“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. “Hewasglowing 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?”
