bedroom. She tapped the door and it slowly creaked open. She knew that Dustin didn't mind her going into his room, but it felt weird if he wasn't there. To her shock she didn't see Dustin there. She also started to worry. It wasn't like her son to ditch people like that. 

 

As soon as Claudia got back on the phone she sighed, “He's not here...”

 

Will couldn't stop the panic from rising in his throat. He knew that the upside-down was no threat anymore he still feared that something bad happened to his best friend. However, he didn't want to worry Dustin's poor mother.

 

“I-I'll look for him!” Will gulped, “He's probably with Steve. Likely lost track of time. I'll call you back, bye Miss Henderson!” and as soon as Claudia said her farewells he hung up. 

 

Will immediately biked to family video. He didn't want to bother his Mom, Hop, Jon, or El. He excused himself with an 'I need air' and beelined for the movie rental shop. 

 

At the counter was Robin. Dustin talked about her a lot, said she was really funny and cool and that they'd totally get along. Will kind of missed his opportunity to hang out with her by being occupied with Mike and Ellie's relationship bullshit. But he wasn't entirely a stranger to Robin.

 

“Welcome to Family Video how may I be of service—” Robin turned and immediately made eye contact with Will, “well hello Byers. What brings you here?”

 

“Do you know where Dustin might be? Any ideas at all? Has Steve mentioned anything?” Will breathed out quickly. 

 

Robin tapped her nail against the counter, “Henderson? He's been a little off these past few weeks. I'm so not used to this mopey version of him. Why do you ask? Is he... Ok?”

 

“I don't know if he's okay, that's the thing. Well, actually, I can say that he's probably not very okay mentally at all. But I don't know where he's at,” Will felt his face flushing. “He was going to have dinner with me and El but he didn't show up and that's not like him at all. His mom said he wasn't at home either. She said he told her he was going on a walk. But he's not home.”

 

“Well shit, that's bad.” Robin could practically feel the panic radiating off of Will. “We'll find him though, don't you worry. Let me call Steve up and see if he has anything.”

 

Robin signaled for Will to come behind the counter with her while she dialed Steve up. Will hesitantly joined her. 

 

It rang twice before Steve picked up, “I'm not picking up any shifts today i swear to god—”

 

“Chill, Steven, it's just me.” Robin snorted. 

 

“Oh. Hey Robs, what's up?” Steve asked. 

 

“Do you know where Dustin might be if he wouldn't be at home, or hanging out with one of his friends?” Robin patted Will's shoulder gently in an attempt to help him calm down. He appreciated the attempt. 

 

“Ah, the arcade? I don't know. that's a pretty old place. He doesn't go there often anymore...” Steve trailed off before he realized, “Maybe Eddie's grave? Why?”

 

“Nothing, I was just curious.” Robin lied, “thank you for your gracious intel. I will be utilizing this.” she joked, before hanging up. 

 

“It's pretty dark out. I don't want you to go alone. Let me come with?” Robin asked, both because she wanted to ensure Will's safety but also that she wanted to get out of work. 

 

“I'd appreciate that. ” Will smiled, trying to ignore the fact that Robin was ditching her job just to make sure he was safe. He barely knew this woman and she was already doing kind things like this for him. 

 

Will walked with his bike and Robin to the cemetery. Unfortunately Robin did NOT have a car or a bike to be travelling with. It took them a while but they arrived at the cemetery. It was eerily quiet but at the end of the day, all cemeteries were. 

 

They spent not long trying to look for Eddie's grave. It didn't take a lot of time, as Will noticed a body-sized heap laying in the grass. Will speed walked towards it, almost leaving Robin in the dust. 

 

Robin gasped as soon as she noticed it. As they got closer they noticed that the body was wearing a hat. Who else wore hats that they knew? Dustin. All it took was one good look at the face for both of them to immediately recognize it as Dustin. 

 

“Holy shit is he bleeding?” Robin asked, panic rising in her voice. She kneeled down to get a better look at Dustin's face. It was all bruised and definitely bloody. “What the fuck happened to him?”

 

Will knew better than to jostle him, so he gently tapped Dustin's shoulder. He was surprised when his fingertips were slightly bloody. That's when he noticed that Dustin's shoulders were bleeding. 

 

“Dustin? Hey, Wake up..” Will urged Dustin awake. “Come on, please... ”

 

Chapter 7: The spark goes, but the body keeps living

Will was elated when Dustin finally woke up. 

 

Well, Dustin had actually woken up a few times when they were getting him back to the cabin. But he was so incoherent that he and Robin didn't quite believe that he was conscious. 

 

Will ushered his mom, Hopper, Jonathan, and El out of his room. He didn't want Dustin to be overwhelmed when he woke up.  He used his old teddy bear and his pillow to prop Dustin's head up and he was currently inspecting the wounds on his face. The blood on his shoulders was a whole different thing, Will could tell. 

 

He had cleaned off most of the blood from Dustin's face when he woke up. There was still a bit on his nose and around his mouth, but Will had felt him stirring and had backed up to give him space.

 

Dustin groaned in pain, his voice coming out wobbly. “My head hurts...” His eyes were closed, sealed shut, and as he tried to open them, he suddenly slammed them shut again. “Where... am I? Wh- Why's it so bright?”

 

“Hopper's cabin,” Will explained, grabbing Dustin's hand, “It's Will. Can you tell me a little more about how you're feeling?”

 

“I feel like I'm going to throw up.” Dustin barely suppressed a whimper, “I don't want to throw up, Will... Please...”

 

“It's okay, Dustin, I'll get you a bin if you really need it. Is there anything else?”

 

“I feel like... spinning?” He confusedly answered, slowly easing his eyes open.

 

“I think he might be concussed...” Will deduced, turning to Robin. She nodded in agreement.

