Page 25 of Elemasters

Leo recoiled from that word like he’d been bitten, his expression shifting into something deeply hurt.

“Dustin I… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize they treated you like that, I just always assumed you didn’t wanna be included since you’re so introverted,” he gently brushed his fingers across Dustin’s hand, “and besides, why wouldn’t I want you to tag along? You said it yourself, you’re pretty. Like, the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen,”

Dustin’s heart slammed the brakes like Chris after forgetting to stop at a red light.

Sure, it had been obvious that Leo was into him, but… he wasn’t expecting that. His mind reeled with a million questions; what should he do next? What should he say? What about James? Was this cheating? They weren’t really together but they did share that absolutely amazing kiss… was he just overthinking it? Well of course he was overthinking it, he always overthought everything, but was it justified?

Leo clearly noticed Dustin’s hesitation, and he slowly withdrew his hand.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“No, it’s fine, you’re fine,” Dustin stammered, “I just… thank you. For the compliment. I just don’t wanna mislead you. I’ve kinda got a… thing with someone else. I don’t have a word or label for it, but you’re a nice guy and it wouldn’t be fair to string you along until I’m sure about what’s going on,”

Leo smiled softly and nodded; the hurt evident in his eyes, though he didn’t give it a voice.

“I totally get it. Sorry I put you on the spot like that,”

“Don’t sweat it,” Dustin reassured him, “now, let’s keep listening to this album, yeah? It fucking kills,”

With that, Leo pressed play again, and Dustin let the sounds of Evanescence soothe his mind as the bus chugged along.

The Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center didn’t look all that different from any other venue Dustin had ever traveled to for a meet; the grey concrete walls and triangular roofing made of blue metal and glass was fairly standard. But for some reason, standing in front of the entrance clutching his bag felt like the last apprehensive step before walking into a mausoleum.

It wasn’t just nerves, that much was clear. It was almost like the air itself was pressing down on him, along with the pouring rain that shouldn’t even be happening.

Everyone else had already gone inside to start prepping, but Dustin was just… standing there. Letting the rain beat him over the head while he tried to convince himself to take the last few steps.

“Get it together,” he mumbled to himself, “I cannot fuck this up,”

He gathered his energy and steeled his resolve before preparing to step inside, but before he opened the door he noticed something odd…

On the far end of the parking lot, next to the charter bus, stood none other than Leo; staring up at the sky while the rain pounded him and the wind made his hair look like he’d been electrocuted. Dustin tried to follow his gaze, thinking he was looking up at a plane or a fucking UFO or something, but… there was nothing there.

“Uh… Leo?” Dustin called out, “you good man?”

Leo gasped like he’d forgotten he was in public where people could like, see him. He locked eyes with Dustin and his gaze was… different. Gone were the soft eyes and shy smiles; he was staring like a tiger waiting for prey to turn its back.

Calling it unsettling would’ve been an understatement.

Without a word, Leo just stormed past Dustin and into the building; leaving the latter confused and alone. Was it something he said? Was Leo just pretending to be cool with rejection, and now he just couldn’t hide his anger anymore?

Whatever the issue was, Dustin wanted to squash it then and there; they couldn’t have it interfering with their team’s performance.

He entered the building and glanced around for any sign of Leo; he wasn’t in the lobby, nor around the pool with the others. It was like he’d completely disappeared in less than 30 seconds.

“Looking for your little boyfriend?” the team captain, Nathan Parker called out, accompanied by the snickers of the rest of the team, “he headed into the locker room. If you two get freaky in there I’m reporting your gay asses to Coach Carter,”

Dustin rolled his eyes and shot them a middle finger before turning toward the locker room.

The moment he pushed the door open, he was met with a rush of humidity; much warmer than what was normal, even when the showers were all going at once. No one was inside but Leo; his back turned to the door, pulling his tight black jammers up over his butt with practiced familiarity.

“Leo? Hey, listen… if this is about earlier, I thought we were cool?”

Leo didn’t answer immediately; instead turning slowly and watching Dustin with that predatory glint in his eye. Rainwater dripped down his face from his soaked hair, and he crossed his arms over his bare chest.

“We are most certainly not ‘cool’ Ying. As if you’re even fit to carry that family name,”

His voice was… wrong. Not the sound of it; he still sounded like Leo, but the way he was speaking was weird as fuck. Like a disgusted middle-aged man somehow trapped in an 18-year old’s body.