When Everything Was New. (A Flume, ILLENIUM, and ODESZA twin AU)

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Adrian's sleep was a patchwork of dreams and half-formed melodies, a strange blend of the previous night's adrenaline and the creative outburst with Eli. 

He awoke to Dev persistently shaking him.

"Dude, what the hell happened last night?" Dev was sitting on the edge of his bed, phone in hand, looking a mix of amused and concerned.

Adrian rubbed his eyes, his mind still foggy with sleep. "What time is it?" he mumbled.

"It's like, noon. But forget the time, man. This video of you tossing some dude like a rag doll is all over campus. You're like a freaking legend."

Adrian sighed, sitting up. 

'Jesus fuck Dev...'

The word 'Legend' couldn't make him cringe any harder.

The last thing he wanted was to be a campus 'legend' for a stupid, drunk fight. "The guy was a drunken mess and tried to start something with Eli. I just... reacted."

"Well, dude, it's everywhere. People are talking," dev said, a bit excited, "You and Eli okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Adrian said, sitting with his head in his hands, still trying to shake the last remnants of sleep from himself. He was worried about potential legal repercussions, and he didn't know whether to be relieved or not that it was how people reacted to the video that got him more worried. All this talk about him sounded so juvenile, like he was in high school.

And he didn't even go to high school.

Looking at Dev in his slightly disheveled state, "legend, huh?" Adrian said with a small smirk.

Dev showed him the video on Myspace.

The footage was shaky, a typical low-quality smartphone recording from a party. But it clearly showed Adrian, in the midst of a noisy crowd, shoving a guy, Mark apparently, into the wall with a force that was startling, leaving behind a visible dent. The sound of the impact made Adrian wince.

"Yeah well, fuck him, he had it coming," was all Adrian said as he got up and headed for the shower.

"Yeah, seems everyone is in agreement," Dev said as he continued to read the comments and posts about it.

In the shower, the hot water cascaded over Adrian, mixing with his swirling thoughts. He needed this to blow over, to become just another forgotten college incident. As he toweled off and dressed, he decided to keep a low profile, at least for a while.

Exiting the bathroom, he found Dev still engrossed in his phone. "Man, you really are a hit. Look at this," Dev said, showing him a thread of comments praising Adrian's 'heroic' action.

Adrian dried his hair, leaning over to read the thread on Dev's phone. His slightly longer hair dangled over the device, dripping water down the screen as he read. There was admiration, snark, and the boisterous energy characteristic of college chatter.

"@campuskingz: Did you see Adrian handling Mark? Dude's got hands! #campuslegend"

"@nightowl_22: Finally, someone shut Mark up. That guy was a ticking time bomb. #AdrianJustice"

"@Lizbeth_the_Bold: That was insane. I knew that walking skyscraper named Adrian had some insane power."

"@Raj_from_3B: Adrian's my new dorm hero. Who needs security when you have him? #respect"

"@sassy_sammy: So when's the next Adrian vs. World event? I'd pay to see that."

"@Lola_Nunnehh: omg why is this sooooo HOT?"