Cortez's laughter subsided almost instantly, especially after he saw the completely serious looks on everyone's faces. "Uh… guys, this ain't funny anymore. Come on, let me get out of these and-"
"Cortez, sweetie," Levi began, grabbing his friend by the arm and turning him toward the mirror, "This isn't a joke. Look."
Now, Cortez really wasn't laughing. But now, it was for a different reason. Lo and behold, those jeans were hugging his waist more comfortably than any pair of pants he'd ever worn before. Cortez could not believe his eyes. It was as if they'd magically grown to fit him perfectly, after shrinking to fit Levi. What in the world was going on?
"Okay, this is really weird," Cortez finally said. "How is this the same pair of pants? It's like they're magic or something."
Silence. Pure, deafening silence. Nobody knew what to say, because everybody wanted to debunk the ridiculous idea, but they couldn't. What else was there to say? How else could they explain this whole ordeal? There was just so much confusion.
…And to make a long story short, eventually they decided to just roll with it.
That's right. These boys decided to embrace the apparent magical quality of these pants, and the fact that they had discovered them the very day before their first summer apart had to mean something.
Bridge decided that this warranted a visit to the gym where their fathers met. Toby brought some snacks along with his movie camera, Cortez brought his iPhone to play cheesy 2000's music, Levi brought candles, pillows, and matches for aesthetic purposes, and Bridge brought bobby pins and the magic Pants.
The parents were easy to get around, the boys did the same thing they always did when visiting that gym late at night; Cortez said he's be at Levi's, Levi said he's be at Toby's, Toby said he'd be at Bridge's, and Bridge left a note to his mom saying he's be at Cortez's… although he knew his mom wouldn't be at all concerned or even read the note. But hey, tradition was tradition.
They all met at the entrance at 9:45pm, and the place was dark and closed. That's why Bridge had the bobby pins. He picked at the lock as the other three watched in anticipation. Even after doing this every now and then for the past few years, it was still nerve-wracking. Security was always a joke though, and could you imagine? Oh nooooo, they're stealing… the… weights… and… shirtless selfie mirrors. The horror.
The boys crept in, and raced up the stairs where they would set up. Levi set up the pillows and candles, Toby laid out the snacks - which mostly consisted of Doritos, Funyuns, Oreos (double-stuffed, obviously), and leftover donuts from Levi - Cortez set up his Spotify playlist starting with that one Vanessa Carlton song that millennials ate up in 2002, and Bridge was… goofing off in front of the mirror. Mostly flexing.
"Bridge, you about ready?" Toby called out. "We're about to start the witchy cult crap."
"Coming! Y'know, one of these days we oughta take a selfie next to that photo over there!" Bridge was referring to the framed photo of the five dads in their workout clothes, all happily grouped up and holding up their individual "It's a Boy" signs. It hung on the wall facing the large mirror, and the boys always looked at it very fondly. Everyone agreed to take a picture next to it next time they were together, during the day when the gym wasn't closed.
Soon, Bridge was done admiring himself and they were all gathered up in a circle, just as Levi had finished lighting the candles. In that dark room and candles right in the middle of their circle, Toby had a point about them looking like a cult.
So clearly, it was only appropriate to have some fun with it. Cortez held up the Pants as if they were baby Simba, and uttered the following sentence in the hammiest, most over-the-top manner possible: "BROTHERS OF THE GYM FELLOWSHIP THINGY. Tomorrow we are to tragically part ways for the first time in our short, puny lives! For the entire summer of PAIN and TORMENT!" He let out a cartoonish evil laugh for dramatic effect, and also just because he thought it was funny. The other boys naturally played along with it: Toby fanned himself and let out fake crying noises, Bridge bellowed a melodramatic "Noooooooo!" and Levi pretended to faint.
"HOWEVER!" Cortez continued, his eyes and nostrils flaring up, which would have looked terrifying if they were in a horror movie, "On the very EVE of this horribibble curse, we have found ourselves a savior! A HERO! In the form of this magic, supernatural, majestic, impossibibble, downright HOLY pair of PANTS!" Cue the other boys dramatically clapping as if they were at a Broadway show.
