Chapter Text
1
“Shit.”
He finally shuffled through the last step of security with his shoes half-on, breath heaving, backpack strap slipping off his shoulder. It’s like every single person in Massachusetts decided this exact morning was the ideal time to fly out of Boston. He checked his watch, then his boarding pass. The flight was due to take off in seven minutes.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit.”
He headed down the hallway to the departure board, scanning for… Austin, D.C., Los Angeles… Nashville. Gate B20. Of course. Of fucking course, it had to be clear on the other end of the terminal. Just his luck. He sighed through his nose, shoved his boarding pass into one of his jeans pockets, and grabbed the straps of his backpack as a weak semblance of emotional (and honestly, physical) support. He was going to have to make a run for it. With very little grace and much anxiety, he began his trek through the overly crowded corridor.
Clusters of tourists, posh businessmen, people stopping smack in the middle of the floor to check their maps, children with suitcases bigger than themselves. He wove left and right, in between and around, all the while mumbling a mess of “Scusemesorryscusemesorryscuseme–” He was fairly certain he wouldn’t make this godforsaken flight– and if he didn’t, he planned to kill both himself and his roommate for making him late in the first place.
But then, there it was: Gate B20. A uniformed woman stood at the podium, watching as the rest of the passengers filed onto the ramp ahead. She turned around to face the waiting area. “Last call for flight number zero-eight-three-seven to Nashville! Passengers Dunkirk, Fairchild, and–”
“HENDERSON!”
Dustin stumbled to a halt. An immediate stunned silence settled over the small corner of the terminal, accompanied by the gate agent’s unimpressed glare.
"That’s... me. Henderson. Hi.” He gasped for air. “My sincerest apologies. My alarm never went off, and my roommate was running late to drive me here, and–"
"May I see your ticket, please?"
“Yes, certainly,” Dustin fumbled in his bag, grabbed a paper, and unceremoniously slapped it on the desk. “So sorry.”
The woman squinted at the paper. “…This is the receipt from the check-in point.”
“Shit. I mean– shoot.” Dustin blanched, scrambling again, nearly toppling his entire backpack onto the floor, but then he remembered that he’d put his boarding pass into one of his pockets. It was just a matter of remembering which one. “I mean… goddamn it.” Smacked his own ass, heard a paper crinkle on the right side. “Here you go.”
She eyed him for a moment longer, then took the ticket. A beep. A sigh. She nodded toward the door. "Head up the ramp, and you'll be guided to your seat."
Dustin exhaled. "Thank you. Seriously, thank you."
She gave him a dry look. "First time flying?"
"No," he huffed, running a hand through his curly hair. "Just a bad traveler. Which is strange considering that I spent more than half my life traversing mystical lands with–"
"Last call, passengers Dunkirk and Fairchild!"
"O…kay, I’ll just go fuck myself, then," Dustin muttered to himself.
The agent narrowed her eyes. " Excuse me?"
"Lovely to meet your acquaintance, ma’am!" He flashed a thumbs-up, scurrying onto the jet bridge before he could get himself permanently banned from air travel.
As he sat down in his seat, some garbled, staticky speech trickled in from the pilot over the intercom; an announcement so muffled it might as well have been made underwater. Dustin could only pick out a handful of words. Sunny April afternoon… thirty-five thousand feet… aisle seats…
“Now please pay your kind attention to our stewardess as she demonstrates proper safety protocol.”
Dustin glanced up, saw the stewardess making her way to the center aisle, and felt his stomach drop. It was the same woman who’d been at the gate. She met his gaze for the briefest second, one corner of her lips quirking in something that was definitely not a smile. He immediately looked away, cursing under his breath.
The seats were cramped, and the noise of other passengers settling in was only making his developing headache worse. The plane began to move, the lights switching off. “Prepare for departure.” He reached for his backpack, eventually pulling out his battered Walkman. Metallica’s “...And Justice for All” flickered to life in his ears. But as the plane ascended into the air, the cabin pressure started to fuck with his hearing, and within two minutes, all he could hear was a muffled roar of guitars and the high-pitched ringing in his ears that felt similar to a symptom of passing out. And then, as if this morning could not have gotten any worse, a shrill scream echoed from somewhere two rows behind him. Dustin winced, pulling the headphones tighter around his ears. “You and me both, kid,” he mumbled, though the kid’s wails only intensified. Dustin hoped that the child would eventually calm down, but that’s never how life works; for the entire three-and-a-half-hour flight, that child screamed as if auditioning for a horror movie, each shriek making Dustin’s temples throb. By hour two, he debated strangling the kid, or ripping his own ears off. But he figured the latter would probably just worsen the cabin pressure.
