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El
The first thing that El noticed upon entering the gym was how bright it was. Not in a jarring, clinical way like the Hawkins Lab, but like there were little bursts of colour all around her. The silver streamers reflected off of the overhead lights. There were balloons everywhere.
It was pretty.
Music blared over the speakers, getting drowned out by other children’s chatter. It had been a long time since El had been in a room with so many kids her own age. El felt small in a way she rarely ever did. She wasn’t sure where to go, or how to hold herself in this environment. Where did she even begin? She couldn’t see Dustin or Mike anywhere. El laced her fingers together and fidgeted with her hands, her head darting around in indecision. She felt like she had stepped into an alternate universe where she didn’t know the rules.
“El!” Lucas’s voice called out to her from the crowd. She turned, relieved. Lucas must have spotted her and came to get her. Lucas put a friendly hand on her shoulder and directed her to where he, Max, Mike and Will were sitting. “Look who’s here.” El waved, taking in the other’s outfits. Fancy.
“Nice dress,” Max said. El smiled, shyly. She had never had a friend who was a girl her age. Really, it was her first time having a group of friends, period. But she was warming to Max, and the idea of having a close friend who was also a girl made her feel a tiny bit closer to being normal.
“I’m glad you could make it!” Mike said, good-heartedly.
“Yeah, I can’t believe Hopper agreed to it,” Will said.
“Now we’ve got the whole party here,” Lucas grinned, rubbing his hands together. “It’s gonna be a good night.” El’s eyes widened.
Whole party?
But where was Dustin? He wasn’t at the table. Her eyes scanned the gym, but she couldn’t see him. Funny, El could usually find Dustin in any room. But wherever she looked, she couldn’t spot him. A thought gave her a sinking feeling in her chest. What if he wasn’t coming?
“Looking for Dustin?” Mike asked, catching her eye. El nodded.
“You just missed him. He went to ask some girl if she wanted to dance,” Will explained.
El felt an unpleasant feeling she couldn’t name twist in her chest. It was similar to nausea but not exactly. She didn’t like it. He wanted to dance with someone else? Who? Dustin had never mentioned someone special to El. He would have told her, wouldn’t he?
The Party members were speaking to each other, but El couldn’t make the words out. The feeling in her chest, the bright lights and the noise were distracting her. Mike moved into her field of vision.
“Why don’t we go grab some punch?” Mike asked. He shot the other party members a look that El couldn’t decipher before gesturing to the snack table. El nodded, stiffly. Her movements felt sharp. What was she feeling?
She had been counting down the days on her calendar. She had squealed with delight when Nancy had brought over a bag of donated clothes, including some old dresses that El could choose to wear to the Snowball. She had painstakingly taught herself how to do her own makeup after having watched so many movies with glamorous women. She had watched programs that showed her what a highschool dance was supposed to look like and it seemed to her to be the most magical night. But El felt, for some reason, like it had all been a waste. She wondered, for a moment, if Hopper was still outside and if he would take her home.
She instead put on a brave face. Even if Dustin wasn’t going to be with them for the Snowball, she could still have a fun time with the other Party members. She could get to know Max a little better, take funny pictures with Mike and Lucas – she could still have a good night, even if it wasn’t what she was expecting.
“I’m sure we’ll meet up with Dustin later,” Mike said as they approached the snacks table. “The whole Party will be together, just like I promised.”
El didn’t respond.
“Hey, El,” Nancy said when they reached the snack table. She went ahead and grabbed them both a glass of punch. Nancy was so pretty, with her hair done up all fancy and her well fitted dress. She and Jonathan were chaperoning together. They were cute. El had a thousand questions for Nancy about what it was like to have a boyfriend, but she could never find the words. What did it feel like, for one? “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
El looked up in surprise. Nancy’s eyebrows were creased, her big brown eyes full of concern. El wasn’t sure how to respond under scrutiny. She wasn’t entirely sure what was upsetting her in the first place.
“We can’t find Dustin,” Mike supplied. “El was looking forward to hanging out with the full Party tonight.” That should be right, but it wasn’t the full truth.
“I just saw him,” Nancy said. “Funny, I was just about to go talk to him right before you two showed up. He’s sitting at the bleachers.”
The bleachers! El hadn’t looked there because of the tinsel streamers blocking her view. But why would he be there? Where was the girl he had asked to dance? Wasn’t he having an fantastic, magical night without her? El tried to ignore that irritating thought.
El spun around until her eyes finally landed on him. To her surprise, he wasn’t with a girl. He was by himself. Huh. She liked his outfit. His hair looked different, but nice. But something was off. His head was buried in his hands. He looked like he was trying to sink into the bleachers, like he was making himself smaller. That was unusual. Dustin was never afraid to take up space in a room. It was something El admired about him. He always had something to say, and he was proud to do so. Why would now be any different?
“I am going to go talk to him,” El said, handing her glass to Mike.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Mike said, picking up on Dustin’s weird composure as well. El shot him a look.
