Bryce took this time to gather his scattered, alcohol-induced thoughts, paralyzed in fear of what Dylan could do when the lights came back on. ‘Why don’t you just go?’ he asked himself, but his feet remained planted on the floor. Closing his eyes, Bryce uttered a quiet, and pathetic, “I’m sorry.”

Following a pregnant pause, wherein Dylan was wiping his face with his hands, he responded, “Please, just go.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I-I didn’t have any right in saying your Glow was defective.” He opened his eyes, finding himself staring, still, into the immense darkness before him. He didn’t know how far or how close Dylan was to him. “I’m sorry, okay? And, and I know that you probably won’t forgive me, ever, but I wanted to say I’m sorry, okay?”

Dylan swallowed hard, an audible sound heard against the darkness. He sighed before whispering, “I want you to go.”

Stumbling into the darkness, Bryce walked into one of the bed’s corners. “Shit,” he mumbled under his breath, kneeling down to rub his shin. “Why can’t I just stay here?”

“Because I don’t want you here!” shouted Dylan, who threw the spare keycard at him. It missed Bryce, bounced off the bed, and landed at his feet, which he didn’t see. He whispered through his teeth, “Bryce, I don’t care where you go, I just don’t want you here with me. I want a quiet night where I don't share a room with someone who's essentially called me worthless.”

Bryce scoffed before he glanced down into the darkness to suddenly be blinded.

Bryce’s Glow was yellow – a rich, golden colour that felt like the sun’s rays, and looked as much, too. The two feelings that washed through Bryce were that of absolute euphoria and severe agitation.

Dylan stepped back, opening his mouth to speak before that anxious feeling in his chest began to bloom, changing rapidly into something else that Dylan couldn’t name, nor did he want to. His Glow shone from his chest as if it had been contained in a cage for the entirety of its existence.

The feeling he couldn’t name, nor wanted to, was that of yearning.

Dylan and Bryce watched each other with almost bated breath, eyes darting between their respective faces and their glowing chests. In the darkness, their respective Glows lit up the room around them. Bryce began shaking, hands fumbling over his chest to mask his yellow Glow. Dylan’s hands trembled, his body frozen.

Both Glows felt like fluttering heartbeats, warm and sending chills up each man’s spine.

Somewhere in the basement, the backup generator finally began running. The hotel’s lights turned on.

Dylan dove towards his suitcase to throw on one of his Inhibitor shirts. “No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Please stop, please stop,” Dylan whispered, his voice shaking as he slipped his head through the Glow-Inhibitor’s tight collar. The two shirts weren’t enough to block the light of the Glow. Pressing his hands hard against his chest, he kneeled on the ground. “Please stop.”

Bryce swallowed. “Y…you’re my Soulmate…?”

Dylan fell against the wall and brought his arms into his chest in an attempt to conceal the Glow. “Please let this be a ‘False Alarm’, please let this be just a Potential.” He ran his fingers through his bangs and closed his eyes, tears building in his eyes despite the fluttery feeling in his chest. “I’m sleeping. Please let me wake up. Please let me wake up.”

“You’re my Soulmate,” repeated Bryce again, this time out of sheer disbelief.

“Oh, God.” Dylan drew in a loud, shaking breath. His hands trembling against his chest, he whispered, “This isn’t real.”

Bryce kneeled down and reached out for Dylan’s hand. “Dylan, we should calm down.”

Dylan swatted Bryce’s hand away. “No. No, I…I can’t handle this right now,” he whispered, fear prominent in his voice.

Both men’s Glow’s remained. “Do you think I’m happy about this?”

“I n-need another shirt,” Dylan hastily whispered, throwing his other clothes around the room and withdrawing another black shirt. He threw it over his head before looking back down at his chest; the Glow now subsided, save for a small amount of light slipping out against his neck. “Is it noticeable?” he asked Bryce earnestly.

He blinked before asking, “W…why does it matter?”

“Is it noticeable?” Dylan enunciated, his hands grasping at the hem of the shirt like he was about to rip it off.

Bryce felt an odd sense of composure wash through him and stepped forward once. “Listen, I know this isn’t ideal – ”

“No shit this isn’t ideal!” he retorted, followed quickly by Bryce shushing him. “There is no way in fucking hell that you’re my Soulmate.”

Bryce frowned and moved towards Dylan. “This seems to say otherwise,” he told him, lifting all three shirts and letting out his luminous green Glow.

“Stop it!” he shouted, pushing Bryce away.

That serenity in Bryce was gone, and his buzzed mind became frantic. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean t – ”

“I-I’m going for a walk.”

Dylan turned to leave, but the other man clasped his wrist. “Dylan, it’s after two in the morning. We, we need to talk about this.”

“I’m going for a walk,” Dylan repeated, voice still shaking as he proceeded towards the door and pulling Bryce with him.

“We need to talk about this!”

Dylan turned and stared daggers at Bryce; their Glows dimmed. “I didn’t want to meet my Soulmate.” He stepped away, his voice now shaking in anger. But fearful tears continued to build in Dylan's eyes as he tried to pry away Bryce's hand. “Please. Just let me go.” He cracked open the door to the hallway.

Bryce instinctively tightened his grip. “Dylan, wait – ” But in that second, both men’s Glows returned tenfold.

“Bryce,” Dylan managed to pry himself away from the other’s grip, “goodnight.” Flicking off the room’s lights, Dylan slammed the door and left for the night.

Bryce swallowed hard, placing his hand on his chest and watching the yellow Glow dim the further Dylan got. Once the two were two metres away, both Glows were gone, casting Bryce back into uncomfortable darkness.

The euphoria was gone. The longing was gone. Disappointment, fear, and anger remained.