Finally– finally – the plane touched down, jolting them onto the runway. Dustin felt a wave of relief so strong it nearly knocked him out of his seat. Luckily, he was traveling basic economy with nothing but a backpack, so he didn’t have to wait at baggage claim. He was only staying for two days anyway, the absolute longest he could afford to take off from his research. As he unbuckled his seatbelt and joined the slow shuffle down the aisle, he mentally swore he would never fly again. Of course, he had said that the last time, too.
2
Dustin slid into the backseat of a taxi, setting his backpack on the seat beside him. A pine scented air freshener hung from the rearview mirror, and it made his eyes burn. The driver glanced back at him, a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and scarily blue eyes. “Hey there, where to?”
“Hi, um–” Dustin cleared his throat. “The corner of West End Avenue and 21st Avenue South?”
The man’s eyebrows lifted in recognition. “Ah, a Vandy man!”
“No,” Dustin shook his head, “Just meeting a friend. She goes there.”
“Yeah? Where’re you from?”
“Hawkins,” he replied, then remembered that not everyone knew where Hawkins was. Or what Hawkins was. And, in a way, he was grateful for that. “I mean, I’m from Indiana originally. Going to college in Boston.”
The driver snapped his fingers. “My wife’s cousin-in-law’s daughter goes to Curry College. You know her?”
Dustin blinked. “Uh… no, sir. I go to MIT.”
“Oh, I love the Red Sox! Since we don’t have any major leagues here. When it comes to football, though, I’m a Titans fan, through and through.”
Dustin held back a chuckle. The guy clearly thought he meant “mitt,” as in the baseball term. “Yeah, makes sense.”
“I always love the skyline view from here,” the driver said, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as they idled at a red light. “I hear they’re planning on putting a new business building on Commerce, but I’ve got a funny feeling it’s gonna be an eyesore.”
“Huh.” Dustin hummed, only half-listening as his nerves crept up again.
“So… this friend of yours. Just a friend?”
Dustin exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh… yeah, I guess. I mean, we’ve been friends for about eight years–”
“But you want more.”
Dustin let out a short laugh, caught off guard by the man’s bluntness. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.” He hesitated for a second before continuing. “We’ve been keeping tabs on each other since we left Hawkins, and we call multiple times a week. And I’ve kind of been in love with her since high school. But ultimately… it’s up to her. I don’t want to lose her. She’s too important to me.”
The driver nodded knowingly. “She shy?”
Dustin paused, thinking of El– not just her quietness, but the walls she still kept up, the nervousness in her voice when she talked about forming new connections. “Yeah. Her upbringing was… not the best. She has trust issues.”
“I get that.”
“Yeah, so… this is just a friend visiting a friend.”
“Unless she makes a move.”
“She probably won’t,” Dustin sighed. “And it’s probably best to not get my hopes up.”
“Understood.”
A comfortable silence settled between them as the city rolled past. Then the driver spoke up again. “If you’re looking for anywhere to go, the Loveless Cafe is a great spot for authentic Southern food. And it’s fitting, since you’re so determined to stay loveless!”
Dustin let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head. “Harsh.”
“Just the facts!” The dry humor reminded him of Erica, and he found himself smiling. He missed that kid. The taxi slowed as they approached the curb. The driver nodded ahead. “Alright, let me just turn this corner here… and there you go! That’s your girl?”
Dustin looked up, catching sight of El standing near the sidewalk, hands clasped in front of her. His stomach twisted in that same nervous-excited way it always did when he saw her. Quickly, he fixed his hair in the rearview mirror.
“Thank you!” he said, grabbing his bag. Then, after a pause, he added, “And– not my girl, but… yeah.”
The driver chuckled. “Never say never!”
Dustin smirked as he opened the door. “I didn’t!”
He stepped into the curb. “Howdy, partner!” he called out, mentally cursing himself immediately after the fact. Howdy, partner ? Then again, this was not his first cringeworthy rodeo. Before he could correct himself, though, she pulled him into a hug. He started to back away after a second, but she held on tighter. He laughed, a little breathless. “Hey.”
She loosened her grip just slightly but didn’t let go. “Hi, Dustin,” she murmured against his shoulder. “How are you?”
“Never better.”
She pulled back just enough to look at him, her eyebrows slightly raised. “Really? You look stressed.” And she was beautiful. Her hair has grown all the way down her back, long, wavy, and just slightly messy. Her nails were painted an unruly lime green. She looked noticeably brighter, happier. Dustin’s heart pounded in his chest.
“Jeez, way to kick a man when he’s down!” Dustin groaned dramatically. “Seriously, though, tell me why I forgot to pack stuff other than a book and some jeans, so now I have a shirt and a sweatshirt that both read I Heart Nashville instead.”
“Packing has never been your strong suit,” El replied.
“You’re right about that. My mom had to send me, like, three boxes of shit I forgot when I moved out.”
