Two days later.
Today was Dante's 18th birthday.
There was no party. No celebration. No big family gathering. Just a quiet day in a quiet house. His mom and dad had made a cake for him—nothing fancy, just something homemade, with uneven frosting and slightly tilted lettering. It was more out of tradition than excitement.
There was no one else coming.
After all, who would?
Dante only had one friend—his childhood friend, Owen Maddox.
And unlike him, Owen was everything people in this town admired. Super popular at school. Handsome in a way that turned heads in the hallway. The star of the soccer team. The kind of guy everyone talked about, not because he was loud, but because he had that effortless confidence people naturally followed.
Meanwhile, Dante… wasn't unsociable. Not at all. He was easy to talk to, good at reading people, even fun to be around when he let his guard down. He could make friends easily—he had before. But that was in places where people actually wanted to get to know someone different.
That all changed when his parents moved.
The town they relocated to wasn't just small. It was small-minded. A place full of people who all thought the same way, acted the same way, and raised their kids to believe the same things. The moment Dante opened his mouth and shared a single opinion that didn't match the script, he was shut out.
Naturally, he couldn't get along with any of the kids here.
Except for Owen.
Owen was the only one in the entire neighborhood who saw things the way he did. The only one who didn't just parrot what their parents said or stare in silent judgment. Over time, their bond became the only real connection Dante had in this place. But he couldn't attend because of the big game that is happening in another town far away
"Dante, you're eighteen now," his mother said softly. She was sitting next to him at the kitchen table, trying to sound cheerful. "That means you'll be going to college soon."
"Yeah," he muttered, not looking at her. "And then I can finally leave this fucking town."
There was a pause.
He expected her to scold him for the language, but she didn't say anything at all. No gasp. No sharp words. Just silence.
His mother had always been different from the others in the family. She was afraid of mutants, yes—but not hateful. Not like his dad. Not like his brother and sister, who'd long since absorbed every opinion their father barked across the dinner table.
Most of Dante's arguments over the years weren't with her. They were with them—his father especially, and the siblings who followed his lead without question.
"I know you've always felt suffocated in here," his mom said after a moment, her voice quieter. She didn't sound offended. She sounded… sad. Tired, maybe. Like she knew he wasn't wrong.
"I hope that's true," she added after a pause. "At least… promise you'll visit us when you go to college?"
Dante didn't reply right away. He just looked down at the table and nodded once.
"Yeah. Maybe."
His mom gave him a soft smile and stood up, walking toward the kitchen. She disappeared through the doorway, the sound of her footsteps fading behind her.
Dante leaned back in his chair and sighed, staring at the empty space she left behind. The conversation made him think about college again, and that only made his chest tighten.
He had no idea what he was going to do with his future.
Sure, he wanted his life to be something more—something exciting. He wanted to chase the kind of things that stirred his imagination, that made him feel alive. But most of the things he was interested in weren't exactly practical.
Some, like creating video games or programming, were things he just wasn't that good at, no matter how hard he tried.
Others… well, others were things that no ordinary person could do.
Like fighting supervillains.
He almost laughed at himself. It was stupid. Ridiculous. But it didn't stop the thought from sticking.
Still, none of that mattered now.
Before he could spiral any further, his parents and siblings returned from the kitchen, carrying the cake. It wasn't extravagant, but it was warm and freshly made. The words "Happy Birthday" were scrawled in bright blue icing across the top.
They placed it carefully on the table in front of him.
Dante stared at it, silent.
He knew birthday wishes weren't real.
He wasn't a kid anymore. He didn't believe in magic candles or wishful thinking. But still… as he leaned forward and blew them out, a single thought passed through his mind—quiet, desperate, and buried under years of frustration.
I wish my life would become exciting.
The candles flickered out, little trails of smoke curling upward in the dim light.
For a second, nothing happened.
Dante leaned back in his seat, barely processing the silence before he heard something that jolted him upright.
A scream.
Two of them—his sister and his mom.
He turned sharply, confused, until he saw what they were pointing at.
They were pointing at him. Dante didn't know why, but then he felt a strange sensation ripple through his body. Pain hit him all at once. He curled in on himself as his muscles tightened, like they were about to tear apart, and his head felt like it was cracking open.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, the pain vanished.
That was when he realized something was wrong.
Everything felt… different. When he looked around, the world seemed sharper, clearer. He could see better. Everything looked smaller somehow—like his perspective had shifted.
Then he heard a scream.
It came from his sister.
It was louder than it should have been—too loud.
"A mutant. My son is a mutant," he heard his mother say.
Dante looked up at his father. For a brief second, his dad was frozen in place, staring at him in shock. Then his expression twisted into rage.
"You damn freak."
His father charged at him. His brother followed right behind.
Dante was stunned—but strangely, he wasn't scared. As they rushed toward him, it felt like they were moving in slow motion, even though he knew they were running at full speed. He watched them approach, his mind struggling to keep up with what he was seeing.
That moment of distraction was enough.
They grabbed him.
Instinctively, Dante tried to push them away—just a reflex, barely any effort at all.
They went flying.
Both his father and brother slammed into the wall with a sickening crash. His mother and sister screamed even louder.
Dante stood there, frozen. He didn't understand what was happening. He didn't know how he had done that. How he had sent them flying with a single movement.
Then his mothers words echoed in his head.
Mutant.
"I'm a mutant."
The realization hit him all at once.
And then he ran.
He burst out of the house in a blur of motion, faster than he had ever moved before—faster than he thought possible. He didn't slow down. He didn't look back. He just ran, making sure no one could catch him.
He needed space. He needed to think. He needed to understand what had just happened to him.
Eventually, he stopped near a lake.
Dante dropped to the ground, trying to catch his breath—even though he wasn't tired at all. His heart was racing, his thoughts a tangled mess. He replayed everything that had happened over and over in his head.
They called me a mutant the moment they looked at me.
That meant something had changed.
His appearance.
Slowly, he stood and walked toward the water. The surface of the lake was calm, clear enough to act like a mirror. He leaned forward and looked at his reflection.
And froze.
He didn't recognize the person staring back at him.
He was… gorgeous.
(hey I'm mainly focusing on writing my novel so I will barely work on this Fanfiction, so just remember, I will try to upload once a week but it's not a guarantee but what at least can I guarantee is I will try to upload at least once a month well, maybe this isn't a guarantee but you get the point. I'm mainly focused on my novel and I am just writing this fanfiction in my free time for fun.)
(hey I wanted to talk about something. It's not that much. It's just something I found on TikTok It's a theory about secret war the movie they say when Captain America comes back he will be able to remember who Peter Parker is like that is absolutely stupid Captain America does it know who Peter Parker is He only met spider-Man and that was one time in civil War and they only exchanged that Queens Brooklyn think and that's it they have no connection beyond that)