Title: Ethereal
Pairing: Dan Howell/ Phil Lester and Chris Kendall/ PJ Liguori
Rating: M
Warnings: Swearing and eventual fluff/smut!
Summary: AU- Super powers. Dan's not normal. In fact, he's never met a single person exactly like him. No one else can move objects with their mind, just by a simple thought. He lives life carefully, limited interactions and semi-non-existent social life. That is, until a pair of sapphire blue eyes change everything. Dan Howell/Phil Lester, PJ Liguori/ Chris Kendall.
Notes: So I've been working on this for a little while now because basically I'm a sucker for anything involving supernatural abilities, so I decided to write my own. I hope you enjoy and please feel free to let me know what you think. Chapters should be updated weekly (and will obviously be longer then the prologue). Also a special thank you for WitbeyondmeasureXOX for being my editor and ideas bouncer, who basically helps me with anything I'm unsure about, and trust me, there are a lot of things I tend to mull over.
Dan's heard the cardinal rule a lot of different times.
His mother says "Be careful- just because you have powers doesn't mean you have to use them." His father on the other hand, drills into him, "No one can ever know."
His parents are as supportive as Dan could hope for. Maybe because they can't deny everything they've seen even though it's not exactly along the realms of possible. They're more protective than other parents, but that's only because they have to be.
Dan knows that he isn't exactly normal; in fact he's never met a single person exactly like him. No one else can move objects with their mind. No one can make whole rooms shake when they get angry, rattle curtains, break glass. No one can, except Dan.
:::
The first time Dan's family notices something is different is when he's five. It isn't anything particularly abnormal for a young child; Dan really, really wanted the cookies on top of the fridge. He's too small to reach, his tiny fingers only reaching three quarters of the way up even as he stands on a chair. What was abnormal however was as Dan got close to tears; the jar seemed to gravitate towards him on its own accord.
At first his mother hadn't believed him, Dan swears it was true; but the broken pieces of the jar scattered over the floor doesn't prove anything.
The next time occurs about three months after the first incident and this time Dan's parents can't deny it. His mother was pouring milk into Dan's cereal, bottle sitting up on the edge of the table. It happens to Dan as if in slow motion, one moment his mother turns around, elbow out, accidently knocking the bottle on its side. The next moment Dan's hands move outwards, as if he's reaching forward to grab it. His hands don't reach, falling short of the bottle but the milk never reaches the ground. Dan's muscles lock in place, freezing as the contents liquid pools around mid-air. His mum lets out a gasp and Dan instantly drops his hands, the liquid no longer defying gravity and falling towards the floor with a loud splash.
There was no denying it after that. His mother had been worried, almost frantic for a while, somehow managing to explain to her husband that their child had just defied the laws of physics. After all, it's not every day that you discover that your son has an ability only ever described about in books or shows on TV.
Dan's parents make him promise to not do it again, but he can't always help it. Sometimes the urge to move things is too strong. It ticks away in his mind, the images of swirling and twirling movement. He can't always control it, it just happens.
The first time Dan really screws up he isn't exactly aware of it. He's sitting in the sand box, building castles with the sand. All he wants to do is play and the grains of sand are so tiny and soft. Dan runs his fingers under the surface; lifting the sand up in his cupped hand and watching it fall back down. A sensation washes over him and he can picture it moving around him, twisting in front of him in a circular motion; gliding through the air as if it weighs nothing.
He isn't sure at which point his imagination becomes a reality, his eyes are transfixed, watching the grains lift from his palm and twirl around in front of him. A giggle passes through his lips as more sand rises, accompanying the others. It looks almost like a hurricane, twisting together in a tight circular motion.
"Wow!" A small voice speaks up from beside Dan, "how are you doing that?!"
Dan jolts back a little and the sand falls back down. A boy is sitting beside him, mouth gapping and blue eyes wide.
"Oh no, do it again! Please, it's so cool!" The boy smiles at him, bright and wide and slightly pleading. "It's so magical! I've never seen someone do that before."
Dan hesitates, before looking back at the sand and imagining it moving in similar fashion to how it had before. The boy moves his hand out, as if to touch it and Dan responds by letting the sand float across the others hand, winding around his wrist and arms loosely. No one apart from Dan's parents has ever seen him do this and it fills Dan with a sense of happiness that he's never truly felt before.
It doesn't last long though; a second hand appears from the other side of him, a girl. Dan flinches backwards, as does the boy beside him, sand flying towards the girl instead of just dropping this time. A piercing scream fills the air as girl stands in front of them; rubbing her eyes and tears rolling down her checks. There is sand scattered on her clothing, starting to stick in clumps as the tears roll down her eyes. She lets off another high pitched scream, this time with her mother's name attached. Sobs fill the air and Dan recoils, crawling backwards.
"It was an accident," Dan yelps, putting his hands up in front of him as to prove his innocence.
"Daniel," his mother's voice is tight and demanding as she pulls him up from the ground, quickly removing him from the sandbox and pulling him away from the park.
"Wait!" The other boy scrambles to his feet. Dan turns, trying to watch, but his mother gives his arm a small jerk and Dan knows that he made a mistake, he hurt someone.
:::
It changes from then on. Dan sort of thinks of it as an equivalent exchange; don't use your powers around normals, because normals don't understand, normals can't defend themselves.
So Dan listens to his parents, mostly, stays inside a lot. He practices, gets a handle on how it works, on how to control himself a bit better. He keeps quiet, keeps his head down low and doesn't attract attention. It's easier this way and although it might not be the best way to live, it works.
That's how Dan lives, limited social life, practically zero friends and an outcast. That's him.
That's him, until, it isn't.