“And the snacks.”
Dustin frowned. “Huh?”
“When we were looking for Will,” she said teasingly. “Lucas packed his wrist rocket and his dad’s military supplies… and you brought snacks .”
“Hey!” Dustin threw his hands up. “Those were essential tools for our journey!”
“They ended up being my lunch.”
“Even better. I rest my case.”
El shook her head, smiling, and Dustin felt something shift.
“So,” she said, “I was thinking… I could show you around campus, and then we could meet up with my friends.”
“That sounds good!”
Silence stretched between them as they started walking down the sidewalk together. After a moment, Dustin glanced at her. “You’ve told your friends about me?”
El shot him a look, confused. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I dunno,” he shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Don’t your friends in Boston know about me?”
“I… don’t have many friends,” Dustin admitted, realizing how pathetic it sounded. Well, it was too late now to backtrack. “Just a lot of coworkers at the lab. And my roommate. I mostly just talk to you and the rest of the Party. But yeah, Joel knows about you.”
“Joel?”
“Roommate. You’ve said hi to him a few times.”
“Oh, right!” El snapped her fingers. “He’s the NASA guy, right?”
“So he hopes. He’s on track to get started there in about two years.”
“That’s awesome! Must be really cool to live in such close proximity to a genius.”
“Damn, low blow, El,” Dustin rolled his eyes.
El laughed as they rounded the corner together, a large brick building coming into view.
3
The library was bigger than Dustin expected. As soon as they stepped through the doors, he tipped his head up, taking it all in: the high ceilings, the grand wooden bookshelves stretching almost as far as the eye could see, the long rows of tables. He let out a low whistle.
“Good lord, this place is huge,” he said. “You weren’t kidding!”
El gave him a knowing smile. “Told you you’d like it.”
“I’m already emotionally invested. Think they’d let me move in?”
El rolled her eyes but didn’t get the chance to respond before a voice called from across the room.
“Hey, Jane! Nice to see you back. And I notice you’ve brought a friend?”
Dustin turned his head in time to see a girl standing behind the circulation desk. She was tall, blonde, and looked like she had never known an awkward phase in her life. Her eyes flickered over to him with mild curiosity, like she was trying to place him in a category before he even had a chance to speak. El hesitated for a fraction of a second.
“Yes… a friend,” she finally said. “This is Dustin.”
Dustin gave her his most charming smile. “Nice to meet you…”
“Dustin, I’ve heard so much about you. Christie Leigh,” she said smoothly, tilting her chin up just slightly. He recognized her name immediately; El had mentioned her in many of their late-night phone calls.
Dustin nodded. “Christie, do you know where I can find—”
She cut him off with a sharp, practiced correction. “ Leigh. ” She smiled sweetly. “ Christie-Leigh. I have two first names. It’s pretty common here.”
Dustin blinked. “Oh. Right. Got it.” He shot her an exaggerated thumbs-up. “Christie-Leigh, then. Super cool name. Now, where’s your science section?”
She gave him a once-over, as if debating whether or not to humor him, before jerking her thumb toward a row of shelves. “Back left corner,” she said. “You’ll know it when you see it.”
Dustin turned to El. “Shall we?”
She nodded, already moving past the front desk. Dustin couldn’t help but wonder why El seemed so keen on avoiding someone he’d been told was a good friend of hers. He wasn’t complaining, though; that meant he could spend more time alone with El.
They wove through the aisles, and the moment they reached the science section, El’s posture relaxed. She ran her fingers along the spines of the books, scanning them with a familiar ease before finally pulling a particularly thick one from the shelf. She set it down on the nearest table and flipped it open. The title on the spine read Rare Atmospheric Elements. Dustin took a seat next to her, resting his chin on his hand as she skimmed the introduction. He watched as her brow furrowed in concentration, a glow of light from the tall window catching the strands of her hair.
“Noble gases,” she read aloud. “Helium, neon, argon, krypton…”
“You know, they’re basically inert, right?”
El glanced up, curious.
“They typically don’t bond with anything at all,” he continued, tapping a finger against the book. “But once in a while, scientists manage to force them into surprising molecular structures. It’s sort of a miracle each time.”
El’s eyes flickered, considering this. “So even the ones nobody expects to combine…” she murmured, trailing off.
Dustin nodded, tilting his head. “Somehow they fit together.”
“And create something beautiful,” El finished with a smile.
For a long moment, they sat there in quiet understanding. El turned the page, but Dustin didn’t look away. He couldn’t look away. His eyes lingered on her, the way her fingers absentmindedly traced the edge of the page, the way her lashes flickered as she read. Something inside him tugged, like gravity shifting in real-time. Before he could second-guess himself, he reached out, fingers brushing lightly against hers. El blinked, surprised, looking up at him. Neither of them moved. Dustin swallowed, heart hammering a little harder than usual. “Uh,” he started, but words suddenly felt too clumsy for the moment.
