Familia ✧ MILES MORALES ❨o.h.❩

4 - Chaos at Coney Island

THE FOLLOWING DAY, LUNA WOKE UP TO THE SOUND OF KNUCKLES RAPPING ON HER WINDOW. Her eyes fluttered open, and she groaned to herself before sitting up and looking across the room. Then, her eyes widened when she saw her friend Tessa Romero behind the glass, waving at her with an excited look on her face.

Tessa was the last person anyone expected to be in Luna's circle of friends. She was smaller and appeared weaker compared to Luna, Araceli, and Miles, and because of that it would appear to most that she was only their friend as a charity case. But that definitely was not the case. Tessa was Luna's friend because of who she was. She was a cross between a tomboy and a girly girl; she kept her dark hair either long and untamed or in a ponytail, and she loved sports and getting rough and dirty, but also wore girly clothes like skirts, dresses, or blouses, and was obsessed with fashion. She didn't take any nonsense from anyone, and would tell it to you straight no matter who you were. She was sassy, spirited, and fierce, making her someone who her friends loved but who most others feared. Tessa was also fiercely loyal, and would do anything to protect her friends — even if it meant taking the blame for something and getting suspended for two days, or challenging someone who was bigger and stronger than her. Tessa was definitely a bit rough around the edges, but overall she was truly a good person, and Luna was proud to call the girl her friend.

Luna sighed, getting out of bed and walking over to her window before opening it, allowing her friend to enter. "Tess," she asked. "What the hell are you doing here this early?"

"I'm here because we're going out today," Tessa said.

Luna crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"It's the last day of summer break!" Tessa replied, throwing up her hands for emphasis. "We're gonna be seniors tomorrow, so we might as well make the most of our last day of freedom."

"Tess," Luna said with a sigh, facepalming herself at her friend's loud voice. "Seriously, por favor mantén tu voz baja. It's way too early for you to be so loud."

When Tessa and Luna had first met, Luna was quick to discover that there was a lot more to Tessa than she thought, and one of them was that the girl spoke fluent Spanish. Luna had discovered this in freshman year, when a few boys started calling Tessa names in Spanish, thinking that she didn't understand them — only to have the girl clap back in the same language, calling them "total idiots who had brains the size of a squirrel's."

So Luna wasn't even surprised when Tessa winced apologetically and said, "Sorry." Then, poking Luna's shoulder, she added firmly, "Now, hurry up and get dressed. And while you're at it, you can tell me more about your dashing rescue last night."

Luna sighed again; as soon as she was alone, she had FaceTime called Araceli and Tessa and told them about her encounter with Spider-Man. "There's nothing left to tell, I told you everything."

"You never told me what he was like," Tessa said, plopping down on the bed as Luna went over to her closet and began to search through it. "So tell me that. Could you get his vibe from just a few minutes with him?"

"Well, he was very strong," Luna said while she looked for something to wear. "He easily threw aside those boys like it was nothing. He was really... lighthearted, too. I mean, he was making jokes and being humorous while he was kicking ass. And there was something about him that was just... I dunno, comforting. Like, I felt at ease and safe with him around."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a crush on Spider-Man," Tessa teased.

Luna scoffed. "Not even. It's just... my opinion of him has changed, that's all." Deciding on an outfit, she pulled off her oversized pajama shirt and changed into a warm-colored tie-dye hoodie and dark jeans. "And besides, he's a superhero. I'm just... me."