Chapter 2 #2
Most of the guys in the room are from the soccer team, though there are a few faces I only recognize from the gym. Apparently, panic-training season has officially begun.
As I pull my shirt off, I can’t help but call out to the room, “Hey, what do you guys think about soulmates?”
“I’ll only accept it if mine is hot,” Brian says, which earns him a few snickers.
“Or rich,” someone else adds. I think it’s one of the football guys, which is fair. Their equipment is expensive.
“Or both!” I don’t see who says it, but laugh all the same.
Rich grins. “My soulmate better be able to shotgun a beer.”
I cackle. Still, I like Colten’s answer better. If anyone deserves a real soulmate, it’s him.
I grab my practice jersey from my locker—
Then blink as I catch a glimpse of Colten before double-checking that I’m not seeing things.
“Colten,” I say slowly. He’s blankly staring into his locker while tying his hair back.
“Yeah?”
“Why are you glowing?”
He pauses, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, like he’s not sure if he misheard me or not.
“...What?”
As I stare, I realize that, no, I’m not seeing things. His skin is literally radiating light, every inch of his exposed body surrounded by soft white brightness.
“Okay,” I say, trying not to panic. “Important question—have you been bitten by any radioactive spiders recently?”
Colten frowns at me. “Patrick.”
“Dude, you’re literally glowing,” I say urgently, staring at him with wide eyes.
He sighs and turns toward the mirror on a nearby locker before freezing, eyes wide as he takes in the light emitting from his body.
“Colten, the radioactive spiders?” I repeat.
One of the other guys looks over. “What are you two talking about?”
“Do none of you see this?” I wave my hand dramatically in front of Colten.
“See what?” Rich asks, squinting at us.
“Colten is a flashlight!”
The whole locker room looks over.
The glow is dimming now, but it’s still definitely there, yet everyone just looks confused??
“Patrick,” Rich says slowly. “Do you really think Colten will let you off from practice by pretending you have a concussion?”
I look at Colten, who looks back at me, eyes wide. He can see it, I can see it, but obviously none of the others can.
And then our eyes widen at the exact same time as we both realize what happened.
“Magic is real!” I shout.
“Dude, a TBI?” Rich asks, snorting. “There’s no way Colten is going to believe you.”
“We have to find Elias,” I tell Colten, ignoring Rich.
Colten nods, obviously shaken at becoming a human flashlight even though the glow is now completely gone.
“Wha—Colten, don’t tell me you’re giving in to this?” Brian asks, half laughing, half confused.
“No time to explain,” I tell them, grabbing Colten’s hand and dragging him back through the locker room to the exit. “We gotta find the magical Greek guy!”
“I wish I could go with them to find the magical Greek guy,” one of the footballers complains, before the guy next to him punches his arm.
“You can’t; we gotta stake out our part of the field first!”
The rest of the locker room starts arguing about who gets how much of the field as I drag Colten away.
It’s only when we’re outside and the chill hits me that I realize I’m still shirtless. Huh. No wonder people keep giving us weird looks.
Well, maybe it was the shirtlessness, or maybe it’s me ranting about what kind of special powers Colten might have now, at least beyond being a human-shaped flashlight.
We cut across the lawn, aiming for the same building we just did the spell in. Until I happen to notice the lanky, curly-haired form of Elias waiting at the bus stop.
Then I’m dragging Colten straight towards him.
Elias stands near the bus shelter, scrolling through his phone, when we skid to a stop in front of him.
He looks up and blinks, his eyes widening.
“Patrick, why are you naked?” he asks slowly.
“I’m not naked,” I say immediately, breathing hard.
Colten bends over slightly with his hands on his knees, catching his breath.
“You’re shirtless,” Elias clarifies.
“Yes.”
Elias tilts his head before asking, “...But why?”
Colten straightens and points directly at Elias. “What did you do to me?”
Elias blinks again. “Excuse me?”
“You,” Colten says, voice tight now. “What did your spell do?”
Elias looks genuinely baffled. “What do you mean?”
“He’s glowing!” I say, pointing dramatically at Colten.
Everyone at the bus stop turns to look at Colten, who stands there, not glowing.
“Okay,” I say quickly, waving my hands. “He was glowing earlier. Though only I could see it.” I turn back toward Elias. “So, what did your spell do to him? Is he radioactive now?!”
Elias stares at us. His gaze is sharp as he takes in Colten before turning back to me. He takes a little too long to look over my bare chest before his expression slowly shifts with understanding.
“Oh,” Elias breathes, his eyes brightening up, a grin dragging up the corners of his mouth. “Oh!”
“So you know what it is,” I say, relieved. “How do we fix it?”
Elias clasps his hands together, looking between us with barely contained excitement.
“Patrick,” he says eagerly. “Are you and Colten in love?”
What.
Colten blinks very, very slowly, his face completely blank.
“What?” Colten asks, his tone flat.
Elias nods enthusiastically. “Yes! That must be it!”
“What must be it?” I ask, while promising myself not to take up any other strangers’ offers of enchantments on a whim again. I really should just listen to Colten.
“If only the two of you can see the effects, then it must mean the magic connected you two together!” Elias gushes, nearly bouncing with excitement.
Colten’s jaw tightens. He looks pissed. “That’s not what it means.”
“Yes, it is!” Elias says. “It means you’re soulmates!”
There’s a pause. A long one.
Then Colten very quietly says, “Don’t.”
Elias blinks, pausing in his excitement. “What?”
“Don’t do that,” Colten says, voice low and razor-thin. “Don’t take a mistake and dress it up like it means something.”
Elias falters, just a little. “It’s not a mistake, it’s—”
“It’s sloppy,” Colten cuts in, even sharper now. “It’s reckless. You do something you can't control, and now you’re trying to sell it like it’s fate instead of owning that you screwed up.”
Elias’ mouth opens and closes, obviously taken aback by the venom in Colten’s voice.
It’s rare for Colten to sound like this—cutting and vicious instead of controlled and calm.