Y'all I saw the chapter picture and I genuinely started bawling someone give this poor boy a hug 😭 😭
Chapter Song Rec: My Ex's Best Friend by MGK and BlackBear
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Miles's POV
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Pretty
His eyes were on the back of your head as you walked in front of him, arm interlocked with Maria's, the two of you chatting along and laughing. He had his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he smiled, your grin lighting up your face and his own.
He couldn't help but stare.
The four of you had left the shocked mall as soon as you could, but as it had turned out, all of your parents were too busy to come pick you up at this point, not having expected you to be done so early. That meant you were all stuck walking along the side of the street, hoping to stumble across a McDonalds or a Walmart in the wild.
Miles jumped slightly as he felt Ravi nudge him in the gut, giving him a confused look. "Dude...you're drooling"
Miles immediately wiped his mouth, only to find that there was nothing, with Ravi quietly chuckling behind him. "Shut up." he mumbled, looking away embarrassedly. After a moment he found that his gaze had landed on you once again and he was back to staring.
"Talk to her or something. It's better than ogling."
"Nobody says 'ogling' anymore." Miles countered awkwardly, peeling his eyes off of you.
Ravi shrugged. "It's what you're doing."
"What would I even say?"
"Anything."
"Like what?"
"I'm not exactly who people come to when they want to learn how to talk to girls."
"I know how to talk to girls."
"Not this one."
Miles groaned, waving him off and shoving his hands in his pockets. What was he supposed to do? He didn't want to come off too strong and he didn't want to weird you out.
Why was he even making such a big deal out of this? He didn't like you or anything...did he?
"So, where are we heading guys?" Maria asked suddenly, turning back to face the boys with her arm still interlocked with yours. Ravi and Miles simultaneously shrugged only to be met with a scowl from her face. "I'm bored." she whined.
"We could go home?" You suggested. Miles looked up. His apartment was only a ten minute walk from here...they could probably get there. "Yeah. We could go to my place. It's close by."
"Sure. Should we watch a movie or something? Ravi?" Maria asked.
Ravi was looking down at his phone. "Yeah...count me out. My parents are here." He suddenly waved at a small, dark four-seater that was approaching the sidewalk. "I'll catch you guys some other time." He said with a smile, giving Miles a knowing look. Miles felt his face flush and immediately looked away. "Bye."
Maria waved and Miles watched as you gave Ravi a quick 'bye' as well before turning back to him. "And then there were three." Your eyes locked onto his and he felt his heart skip a beat. It was like time had slowed down.
"Okay then. Which way's your house, Miles?" Maria interrupted, causing him to look back at her suddenly. "Actually...I don't think this is a good idea anymore. My Mami won't be home and she'd kill me if she found out I had girls over when she wasn't there." he said quickly, not wanting to be alone with you with Ravi gone. "I think I'm gonna head out too."
"Aww okay" Maria said, giving him a disappointed look. "I guess it's just us then."
"Yeah." you said softly, a half-smile on your face. "We'll catch you later, Miles." You gave him a wave before turning away, you and Maria both heading towards the nearest complex, leaving him watching your back. "Bye" he croaked out, shaking his head before turning away and walking towards his house.
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Your POV --> About fifteen minutes after Miles left
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"Dude...what the heck is that?"
You glanced in the direction Maria was pointing to be met with a giant green light, pointing up into the sky. Your eyes narrowed. Another supervillain...?
"Let's-" before you could pull her away and into safety, Maria was already heading towards it, a curious expression on her face. Oh my god, I can't with this girl.
"Maria, wait!" you jogged behind her, eyes glued to the green light. It wasn't too bright...you probably couldn't see it from much farther, but it was still weird. You'd never seen anything like that in the middle of Brooklyn before.
As the two of you got closer, the light seemed to get brighter. Ever seen the Luxor? Yeah...it looked like that. Except instead of a giant pyramid, it was a...county fair? A sad excuse for one at least. Tens of stalls all squeezed together, a couple of weird looking clowns manning some games.
People were lining up at the stalls, buying cotton candy and deep-fried Twinkies, little kids playing in the tiny petting zoo, that housed a single goat and a couple of puppies.
Since when were there county fairs in Brooklyn?
Something felt off.
"Maria?" you looked to the side and realized she'd disappeared. "Maria? What the-" your gaze landed on her curly hair peeking out from the crowd of people standing in the stall lines. "Dude, seriously?"
She looked back at you, a sheepish smile on her face. "I've never had a deep-fried Twinkie before."
You shook your head. "There's something...off about this place. We should go."
"Hi."
You turned around and walked face first into a tall man wearing a green and purple trench coat, a scarf wrapped around his neck. "Hi?" You asked, taking a step back as you took in his too-nice smile and bright blue eyes.
"You girls look like you're here to have fun! My name is Quentin Beck, and I have something that just might brighten your moods." he glanced over at Maria, the same wide grin on his face. "Why not try the all-new, one-of-a-kind...Mysterium?" He asked with a wink, gesturing towards what looked like a tent, with a short line of people outside, gawking at the green light emanating from the top.
So that's where it had been coming from...
"Haha, no thanks" you said with a fake smile, trying to step past him. He stopped you. "Don't be such a party pooper! You're here at this fair to have fun...no? And I guarantee that this ride will be the best time of your life!"