El tilted her head slightly, searching his face like she was solving a puzzle. As if it were happening in slow motion, she leaned in. Even then, Dustin barely had time to process it before her lips met his. It was light , just the faintest press, but his whole world stilled. His eyes fluttered shut, his heart stuttered, and for those few seconds, nothing else existed. Not the screaming kid on the plane, not the overly invested taxi driver who ended up being so totally right about everything, not the library, not Christie-Leigh’s stupid name, not even the book sitting between them. Just El, present and close.
When she pulled back, her cheeks were pink, her expression hesitant, like she wasn’t sure if she had just crossed some invisible line. Dustin opened his mouth to say something , but all that came out was a dazed, “Huh.”
El blinked. “Huh?”
“Yeah, just…” Dustin exhaled. “That was… good science.”
El let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head. “Good science?”
“Mhm.” Dustin leaned forward, elbows on the table, grinning wider. “I’d say… successful molecular bonding. ”
El rolled her eyes, but this time, she was smiling. She started to look away, but Dustin reached out again, this time with more certainty. His fingers met her chin, tilting her face back toward his. There was a heartbeat of hesitation, like a single second of electric charge suspended in midair. Then he kissed her again, deeper this time, more intent behind it.
El made a soft gasp of surprise against his lips but didn’t pull away. Instead, she pressed in, her hand lifting to rest against the side of his face, her thumb just barely grazing his cheek. The kiss was warm and slow, but there was something unspoken in it too, like a realization. We’ve been waiting for this .
When they finally broke apart, El was fully flustered now, her breath just a little unsteady. Dustin, still close enough to catch the warmth of it, found himself grinning, his head spinning in the best way.
“Better science,” he murmured.
El let out a huff of laughter, shaking her head as she nudged his shoulder. “Shut up.”
4
Dustin had a bad feeling about this lunch. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to meet El’s friends– he did. She had sounded so excited when she invited him, like this was a big step, a sign that she was finally settling in, finally fitting somewhere. He had listened to her talk about Christie-Leigh, Mary-Sue, and Diane for months now. The way she described them, they were the kind of girls who had effortlessly claimed their space in the world. The kind of girls who belonged. El wanted to belong with them. But from the moment he sat down, Dustin could tell something was off.
Christie-Leigh sat at the center of the table, fresh off her library shift, with her blonde hair curled perfectly, a thick coat of glossy pink lipstick on her pout as she stirred her lemonade in slow, deliberate circles. She barely looked at El when she spoke, her gaze drifting around the café, like she was keeping an eye out for someone more interesting. Mary-Sue leaned forward on one elbow, lazily flipping through the menu, even though it was clear she wasn’t actually reading it. Diane, on the other hand, was watching El with a smirk that put Dustin’s nerves on edge. El sat beside him, hands folded neatly in her lap. She was stiff, shoulders slightly hunched inward, fingers curled tight around the hem of her denim jacket. Dustin had seen her like this before, but this wasn’t just self-consciousness. This was something else.
“You’re awful quiet today, Jane,” Mary-Sue drawled, tilting her head. Her Southern accent was smooth, sweet, and just a little too strong. “Not like last weekend.”
Christie-Leigh’s lips curled. “Yeah,” she said, setting her drink down with a little clink. “You were just goin’ on and on the other night. What was it she kept sayin’, Diane?”
Diane grinned, turning to Mary-Sue with an exaggerated gasp. “Oh, my God ,” she mocked, pressing a hand to her chest. “ That’s so funny! ”
Mary-Sue giggled, covering her mouth. “Bless her heart,” she murmured. “She really was havin’ the best time.”
“I am just tired,” El said softly, looking down at her lap. “I stayed up late.”
Dustin frowned.
I am.
It wasn’t her words that made the table go silent– it was how she said them. Dustin saw it in the flicker of amusement that passed between the girls, the way Diane nudged Mary-Sue under the table, the way Christie-Leigh’s lips twitched like she was trying to hold back a laugh.
“Oh, sweetie,” Christie-Leigh cooed, her voice sticky with condescension. “You are so cute when you talk like that.”
El blinked. “Like what?”
“Like a robot,” Diane snickered. “Or like… I dunno, like English is your second language.”
Mary-Sue gasped dramatically. “Oh wait, maybe it is! ” She turned to El with mock concern. “Jane, honey, should we start quizzin’ you on your verbs?”
Christie-Leigh giggled. “Past, present, future tense– let’s hear ‘em.”