 

“I'll get him some medicine. You stay here with him.” Robin ordered, ignoring the fact that she didn't know where anything was in this house, er, well, cabin. She'd just have to ask Mrs. Byers.

 

“Don't force yourself to remember if it makes you feel nauseous or anything, but do you know what happened?” Will asked, sitting on the bed right next to Dustin, using his body to block the light from blinding Dustin.

 

“Some... Jocks beat me up? I don't know their names. Only that they're on the team...” Dustin mumbled, looking up at Will.

 

Will looked down at Dustin, blushing slightly. He didn't know where to rest his hand so he placed it next to Dustin's side. “I don't think it's a good idea to go places alone like that anymore. Let me accompany you, please?”

 

Dustin didn't feel like saying anything, so instead he just nodded his head. Will decided to continue the discussion.

 

“And... You don't have to tell me if you don't personally feel comfortable doing that but... Your shoulders were bleeding. What happened?” Will asked. He remembered hauling Dustin into the cabin with Robin, and his mother panicking at the sight of his bloody shoulders.

 

“Is he okay?” Joyce asked, her voice tinged with worry.

 

Will could only shrug, as Robin began to explain. His mom rushed off to find Band-Aids or anything that she thought would help. As Robin and Will lay Dustin on his bed, they were given no other choice but to check what had happened to him.

 

Looking at the cuts on Dustin's shoulders then back at each other, Will and Robin knew they definitely saw something they weren't supposed to.

 

Will insisted he would clean them. So he did, gently, while Robin bit her lip nervously.

 

“I hope you don't mind that I cleaned them, I-I know you probably didn't plan on me seeing that but I didn't want it to get infected.” 

 

Dustin looked down, pressing his lip into a straight line. He didn't know if he should tell Will or not. He didn't really mind Will seeing them. If it were Mike, Lucas, or Steve, that was a whole different question.

 

“I don't want to talk about it right now,” Dustin mumbled, rubbing his head. Just then, Robin entered with a cup of water and two pills.

 

“Hey buddy, I got you some medicine and some water,” Robin said, giving Dustin a small smile, transferring the small pills into Dustin's hand.

 

Dustin swallowed the pills and finished the entire glass in the process.

 

Will smiled at Robin, grateful that she just saved him from an awkward moment.

 

“Seriously, I'm going to find whoever did this to you.” Robin sighed, “In the meantime, I won't let you go out alone anymore. You have to have at least one or more people accompanying you.”

 

Dustin tried to complain, say that he would be okay with just Will accompanying him, but Robin just shushed him. “No, if this is what happens when you're alone, I don't want to take any risks.”

 

“We want to help you,” Will rested his palm on Dustin's thigh, trying to emphasize the meaning of his words, “We love you more than you know.”

 

Dustin blinked slowly, his eyes suddenly glassier than they were when he awoke. Before Will or Robin could say anything else Dustin started to cry. “I'm sorry for making you worry about me.”

 

“Why— hey! There's no need to be sorry!” Robin insisted, moving closer so she could wrap her arms around him. Will did the same.

 

“I'd rather worry than be oblivious,” Will brought his hands up to Dustin's face to wipe his tears but they just kept coming, “let us help you, please...”

 

Dustin continued to cry into Robin and Will's arms, wiping his wet eyes on Will's shoulder. Slowly his sobbing subsided into small hiccups.

 

“I don't even know where to start,” Dustin hiccupped, “I don't even—”

 

Will patted Dustin's head, “You can take a minute, actually, as much time as you need. I don't want to force you if you can't remember...”

 

Dustin settled more into Will's arms, and Robin took a step back. They fell into an awkward silence.

 

Will feared that Dustin wouldn't tell him what had happened. That Dustin would change his mind and stay quiet. That was a new thing for Dustin. 

 

A lot of time passed, and Dustin remained quiet, not speaking. The silence was occasionally pierced by a sniffle or two. Robin kept checking the time nervously. 

 

“It's getting pretty late isn't it? I should probably go before...”

 

“Use the house phone to call Steve, I-I don't want you going out in the dark alone either.” Will politely told Robin. If she was going to tell us they couldn't go out alone, she wouldn't go out alone either. This was going to be a two-sided deal. 

 

“Ah, good idea. Well, I'll see you two very soon, if I don't come back here.” Robin smiled sadly, getting up, “and I hope you feel better, Henderson. Remember I'm always here to help you if you need it.”

 

Dustin nodded and Robin walked out of the room. Will could hear his mom and El bombarding her with questions about how Dustin was doing. Robin handled them quickly, efficiently, before asking to use the house phone. 

 

Will felt Dustin's hair brush against his chin as his head moved. “I can go if you need me to,” the curly-haired boy said. 

 

Will shook his head, “I think it'd be better if you weren't alone tonight. I can tell your mom, she probably won't care!”

 

Dustin sighed, knowing that even if he protested Will probably wouldn't let up. He just accepted it. 

 

Will excused himself, unwrapping his arms from around Dustin. He looked around the living room for Robin but she wasn't there. Steve was quick. He was also probably worried sick. 

 

He went to the phone and dialed Miss Henderson. Who was probably also worried sick. He'd seen her when she got worried. That was after Star Court. 

 

She immediately picked up. Will could imagine her now, probably staying within earshot of the phone so she could pick up as soon as possible. 

 

“Hi, Miss Henderson. Dustin is here right now,” Will explained, “when we found him he was pretty beat up. I don't know who did it but I did give him medicine. He seems very out of it and tired so I was wondering if he could maybe stay here tonight? With me? I promise I'll keep an eye on him for you.”

 

Miss Henderson let out a sigh, which he couldn't tell was of relief or something else, “At least you found him... That's okay, I trust you, just let me know if he says anything else. I'll report whoever did that to him. 

