𝐢𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐁𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐫, 𝐄𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐱, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫

July 4, 2018: Henclair

(AN: so this chapter is like a flashback kinda? Anyways, this chapter is based off of Without Love from Hairspray. I love these babies!)

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13 year old Dustin Henderson sat in his room, reading a comic book. Mews purred and curled up next to him, sleeping peacefully. He pet the chubby ginger tabby and flipped the page, focusing. Everything seemed to remind him of Lucas now. The colors, superhero's, dialogue, everything. "Stop thinking like that, Dustin," he scolded himself, "It's weird!"

"Honey, your friends are picking you up in 10 minutes! Put your swimsuit on and pack yourself a few snacks," his mother called from the living room. He nodded and began packing his navy blue bag, popsicles, water bottles, and candy. Then, he changed into his swim trunks and sat on his bed patiently.

The doorbell rang and he shot up, grabbing his bag and dashing to the front door. There was Will Byers, waiting for him to come. "Hey! Where's our ride?"

"Lucas's mom is parked a bit down the street. Be warned, Erica is in the car too," Will smiled at his friend and they began walking to the mini van.

When he opened the door, he noticed that Lucas and Mike were already sitting side by side. He couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the pair. He sat down next to Will. "I've seen the way you look at him," Will gave him a smug smirk.

"What?" Dustin blushed and turned his head to Will.

"Someone has a crush," Will poked his cheek, giggling.

Dustin narrowed his eyes, "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mhm, sure," Will glanced at Lucas, "I wouldn't blame you even if you did like him. He's kinda handsome."

Dustin felt a twinge of jealousy prick at his chest, "Yep, right there. You got jealous," Will whispered.

"How could you tell?!" Dustin gasped.

"The way your face changed," Will nodded, "So, do you like him?"

Dustin didn't want to answer that, and luckily they just parked in the rec-centers parking lot, "Alrighty! Have fun! Mike's mother will be around to pick you guys up after the firework show," Jennifer unlocked the car doors. The four boys scrambled out, Mike nearly falling on his face out of excitement.

Dustin and Lucas were ahead of the others, so they set down their stuff near the entrance. Once that was finished, Lucas grabbed Dustin's hand and they jumped in the pool together.

Henderson's cheeks turned red at the contact. The warmth was quickly silenced by the cold pool water hitting his skin. Water rushed up his nose and drenched his hair, causing it to deflate.

When he swam back to the surface, he saw Lucas laughing at him. It wasn't condescending, it was more of a "How do you always manage to make me laugh like this" kind of laugh. Dustin couldn't help but start laughing too.

"Wanna go get some skittles? I can pay," Lucas offered. Dustin nodded and the two left the pool. While walking to the snack bar, they noticed Erica tanning to the left of them. They waved to Lucas' younger sister and continued their journey to the small concession stand.

"I think I'm gonna get a pretzel as well," Dustin informed Lucas before quickly running to his bag to retrieve money from it. They talked to Steve, who was working the stand, and ordered their snacks. The two teens sat down at a table which seemed far enough from people for their liking.