He walked the two of you over there excitedly. "State-of-the-art illusion tech, designed to make you feel like you're in a completely different world. You'd never even know the difference."
You folded your arms over your chest and he took in your unchanged expression with a slight sigh. "Your friend seems interested at least" he gave Maria another smile. "How would you, young lady, like to be our first testee for this revolutionary ride?"
She stepped forward without hesitation, nodding. You grabbed her arm. "Actually, we were just leaving."
"Wait, Y/N, I kinda want to try it-" she said quickly.
"Dude, no, you have no idea what this thing is! He said you'd be a testee! What if you get hurt? No, let's just go home. Please." You said pleadingly, pulling her along.
In the struggle, you dropped your bag, spilling its contents everywhere. Your phone, wallet, oh no...your dagger, fell out. You let out a nervous exhale, reaching towards it. At least it didn't extend...
Before you could grab it, the tall man...what was his name again? Quentin Beck...it sounded familiar. He reached for your dagger, glancing at it before handing it to you. "Ahh, a weapon for self-defense I see? Smart girl. You can never be safe enough in this cold...dark world." he said quietly, eyes lingering on the weapon a moment longer, as if he was studying it.
You chuckled awkwardly, shoving it back in your bag along with your phone and wallet. "Better safe than sorry." You croaked out before quickly turning away and marching yourself and Maria out of the fair.
"Why are you carrying a knife with you?" She asked confusedly, trying to take a glance at your bag again. "Self-defense. That's it." you said quickly, holding it tightly and changing the topic. "Come on, let's just go home. I'm exhausted."
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Miles' POV
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He was sprawled out across his bed, head falling over the edge as he scrolled on his phone, music playing in the background. The fan was on, fighting the heat of the late afternoon, and the window was open, letting in the sounds of traffic and people talking outside.
His mom hadn't gotten back from work yet...even though she'd said she'd be home before afternoon. She was always late these days. They worked her too hard.
She needed a break.
They all needed a break.
He wanted to go to Aaron's house, maybe hit up his punching bag a little, watch a movie or two. But he just...didn't want to move.
He knew he should go, head over, tell his Uncle about what he saw. The doppelgänger glitching. Disappearing before his eyes. His punches going through the man's body...as if he wasn't even there.
As if he was nothing more than an...
illusion.
But that wasn't possible. Even if he was some sort of well-built hologram...he shouldn't have been able to steal things. He shouldn't have been able to pick things up, been able to fight back, been able to draw blood.
It just didn't make sense. He didn't understand.
There were no motives, nothing that could help him understand the reasoning for these robberies.
Well there was one motive.
You.
The doppelgänger was focused on you.
It completely ignored him. No matter how many times he'd tried to hit it. No matter how he tried to pull it back, to divert its attention.
It kept moving towards you.
But why? What could you have done to piss someone off? You hadn't even been a vigilante for long...you hadn't done anything, hurt anyone, stolen anything...
or did you?
To be fair, if you did any of these things, Miles probably wouldn't know.
He liked you too much to believe that you might really be some murderous psychopath.
He sighed, sitting up and stretching his arms out, moving right in front of the fan as he tried to cool off. Whatever.
Ding!
He looked down at his phone, a notification popping up.
Y/N has accepted your message request.
Ding!
Y/N messaged you.
He looked down in shock, a smile spreading across his face. He immediately fell back again, the mattress bouncing a little. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he opened the messages.
Sent two days ago
You: Hey
Y/N: Hi
He stared at the message for a moment. How was he supposed to respond to that??
You: Today was pretty wild, wasn't it?
Sent just now
He immediately put the phone down, heart racing. No, no, no, why would you send that? That's so stupid! She was literally there, she knows what happened!! He smacked his forehead with a groan.
Ding!
Y/N: Yeah lol. I'm glad we made it out okay though. You didn't get hurt or anything, right?
He smiled again, typing.
You: I'm alright. You?
Y/N: I'm fine
Y/N: I'm glad you're okay though
You: me too
Y/N liked your message
He sighed, putting the phone down. Mission Accomplished. It felt as though a weight had been lifted off his chest.
He'd finally talked to you! ALONE! Probably one of the best things thats happened to him this week- no this month. His eyebrows furrowed. Now that he thought about it...he had a pretty boring life. Damn.
Whatever. He'd accomplished what seemed like an impossible feat. He'd done it. That was all that mattered.
He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he kept staring at the little heart underneath his message, bright red. Just like his face probably was at the moment.
hooray...
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Your POV
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You shot up off the bed from your nap. Quentin Beck...you'd heard that name before. And now you remembered...
That file you'd seen when you'd broken into Oscorp. The files about all the supervillains and the members of the Sinister Six...you'd seen a file about a young man who'd quit working for Oscorp. A special effects tech. An illusionist.
Quentin Beck.
You had to figure out more about him...you had a feeling that if you figured out who he was...you might just be able to figure out what was behind this illusion you and the Prowler had been coming across.
A/N:
Slightly shorter chapter this time guys, sorry, but I hope you're enjoying how its going so far! I love the way the story is turning out and I can't wait for you all to see what I've got planned <3 Enjoy the rest of your week lovelies! BTW if you're confused about the ending where she remembers who Quentin Beck is, it was in Chapter 11 - Rising Conflicts, if you want to look back at that!