 

“Thank you, Miss Henderson! I will, sleep well.” Will smiled, grateful that she didn't put up a fight about him wanting Dustin to stay the night. 

 

“You too, Will, and tell Dustin I said goodnight!” She responded, and then Will hung up. 

 

He walked back over to the doorway, noticing that Dustin's eyes were closed. Then, he turned back to the dining room where his mom, Hopper, and El were all sitting. 

 

“You can come back in now,” Will said to El, “Sorry for kicking you out for a while there.”

 

She just smiled, “It's okay. I understand that Dustin is hurt and you just want to make sure he's okay!”

 

“Oh, and... I think I'm gonna have him stay over. Just because I don't want him going out or being alone tonight.” Will added. 

 

Hopper and his mom didn't seem to have any problems with that. Will looked at the time, ten thirty it read, and Will decided it was time to go to bed. 

 

So Will climbed back into bed, pulling the sheets over himself and Dustin. El climbed up onto the top bunk and went to bed without saying much. 

 

Will looked up at the wooden bedframe before closing his eyes and falling asleep quickly. 

 

Chapter 8: Pull me out of the fire, tell me you love me, and throw me back in

Will woke up with a yawn. He was disoriented, but was suddenly confused when he realized something was touching him. Well, someone was. 

 

That someone was Dustin Henderson. Will remembered last night, finding Dustin beaten up at the cemetery and taking him home. He had a pretty bad concussion, and there was a lot more Will wanted to talk about that he was sure Dustin didn't. 

 

Dustin had wrapped his arms around Will's torso and was huddled pretty close to him. His head was tucked under Will's, and he could once again feel Dustin's hair against his chin. 

 

Will wrapped his arms around Dustin's neck. This was comfy. He hadn't really snuggled with anyone like this in a long time. Well, he had rested with Mike in the van on the way back to Hawkins but that was barely anything. 

 

Thinking about Mike again made Will recall more things that had happened the night before. He and Robin talked. And talked, as they transported a half-conscious and very disoriented Dustin to his house. 

 

"I've heard great things about you." Robin had said, and Will looked up at her, "I could say the same for you. Mostly from Dustin's old letters."

 

"That's heartwarming. I didn't know he liked me that much," Robin laughed, "Dustin told me a lot about you when you weren't here. But I've heard a lot about you from Mike."

 

"Mike talks about me?"

 

"Yeah. I mean, he would usually talk about you and Eleven, but he would mostly talk about you."

 

That made Will's stomach churn nervously. He couldn't tell if that was a good thing for him to know. He knew Dustin would talk about him. Dustin used to write in his letters that he 'missed him so badly he would tell anyone and everyone who would listen about 'Will The Wise'.

 

Mike hadn't sent many letters, and when he would he didn't disclose as much information as Dustin did. 

 

"What's with the long face?" Robin asked, "Is everything okay with you and Mike?"

 

"Eh.. well, I kind of said something to him and now he won't talk to me as much as he did. I made everything awkward between us." Will answered honestly, praying that Robin wouldn't ask him what he said to Mike.

 

"What'd you say?" Damn it.

 

"..."

 

Robin looked confused for a moment before a look of realization crossed her face. She was either spot on or horribly incorrect.

 

"There are other fish in the sea, most of which are probably better than Michael Wheeler." Robin giggled, "I can promise you that."

 

"In Hawkins...?"

 

"In Hawkins." Robin nodded. "I know that for a fact."

 

Were there really more queer people in Hawkins? Will guessed Robin was probably queer herself, that was why it was so easy for her to tell that he was.

 

Dustin grumbled and nuzzled closer to Will. Will couldn't help but flush. He looked comfortable, so Will didn't want to disturb him. He just closed his eyes again.

 

Will had spent so long being in love with Mike Wheeler that he didn't know that there were other people. Other people like him, who probably reciprocated his feelings. Other people who probably weren't as dense and oblivious as Mike. 

 

He hadn't heard Dustin talk about Suzie in a while. Whether or not it was a good thing was for Will to find out. He knew Dustin really liked Suzie, but he didn't see much happening between the two since they were long-distance and Suzie was a Mormon. 

 

As Will continued to think, he felt Dustin's hand had tightened in his shirt. Will looked down at him, noticing that Dustin's eyes were fluttering open. 

 

"Good morning," Will smiled. 

 

Dustin peered up, "Good morning.... My head feels fuzzy. What happened?"

 

Dustin looked confused again. The same look Will had seen on his face last night. "Well I remember a bit, but I..." He moved his shoulders, suddenly hissing in pain. 

 

"Robin and I found you passed out and bloody in the cemetery next to Eddie Munson's grave. We took you back to the cabin..." Will described, "We cleaned you up. You were pretty badly disoriented, you probably have a concussion so I would take it easy for the next few days. We aren't letting you go out alone anymore."

 

"I feel like a child when you say that," Dustin remarked. 

 

"We just want you to be ok," Will said, "Your shoulders. What happened?"

 

Dustin looked down, "It's personal... But, I feel like you'd probably understand...?"

 

Will raised his eyebrows, signalling for Dustin to continue. 

 

"I started, um, kind of like, cutting my shoulders with a box cutter of mine?" Dustin said, pure awkwardness in his tone. It was obvious he didn't know what to say, and that he wasn't expecting to say it. "But I can trust that you won't... Call me names, or be grossed out by it... Right?"

 

"It's not gross. It's a coping mechanism." Will stated, "not a good coping mechanism but one anyway. I wish you didn't do this to yourself though... And I can't know for certain that you'll stop doing this. But I need you to remember, if you go to do this again, there are better ways to cope."

