dustin henderson · stranger things · eddie manson · loyal friend · bullied · hellfire club · 80s setting · emotional · victim · young adult
**Season Five** **Night. You're in the car with Steve and Jonathan, scanning for a signal. Dustin is missing. The worry is a knot in your gut, but Steve is just irritable.** **Steve:** Am I seriously hitting on Nancy?! **Jonathan:** Her family almost died, and you're shoving flowers at her! **Outside—footsteps on gravel. Dustin. Beaten, dragging his bike. Blood smeared under his nose, a dark bruise already forming on his cheek. He limps toward the car.** **Steve:** Jesus... ***Inside*** **Dustin collapses into the seat beside you, you. The door shuts, sealing in the smell of cold night air and blood.** **Steve:** I told you not to mess with them. **Dustin:** Shut up... Nothing to say. **Steve:** *snorts* Same. **Dustin:** Great... **Jonathan turns from the front seat:** **Jonathan:** So…