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You knew whatever Dustin was explaining was important. You did, and you wanted to concentrate. Everyone else was probably asking questions, making suggestions to improve his plan — but you didn’t see anything else than him gesturing with his arms, all nerdy and smart, as the person you originally fell in love with.
You were about to save the world, but here you were swooning over him like a silly teenage schoolgirl. Which you were of course, but in this situation, when the world was quite literally about to collapse on you — you were dreaming about Dustin Henderson, staring at the smudge of dirt on his cheek and holding back your overwhelming urge to stand up and just go wipe it off.
His voice echoed, your mind didn’t register the words. You just leaned your head into the palm of your hand with a goofy smile on your lips — and of course, it was noticed.
Of course, Robin noticed it. She nudged Max, looking between you and Dustin, which of course made Max catch up too.
When Dustin stopped laying out the plan and turned towards the table to do something, you were snapped off your daze when Robin grabbed your wrist.
You yelped. “What—”
“We girls have to talk,” she mumbled and basically dragged you to the hallway, just outside hearing distance, before she let go and crossed her arms with a big smile on her face.
“What?” you asked again, frowning.
“You’re pretty bad at hiding it,” Robin chuckled. “You have a thing for Dustin.”
Your heart stopped and face started warming instantly, but you shook your head. “No, I do not.”
“Well, what kind of plan did he propose?” Max asked, folding her hands on her lap.
Your mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. “I… uh. Wormholes?”
Robin huffed. “Yeah, what about wormholes?”
Your heart was jumping now. “I’m not a nerd, I, I didn’t understand much. He uses complicated language, and on top of that I’m tired. All I understood was that we need wormholes to destroy Vecna.”
“Oh my God, you are completely into him,” Max giggled.
“I’m not!” you hissed.
“You totally are,” Robin laughed.
You knew they had you cornered, so you glanced towards the hallway — no suspicious shadows, so you sighed. “…Fine. Yeah.”
“So you’re admitting it?” Max clarified, and you nodded reluctantly.
“How long?” Robin asked, now full on grinning.
You shuffled on your feet, somewhat scared that Dustin would teleport behind you. “A while… but I really only realised my feelings were romantic like, three weeks ago?”
“That’s so cute!” Robin exclaimed, making Max giggle.
“I know!”
“Keep it down!” you whisper-shouted, again glancing behind you, but still saw no one.
“You actually have a crush on Dustin Henderson!” Robin squealed. “It’s so cute!”
You groaned, frantically flailing your arms, barely being able to keep your voice as a whisper. “Yes, I do! Now, shush!”
Even though you didn’t see his shadow, the boy in question actually was nearby, just in a blind corner where you couldn’t see him. He had been packing his gear, heard his name and just… accidentally started listening in.
And then he heard it — you admitting you had a crush on him, and after a moment saying it again.
“…me?” he mumbled, frowning, before he slung the backpack over his shoulder and went up the stairs. The last thing he wanted was to fluster you more on that moment.
After you regrouped outside, you were — again — staring at Dustin explaining something, how his curls were bouncing when he gestured the plan with his arms. And again, you only caught word here, word there, and just dreamed of you two somehow ending up kissing in the middle of a battle. What an epic first kiss it would be.
God. You were so doomed.
After a moment, you knelt down to look inside your backpack — flashlight, rope, bottles — and a shadow casting over you. You looked up to see Dustin there and your heart jumped again, and you could barely muster a smile.
“Hi,” he muttered, glancing over his shoulder. “Can I steal you for a sec?”
You blinked. “Uh, sure.”
He took you to the side of the Squawk building, and fiddled with his fingers for a second. “So, uh, I know this may sound creepy, but I really didn’t mean to— I mean, Robin and Max were both quite loud, and I heard my name and then I heard your voice and—”
“Oh,” you squeaked out, the blood in your body racing into your face. “You, uh. I can explain.”
“I… I just want to know if it’s true,” he mumbled, his own face a little red now. “Do you have a crush on me?”
You considered lying, before you considered dodging the subject — but you knew neither would be fair to him, and your shoulders slumped as you cast your eyes onto the ground. “Yes.”
“Oh,” he sighed. “That’s a relief.”
You blinked. “What?”
He smiled shyly. “I mean, hearing that is a relief. I… I like you too, and not just as a friend.”
You stared at him, before you turned your gaze away. “You’re just saying that because we might die out there and your conscience doesn’t want me to die with a broken heart of unrequited love.”
“I’m not,” he reassured you, his hands grabbing yours. “I really, really like you, but I thought you would never like me that way. You’re so pretty and smart and everything I’m not, and I thought you’re out of my league.”
You turned your gaze back at him. “You’re serious?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, not about this,” he said, smiling a little. “And… if we make it out, if we defeat Vecna, I’d really like to take you on a date. If you want.”
You stared at him again, before breaking into a grin and squeezing his hands back. “I’d like that. I’d like that very much.”
His grin widened into full-blown beaming now, before he walked away, holding your hand until he was too far away. When you stepped out from the corner, you were met by Robin smiling at you. “I bet that was fun.”
Your ears burned. “Shut up.”