Chapter Text
I meet my dad outside the apartment complex, rubbing my right hand while I do so.
“I feel as if I have to tell you this every single day, to not go near Arron anymore.” He says, trying his best to not look to angry though I can always see through him.
“Sorry,” I mumble, feeling bad that I disappoint my father once again.
He didn’t do anything to me, you know.” I tell him, hoping he will be more nice towards Arron knowing this.
“Why do you go over there?” My dad ask. I take a minute after that, think over the question in my head.
He’s my uncle. He’s my—my family. We don’t have that big of a family and—“ my dad cuts me off before I can finish what I’m saying.
“There’s a reason we don’t go over to Uncle Arron’s.” He tells me, not looking at me straight in the eyes.
“You never told me why...” I tell him, hoping to get him to look up at me.
“Why do you think?” He ask me, still keeping his gaze on the ground and not me.
“Because you and him had some sort of fight before I was born.” I look up at him, wondering what did happen.
“Well, your half right”. Dad let’s put a loud sigh before turning and faces eye to eye with me.
“We don’t go over there because your uncle, though he may seem like a great guy...he’s not. I’m not saying this because I’m mad at him...I’m saying this because...he is a thief. He’s a crook.” He answers, grabbing my shoulders as he says this.
“He’s a crook like...he steals thing?” I ask him, totally stunned by this new information.
“Yes. But good lord I did not want to have this conversation with you ever. I knew this day would come though. I was hoping he would be in jail by the time you were old enough to understand...” his voice drowns off, becoming nothing more than a whisper.
“Is that why you don’t like him?” I ask, wondering why my dad still treats him like crap.
“Listen, I love him. Your father would not be here if not for him...but at the same time I can’t have a man who doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong...and he really does not know the difference... I can’t have a man like that around my son.” He says, letting go of my shoulders and facing the ground once again.
“What do you mean? You would not be here if not for him?” I ask, my face filled with shock.
“I mean when we were younger he saved my life. But that doesn’t mean—this is very complicated—“
“Has he been to jail?” I ask.
“Yes, and so have I.” He answers, lifting his head and looking at the sky before putting it back down.
“When?”
Before you were born”.
“What did you do,” I ask, scared of what his answer will be.
“I stole something that didn’t belong to me.” He says looking back at me.
“You gonna give me any more details?” I’m hoping to get more.
“This is very hard for me son, I’ll tell u the rest another time, but right now I have to get to work. You gonna be good walking home by yourself?” He ask me, not giving me any more details like I hoped.
“ Yah, I’ll be fine. See you at home. Love you.” I say as I begin walking the familiar route back home.
—————————————————————
I was walking home when it happened. Everything was the same for the beginning of the walk. People crowded the streets and the sound of cars honking filled my ears.
There were these five guys, surrounding the entrance to an apartment building, all wearing jackets with cobras on them. Tattoos filled the bodies and a couple of them were playing with a silver flip knife.
They were talking about how one of them called someone a big fat pig and how they were starting to get hungry.
As I was walking down the street, they jumped up and stopped me.
“You got anything to eat?” The tall, blonde one ask, holding his knife up so I could see it.
“W—What?” I ask, confused about the situation at hand.
“You got something to eat in there? Or an IPad. I could use an IPad.” The one with a weird shaped noise then ask.
They soon begin to surround me, giving me no space to run. The people walking on the sidewalk giving no care as they slide past us.
He then grabs a hold of my bag, trying to pull it away from me as I hold on to it tight.
“Don’t—“ I tell him, but he keeps trying.
“Let me see what’s you got, little man.” After that, the rest of the five all nod there head in agreement, while the one who has been trying to pry the bag out of my hands tugs a bit harder.
“Don’t!! That’s—“ I yell, but they seem not to care one bit.
“Hey, hey hey, just settle down. You wanna get hurt?” He ask, finically letting go of my bag, but grabbing my throat instead.
They all step forward, giving me almost no space at all for myself. I could feel by breathing speed up, fear taking over my body. Beads of sweat then start fall down my face.
