Page 89 of Elemasters

James quirked an eyebrow.

“Sorry? What for?”

“Come on man, you know. You don’t gotta keep acting like that,” Chris shook his head, relaxing his grip on the wheel, “for the accident. I almost killed you that night. I barely even admitted the truth to myself, and I definitely didn’t apologize to you. If Dustin wasn’t there…”

“But he was,” James stopped him, “the choice you made almost ended my life, but Dustin was there and he saved it. There’s no point in getting hung up on ‘what ifs’ or who's to blame for a reality that didn’t even end up happening,”

“Nah dude, that’s too easy,” Chris shook his head, “no way you’re letting me off that like that,”

James put his hand on Chris’s bouncing knee.

“Chris, I ‘let you off’ the second I fully woke up in the hospital that night. You’ve gotta let yourself off man. You fucked up, we all do. All I can ask is for you to be a better Chris than you were that night, and I see that you are. Especially after everything that’s happened,”

Why was everyone so intent on making Chris fucking cry? Because there he was, sniffling like a damn loser as James patted his shoulder.

“I’ve caused all you guys so much pain, but all of you still risked every god damn thing to save me. And now here you are, comforting me when I’m the one who almost ended things for you. I… I’ll try to be the version of me you believe in so much,”

James smiled widely.

“You already did it. Now, let’s switch spots so we can be a real-life Dynamic Duo and save our town,”

Chris chuckled and nodded, wiping his tears as he and James got out of the car. Once he settled into the passenger’s seat, James tossed him a tiny sack of weed and some blunt wraps.

“Getting stoned on the job? Elemasters HR is gonna love this,” Chris teased, already rolling up with practiced ease.

“Elemasters HR got hijacked by an undead emperor remember? Besides, I do my best work stoned,” James replied with a devious smirk as the two hit the road again.

It didn’t take them long to arrive at the WFRK broadcast station right on the edge of town, and Chris’s mind-wheels started turning the moment they parked.

“Do you have like… a plan?” he mumbled, squinting his eyes on the neon sign atop the building like it held the answers.

“Me? No. Never,” James said, melting into the seat and leaning against the headrest, “but how hard can it be right? How many Elemental Sages does it take to trick some DJs into sending out an emergency broadcast?”

“Probably only like, two. But the question is, which two? Cuz it damn sure ain’t us two,”

Chris and James laughed in unison, before spiraling into a mutual coughing fit.

“Dude shut uuup,” James playfully pushed Chris’s shoulder, “we gotta focus! Wait, maybe I can use my name as leverage. I never pull the ‘richest family in town’ card, but it might work for us,”

“Worth a shot,” Chris shrugged, “let’s get crackin’,”

Seconds later, the two boys were stumbling into the station, reeking of weed and desperation. The lady at the front desk eyed them with a mix of confusion, annoyance, and amusement as they approached.

“Is there something I can do for you two?”

James blinked at her like a deer in headlights, before he blurted out words without thinking.

“Uh… Zhang. James Zhang,”

Chris facepalmed and shook his head.

“What the hell was that? Your best Bond impression? Let me do the talking,” he whispered, stepping closer to the desk and leaning against it casually, “good evening love, we’re so sorry to just barge in like this without calling first, but we’ve got a problem, and we need a huge favor,”

The lady still looked at them with suspicion, but Chris’s smooth tone clearly relaxed her.

“Yeah? And what favor is that pretty boy?”

James shuddered a bit behind Chris, but this outcome was exactly what he needed to happen. Chris had spent most of his teenage years charming fully adult women for his own ends, and while he probably shouldn’t be proud of that… it was useful so damn it, he was gonna use it.