Page 76 of Elemasters

“Let me take care of that. I could use some busy work. You take some time to relax. I’ll bring you an ice pack in a bit,”

Dustin nodded and took her advice, heading to his room and silently wishing he had some of James’s homegrown weed to ease the insane tension in his body.

He had no idea if or when his dad would come back, and he honestly didn’t care if he ever saw that asshole again. What mattered was that his relationship with his mom was headed in the right direction for what felt like the first time ever, and soon this ordeal would finally be at an end.

Chapter 30

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Dustin really wanted to spend his Saturday doing absolutely nothing. With everything going on in his life though, he should’ve known better than to even expect such a thing.

Which is why he wasn’t exactly surprised when his cell phone started ringing at 8am sharp, startling him out of his sleep with the opening horns of the Star Wars theme. The moment he flipped it open, Chloe started talking.

“I’m in a crisis and I need your help! I’ve already talked to Bailey and she’s down, but you’re the clincher here so don’t disappoint me!”

“Woah okay, slow down,” Dustin replied, his voice raspy and his lip still sore even though the swelling had gone down considerably, “what’s going on?”

“Pink Punks, the band from Seattle I got to play the Winter Formal? They can’t make it. Apparently, there’s a huge storm brewing over the city, like hurricane level shit, and they don’t wanna risk traveling,”

Dustin’s stomach immediately sank; not because of the dance drama, but because he knew that storm had to somehow be linked to Chris and the emperor.

“DUSTIN! This isn’t the time for you to start overthinking, I need you!”

“Okay, yeah sorry. What do you need me to do?”

“I know it’s a big ask, but I need you guys to bring Colorful Trauma back. Just for tonight so this whole thing doesn’t fall apart,”

Dustin felt like his brain was reduced to rubble in less than five milliseconds.

“Y-you WHAT?!”

“I know, I know! Trust me, if I had another choice I’d take it,”

“It’s been so long! And there’s barely any time to rehearse and…” Dustin caught himself before he could spiral further. He knew how much this meant to Chloe, and he couldn’t let all her hard work go down the drain because of his own hesitation. What kind of friend would he be if he refused to support her after all she’d done to help him? “You know what, okay. I’ll do it,”

Chloe squealed so loud that he had to move the phone away from his ear for a second.

“Thanks a million fish boy, I owe you big time. Get to the gym around 3pm so you guys have enough time to get everything set up and do soundcheck,”

With that, Dustin was met with the sound of Chloe’s phone flipping closed.

He pulled himself out of bed, drug his feet across the room, and opened the closet where he kept all his old clothing. He was met by a gentle stirring of dust as his eyes scanned all the band tees, crop tops, black mesh, and skintight leather. It was hard to believe that just a couple of months ago, he’d been braving this closet to find a pair of pants for the bonfire, and now he was coming back to actually revive Colorful Trauma.

If someone would’ve told him at the start of Senior Year that this would be his life, he might’ve died of laughter on the spot.

At the back of the closet lay his old bass guitar; still entombed in its sticker-covered case. Dustin got down on his knees and slowly opened it up, unable to fight the smile that crept across his face at the sight of its glossy black frame. He ran his fingers across it and memories flooded back instantly.

All the late nights practicing in Lola and Logan’s garage, the band’s Homecoming debut, him screaming “ARE YOU FUCKIN’ READY?!” at the top of his lungs in front of the hyped-up crowd, in his best impression of Hyde from L’Arc-en-Ciel.

He honestly didn’t know if he could be that Dustin again.

Or if he even needed to be.

“Dustin? You in there?”

Charlotte’s muffled voice on the other side of his bedroom door finally got him out of his own head. He lugged his bass out of the closet and opened the door, allowing her to step inside.

“I figured I’d check in with you before I head out. You remember Mrs. Huang from church? She’s agreed to oversee the search for Chris today. I’m needed in Seattle today; apparently there was a break-in at another warehouse where the artifacts for my exhibit are being stored. I thought what happened at the other location was just a fluke; some lunatic hitting places at random, but clearly someone’s looking for something,” Charlotte shook her head in frustration, the combined stress of her personal and professional lives clearly taking its toll. She was obviously going to continue her rant, but when she saw the bass on the floor, she stopped in her tracks, “oh wow… I haven’t seen that since,”