Dustin races down the hall and quietly slides open, then shut, the door to his room. He turns on the lamp and quickly gathers a backpack, filling it with pens and pencils. He takes a giant pinned map of Hawkins off the wall beside his bed and digs into his desk drawer for a math compass for drawing circles. He takes his walkie and his backup walkie from under his bed and a whole package of new double A batteries—he is not planning on having a repeat of last time.

Just as he is going to leave, he remembers that although Suzie may not be awake and will possibly hate him for a completely different reason, he needs to know what her seismograph, 1,508 miles away, looks like. He needs to figure out the epicenter.

"Suzie, do you copy?" No response. "Suzie, I know it's late and you're mad at me, but I need to know about your seismogram. I don't know if you felt it too, but I'm going to check mine now. Suzie, do you copy? Suzie! SUZIE, DO YOU COPY?"

"Dustin, I copy! Please stop talking for a second… Now, what do you want? Over."

"I-need-to-know-the-reading-on-your-seismogram-OVER!"

"What?"

"There was an earthquake. Please Suzie, I need your help. Over."

"You always need my help, but you never give me anything I want."

"Suzie, that's not true! I'll make it up to you with whatever you want tomorrow. I don't have time right now. We're going down to Sattler's Quarry to figure out what's going on in Hawkins, but I need your seismogram reading to confirm my data points—over!"

"You better make it good… I have to check my seismograph in the backyard—you know it's very late here. Over."

"Thank you so much Suzie-poo! I'll be on the other end the whole time. Over."

"I'm not scared Dustin. I am very self-sufficient. Over," she says

While she is silent on her end, he races around his room again and finds his protective hockey gear. It might come in handy…

"How much stuff—just hold up will you?" Mike insists, defensively looking out for his car. Lucas and Max drop the box not so delicately into the trunk. Oh fu-, he mutters to himself.

"Your piece of scrap metal will be fine," Max retorts. He gives her a look.

"Do you mind helping us out here?" Lucas asks his friend annoyedly. "We still have like another box and a half of really heavy stuff to carry up from Dustin's pit of hell. I don't scare easy and that thing is dark and creepy."

"Wait, where's El?" he asks nervously. Max turns to make a gesture, but the fright in Mike's eyes cloud judgment and he runs through the bushes to get to the backyard faster. "SHIT!"

El is climbing out of the storm shelter with a fire extinguisher in her arms like a small child. She's surprised by Mike who looks out of breath.

"EL!" he calls down.

"What's wrong?"

"I—I just wanted to make sure you were alright… and to help you with this!" he says taking the extinguisher from her. She looks at him confused. "How, um, bad is it down there?"

"Not bad," she looks him in the eye, "You were scared for me?" He balks under her gaze. "Mike, I'm not scared of the dark," she pauses and thinks. "Are you?"

"No, of course not!" he laughs her off. "I just—you weren't out here," he points with one hand, "and they said it was creepy so—"

"—You were scared for me," she smiles at him. "Here. Take this," she gives him the toolbox too. "Can you handle it?" she asks him. He nods silently, gratefully. She grabs whatever is left on the floor and then closes the doors behind her.

~A.N. Suzie will get better scenes I promise. It's fun to include her sassiness though and this is all happening in one night so, of course, she isn't happy. She is really great match for Dustin though. I don't know how they're going to go long distance in the show but I hope we see more of her. Leave comments on our favorite star-crossed lovers Dusty-bun and Suzie-poo! :)

~A.N. There has been a lot of talk about Mike being overly protective of El. I don't want to open a can of worms, but what do we think of this scene? Good boyfriend? Or over the top? I'm curious to hear...