“Mike,” She said, pointedly. Mike stared at her for a moment.
“Oh,” He said, before nodding. “Yeah, sure, go ahead. I guess I can give this to Will.”
El nodded before making a beeline for Dustin. Why was her heart suddenly racing? It was just Dustin. What was there to be nervous for?
Dustin
Dustin felt like shit.
He had decided that the best course of action to avoid soul crushing rejection would be to ask a random cute girl from his class to dance. He had spoken to this girl a few times, had one time had her as a discussion partner for English, so he thought he would be good to go. But much to his dismay, she had said no. But no fear, he could try someone else. Anything to distract him from the rejection he was actually afraid of. He hadn’t considered the possibility that every girl in his grade would look at him like he was the creature from the black lagoon.
He was surprised by how much it hurt his ego when the girls said no. He was especially surprised by how mean they were about it. Dustin had been bullied his whole life, he was used to it, but it still felt like shit. He just knew he would be thinking about this intermittently for the next ten years and cringe each time he remembered. Rejection was still rejection, even if he hadn’t really been interested in these girls in the first place.
But what he was really scared of was having to watch the girl he liked dance with his best friend while he sat all alone. Watching her smile and laugh with someone else. He was sure Mike was going to ask her to dance. Sure of it. So he had resigned himself to come up with a strategy to avoid as much heartbreak as possible.
But now he just felt like a loser, and she was going to think he was a loser, and it all went to shit. Dustin wiped tears from his eyes, feeling miserable. It felt like the sky was falling. Like a tornado had uprooted him from his safety net. Okay, maybe he was being a little bit dramatic. Being thirteen was awful. He wondered if Steve had ever felt like this. Probably not. He doubted Steve had ever been utterly rejected like this in his life (well, other than by Nancy).
Dustin was rudely awakened from his downward spiral when a soft voice shocked him out of it.
“Dustin?”
His head shot up. No fucking way was El looking down at him looking beautiful in Nancy’s old dress. He quickly dried his eyes, embarrassed. “Hey,” He blurted out, real smooth-like.
El said nothing for a moment. She just stared at him. Dustin wanted to crawl under the bleachers and die there. She looked like she was thinking really hard about something before coming to a decision. She extended her hand to him.
“What?” Dustin asked, his eyes widening.
“Dance?” El asked, softly.
Holy shit? “What?” Dustin repeated like a broken record. Inside his mind he could hear the record screeching.
El looked to the side, uncomfortably. Did she think he just rejected her?
“Yeah, yeah, of course!” Dustin said, shooting up from his seat. No fucking way. She wanted to dance with him!
Whether it was out of pity or what, Dustin wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste. He hadn’t even considered it a possibility that El was going to ask him. He felt nearly dizzy as she laced her soft fingers through his, gently tugging him towards the dance floor.
Once they settled in a spot, El looked at him expectantly. Dustin blanked. He had never danced with anyone before, aside from his Mom in the kitchen when they sang showtunes together. Do not mess this up, Henderson, he heard the voice of Steve Harrington say in his head. He swallowed, and put his hands on El’s waist.
El’s face broke into a smile. “What do I do?” She asked, quietly. Her voice was sheepish, maybe even nervous. Dustin breathed out through his mouth.
“I don’t know,” Dustin admittedly. El looked around for a moment, perhaps to gather clues, before turning back to Dustin and putting her arms around his neck. Dustin could feel his cheeks heating up as El pulled Dustin closer. He had left a respectful foot of space for Jesus but El seemingly didn’t seem to have the same concern. Dustin sucked in a deep breath, floating in a bliss he had never thought possible.
For a moment, he felt a pang of nerves. What if Mike saw him and got pissed at him? Had he even had the opportunity to ask her? Dustin felt frantic for a moment, his head whipping to the side. He saw Mike from across the gym and to his surprise Mike was grinning at him. Dustin stared back in disbelief. Had he read the situation all wrong? Had Mike not been pining after her all this time?
They slowly swayed together as Every Breath You Take by the Police finished playing. Dustin couldn’t contain the grin growing on his face. El smiled back at him, shyly. Was she as nervous as he was? Was this really happening or was he dreaming? He felt like he was on cloud nine.
El was staring at him, like she was trying to decipher something she didn’t understand. Was he fucking this up?
“Your hair,” El said, moving a hand up to playfully jostle it. “I like it.”
“Oh yeah?” Dustin asked, grinning, relieved.
“Pretty,” El said, looking down at their feet. Dustin sucked in a deep breath. His mind was both blank and full of noise saying a lot of unhelpful things like oh shit, oh fuck, oh shit.
“You’re pretty,” Is what came out of his mouth. El looked up at him again, catching his eyes. She just smiled. Fuck, she really was pretty.
“Oh yeah?” She said, mimicking him. She laughed then, and nuzzled her face against the crook of his neck. Dustin was in heaven. She looked up at him again, her head tilted this time. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking. He hoped whatever it was was good. What was she searching for?