El went still. Her hands tightened into fists in her lap, but she didn’t say anything. Dustin’s blood boiled. He knew El. Knew how hard she had fought, how much she had struggled just to learn how to talk like everyone else. She had spent years locked in a lab with nothing but numbers and orders barked at her, with no one to teach her how to have real conversations, no one to guide her through anything that normal kids took for granted. And these girls– these shiny, polished, picture-perfect girls – were laughing at her.
“What time were you up till last night, Jane? One two six? Two three nine?”
El shrank back in her seat, her face burning red. Dustin clenched his jaw, his hands curling into fists beneath the table. She didn’t even try to defend herself. She just nodded stiffly and muttered, “Sorry.”
Dustin saw it before it happened– saw the way she started to shift in her seat, saw the way her breathing hitched. She was going to leave. El shoved back her chair, her movements rushed and jerky. “I– I need to–”
But as she stood, her foot caught on the chair leg.
Before she could fall forward, he moved on instinct, shot out of his seat, and grabbed her, his hands steadying her at the last second. El’s breath hitched as she caught herself against him, her hands clutching at his arms. The laughter at the table didn’t stop.
Diane was practically in tears. “Oh, Lord, she really needs to watch where she’s goin’!”
Christie fucking Leigh giggled behind her hand. “Poor thing,” she fake-sympathized. “Y’all think we should get her some training wheels?”
Mary-Sue shook her head. “She’d still find a way to trip over ‘em.”
Dustin saw red.
He didn’t even look at them as he turned to El and muttered, “We’re leaving.” She hesitated for only a second before nodding.
Neither of them said a word as they walked out of the café, past the counter, past the tables, past the stares. The warm afternoon air hit them as soon as they stepped outside, but El didn’t seem to notice. She wrapped her arms around herself, looking down at the pavement as they walked. Dustin let the silence stretch between them for a minute, then exhaled sharply.
“You need better friends,” he said, voice flat.
El let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head. “I thought I had them,” she murmured. “I thought I finally had them.”
“Yeah,” Dustin sighed. El didn’t say anything else, just kept walking, her eyes fixed on the ground. He nudged her shoulder lightly. “Hey.”
She glanced at him.
“You do have friends,” he said. “They’re just… further away than you’d like.”
She frowned. “It’s not the same.”
“No, it’s not,” he agreed. “But, lucky for you? I happen to be an expert at long-distance friendships and relationships.”
That earned him a small smile. “Oh, really?”
“Oh, yeah ,” he said, grinning. “I’ve got a whole system. Letters, calls, surprise visits– hell, I’ll even teach you how to play D&D over the phone if you want.”
El let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head. Dustin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, because he could do that now , and pressed a kiss to her temple, because he could do that now, too .
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go find somewhere that actually serves decent food. Preferably a place where no one’s gonna act like a total bitch.”
El huffed out a small breath. “You think that exists?”
Dustin smirked. “We can try .”
They headed down the sidewalk, weaving through college kids balancing coffee cups and textbooks. El’s shoulders were still tense, and her eyes kept drifting to the ground, lost in her own thoughts, until she finally let out a long sigh.
“I need a distraction from this,” she said. “Let’s talk about Mike and Will. What’s going on with them lately?”
Dustin glanced over, relieved she was at least focusing on something else. “Other than the fact Mike is in rehab?”
“Yeah,” El nodded. “So… he’s been talking nonstop about this guy named Wyatt. He’s Mike’s best friend, from school, I think. But long story short, ever since Mike’s been away, they’ve been hanging out a lot.”
“Oh, wait, that guy?” Dustin rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah, he always seems to be over at Will’s house whenever I call.”
El frowned, contemplating what she was going to say next. “I know this is just my intuition talking, but… I think he might be cheating.”
Dustin’s eyes snapped up. “Whoa, okay, slow down . How do you know?”
“I don’t,” El replied. “But I have a strong feeling. I know Will– he’s my brother. And Mike is my friend. And if it’s true and Mike comes back to find his life has fallen apart again, he might try and–”
“Let’s not go there,” Dustin cut in, pushing down the emotions that threatened to boil over. It was the worst feeling in the world, knowing that one of his best friends was suffering like he was, and he couldn’t do anything about it other than calling on the phone. He wished he could do more.
El let out a shaky breath. “What if we went somewhere , though?”
“What do you m–”
“I can spy,” she said firmly.
“That’s actually a decent idea,” Dustin mused, raising an eyebrow. “Will’s gonna be pissed, but…”
“I’d rather Will be mad at me than Mike relapse,” El stated bluntly.
“So we’re doing this, then,” Dustin confirmed. He glanced over at her, noting the sudden resolve in her eyes.
“Let’s go back to my dorm,” El decided. “I have my radio there.”
5
El sat on her bed, one hand braced on the comforter as though she might topple over without it. In her other hand, she gripped a torn strip of cloth– a makeshift blindfold that had become both shield and gateway to her ability. The old radio on the desk hissed with static, the waves of white noise offering the perfect sonic backdrop for her to slip into the mind void.
