The next day, Dustin and Lucas noticed Mike was not at school, as he was busy looking after Eleven at his house. After school, Dustin and Lucas came to Mike's house, discussing Eleven and what could have happened to Will. Lucas was determined to tell Karen about Eleven, but Eleven used her telekinesis to prevent him from leaving the room. Later that evening, Eleven attempted to explain Will's situation with a visual analogy; she flipped their Dungeons & Dragons board upside down, on top of which she placed Will's player piece followed by the Demogorgon piece. This gave Dustin, Lucas, and Mike a vital clue as they continued to theorize about what happened to Will. In 1984, when Eleven revealed herself to be alive, Dustin embraced her, revealing that they've reminisced her and talked about her almost everyday. Eleven was even surprised that Dustin had teeth which Dustin proudly showed them off to her. As they rode their bikes home, Dustin informed Mike through his Supercom that Max was indeed "MADMAX," but Mike was not interested. He then decided to invite Max into the Party, despite Lucas's worries over Mike not liking the idea, but Dustin insisted as they are allowed to take new members into their Party if they want to. After saying saying good night to Lucas, Dustin arrives home, but is unable to notice or hear the sound of a strange creature inside his outdoor trashcan. Dustin, Mike, and Lucas were the first visitors aside from Jonathan to see Will in the hospital. The three of them were overjoyed to see him safe and sound. They caught up with Will, telling him about the events which transpired in his absence.

The man who accompanied Claudia and Dustin to Will Byers's funeral in "The Flea and the Acrobat" appeared to be Dustin's father.Dustin discovered that an unknown person using the alias “MADMAX” had beaten his high score on Dig Dug. Keith, an employee at the arcade, stated he would tell them the identity of MADMAX in exchange for a date with Nancy, though Mike refused. Despite learning his pet is from the Upside Down, Dustin refuses to believe Dart could be dangerous.

QUINN! SUZIE!" Dustin screamed, getting out of the car, and running full speed at both of them. He wrapped both of them in a hug, then pulled away to give Suzie a kiss on the forehead. At Will's funeral, the boys discussed the possibility of alternate dimensions with Mr. Clarke. He described After Eleven saved him and Mike from bullies, he proudly declared that she was their friend and thoroughly cared about her from that point on. He also comforted her when she revealed that she accidentally opened the gate. From then on, Dustin cared for and helped Eleven in any ways he can, such as calling Mr. Clarke on how to build a sensory deprivation tank to help El enhance her powers and get chocolate pudding for her so she can recharge. As the group were waiting in the bus, they suddenly heard a screeching sound. The sound's source was revealed toHey, little man! How are you? Suzie here told me you brought a friend, who is it?" Quinn asked, smiling down at Dustin. While driving to the Byers', Dustin talked to Mike and Lucas about their Christmas gifts to Max and El. The conversation was abruptly interrupted when Dustin suddenly freaked out and said he saw an unknown creature, referencing Dart, lurking in the woods, but Lucas, Mike, and Steve did not see anything so they decided to continue their route to the Byers' house. Singing: Dustin also has a great singing voice, excellently performing "Never Ending Story" with his girlfriend Suzie over Cerebro. While Hopper and Joyce infiltrated the laboratory and Nancy and Jonathan set a trap for the Monster, the four kids remained at the school. In 1984, Dustin and Steve form an unlikely bond while trying to hunt down D'Artagnan. Dustin tells Steve about his attempts to win the heart of Max, where Steve gives advice on how to approach women, and how to style his hair. When everybody else failed, Dustin was the one who convinced Steve to put aside his responsibility of protecting the group and instead assisting them in burning the tunnels infected by the Upside Down. Steve later drives Dustin to the Snow Ball Dance, and gives him a pep talk before Dustin enters the dance.

