𝐝𝐞𝐣𝐚 𝐯𝐮, peter parker

xxvii. the cost of spider-man

chapter twenty-seven
the cost of spider-man

    THE GYM WAS still alive in the midst of the Homecoming dance. But Felicia and MJ weren't feeling the blaze of the lights and the laughter as Flash told the story of Spider-Man stealing his car. The two girls didn't dance, they stood together by the edge of the floor, keeping their gazes on their phone to hear back from Nina, wondering where she had gone. She had left a good hour ago, and now seemed to ghost each every text and phone call they sent. Felicia was growing worried. Nina always did things with little thought of dangers. It used to be small things, such as dating her best friend without thinking of what would happen if they broke up, or drinking way too much hot chocolate and being surprised when she got sick the day after. But now, ever since she met Spider-Man, they got worse. She was determined to impress the vigilante, and it caused her to do things that might get her killed. And Felicia had joined in! She had felt the thrill of doing something for a superhero and tampered with the law to get the information the vigilante needed. And now, Cia just knew in her gut that this disappearance had something and everything to do with Spider-Man. She had always been protective of Nina, she was a shot of espresso in a world that always messed up coffee orders. But now, she found it harder to keep an eye on her, and Felicia didn't like what Spider-Man was letting her do, at all.

She couldn't explain this to MJ, of course, and it frustrated her to come up with lies, especially when Michelle was staring at her out of the corner of her eye with such suspicion in made Felicia awkwardly shuffle in her heels. If Felicia was to be honest, Michelle Jones had always intimidated her, which didn't settle well, since usually Cia was the one who intimidated people. But unlike Felicia who liked making people flustered with her risqué statements, questions and actions that gave her the same thrill and power she got from stealing something from the mall, Michelle did it in such a quiet, intellectual way that made you rethink everything you just said and believed. Maybe pigeons did record you for the government, even if the idea's ridiculous, the way MJ declared it just made you backtrack and tremble on her own confidence.

It made the air tense between them without Nina. She was the perfect mediator between the two of them, and now that she was gone, their conversation had switched to brief, awkward glances and desperation to get Nina back.

MJ glanced sideways at Felicia. "She ran out after Peter," she said suddenly.

"I know," grumbled Felicia, "I already got that part."

"You don't like Peter?"

"I don't hate him. I'm just don't trust him."

"You don't trust a lot of people."

And she was blunt. She was super blunt in a way that made people uncomfortable. Because she just read you like one of her books. Felicia gritted her teeth, trying to remind herself not to snap for Nina's sake. She really liked MJ.

Michelle pursed her lips and fiddled with the corsage she had taken off her wrist and held behind her cheap android phone. "I don't trust a lot of people, either. People suck."

"Oh, no, I love people," Felicia met her gaze, trying to make her uncomfortable instead. Felicia wanted that power back. She hated being powerless. "I just don't like it when they pretend they know my trust issues."

MJ realised and for the first time, flushed in embarrassment. Suddenly, Felicia felt ashamed for being so abrasive━she did it first, she defended herself like she was in middle school. It made her sigh and look back down at her phone. Nina still hadn't replied. Ned was nowhere to be seen either. The three of them were up to something. Her, Ned and Peter. Were they all into this Spider-Man shit?