 

Dustin blinked tears away but he nodded.

 

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Will pried. He wanted to know what was hurting his friend. He wanted to help.

 

"It's horrible. Will, I'm a horrible person. Eddie died because of me. Because I didn't do anything to help him. I couldn't get there fast enough and I didn't know how to stop him from bleeding. And god, I feel so guilty. It hurts so bad sometimes I just get so angry at myself and snap at other people." Dustin mumbled, his breathing picking up in pace, "And I thought that if I kept snapping at you guys that you'd all just realize how shitty of a person I am and finally leave me... But the truth is, I'm selfish and I want to keep you all around, even if I hurt everyone in the process. So I punished myself."

 

As Dustin finished speaking, Will noticed that Dustin's breathing had doubled in speed and his hands were trembling. Dustin felt dizzy, and it was suddenly very hard for him to breathe.

 

Will moved to give Dustin a little bit of space, understanding that Dustin probably felt smothered. That didn't stop him from helping. He grabbed Dustin's hand and placed it on his chest. "You're okay, breathe with me."

 

Inhaling and exhaling for a while, Will basically walked Dustin through a few breathing exercises that he had learned himself. Dustin's breathing soon mimicked Will's. 

 

"I'm sorry. Thank you," Dustin said as Will suddenly wrapped his arms around him again, "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

 

"Therapy back in Cali," Will admitted, "It works pretty well, doesn't it?"

 

Dustin nodded. 

 

"Not everything is your fault, Dustin. There are just things you can't control, and that's inevitable. I bet no one could've been able to save him. And while it's sad, it's the truth. You did everything you could. You're more than capable, you've helped save all of us countless times. Give yourself more credit," Will sighed, rubbing Dustin's back. "You're not selfish, you're just grieving. We all want you around. I want you around."

 

"...You always know how to make people feel better, Will." Dustin sniffled. 

 

Will flushed, smiling bashfully. "I'm just being honest..."

 

Chapter 9: Guess I'm the fool

Will couldn't believe what was happening. He had developed a crush on another one of his best friends after barely getting over his last one. It was just his luck. 

 

But it was Dustin this time. Dustin, instead of Mike. Dustin was... Oblivious in a similar fashion to Mike, but it was endearing. Will found that he couldn't quite get enough of hanging out with Dustin. 

 

Especially after the whole Dustin-getting-physically-assaulted-in-the-cemetery fiasco, Will was almost always by Dustin's side. 

 

Dustin had a hard time remembering really what happened. He didn't really remember what they were saying to him, as his head started to pound horribly. He couldn't make out anything from the garble of words and phrases being thrown at him alongside kicks and punches. 

 

Will knew he could pack a good punch, just in case one of the many guys happened to mess with them again. But if there were any more, Will would grab Dustin and run. If he had a weapon? That was an entirely different scenario. Will knew how to work guns and a whole bunch of other weapons. 

 

Dustin was warming up to Will again. The old Dustin was resurfacing after months of painfully quiet 'hangouts'.  Dustin was smiling more. Will liked it when Dustin smiled at him. It was like a reward. 

 

Dustin wasn't the same as before, which Will knew was inevitable. But it was still nice to see some of the happier parts of him peeking out.

 

But Will knew better than to get his hopes up. Dustin was straight. Dustin also had a girlfriend. There was no way in hell they could ever get together. It made Will feel stupid, yet again falling for a presumably straight boy.

 

Until Will learned that Suzie and Dustin had broken up...

 

“Yeah I, uh, kinda broke up with Suzie for a lot of reasons. She's a really nice girl, but I feel like she deserves someone who lives closer. And someone who isn't as unstable as I am...” Dustin told Will one Sunday as they sat in Dustin's room, looking at pictures he had taken with his friends at Camp Knowhere. There was Suzie, a brunette boy with hair on the longer side (Will noted that if the kid had shorter hair, they would look similar), and then Dustin, all in frame as they made silly faces.

 

Will nodded along to everything Dustin was saying to him. He was suddenly caught off guard when Dustin dropped, “You see the cute blonde guy in the picture? That's Ryan. I think you two would get along perfectly since you both like art and all. He lives in Ohio, which isn't far, but it's been a while since I've even talked to him.”

 

Will's brain short-circuited at the prospect of Dustin calling a boy who had similar features and likely similar hobbies, cute. “He looks fun, I like his hair.”

 

Straight wasn't entirely out of the question for Dustin. Boys can be straight and call other boys cute, Will rationalized.

 

—

 

Will and Dustin were in the hospital going to visit Lucas and Max. Lucas looked up and immediately smiled at the pair.

 

“Nice to see you're looking better,” Lucas said as soon as he noticed Dustin. Dustin gave Lucas a small smile before hugging him and going back to hovering around Will.

 

It was quiet, the silence mostly breached by small talk. Lucas kept looking up at Dustin and Will, who were now sitting in a chair together, with Dustin leaning a bit onto Will's shoulder.

 

“I could really get you another chair,” Lucas snickered.

 

“Eh, it's not that big of a deal,” Dustin shrugged, “I like being close to Will.”

 

The casualty of Dustin's sentence made his stomach churn and his cheeks flush. He knew Dustin probably didn't mean anything by that, but a boy could still dream.

 

“She looks so peaceful,” Will commented, resting his hand next to Max's. Lucas nodded, “Doctors say she's getting better.  She's healed pretty well, from what I've heard. I think there's a good chance of her waking up.”

 

Will giggled, “She will. And when she does, we're all going to tell her how great of a boyfriend you've been, staying by her side.”

 

“No, seriously, you've been here almost every day for the past few months...” Dustin pointed out, “You should get like, boyfriend of the year award.”

 

“Ooh, I agree.”

