Element

6-Vaporization

Vaporization: the way molecules change from a solid or liquid to a gas.

The soles of  Aero's shoes smacked against the pavement every step he took back to the dorms. It was after dinner now and Aero was getting worried on Cyrus' whereabouts. He hadn't shown up for dinner, which by the way, was Chicken Alfredo. You cannot pass that up. It was delicious, too. It was nothing like the gross cafeteria food at their old school. It was fresh and homemade, not the packaged shit they used to have to eat.

Aero walked alone to the west wing where his dorm was located and passed by some familiar faces, but didn't acknowledge them. It felt weird without Cyrus around. He wasn't used to not having the sassy, annoying, gossipy voice around. He would never shut up, always talking about something. For once in Aero's life, he despised the quiet.

When he got back to the dorm, he kicked his feet up and relinquished in the feeling of a bed. It was actually comfy for a dorm room bed. Of course, he did miss his old one back home. But, a bed is a bed. He hadn't sat down much today and it was a crazy day. It felt like the day went on forever with the time change and Aero was utterly exhausted. His eyes began to droop closed and just like that, was encased into darkness.

~~~
Aero rolled over in bed, waking to the sound of the door opening. Groggily, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and noticed a familiar short figure with a fedora attached to his head, coming inside quietly. He tiptoed to his bed, lazily tossing his shoes on the floor and undoing his jeans, pulling them down right as he noticed Aero's eyes were open and staring at him awkwardly.

"Jesus, Aero! Warn a guy before they go stripping in public!" Cyrus wailed, chucking his pillow at Aero's face. Aero winced, throwing it back at him and Cyrus placed it back on his bed, sighing.

"Where have you been?"

Cyrus' voice raised an octave higher. "Nowhere."

Aero gave him a look, raising his eyebrows. "You and I both know that's not true."

Cyrus exhaled, admitting defeat. "Okay, I maybe stayed for dinner and drinks after Ember and I went to compel my parents. But, I swear, nothing else happened."

Aero glanced at the clock. 12:53. Somehow, he didn't think dinner and drinks could have lasted that long, but decided to drop the subject with a, "Whatever you say," and rolled back over in bed. He could hear Cyrus changing before his bed squeaked and Aero knew he had gone to sleep now, too.

The next morning, Cyrus and Aero had woken and gone down into the cafeteria for breakfast. They were sat with Wisp and his friends as they munched on bacon, eggs, and toast. The eggs were scrambled to the point they were fluffy and not runny or overcooked. The toast was crisp and buttered and the bacon was crispy and delightful on the tastebuds. Aero was sipping on his chocolate milk when Wisp looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Uh, why are your two pissy friends storming our way?" Wisp was looking towards Roxxi and Ember who looked fierce and determined as they shoved past Shifters. Roxxi even punched an innocent Wetter girl's tray of food, causing it to fly up in the air and almost plop all over her if it wasn't for a nice Aeries who blew it out of her way. It smacked on the floor in a pile of mush. The Wetter girl threw her arms around the Aeries boy, her hero, who blushed at her praise.

Ember and Roxxi quickly stormed over. Ember looked stressed and Roxxi looked frantic. Cyrus sat with his straw between his mouth, gazing at Ember with partial horror and a little bit of fondness mixed in-between. Aero didn't really acknowledge it, though. He just mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen.