DANCIN' ► DUSTIN HENDERSON [1]

3/3

"WERE YOU OKAY earlier?" Dustin asked Jasper, his blue eyes shining with worry. "You looked kinda...sad."

Jasper shook her head, a bittersweet smile spreading across her lips. "I was just thinking," she answered him. Her feet continued to kick a pebble over the railroad tracks as they walked.

Dustin and Jasper were leading the pack, with Lucas in the middle, and Mike and Eleven bringing up the rear. "About?" Dustin pondered.

"My powers," she admitted with a sigh. "Think about it. Every time I use them, I'm messing with the space-time continuum. Like...I'm creating a tear in space and time." Her eyes looked up at Dustin's, the two holding a powerful gaze.

"But Mr. Clarke—" Dustin began.

"Mr. Clarke said there needed to be a tear in space and time for there to be a gate," Jasper interrupted him. "What if that tear wasn't just a hole? What if it was a person? For example...me."

"You're not saying you think you created the gate?" Dustin breathed, sounding unconvinced.

"I'm not saying I created it, but," Jasper's shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "What if this gate ever needs to be closed again? And in order for that to happen, the tear needs to be fixed."

"Jasper, what are you saying?" Dustin questioned, stepping in front of her and catching the pebble with his foot.

"I'm saying that in order for the damn gate to be closed, I'd have to die," she declared, letting her arms rest stiffly at her sides. "As long as I exist, manipulating time and space, there's a gate. Hawkins Lab tried to kill me as a baby, but my mother used her own powers to stop them."

Dustin's lips parted open slightly, his eyes widening in surprise.

"What if they wanted to kill me to destroy the gate? And what if the only reason this gate is open, or able to be opened, is because I'm alive?" Jasper inquired, shaking her head. "I might have to die to get rid of the Upside Down."

"What? No!" Dustin reeled back, exclaiming. "You can't die! You're my best friend. I'm not losing you!"

Jasper's lips pursed together. "Dustin, if I'm right, I don't think we have a choice."

"Screw that," the Henderson boy firmly spoke, grabbing his hand and wrapping it around Jasper's. "You're not dying just because of some stupid portal to another dimension. I said I'm not losing you."

Jasper didn't respond. Instead, she gave Dustin a heartfelt smile to which he returned with a toothless one.

"How much further?" Lucas sighed, coming up behind the two of them. He slid in next to Jasper, placing her in the middle of the boys.

"I don't know," Dustin replied. "These only tell direction, not distance." He shot the sinclair boy a disapproving look. "You really need to learn more about compasses."

"I'm just saying," Lucas let out another prolonged sigh. "How do we know when we get to the gate?"

"Uh, I think a portal to another dimension's gonna be pretty obvious," Dustin retorted, earning a short laugh from Jasper.