Page 5 of Elemasters

Thankfully, Chris always knew when that feeling was setting in, and he always knew how to remedy it in the most Chris way possible…

“No time to get cold feet now Mr. Bubble Butt,” he said, landing an open palmed smack on Dustin’s asscheek with enough force to cause an echo, “we’re here, you’re queer, and it’s too late to turn back,”

Dustin steeled his resolve, ignored his stinging butt cheek, and stepped off the boat into the soft sand. If walking on sand in platforms was tough, Bailey didn’t show it as she sauntered off ahead of the twins, immediately heading for the nearest cooler to grab a beer.

Most of the students gave her a wide berth, like she was fucking infected or something. Dustin hated that shit more than anything; he’d been on the receiving end of more than a few choice comments himself, but the shit he got was nothing compared to the insults hurled at Bailey. Weirdly enough though, it was like she never seemed to notice them. When she sat down at a lunch table and the other students got up and moved, she paid them no mind. When some asshole would mutter “tranny” under their breath when her name was called during attendance, she wouldn’t even flinch.

Dustin wasn’t sure if it was strength, or just resignation. But whatever it was, he couldn’t help but admire her refusal to turn herself down a single notch.

If only he’d been able to do the same.

He didn’t have much time to let that thought simmer before Chris was gripping his arm like an overzealous blood pressure cuff.

“Dude, holy fucking shit, LOOK!”

“What am I looking at?”

“There!” Chris pointed up ahead to where the main bonfire was raging, and that’s when Dustin saw her. The Blasian girl with medium brown skin, sharp eyes, and long braids pulled into a high ponytail. She was dressed in a white cropped hoodie that showed off her star-shaped belly button piercing, and a black denim miniskirt. Her feet were bare, but some guy trailing behind her looked to be carrying her heels for her. Despite the fact that all the attention was on her, she was completely zoning out as if she hadn’t heard a word of it, “Chloe’s here! I should’ve known she wouldn’t miss this,”

Dustin knew Chloe Li all too well. Daughter of a locally famous fashion designer, Kochiyama High’s number one it girl… and Chris’s ex-girlfriend. They’d known Chloe since elementary, but she and Chris only started dating in Freshman year, only to break up in the middle of Junior year. But Chris hadn’t stopped peacocking in an attempt to get her back ever since.

“Bro, leave that poor girl in peace for one night, I’m begging you,”

Chris gasped in overdramatized horror.

“Excuse me?! You expect me to just let her walk away from all this?” Chris gestured up and down his body.

Dustin pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“You’re good at so many things, why can’t ‘respecting boundaries’ be one of them?”

“Fuck off Twinkula, I’m going to talk to her,” Chris said, playfully shoving Dustin, “you gonna be cool without me, right?”

Dustin’s eyes drifted to the ever-growing crowd of increasingly inebriated seniors and felt that uneasy feeling return. He choked it down and offered a casual nod; he wasn’t about to ruin Chris’s moment.

“Go for it. I’ll find the middle ground between the computer nerds and the theater kids and hang out until you’re done,”

“I don’t know bro, I’m feeling kinda shaky. You know what I’m gonna need if this is gonna go smoothly,” Chris smirked, before raising his hands high in the air, palms to the sky, “please, give me your energy,”

Dustin chuckled as the scene from Dragon Ball Z flashed in his mind; Goku drawing energy from the lifeforms of the universe to boost his Spirit Bomb. It was the nerdiest shit of all time, and something only someone as effortlessly confident as Chris could pull off without plummeting down the social ladder…

So of course Dustin raised his hands in the same fashion without thinking twice.

“My energy is yours sensei. Just don’t use it for nefarious purposes,”

With that, Chris pulled him into a quick hug and made his way toward his target.

As soon as his twin disappeared into the sea of kids around the bonfire, Dustin found a smooth rock to sit down on. He was close enough to still feel the bass from the Yung Joc song thumping in his chest, but far enough that no one would really notice him. Maybe he’d move in closer a bit later, but for now he was content to just vibe near the water’s edge and enjoy the music from afar.

Or at least, that was his plan…

“You realize the party’s over there, right?”

The sudden deep voice made Dustin flinch so hard he almost slipped off the rock, but he regained his composure and turned around… only to see none other than James Zhang himself standing over him with a beautiful, carefree smile etched on his face. He was notably shorter than Dustin was, likely around 5 '6 or so, but what he lacked in stature, he made up for in pure presence. He’d always been a force to be reckoned with; chaos in human form that bounced between extracurriculars like the world’s sexiest pinball. Dustin envied that energy; the ability to try on any hat and then ditch it at a moment’s notice for whatever else struck his fancy.

He wasn’t even 100% sure when his obsession with James started. It could’ve been back during their Freshman orientation, when he saw that brilliant 10,000-watt smile lighting up the auditorium from halfway across the room. Or maybe it was Sophomore year during Culture Day, when James showcased his mixed heritage by cooking up a Filipino/Chinese fusion platter that made Dustin realize how hot being a good cook was.

Regardless of when the crush started, Dustin never thought anything would actually come of it. They’d never even had a full conversation; the only time they’d ever even sort of interacted was… Junior Prom.