This is book two in the Selfless trilogy, although each one of the books are indipendent from the others so you can read Clessidra without having read Lapis and Life already!
Which are the strongest emotions a person can feel during the course of time? They are mainly linked to feelings like sadness, shock and love. Everyone feels them during their lives, in different ways, different times and different occasions, but every human being is linked to one another by the restricted amount of feelings given to them.
Although there are a few gifted people who experience superior feelings. They are commonly known as superheroes, but they are the few who decide to show themselves to the public. They are a really small number, compared to all those who hide their powers in fear of judgment or, worse, exploitation.
But the common thing about them, is the feeling they experience when their powers first show up. Some are lucky enough to experience them alone and control them enough not to damage anyone, some are not that lucky. But every single one of them, at some point, feels it. The feeling of holding the very world in their hands like a golf ball. The power of the whole universe running in their veins like a river and the strength of thousands of lions enforcing their every muscle. It is often followed by a feeling of impotence and terror, and it takes time to get used to the new self. But that feeling, it remains in their hearts for the rest of their lives and they hold onto it for dear life, longing for it to come back, even if they knew it never will.
This is how June Sullivan felt the first time her powers showed up. She wasn't scared, petrified or horrified by what she saw, because she had always known she was different. She was thirteen years old, laying on the pavement of her room with pieces of a puzzle scattered around her. Her mind was racing with thoughts of how to solve that puzzle, and she somehow couldn't find the solution, even if the game wasn't that difficult. She had concentrated so much that a headache was starting to kick in when all of a sudden the sound of the clock ticking stopped, the horns of the cars outside disappeared just like the voice of her mother from downstairs. The room had been surrounded by a brighter light coming from nowhere, apparently, and her mind had cleared from every type of confusion and she completed her puzzle easily, allowing time to restart, the light disappearing immediately.
From that day onwards, she had used them as if she had had them since birth. She had the chance to develop her powers so that she became able to stop time even for entire days, even if the amount of concentration she had to use caused her to be extremely exhausted after, as well as she gained a distorted perception of time and space that remained a part of herself for the rest of her life.
And then her life slowly turned apart, she grew up and the only thing she found herself holding onto were her powers. She became a freak, people started to avoid her, stating that weird things would happen when she was around, and then aliens almost invaded New York and an horde of robots almost destroyed the entire planet, and made everyone realize that the impossible wasn't that impossible anymore.
-
The sea breeze was particularly inviting that day, a sign that made June stand up from her bed with an abnormal happy expression on her face. She didn't think twice before dressing herself up and walk out of her house without even getting breakfast, barely packing her rucksack. She rushed down the stairs and reached the small garage shared by the habitants of the condominium, where she found her old, rusted but perfect bicycle. She unlocked the chain, even if she still wondered why someone could even think of stealing such an ugly vehicle, and hopped on it, placing the rucksack in the basket in front of the bicycle.
She sped off and immediately reached the seafront, not spotting many people walking around, which made her even more satisfied and eager to take a long ride. The sun hadn't completely arisen and the yellowish shade of the horizon perfectly melted into a light blue that would have later turned into a darker by the time she reached her school. But for now, she just enjoyed the sight, the peaceful music lulling in her headphones matching perfectly with her calming surroundings.
"Hey, creep!" a voice exclaimed from behind her, the ring of a bell following right after.
June turned her head to the side, her fiery red hair swiftly following her movements as she smiled happily at the young boy approaching her, riding a bicycle as well.
"Felt the morning breeze, huh?" she asked him, moving her hair with a hand while keeping the balance on the bicycle with the other.
"I couldn't bear aunt May's recommendations anymore. It's like she's the one to have tests, not me." Peter sighed, looking at June for a moment before turning towards its front.
"This happens every morning, Pete. I'm getting worried you'll just avoid her for the rest of your life," June stated, sympathy clear in her voice even if she had a jokingly tone.
"She loves you more than she loves me. Want to exchange lives for a week?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. June rolled her eyes at his attempt of changing argument, but knew there was nothing to do if he didn't want to talk about it.
"How are things going with Gwen, by the way?" she asked, a glimpse of sarcasm appearing from her innocent tone.
