Page 32 of Elemasters

“Listen to me; you’re not a murderer, okay? You were defending yourself against something impossible, and it ended really badly. That’s not your fault. Besides, if you’re worried about like… karma or whatever, you might’ve taken a life, but you saved one too,”

“What are you talking about?”

“Really? You don’t remember Junior Prom? The accident after the afterparty?”

Dustin gulped nervously at the mention of that night; it was something that he deliberately avoided thinking about as much as possible. He always assumed James didn’t remember who exactly pulled him from the wreckage, but maybe he was wrong…

Dustin had been riding high that night.

It was the last performance Colorful Trauma would do with their original lineup; Logan and Lola were gonna be moving over the summer, so Dustin and Bailey knew they had to give it their all to convince new members to join in their place. They’d given the best performance of their lives, but as if the universe knew that Dustin was having a good time, Chris had to fucking ruin it.

He'd gotten shitfaced, to no one’s surprise. But now as they were walking out into the parking lot, Chris was determined to drive them home, which neither Dustin or Bailey was going to allow.

“Christian stop fucking around! Gimmie the god damn keys!” Dustin demanded, slinging his guitar over his shoulder as he chased his twin across the rain-soaked asphalt, “I am absolutely NOT letting you drive dude!”

“I can fucking handle myself!” Chris growled as he jumped into the car, starting it up immediately. Dustin bolted over and jumped in the passenger’s seat as Chris ripped out of the parking lot, leaving Bailey at the Civic Center entrance without a thought.

“PULL OVER!”

“NO! I’M SICK OF YOU GUYS TELLING ME WHAT TO DO ALL THE TIME. ACTING LIKE I CAN’T MAKE DECISIONS WITHOUT…”

Dustin’s attention was derailed by headlights rapidly approaching.

“CHRIS, WATCH OUT THERE’S ANOTHER…”

Dustin shook his head, trying to block out the echo of screeching tires, crunching metal, and shattering glass as he forced his mind back into the present.

“I should’ve died that night,” James continued, “it all happened so fast, but all I remember is seeing a car swerving into my lane and then everything was dark. At least it was until I was gasping for air, looking up at the most beautiful boy in the world who’d apparently just saved my life,”

“It was dumb luck,” Dustin quickly replied, “it’s just lucky I had a lifeguard job and learned CPR,”

“No, you made the decision to rush in and save me because you’re a good fucking person,” James immediately reassured him, “you didn’t just save my life that night, you gave me a second chance. Before that I’d been so obsessed with proving to my grandparents that I’ll be a good heir to the ‘Zhang legacy’, that I barely even knew who I was as a person. But after you literally breathed life back into me, I realized that I couldn’t waste a single fucking second. I couldn’t even bring myself to hate Chris for causing the accident, because that was the night my life really started. It’s why I’m so willing to just put myself out there and do whatever feels right to me in the moment… although it still took me until the bonfire to finally work up the courage to talk to you,”

The tears were streaming down Dustin’s face now, but James wouldn’t let him turn away. First there was Leo saying Dustin made him want to become a swimmer, and now James crediting him for unlocking his “try anything once” philosophy? For most of his life he felt like he only existed to be in the shadow of someone who burned far brighter… but maybe he just needed to ignite his own light again.

“I’m saying all of this to say that I really just want you to fully understand how fucking amazing you are. Every day, I see you looking at the world like it’s broken your heart a million times over,” James continued, lifting Dustin’s hand and rubbing his fingers over the black ring on his pinky, “other people would’ve given up by now, but you’re like a river. Sometimes you’re soft and still, and other times you rage against anything that tries to contain you… but you can never really be tamed,”

“You cheesy dork,” Dustin sniffled, “that sounds like something out of a romantic poem,”

“Three weeks in literature club,” James’s smile widened, “but I mean every word,”

“I know, that’s why I’m fucking crying,”

James’s smile softened, but it didn’t fade.

“It’s okay baobei, you’re perfect when you cry too,”

That was Dustin’s final straw; the last crack in the dam that he’d built to keep himself calm, respectable, and manageable.

The next thing he knew, him and James were all over each other; lips, tongues and teeth clashing as their hands twisted in each other’s hair. The food was pushed aside as James guided Dustin onto his back, kissing his way down the other boy’s neck as he did so.

“Tell me to stop and I will,” James mumbled, sucking intently on Dustin’s skin, “but if you don’t want me to… I really wanna wreck you,”

Dustin moaned, mostly involuntarily, at James’s words.

“I… Jesus, okay, that was way hotter than it had any reason to be,” Dustin laughed, breathless, “let’s do it,”

It seemed that was all James needed to hear; he dove in immediately, pulling Dustin’s tank top over his head in one smooth motion, before capturing his lips in another heated kiss. His lips trailed down Dustin’s body, pulling unintentional gasps from the boy beneath him as he tasted every inch of his exposed chest like he was trying to memorize song lyrics.