Darren had always come off as normal, at least considering his circumstances. As his parents had been killed in an accident when he was really young, he was living in foster care most of his life. It hadn't been a bad family to live with but he had generally been ignored amongst the other children, and he tried to be out as often as possible. So by doing this he'd fill his time by going to martial arts classes learning all he could and it was through that, that he found himself living above one of the dojos when the foster family could no longer take care of him at 19 years old.
In school no one had thought there was anything strange about the half-japanese boy. Sure his reflexes had been fast, and he was quite strong but people would just believe that was due to all the martial arts he had practiced. However the truth of the matter was that his parents had both been included in the program with the experimental drugs and due to that he had been born with abilities. Somehow he had been able to hide them not an easy feat to hide above average strength, reflexes or agility, but he was a very persuasive person and easily redirected the subject if it ever came up. In fact, he found after awhile he was able to plant suggestions in others minds.
Because of these things he tended to be a longer, although he had friends. Even though he didn't hang out with them often cuz he was always afraid of revealing his secret. Although he would never voice it, he had felt quite lonely, knowing that his abilities weren't normal and always wondering if there was anyone out there like him. In fact he had always figured he'd be able to tell who was and who wasn't if there was anyone.
It had seemed like every other day when he was proved wrong. Even though he wasn't socially outgoing he was still friendl and interested in the opposite gender, and so he knew Samantha Adala. Sami, short for Samantha, was a pretty girl, tall and slender with golden waves for hair with highlights of soft reds. Her eyes were gentle and kind, their depths a blue-green. He'd be the first to admit he had a crush on her but always thought her to be normal. That was until the day that she didn't see that someone had just closed the classroom door. Her friends had expected her to run into the door as they tried to warn her, calling out to watch out. Their voices had drawn Darren's attention, as he was already sitting in the classroom alone, just in time to see Sami walk through the door! He was just as astonished as her friends as he saw her become incorporeal and pass through a solid object. Quickly the two of her friends rushed into the room behind her as Darren stood up and was staring. The poor girl looked as if she was going to panic and cry all at once as she gazed at the three people who had seen.
"What the hell was that?" Her friend on the right demanded of her. The one on the left just nodded her head in agreement with the question. While Sami thought about how to tell them, Darren approached slowly, almost as if in a dream, shock clear on his face.
"I-I've always been able to do that since I can remember...Please, please don't tell anyone!" Sami pleaded desperately to them. Her face was extremely pale as she looked at the 3 before her with wide, frightened eyes. For a few moments silence filled the air, only broken by the occasional passerby.
"Wow," whispered her previously silent friend. It broke the heavy veil of previous silence as Sami got over her shock and began to sob as she crumpled into a ball. The others there didn't know how to react except for Darren who kneeled beside her and touched her shoulder gently. Her firends were in shock still as they sat down to think about the the situation.
"It'll be alright Sami. I won't tell anyone and neither will these two. And don't worry, I don't think your a freak either," Darren spoke too her softly, his eyes full of understanding, as he knew that thought would be running through her head. With a sniffle Sami would lift her head and look to him with wariness and hope.
"Really?" Her voice showed that although she had hope, she was still terrified. However her friends weren't as pleased with his response.
"What makes you think you can speak fo rus?" the one girl, obviously the bolder of the two demanded.
"Because you know it was a mistake. Sami did not walk through the door. I just happen to have opened it right before she would have hit it. That's the truth of the matter," Darren replied softly as his tone intensified, a strange feeling washing over the two girls. Blinking afterwards they looked at the other two in the room and smiled widely.
"It sure is lucky that Darren go the door before you hit it!" The quieter girl spoke with a laugh as she stood up. The one chuckled and nodded before heading to the door.
"Well, we'll see you after class!" The one called before they both left the classroom chatting up a storm. Sami just stood up, her mouth gape before she turned to Darren, completely mystified.
"What just happened?" She asked softly as she took a step towards Darren, her blue-green eyes wide.
"The reason that I didn't freak out as well, and why your friends started acting differently is because I'm different too..." Darren's voice was just as soft as hers as he spoke, shrugging his shoulders as if trying to dismiss it. Sami would have have none of it however and stepped in front of him, her eyes insistent.
"What do you mean your different too?" Her voice demanding an answer from him.
"I mean that I have abilities that others don't normally have too. I'm able to 'hypnotize' people and I'm incredibly strong with really quick reflexes and I'm very agile..." He answered slowly as he brought his gaze up to hers. At first she was silent, staring at him intensely as if she was trying to peer into his very soul. With a sigh she finally nodded, and softened her expression.
"That's amazing Darren! I'm glad to finally know I'm not alone. Besides being able to phaze through physical objects I've got incredible strength as well as speed and reflexes," A faint smile touched her lips as she spoke, laying out all of her secrets to him, at least about her abilites.
"I'm glad to know that I'm not alone, either. I always pegged you for normal though Sami. Your so outgoing and always surrounded by people," Darren spoke with admiration in his voice, a smile touching his lips.
"I guess I'm just a good actress then. Even if I appeared that way I was always watching myself, and felt so alone," She started off with a chuckle, but her words faded into a sigh. Darren nodded in sympathy, venturing a bit of a brighter smile as he thought about it.