Dustin is an observer and a protector of the unity within the friend group. He frequently resolved the conflicts within the group by drawing their attention to what was going on around them. He had a neutral, level-headed approach to Eleven and the supernatural events unfolding around them; in some ways, he was a negotiator between the open-minded Mike and the skeptical Lucas. The group followed their compasses, believing if they went 'North', they would be lead to the Gate. However, Eleven was manipulating the compasses for the boys' safety because she considered it too dangerous to enter the Upside Down. When the boys realized that Eleven had been doing this, they argued about her; Mike was more sympathetic and trusted her, while Lucas was critical of her help. The two boys ended up fighting; Eleven used her powers to push Lucas off Mike and into the air, injuring him. This angered Mike and left Eleven upset, who vanished from the scene. Dustin did not seem to have a good relationship with Lucas's little sister, Erica, despite being social with her. When Dustin tried to get in touch with Lucas to inform him about D'Artagnan, Erica did not bother to help Dustin and turned off Lucas's Supercom.In 1984, when Dustin, along with Lucas, invited Max Mayfield into the Party without informing Mike first, Mike was upset, but showed no hostility towards Dustin. While they had an argument over the situation regarding Dart, their friendship never turned bad as he directly headed to Mike's house to warn him about its danger and also searched for him with the group during the Demodogs' invasion. Dustin also supported Mike's plan to distract the Demodogs from El and Hopper by burning the tunnels of the Upside Down, proving that they still endanger themselves to protect their friends. A month later, at the Snow Ball, Dustin still remained on good terms with Mike, who playfully teased his hairstyle. Upon returning home, Dustin, feeling guilty of lying to his friends, attempted to question Dart where Will was and how he was connected to his friends, but discovered the glass of Dart's tank had been broken, with the only thing in it a slimy husk. Dustin then heard a screech behind and following a trail of blood, he discovered Dart, now much larger, eating his cat Mews. As Dustin watched in horror, Dart looked up at him and opened its mouth, revealing its flower petal-like shape, causing Dustin to realize that Dart was a baby Demogorgon.

Dustin was born on May 29, 1971, to Mr. and Claudia Henderson. By around 1980, the Henderson family arrived in Hawkins, Indiana, where Dustin met Lucas, Mike, and Will when he arrived at their school in fourth grade, growing a strong bond with them and becoming best friends. They would often gather at Mike's house to play Dungeons & Dragons. The four boys had a great relationship with their science teacher Mr. Clarke, and they were members in the AV Club he ran. In addition, they would take part in the annual science fair, winning almost every year. A rift grew between Lucas and the two other boys, who continued to argue about Eleven. Lucas attempted to once again find the Gate while Mike and Dustin searched for Eleven. In the original pilot script, Benny Hammond is at a couple of points referred to as "Benny Henderson", which could suggest that Benny and Dustin were originally planned to be part of the same family. household to meet with Joyce, Will's brother Jonathan, and Mike's sister Nancy. Together they broke into the middle school, creating a makeshift sensory deprivation tank which El could use to enhance her psychic abilities. They learned that Will was alive, barely surviving in the Upside Down. WHAT?! NO! Absolutely not. I don't like Quinn like that. That's gross," Steve quietly shouted. Dustin threw his hands up and a little - Okay jeez - way. He couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from Quinn, it was a saddening sight to see. Quinn didn't think anything of him besides, "Oh, I can't be paired with him, he's probably still like how he used to be." Quinn sighed to himself, setting down the clipboard, and moving to sit down with everyone else.scientific ideas and concepts, utilizing the metaphor of the flea and the acrobat. He mentioned that a gate between dimensions would have adverse effects on the electromagnetic field in their dimension. Later that day, Dustin experimented with a compass, noticing that the needle did not point towards true north, and the boys guessed that there must be a gate nearby influencing the electromagnetic field like Mr Clarke had said. After Lucas informs him of a manhunt for Eddie, Dustin tells him they've got bigger problems to worry about. Brian Baker of the Austin Chronicle gave it 2 out of 5, and was critical of the plot. He says "It depends mostly on Lloyd's crazy characters to hold the narrative together and that works for a brief moment early in the film" and that "No kid is going to buy into a movie that revolves around a geek who isn't a geek and a fat girl who isn't fat." [6] On December 15, 1984, at the Snow Ball, after seeing Dustin being rejected and ridiculed by girls, Nancy takes pity on him and brings him to dance with her, attracting the attention of the girls who rejected him. Nancy tells Dustin that he is her favorite out of all of her brother's friends. She also tells him that girls at his age are 'dumb', but he'll 'drive them nuts' in a few years. They share a touching moment together, having a friendly slow dance.