 

They fell into a routine of comfortable silence and a few minutes of small talk until eventually Dustin and Will had to leave. With a sad hug, they parted ways. 

 

Walking through the hallways of the hospital was, uncomfortable to say the least, after all the history Will had with hospitals. The citrusy smell always had Will on edge. 

 

Robin had started working, er, volunteering at the hospital a while after the shelter had too many volunteers. She also mainly moved to helping at the hospital to see her best friend  Vickie. Will knew this, and he suddenly got an idea.

 

“We should visit Robin!” Will exclaimed happily.

 

“Don't we see her enough?” Dustin jokingly complained, to which Will laughed and nudged his shoulder.

 

“I mean yeah, we did kind of make an agreement to stick together. And look where it's gotten us! I think I like this little trio.” Will said before mentioning, “You did say I'd like Robin.”

 

“I did. I'm glad you two get along so well.” Dustin smiled, “Where is she?”

 

“Somewhere in here, I know it...” Will murmured, noticing volunteers in their uniforms walking about. “She talks a lot, you'll know it's her when you hear it...”

 

“....” Dustin stayed silent as they turned a corner and walked a little longer, hearing someone having a conversation while in a room. The two stayed quiet, trying to determine wether or not it was Robin.

 

After a few seconds, they nodded, recognizing one of the voices as Robin's. However, the tone of her voice had gotten quieter, as if she were trying to keep whatever she was talking about a secret. The two peered into the room just in time to see something they likely weren't supposed to.

 

Will's and Dustin's eyes simultaneously widened as they watched Robin peck Vickie on the lips... Brushing her hand against Vickie's arm with a delicacy that made it seem like Vickie was something so fragile, that needed to be cherished. 

 

Will backed up from the door. He knew he thought Robin was queer, but actually seeing it happen was insane to him. Dustin was turning around when Will grabbed his hand and began to rush away. 

 

Dustin struggled to keep up with Will, but tried his hardest to as Will led him away, until they found an empty hallway to sit down in. 

 

“What was that?” Dustin whisper-yelled, “Why'd we run away?”

 

“I have a feeling they don't want anyone watching them, when they do that...” Will rationalized. 

 

“Well... Yeah? If I was kissing someone I probably wouldn't want an audience...” Dustin shrugged. Him not making a big deal out of the fact Robin and Vickie were two girls was probably the best thing that could've happened to him right now. 

 

“So you don't care that they're two girls?” Will whispered. 

 

“... Why would I? Do you?” Dustin flipped the question onto Will. 

 

“Of course not, I just... I didn't expect it.” Will admitted. “You know how people in Hawkins are about this kind of stuff.”

 

“It's hard to forget...” Dustin sighed, “I hope they're being careful. I mean who knows, what if it wasn't us that saw them?”

 

Will shivered at that thought. Robin potentially being in danger made him feel sick. “I'm glad it was us. So... I could also get to know how you'd react to something like that.”

 

“Yeah?” Dustin questioned, “I'm not exactly the hateful type. Robin can't control who she likes, and I'm just glad she found someone who makes her happy.”

 

“Yeah...”

 

“Though I guess this explains why she wasn't into Steve–” Dustin found himself laughing, “Oh god, how did I not know?”

 

Will started laughing too, not as nervous as before. He was glad Dustin was normal about this. 

 

“What do we do now? I mean... We were originally going to see Robin but... She's pretty busy.” Dustin asked, scratching his shoulder absent-mindedly. 

 

“I don't really know...” Will murmured, “Go home maybe?”

Chapter 10: You and me together baby

Robin knew something was off about Dustin and Will the second both of them came to her. At separate times. And not together, like they usually were nowadays.

 

First it was Will at the beginning of her afternoon shift on a random weekday.

 

"You know... What you told me about how there's other fish in the sea?" Will asked, "Other than Mike Wheeler?"

 

Robin smirked as she slid a VHS tape back into its place on the shelf, "I do recall that, yes. Why'd you bring this up?"

 

"Before I tell you that," Will smiled, a mix of innocent yet evil, "How are you and Vickie?"

 

Robin raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean? Me and my best friend are perfectly fine."

 

"Best friend?" Will insinuated, holding back a giggle. He hoped his tone of voice would get what he meant across.

 

"How do you-" Robin's eyes narrowed, "Bowl cut, I swear to god..."

 

"Saw you two at the Hospital... No worries. Just me. " 

 

"Good lord..." she facepalmed. "And to think we were being secretive... "

 

"Yeah... You should probably be more careful. But it's nice to know that more people like me exist in this town."

 

"Mhm. Back to you, Byers. What did you mean by that opening statement?"

 

"Well... I just wanted to ask..." Will trailed off, "How did you know Vickie wanted to... You know."

 

"Mm... Well, good question." The blonde grabbed another VHS tape from the return box and reshelved it. "Took a lot of hints. But I mostly figured it out since she always wanted to be with me. Made comments about how much she enjoyed being near me. Compliments galore. But I mean it was really the small things I noticed when we were together." Robin rambled, "She was very comfortable with physical touch... Not to mention she felt comfortable being herself around me, and felt comfortable enough to tell me things she told me no one else knew about her."

 

"....Now why are you asking this?"

 

"Nothing in particular..." Will murmured mischievously.

 

"C'mon, Byers, I HAVE to know." Robin fixed Will with a stern glare before breaking our into a fit of giggles with him. "No seriously though. I want to know."

 

"I might like someone else." Will casually dropped, almost like it was nothing. Like it was the most casual thing in the world to be madly in love with his best friend. AGAIN.

 

"Oh boy... Who is it?" The girl asked, her interest piqued again. "I swear to god if it's another one of your straight best friends you are so done for." she added, whisper-yelling so only Will could hear.

