GWEN was tired by the time school ended. She was learning a whole lot of things that she didn't need to, and she hated every second of it. Enough was on her mind from learning the fact that she wasn't exactly at home and that there was a new friend that she made that she would have to be careful around.
She walked out of the school doors and took in a sharp intake of air. She was stressed, and she would have to find a place where she could stay. She knew that she had no money so she'd have no choice but to be on the streets. She didn't like the idea. With her book bag slung over her shoulder, she walked on the left side of the pavement, thinking things over.
Where would I stay? There's nowhere to go and I have no money. I can't steal from people, that isn't right... Gwen thought. She sighed. Then a voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hey, Gwanda! Wait up!" she heard Miles's voice behind her. He was running, and he caught up with her after a second. Gwen felt her face heat up from the embarrassment of crying in front of him earlier. At least it was a distraction.
"Hey", she said distracted by the thoughts currently floating in her head. She glanced at him and noticed beads of sweat forming on his forehead from the heat and from the fact he was just running. He was wearing a jacket when it was near summertime. He was panting from running and he had to constantly adjust his backpack and she saw books threatening to come out of her bag.
"Need help with that?" she said as she walked to his other side and pulled him to the side as a girl was about to walk by them. Gwen grunted as she took his bag and zipped it. She handed it back to him. Miles grinned.
"Thanks!" Miles said gratefully. Gwen nodded and they continued walking down the streets, passing by a few pizza places and mini shops.
Gwen looked at some of them and glanced down. Her stomach grumbled as the aroma of pizza passed by her nose as they walked by. Miles turned his head to the shop. "You're hungry?" he looked at her, his eyes full of sympathy. He didn't think she was poor, did she?
She shook her head and her stomach disagreed with her by growling back. She prayed that Miles didn't hear it. Miles squinted at her, but they continued walking.
"So, where's your place?" Miles said, looking around. They were now at a crosswalk and the sign flashed at them to not walk as cars zoomed by. Gwen looked around. She didn't see any neighborhoods nearby or down the street that she could lie about. She sighed.
"Uh, I don't live near here," she lied swiftly. "I live about fifteen minutes from here. It's a long walk," she said, not looking at Miles and they crossed as the sign told them to. Miles nodded.
"I live near here," Miles says pointing down to a neighborhood that was down the street. "Dad always works late shifts on Fridays," Miles says as he shifts his backpack on his shoulder.
"Nice," Gwen smiled. Miles smiled back.
"Well, I'll see you on Monday, Gwanda. It was nice seeing you again!" Miles says, beginning to talk down the street. Gwen smiled and waved as Miles disappeared down the street, then her smile dropped into a frown.
Yeah, I have to come up with better fake names.
She shook her head, dismissing her thoughts and she sat on a bench. She sighed, overwhelmed. She was trapped in this universe and she had no place to stay. No food. She didn't know how long she'd be here and how cold the nights would drag on. Most of all, she missed her father. It was supposed to be Dad and Daughter night, and he would be spending it looking for his missing daughter.
Gwen sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She needed help, but how would she get it?
She got up and she began to walk away, mentally noticing where Miles had lived, just in case she had to know where he lived.
.............
MILES was walking down his neighborhood when he sighed. He was worried about Gwen. He knew she had lied when she had said she wasn't hungry, and her stomach disagreed. He wondered if she was homeless, but he doubted it since she had gotten into Visions. She must have been pretty smart. His thoughts wandered to Gwen, thinking about her, but then Miles slapped himself out of it. Stop thinking about her! It's been a week and now you're beginning to crush on her! His thoughts screamed at him, but he ignored them.
He looked back and saw the nearby streets. He honestly didn't want to come home and see his parents. He was bored. He pulled out his phone from his pocket, opening it to see a text from his Uncle Aaron. It said:
Yo Miles. You up for doing something tonight?
Miles quickly texted a reply.
If I didn't you would be lonely wouldn't you?
Miles teased in his text. It wasn't long before Aaron texted back.
Are you coming or not?
Miles chuckled and he texted back.
'You'll know.' Miles smirked and he quickly sent a text to his father before he left.
Hey Dad, going to Uncs. Be back at curfew.
He put his phone away and he began walking back up the street, hoping to see Gwen standing there. She was not once he rounded the corner. She was gone. Miles frowned, but he crossed the sidewalk once it was safe, and he began his walk to Aaron's.
.....
ONCE MILES reached Aaron's place, he climbed up the stairs to his apartment and he saw a mark where he had put his face on the last time. Bird droppings were left on it. Miles gagged, recalling him putting his mouth on it and rubbing it around. Miles opened Aaron's window, and Aaron was in the kitchen, he had shaved his beard and he was wearing a white t-shirt with the Giant's symbol on it. He was cutting tomatoes.
"Hey Uncle," Miles said, steeping over untouched junk mail as Aaron jumped and the knife clinked against the cutting board. Aaron sighed of relief when he saw it was Miles.
"Oh, it's just you," he said, out of breath from the scare. Miles grinned and placed his bag down. "You scared me."