She could feel the tension radiating off Dustin like a physical weight on her shoulders. He hovered beside her, arms folded, brow furrowed. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, his voice edged with concern. His gaze flickered from her face to the blindfold, as if torn between supporting her and stopping her.
El drew in a careful breath. “I have to know, Dustin. Something’s… off with Will. I need to see what’s going on. It’s probably nothing. I… I hope it’s nothing.”
Dustin gave a single nod, though unease deepened the lines of his expression. “Alright. Just be careful.”
She lifted the blindfold, pressing the cloth over her eyes. Darkness settled in, and the rest of the room faded. A low hum of energy pulsed at the base of her skull, a familiar warning that her powers were revving up. Static from the radio grew louder, the dorm room fading away as she entered Will’s mind.
“Okay,” she said, trying to keep her voice even as her senses shifted. “I’m starting to see something…”
She concentrated on breathing steadily, focusing on the hazy image ahead until it took shape: Will’s house, cast in afternoon light. She stood like a ghost at the periphery, watching. Will leaned against the kitchen counter in a faded band t-shirt and worn jeans. Wyatt laid on the sofa, a stray curl of blonde hair in his eyes. Their voices were low, laughter echoing, floating just out of reach.
“What do you see?” Dustin’s voice broke through the static, distant yet insistent.
“Not sure yet,” El said. “It looks like… friendship.”
She studied the scene: Will pushing Wyatt’s shoulder, Wyatt feigning a dramatic apology, both of them chuckling. Their closeness felt strangely intimate, more than casual banter. Then Will blushed when Wyatt whispered something El couldn’t catch. She saw Wyatt stand up from the sofa, rounding it to face Will with hardly a breath between them.
They kissed.
A tremor shot through El. It was the very possibility she’d dreaded, yet seeing it unfold was more than she’d prepared for. She tried to listen, to see if Will said anything, but everything blurred at the edges. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks when Wyatt’s hand slid into Will’s hair, enough to make Will gasp. El felt she was prying into something not meant for her eyes.
“What? What’s happening, El?” Dustin’s tone was tense, bracing for the worst.
“They’re kissing,” she managed, her own voice wavering.
He cursed under his breath. “Oh, God.”
Will’s hands drifted lower, and El’s stomach flipped. Panic set in, and she jerked backward, forcing herself to break away from that mindscape. The void quivered, flickering like a camera losing focus, and she tore off the blindfold with shaky hands. Dustin’s arms were already out, catching her as she stumbled. She rested her head against his shoulder, heartbeat thudding in her ears.
“This has to stop,” she whispered, pressing her palms to her temples. “We can’t wait. We have to confront Will now.”
“El, think about it. This could ruin everything,” Dustin said.
She took a moment to steady her breath, meeting his eyes with a look of fierce resolve. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Mike, our best friend, is in rehab trying to get better. And Will’s betraying him like this? It isn’t right.”
Dustin’s posture loosened a bit, though concern still etched itself across his face. “If we handle this wrong, it could blow up. You know how fragile Mike is right now.”
El drew her shoulders back, crossing to the battered rotary phone on the side table. The coiled cord twisted under her grip as she dialed Will’s number. Dustin hovered close, watching the way her free hand clenched white-knuckled around the base.
The phone rang once… twice… three times before Will answered.
“Hello?”
El swallowed, pressing the receiver closer to her ear. “Hey, Will.”
There was a brief pause, and she could almost picture the way he’d tilt his head at the sound of her voice. “Oh, hey, El! How are you?”
Dustin edged closer, close enough to hear Will’s side of the conversation. El glanced at him and forced a small, tight-lipped smile. “I’m good,” she replied. “Dustin’s here, too. He came to visit.”
“Long time no talk, dude,” Dustin said.
“Hey, Dustin!” Will sounded genuinely pleased. “What’s up? What are you doing down in Nashville?”
“We actually… have a few things we want to talk about. First off… Dustin and I are together now.”
“Oh, that’s amazing!” Will exclaimed, surprise and excitement flooding his voice. “I’m so happy for you. Mike’s going to freak out when I tell him– he’s been calling it for years!”
Dustin offered El a wry grin, then cleared his throat. “Speaking of unlikely relationships,” he said, leaning toward the phone, “how’re things with Wyatt?”
“Uh…” Will stammered. “They’re… good. I– wait, what things?”
Dustin’s gaze flicked to El, and she gave him a slight nod, urging him forward. “Cut the shit, Will. We know you’re cheating on Mike with him.”
There was a crackle through the line; a sharp intake of air. “How–” Will started, his voice pitching in alarm. El pressed her lips together, her hand trembling on the phone’s base.
