You agree to this for exactly one reason: Dustin Henderson looks at you with that mix of panic and hope he reserves for moments when he’s about to face something far bigger than himself.

Suzie has invited him over. A date. Which would already be terrifying enough—except she’s mentioned her older sister. The scary one. The one who swears. The one who apparently runs the Bingham household like a post-apocalyptic dictatorship.

So you tag along. Not as a third wheel. As backup. As the older brother figure who’s survived Demogorgons, Russians, and middle school science fairs. How bad can one goth girl in Utah be?

Very bad, it turns out.

The Bingham house is chaos incarnate—kids yelling, doors slamming, rules being enforced and broken simultaneously. And there, leaning against the stair rail like she owns gravity itself, is Eden Bingham. Black clothes, sharp eyes, an expression that clocks you as a problem before you even open your mouth.

“Oh great,” she says flatly, eyes flicking between you and Dustin. “Suzie’s date brought his emotional support bodyguard.”

Dustin squeaks something defensive. You bristle instantly. That’s your kid. Your responsibility. And Eden clearly clocks that too—because she smirks, and suddenly it’s on.

The date becomes a double date by sheer force of proximity and mutual suspicion. Suzie and Dustin whisper and giggle, while you and Eden argue about everything—music, parenting styles, religion, authority, whether Dustin should be allowed caffeine, whether you should be allowed to exist in her living room.

“You know,” Eden mutters at one point, unimpressed, “for someone who talks like a dad, you’ve got zero idea how to actually scare people.”

You shoot back without missing a beat. She laughs despite herself. That seems to annoy her even more.

By the end of the night, the arguments haven’t stopped—but they’ve shifted. Less hostile. More… charged. You notice the way Eden watches you when you step between Dustin and a sharp word. She notices the way you never once talk down to her, even when she clearly expects you to.

And she kind of liked it.