“You wanna turn it into a thing I got no—“
Right when he begins to squeeze harder on my throat, I place my hand directly on his wrist to try and pull him off of me. Though right when I touch him, a flash of blue shoots at him, sending him flying back.
“Wow! What the f***—What just happened— he must be one of those mutants—never actually seen one before—holy s***!”
It’s all they are saying, plus some of the people who stopped to see what happened were asking the same question. I look down at myself my hands, wondering what just happened, when I get even more shocked.
There is nothing. Absolutely nothing. I know where I am, and stuff but I don’t see myself. It’s like I’m invisible.
The ‘cobras’ then begin to back away from me, giving me a way to finally escape. I run out of there as fast as possible, running much faster than I ever thought I could.
While running, two men were moving a big thing of glass for a window right in the middle of the sidewalk. I was about to run into it, but before I could even think, I had already flipped over the glass and landed perfectly on my feet. I continue running.
I stop running in the allay way next to my apartment, sitting down so that I can finally wrap my head around what just happened.
“Oh my god! Oh my god! What’d I just do?! Oh no, am I one of those mutants! I can’t be a mutant! Oh my god! What my parents going to think!” I repeat these rambling over and over again.
Ever since the flood on New York that was found out to be caused by a mutant, everyone has been so anti mutant since. My dad hates mutants, tells me about it everyday. Now I’m a mutant! I can’t be a mutant! Oh my god!
I am finally able to calm myself and relax a little bit later.
“It’s ok. It’s ok Miles. Maybe you just don’t tell them. Or maybe I ask dad again tonight and see what he says about mutants again. Maybe he changed options. Yah, yah I’ll do that.” I say, my voice wavering with each word.
I look down at myself to see if I have reappeared, then stand up and go inside my home.
“Miles? Is that you?” My mom calls heading to the front door. The smell of chicken pot pie fills my noise, a favorite meal of mine.
“Yah mom! It’s me! Is that chicken pot pie?” I yell, seeing my mom step out from her spot in the kitchen.
“Yes it is Miles. I thought that since we need to celebrate and that you will be heading off to school tomorrow-why they make it so soon I don’t know- I’d make you your favorite meal”, she states, smile on her face reaching her eyes. It’s always nice to see her happy.
“ I love you.”
“I love you too.”
After dinner I walk stay in my room, talking to myself.
“Ok. This is ok. I mean, I bet Spider-Man has this happen to him. Where he was just bitten by a spider then bam, he’s Spider-Man. Makes since. I mean, that means I’m not technically a mutant right. Oh my god what am I saying.” I ask myself, falling on to my bed, starring up at my ceiling.
“What am I going to do?”
I lay there in silence for a while until I hear a few nocks on my door.
“Come in!” I yell to whoever is behind it.
“Hey Miles, how you doing?” My dad ask, stepping into the room and onto my bed next to me.
“Fine. Why?” I question, looking up at my dad for a straight forward answer.
“Oh nothing, you just seemed a bit off during dinner.” He says, putting his arm around my head and grabbing my shoulder.
“Dad, can I ask you something?” I ask, looking up to meet his eyes.
“Sure anything”.
“What you think about mutant?” I ask, truly wondering if I should tell him or not. He seems to be in shock at the random question, but then starts answering.
“Well, you want to know what I think. I think that after all the city has had to deal with they would round up these mutants and let us love our lives like normal human beings.
“Well, that is a very controversial issue. I believe mutants should be kept somewhere else, letting humans like us be safe. Mutants are terrorist, there awful. They think there better than us just because they have powers and we don’t. Well I say that’s stupid. If a mutant uses its powers, it should be put in jail. So to answer your question, I think mutants, are god mistakes.” He says, keeping straight eye contact with me during the whole talk.
I am stricken with fear as he talked. Saying his answer for the question.
“If that’s all. I shall be leaving. Good night, love you.” He says, before closing the door, leaving me in complete darkness, where the only sound is my own thoughts.