Page 24 of Elemasters

“You have literally no reason to be nervous though,” Chris shrugged nonchalantly, “you’re already the best swimmer on the team, and that was before you got magic water powers. You’re gonna fucking crush it like always. That scholarship is in the bag bro,”

Dustin knew that Chris was technically right, but it did little to ease his mind. Still, he knew he couldn’t stall much longer; he had no choice but to get on the bus and face the day, hoping that all his paranoia was for nothing.

As Dustin found a spot on the bus and stowed his duffel bag under the seat, the chatter of his teammates quickly filled the space. He mostly tuned them out, trying to focus on calming his looming anxiety, but one voice in particular cut through the noise and managed to get his attention.

“H-hey Dustin, mind if I sit with you?”

It was none other than Leo, smiling at him awkwardly with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

Dustin glanced around the bus at all the still completely empty seats, and briefly wondered why Leo wanted to sit with another person… but then Chris’s words from a few months earlier echoed in the back of his mind.

“That Leo kid totally wants to smash bro. You’re just too obsessed with that James Zhang dude to notice,”

Maybe he’d been onto something…

“Uh yeah, sure,” Dustin replied, scooting over a bit just to make sure their long legs wouldn’t be too scrunched. Leo beamed widely, wider than Dustin had ever seen, and took his seat. He started rummaging through his backpack and pulled out his iPod, before offering to share his earphones with Dustin.

“You still like Evanescence? Their new album is out and it’s incredible… I thought maybe we could listen to it? You know, like… together,”

Dustin raised an eyebrow.

“How did you know I like Evanescence?”

Leo’s face reddened.

“Well, I uh, I just remembered that you used to wear that one Amy Lee t-shirt to swim practice sometimes. The one from the Fallen album,”

Shit… this boy really was whipped.

Dustin didn’t want to risk leading him on, not after that kiss he shared with James… but then again, there was no harm in just listening to music together, right? As long as he made it clear that he didn’t want it to go farther than that, everything should be cool.

He took the earphone and smiled softly, nodding along as Leo hit play on the first track; at least he’d have more to listen to than his own overthinking as the bus made its way to Tacoma.

As the music played and Dustin vibed along, Leo shifted in his seat to face him.

“So… are you excited for the meet today? I already know you’re gonna kill it in the diving event,”

“Oh, I’m uh, actually kinda nervous if I’m honest,”

“Wait, what?!” Leo gasped, “you of all people have no reason to be nervous. I remember when my only responsibility was making sure everyone had fresh towels and full water bottles; watching you in the pool inspired me. You’re a god damned legend,”

Dustin just blinked dumbly in response; unable to fully form the words to convey how absolutely insane it was that someone like Leo viewed him as an inspiration. Leo Chang: tall, chiseled, model-gorgeous Leo Chang, thought that the emo kid with shattered rockstar dreams was a legend?

Unheard of.

Before he could voice his disbelief though, a violent crack of thunder forced his attention to the window, just as heavy rain started pelting down on the bus. Thunderstorms weren’t uncommon in Washington by any means, but Dustin could’ve sworn that clear skies had been forecast for the day of the meet…

He glanced down at his ring again; the last time a freak storm happened at James’s place, he was sure that it didn’t have anything to do with his powers. But now? Now he wasn’t so certain.

“That’s some gnarly weather,” Leo said, “hopefully it lets up before we get started. No way my parents are driving to Tacoma in this mess. Plus it’ll totally ruin the afterparty,”

“Afterparty? What afterparty?” Dustin wondered, shifting his focus back to Leo as the rain continued to soak the window.

“Instead of heading home on the bus, a bunch of us are gonna stay in the city and check out the nightclubs,” Leo flashed a devious grin, “we all got fake IDs from Bobby Arrington. Wait… no one told you?”

Dustin scoffed.

“No one ever tells me anything,” he replied, the bitterness like venom on his tongue, “the last thing they want is the fag- I mean, pretty boy, tagging along,”