"That's a first," he smirked at Aaron. Aaron grinned and placed the cut tomato on a sandwich. He placed some bread on top of it and took a large bite out of it. Aaron sat on his couch and took another bite of his sandwich. Miles looked back at the TV, it was playing a football game that was currently going on between the Giants and the Raiders. Aaron whooped when the Giants scored a touchdown. Miles cheered. Miles wasn't a big fan of football, so he just copied what Aaron did when someone did something in football.
Aaron finished off his sandwich, and he turned the TV off. He rubbed his face and then looked at Miles. "Alright M, you wanna do something fun?" he looked at Miles with a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. Miles grinned back.
"You know it, Uncle Aaron." Aaron grinned and grabbed a duffel bag and tossed it to Miles. Miles clumsily caught it and some things clunked in the bag.
"This isn't drugs is it?" Miles asked. Aaron laughed heartily.
"No, no, Miles. It's not that illegal," Uncle Aaron said as Miles's eyes widened as he almost dropped the bag.
IT'S ILLEGAL?!" Miles squealed and Aaron laughed again.
"No, I'm messing with you, Miles! Come on, before it gets too dark," Aaron grabbed a flashlight on his way out and opened the door for Miles.
.....
A LONG WALK and a few crosswalks later, Aaron and Miles finally made it to the place. They were passing by the subways, which led to a tunnel. It was dark by then, and it was hard to see. Aaron clicked on the flashlight they had and it illuminated the dark space. "C'mon," Aaron said as Miles uneasily followed after him.
It was eerily quiet, and Miles's stomach twisted in anxiety. Miles didn't know where he was going, or where Aaron was leading him. The tunnel seemed to never end and it was so dark. Miles wondered if someone would pop behind him and stab him in the back, leaving him to die.
Miles could barely feel his feet and then he ran into a fence that he didn't see. Aaron laughed as he helped Miles get off of it. Miles rubbed his face and stared at the maybe five-foot-tall metal gate. "Hold this," Aaron said as he easily hopped over the gate by climbing it and using the momentum from climbing to swing himself off and he landed on his feet, grinning at Miles.
"Your turn." Aaron grabbed the flashlight through the fence, and Miles tried to attempt what Aaron did, but a cobweb brushed his face and he screamed, landing on his rear end. Aaron laughed and helped Miles up.
"Let's go, slowpoke!" Aaron said as he continued. They walked down until they reached a hallway, and Aaron reached for a switch and turned it on. The power generator kicked in and it lit the space. It was a small area, decorated with graffiti that lined the walls. They were painted to look like doors, and other designs decorated the walls. Miles looked around in amazement and grinned. Above, some spaces didn't have roof tiles that left the top exposed. Miles looked at a blank space in between the drawings, and Aaron grabbed the duffel bag and tossed him a spray can. Miles caught it and looked at it.
"I thought it was drugs." Miles looked at the can, and then looked at Aaron.
"You thought wrong," Aaron smirked. Miles took off his bag and looked back at the blank space. Aaron fished around in the bag and found a boombox that seemed to have fit into the bag. Aaron set the boombox up and he began to play some music. The music was hip hop, Aaron's and Miles's favorite kind of music, and the artist began rapping. Miles opened the cans and shook them, and Aaron placed safety goggles on Miles's face that protected his eyes and nose. They were clear so he could see through them.
"Safety first," Aaron said, grinning. Miles grinned and nodded. He began to spray paint, creating a design. Behind him, Aaron brought a chair over and sat in it, the boombox beside him.
Meanwhile, what they both didn't know was a spider. A spider that was black, glowing blue and red at the tips was dangling down from a web. The web continued until the spider reached the floor and began crawling towards Miles.
Miles was continuing the paint, creating a design that was in his head for a long time as he went. He was enjoying himself, something that his father would never let him do. Miles continued to do the design, and the spider hopped on one of the cans, a purple spray can. Miles wasn't paying attention to see the spider, and it crawled down, getting closer to Miles. Aaron got up and stood next to Miles from a distance to protect himself from the fumes.
The spider crawled onto Miles's shoe and it crawled onto his pant leg and continued to crawl upward, going up and crawling onto his shirt as Miles continued to paint. It climbed underneath his jacket, on his shirt, showing the bioluminescence of the spider. It was not normal at all.
Miles not noticing, looked back at Aaron. "Help me with this part?" He grinned. Aaron nodded and helped Miles get onto his shoulders by giving him a hand. Aaron kept Miles steady as Miles continued to spray.
The spider was now on the arm of Miles's jacket, and it crawled up towards his hand.
"Alright Miles, I can't hold you anymore," Aaron said, getting a little shaky.
"Alright. I was done up here anyway." Miles closed his spray can and shook his hands out of tiredness, and the spider got knocked off of Miles's hand, falling to the floor. Aaron carefully got Miles down from his shoulders and Miles looked at his design.
"Impressive, nephew," Aaron said as he stared at it in awe. Miles nodded and then looked at his work and got an idea. He looked at Aaron with a mischievous look. Aaron squinted at Miles's look on his face. "What are you up to?" He crossed his arms.
