Teenage Dirtbag (Eddie Munson x OC)

The Light

Jackie and Dustin continued to rummage around the room, ignoring Steve and Nancy's conversation outside the door.

Dustin scoffed as he looked through a vent on the floor, the vent that the spider had crawled out of. "No more spiders," He remarked, shining his flashlight into the dark space on the floor. "Just in case anyone was wondering."

Jackie huffed out a laugh, turning around to see Dustin studying the vent, crouched on the floor. "I wasn't really worried about it."

"Yeah," He scoffed. "Unlike some people-"

"Unlike some people," Jackie said at nearly the same time. "Jinx," She then called out without hesitation, matter-of-factly. "You owe me a coke."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You know how I feel about that game."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jinx," He continued. "You know how I feel about it."

Jackie sighed as Dustin stood up. "Your thoughts on it are so fucking stupid-"

"No one ever gets the coke!" Dustin argued, her eyes wide as he argued with her. "Why even say it?"

"It's just a game-"

"And now I feel uncomfortable because it was pointed out!" He went on, his hands waving as he spoke.

"Fine!" She stopped him. "I'll get you the damn coke."

Dustin nodded slowly. "Thank you."

A silence filled the rock again. The only murmurs heard were that of Steve, Nancy, and Robin outside the door. Jackie turned around again to watch the boy slowly move across the room to the old bed and began to look underneath it. For a moment, she felt a sudden sadness. He looked older now, much older than when she had left for college. Then, her heart began to ache at the thought of El and Will and even Mike, who were all across the country and were probably a few inches taller as well, growing up as she was still in Indiana.

"I missed you, you know," Jackie spoke up out of the blue. "When I was away."

Dustin nodded. "Of course you did. I'm miss-able like that."

She laughed lightly. "I'm serious, though. You mean a lot to me."

"So you're saying I'm your favorite?" He asked with a self-satisfied smile as he stood up, moving across the room to stand next to Jackie.

"Don't push your luck, you know I love you all the same."

"Except for-"

"Don't bring Mike Wheeler into this," Jackie said firmly, turning her nose up at the mere mention of the boy. "But yes, Dustin, you're one of my favorites."

Dustin shook his head, still trying to pry it out of her. "But you just said you love us all equally, so we're all one of your favorites?"

Jackie shoved him lightly. "Just accept what I'm telling you, okay? I missed you."

The boy went silent for a moment as the very real and genuine words began to settle in the conversation. Obviously, he knew that Jackie really cared about him and the other younger kids, but it had rarely been explicitly said except for when he saw her after Hopper's funeral, at his Snowball dance in middle school, and when she left for college. Then, something hit him. "You're not just saying this because you think you're gonna die, right?" He asked, eyes going wide.

Her face fell as she watched the fear cross over his face for a moment- Dustin, who rarely seemed serious about anything at all, seemed afraid. "No," She answered gently, her eyes softening. "No, I just wanted to tell you."