“I know it’s wrong,” she admitted quietly, “but we both suspected something. So… I decided to spy on you.”
“You went into my mind?!” Will shouted in disbelief.
Dustin let out a dark laugh, though there was no humor in it. “ That’s what you’re concerned about right now, William?”
“Don’t William me, Dustin. You have no idea what it’s like!”
“Don’t I?” Dustin countered sharply. “To be far away from the person you love and not be able to do anything about it? I think I know a thing or two.”
El glanced at Dustin. “Wait… you love me?” she whispered, quiet enough that her question might not carry through the phone. But he gave her a small nod, confirming it. She squeezed his hand, then refocused on Will. “Dustin’s right. Mike went to a dark place, yeah, but you’ve gone lower. Wyatt is supposed to be his friend, Will. How could you watch Mike go through everything he has, go and get help, might I add for you , and then–”
“I’m barely here , El! That’s the fucking problem! I can hardly breathe because Mike’s not here. Wyatt… helps me function. It’s messed up, but I need him.”
“You can’t let this continue, Will,” Dustin told him. “You have to end things with Wyatt.”
“I can’t lose him. But I don’t want to lose Mike, either.” Will let out a hollow sob. “It’s complicated , okay? It’s all I have.”
“Which is what , exactly?” Dustin snapped. “Sneaking around, kissing Mike’s best friend, doing God knows what else behind his back while he’s getting help for issues that you played a part in creating? And then what, do you plan on acting like none of this happened when he comes home?”
“It’s going to tear you both apart if you keep this to yourself,” El cut in. “Mike deserves to know. You need to come clean. If you don’t tell him, we will.”
Will let out a shaky exhale. “Promise me you won’t say anything to Mike yet. Give me some time. Please.” El and Dustin exchanged looks, both reluctant to agree.
“We’ll give you some time,” she said at last, her tone clipped, “but it can’t wait long, Will.”
“I’m sorry,” Will whimpered. “I’m so fucking sorry. I never wanted this.”
“We’re not the ones you owe an apology to,” Dustin replied coolly. “It’s Mike you should be worried about.”
Will was silent then. El said goodbye and placed the receiver back into its cradle, heart pounding so hard it felt like it might crack her ribcage. She stared down at the phone a moment longer, lingering in the stillness. Then she turned to Dustin, blinking back the surge of tears in her eyes. “That was… intense,” she managed.
Dustin raked a hand through his hair, nodding numbly. “Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s a goddamn mess.”
El reached down, touching the spot on the desk where her blindfold lay. “We did what we had to do,” she said. “Now we need to be there for Mike and find a way through this.”
Dustin slid an arm around her shoulder, drawing her in. “Right,” he said, the single word weighed with the realization of all that still lay ahead. Mike was going to be devastated .
6
Dustin woke the next morning to the rattle of air vents and the hint of sunlight peeking through El’s dorm window. The blinds were drawn, letting only thin slivers of light stripe across the floor. She lay nestled against him, her breath gentle against his shoulder. Outside, a few students shuffled past, their voices drifting through the narrow gap in the window. But in that small space, a standard single dorm room lined with textbooks, posters, and half-finished cups of coffee, it felt as if the rest of the world barely existed. He let his eyes wander around her space, taking in the pinned-up postcards and the Polaroids of friends taped to a corkboard above her desk.
El was curled beside him, her head resting on his shoulder, looking comfortably asleep. A slow smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He stayed there a few more moments, the warmth of her body anchoring him to the present. Eventually, El stirred, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. “Morning,” she mumbled.
“Morning,” Dustin replied, sliding his arm from under her. “How’d you sleep?”
“Better than I have in a while.” She turned, propping herself on one elbow to meet his gaze. “I’m not used to waking up next to someone.”
He stroked a thumb across her cheek. “Neither am I,” he admitted. “But I could get used to it.”
They shared a slow kiss that stretched longer than either of them intended, until El finally pulled away with a small grin. “We have nowhere to be this morning,” she said. “Might as well take advantage, right?” Dustin smirked, slipping an arm around her waist to draw her close. “You’re the boss.”
They stayed in bed, letting the morning stretch longer than either of them typically allowed. A comfortable quiet settled over the room, interrupted only by the occasional squeak of the mattress springs when they shifted positions. Soft conversation bubbled up here and there, sprinkled with lazy laughter. Whenever they spoke about the day before, they both smiled with that mixture of relief and happiness that came from surviving emotional ups and downs and still landing in each other’s arms. Every so often, El leaned over Dustin, her hair falling forward, and pressed a lingering kiss to Dustin’s lips. He returned her affection without hesitation, his eyes closing to savor every second.
By the time either of them bothered to check the clock, it was almost noon. Eventually, El pushed herself upright, combing fingers through the tangled strands of her hair. “We could go to the cafeteria,” she suggested, “but the food is kind of gross, and it might be packed.”
