DANCIN' ► DUSTIN HENDERSON [1]

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JASPER HAD NEVER SMILED so much in her life, her grin practically reaching her ears. Wet tears dripped down her face as she met the tearful eyes of her best friend. "Dusty."

"Jas?" He took two shaky steps forward, his entire body racked with shock. After all this time of imagining her voice, it was almost unbelievable seeing her actually there in front of them. But she opened her mouth and a let out shaky laugh, and Dustin felt his heart scrunch up with happiness. There was no denying it. This was really Jasper.

"Oh my God. Oh my God!" Dustin broke into a sprint, racing for the redhead. He didn't care how stupid he might have looked to the others, because all that mattered in that fleeting moment was the girl he was running to.

Jasper let out a gasp and another bubbly laugh as her best friend enveloped her into a tight hug, lifting her into the air. She circled her legs around his waist, hugging him back with all the love in the world. A weight she hadn't known she was carrying was lifted from her shoulders as she sat there, twirling in the air in Dustin's arms. Because even though there was still a battle to fight, she would have her best friend there with her.

"No way!" Dustin cried as he set her back down, his arms still grasping hers tightly. He would've held her for hours if he could've, to make up for all the lost time. "No way! Where have you been? I thought...I almost thought..."

Jasper shook her head, smiling through a sheet of tears. "No. God no, you can't get of me that easily." And her words sent the Henderson boy wrapping his arms around her again.

"Is that...?" Max inquired a few feet away, her curious blue eyes boring into Lucas's skull.

"Jasper!" Lucas called after the redhead, not wasting another moment to sprint over to the reuniting best friends. The dark-skinned boy also had tears in her eyes, realizing just how much he missed his redhead friend.

"Lucas!" Jasper greeted him cheerily, pulling him into a massive hug as well. "It's been too long," she grinned at the Sinclair boy.

Dustin was still finding over the redhead, unable to take his eyes off her. He couldn't stop thinking wow, she's really here. She's really back. His hand slowly snakes towards Jasper's, their fingers playing in a dance before they were completely holding hands.

The two looked up from their intertwined fingers, a smile pasted on both their faces as they cried the last of their happy tears. "We have so much to catch up on. But later, okay?" Jasper nodded, growing increasingly more serious.

"Um, hi," Max stroller forward shyly, giving Jasper a  tiny wave. "I'm Max."

"Max?" Jasper repeated, grabbing the Mayfield's extended hand and shaking it gleefully. "So that's your name? I've heard a lot about you."

"Really? Like what?" She asked at the same time Dustin uttered, "How?"

"Like the fact you're a badass fellow redhead who also skates," Jasper complimented the new girl, excited to be making a new friend. "And I heard it from El, who's also very much alive."

"What?" Lucas, Dustin, and Max all replied in unison.

"Okay I hate to break up this sweet reunion," Steve hurried over to the children, hands on his hips. "But we need to follow those things, wherever they went. Oh, and thanks for saving my life, Jasper."