"It just needs a little bit of something. Mind tracing me?" Miles looked at his Uncle excitedly. Aaron looked at Miles in confusion.
"Trace you?" He looked at Miles. Miles handed Aaron a white spray can.
"Just trace my body. Trust me, It'll look dope," Miles said, grabbing a short pink stool from the corner of the room. He set it up and stood on it, and Aaron put on a mask, opening the can.
"As you wish," Aaron said as he began to trace Miles's body with spray paint. Miles tried his best to stay still as Aaron painted. A bit of white paint dripped onto his jacket, and Miles made a mental note to throw it in the wash when he got home. When Aaron was finished, Miles stepped down and Aaron sat back in his seat. The boombox switched to a new song as Aaron and Miles looked at his design. The design was Miles's body shaped to look like a ghost as fresh paint drooped down towards the floor. Behind his body, Miles had painted the word 'expectations' surrounded by vibrant colors and signs. Miles grinned, seeing his work.
"You got some skills, Miles. Must have got it from me," Aaron smirked as he looked at Miles. Miles smirked back.
"You wish." Miles joked and Aaron laughed. Aaron looked back at it and scrunched up his face.
"Eh, it doesn't look that bad, it's not terrible," Aaron said. Miles looked at Aaron with a playful look.
"Come on man, it's better than what you would do."
"Would it?" Aaron questioned. Miles laughed.
"Now come on Miles, It's late, you need to get home." Aaron stood up and brushed himself off. Miles nodded as he walked behind Aaron. Before Miles left, Miles pulled out his phone to take a picture, and to his surprise, the spider crawled out of his sleeve, perching on his hand.
Miles's eyes widened in confusion and horror. "What-"
Then the spider crouched down and it bit into Miles's skin. Miles felt a shot of pain come from the bite, and the pain went away. Once it did, Miles smacked it, and it fell to the ground. Miles caught up with Aaron.
"You okay?" Aaron asked Miles as they walked back out the tunnel.
"Never better," Miles said as he ignored the fact that he was bitten by a spider.
.....
MILES FINALLY reached home after Aaron drove him home. Miles checked his phone, and it was 11:00 PM. An hour after his curfew. He cringed. His father was going to ground him for sure. Miles pulled out his key and walked into his house, and the lights were still on, meaning his parents were up.
On the way home, Aaron had gotten Miles a burrito from a Mexican Restaurant that was nearby. Miles felt the burrito churn in his stomach from fear as he put his bag down.
"Huh, you're back. Thought you ran away," Miles heard his father enter the hallway of the entrance. His bulky arms were crossed, and his father had on a white t-shirt and some pajama pants that were way too big when they reached his ankles.
"Sorry, Dad, I was-"
"Phone. You're grounded tomorrow. Don't miss your curfew next time. You know better, Miles." His father scolded him. Miles pulled his phone out of his front pocket and unwillingly handed it to his father.
"Uncle Aaron fed me so no need to eat dinner," Miles said before he climbed upstairs to bed. Miles went into his room and closed the door. Then, as he did, a big grin spread across his face. This was the best day ever. He had met a girl, and he got to do graffiti. His smile faltered as he knew he was grounded, but it was so worth it. Miles grabbed some clothes from his closet, ignoring the clothes spread across his room, and went into the bathroom. He stripped bare and turned the knob of the shower. Miles let the cool water droplets fall against his skin, and he sighed.
He was glad his father didn't smell the fumes of the spray paint on him. Then he would have been screwed for sure. After he showered, Miles got dressed in his pajamas and hopped into bed. It was nearly 12 in the morning, and he had to get to sleep. Miles had just laid down when there was a knock at his door.
"Mijo?" his mother peeked her head into his room. Miles had just gotten under his covers, and his mother smiled. She opened the door and she walked in, speaking quick Spanish under her breath as she made her way towards Miles.
"Hey Mama," Miles said, tucking up into his bed. He loved it when his mother said goodnight to him. His mother smiled, her long curly braid draped over Miles as she kissed his forehead.
"How was your day? Día ocupado?" she questioned her son. Miles smiled.
"Yes Mama, it was a busy day. I met a girl." He grinned. His mother tilted her head at him.
"A girl? Cómo se llamaba? Was she bonita?" his mother asked. Miles could feel his face burning from embarrassment. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut...
"She is, and her name is Gwanda," Miles said proudly. His mother looked at him in confusion.
"Gwanda? Qué tipo de nombre es ese para una chica bonita?" his mother said, standing up. Miles groaned.
"It's an African name. Well, that's what Gwanda said."
"Dios mío esto no tiene sentido," Miles's mother muttered. "You sure you like this girl, Miles?" she looked at her son.
"Yes, Mama. I do like her," Miles said with confidence. Rio chuckled and she kissed Miles on the forehead.
"If you say so. Buenas noches, mijo." his mother smiled as she turned off his light, and closed the door behind her.
"Good night, Mama," Miles whispered as he turned on his side and closed his eyes, he began to drift off into sleep.