Dustin’s expression lit up. “The taxi driver who dropped me off yesterday,” he said. “He told me about Loveless Café… and then teased me for being, well, ‘loveless.’” He made air quotes. “I kind of want to check it out.”
El raised an eyebrow. “He called you loveless, huh?” She was trying not to laugh.
“Yup,” Dustin replied. “Because I told him I wasn’t sure if you… ya know… liked me like that. And he was basically like, you’ve gotta try or you’ll never know . Turns out you were the one who made the first move.”
El slipped her arms into a hoodie, a quiet amusement playing on her face. “Guess I saved the both of us from staying in that awkward in-between phase. Alright, Loveless Café it is. Let’s do it before we run out of time, it’s a long drive.”
Dustin nodded, grabbing his wallet from the desk. “Sounds like a plan.”
Once they reached the Loveless Café, the smell of biscuits and fried food hit them immediately. “Oh my god,” El breathed. “I’m suddenly starving.”
Dustin held the door for her, and as soon as they stepped inside, he knew why the taxi driver had recommended it; the wooden floors creaked, the tables were covered in red and white checkered tablecloths, and the front entrance was covered floor to ceiling with autographed, framed photos of country musicians.
They got settled at a booth by a window, flipping through laminated menus. El tapped a finger against the page. “Should we just load up on all the Southern stuff we can? Biscuits, gravy, fried chicken… might as well make it count.”
“You’re reading my mind,” Dustin agreed. After putting in their order, their conversation continued in light territory; the best local spots, how El planned to keep up with Dustin when he went home, and the general chaos of college life. At one point, Dustin teased her about the mountain of half-finished coffee cups he had seen on her desk. El quipped that it was simply a sign of a dedicated student. By the time the food arrived, they were both ravenous.
They lingered, savoring biscuits with homemade blackbery jam and butter. El went on an entire tangent about how collard greens were the best Southern food to ever exist while Dustin dug in to his barbecue-slathered meatloaf. After they finished their food, Dustin checked the time on his watch and sighed. “I hate to say it, but I need to be at the airport in a few hours.”
El’s expression shifted, a flicker of disappointment clouding her eyes. “I know,” she said. “We should head back soon. You still need to grab your stuff.”
Once he’d packed and called a cab, Dustin joined El on the sidewalk. She leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” she said.
“Me too,” he replied, sliding an arm around her back. “But I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Students strode by carrying textbooks, and somewhere down the block someone popped a tape into a boombox, the faint drumbeat of “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock of Seagulls drifting over the air. Every so often, El lifted her gaze to peer down the street, scanning for a cab. Dustin stole quick, lingering glances at her, trying to memorize every detail.
A yellow cab rounded the corner. Dustin took a step forward, but froze the moment the driver leaned out the open window. It was the same man who’d dropped him off at the dorm the day before, scary blue eyes and all.
“You again?” Dustin glanced at El, who looked equally surprised.
“I’ll be damned,” the driver answered, tapping the side of the car door with a casual nod. “Didn’t think I’d catch ya here again, but maybe I should’ve guessed.”
Dustin grinned. “Yeah, I’m headed back to Boston already.”
The driver just laughed. “I see something’s changed since last time.” He nodded pointedly at El, who stood behind Dustin.
Dustin set his backpack down on the back seat, then turned to El. She stepped closer, eyes darting nervously between him and the driver. “Guess it’s time,” she murmured, heart sinking at the reality of it.
“Yeah,” he replied softly. His free arm slipped around her waist, and he bent slightly to meet her in a deep, yearning kiss. It drew on a second longer than either expected, as though they could compress all the lost time they’d soon face into that single moment. A few students passing by whistled or stared, but Dustin and El only pulled each other closer, ignoring everything around them.
When they finally broke apart, El’s cheeks were flushed, and Dustin’s breath came a little quicker than before. “Write me,” El said, managing a small smile. “Call when you can.”
“I will,” Dustin promised. He trailed his fingertips along the back of her hand one last time. He settled onto the back seat, leaning out the window. The driver caught his eye in the rearview mirror, a knowing twinkle there. “You were all ‘loveless’ yesterday,” the driver teased, using the term he’d ribbed Dustin with before, “and look at you now.”
Dustin let out a brief laugh, still caught between excitement and the ache of leaving. “Guess a lot can happen in twenty-four hours.”
The driver shook his head in mock disbelief. “I gave you advice, sure, but I never expected it to pay off that quick. Good for you, kid.”
The engine revved, and the taxi pulled away from the curb. Dustin craned his neck, waving out the open window. El stood under the shade of the campus map sign, arms hugging herself against the cooling air. She lifted a hand in a final wave, her eyes following the cab until it was out of sight.