 

Will chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, "What would you do if I told you it was Dustin?"

 

"DUSTIN HENDERSON?" Robin exclaimed, before slapping her hands against her mouth, "forgive me for being so loud but... You? Dustin? I would've never seen this coming."

 

"I know, I know..." Will whispered, "But since we've been hanging out so much recently I just can't help but realize I like so many things about him..."

 

"I wish you luck, Will, you're going to need it." Robin joked.

 

---

 

Then it was Dustin. It was after her shift and she was at Steve's house, mostly there to abuse the fact Steve had a gigantic kitchen with a shit ton of appliances.

 

"Robin I was wondering if I could talk to you about something? Preferably not in the presence of Steve..." Dustin coughed. Robin was initially weirded out by the strange request but decided to ignore it.

 

She nodded, walked to another room with Dustin, and shooed Steve away when he asked what they were doing.

 

"Now what did you need that was so important that Steve can't know???" Robin looked at the shorter boy questioningly.

 

"Well I know It's something you have a lot of experience in. And I unfortunately don't... So, I thought it'd be best if I came to you with my question." Dustin gulped, very obviously nervous with the way his hands were clasped together.

 

"Go on...? I'm surprised, given you're the scientific one." Robin implored.

 

"Yeah well, it's about... Relationships? How do I know what I'm feeling towards someone is love?" Dustin blurted out.

 

"I thought? Don't you have Suzie?" Robin raised an eyebrow, trying to piece together where this conversation was going.

 

"Well that's... That's different Robin. Suzie was a girl and. I know how to navigate my feelings when It comes to girls." Dustin answered honestly. "But when it comes to... To boys..."

 

"Oh."

 

"...I have no idea what I'm doing. Are there different rules when it comes to dating boys? Or someone of the same sex for that matter?" Dustin was breathing quicker than usual and grabbing at his shirt. Robin put two and two together, realizing that this was probably Dustin coming out or trying to come to terms with his own feelings. "I know what people are like about these kinds of things, I just... I don't know what to do or even if my feelings are real or not. And I'm scared of what'll happen to me if I actually like boys."

 

"Hey, no, it's okay, calm down." Robin placed her arms on his shoulders and he looked up at her, "Your feelings are very real and valid. So are your fears. I know how it is. I know how scary it is, you just have to be careful. You always have to make sure the person you might have feelings for sure swings that way. You don't need to be putting yourself in any dangerous situations again."

 

Dustin nodded, the gentle pressure of her hands on his shoulders grounding him so he could calm down. "How do I know what I'm feeling towards a boy is actually love?"

 

"I suppose it's just like any other relationship, in all honesty. How do you feel about this boy?" Robin asked. 

 

"I like him a lot..."

 

"Off to a great start."

 

Dustin giggled, "It's hard to describe, it just happened so suddenly. I just, I love being around him, and I've been spending a lot of time with him recently. I think he's really cute, I love his stupid hair and his pretty eyes... He's got such a great sense of style, not to mention how cool his hobbies are. I could seriously watch him paint all day if I could."

 

"And...?"

 

"His personality too. He's always so sweet to me. Never once has he made me feel bad about myself. Though I fear sometimes I might've hurt him. But I can trust him so much, more than I trust Steve or my Mom... And he's so understanding. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting lightheaded around him. And I never want to stop hanging out with him. He takes such great care of me too, I almost feel like I don't deserve it."

 

"Oof, yeah, that sounds like love to me." Robin nodded. "Like, seriously. But what happened to you and Suzie?"

 

"I broke up With her because I wasn't doing well at the time and I know she deserves better than that. But I'm doing better now, and I like someone else a lot more."

 

"Hmm. Well I would tell you to go for it, but I don't even know the guy you're madly in love with yet. I mean, I could make an assumption or two but, I'd prefer to hear you say it instead." The blonde joked, noticing how Dustin was flushed just from talking about his crush.

 

"You have to promise not to tell if I tell you who it is because I know you're friends with him. He means a lot to me, and I don't want to ruin the pre-existing friendship we have..." The curly haired boy bit his lip nervously.

 

"I promise," Robin held up her pinkie finger to Dustin. He interlocked his pinkie with hers before confessing.

 

"It's Will..." Dustin admitted.

 

"That makes a lot of sense." Robin quipped. "The description matches him pretty well."

 

"Yeah..."

 

"Your secret is safe with me," the girl smiled, "I can't say I wasn't expecting this though."

 

Dustin smiled, "Thanks. I just didn't know if the whole, feelings thing was different. Even though me and Suzie were together I still have a hard time recognizing my feelings when It comes to this stuff."

 

They parted ways before Robin suddenly realized, "Wait, how did you know I was safe to come to about this kind of stuff?"

 

Dustin stopped in his tracks, "Well... Um. Me and Will kind of saw you kissing your friend from band class, so..."

 

Robin gasped, "Bowl cut literally promised me only HE saw that."

 

"Bowl cut?" the boy burst out laughing at her nickname for his friend.

 

"I'm so going to get him for that."

 

Chapter 11: Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs

Robin was in the perfect position to play matchmaker. The only thing was, she didn't quite know how. She wasn't the best at coming up with stuff like this off the bat. 

 

She'd have to get help from the others. First she started with Jonathan. Well, Robin actually asked Nancy to relay her question to Jonathan instead of actually talking to him. 

 

From that little interaction, Robin learned that Will really enjoyed The Cure. She knew the band, even liked it a bit herself too. 

 

Then she asked Steve what kind of music Dustin liked. Steve commented that he was sort of going through a phase where all he listened to was metal, but he still really liked just about anything. Steve told her he was big into WHAM! Before everything happened. So Dustin could be easily swayed by silly, poppy love songs.

