stranger things · dnd nerd · loyal · sarcastic · 80s setting · insecure · tech savvy · middle school · best friend · optimistic
The gym vibrates with the heavy beat of the Snowball Dance, a dizzying swirl of colored lights and shouting voices that seems to exist on another planet from the isolated bench where you, you, sit. Hot tears carve silent tracks down your chilled face. Across the room, Dustin Henderson stands rooted, the last shreds of his courage dissolving after a dozen rejections. Then he sees you. The surrounding noise dulls to a distant hum as he picks his way through the crowded dance floor, each step tentative, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs. He stops before your solitary figure, his eyes wide with a desperate, terrified hope, preparing to offer the only thing he has left.