(dan)

it's almost noon and dan is in the kitchen, adding a few things to the shopping list. dan's handwriting when he's holding the pen is the ugliest thing ever. that why he's controlling the pen with his mind, watching the ink loop on the page, with his hands dangling at his sides. when he's using his telekinesis, his handwriting is beautiful and consistent. the list looks like it could have been printed off. in the corner of his mind, he wonders what phil will think.

and that is precisely the moment when phil walks into the kitchen. the pen dan was holding with his mind suddenly slips out of his grip. on its way down, dan tries to control it again, tries to get it to fly back into his hand, but it won't listen to him anymore. it clatters to the floor.

this isn't the first time this has happened.

last time, dan was putting away the dishes using his telekinesis. he had done all the cups, and was trying to get a plate from the dishwasher into the cupboard, but he'd heard phil's room door open and the plate just fell to the ground.

it seemed like whenever phil was on dan's mind, his telekinesis just wouldn't work. and this was becoming increasingly frustrating because phil was on dan's mind quite a lot recently. there was just something about the boy with piercing blue eyes and a sweet smile that made his heart beat faster.

dan wasn't going to lie, he knew he was attracted to phil. not just that, he was absolutely fascinated by him. dan hadn't cared this much about a person in a while. he wasn't sure why he seemed stuck on phil. maybe it was because phil was different, too, so he felt phil would understand him? not many people had a photographic memory. regardless, dan knew he couldn't tell phil about his secret telekinesis, because phil would either tell the world dan was a freak, or run away and never come back.

"morning," phil says, yawning straight after. he voice is deeper and scratchy and is like music to dan's ears.

"morning," dan answers, finally reaching down to pick up the pen he has dropped.

"you're up earlier today," phil says and it feels weird. dan isn't used to people commenting on his sleep schedule.

he sets the pen down on the counter. "i was exhausted after working so much yesterday, so i went straight to bed," dan answers, opening a cupboard to get out the cereal. he also takes out two bowls and two spoons and lays them on the breakfast bar. he thinks about how much faster the action could have been if he'd used his mind.

phil is getting the milk from the fridge, so while his back is turned, dan tries again. he focuses on an apple in the fruit bowl, trying to get it to levitate just a few centimeters, but the apple doesn't budge. before dan can try again, phil sits down next to him.

"do you work from home, then?" phil asks as he pours shreddies into his bowl.

"uh, yeah. i'm a web designer."

"that's cool!" phil answers and the enthusiam in his voice makes dan feel giddy. "i did english language at uni, but it turned out to be completely useless."

"how?" is dan's feeble attempt to keep the conversation going.

"i'm not using my degree for anything. hell, i can't even find a related job. and uni was expensive, i'm still in debt." phil pauses, and dan gives him an encouraging nod, just to hear his voice again. "i mean, it was good because i met a lot of people, but i could've met them anywhere."

dan raises an eyebrow in question.

phil swiftly continues. "i could've waited at the door when the students were leaving and said, 'hi, i'm phil, what do you do in there?'"

dan laughs and the feeling is weird. he hasn't laughed like this with someone else in a while. so he revels in it. he throws his head back, squeezes his eyes shut and lets himself laugh, really laugh. he'd forgotten how good it felt.

***

an hour or so after breakfast, phil walks into the lounge, where dan is sitting on the couch, mindlessly browsing the internet. considering dan was using his telekinesis to press the down button and scroll, phil's presence means that dan actually has to use his fingers.

"hey, um, i just need to get out, so like do you want me to get the groceries or something. i just haven't had fresh air in a while."

phil's statement makes dan silently laugh in his head. this was only phil's second day without going out. how did he already need to get out? dan hasn't left the house in a week and a half.

"you wouldn't mind?" dan asks, remembering to be polite.

"nah. i figured we would take alternate turns anyway."

"yeah, sure. okay, the list is on the fridge and there's a sainbury's and a tesco if you walk straight ahead for a few minutes."

"ok," phil answers, disappearing into the kitchen. a few seconds later, dan hears the flat door slam.

finally's he's alone. he can figure out what the hell is happening to his powers.

he starts by putting his laptop on the table, and leaning back on the couch until he's in a comfortable position. the his eyes slowly flutter shut. he slowly counts down from a hundred.

four, three, two, one, zero.

by now all traces of phil's gorgeous eyes have disappeared from his mind. he slowly opens his eyes. then, he clasps his hands together and lays them on his stomach. next, he focuses on the laptop he left on the table. his eyes stare at the bright aluminium.

the lid of the laptop slams shut. then, dan picks up the laptop, still with his mind, and makes it hover a few inches above the table. it's easy. he lets the laptop fly all the way up, then make it fly round the entire room. the laptop does lap after lap of the room, each time getting faster and faster. he lets the laptop continue whizzing round, following it with his eyes. finally, when the laptop is going as fast as he can possibly get it too, he slows it down, before carefully bringing it to rest on his thighs.

he smiles in triumph, clearly his abilities are as good as ever.

he then opens the laptop, opening a new tab. he finds tumblr in his favourites and presses it, scrolling through his feed.

his hands are still clasped together and haven't moved at all.

satisfied with himself, dan gets up to grab a celebratory snack. as he makes his way to the kitchen, he decides to stretch his ability. he imagines himself floating, and soon, his feet aren't touching the ground anymore, he flies into the kitchen with ease, making his way towards the fridge where there is a slice of chocolate cake waiting for him.

however, as soon as he reaches the fridge, he stops floating and smacks onto the ground, the impact hurting his ankles a little.

at first he is confused, but then he realises that the shopping list hanging on the fridge must have made him think of phil for a split second. he silently curses phil, before realising that the shopping list is indeed hanging on the fridge.

did phil forget to take it? obviously not, dan had heard him walking into the kitchen.

and then dan realises that phil probably didn't need to take the list with him. his photographic memory meant he had a copy of his mind. and suddenly dan was jealous of phil. yeah, dan could fly and move objects and be as lazy as he liked. but phil had a photographic memory! he wondered what phil would think of his ability.

would he find it cool, like dan had at first? or would he come to the conclusion that dan was a freak and his telekinesis was a sign of his weirdness?

dan knew he should stop thinking about it, because his desire to tell phil about his powers was getting stronger and stronger, and soon he wouldn't be able to control himself anymore.

**so unedited, you're probably dead. hope you liked it anyway lol.

just about to leave for the airport, egypt here i come!! i'll try to update while i'm there but wifi will be dodgy. so idk?**

🔮rachel