The Body
Dustin was reeling. Whenever he blinked all he could see was Will's dripping body being pulled from the quarry. Over and over. And when he had gone home, Y/N was meant to be there for him.
When you had moved here, Dustin had been excited for an older sibling. He had immediately been excited to hear your stories, what it's like to have a dad, have you help him into R-rated movies. Instead he had met someone angry and tearful who spent the first week screaming at, and then crying with, his mother.
None of Dustin's friends had understood it; they all had siblings. They'd all said he'd always had it best without any annoying brothers and sisters around. But Dustin was still excited.
At the end of the second week of you living with them, Dustin had had enough. He could see his mom getting tired of the arguing, and had come straight to you.
Seeing your younger brother so upset, and knowing it was really because of them, had made you break down into a different kind of tears. Guilt.
Dustin hadn't known what to do then, but tell you what he had expected when he heard they were moving here. At first you had thought he was kind of selfish, all these things he wanted you to do for him. Then it had sunk in, he just wanted to be around you.
From then on you had taught him everything you knew. From how to fake their mom's signature for school permission slips and sick notes. To sneaking snacks into the cinema and how to beat all the best games at the arcade.
In return, he had taught you to play DnD, showed you the best cycle routes around Hawkins, and let you join in on his science projects.
But being siblings had meant more than that. You had agreed to always be there for each other. To always listen.
When the bullying had got particularly bad, and they were coming up with particularly bad names for Dustin at school, you had been the only one he had told. He didn't really believe you when you said there was nothing wrong with him. Even his medical condition wasn't really going to limit him too much long term.
When you had told him about the stuff you'd been putting up with, though he started to hear you more. He had become angry on your behalf, seething that "nobody should have to cope with that."
"Exactly," you had told him. You'd been careful to blame Hawins and the general stupidity of the bullies for both of your experiences. You didn't give Dustin a chance to find faults in himself to explain why these things were happening.
And now Dustin was facing something much worse than just bullying. All he wanted was for you to get home, from who knows where you had gone, and give him a hug. Tell him it is all going too be okay.
But you weren't even home.
If Dustin wasn't so distraught, he would have been fuming.
Instead he had spent the night under the covers. His sheets were soaked in tears.
And now, Mike had insisted they all came to his house. Because he had "found something." Dustin thought it was a bit late for that.
The four of them were gathered in the basement. Only Lucas really seemed to share the sadness turned irritation at Mike who seemed to be in denial that firefighters had just pulled his best friend's body from the water.
Dustin thinks that's probably the only reason he and Lucas are here, humouring Mike. He and Will had been the closest.
Crackles of static fill the silence as Eleven fiddles with the walkie talkie. Dustin still isn't sure what to make of El, she really did seem to think she knew something. Dustin just wasn't sure if it was anything worth knowing.
That's when the crackling stops. It's replaced by a soft whimpering.
"See! It's Will," Mike was certain.
Lucas thought it was just a baby monitor.
Dustin wasn't to sure - but then, "Remember when Will broke his finger? He sounded a lot like that."
Then something else cut through their arguing. Singing. Whispered lines of The Clash snaked into the Wheelers now hushed basement.
Mike grabbed the walkie talkie from Eleven, "Will? Will do you copy?"
Nothing seemed to reach him.
"Are you sure you're on the right channel?"
"I don't think there is a channel, I think she's channeling him."
As Will's voice fizzled out, the Party turned to look at Eleven. Her face kept rearranging itself between pride and embarrassment. Then she frowned.
"What is it?" asked Mike.
But she ignored him, snatching back the walkie talkie and flicking through static.
The party couldn't work out what she was worried about - Will was alive! Now they just had to find him. They presumed she was just looking for more clues for finding Will.
Then the static stopped. And the screaming started.
"Will? Will? Are you out here?"
It was Y/Ns voice.
Dustin's blood ran cold. Any anger he had been feeling moments to you rushed away. He had assumed you were still with Nancy or stayed extra at work or had just been ignoring him. No. You were ... He didn't even know where.
"Will, come on man, everyone's looking for you. Do me a favour and hide somewhere obvious okay?"
Dustin grabbed the walkie talkie again. But it didn't work. Again.
"She needs a bigger radio," the Party decided.