Dan

     The sunlight glowed through the tangled branches as Dan walked through the woods. He wandered aimlessly, not caring where he ended up; all he cared about was escaping for a little. Escaping into his own head. Careful not to trip over the dark roots, he sped up into a run; he breathed rhythmically, surrounded by racing thoughts. Dan ran until his lungs burned in protest; his muscles screamed, but he didn’t stop. Rain started pouring from the once clear sky; cold and refreshing. The feeling was exhilarating, he ran and ran, running to forget himself in his footsteps.

                                              ∼・∼Later∼・∼

     Dan stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. His hair was dark and plastered to his face from the rain. He ran his fingers through his now short hair, feeling where it ended below the nape of his neck. Mum was sure to freak about this haircut, but Dan didn’t care. He smiled at the way his hair covered his eye, and how this length of hair somehow complemented the light splatter of freckles across his face. When he smiled, a slight dimple appeared in his cheek. He’d always hated his dimple, but somehow this shorter haircut even made that look good. He pulled on a dry pair of black skinny jeans, and a lightweight dark-grey shirt with long sleeves. With a shock, he realized that he didn’t even care what his Mum thought anymore. He cared about being himself, about being Dan.