Title: Symptoms
Pairing: Tory Blake/Colin Stephens, from OffBeat
Theme: #10: #10
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters involved, Wada Calcium CD3, and I do not intend any copyright infringement by this piece. This is fiction for fans by fans.
Additional: Oh - it’s a real list of side effects, available online, unfortunately FFnet does not allow links.
Thanks to my reviewers - Mexman1993 and wonder1440. This may seem a bit unhappy at first, but it will be fluffy in the end 3

--

Tory wasn’t in school the next day.

Colin wondered about this idly throughout first period - it was unlike the other boy; who attended lectures compulsively even though he excelled easily. He didn’t worry, though. At least not very much.

The thought that perhaps he was the cause of Tory’s absence crossed his mind only once during lunch, and was banished with the same slight blush which had accompanied his… kiss.

He tried not to dwell on it - but it was difficult to concentrate in Physics, even more so when faced with that conspicuously empty seat.

By the end of the day he was frustrated beyond belief, prompting him to phone the only person in the world he would really consider a ‘friend’ once he had arrived at home.

“Hello?” the voice which answered sounded nervous - almost disoriented - and he sagged slightly against the wall, cradling the telephone to his face.

“Um - hi, Tory. This is Colin,” he tried.

“…Hi, yeah, um… caller ID, right? So, um… what’s up?” Tory sounded as though he was trying to sound normal, but faint tones of stress behind his voice were discernable.

“Listen - about yesterday. I hope I didn’t - weird you out or…” Damn, he was blushing. He hoped he didn’t sound too stupid. “Or… you know. It was just-”

“What about yesterday?”

Huh?

“You know - at lunch?” He did sound stupid, now. Crap.

“Nothing happened at lunch.” The voice was flat. “Nothing.”

Dial tone sounded loudly in Colin’s ear and he stood there, shocked, for a long moment before hanging up himself and walking numbly to his room.

-

He avoided Tory the next day.

He hurried to classes and kept his head even more down than usual; he wandered the soccer field at lunch; and when the long, arduous day was over, he waited for his drive behind a tree.

Some would call it childish. Colin called it self-preservation.

He had enjoyed the kiss, and conceited or not, he had thought at the time that Tory did, too. Evidently not.

Once they were home, however, Colin stared across the street towards Tory’s house, struck by a thought from seemingly nowhere.

Maybe…

He dashed to his room and booted the computer up. He needed to do some research.

-

“You’re just confused.”

“What?”

Tory stopped and turned to look at him curiously, swinging his backpack from one hand and holding a textbook in the other. This hallway was crowded, break was starting - Colin sighed in exasperation and took hold of Tory’s textbook-clutching arm absently to pull him away.

Tory had no choice but to follow, shoving through the crowds behind the dark haired boy.

When they had reached seclusion - their favourite haunt, the back of the library - Colin pushed Tory down to sit in a rare show of confidence and kneeled in front of him, eyes blazing with determination and more than a hint of a blush staining his pale cheeks.

“Colin, what the hell-”

His indignant question was broken off by a demanding pair of lips, for the second time in three days Colin was kissing him strongly. In shock, he opened his mouth - Colin seized the opportunity and started frenching him.

By the time he got a grip and began to push the other boy off, however, Colin was already withdrawing - and holding up a printed piece of paper as though it held the answers to all of life’s questions.

“See, Tory? These are effects of calcium overdose - one: constipation. Two: dryness of mouth. Three: continuing headache. Four-”

“Colin - you just kissed me. You just frenched me! Get to the issue at hand, here!”

Colin ignored him, still reciting from the list, creasing his brow in concentration.

“…Eight: metallic taste. Nine: unusual tiredness or weakness. And finally,” he said dramatically, looking up at Tory unflinchingly “Ten: confusion! See?”

Tory stared at him disbelievingly, reciting the list back in his head. What was five? Irritability? And he had had a headache lately - that was true - but still…

Tentatively, he leaned forward towards Colin, who was still on his knees in front of him.

Their third kiss in as many days was initiated by him, for once - and it was much gentler than the other two, nervous and a little hesitant. As Colin kissed back he gained confidence, and felt his recent depression - number seven - begin to melt away, soothed by the equally nervous boy in front of him.

He broke the kiss and leaned back, regarding the blushing face happily and raising a hand to his own warm cheeks.

“Okay, so… maybe you were right.”

The other boy smirked, standing up just slightly unsteadily and walking towards the exit.

“Maybe? Admit it, Tory - I was one hundred percent right, this time.”

He disappeared from sight behind the rows of books, and Tory watched him go with what he thought was probably a really goofy look.

Just this once, he didn’t mind being wrong.