NOTHING WAS GOING RIGHT ANYMORE. Mr. Harrington was surprised to find Eszter back in the hotel, not realizing the girl had made her way back to her room, but he didn't know she had popped in--literally. The man was panicking because not only was Eszter missing, but he couldn't find Peter, and while Mr. Harrington was on the call with several parents. He worried the boy might've died on his watch. Luckily, he wasn't going to have to explain to Peter's guardian that he had lost the boy due to some monster emerging from out of the blue and destroying the festival.
The plans to spend the last night in Prague together was cut short, but the two resulted to having their little date night in Eszter's room; she hadn't been in the mood of leaving her room, still upset from the previous events, but Peter was a little displeased to spend their time together hunched in a closed room. Nevertheless, Peter went along with it, appreciating the moment he got to spend with Eszter.
Cutting their subtle date abruptly, there was an urgent knock pounding at Eszter's hotel door. She caught Peter's gaze for a second before he got up and opened the door, and his expression shifted differently when he moved aside and allowed the person to step into the room. Well, she let herself in.
"So much for letting me know you were here," Michelle grunts, storming toward Eszter. She frowns suddenly, recognizing the same look on Eszter's face and the way the enhanced hugged herself on her bed. There was something off about her friend. Not sure if she should bring it up, Michelle put it aside. "Where were you two?"
Peter's eyes widen. "Um, I got lost," he mustered a lie.
Eszter wanted to snort at that. "Yeah, and I had to go find him," she finally glances up and meets Michelle's gaze, pausing; her friend was skeptical and a hint of another feeling that made Eszter freeze at it. It was like a know-it-all kind of feeling. "He nearly got trampled."
"Uh-huh," Michelle presses her tongue up to the bridge of her mouth. Suspicion lingered in her gaze, and it was easy to detect from Eszter, but she let her friend carry on when she felt careless. "Wasn't he at the opera house, though?"
"I was, but then when Eszter left, I ended up following her," Peter rolls his lips between his teeth, unsure if that sounded believable. He glanced at Eszter, wondering why she wasn't helping him, but he frowns when the girl had a blank look. "Yeah, uh, Eszter and I kind of got in a fight when she was ditching me back at the opera house." Peter pausing, taking in Michelle's reaction. "I didn't know what I was running into when I did."
"So, you knew she was on a mission?" Michelle interrogates.
"Yeah, because I told him," Eszter's roughness soaked into her exterior, scoffing. "He just doesn't listen, do you, babe?"
Peter caught the actual bitterness in Eszter's voice, confusing both Peter and Michelle. The two looked at each other briefly but didn't mention anything, not wanting to upset Eszter any further.
"Yeah, I--I didn't listen, and I should've. Nearly got myself killed."
An uncomfortable silence was starting to flutter in the air, and it had more to do with the strange attitude Eszter was releasing, and it was starting to confuse Michelle and Peter. Unfortunately, they hadn't picked up on her attitude until now, and when Michelle and Peter share puzzled looks, they looked back at Eszter. The enhanced displayed an evident scowl on her face.
Suddenly, the scowl was replaced with a stretched smile. "Well, now you know where alive and well," Eszter waves her hands dismissively. She was signaling Michelle to leave. "We're sort of busy."
"Doing what?"
"Not like that, Michelle."
Michelle hums, eyeing her friend's body language. "Well, I'm fine, if you care," a small hint of relief flooded Eszter's features, granting Michelle a bit of hope that her friend cared about her.
And she was. Eszter was overjoyed to hear Michelle was safe and sound. However, after discovering her best friend at the festival, Eszter was internally panicking at the thought of Michelle still in the festival. Ned and Betty had been there to make matters worse, and it stressed Eszter to no end.
"That's good," subtly, Eszter wipes her eyes when she felt an overwhelming sense of emotions course through her. The enhanced nearly sobbed with the horrible thoughts running through her mind. But, somehow, she managed to display a smile. "I'll catch you up on the details later, okay?"
But something seemed to have shifted in Michelle that made Eszter do a double-take--her friend is normally a very calm and collected person, but now, Michelle was unsettled. Eszter frowned at the feeling, growing worried.
"Actually, I need to talk to you about something," Michelle gripped the strap of her messenger bag. A strong sense of uneasiness settles in her chest, barely attracting Eszter's attention as the enhanced felt almost void of the emotions surrounding her. Michelle curls her lips into a confused frown, practically pouting as the thoughts flow through her mind.
