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.

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. The boys investigated their friend's disappearance that evening and accidentally encountered an escaped Eleven, who they allowed to stay in Mike's basement, making a pillow fort for her to sleep in. Dustin, Steve, and Robin approach Lucas's younger sister, Erica and ask her if she can crawl through the mall's air duct to get into the secret room. Though Erica assured the group she can fit through the vent, Dustin sides with Steve and Robin as they offer Erica dozens of Scoops Ahoy ice cream treats in exchange for her cooperation. As Steve goes to get more fudge for Erica, Dustin and Robin debriefed Erica on the plan to have her sneak into the mall's secret room while assuring there would not be any booby traps and the Russian guards will not be guarding the room by the time she breaks in. Dustin even tried to convince Erica to do this assignment for America's behalf, but in the end, Erica only agreed to help, in exchange for a free lifetime supply of Scoops Ahoy ice cream which Dustin, Robin, and Steve accepted. 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.

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. 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. 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. basement. Mike, acting as Dungeon Master, summoned a Demogorgon, which ultimately defeated Will's character. While they looked for the missing dice, Mike's mother Karen insisted it was time for his friends to leave; and shortly after this, Lucas, Dustin, and Will cycled home. On the way, Dustin challenged Will to a bike race home for one of his X-Men comic books, and shortly after, Will went missing.

After Dustin got the books he needed, he arrived late to school where he told Mike, Lucas, and Will to meet him at AV Club after class as he wanted to show Dart to them. He also invited Max to come to AV Club, which she agreed to. At AV Club, Dustin showed Dart to Mike, Will, Lucas, and Max where they were grossed out how slimy Dart was when they all held him, expect for Mike. Dustin discussed how he researched Dart through the books he borrowed at the library, believing Dart to be some sort of land pollywog as Dart does not like water. When Dustin's friends noticed Dart starting to have a strange growth, D'Artagnan shrieked upon being inspected under a lamp, but Dustin managed to catch as he ran off the table. After discussing revealing that Dart also hates being in the heat, despite reptiles being cold-blooded, Dustin proudly concluded that he had discovered a new species. When the bell rang, Lucas suggested that they show Dart to Mr. Clarke, but Dustin was worried their teacher would steal his credit in his discovery, though he was reassured that Mr. Clarke would not do such a thing. 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. After Lucas informs him of a manhunt for Eddie, Dustin tells him they've got bigger problems to worry about. The man who accompanied Claudia and Dustin to Will Byers's funeral in "The Flea and the Acrobat" appeared to be Dustin's father.Did you seriously not hear ANYTHING I said?" He stared into Steve's eyes. He knew the answer, he just wanted to embarrass him. Steve shook his head, knowing that Dustin would go on until he actually listened.