Dashes to the Bathroom?

Cesar bursts into the bathroom, the door slamming behind him, muffling the bass. He locks the stall door, chest heaving, and stares down at the vape in his trembling hand. It's still warm — humming faintly, almost expectantly. He feels a strange heat spreading through his own chest, his arms, like something settling into his bones.

He looks at his reflection in the cheap steel mirror. Nothing looks different. Not yet. But his skin prickles, and his arms feel a little heavier, a little more solid. Like Marcus's loss had gone somewhere.

Someone bangs on the bathroom door from outside. "Yo, you good in there? Marcus is losing his mind out here, saying something about a cursed vape." A pause. "You know anything about that?"

Cesar's grip tightens on the device. The hum grows a little louder.

The lock clicks, and Cesar presses his back against the stall wall, the vape pressed against his chest like it might leap out of his hand if he loosens his grip. The hum buzzes against his ribs, warm, alive. His knuckles are white.

He hears footsteps stop just outside the stall door. A knock. A girl's voice. "...Yo, you dropped this?" The voice is light, teasing. "Marcus is running around the kitchen losing his mind about some genie vape. My friend Maya keeps checking her reflection, saying she's 'glowing.' You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Cesar presses his lips together, looking down at himself. His own reflection in the stall's metal panel is dim, but he notices his t-shirt fits a little tighter around the shoulders. He pulls at the collar, just to see. His collarbone looks a little more defined than it did an hour ago.

Outside, the girl hums. "You're not gonna talk? Cool. I'll just wait out here then. It's your bathroom. Well, technically it's a frat guy named Kyle's bathroom, but he's passed out on the lawn, so—" She laughs gently. "Take your time in there, mystery man. I think Marcus might be calling the cops on a vape, so you've got maybe five minutes before the whole house finds out."