Behind His Smile ~ A Hermitcraft SuperHero AU

Etho

Cold.

All he felt was cold.

Everything was freezing, the tips of his fingers beginning to go numb. His breathing was heavy, chest rising and falling methodically as he lay still on the tiled bathroom floor. He could see his breath from the cold, the ends of his vision starting to blur together. There was pounding at the door, someone yelling from the other side, yet his brain couldn't process the words.

He pulled himself up, using the counter of the sink as support for his shaking legs. Pulling off his shirt, a breathy swear fell from his lips. He dragged a hand over the frost-like substance growing on his body, freezing over his skin. It was in the center of his chest, and growing rapidly at that. He grabbed the knob of the sink, twisting the hot water on in a hurry.

Looking in the mirror, he ran a hand through his hair, noticing the white roots beginning to grow out. He let out another deep breath, frosty air escaping his mouth in a puff. The tips of his fingers were covered in a thin layer of frost, which was quickly spreading as they began to shift into an icy shade of blue. He slipped his hands underneath the boiling water to try and stop his hands from freezing over, yet the faucet froze as soon as he touched the water pouring out of it.

Pounding against the door rang through his ears, his head spinning. He fell against the wall for support, though the frost on his fingertips began to spread upon contact. The room filled with ice, spreading faster than a forest fire, coating every surface in a layer of icy frost. He let out a shuddering breath at what he had just done, pulling away from the wall with unsteady legs.

His insides felt like they were squirming, like he was about to be sick. He had to get out of here, he had to go before they saw him. Before they saw his curse. The pounding on the door was only getting louder, while the frost on his arms was only getting colder. He stared at his shaking hands for a moment before pressing his palm against the door, freezing it over in just a touch. That would hold them back, even if it was just for a couple minutes.

The window was big enough to crawl through, giving him a chance to escape. He grabbed his shirt from the ground, quickly shoving it back on before running over to the window. He opened the hatch, crawling out onto the brick ledge of the window. His apartment was a couple stories high, though too far to jump down without harming himself. The pounding on the bathroom door was getting louder, they were clearly trying to get in, trying to see if he was okay. But they couldn't see him like this. He had to leave.

Snow left the tips of his fingers, forming a pile in the alleyway of the apartment building. It would be just enough to cushion his fall. He could hear the sheet of ice he made break down as the door was rammed open forcibly, causing him to step off of the ledge and jump down to the alleyway below.

Landing in the snow pile was easy enough, despite being somewhat rough upon impact, though that was the easy part. He got up and ran as soon as he hit the ground. Running out of the alleyway and down the street, into the darkness of the city night. People like him were cursed, sought after, tortured. He had heard it all before. He couldn't put his friends in danger. He couldn't stay with them with this uncontrolled power of his.

So he ran. And he kept running. And he ran for what felt like forever. He ran until the sun came up and the night began to fade.

He stumbled into an alleyway across the city, gasping for breath as he shivered from the cold. The frost on his hands was spreading to his wrists, while his palms had gone completely numb from the cold. He let out a shaky breath, a cold puff of air escaping his lips. He walked further down the alleyway while rubbing his hands together, trying to warm up his freezing limbs.