More Than The Upside Down - An IT (2017) & Stranger Things Crossover

Generosity

Dustin

After the initial shock of having Mike punch him in the face, the first thought that popped into his mind was to find a way to stop the blood that was now oozing out of his mouth. He remembered that he had tissues in his basement but didn't want the others to see the aftermath of the argument. Nevertheless, he stumbled into the basement with a hand over his mouth and his eyes focused on the ground, avoiding the stares of the others.

The pain in his jaw had calmed down to a dull thud but that was overshadowed by the salty, thick taste of his own blood in his mouth that made him impulsively gag. Dustin grabbed the box of tissues and ran into the spare bathroom. He shut the door behind him, locking it and washing his mouth out. Once most of the blood was out of his mouth, he lightly dabbed his mouth with the tissues which caused fresh pain in his cheek and gums to spark. Dustin grimaced at the sensation but continued.

"Duh-Duh-Dustin?" Bill's voice called through the other side of the door. "A-A-Are you a-a-alright?"

He didn't want to lie to Bill, so he simply admitted to what had happened.

Bill replied, "Give me a sec."

For the next minute or so, Dustin could hear the faint whispers of the others but couldn't make out what they were saying. So he continued to wipe the blood away from his mouth and wash it off his chin. Finally, Eddie knocked on the door.

"Dustin?" He asked shyly,"Can you please open the door?"

He opened the door, holding a tissue to his mouth.

Eddie looked at him with wide eyes, "Can you take the tissue out and open your mouth?"

Dustin obeyed and Eddie began to look around his mouth. He grimaced at the sight of the blood oozing from it and zipped open his fanny pack. Eddie fetched out some cotton wool and handed them to Dustin.

"Here, it doesn't seem too bad but it would be better if you used these," He advised.

Dustin took the cotton wool and gently placed it into his mouth. He felt a familiar spread of warmth flutter in his chest and stomach. It was the same kind of warmth that occurred when Mike accepted him into his group of friends. Dustin could distinguish it, generosity and friendship. He couldn't help but smile at this thought, despite it making pain flare up in his cheeks and gums again.

Eddie gently turned Dustin's head to the side and sighed, "There's a big bruise beginning to come up to the surface and I think it's gonna need an ice pack. Do you have any?"

"Only in the house," Dustin managed to say through the cotton wool. He could feel it beginning to stick to his cheeks and he cringed internally.

Eddie nodded, "I'll get a few people to come with us and we'll go get an icepack."

He shook his head, "I'll be fine, really, it's not that far."

"Bill doesn't really want us to go out anywhere by ourselves, not after what he heard on the radios today," Eddie defended.

Dustin realised that there was no point in arguing with him and instead sighed in agreement, "Fine."

The two boys walked out of the bathroom together. They assembled everybody else to create a small group. Together, they walked out of the basement and towards Dustin's house, where a concerned adult was waiting.