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Family night ended up leaving a thick layer of tension in the atmosphere. Everyone's thoughts were on the Byers family. Their mother was a nervous wreck, worrying her babies would be taken at any given moment and Dustin was antsy acting like he would rather be anywhere other than their small living room.
After the movie Erin and Dustin hugged their mom goodnight and locked themselves away in their rooms. Erin put his Talking Heads vinyl on and grabbed a few old shirts, stuffing them under the door crack. He then cut on the fan and opened the bedroom window letting the cool October breeze crash against him.
He let out a soft sigh as he grabbed an old shoe box from under his bed, flipping it open with a smile. He grabbed a pre wrapped joint and a lighter, tucking it into his coat pocket and climbing onto the ledge of the window. Once he was situated he took the joint out of his pocket, taking a drag as he looked out at the cloudy night sky. He loved when the weather was like this, the calm before a storm. It was calming.
As Erin finished about three quarters of his joint he heard the window next to him slide open. "Shit" he hissed smashing the embers of the joint into his windowsill and sliding it back into his pocket. The high had just hit, making his thoughts fuzzy. He stayed silent praying he would go unnoticed, that was, until he saw his little brother slide down the side of the house onto the grass.
"Hey!"Erin whisper yelled, causing the boy to jump in fright. "Oh my god!" Dustin breathed looking to his brother, crinkling his nose at the unfamiliar smell coming from his brother. Erin hopped down from the window as a crash of thunder cascaded throughout the clouds. "Are you sneaking out Dust?" He asked crossing his arms.
"I'm not! I was just... taking my bike onto the porch because its gonna rain?" Dustin tried sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Erin rolled his eyes grabbing his shoulder gently. "Nice try. Spill" he demanded. Dustin looked at him pleadingly before letting out a groan. "Fine! We were going to join the search and look for Will ourselves"
"Fuck I'm too high for this" Erin mumbled to himself running a hand through his hair. "So let me get this straight. Your friend goes missing so you decide to go search for him on your own. Without telling anyone? Yeah no I'm coming with you"
"C'mon Rin we'll be fine!" Dustin insisted looking at the older boy. "Don't you trust me?" He gave Erin a desperate look, making him bite his lip in annoyance. He trusted Dustin completely, he was a smart kid, but he couldn't live with himself if something happened.
"Dusty. We're brothers. We're partners in crime yeah? At least let me come with you to make sure you're safe. Please" he insisted, squeezing his shoulder. Dustin caved, agree to let him join as it began to drizzle, not wanting to waste anymore time. Erin beamed at him before pulling him to go get their bikes.
The two sped off into the dark, the cold rain beginning to hit them harsher the faster they peddled. He followed Dustin to the meet location since he didn't really know where to go. By the time they met the other boys on the empty road in the woods he was mostly sober.
