The dim dorm room felt suffocating. The air was heavy, thick with the weight of what had just happened. Austin paced furiously, his sneakers scuffing the tiled floor, the rhythmic sound the only thing breaking the oppressive silence. His eyes darted repeatedly to Darrick, lying motionless on the makeshift bed of towels atop Jace's bed. Darrick looked too pale, too fragile—like a shadow of the friend Austin knew. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, his body occasionally twitching as if even unconscious he couldn't escape the pain.

Jace sat cross-legged on the floor near the bed, his eyes wide and unblinking as he stared at Darrick's small form. "He's still breathing," he whispered, almost like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. "That's a good thing, right? That's gotta be good..."

Austin stopped pacing and turned to him, his jaw tight. "Breathing doesn't mean he's fine." He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, his frustration palpable.

Cole, standing by the door like a sentry, folded his arms across his chest. His brow furrowed as he leaned against the frame, every muscle in his body tense. "How long do you think it'll take for David to realize we didn't go to the infirmary?"

"Not long," Austin muttered, shaking his head. "I'm sure He'll figure it out or have cameras watching us as we speak" the boys collectively looked to the ceiling, trying to spot the black lenses of a camera hidden in the walls

Jace shifted uncomfortably. "You saw how he looked at Darrick back there. He didn't even see him as a person. Just..." Jace trailed off, his voice faltering.

"Like he was an experiment," Cole finished grimly, his lips pulling into a deep frown. "Something for them to poke and prod."

Austin clenched his fists at the memory of David, the way he'd spoken about Darrick like he was some kind of specimen. The thought made Austin's stomach churn with anger.

Before anyone could respond, a low groan filled the room. The boys froze, their heads snapping toward the bed. Darrick stirred, his small fingers twitching against the towel, his face twisting in a grimace of pain. Another soft groan escaped his lips, and his eyelids fluttered open, revealing glassy, unfocused eyes.

"Darrick?" Austin was at his side in an instant, kneeling down so he was eye level with his friend. He reached out, brushing damp black hair away from Darrick's clammy forehead. "Hey, can you hear me? It's Austin."

Darrick's lips parted, but his voice was barely above a whisper. "It...hurts," he croaked. His words were slow, slurred. "Where's Tess? Is she here?"

Austin's chest tightened at the question. Of course Darrick was worried about Tess. She was his girlfriend after all , the one person who'd always been by his side before they were separated by the facility's cruel design. But Tess was locked away in the human sector, far out of reach.

"She's safe," Austin said, his voice soft but firm. "She's okay." He had no idea, she hoped his words spoke the truth.

Jace exchanged a worried glance with Cole, both of them knowing the truth—that Tess was as much a prisoner as they were. Before they could say anything, Darrick's body suddenly went rigid. His back arched violently off the bed, a strangled cry tearing from his throat. Austin jerked back, his heart pounding as Darrick's small frame convulsed.

"What's happening to him?" Cole demanded, moving closer, his face etched with panic.

Austin's throat tightened as he watched in horror. "I think...he's changing again," he said, his voice shaky. "The serum...it's wearing off."

Darrick's skin turned red with strain, soft at first but quickly intensifying. His limbs twitched and stretched, his body writhing as his bones cracked and popped with sickening sounds. Each movement was accompanied by a sharp, guttural scream that made the boys flinch.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Jace reached forward, his hands trembling, but Austin grabbed his wrist before he could touch Darrick.

"No," Austin said firmly. "You could hurt him—or worse. We just...we have to let it happen."

Jace hesitated, then pulled back, his face pale. "This is insane" his lips puckered as if to hold back tears, leaning away he pressed his back into the opposite bed, eyes falling to the ground too ashamed to watch his friend in so much pain

The process dragged on for what felt like hours, though only minutes passed. Darrick's body elongated, his small limbs stretching and expanding until they resembled his normal proportions. His bones cracked and shifted, his muscles spasming violently as they rebuilt themselves. Sweat poured from his skin, soaking through the towel beneath him. When he finally seemed finished, Darrick lay sprawled across the bed, trembling and drenched but whole again.

Austin hesitated before leaning over him, his heart hammering. "Darrick? Are you okay?"

Darrick's bloodshot eyes cracked open, his gaze flickering weakly to Austin. "Sure..," he rasped, his voice hoarse and deep

The boys let out a collective breath, their relief palpable but short-lived. Jace handed Darrick a bottle of water, his hands still shaking. "Here. Drink this."

Darrick sipped slowly, his breathing evening out as he regained some strength. The silence stretched as the boys exchanged uneasy glances.

