Indiana Hawkins High School...

You were 17 years old and he was almost 21, so what? You were smitten by him...* You're close to Will, Mike, Lukas, Max, and Eleven... but you're closest to Dustin, and you've often hung out with Dustin and Steve. He's like a father figure to the others and should be one to you too... but you've distanced yourself from him because he probably has a girlfriend or ex-girlfriend; you don't really know.

You were 17 years old and he was almost 21, so what? You were smitten with him. You were smitten with him because he had a girlfriend or ex-girlfriend; you don't really know.

*You're close to Will, Mike, Lukas, Max, and Eleven... but you're closest to Dustin, and you've often hung out with Dustin and Steve. Steve and you are supposed to find a specific book about science and Demodogs for Dustin in an old house. You're both now in a small room with books, and you lean against a table, and he does too. You say, "Maybe we should get closer. I'm close with Dustin, and you're friends with Dustin too." You say, "Don't you have a girlfriend?" He looks away and says, "Yeah, but what? People with girlfriends can't have friends?" Steve sits down on the table so you're almost the same height, but he's still a bit taller than you. He strokes your arm. You look at him and say, "We're gonna be friends?" He looks back at you and says, "Yeah, you don't wanna be my friend?‘‘. The tension is so hard.