"An-Annoying?"

I felt my shoulders drop.

"Pandas what's going on? Are you feeling okay?"

He smacked my hand away.

"I'm fine! Gods Y/N you'd think that you'd actually grow up."

He faced me, anger, disgust filling his features.

What?

"I mean I even gave you all this time to get over your Da. Was there for you so you'd pull yourself together."

His hands slammed onto the oak table. I flinched back at the sudden snap.

"Quite lying to yourself! Thinking you could be anything but a cowering fool!"

I shook my head. I could feel tears welling up inside of me.

"No, no I'm not! Where is this coming from? Did Clay say something?"

His face contorted again into that smile, one that was fed up with me.

"There you go again! Assuming that everyone else is the problem except you!"

My hands started to shake. Even now the power within spin alive, yet broken.

After Da's passing, Aunt Puffy tried to distract me by working on my powers.

But something strange happened. Instead of the sound drum of metal ores I felt something else in the earth as well.

It was brittle, more jagged and spastic in its energy.

I focused on it and felt it shoot out the ground. A sharp pain split across my eyebrow and Aunt Puffy screamed.

When we cleaned the wound I discovered what I had done. Something that shouldn't be possible. I controlled bones from the nearby grave yard.

He couldn't possibly mean that...

I turned the woven ring on my finger.

"No...no you're my best friend Nick. You said that I'm special, that you lo-"

"YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL!"

He shouted again. The chill of it shivered over me.

His hazel eyes flared with rage.

Hate.

"DON'T YOU GET IT?"

He slammed his fists down.

"YOU'LL NEVER BE ONE OF US! YOU'RE A FREAK!"

My breathing hitched. Throat became dry.

Again his voice pierced my ears.

"You're not special. It's just something I told you to make you feel better about yourself...because you came out wrong!"

I'm not...special...

I slowly stepped away. The tears started to fall.

Idiot.

He's right look at you!

Crying like a fool!

Controlling bones like a freak!

So I came to a choice. I could stand here, take him on. Prove him wrong and still rule. Defy the odds and become someone special. I could do that, or run.

And in the end...I ran.