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Dustin grabs the phone off of the kitchen wall, getting an amazing idea. He remembers a few weeks ago when Jane had come over to his place, and kept avoiding Tews. He talked to her about it, and she admitted that she's scared of cats because they remind her of the lab.
Now, he dials the number to the Byers', excited because he knows just how to help her with this fear.
"Hello?" A familiar, tired voice asks.
"Mike?" Dustin questions, "The hell are you–? Nevermind, I think I know. Anyways, I'm calling to talk to Jane."
He can hear Mike clear his throat, as if he just woke up. Then he says, "I'll go get her. One sec."
Dustin waits for a moment, leaning against the counter and tapping his foot in excitement. Tews hops onto the counter, and he starts petting her, gently scratching behind her ears.
"Hey?" Jane greets, clearly a bit confused. Dustin doesn't usually call, he just shows up in places.
He smiles just at the sound of her voice. "Hi, my love," he greets her.
"Oh, hey Dustin!" Jane replies, and Dustin can almost hear the smile in her voice. "What's up?"
Dustin immediately switches into over explaining mode. "So, I was thinking about how you were telling me that you're scared of cats. Remember that?"
"Yeah," Jane answers, confused again.
"Well, I was thinking that maybe I could help you get over that fear," he suggests. "You said you want to like cats, right?"
"Yes, I do."
Dustin nods, even though Jane can't see it. "Well, do you think that we could try... exposure therapy? Like, you could come over and just try interacting with Tews a bit."
"Um..." Jane seems a bit worried.
"Me and my mom will be right there with you in case anything goes wrong. You'll be okay," Dustin adds. "But you don't have to do it if you don't–"
Jane interrupts him. "Wait! I do want to, okay? I'm just..."
"Scared?" Dustin supplies.
"Yeah."
"That's okay, Jane," he tells her. "That's normal. I expected you to be scared. And it's not like you're just going to magically stop being scared after one interaction. This is going to take time, and that's okay. Okay?"
It takes a minute for Jane to respond, as if she's thinking. "Okay," she says, finally. "Yeah. Um... When should I come over?"
"I'll pick you up in..." Dustin looks down to check his watch. "An hour. Does that work?"
"Yeah. I'll see you later, honey."
"See you later, love."
"I love you," Jane tells him, clearly not wanting to hang up.
Dustin smiles at that thought. "I love you, too."
"Um... Bye?"
As much as Dustin doesn't want this conversation to end, he says, "Bye, Jane."
Still, he doesn't hang up.
Then, the line clicks, so Jane must have decided to just hang up first.
An hour later, Dustin is standing on the Byers' front porch, about to knock on the door. He hears some rustling in the bushes, and turns to look. A bunny hops out, and he grins– partly because it's cute, and partly because that means Hopper wasn't hiding in there, ready to slime him out.
Dustin turns back to the door and knocks three times, loud enough that it can be heard from anywhere inside the house.
The door opens a second later, and Jane is standing there, a smile on her face. "Hi!" She exclaims, pulling Dustin into a hug and kissing his cheek.
"Hey! Ready to go?"
Jane pulls away and nods. She looks back into the house, where Mike and Will are curled up on the couch, watching some movie on the TV. "I'll be back later," she tells them. "If I'm not back when mom gets home, tell her I'm at Dustin's!"
"Okay, Jane," Will says, and waves. "See you later! Have fun!"
"Bye, Jane!" Mike adds, waving as well.
Jane pulls the door shut and grabs Dustin's hand. They start the walk back to Dustin's house, taking many breaks since Dustin just walked across town, and now has to do it again.
"Are you nervous?" Dustin asks as they're walking up his driveway.
Jane nods sheepishly.
"It's going to be okay," he tells her, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles where their hands are connected. "Tews is really sweet."
"Okay," Jane says. "I think... I can do this."
Dustin nods encouragingly. They approach the door, and he says, "Let's help you get over your fear!"
He opens the door, and lets her walk in first, following right behind. His mom is sitting in the living room, holding Tews so she doesn't escape.
"Hi, sweetie, hi, Jane!" Dustin's mom exclaims as the two walk in.
Dustin sits next to her on the couch and takes Tews from her arms.
Jane stands in front of him, and he hands the cat over to her. "Do you want to try holding her?" He asks.
While slowly backing away, Jane shakes her head.
"That's okay. It's okay," he assures her.
Dustin puts the cat in his lap and reaches his hand out to Jane. She takes it, her hand shaking.
"Are you okay?"
Jane nods. "Yes. Just scared."
Dustin brings her hand up to his lips and kisses it. Then he lets go, and pats the spot next to him on the couch. "Here, sit," he suggests, scooting over so there's room for her.
Jane sits next to him, staring down at the himalayan cat who has grown so much over the last couple years. "She is very cute," she admits.
"Do you want to pet her?" Dustin asks. "Remember, I'm right here."
Jane nods and anxiously reaches her hand out, gently petting down Tews' back. Tews starts to purr, and Jane smiles. "She's not going to bite me," she realizes. "She's so sweet."
A few weeks later, when Jane is at Dustin's again, he finds her chilling on the couch with Tews in her lap, petting her.
It's the most adorable thing he's ever seen.