Page 102 of Elemasters

As the group filed into the Cadillac and followed Charlotte home, Dustin couldn’t take his eyes off the black ring around his pinky. Something so small, that anyone else in the world would see as insignificant, had taken him from a shy swimmer who’d given up on his musical ambitions and accepted a life as the “quiet Ying twin”, to an unsung hero who’d just basically saved the whole damn world.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine where it would take him next.

But wherever that may have been, he knew one thing…

He was ready to take a deep breath, and embrace it.

Epilogue

Existentialism on Prom Night

FIVE MONTHS LATER

“Alright flat iron,” Dustin grimaced at the superheated rectangular death trap in his hand, “I need you to cooperate. This night will not be ruined by a subpar fringe,”

He’d already gotten dressed, done his eyeliner in a way that would make Gerard Way proud, and painted his nails in patterns of black and white. Now he just needed to lock down the hair and he’d look absolutely perfect.

After all, he only got one Senior Prom. Chloe would never forgive him if he half-assed it.

Just as he was about to clamp the flat iron down on his hair, someone banging on the bathroom door nearly scared him out of his skin. It flew open a second later to reveal Chris standing there, hair trimmed and freshly bleached. His muscled arms were crossed, and Dustin’s eyes were immediately drawn to the white pendant around his neck; the yang half of a matching yin yang necklace set they got as an early graduation gift.

“Boy if you don’t hurry your ass up! The Ying twins gotta make our grand prom entrance together, not twenty minutes apart!”

“Aren’t you supposed to make your grand entrance with Bailey? You know, your actual date?”

Chris pinched his nose bridge in frustration.

“You and I enter side by side, with Bailey on my arm and James on yours! We’ve been over this Zixuan. Jesus,”

“Well forgive me for not remembering your dumb ass rules Ziheng,” Dustin immediately fired back, his focus primarily on guiding the flat iron across his locks, “just give me like, five minutes!”

Chris rolled his eyes.

“Fine, but before I head downstairs, mom told me to give you this,”

Dustin looked at the mirror to see his twin flipping him off before smirking and slipping out the door.

Dustin just chuckled and finished his hair, finally appreciating his full appearance; a black blazer with lapels embroidered with gold to resemble patterns on a traditional hanfu. In place of a tie, he wore his yin necklace that rested perfectly on top of the black mesh shirt beneath the blazer. He wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of slacks, so he opted for a brand new pair of skinny jeans instead.

Everything was flawless.

As he joined Chris at the bottom of the stairs, he was immediately assaulted by a camera flash.

His mother stood there with a wide smile, snapping photos on her digital camera like it was going out of style. Chris was posing and flexing his arms, rolling up the sleeves of his red button-down just to show off more. When he noticed Dustin standing there, he immediately pulled him closer so they could pose together.

After a gauntlet of twin poses (double peace sign, Mortal Kombat stances, the Dragon Ball Z fusion dance) it seemed like Charlotte was finally satisfied. Dustin’s eyes drifted to the family photo on the cabinet across the room, and he had to actively fight the grimace from overtaking his face.

His father.

He’d always imagined that Elliot would be there for the night of Senior Prom, but he hadn’t been allowed to set foot in the house since the night he hit Dustin. Once Chris found out about it, he threatened to burn the man alive if he saw him again… which Dustin knew was no idle threat, even if Charlotte took it as protective hyperbole.

Things were probably better this way, but he couldn’t quite shake the feeling of incompleteness gnawing at him.

“You boys look wonderful! Now, I know tonight’s very important for seniors, but I still expect both of you to be responsible,” she said, narrowing her eyes on the two of them, “no drugs, no drinking. And if you’re going to be… active, I expect you to at least be safe,”

Dustin buried his face in his palms, while Chris just smirked.

“Already ahead of you mom,” Chris replied, reaching into his shirt pocket and whipping out a roll of condoms wrapped in gold foil. They dramatically unfolded before he flipped them back up into his hand and slid them into his pocket like a magician, “enough for us to split! Even though I’m pretty sure he bottoms,”