"As of tonight," Cortez went on, "with Toby's consent, I hereby declare that these Pants belong to all four of us equally, and that they shall travel amongst us, to all of our respective destinations!" That's when his voice got tired of hamming it up and his energy started to wane slightly, so he now spoke normally. Besides, this next part was a little sentimental; "In doing so, the Pants will keep up together, no matter how far apart we may be."
Bridge smiled from ear to ear. "We'll call them the Traveling Pants! Not very creative, but it works! Oh oh oh, let's take a vow!" He immediately grabbed Levi's and Toby's hands, always the one most eager to go along with Cortez in shamelessly staging friendship rituals.
"Tonight, in true creepy culty fashion, we are Brothers of the Pants-" He couldn't keep a straight face saying that; he and the other three all burst out laughing at the way he said that silly sentence. But in that laughter, there was an overwhelming sense of joy and adoration among the four boys. As each of them glanced over at one another in their laughter, that deep mutual love was undeniable as ever. Besides, "Brothers of the Pants" kind of had a nice ring to it.
"Seriously though!" Bridge managed to say through muffled giggling, "These stupid Pants obviously mean something for us. It'll be our memento to each other. Symbolize our brotherly love for one another."
Everyone calmed down, because he was oddly right. There was always tons of love between them all, but tonight, in this moment, they felt weirdly sentimental. Maybe it would be nice having a trinket to keep them linked together while they were split up.
"Why don't we make some rules?" Levi suggested. "Every creepy cult has rules. Let's decide who gets them at what point!"
Everyone liked that idea. So after the boys are their snacks, Toby set up his camera to film while they constructed the rules. Cortez felt very grown-up when he called it a manifesto. Each boy would think of two rules and write them down himself, and then they would all agree on a two more as a group, making for ten rules total.
It took the boys a hot minute to sort out the rules, but they also had a lot of fun. Levi liked focusing on sweet, friendship-type rules, such as keeping in touch over the summer. Cortez thought of rules about maintaining hygiene. Toby had more fun, thinking of dumb stuff you could and couldn't do while wearing the Pants.
Bridge came up with the idea of including letters with the Pants, discussing events that happened while wearing them. He also got the idea that, when they reunited, they could grab white paint and document those memories onto the Pants (regular ink would not work because the Pants were black). He also wrote down little side notes for three of the rules just to make playful jabs at each of his friends, thus compelling the others to collectively make up an entire rule for him, designed to call him out as well.
Once ten rules were decided on, Toby held up the list which ranged from sentimental to funny. In his heart, he knew for a fact that they would all stick to them.
They also decided how the Pants would be distributed amongst them. Levi would get them first, because Greece was farthest away. He would then send them to Toby, who would forward them to Cortez. Cortez would send them to Bridge, and finally Bridge would send them back to Levi, and the rotation would start again.
They decided that each guy should send the Pants when he felt the time was right, but also not keep them for longer than a week at a time unless desperate times called for desperate measures. Thus, the Pants could potentially make rounds twice within the summer.
Midnight struck, and Cortez felt a huge thrill in the air. And judging from his friends' faces, he could tell he wasn't alone. Nobody could believe a pair of pants could be so special, and yet somehow it became a symbol of unity.
Not only that, but there was something about the knowledge that this would be his first whole summer with his mom in years, and the fact that he'd be wearing a memento of his three favorite people for a part of it. It was a beautiful thought. Laughing and eating with his mom, hugging her, playing minigolf and going to the movies and riding in the car with her, all in these weird, magic pants. It sounded so dumb, but felt so comforting. He knew everything was going to be just fine.
Finally, Toby laid the manifesto on top of the Pants. Bridge pumped his fist into the air. "Here's to the Pants!"
"And the Brotherhood," Levi added.
Cortez pulled Levi to his side and patted him firmly on the shoulders, feeling mushy. "And this moment. And the rest of our lives!"
Toby smiled. "Together and apart."