Just then, the song changed to Footloose. El gasped in excitement. Dustin remembered that El had recently seen that movie was obsessed with it. Dustin grinned as El pulled back and grabbed Dustin’s hands. She started to spin him around in a circle. The nervousness slipped away instantly as Dustin let loose, matching El’s enthusiasm and then some. Dustin had never seen her this excited about anything, like it was the most fun she had ever had. It was a top five moment for Dustin, for sure.
They danced together for two more songs before El got tired. Dustin could dance all night, but he walked with her to the refreshment table so they could catch their breaths. Nancy was grinning at them. She gave Dustin a knowing look.
“Having fun out there?” Nancy asked Dustin as she handed them both a glass of punch. Dustin blushed.
“Lots of fun,” El chimed in, still giggly and out of breath. “It’s like a movie.”
Nancy’s face softened, her eyes flickering to Jonathan for a moment.
“You guys should go take some pictures. I think you’re gonna want to remember this night,” Nancy said.
“Oh, I’m gonna remember it,” Dustin said, softly. El giggled. She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the photobooth. Dustin had barely had time to sip his punch. He had no complaints.
“Hey guys,” Jonathan said, his eyes softening when he saw them. “Having a good night?”
“Best night ever,” El said. Dustin felt butterflies in his chest.
“Well then, let’s make sure we remember it,” Jonathan said, gesturing for them to stand in front of the camera. Dustin slipped an arm around El’s waist. They grinned as the camera shuttered. “Okay, new pose, guys,” Jonathan said, clearly enjoying it as much as they were. Dustin felt a bit brave for a moment, putting his arms around El’s waist and hoisting her off her feet. El gasped in surprise and Dustin grinned cheekily up at her. The camera clicked.
“Hey, lovebirds, aren’t we supposed to be hanging out as a group tonight?” Lucas’s voice cut through Dustin’s happy little haze.
“Group picture?” Will suggested, smiling smugly at Dustin.
Dustin felt a little put off, but he couldn’t keep El to himself all night. El looked at him, her eyes asking what they should do. Dustin shrugged.
“Okay, fine,” Dustin said. The other Party members joined them for a series of increasingly ridiculous photos. Dustin couldn’t help but try to catch El’s eyes, and every so often they’d lock at the same time. El would give him a little sheepish grin and Dustin would melt inside. Still, her eyes were searching for something, like the missing piece of a puzzle.
The next hour was spent dancing with and talking to the Party. Dustin couldn’t remember half of what was said. He was having a blast, sure, but his mind kept circling back to El.
El. El.
By 8:50, he knew it was nearly time to pack it up. His Mom would be there at 9:00. He couldn’t let the evening go to waste.
“Hey, want to get some air?” Dustin asked El quietly, so the rest of the Party couldn’t hear. El’s shot to Dustin’s. She nodded. “Hey guys, I’ll see you all on Monday, okay?”
“Heading out already?” Will asked.
“Want us to come wait with you for your Mom?” Mike asked. Dustin made eye contact with Lucas, pleadingly.
“Come on, guys, it’s cold inside, let’s stay in here where it’s warm,” Lucas said, nodding at Dustin. He breathed out a sigh of relief, before he and El snuck away.
“Cold,” El said softly when they exited the school. She wrapped her arms around herself. Dustin, thinking on his feet, pulled off his suit jacket and put it on her shoulders. El beamed at him. “Thanks.”
“Did you, uh, have fun?” Dustin asked, unsure of what to say now. El smiled and nodded. She inched closer to Dustin, searching for his warmth. He swallowed, nervously putting an arm out that she snuck underneath. He had spent so long thinking that he would never have a chance with El that this moment felt unreal.
“Dustin,” El said softly.
“Uh-huh?” Dustin asked, quietly.
"I don't...want you to ask other girls to dance," El whispered.
"I didn't want to, either. I just wanted to dance with you," Dustin said, emboldened by her words. El's head shot up in surprise. Dustin met her gaze and smiled.
Instead of saying anything, El leaned forward, her eyes closed and pressed her lips to his cheek. Dustin breathed out, unsure of what else to do but grin like an idiot. El smiled back, both their cheeks bright red. She looked braver, and more determined, and all of sudden Dustin knew that she had found the answer she’d been searching for all night. He knew what she was about to do and met her halfway. Their lips met in the middle. Dustin melted. Then, rudely, a car honked. Dustin felt his soul leave his body.
“Hey!” He heard Hopper’s voice shout from his car. Dustin paled. He had just kissed the Chief of Police’s daughter right in front of him. El giggled, and squeezed his hand before walking towards the car, his suit jacket still on her shoulders.
“Bye,” She called, softly.
“Bye,” He answered, still in disbelief that any of that happened.
Despite their rude interruption, Dustin felt like he was floating. That was his first kiss. How many people could realistically say that they had had the perfect first kiss? Well, embarrassment of being spotted aside, it had been pretty much perfect. He spent the rest of the night, the rest of the weekend, grinning to himself, and wondering when he was going to be able to see El again.