Always Be There For You ~ Dustin Henderson x Reader

Chapter 16: The Mind Flayer

 Dustin, Steve, Lucas, Max, and I walked along a dirt road in the direction that the baby Demogorgons had gone. We were determined to find them and kill them before they could hurt anyone else. I was still flustered from the kiss that Dustin and I had shared, but I didn't have time to think about that, I needed to kick some Demogorgon ass.

"You're positive that was Dart?" Lucas asked Dustin and me.

"Yes," Dustin and I answered in perfect unison.

"He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt," Dustin explained.

"He was tiny two days ago," Max noted.

"Well, he's molted three times already," I pointed out.

"Malted?" Steve questioned.

"Molted. Shed his skin to make room for new growth," I explained.

"Like hornworms," Dustin added.

"When's he gonna molt again?" Max asked.

"It's gotta be soon," Dustin responded, "When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it."
"And so will his friends," I agreed.

"Yeah, and he's gonna eat a lot more than cats," Steve pointed out.

"Wait, a cat?" Max questioned.

"Dart ate a cat?" Lucas inquired. God damn it, Steve!

"No? What, no," Dustin lied.

"What are you talking about? He ate Mews," Steve stupidly objected. I elbowed Steve in the stomach, trying to shut him up.

"Mews? Who's Mews?" Max asked.

"It's Dustin's cat," Steve answered, clearly not taking the hint.

"Steve!" I shouted.

"I knew it! You kept him!" Lucas yelled.

"No, I..." Dustin trailed off, knowing he had been caught, "He missed me. He wanted to come home."

"Bullshit!" Lucas objected.

"We didn't know he was a Demogorgon," I pointed out.

"And you were in on it? God damn it, guys!" Lucas fumed, "You broke the rule of law!"

"So did you!" Dustin retorted.

"What?" Lucas questioned.

"You told Max the truth," I clarified.

"You guys wanted to tell her, too," Lucas defended.

"Yeah, but we didn't, Lucas!" Dustin shouted. I heard a growling noise in the distance and slipped away from the rest of the group to investigate. Steve noticed and followed me. I ignored the bickering of my friends and focused on the sounds of the screeching.

"Guys?" I called. They continued to argue, ignoring me. There was another screech, this time louder.

"Guys!" Steve boomed. Max, Lucas, and Dustin turned in our direction, finally noticing the sound. The guys and I began heading towards the noise.

"No, no, no. Hey, guys?" Max called, "Why are you heading towards the sound." We ignored her and kept walking. She sighed and ran to catch up with us. We got to a higher point and stood in shock and awe, it was coming from the lab. Shit.

We quickly headed toward the lab, not wanting to waste a single moment. Steve and I were ahead of everyone else. We burst through the trees to see some familiar faces.

"Steve?" Nancy and Jonathan exclaimed.

"Nancy?" Steve questioned.

"Jonathan," I stated.