9. The Saltwater Room
The Saltwater Room
Dustin’s brain felt like overcooked oatmeal; lumpy, mushy, and ready to slosh out of his ears at any moment. That would’ve been annoying on a normal day, but on the day of the big regional meet?
It was fucking catastrophic.
He’d spent the entirety of the week trying to balance swim and elemental magic practice with a fucking Mt. Doom sized pile of homework. At this point the only thing keeping him going was the ungodly amount of caffeine he’d been mainlining since he woke up.
He couldn’t collapse though, no matter how badly he wanted to; the meet had finally arrived, and if he could just survive the rest of the day, he might finally be able to get some rest.
He pulled into the school’s parking lot before sunrise and stared at the parked activities bus like a Titanic passenger gazing upon the ill-fated ship. He couldn’t explain it, but there was this sense of dread that loomed heavy in his chest like an anchor weighing down his heart.
He was so caught up in his own feelings, that he’d all but forgotten that Chris was barely conscious in the passenger’s seat next to him.
“Are you gonna get out or what? I need to get the car home and crash. No reason I gotta start my day at 5am because you have regionals,”
“Sorry, I just have a bad feeling I can’t shake,”
Chris sat up a bit straighter and looked at Dustin through tired eyes.
“You feeling sick or something? Dude, I told you that drinking 3 Monsters before we left the house was a shitty idea!”
“I’m not sick,” Dustin shook his head, “I don’t know, maybe it’s just anxiety. Coach said that scouts from WSU are gonna be there,”
“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,”
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.
“W-what? What does my last name have to do with…”
“Be. Silent,” Leo demanded, raising his hand, “one does not speak with cattle. One slaughters it,”
Before Dustin could even process the insane shit that Leo just said, the familiar voice of Sima Yao echoed in his mind.
“This… is no longer the one you knew. Second Master Ying, prepare to defend yourself at once!”