A very stressed-out Eszter roughly rubs her hands over her face, tugging on the skin of her eyelids. "Can it wait?"
Michelle stood at the doorway in silence, slightly put-off by the way Eszter was acting--it was odd to see her friend act so outrageous. It wasn't like Eszter to act like this--whatever this is. Michelle wasn't sure if this was her best friend anymore; the bubbly, kind-hearted, and full-of-life best friend. This person was broken, hallow, and angry; she was seething, grieving, vengeful, miserable. Like a lost soul trying to find its way back home, but it was abandoned in the world with nothing to keep them grounded; instead, they felt void of the world and lost all hope.
Worriedly, Michelle's first instinct was to interrogate Eszter and want the enhanced to know that she can hear her silent plea of help, but Michelle couldn't. It didn't matter whether Eszter wanted help or not, but the girl knew she wouldn't get anything from her friend; the enhanced was far too deep in this feeling of pain. Michelle has no relation to that feeling.
She doesn't even understand the level of emotions that were racing in Eszter's head.
Instead of backing down, Michelle kept her ground. "It can't," she insists with a firm tone. "It's kind of important--like weird-confusing important."
"It's--It's fine," Peter's soft voice peeks through the surface, breaking into the conversation between the two best friends. Eszter glances at the boy with a strong glare, taking him off-guard. "We can meet up right after if you still want. Maybe we can go on a short walk, too?"
Not a spec of emotion flooded Eszter's face, making Peter frown dejectedly.
"Fine."
Peter stared at Eszter as he was trying to read her expression and her body language, but the boy wasn't the empath of the relationship, so his plan failed utterly. If only things had turned out differently than they did, maybe then, their life wouldn't be so full of depressing feelings and anger. Peter hated standing there with barely anything to say, nothing to console Eszter as the enhanced sat alone on her bed, straying away from everyone as she looked closed-off from the world.
It was almost scary--watching as Eszter instantly snapped in only a couple of hours of being alone. One second the girl was smiling and filled with joy, then as soon as the thin line snapped, Eszter wasn't that same girl anymore; it was disheartening. Peter was hurt for her.
Avoiding the worried gazes, Peter nods briefly as he purses his lips, glancing at Michelle as he makes his way out of Eszter's room.
Once Peter exits the room, the girls remained silent for a mere second before Michelle awkwardly shuffles around the room, rounding around the bed until she stood in front of Eszter. The enhanced sat still, blinky slowly, as she flicked her dull green eyes at Michelle.
"This is gonna sound bizarre, but . . . hear me out," Eszter merely raises her brows. "I've noticed for a while, but I had to make sure before I actually say because then I would've looked like an obsessive weirdo." Michelle cackles at herself, attempting to lighten the mood. It didn't work. "Okay, I'm just gonna say it. I know that Peter is Spider-Man."
It was that exact moment Michelle had gotten a reaction from Eszter, and though it was small and subtle, the girl had noticed it. A small twitch her neck as Eszter's eyes shoot away from the blank wall and on Michelle, a lingering stare with her eyes slowly widening in realization. As a second of registering the words that were confessed of a belief, Eszter had taken a mere second to realize Michelle was hinting--no, implying that Peter is Spider-Man.
Michelle instantly knew her suspicions were correct, but all she needed was a confirmation.
The air that once filled Eszter's lungs somehow escaped, leaving the enhanced nearly breathless; a hitch caught in her throat and practically frozen in the spot, staring at Michelle with a bit of panic. Eszter didn't know how to explain it. She was keeping a secret for the sake of Peter, and although the enhanced is good at keeping secrets, Eszter knows how incredibly intelligent Michelle is; that girl has a way of knowing something before anyone and is easy to manipulate something to gain the truth.
Maybe it's Eszter that gives it away--Dusk is known for being Spider-Man's partner during his patrolling, and everyone on YouTube is aware of their friendship through the videos. However, Eszter acts almost the exact way with Peter. If anything, that's a dead giveaway for anyone close with either of the teens. Nevertheless, the couple made sure no one would pick up on their romantic antics as superheroes, but Michelle could obviously see through that.
Finally sputtering for a response, Eszter scoffs suddenly. "What?" She gapes. The enhanced breaks into an amused cackle, looking at Michelle with a funny look; trying to disregard the situation, Eszter continues with her lying as she remains calm. "I'd know whether Peter was Spider-Man, MJ."
Michelle rolls her eyes at the attempt of covering for Peter, but she knew better. Her instincts were right, and they're always right.
