"EVERYONE STICK TOGETHER."
Eszter tugs her suitcase behind her as she follows the rest of her teammates, walking with Michelle as they admire the building from inside. Liz took the lead and Mr. Harrington following in the back, both watching over the younger bunch of the team.
"Yeah," Mr. Harrington agrees.
"You kidding me? This place is huge," Charles admires.
"I've seen bigger," Flash comments.
"There's a bird in here," Abraham notes, pointing at the ceiling when he hears a flutter of wings.
Glancing upward, Eszter catches sight of the bird as it chirps a song, flapping its wings; however, no one else in the building seemed as fazed as they were, or they were unaware of the bird hiding away from the people.
Peter leans closer to Ned, whispering. "Hey, you brought your laptop, right?"
Ned looks at Peter. "Why?"
Not seeming to understand the suggestive tone in Peter's voice, the hero shakes his head and passes Ned, making his way to where Eszter was. The enhanced was with Michelle, refraining Peter from discussing further into his plan with her, but once they get their rooms will be easier for the boy. Eszter glances beside her when she finds Peter walking with her, giving her a knowing look; the enhanced tugs the end of her lip upward but not enough for a smile, but one that she nods and lets Peter know that she understood.
Hopefully, this doesn't cause Eszter to ruin her chances of the dampener coming off or making things worse for Tony and herself. Still, a pawn to the government of the United States, Eszter couldn't simply do whatever she wanted.
"Alright, everyone, get your keys. You only get one each, so don't lose it because . . ." Mr. Harrington sing-songs as he passes a key to each student, voice trailing off into a nervous one. "Then that's on me."
Eszter takes one of the packed keys as she finds two cards inside the pocket; the enhanced pulls one of them out. Sticking one into her pocket, Eszter turns around and sees Michelle gawking around the building, barely listening to the conversation happening around her.
"Here's your key," Eszter passes the card key to Michelle, who takes the key from the enhanced, thanking her as she shoves it into her own pocket. The two start to make their way up to their rooms. "Are you okay with me bunking with you?"
The enhanced glances back at Peter as he and Ned were making their way to their own room, Eszter faces forward as she walks beside Michelle. Although Michelle and Eszter are best friends--even as the feelings don't necessarily feel mutual--the enhanced wasn't certain whether her friend is okay with the idea. Eszter is pretty sure Michelle wanted her own room.
"Doesn't matter now anyway. I would've loved being alone, but since you're my friend, it's okay," Michelle shrugs, barely offering any reassurance. But she sees the frown on Eszter's face, concerning Michelle at the slightest, the girl rolls her eyes. "Dude, it's fine. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks," Eszter makes a face. "I guess."
Michelle smiles, patting Eszter's shoulder. "You're welcome," then she swipes her key card into the key slot, watching as the red light flickers to green. "I call the bed that's away from the air conditioner. I don't plan on freezing to death, so you can."
Once the door opens, Michelle leads Eszter into the room, and walking inside, the enhanced watches as her friend chooses her bed. Further from the window and the air conditioner, Michelle chose the bed that wasn't anywhere near the door. Much to Eszter's dismay, the enhanced drags her suitcase near the bed closest to the window.
"Fine. Then you can listen to me when I'm flushing the toilet," Eszter smirks.
"Gross."
"Eh, you started this," Eszter grunts as she swings her luggage up and onto the bed, bouncing slightly on the mattress. Tiredly, Eszter rests her hands on her hips, glancing at Michelle. "I know you love me, MJ. You can quit the facade with me."
"What facade?"
"The whole . . . grumpy mood look you got going on. I thought we were cool?"
"We are 'cool', but this isn't a facade."
"Wait, so you're telling me that you're always grumpy?" Eszter wonders jokingly.
Michelle raises a brow. "Who says I'm grumpy?"
"Nobody," Eszter quickly comments, making a face as she teased Michelle. Then, the enhanced clears her throat as she leaves her luggage on her bed, taking her phone out to see a message from Peter. "Anyways, you have fun with your book. I'm gonna head out."
"You're gonna meet up with Peter?" Michelle asks in a taunting tone, one that captures Eszter's ears as she looks at her friend with a strange look.
Eszter stops at the door, staring at it with wide eyes as she panics internally. The enhanced felt the muscles inside her stiffen suddenly, and she makes a noise of denial as she scrunched her face uncomfortably. "What?" Eszter turns around, tone a lot higher. "No, I'm not. I'm just taking a walk."
Michelle retorts. "Yeah, to Peter's room."
Eszter pauses. "Shut up."
"What do you see in him anyway?"
