Hawk and Dove

"You told?"

For a while everything was alright. After telling his parents, Dan didn’t feel so stretched thin anymore. In fact he felt much better, and instead of focusing on keeping the fire within him, he could focus on more important things. Like getting through Year 12 without combusting or making anything else combust.

   Dan always had trouble in the friend area. He only ever had a couple as a kid, and as a teenager with a problem showing emotions he didn’t really attract anyone. Dating was a whole other thing that he never got to do. Crushes came and went, but it was almost out of the question to be with anyone. If his heart starts pumping too fast, his skin gets too hot, and his clothes starts to curl away from the heat. If he’s too excited, the air starts to spark. Too angry, things burst into flames around him. These things never change, no matter how much he likes to tell himself he’s in control. He’s not. He knows it. But there’s not much else he can do.

   However, one time, he can’t help himself. The summer before his last year of school, a girl named Alex calls him. Alex was in drama with him, and she was quite pretty, and she wanted to go out to lunch. Dan was stunned. Yeah, he wanted to go out. They had lunch the Saturday following her call. And it was pretty great.

    Dan and Alex dated for the whole of that summer. And then the first few months of Year 13. His parents liked her. Her parents liked him. Not once did the Howells bring up Dan’s… differences.  And then, spring came. Spring in England was honestly not that different from winter in England. The only thing that was different was the fact that Dan could now wear his favorite leather jacket to the shopping center with Alex instead of his freaky Dementor coat.

     Alex walked silently next to him while the two of them followed the crowd around the shopping center. Dan stole a glance at her. She had hardly said a word the whole time. “Are you okay?” he asked her softly.

     Alex bit her lip. “Can we sit down?” she said.

    Dan said, “Of course, yeah,” and led her over to the food court. They sat at a table for two and Dan held his hand out for her to hold. She took it and gave it a squeeze. She didn’t comment about how warm his hands were anymore.

   He was about to ask if something was wrong when she let out a long breath through her teeth. “Dan, I think we should break up,” she said.

    Dan’s heart plummeted. “What?” he said.

   Alex looked down at their joined hands. “I don’t think we should keep going on like this. Our last year of school is almost over now, and I know how important university is to you. If we go to different colleges, what happens then?”

   “I think we could make it work,” Dan muttered. He thought they were so happy.

   She shook her head. “I’m already freaking out over it. I don’t want to stress you out as well,” she said, “So this is the end.”

   “But-”

    “Ow!” Alex pulled her hand away suddenly, as if she had been burned.

    Dan’s eyes widened and he quickly folded his hands in his lap. He didn’t notice how worked up he was getting on the inside while he focused on her. That had never happened before. Play it cool. “What happened, are you alright?” he asked convincingly. He silently thanked years of drama.

    Alex looked down at her hand and nodded slowly. “Yes, it’s nothing,” she said quietly. Thankfully she seemed to think she imagined it.

    “So, you’re really breaking up with me?” said Dan.

   Alex nodded and got to her feet. “I’m sorry, Dan,” she said, “See you around, okay?”

     Dan nodded numbly and didn’t watch her walk away. He couldn’t believe that just happened. After months of happiness she just up and broke it off. During their relationship, he had not once burned something. Not even singed. He was doing so well. Now what? Now he was going to go away to university alone and heartbroken without any help-

    Someone screamed suddenly. Dan jumped and turned in his chair to be met with a horrific sight. One of the potted trees sitting in the center of the food court (for “ambience”) was completely on fire. Dan leapt to his feet while a crowd of people started to surge out of the doors. The fire alarms started to shriek through the whole building. Dan left with the crowd, taking deep breaths to cool himself down. He knew the tree going up in flames was his fault. He wasn’t paying close enough attention.

     Then again, he had never set something on fire in public before.

   Dan stood outside the shopping center with the curious crowd as the fire department came in to put out the tree. Honestly, he was terrified. If this is what happens every time he gets broken up with, how will he ever have a girlfriend again? It was all too confusing.

    That evening when Dan was on the sofa with his parents, a news story about the fire at the shopping center came up. When the word “spontaneous” came up, Dan had to leave the room. He couldn’t bear to hear the speculation and see his parents glance at him through the corners of their eyes.

   Weeks later, it happened. Dan came home from school, headphones over his ears as usual, and noticed two men in suits sitting on the sofa. His mother was standing before them, his brother leaning on the wall beside her. Dan took off his headphones and looked between them all curiously. When his father walked into the room with a suitcase, it all seemed to click. His mother started crying and the two men stood.

     No. No, they didn’t.

    “Daniel Howell?” said one of the men as he buttoned his suit jacket.

   Dan stepped back. “Who’s asking?” he said, although he really already knew. He clenched his hands into fists, trying to fight the heat rising beneath his skin.

   “We’re from the Department of Defense,” said the other man, “We’ve been informed that you possess certain abilities that could be a danger to yourself, your family, and your society. So we are here to escort you to our facilities where you will safely learn to-”

     “You told?” Dan demanded loudly, looking between his weeping mother and his stony father, “After you promised?”

   “-control your abilities and become a learned citizen of your country.” finished the man, talking over Dan’s distress.

    “Daniel, we didn’t know what to do,” said his mother, “You set something on fire in a public building, you could have hurt lots of people!”

  “But I didn’t!” Dan protested. He stepped away again as the men advanced.

      “Don’t struggle, son. It’ll just make it harder.” said his father.

      He felt a hand on his arm and he jerked it away as hard as he could. He felt an even stronger one and then a pinch in the back of his hand. “Ah!” he gasped, pulling his hand back, which he was sure would be burning hot by now.

    “That was simply a precaution,” said one of the men. Dan’s vision started to blur. “Your powers will be dulled for a bit.”

     A bit? Dan thought foggily. He could hardly focus on anything.

  Dan wasn’t really sure what happened next. He felt some pressure around him a couple times, as if he were being hugged by pillows. He couldn’t quite feel where things were touching him. Soon he felt his environment shift as someone helped him out of the house and into the back of a black van. Where was he going? Why was the room spinning? He heard dull slamming sounds and men’s voices. The seat he was in felt so comfortable. Dan closed his eyes. Maybe if he took a nap, everything would be back to normal when he woke up.