ZERO

CHAPTER 15 - THE SNOWBALL

Weeks have gone by since Iris and Eleven saved the world, and Hawkin's cold fall met an even colder winter. Some things were getting better, Eleven now had a birth certificate, which made her a real girl. Barbra Holland was pronounced dead due to "chemical exposure", and the lab was officially shut down.

Some things were worse, John Cassidy had almost completely abandoned Iris, seeing her less and less. He was drinking now, driving his daughter farther from him than ever before.

Regardless, Iris had decided to appreciate the little things more, which is why she decided to say yes to helping Nancy volunteer with the middle school snowball dance. That's why she found herself in Nancy Wheeler's room, trying on dresses.

"No." She said, rejecting another dress that she held up. Her and Nancy had become closer, they were good friends now, but their fashion taste was complete opposite of each others.

"We're running out of options here." Nancy said, throwing her hands up.

"Do you have anything darker?" Iris asked, resting her chin on her palm. "Not so pastel-y?"

Nancy sighed, turning back into her closet, mumbling. "I don't know why you thought I'd have anything you'd like."

"Well someone wouldn't go shopping with me because they were too busy with Johnathan-" Iris started to complain, but was cut off by Nancy throwing another dress at her.

She gasped in sarcastic betrayal, before looking at it. It was a deep green, but simple. Iris decided she liked it, and it was probably the best she'd get from Nancy's closet.

"Perfect!" She said, queuing Nancy to turn around so she could try it on. Her makeup was already on, so after buttoning the back, she slipped on her shoes.

They said their goodbye's to the Wheelers, Iris messing up Mike's hair intentionally before Johnathan met them at the door.

The middle school wasn't far from the Wheeler's, but in that short ride Iris couldn't help but compare how Nancy acted with Johnathan to how she used to act with Steve. Nancy looked happier, like she could be completely herself around Johnathan.

Everything about the couple just felt more mature than Nancy and Steve, and Iris was happy for them both. She knew Steve was too, there was no hard feelings between anyone. They couldn't afford to have any.

Once parked at the school, the three walked in together, helping Mr. Clarke set everything up. Iris didn't have Mr. Clarke in middle school, but she knew how much he meant to the kids, so he was cool enough for her.

Iris was just chaperoning, but she was looking forward to seeing the kids. People started showing up quickly, and soon, the entire gym was crowded. Iris was on punch duty with Nancy, but often stepped away.

After all, these kids are old enough to pour their own drinks.

She was making small talk with one of the teachers when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steve. He was in his car, presumably dropping Dustin off. He was already looking at her, so Iris waved at him.

Dustin walked by the punch table, his hair higher than usual and a confident look on his face.

"Dustin!" Iris pointed at him, chuckling. She put her arm around him, shaking him a bit. "You look like a million bucks!"

"That's what they say." He said, making Iris snort with laugher.

"Say hi to the kids for me." She said, patting him on the back.

She knew everyone else in the group was there, apart from Eleven. Iris stood on the tips of her feet to check and see he found them, and that no 13-year-old asshole was bothering him.

Time after time came on, and kids broke off into pairs to slow dance. Iris spotted Max and Lucas dancing together, which made her smile. But, she watched Dustin's face fall in result, so she made her way over to them.

Right as she got there, another girl approached them.

"Hey, zombie boy," She said to will, making Iris frown. "do you wanna dance?"

Will started stuttering awkwardly, looking all over the room. His eyes met hers, screaming a silent 'help me'. But, before she could intervene, Mike pushed him forward, and he went off to dance with the girl.

Iris watched him go, a perplexed look on her face. Normally, she would chuckle at the stiff slow dancing go middle schoolers, but Will looked more than uncertain.

She looked at Dustin, to see if he noticed it, but his eyes were glued to Max and Lucas still. Iris patted his back, feeling terrible for the boy.

After a moment, Dustin straitened up, adjusting his suit. "Wish me luck, guys, I'm going in." He said, doing a weird flex of his eyebrows that looked like a weak imitation of Steve.

"Go get em' tiger." Iris grinned.

He winked at Mike, who grimaced at him. They watched him approach a group of girls, and Iris feared for the worse. She let out a quiet 'uh oh' when the girl made a face and walked away.

She stepped away from Mike when she saw Dustin's rejected face, walking towards him. Sadly, she lost him in the crowd. She looked for him, ducking through couples.

Eventually, Iris found him sitting on the bleachers, tears welling in his eyes. When he noticed her standing in front of him, he tried wiping his eyes, but Iris had already seen.

"C'mon." Iris said simply, catching his attention.

"What?" He stared up at her.

"I want to dance." Iris grabbed his hand, pulling him up.

She dragged him onto the gym floor, then put his hands on her waist, and hers on his shoulders. "Here." She instructed, swaying slightly.

Dustin was an arms length away from her, making her giggle. "Little closer buddy."

He adjusted himself so he was less stiff, a toothy smile back on his face. Iris could see from the corner of her eyes that the girl that rejected Dustin looked pissed, which made Iris a little happier.

"Middle school girls are ruthless, man." She said to Dustin. "But trust me, you'll knock em' dead in high school."

"You think so?" Dustin asked.

"Oh, I know so." Iris grinned. "I'm sure you'll find some girl who's even nerdier than you."

"Very funny." Dustin rolled his eyes, but his smile stayed.

"She'll be way smarter than you too." Iris teased.

"Okay, you're pushing it." He said flatly, making her laugh loudly. A couple people looked in their direction, but they didn't mind, continuing to dance and step on each others shoes.

Another song came on, Every Breath You Take, and Iris and Dustin kept on dancing. Now, they had completely lost any rhythm and were a little all over the place, but they were easily having the most fun there.

   "Dude, you're taller than me with this hair."

   "I'm taller than you normally."

   "That just isn't even true."

While spinning Dustin jokingly, she caught Nancy and Johnathan dancing together, bringing an even brighter smile to her face. She was so happy with her friends.

Things were finally started to feel normal again.