Jellyfish really? They were like the slowest moving and easiest to target monsters. They were practically the new world's equivalent of a slime. Sure their tentacles could sting, but almost all of them had the water attribute. They really weren't that deadly either. In fact for some reason all the magic water attribute jellyfish had lost the ability to be truly deadly. Unless you ran into one and touched it you were basically guaranteed to not get hurt. It was the octopus you had to look out for.
Seeing this side of Connor was a new for Cody. He looked so utterly helpless it was almost funny. That's what you get for being a terrible blackmailing person, he thought. He debated just leaving him in a corner somewhere. Nah I shouldn't be mean, but he totally deserves it. Forget my stupid crush, it's time for revenge!
Of course I won't hurt him or abandon him, just mess with him a bit. I'll still make sure he doesn't actually end up visiting the underworld courtesy of a jellyfish.
It was then that Connor's legs crumpled and he slid to the floor. Cody looked at him. This was more than just the normal I don't like jellyfish. Instant storms usually only lasted like a half hour tops, it wasn't like it was a problem. It would just break some windows then the jellyfish would go away with it. Wait was he actually having a panic attack?
Connor's breathing had changed into a series of gasps. He was hugging his chest while shaking.
Cody sighed, so much for his revenge. He couldn't even think of harassing someone else in this state. Even if it was a handsome blackmailing devil. He'd just have to regret missing his chance later.
Instead he sat down on the floor and wrapped his arms around Connor dragging him into a hug. There he started gently stroking his head as if he were a child. The two of them stayed there not moving for the next ten minutes. The thunder then died away as quickly as it had come.
Connor still looked shell shocked curled up in Cody's lap. Storms gone thought Cody, why you still clinging to me. He slowly unhooked Connor's arms from him. Man he really wasn't snapping out of it. A slightly wicked idea formed in his mind. Well he was the first one who brought up the boyfriend joke. Time for a revenge kiss.
With that he leaned over and smacked his lips against Connors. It worked quite well Connor snapped out of his daze but to Cody's surprise instead of pulling away. He pulled him closer making Cody flinch instead. Ah man he really couldn't win against this guy.
He tried to pull away but Connor's arms held him firmly. With one hand Connor gently stroked Cody's back. Cody quivered slightly as Connor's hand moved under his shirt. Then he leaned over and licked Cody's neck. Now Cody was the one trembling. Connor had a smirk on his face, Cody adverted his eyes. Then Connor's hand moved around toward Cody's chest. After gently stroking his front once. Cody's sense of rationality came back. He thrashed slightly managing to get free.
"Okay that's enough." Cody muttered. "Seems your fine now." Without waiting for a reply he left the bathroom area. The main gym was starting to fill again with people coming out of the shelters. Cody shuddered slightly. It wasn't Connor's joke turning out to be real that flustered him, it was that he had wanted to keep holding Connor and not only just hold him.
Glass lined the floor from several broken skylights. Luckily it only looked like a category 1 storm. The rest of the building had held up fine. The school's workers were already pulling out ladders to replace the glass and sweeping up the mess. At this rate it would look completely normal by tomorrow, as if the storm had never happened.
Cody left and headed home. He needed to focus on work and not getting kicked out of school. He did not have time to deal with his feelings toward Connor and he definitely did not have time for a boyfriend.
A dead jellyfish on the ground caught his attention. It was large and lumpy. Nearly 3 times the size of a normal one. And its element was dark. This was a problem. He pulled out his phone and messaged his boss.
11th 8:41, one infected jellyfish. He also sent an image with it.
Pausing he decided to take the corpse with him. Sighing he picked it up and continued home. It was just a matter of time before whoever was making the stuff started using it on humans instead of just animals. His department had started calling the enhancement drug Fantiscaka. But so far it seemed that the maker was only able to kill those that came into contact with it. Although maybe it was just that he only saw the dead cases.
When he got back to his home he groaned. Of course that cheap little apartment building hadn't survived the storm. It had after all been very cheap. That was why Cody had chosen it. Well he also liked the location and quiet surroundings. Ugh didn't matter now he had to find a place to sleep for the night. He shifted through the rubble for his belongings. Most of his things were destroyed, but that wasn't a problem he was a minimalist to begin with. Huh that weird little shell he had found was still in one piece.
"You must be a good luck charm" he muttered to it. Finding a piece of string he fashioned the shell into a necklace.
"Survivors got to stick together after all." He muttered to himself amused.
He could rent a motel or stay at a friend's place, he thought briefly of Connor, then immediately though yeah hard pass. Instead he just built up some of the rubble until it was mostly rain proof and crawled inside. He had found a few of his blankets still in one piece, one miraculously was even still dry.
He curled up in it. He didn't need anyone he was perfectly capable of looking after himself.
Some rays of dawn filtered through the cracks in the boards above him. Morning already? The sun should really sleep longer. He pushed himself up. He would skip school today. He sent a quick text to the school saying he had a fever and hit send. At this rate he would have to come up with some better excuses.
"Okay" he said slapping his face lightly. First things first; step one build a better temporary home, step 2 look more at that jellyfish body.
At noon he had finished fishing out his tool kit and building a rough outline for a shed out of the still usable parts of the apartment building. By dinner it was livable. A torn up painting that had somehow mostly survived, a rug, and a table decorated the space. His pile of now all dry blankets were in a little loft, although his pillow was still drying out with his chair.
He made a mental note to get more batteries until he could restore the generator. Then he hung one of his two flashlights from the ceiling.
"Home sweet home!" he smiled, perfect was what you made of it.