The symbol at the bottom of the bottle was worn a little, but after a moment Kurt recognized the shape of a dumbbell, with a circle and line over top of it. Below that, was a 1-800 number in small, almost-impossible to read type. Squinting his eyes, Kurt made his way downstairs to the brighter kitchen light, then pulled out his cell phone and typed in the number.
After a single ring, a recorded message on the other end picked up. “Hello,” said a male voice, with a weird, unplaceable accent to it. “You’ve reached Kyouto Pharmaceuticals, makers of Revolutionary Supplement! This recording is for you to discover warnings for the supplement. The supplement will not be effective for those over thirteen. To avoid overdose, make sure to include with meal with plenty of protein. And most important, for at least 24 hours after taking supplement, avoid any strenuous activity, including running, weightlifting, and so on. Kyouto Pharmaceuticals is not responsible for any effects that occur if these warnings are not followed. Thank you goodbye!”
Kurt scrunched up his nose as he dropped his phone to his side. Looking at the chip bags left out on the counter, Hiro and Erik probably hadn’t included any meat in their snack, so that already was a red flag. And It would be extremely difficult to keep the two friends from getting into any kind of strenuous activities, as they seemed to always be doing things like running around or wrestling with each other. The whole thing seemed really irresponsible for a company to send out with barely any printed instructions.
He began to bring his phone back up to try reaching one of his parents again, but before he could dial their number, he heard a loud crashing coming from upstairs. Dropping the phone, he bolted back up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
***
“It’s really cool of your brother to invite me to stay the night,” Hiro said as he leaned back in the beanbag chair and grabbed the controller again, brushing his long black hair out of his eyes with his free hand. “And my parents are both out of town too, so I would have had to spend the night at my Aunt’s otherwise. You know how much of a dictator she is.”
“Ugh,” Erik agreed as he rubbed his hand on his jeans to get rid of the chip dust and grabbed the second controller, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “Yeah, I’m glad you can stay. But I think I know why you’re really excited to stay over.” He flashed a mischievous grin towards Hiro as he booted up the game console.
The taller, skinnier boy tilted his head and frowned. “What? Why?”
Erik leaned towards him and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “Because you want to sneak into the bathroom while Kurt is taking a shower and spy on him again.”
Hiro’s eyes lit up as his olive cheeks turned red. “S-shut up. That wasn’t on purpose. I-I just really had to use the bathroom!”
“Then why didn’t you use the downstairs one?”
“Because—” Hiro started, but couldn’t think of a good response. “Just—shut up about that.”
“Oh, really?” Erik said, continuing to taunt. “Wouldn’t you rather sneak in while *I’m* in the shower?”
“N-no!” Hiro stammered, becoming more and more flustered. “Take that back!” Throwing down the controller, he jumped to his feet and then leapt at Erik, half-tackling him as they rolled off the edge of the bed and landed on the ground with a loud crash.
“Oof!” Erik said as his butt hit the thick carpet, which luckily absorbed most of the impact. After a momentary shock, he then grinned, pushing up against Hiro and forcing the lighter-weight boy over, until he was on top. His legs straddled Hiro’s hips while he pinned his wrists to the ground, his smile becoming even wider. “Is this how you like it? With me on top?”
Hiro struggled in vain to try and move Erik off of him, eventually resorting to kicking his legs as much as possible. “Get off!”
“Is that what you—”
Erik’s retort was interrupted by the door to his bedroom slamming open. “What the hell are you two doing?” Kurt yelled, his imposing frame filling the doorway. “Stop that now!”
The two friends both knew when Kurt was being serious. Erik rolled off and stood up, grinning sheepishly, while Hiro leaned up against the side of the bed, trying to catch his breath.
“Are you two both all right?” Kurt asked, looking over both of them carefully. “I called the number on the pill bottle, and you’re not supposed to do anything too strenuous for a while after you take them.”
“Relax, bro, we’re both fine.” Erik said, waving his hand dismissively. “Right, Hiro?”
The brothers both turned their heads to look at Hiro, who wasn’t responding, and was now leaning forward, hugging his knees. “Hiro?” Kurt asked, bending down to get a closer look at him. “Are you hurt?”
“I—I—” Hiro said between gasping breaths. “No, I just feel really weird. Like all tingly and—and—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Hiro suddenly…
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