"Peter, are those... red tights?"
"Nope."
"Those definitely looked like red tights."
"I... do ballet?"
---
•The sole thing illuminating her path were the wispy rays of moonlight as she tripped over a trashcan and...
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RAIN CLOUDS GATHERED OVER THE TOP of the New York skyline, showering raindrops onto the people below. Eloquin sat under a bright yellow bus stand, watching droplets shimmy down the glass and onto the asphalt.
She tightened the straps to her backpack instinctively and continued watching the taxi's go by. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take a bus instead of the subway. A figure walking hurriedly by caught her eye, almost passing by unnoticed if it wasn't for the bright blue backpack the child adorned.
"Miles?" Eloquin shouted after him, leaving her dry place from under the bus stand and running to catch up with him. The small boy turned around with a frown, his dark eyes widening when he saw the girl.
"Ellnut?" He whispered, his eyes lighting up. "It's you!"
Eloquin let out a soft laugh and crouched down, ruffling the small boy's hair and giving him a wide smile. "Fancy seeing you here Morales, how's school?"
Miles shrugged, shuffling his feet around with a sigh. "I dun' know, Ellnut, kids at school can be meanies sometimes."
"Don't let it get to you, kiddo. Everyone goes through hard times; hell, even Spider-Man does."
Miles looked up with marvel in his eyes, cracking a wide smile at the mention of the hero. "Spider-Man? Cool!" He said, almost stomping in a puddle before being stopped by Eloquin.
"Woah, easy there." She laughed, pulling him back and brushing some mud off of his gumboots. The young boy still wore the same ones as when she babysat him back in Brooklyn, old memories flashing by her.
Miles gave her a sheepish grin, playing with the straps of his school bag before erupting into a fit of bubbling excitement. "Ooh! Ellie, I finally got into the school's junior debating team! I'm last speaker, and we won our first game the other day!"
"Good Job, kiddo! I told you, I knew you would make it. How could they not take you in?" She replied. Watching the kid bounce up and down flooded her with a warmth she hadn't experience in a while, and she realised how much she had really missed him.
"What about you, Ellie? Have you done anything new?" The young boy asked her, his eyes glimmering as he blinked some raindrops that had fallen on his eyes away.
Eloquin froze, almost answering him before curtly stopping herself. The truth was, she hadn't done anything new; she was still just the same old boring Eloquin. "I-Uh, no, actually. I haven't done anything new." She mumbled, fixating her gaze on her boots and biting her lip. Before he could reply, Eloquin patted the boy on his shoulder, giving him a wide grin.
"Look, I bet Mister and Missus Morales will be expecting you home soon, so get going!"
Miles nodded twice before giving her a wave and running off into the distance, trying to cover his dark hair with his hands and sploshing his boots in the puddles.