 

Robin got with Will later that day to discuss her plan, “So, William.” she said, clasping her hands together as he sat on the couch in her parents living room. They were out for the evening, giving them the perfect time to scheme.

 

He looked up at her, waiting for her to continue. “I was thinking you could make a mixtape and give it to him? With songs that are subtle. About love but it would take a deeper look into the lyrics to figure that out.”

 

“I...don't know what kind of music he would like...” Will shrugged, “I mean, it's a great idea but. I don't know what he likes.”

 

“Well lucky for you I did a little bit of asking, and Steve gave me a few answers.” the blonde announced, proud of her foresight. “He likes the stuff Eddie does, and all, but he has a soft spot for Wham! Would you believe that? Now, I don't know ANYTHING about what Eddie liked but I know a lot of good Wham songs we could use in a mixtape.”

 

“Maybe I can add a few of my favourite songs?” Will lit up, “The Cure has good songs. I think he'd like them.”

 

Robin nodded, “It'll be perfect!”

 

She fished out a few cassette tapes. She had Wham!, Tiffany, Madonna, and a few Queen albums. She found some of The Cure in her father's collection, allowing Will to examine the cassettes and choose what songs he wanted to put onto the tape for Dustin.

 

Using her father's stereo, she recorded the songs Will chose onto a blank Cassette tape.

 

Will knew that some of the song choices weren't as subtle as he wanted them to be, but Robin seemed pleased with his choices. It took a while, since he chose quite a few of them, but he didn't really mind since it meant he got to spend time with Robin.

 

As soon as it was done, he brought a Sharpie to it and wrote for Dustin on the label with a small heart next to his friends name.

 

“S-So do I just give it to him?” The brunet asked, weariness creeping into his tone.

 

“Well yeah, how else would he get it, you dork?”

 

“No, I mean... How do I just do it?” Will stressed, “I know he wouldn't care if I was gay but. I don't know how he would react to knowing I had feelings for him.”

 

“I say, don't stress yourself out too bad. Henderson's a real understanding kid... And things might just go your way, but you won't know until you try it.” Robin assured him, “So stop worrying yourself to death. If anything goes wrong you can always blame me, if necessary.”

 

Will let out a deep breath, looking at the cassette tape in his hands. “Yeah?”

 

“Yeah, and if anything, you can deny any and all 'secret messages' he might get from the songs.” Robin mentioned, “Gaslight him into thinking the cassette tape didn't mean anything if he doesn't like you back. But I'm still saying you should do it, and wait to see his response.”

 

“Ok... Okay, yeah. I'll do it.” Will smiled, brushing a thumb over the cassette tape.

 

---

 

The next time Will saw Dustin will planned to give the small gift to him. The next time they were going to see eachother was at school just the next day.

 

At lunch Dustin sat next to him but at the end of the table. He was wearing a green long sleeve sweater that Will couldn't help but realize he looked SO good in. Mike and Lucas weren't there yet, so Will had the perfect chance.

 

Reaching into his backpack he grabbed the cassette tape and slid it in front of Dustin, “I made this for you... As a gift.”

 

“Really? Thank you Will... That's so kind of you.” Dustin smiled, picking it up. “Ill listen to it after school, ok?”

 

“That, that sounds good. Let me know if you like it, ok?” Will asked, to which Dustin nodded.

 

Just then, Lucas and Mike had arrived, lunch trays in hand chatting away about something random. Mike sat across from Will, while Lucas sat right next to him.

 

“Hi Will, Hey Dustin.” Mike addressed them, smiling at Will. Will really expected to feel something. Well, he felt it a little bit, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before. “What were you guys talking about?”

 

“Nothing honestly...” Will shrugged, grateful that his friendship with Mike was back to normal again. “Just small talk.”

 

---

 

As soon as Will got home he crashed onto the bottom bunk, groaning into his pillow. He really hoped Dustin would like the tape he made for him. Dustin was probably listening to it right now, just as Will was thinking about it. Will couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and giddy. In the best case scenario, Dustin would be picking up what Will was putting down, and felt the same way for him. Or, it could be the worst case scenario, where Dustin was picking up what Will was trying to say, but was weirded out and absolutely did not feel the same way. Or, maybe Dustin was just oblivious. Will was praying for the best. 

Chapter 12: I catch your eyes in the dark

As soon as Dustin got home he started listening to the mixtape. He couldn't help but linger on the for Dustin written on the label with a small heart. Could it be what he was hoping? 

 

He was immediately greeted by the voice of none other than Robert Smith. He knew it was Robert Smith because Will had him listen to The Cure on multiple occasions, but he couldn't remember if he'd heard this one before, or even knew the title. Instead he focused on the lyrics. 

 

The curly haired boy noted that the lyrics resembled those of a love song. But who was to say that Will just liked these songs and wanted Dustin to listen to them so they could have something else in common? So, Dustin brushed off the thought. 

 

But as he kept listening to the mixtape, recognizing some of the songs (he enjoyed hearing Wham! And Tiffany. How did Will know he liked them?) and fixating on the lyrics he couldn't help but recognize a pattern. 

 

Most of the songs sounded like love songs. With lyrics that definitely painted that picture. Did Will specifically choose these songs to send him a message? Or was Dustin just overanalyzing it like he always does? Internally, Dustin was freaking the FUCK out.

 

So, he opted to call Robin. After a few rings she picked up, “Hello, this is the Buckley household.”

 

“Robin?”

 

“Oh hey Dustin!”

 

“Hi... I just wanted to talk to you about something. I don't know if this is like me freaking out, or something but...” Dustin trailed off, “Will gave me this mixtape. And I can't help but feel like he chose some of the songs on purpose.”

 

“Huh? Why would he do that?” Robin asked, feigning innocence.

