Special Boy // phan

- 27 -

I had never run so fast in my life.

Granted, it wasn't that fast. I stumbled through the dark like I had never run before, my long, gangly giraffe legs not doing me any favours. My trainers slammed against the pavement as I ran away from the inevitable.

I had found my power? What did that mean? And what was it? It wasn't true, this can't be happening.

My mum wouldn't pick up her phone and neither would PJ or Chris. It was quite late; nearly one am, but I knew PJ, at least, was usually awake at this time. He chose a terrible time to decide to go to sleep on a Sunday night.

My lungs burned as I ran. I realised I had no clue where I was going after it was already too late to go back, and I knew I didn't want to call an angel. So I was stranded, at least until Phil, PJ, or Chris found me. Hopefully they did before some Bad Guy did.

I finally couldn't move anymore, my muscles screaming in protest as I took one final step and collapsed against the brick wall of the library. As if following an invisible path, my feet had taken me where my head didn't know to go: I was only a few kilometres away from campus. I slid down the wall and wrapped my arms around my legs, panting. Words kept ringing around in my head and I couldn't think in anything but snippets.

Power. Phil. Charlie. Weakness. Sidekick. Power, power, power.

I had found my power.

"Dan?" That voice. That familiar voice, that ringing voice, like wind chimes, drew my head up from resting on my knees. Louise was in her car, window rolled down, looking at me. I grinned, trying to slow the erratic beating of my heart. "Need a ride?" I just nodded, pushing the heels of my palms against the harsh ground to push myself up, and, legs screaming in protest, pulled her door open and sat.

The inside of her car smelled like smoke and ash, and I was briefly brought back to that day when flames lapped up my sleeves and she stared on in horror.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Louise commented as she pulled away. I examined my newly indented hands, running my fingers along the dips in my skin. Louise was special like that; she never asked questions you didn't want to give answers to. And she could sense I was in no mood to answer questions.

"Yeah, it's been forever. How've you been?" I cringed at how awkward I sounded, so monotone, like this girl wasn't my best friend for the longest time, like this girl didn't nearly cost me my life. It's funny how you can so easily forget people and how the affect you.

"I've been fine. Changing my major was difficult but, you know, you gotta do what you gotta do. There's no way I'm working in a coal mine or something, so I had to go into culinary. Maybe I can learn to sneeze on command." Louise and I shared a chuckle, and it felt like old times again, for the briefest of moments.

"I was on my way back from a party," she continued, not asking what I was doing out so late but offering her own reason. I loved that about Louise. "At this Senior's flat. I thought he was into me, but I... I guess not.

"Ah, that sucks. For what it's worth, I'm into you. I'm no senior though." Louise laughed, and I felt a smile broach my face. We sat in a comfortable silence for a little bit, until I remembered my car. 

"Could you maybe drop me off at Good Mythical Morning?"

"Interested in a midnight coffee? Not sure they're open." I shook my head, a small smile dawning on my lips. It's these kinds of things that fascinated me about Louise, and made me miss her more than anything. Even though she knew so little about this situation, so little about me, she could still hold a conversation.

And that made me think. Louise wouldn't even understand what was happening right now. She knew so little about me, about my life, and when we were better friends, I made sure of that. She didn't know that I didn't have a power, she didn't know about what Phil and I had or didn't have, she didn't know about Troye. It was strange, to feel so... so normal with someone. To have Louise think that maybe Phil and I have a fling, maybe I have a really stupid power or a really terrible one, and she didn't care. She thought I was a normal boy, but not the kind of normal I despised, the normal I longed to be.

"I missed you, Louise," I said after a short, comfortable silence as we drove to the car port of the coffee shop. She smiled, pulling the keys from the ignition.

"I'll walk to you car," she said, and opened her door. There was a twinkle in her eye that I was so used to seeing, that little glint that made me think she knew a lot more than she was letting on.

And, as we looked toward my car, my one safe haven, the thing that would finally carry me home after this long, exhausting day, I knew why Louise offered to take me.

"Phil?" I asked softly, as I spotted him leaning against the driver's side door. Louise glanced at me.

"Should I stay?" I shook my head, softly, forcing a smile on my lips, where it felt so out of place. Seeing Phil made the veil of normalcy that I had gotten from my short time with Louise fall from my eyes, and all of a sudden, I'm back in that terrible warehouse with that terrible man, as he told Phil about me... finding my power.

I had a brief, intrusive though, just after Louise squeezed my hand and walked away, leaving me be with the Angel himself.

I don't want to have a power. Not like this.