ILLYRIS | iv. "ZAVORSE." ...COMES A GREAT HERO SHTICK
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TECHNO MUSIC PUMPED loudly all around Thea. She felt like she was swallowed by the bass booming from the stereo equipment set up in Liz's den. Lights flashed with colors across the spectrum as the music pulsed. It suddenly cut out, replaced with an electronic, bellowing voice.
"D-D-D-DJ FLASH!"
Thea rolled her eyes at Flash Thompson stationed as the evening's DJ. He bobbed his head to the music he was spinning. The pour of teenagers was almost endless. Thea took her time observing the grandeur of Liz Toomes's house. It was a two-story, contemporary abode that looked more valuable than all the houses on Thea's own block. The lousy directions spewed out from Bex's phone took them all over the terrifyingly unfamiliar suburbs. It also didn't help that they both had horrible senses of direction.
Red solo cups were knocked over, hopefully, empty and teens clumped together in individual groups. Thea was silent. She spotted Peter quietly standing next to Ned, who was rocking an awesome fedora. Her instincts told her to mingle— but she couldn't. In fact, she would've much rather been home watching re-runs of Brooklyn Nine-Nine in her PJs instead of a crowded party. She didn't know many people outside of Decathlon but that was hardly a concern at the moment.
Not when she knew Peter Parker's biggest secret.
Throughout chemistry, her attention had been focused solely on him. It was completely mind-boggling, trying to imagine that iconic suit on him. You're Spider-Man, was what she desperately wanted to blurt out. Then her blood ran cold at the next realization.
And I'm Illyris.
That night, Thea walked home thinking about how utterly, dangerously stupid she acted. Everything was exposed like a nerve now. She wondered just how long it would take for him to notice. It wasn't like she did the best at disguising her voice though the Sovranosi she fluently spat out helped infuse a bit of exaggerated accent— thank God for AP Latin. She watched Peter look around anxiously and furrowed her brows. It was shocking how he could be two wildly different people at once.
"Thea! Theatheatheathea!" Bex suddenly appeared out of nowhere, balancing two solo cups of Hawaiian Punch that miraculously didn't explode with her hurry. "Michelle's here and she looks really pretty and I don't know what to do!"
"Go talk to her," Thea encouraged, smiling as she took one of the drinks. She hoped to God and her dead ancestors that it wasn't spiked.
"And say what?"
Thea shrugged. "Tell her she looks nice."
Bex groaned. Her eyes perked up and she pointed to the left, guiding Thea's eyes. "Hey, it's Peter and Ned. Let's go there and then we can all talk to her in a group."
Thea's blood ran cold and she just about choked on her sip of Hawaiian Punch. She shook her head rapidly, her eyes darting desperately to the fancy doors constantly opening and closing with the influx of guests. "Uh, no! I-I'm— no."