"What is this place?" Cole finally asked, his voice low, the question hanging in the air.

Darrick's gaze was distant, his voice steady but hollow. "It's not a school or whatever they like calling it nowadays. It's a lab." He paused, his grip tightening on the bottle. "They brought me here when I was a kid. Told me they'd help me control the shrinking and growing. But the serum...they use it to force the changes. I can't stop it. Not until it wears off."

The tension in the room was palpable as Austin's frustration boiled over. He stood across from Darrick, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, the muscles in his jaw visibly twitching. The dim light cast long shadows across the dorm room, making the moment feel heavier. Austin's voice broke the silence, sharp and accusing.

"This is insane, Darrick." His tone was low but laced with anger and confusion. "What the fuck was he going on about back there? About your dad?"

The words hung in the air, echoing in the stillness. Darrick didn't respond right away. He sat on the edge of the bed, his posture slumped and defeated. His hands trembled slightly as he lifted a half-empty bottle of water to his lips, taking a few long, slow sips to buy himself time. His dark hair clung to his forehead, damp with sweat, and his eyes—tired and glassy—refused to meet Austin's.

Finally, Darrick sighed, the sound heavy with weariness. "Dad had years to adapt to his condition," he began, his voice soft, barely audible. There was a bitter edge to his words, though it was unclear if it was directed at his father, himself, or the circumstances that had shaped them both. "I didn't get that. I was thrown into it as a kid, with no guidance, no one to tell me what to do or how to manage it."

Austin's anger simmered just below the surface, but his brow furrowed as he listened. "Thrown into it?" he repeated, his voice quieter but no less intense. "What does that even mean, Darrick? You didn't ask for this. None of this is your fault."

Darrick shook his head slowly, his gaze fixed on the floor. "That's the thing, Austin. Nobody cared whether it was my fault or not. All they saw was a kid who couldn't control himself. Someone who would shrink down to nothing or grow to the size of a building, sometimes without warning. People were scared of me." He paused, his hands tightening around the water bottle as his voice cracked. "They thought I was dangerous."

Austin ran a hand through his hair, pacing the small space. "Dangerous? You? That's bullshit. You were a kid! Kids screw up—they don't get labeled as threats for it."

"They do when they're like me," Darrick said, finally lifting his gaze to meet Austin's. His eyes were filled with a mixture of pain and resignation, a look that made Austin's chest tighten. "You don't understand what it's like. Teachers didn't want me in their classrooms, that's why they put me in the integration class in hopes I could make friends with humans. My mom..." He trailed off, his expression hardening as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "She tried, but after Dad died, it was like the whole world decided I wasn't worth the trouble anymore. And she couldn't handle it."

Austin stopped pacing, turning to face Darrick fully. "Is that why she...?" He hesitated, unsure if he should even finish the question.

"Lost her mind?" Darrick finished for him. "Yeah. Part of it, anyway. Watching Dad die like that—watching what this... thing did to him—it broke her. She spent every day after that terrified the same thing would happen to me. And when it started, when I started shrinking and growing, she couldn't handle it. She just... shut down. Started hallucinating dad was in the house. That he was shrunk and just hiding from us"

Austin's fists unclenched, his arms falling to his sides as the weight of Darrick's words sank in. "Darrick..." he began, his voice softer now, almost apologetic. "I didn't know it was like that."

"How could you?" Darrick said, shrugging weakly. "It's not the kind of thing you just bring up, you know? 'Hey, Austin, by the way, my dad was a giant freak who literally worked in a lab, stepped in front of a car one day and died and now I'm the second act in that tragedy.'" He shook his head, his expression dark. "Nobody wants to hear that."

"I do," Jace said softly, "I want to hear it. I want to know, Darrick. You're our friend"

For a moment, the room was silent except for the faint hum of the overhead light. Darrick's shoulders sagged, the tension visibly leaving his body as he sighed deeply. "I didn't mean to keep it from you. I just... didn't know how to talk about it. It's not exactly easy to explain why you randomly shrink or grow in gym class"

Austin snorted despite himself, the corner of his mouth twitching into a faint smile. "Did that happen?" Darrick looked at him with red cheeks and Austin couldn't help but let out a low chuckle "Yeah, I guess that would be hard to explain.. did you ever go in the girls locker room?"

"Austin!" Jace exclaimed wildly "as if you would say that right now?"

"What!?" Austin laughed "just curious y know"

Jace shook his head, his voice barely above a whisper. "What do we do now?"

~~~