"Really? Okay, how about we go through the list because you're just trying to hide the fact that your boyfriend is a well-known superhero," Michelle presses a taunting smirk. She balances between her feet as she sways her body lightly, holding her hands out as Michelle began counting. "Spider-Man and Dusk suddenly become a duo act a little after the Avengers' fight. Spider-Man and Dusk are very friendly and are always together when they're working. Spider-Man and Dusk occasionally hold hands or hugging when they don't see the cameras." Eszter peeks her eyes up as her gaze lowered, feeling the truth poking out. "And then there's Peter and Eszter--two best friends who slowly became boyfriend-girlfriend. Always together and always so happy. When one suddenly runs off, so does the other, and what do we see? Spider-Man and Dusk. Tell me, am I right or am I right?"
Avoiding the answers, Eszter pushes herself off her bed, shaking her head. "This is stupid--"
"I was there, E! I saw you and Spider-Man fighting that thing out there! And the whole thing at Washington? How he was constantly disappearing?" Michelle scoffs loudly. "It's either that or he's a male escort."
"He's not."
"Well, then he's Spider-Man," Eszter makes another noise, hinting at her annoyance from the sheer annoyance that Michelle was suddenly springing onto her. Michelle notes this and carries on, knowing that Eszter wasn't going to confirm it even though she has valid points. "Look, Peter's Spider-Man, and there's something that I think--"
"Oh, my God. Give it a rest, will you?" Eszter suddenly bursts, chuckling bitterly. The outburst was spontaneous. "Peter's not Spider-Man."
Michelle narrows her eyes. "I know what I know, Eszter," she was put off by the sudden attitude she was receiving from her best friend. "You also don't have to get me this shitty attitude. I'm trying to help you guys, and you're just blowing me off."
Eszter slides her feet into a pair of sneakers that were hidden in the closet of her room, then grabbing a thin sweater over her suit that she hadn't bothered changing out of. Instead, the enhanced attempted to cover it with a small piece of fabric. Eszter walks past Michelle with a scowl etched on her feature, lightly bumping her friend on the way.
"Think what you wanna think, Michelle, but Peter's not Spider-Man," Eszter reaches the door, but she glances at Michelle with a softer look. "Don't follow me, okay? I just wanna be alone for a while."
Throwing the small hood over her head, Eszter tears her now sad gaze away from Michelle's betrayed stare and stormed out of her hotel room. Eszter's vision blurred as the tears were building in her eyes, begging to spill over like a waterfall, but the enhanced didn't want to. Not when her classmates surrounded her. Instead, Eszter waited until she was in the lobby, avoiding everyone as she carried her way outside the building.
Michelle stormed out of Eszter's room emotionally, overly upset that her friend had been so aggressive, but the curly-haired girl knows that anger wasn't directed at her. Not really. Eszter has bottled-up emotions that she refuses to let out. Michelle had done her best to console the enhanced, but it didn't deny the feeling of hurt she felt; she couldn't believe Eszter would throw that type of behavior on Michelle.
Peter peeked his door open at the sudden slam of a door, but when he looked out, he found Michelle storming toward the elevators with a determined glare; the curly-haired girl was gripping her bag so tight, Michelle wasn't going out without a fight. She clearly had a mission, and Peter was aware. He glanced at Eszter's door, getting mixed emotions before he glanced back in the direction where Michelle had scurried off to.
Compelled, Peter followed in pursuit.
💜
It felt like the voices in Eszter's head were getting louder and stronger, practically nailing the enhanced in the ground as they continued to weaken her. She was hating this feeling and felt ready to give up. The ability to continue fighting and carrying on was becoming unbearable, and Eszter was tired of carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She always asked herself: why should I care about the world when they don't care about me?
Eszter never knew the answer to that because no matter how hard she tried to perfect herself, the enhanced will always be a threat to humankind.
Pictured as the villain because of where and how she got her powers and the level of power she possesses. Eszter could pretend to be the hero she wanted to be, but the enhanced will never win over the world, and that strikes a sharp knife in her chest.
"Eszter!" The enhanced grimaced at the familiar voice screaming on the top of her lungs across the bridge, halting Eszter halfway. "I wasn't finished."
Lightly rolling her eyes, Eszter turned around as she could barely glare at Michelle as her expression revealed an exhausted grimace. "I really don't want to talk about Spider--"
"Shut up and just listen to me," Michelle immediately interjects. Eszter makes a face as she jerks her head but doesn't say anything. "You don't wanna admit it? That's fine. I've had my suspicions, but that's not why I'm out here to talk to you."
