☾ ☽

clunk. clunk. clunk.

dan's shoes made soft clanking noises as they hit the pavement, the metal snug against dan's toes. he winced, but pushed on, his hands swinging slightly, parallel to his sides, as he walked.

it was a rather hot day out, which was not the best circumstances in which to be wearing metal shoes of this sort, but dan did not have any other options. sure, they were heavy, and so hot that dan felt as if his feet may melt. but there were far worse things to happen, he reminded himself.

he pulled up his pair of small black shorts once more, licking his chapped lips. he wished that for once maybe he could find some clothing that fit, but so far it seemed to be nearly impossible. nothing fit him, but that was simply because he was far too skinny for anything to come close to his measurements. he pulled his loose jacket tighter around him, even though it was far too hot to need it.

he pushed his coffee-brown hair back on his forehead, digging his teeth into his bottom lip as he glanced around the street. mostly empty, other than a few cars and several passerby's on the sidewalk.

music swirled through dan's mind like a whirlwind of notes and bars, his warm eyes flashing as he rushed across the street; as fast as he could with his clunky shoes weighing him down. his heart thrummed in time with his steps, faster and faster as he got closer to his destination.

by the time he could see the tall building at the end of his vision, he had played the entire moonlight sonata in his head, twice. and, without even realizing it, he had started moving his fingers in time with the song, as if playing the piano in the air.

he closed his eyes for the last few steps, letting the music flow through him like a rushing river after the dam has been knocked over. then he could hear that in his head as well, a loud whooshing noise alongside the piano sonata.

he opened his eyes, stopping in front of his building and taking a deep breath. it came out shaky, and dan ran his trembling fingers through his hair. calm down. it's going to be fine, it always is.

he hopped up the steps two at a time, and pushed open the large wooden front door.

it squeaked as it swung open, and dan attempted to swallow his visible fear. he took a step inside, his shoe clanking, and he flinched.

dan closed the door behind him, taking careful steps towards his room. aka, the attic. as if he was something to be hidden away, some sort of hideous beast.

"daniel."

dan froze and winced at the tone of the single word, slowly turning towards the stern voice.

"yes, sir?" he asked softly, staring at his feet. he heard light footsteps starting towards him, and his heart thrummed in his chest like a drum.

"look at me."

dan swallowed, slowly turning his face upwards to look at his boss. the man nodded at him curtly, frowning.

"sorry, sir."

"where have you been?"

dan blinked, his dark eyelashes fanning his cheeks briefly. "just out for a walk."

there was a moment of silence, the fear in dan's chest compacting and forming a lump in his throat. jarvis stared at him, as if trying to intimidate him.

"did i say you could go out?" he asked finally, and dan's gaze dropped to his feet.

"no, sir," he said timidly. "sorry, sir."

"good." jarvis's voice turned harsh, but only for a moment. dan shivered. he always felt as if he were treading on thin ice around the stony man. "go on, then. i'm going out. your dinner is in the freezer."

dan almost sighed in relief, letting his shoulders relax as he nodded frantically. "thank you."

the man grunted, turning to move towards the door, where he took his jacket off a hook beside the door.

"don't make a mess," he said firmly, his dark and bushy eyebrows raising in the slightest. "and i left a list of chores on the counter." dan nodded.

"yes, sir."

he held his breath until the man had left the building, before sighing and falling to the floor. he laughed to himself lightly, his dimples popping on his rosy cheeks as his grin grew by the second. he unbuckled the clunky burdens, one by one, and hopped to his feet.

he glanced down at them, his black knee highs bunching at his ankles. it was always pure relief when he got to take them off everyday, and dan wasn't one to take relief lightly.

god, he wished he could just get a larger size, but that was impossible. his mother had made them for him when he was thirteen, and then...

dan shook off the thoughts, forcing himself to smile. he wouldn't ruin his mood with sadness.

quickly he stripped off his socks, giggling lightly and stepping gingerly forward.

the effect was instant; the second his other foot lifted from the ground, the floorboards creaked. and then, impossibly, a tiny sunflower sprouted from the wood. dan smiled - the flowers displayed his mood.

it grew rapidly, going up to his ankle before stopping, and slumping slightly from the weight of its own petals.

and then he was off; skipping, twirling around the room, his feet hitting the floor a lot less noisily than before. he sprinted down the hall, the trail of small yellow flowers blossoming behind him. he danced almost wildly, knowing no one could see him.

he hopped up the stairs, humming to himself before he even got to the piano.

the piano. the white piano that sat at the top of the stairs, beside his bed- the one that was broken but still sounded beautiful when played correctly.

when dan played it he was happy, and that was the only thing that make him happy.

yet, anyways.

--

u excited i am