Chapter Text
1.
Dan was terrified. He thought he’d outrun them, he thought he’d finally be free. But they keep coming, while yelling words like ‘freak’, ‘mistake’ and other terrible things. For the past few weeks they’d always been at his heels or lurking in the shadows, always watching, always trying to learn how to beat him down. Dan was scared, as he walked down the cold sidewalk with his hoodie on, keeping his head low. He felt this heavy feeling in his chest and pangs of doubt. He thought that he would never be able to outrun them, so maybe he should just give up, give in. Just surrender. Just let them do whatever, so that his secret wouldn’t get out any more. Dan didn’t want to be afraid anymore. Dan didn’t want to hide anymore, Dan didn’t want to be looked at like that ever again, the way his ‘friends’ looked at him when they found out. Dan didn’t want the lectures, didn’t want the stories about how his kind had ‘wrecked’ his friend’s life, how this life wouldn’t be good for him. Dan was tired, he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t eat. Before he knew it, he was sat down on the ground, with his back to a wall, and tears rolling down his face. Dan was done, he couldn’t do it, he wouldn’t do it. He buried his head between his knees and cried, he wished for that heavy feeling in his heart to leave, wished he could be free again, go back to six months ago and do it all over again, do it differently. Dan was sick and tired and just wanted it all to be over. He didn’t have the energy anymore, he couldn’t muster up any if he tried.
Dan looked at his grey gloves with, examined the tattered, almost circular holes that were on both palms of his gloves and tried to decide if he was going to give into them, or if he was going to do it this time, even if he didn’t want to. He’d tried to convince himself that he couldn’t, he knew he could, he always could.
Dan felt them growing nearer, felt them creeping up on him. He didn’t move because he was done.
He was sat on the gritty, cold sidewalk and he felt people coming at him from both sides. He looked up and saw his old ‘friend’ walking toward him, wearing a black trench coat and several incredibly loose golden rings. He laughed and said, “Greg, are you trying to look shady or is his who you are now?”
Greg rolled his eyes and took a gun out from under his arm and said, “Come on Daniel, are you going to come quietly or am I going to have to call my boys and make a little noise?”
Dan threw his head back and closed his eyes. Greg arched his eyebrows and stood silently for a minute… he wasn’t used to Dan not putting up a fight. He put his gun to Dan’s head and said, “Well then, let’s go Daniel. No time to waste.”
Greg was slightly annoyed when Dan refused to move and shot his gun into the air, and said, “Come on you little shit.”
A tall man then walked up to Greg and Dan. He looked at Greg the way he looks at bad coffee. Dan saw Greg’s eyes fill with panic as the tall man approached them. The tall man took a sip of his Starbucks and said, “That’s not a very nice thing to call someone you know.”
Greg, now visibly twitchy said “Come on Philip, I need this.” and looked to the ground with a mix of fear and guilt on his face, but made sure not to move the gun off Dan’s head.
Phil now looked slightly annoyed, but gave Greg a large smile. He then set his coffee down and suddenly, the air went dry what looked like tornadoes appeared on his hands. Dan didn't understand what was happening, he stared in disbelief at the mutant, trying to comprehend what he was seeing.
“Your boss and I have an understanding, do we not?” he said, walking closer to Greg.
Greg slowly tucked the gun under his arm and nodded.
“Good. You can leave now.” Said Phil, extinguishing his tornadoes and picking up his coffee.
Greg quickly nodded and bowed slightly and ran in the opposite direction. Phil smiled, adjusted his glasses and helped Dan off the sidewalk.
Dan dusted off his clothes and said. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Phil laughed and said, “Really? It looked like you were about to be executed by señor Stupid .”
Dan laughed, shook Phil’s hand and said, “Hi, I’m Dan.”
Phil smiled and said, “I’m Phil.”