Chapter Three: Hideout

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A/N: I. Thought. I. Pressed. Publish. On. Sunday. But. Apparently. I. Didn't. Oh well enjoy the late Tuesday update

Also this is irrelevant but I almost wrote one of the lines in the flight scene as 'defying gravity' which has caused me to be singing that song the entire time I wrote this chapter...
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Dan was soaring. He'd already flown far, far away from his bedroom window, and high up into the sky.

It was so exhilarating to fly. The feeling was something Dan would never take for granted. The feeling of the wind in his hair. And the feeling of practically weighing nothing at all, as though he was lighter than air.

He was racing through the clouds, knowing exactly where he was heading.

Up until a few years ago, Dan had been afraid to fly above the clouds. The fear that he would fall or get swept away by a gust of wind had always made the idea rather daunting.

But he wasn't afraid anymore. He'd soon built up the courage to go as high up in the air as he could (without feeling too nauseous).

Besides that really was the best way to avoid being spotted by people on the ground, a thing that terrifyingly did happen from time to time, and Dan really didn't know how many more times he could withstand it.

Most of the time when people saw him they didn't believe it, thought that they were dreaming or seeing things. And for good reason too, for what human being could fly?

Buildings below Dan, great towers and skyscrapers, dipped in and out of view through the clouds. And everything looked like a children's toy city. Dan could barely even see the people down there anymore.

The people who were going about their days like normal, living normal lives and doing normal things. Just as he had done as a child, before he'd discovered his wings.

Dan thought about the day it had happened, just as he had a million times. It had been so surreal at the time.

Dan had stopped what he'd been doing immediately. Thankfully he had been alone and simply just sat on his bed

They had spanned out behind him. Huge, great, white wings. And complete and utter awe had overcome him.

Of course then there had also been the panic that came with finding out you had the ability to fly.

The panic that had Dan wondering how he was going to live his day to day life with great big wings protruding out of his back, a bit of a problem really. As was the fact that he had just made huge rips in the back of his jumper too.

But then sure enough, just as fast as the wings had erected themselves behind Dan, they had appeared to shrink back down and almost dissolve.

They hadn't completely disappeared however. The remains showing up as two little scars underneath Dan's shoulder blades, but they'd gone enough for Dan to look ordinary again.

Dan hadn't been sure quite what had happened to him that day.

Whether someone had taken pity on him and given him the wings to somehow make up for his shitty life. Or whether he'd eaten something a bit off and it had turned him into some mythical creature, his second mother had always told him they put some weird shit in fast food these days.

Either way though Dan was thankful for whatever crazy mystical higher power having given him this ability as a child. And he'd certainly mastered the art of flying now five years on. Well almost at least.

As he carried on flying, Dan could see the destination he was heading for through a gap in the clouds.

This was where he had to be careful, landing was not only the most dangerous part of flying but it was also how he was most likely to be spotted by someone on the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Dan stopped and hovered for a second. Before he began almost falling, face first in a kind of diving position. His wings folded back behind him.

He appeared to be hurtling towards the window of a building, a particularly tall one at that.

As Dan made it out of a thick layer of clouds he began to use his wings again. Spreading them out wide in an almost parachute like way.

The whole thing was almost like skydiving really. It was thrilling and exhilarating and probably would've made most people pass out.

As Dan reached his target of one of the building windows he slowed down a little. Thankfully he had done this enough times to know that this window had no glass in it anymore.

Dan flew through the opening head first, tucking in on himself, and doing a few forward rolls to lessen the impact as he touched the ground.

Landing sprawled out in the floor, taking a couple of retching deep breathes, Dan got to his feet once more. Brushing himself off and fiddling with his hair to make himself appear presentable.

Not that there was anyone here.

The building was abandoned. There were many buildings like this, scattered around the city.

Dan came to this particular one all the time. It was like his own hideout. His second home, or well what Dan supposed was his sixth or seventh home now actually.

But it was the only one that mattered to him.

He didn't have any people here, telling him what to do and making him feel like he was unwanted.

This spot had often been Dan's spot of choice for flying practice too. Particularly when he'd been younger and less capable of going above the clouds.

The multiple floors of the derelict building had always been the perfect place to practice without anyone seeing.

Dan sat down now, on a ledge, and leaned against the frame of one of the windows. Disappearing behind him, his wings began to fade as he looked out at the city skyline.

The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon now. Dan watched in complete wonder and contentment, as if he hadn't a care in the world.

-

The sun was setting where Phil was too.

He had just come home from therapy and frankly, he felt no better then he had before he'd left. Stupid therapist.

Sure Phil could see the man had been trying to help, he just wasn't very good at it was all. Besides, Phil couldn't exactly just blurt our the fact that he had a superpower without sounding completely insane.

Collapsing on his bed, gazing up at the ceiling, he could still see a slither of the sun out of the corner of his eye.

He turned his head and faced it, basking in the oranges, and reds, and yellows that lit up the sky.

Phil sighed. Maybe tomorrow he could do something...

Shit.

Tomorrow.

He had school tomorrow.

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