FAULT 》 PETER PARKER [2]

NINE.

"You're lying."

____

PROM NIGHT was supposed to be fun, exhilarating, and overall the best time of some peoples lives, as sad as that sounded. Hell, it was the night that some people lost their virginity to their date, but that definitely was not on Cora's agenda for the night. In fact, it wasn't on her agenda for any day, really, but that was besides the point on Friday night as she roamed the halls of Midtown in her blue shining dress and white heels clicking against the old tile floors. 

Cora had told Peter 10 minutes ago that she would be back soon. He must have guessed she was just going to the bathroom, because that was typical and, well, she took her clutch with her. But, that wasn't the case. She was roaming the halls of Midtown well past the time she should have been, and she was in search of that damned shadow that somehow stared at her even though it didn't have any eyes. It was mortifying, worse than when her and Peter spoke in sync just 20 minutes before. 

She was weaving through halls and doors, up stairs and down others, following this shadow like a lost puppy. She truly felt like she was going insane, and if it weren't for those notes, she would have believed that she was. Those notes were the only proof that the shadow was real, and they were the only things that kept her believing the was sane. They were also the only things that proved she wasn't completely safe from whatever that thing was. 

The heels of her shoes clicked on the floor as she rounded another corner, only to see the shadow give a sly wave, wriggling its 'fingers' before it zipped down another hallway, and Cora came to a quick stop when she saw where it was leading her to. The chemistry rooms. The chemistry hall in Midtown was strictly off limits after hours without authorized personnel, such as a teacher or administrator. It was because of all of the chemicals and expensive equipment. Cora would go down the hallway, if each corner didn't have a camera embedded into it. A naked eye wouldn't be able to spot the cameras, but Cora knew they were there. Don't ask why. 

When she didn't budge, no matter how much the shadow seemed to try and coax her, she refused to move. It seemed to get frustrated, and it made its way back over to her by the ceiling, down the wall and then onto the floor in front of her. Cora raised one hand, as if she was threatening to use her power against it. Whatever this thing was, knew who Cora was. It seemed to know everything about her. The shadow shook its finger in a 'no' motion, and Cora creased her eyebrows close together in confusion. 

The shadow began to make a sound. It didn't form words, but it was eery, like something you would hear on a late night by a lake. It also sounded distant. It sounded like it wasn't even in the room with her, but it was. It was with her in that hallway, making the ambient noise that slowly turned into a high-pitched sound that made her ears ring. Cora could feel her heart going a mile a minute, believing she was going absolutely insane. 

Then, it vanished. The shadow dispersed across the floor like a cloud, and it was gone, as was the sound. The only thing it left was a piece of dirtied paper and words written in messy ink, because it couldn't talk to her. She stared down at the paper with fearful eyes, before she crouched down and picked it up with a nervous hand, her white, flower clutch in the other.