Peter shrugged. "She's improving, but it's becoming more about flirting than studying, you know." His cheeks slightly flushed and June couldn't help but smile.
She had no idea of what the two of them were. Actually, they definitely were best friends, but she had always been sure there was something more between them. She had never done anything to improve their relationship, but went with the flow since it seemed obvious to anyone that they were more than friends. That was, until Gwen Stacy appeared in Peter's life and June had started to understand the enormous line separating friendships from love at its purest form.
She hadn't been necessarily heartbroken: the feelings she had towards Peter were confused as well, so she just identified them as the feelings a caring friend had, but the pain appeared for a while, and it took some time for June to get used to it and eventually get rid of it. She was now better than ever, but was eager to find someone to love the way Peter and Gwen loved each other.
They kept riding until buildings replaced the view of the sea and signaled that the school was getting closer. The peacefulness the two teenagers were enjoying soon disappeared from their faces as realization flooded over them like a storm.
"I'll never get used to this hell." Peter stated as he left his bike next to June's, both locking them. They grabbed their rucksacks and climbed the stairs to the entrance, a few students rushing inside before them.
"You know there's always something worse than this." June wiggled her eyebrows at him before reaching her locker, a few blocks away from Peter's, and started loading it, grabbing only the books for her first class. She headed towards Peter to walk with him when Gwen appeared from the corner of the hallway and jumped on his shoulders, covering his eyes with her hands. She sadly smiled to herself and turned towards the crowded hall, making her way towards her class, alone.
-
June closed the chemistry book and rested her back against her chair, closing her eyes for a moment as a sigh escaped her mouth. She heard her father's steps in the hall and waved him goodnight before he disappeared and she stood up to close the door of the room, resting on it for a moment before walking towards her wardrobe. She moved aside her clothes and grabbed a locked black wooden box, placing it on the bed. She unlocked and opened it carefully, as if the content would jump off if she wasn't careful enough.
June brushed her fingers on the soft fabric and smiled to herself, feeling that her day was finally beginning. She took the suit out of the box and held it in front of her, taking in the sight of the most beautiful thing she had ever created. That suit was basically her signature, her best hiding spot, her true self.
She quickly stripped off of her pajamas and wore it, slipping her feet in a pair of training shoes before grabbing the mask from the box and wearing it, moving her long hair to the side to lace the mask on her nape. Once she was ready, she made one last trip for the bathroom before turning off the lights in her room and open the window, stepping outside. The first floor wasn't too far from the ground, so the jump she had to make wasn't too big to severely injure her and, during the months, she had grown quite accustomed to it. She pressed her hands on the window and lifted her body, the air hitting her face as she gently landed on the grass that muted her movements.
The walk to the mall was easy that night. Everyone seemed to have chosen to stay home and the streets were calmly silent, a silence supported by the lightness of the full moon towering over New York. June's steps were light as she reached the enormous building and walked in, climbing the stairs that led her to the roof. She always tried to shake off the uneasy feeling of the abandoned mall whose floors reminded her of a post-apocalyptic zombie movie.
A sigh of relief washed over her as she pushed open the door of the roof and a familiar figure crossed her sight, turning towards her as he heard the movements of the door.
"Hey there, June. You're incredibly in time." June removed the mask from her eyes as she reached the figure and sat back on the edge of the roof, next to him. He turned towards him, his mask in his hands as she took in Peter's facial features that she had grown so accustomed to, even as Spiderman.
"Today I'm feeling more ready than ever to kick some ass," she said, grinning.
"You never kick asses, you always let me do the dirty job," he pouted, pushing her shoulder with his.
"Well, I'm the one that allows you to get away from it in one piece." June chuckled as she looked at the asleep city in need of protection.
"You know I would be able to do it even without you."
June turned towards him, her eyebrows raised. "But it wouldn't be as much fun."
Hey guys! It's me, Elena!
I'm finally back with another story, and MAN was it hard to write it. I had decided the main plot, but I have changed so many things and deleted so many files that I feel like I should create a cemetery of all the lost chapters of this story.
But still, here I am. I really hope you'll enjoy this story and, if you have read Life already, I hope this story will be as intriguing as I hoped Life was.
love you all so much,
Elena.