Right on cue, Peter walks onto the bridge as he subtly looks between the friends, noting the sudden tension between them. "Hey, you two okay?"
"No--"
"Yes--"
Michelle and Eszter said simultaneously before glaring at each other.
"Great, Peter's here. Look, I found something weird back at the festival after Spider-Man--" Michelle gives Peter a knowing look, though it looked smug. "--threw something back. I can't really tell what it is because of the webs."
Peter's eyes widen, gaping his mouth open and closed as he musters up another one of his excuses. He looked at Eszter for help, but the enhanced was so tired of lying, Peter knew he couldn't bounce back to his lover for support. She was carrying too much of the baggage, and his secret wasn't doing her any favors.
"Oh, no, I'm not--"
"Save it. I already know that you're Spider-Man," Michelle comments. "She knows, too, but she's lying for your sake, I guess."
Before any of them could respond, the object in Michelle's hands hums to life before a light flickers in the lens; freaking out, the girl gasps before tossing it away and lets it tumble harshly to the ground. She wasn't sure what she had expected. Michelle hadn't done many inspections of the object due to the webs that blanketed the object.
Eszter mirrored Michelle's reaction as she jumps back when a bright light shined above them, taking the enhanced off-guard; she wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the enhanced was certain that it could've been light from the festival. Instead, the projection burned into the night sky, brighter than the streetlights themselves. Dark clouds covered a small section over their heads, but the illusion of some sort swooshed over the video as if it was trying to hit something.
Silence carried on between the three friends as they watched the short clip, but the projection seized with a light flicker.
"What the hell was that?" Peter was the first to utter a word.
With her jaw practically on the floor, Eszter couldn't believe her eyes. But, unfortunately, it looked fairly familiar to the Elementals.
"I don't know," Michelle answers breathlessly.
Suddenly, the projector glitches back to life again, buzzing lightly. Eszter stared at the object again cautiously as Peter held his arm out, motioning for Michelle to stay back. Then, glancing at Eszter, the boy gives her a subtle nod as she understood the silent communication; the enhanced warped her powers around the object as she slowly lifts it into the air, lightly spinning as the violet tendrils danced around the projector.
"It looks like some kind of projector," Eszter notes.
Peter stared at it, taking a few steps forward. "Yeah, but it's really advance," he taps on the end of the object, forcing it to turn.
"It looked so real," then Michelle shifted her attention to Eszter.
The enhanced was clear from the frustration and anger, replaced with confusion and skepticism. "That explains everything," Eszter breathes out in realization. It was like witnessing her worst nightmare. "Presence, emotions, I can normally feel them, but I assumed it was because it wasn't human."
"Wait a minute. Does that mean . . .?"
"The Elementals are fake?" Peter closes his at the trust unfolding itself. The heavy feeling in his chest was growing and emitting a wave of panic. "But that doesn't make any sense because we were there, right?" Peter glances at Eszter. "There was fire and destruction, and . . . who would do something like that?"
Again, the projector makes a loud exploding noise when the lights flicker online. The monster moved in a way like it was hitting something, and answering the question they were wondering, a figure flew in front of the monster; it took a second for the three to recognize the figure, but as soon as the green energy scorched at the monster, they were horrified.
Eszter's suspicions about Beck were coming to light, and they were proof that she was right. She kept quiet for so long, and now Beck's true colors were presented before them. Mysterio was merely a figment, and Eszter knew that.
"Mysterio?" Michelle's jaw slacks.
Sheer panic and regret seared into Eszter's head like a nail, but the enhanced recognized it coming from Peter instead of herself or Michelle; this had caught her attention a lot faster, and she snapped her neck to look at Peter with a certain look. Something was wrong, and it seems like Peter was in the middle of it.
"I am Spider-Man," Peter blurts out of the blue. "And I really messed up."
"Wait, you're being serious right now?" Peter hums. However, Michelle was both relieved and doubtful. "You're not joking with me, like, you're a-hundred-percent serious, 'cause it's not funny."
"He's telling the truth," Eszter awkwardly speaks.
Michelle narrows her eyes. "You sat on that bed and practically yelled at me like I was stupid."
"It wasn't exactly my secret to tell, was it?" The enhanced retorted.
Peter picks up the projector and shoves it into Michelle's bag, glancing between the friends. "We need to go, now."
Michelle and Eszter spare each other one last look before agreeing, following Peter back to the hotel.
☁︎𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞☁︎
let's add a little bit of ✨spice✨