 

“I don't know. All of the songs on the mixtape he made for me are love songs. I think he purposely picked some of these songs because they have lyrics that can relate to me..?”

 

“Love songs?” Robin's voice relayed shock, but she was silently celebrating her small victory. “Ooh. I dunno man, it might mean something. I doubt Bowl cut is the kind of kid to throw a few songs into a mixtape for someone without thinking about the lyrics first.”

 

“Yeah...”

 

“Just think of it like however you usually solve problems. You have your hypothesis, right? Test it.”

 

“Ok. Ok I will, thanks Robin.” Dustin said with a smile before hanging up on her.

 

“Yeah...” Dustin responded, “What if I'm just looking too deep into it Robin? What if he doesn't mean it? What if I'm just, misinterpreting all of this and these are just songs he hopes will make me feel better?”

 

“Mmm, I don't know... I feel like you should ask him. Or maybe do something in return? See if he picks up any hints you put down.” she hummed, “Then you'll have your answer.”

 

Dustin laid on his bed and started to think of ways he could test his hypothesis. His hypothesis being that Will had feelings for him.

 

The next day, Dustin was going to test his hypothesis. Will was first at the lunch table, than it was Dustin. Instead of sitting where he usually sat, he opted to sit right next to Will. Will flushed, a pretty smile finding its way onto his lips.

 

“Hi Dustin,” Will started.

 

“Hey Will. I really liked the mixtape you made me!” Dustin looked down at his hands. He had to act on it now, or else he would chicken out entirely. They were close enough that no one would suspect a thing, but the two of them knew better.

 

Slowly, hesitantly, Dustin placed his hand on top of Will's, which was resting in his lap. Will felt his face get even redder. “I... I'm glad you did! I did a lot of thinking about what songs to put on there.”

 

“That's really thoughtful of you. But, Uh, I was wondering if you wanted to see a movie with me on Friday? Maybe at the theater... Or um, we can bug Steve and Robin to give us some good movies.”

 

“At your house would be nice, I think.” Will smiled, “or even Steve's.”

 

“Ooh! I'll have to ask. If my mom's gonna be home on Friday we'll have to go to Steve's.” Dustin nodded, taking his hand away and immediately regretting it. Will was so warm.

 

---

 

On Friday they were at Steve's house. Steve was glad to have them, albeit a little confused on why it was only the two... Until Robin explained the situation.

 

Robin had suggested a movie. Little Shop of Horrors, one she had seen last year with Steve, liked it pretty well, and thought that the two boys would too. It was a musical, and horror, two things she knew the boys liked.

 

After Dustin had announced that they'd be watching Little Shop of Horrors, Steve groaned, “I'm not going to watch that weird movie again,” he said, annoyed. Sounded like he wasn't the biggest fan of the movie.

 

Which left Dustin, Will, and Robin alone on the couch in the Harrington's gigantic living room watching the movie. Robin even made them popcorn and sat on the recliner so they had no choice but to sit next to eachother on the couch.

 

Robin had excused herself to go to the bathroom while they were pretty far into the movie. She didn't fail to notice the way Will was leaning on Dustin and the way Dustin was blushing. Smirking, she snuck off to the bathroom.

 

With Will and Dustin alone, the two found it hard to ignore their proximity anymore. It was to the point in the movie where Audrey had been attacked by Audrey II, when Dustin felt a pair of eyes on him. Looking to the side, he locked eyes with Will.

 

“Hi.” Will mumbled.

 

“Hi, why are you looking at me?” Dustin asked with a giggle.

 

“I dunno. I guess, I just like looking at you?” Will shrugged, “You're really pretty.”

 

“You think so?”

 

Will nodded, unable to stop the shy smile from creeping onto his lips.

 

“You are too, you know that? And kind,” Dustin trailed off for a moment before remembering, “I can't stop thinking about the mixtape you made me.”

 

“Whys that?” Will blushed.

 

“You picked those songs on purpose, didn't you?” When Dustin got no response, he continued. “I don't know if I got the right signals from it...”

 

“What signals do you think I'm trying to give you?”

 

It was Dustin's turn to blush now as he looked away, “Like, that, maybe you liked me. And that would be okay. Because I like you too, and I like you a lot. But if I'm misreading it and I just said all of this for no reason we can forget about it. No big deal, I really understand. Sometimes I look too deep into thinks and overanalyze stuff that doesn't need to be—”

 

“Dustin.” Will said firmly, placing a hand on Dustin's cheek, making the curly haired boy look directly at him.

 

“Huh?”

 

“I like you a lot too. I know you are the type to look deeply into things. I did that all on purpose.” Will giggled, “You dork.”

 

Dustin's eyes widened before an ecstatic smile bloomed on his face, “Really?”

 

“Yes, Really. I can even prove it.”

 

Dustin raised an eyebrow, and was pleasantly surprised when Will started inching closer. 

 

Shutting his eyes, Will let his and Dustin's lips collide, still gently holding Dustin's face as if he were the most precious thing in the world... Because to him, Dustin was the most precious thing in the world. 

 

It was weird kissing someone. Mostly because he knew Dustin had kissed someone before and he hadn't. Will sort of expected more to come from a kiss after just having confessed his feelings, but he wasn't complaining. Dustin was gentle. Not forceful. His lips were soft like he had just put Chapstick on. Will wasn't going to lie, he was curious on what kind of Chapstick Dustin would use. Maybe the flavored ones. Hopefully the flavored ones. 

 

As quick as it started, it ended. Both of the boys' faces were pink with blush. Dustin had opened his eyes again and was looking at Will with eyes the size of the moon. 

 

“You really did prove yourself right... ” Dustin rested his hand on Will's shoulder. Will had to fight the urge to kiss him again...