From the Shadows | PETER PARKER [2]

| 18 |

Eloise wakes up on Friday from the orange glow of the early sunrise seeping in through the window. She goes about her morning as she usually would—she takes a shower, brushes her teeth, puts a fresh bandage over her gunshot wound, gets dressed into jeans and a t-shirt, and grabs her backpack before heading out the door. The early May morning is chillier than most, and Eloise finds herself wishing she brought a jacket as she makes her way towards the bus stop. She gets off at Park East and enters the school alongside her fellow students. She smiles as she passes students she shares classes with in the halls until she reaches her locker.

The school day goes by like it usually does. Her friends tell funny stories and complain about teachers during lunch, and Eloise takes a pop quiz in Chemistry. When school is out for the weekend, instead of finding Bucky in the parking lot, Eloise adjusts her backpack on her back and starts towards the bus station. She hasn't been able to train for obvious reasons, and even though Bucky offered to drive her home from school, she didn't think it was necessary.

Eloise sits by herself on the city bus. She doesn't mind it, she usually doesn't feel like talking right after school because she was just socializing with other teens for the past seven hours and needs a bit of a break.

The bus creeps up to a stop at a red light. Eloise leans her head against the window and scans the bus's occupants. She smiles softly at a baby that rests against his mother's chest with his head propped up on her shoulder a few seats in front. Eloise gives the little boy a small wave and he giggles and kicks in response.

The smile lingering on her lips, Eloise turns and looks out the window to gaze upon the buzzing city as the bus chugs forward. Eloise's smile is wiped right off her face and her eyes widen as she takes notice of a car speeding towards the bus at the intersection. The driver is distracted by their phone as they speed past the red light, right towards the bus full of innocent civilians.

An elderly man sitting two seats in front of Eloise notices the car as well. He curses and quickly shuts his eyes tight, waiting for the impact.

The driver doesn't look up, still blissfully oblivious of the red light, when the car comes to a sudden jolting stop. The driver frowns and looks down at their foot, then looks up at the bus inches in front of them. Their eyes go wide.

Eloise doesn't realize what she has done until she feels a slight ache in the back of her brain. When she is aware of her control over the driver's foot on their brakes, she strains to keep it that way until their bus passes. When she lets go of control she takes in a deep breath like she just came out of water. She blinks a few times until the pain enveloping her head subsides.

Holy shit.

Eloise sits back in her seat, her chest rising and falling rapidly. The same two words repeat in her mind like a mantra as she wraps her head around what just happened and what could have happened.

The giggling of the baby tears Eloise's eyes from the window. The baby beams at her as if he knew what she just did. Eloise, overwhelmed, sighs and massages her temples.

By the time she's dropped off at the apartment building, Eloise is less shaken up by the ordeal. She thanks the driver and makes her way into the building, immediately going to the elevator and pressing her floor number. She doesn't hesitate to go straight to the Parker's front door after exiting the elevator.

She's in the middle of knocking when the door is flung open and confetti is thrown at her face.

"Happy birthday!"