Eszter doesn't respond right away, not prepared for the sudden question. She gapes as she tries to form the words, but the enhanced was left speechless, as if the words were stuck to her tongue, preventing Eszter from sputtering out an excuse to trail Michelle from the truth. Michelle is already questioning Eszter's feelings for Peter, and there's no doubt that the girl still believes that theory.
Maybe talking to Michelle about it will help Eszter vent a little about it, but Eszter wasn't sure if she was ready for another person to know. Even if Michelle has her suspicions, the enhanced fears the idea of people knowing her secret. If anyone else were to know, or if the thought slips out and gets back to Peter, Eszter wouldn't be able to look at her best friend the same way.
But there were so many things that Eszter could name why she likes Peter; the enhanced adores the way he is as a person--from the way he talks to the way he walks. Eszter likes how Peter styles his hair and his witty humor, caring nature, and nerdy talk. Peter is nice to everyone he comes across--only strict to those who deserve the harshness, but even then, Peter doesn't have a single bad bone in his body. He can be quite confident when he tries to be; welcoming and bright.
There was something about Peter that sparked Eszter's interest.
However, Eszter shakes her head because no, this wasn't the topic she planned to have before meeting up with Peter. "I am not talking about this."
"Oh, come on! I'm just curious."
Eszter sighs, biting her lip.
Michelle proved to keep her promises whenever she and Eszter talk about something that involves her family, letting the enhanced vent a little when she can. There was a small part of Eszter who still hoped that whatever these feelings were would slowly dissipate, clearing the enhanced's mind from the weird feelings she has for her best friend. However, Michelle already knows about Eszter's feelings for Peter, even though she tried to deny it, there was no use; Michelle already has her thoughts set on the hunch.
Eszter moves away from the door and makes her way to her bed, closer to the middle as she sat in between the bed. Michelle raises her brows questionably, waiting for Eszter to speak up, but the enhanced was just building up the courage to say it. She doesn't know why she doesn't like talking about it, always making up an excuse that she didn't want to lose Peter as a friend.
Eszter has never felt this kind of feelings before. They were new and rather confusing.
"Uh, I mean, what's not to like?"
"I can list a lot of things," Eszter narrows her eyes warningly. Michelle raises her arms in defense, chuckling lightly. "What? I can."
"Anyway . . . Peter is my best friend, Michelle. I've known him since freshman year. I guess . . . I don't know, as I got to know him, I started to feel different around him."
Michelle hums. "What do you mean by 'different'?"
Eszter shrugs. "I get these butterflies in the pit of my stomach. My palms get all sweaty, and they start to shake. I stutter over my words, hell, Michelle, I even get . . ." Her voice lowers into a whisper, embarrassed. "Jealous."
Michelle scoffs. "Wow, who would've thought the famous Dusk would be jealous."
Groaning, Eszter falls back onto her bed. "Ew, no. Don't call me that."
"What? Dusk?" The enhanced hums in confirmation. "Why not? That's what everyone's been calling you nowadays."
"Yeah, but I didn't pick that name. It was chosen for me. Ross named me like I'm some type of dog," Eszter sits up as she stares blankly at her friend, then huffing as she slouches forward.
"Wow. Bummer."
Chuckling in response, Eszter shakes her head. "You know, you're terrible at this comforting thing," the enhanced comments, amused somehow.
"Yeah, it's really not my thing," Michelle smiles sarcastically, looking away from Eszter as she continues reading.
Then, the enhanced gets up from the bed and makes her way back to the door. "Okay then, I'll see you in a bit," Eszter glances back, catching Michelle salute to her before the enhanced turns around and out the door.
The--somewhat--awkward tension disperses the moment Eszter catches a whiff of fresh air, calming her nerves. Ever since Eszter experienced anxiety attacks, she tried to learn to keep her nerves under control. Using her training to help, but it usually never works. But to undergo an attack, Eszter couldn't help but feel embarrassed each time. Despising the vulnerable feeling, Eszter wishes her therapies would've worked like they said they would've.
A few other students walk past Eszter, wearing a red jacket; other students from the other school, and the enhanced suspects they're the team they're competing against.
Eszter makes her way to the door with the sign on the handle, knocking on the hotel room. The brunette could hear muffled voices behind the door, speaking to one another with a low voice; they were on edge, almost scared by the sudden knocking that distracts them from their plan.
"Uh, sorry, we didn't order anything," Peter calls from inside.
"It's Eszter."
The door unlocks as Eszter was greeted by a relieved Peter, who gave her a soft smile, making the enhanced's feel weak in the knees. God, Eszter hates having these emotions towards Peter, but a small part of the enhanced that doesn't regret it. As he opens the door wider, Peter shuffles out of the way as Eszter squeezes through, walking inside the boys' room. Inspecting outside, Peter pulls back into the room, shutting the door.
Eszter notices the suit laying on the bed, plugged with wires, and as her eyes trail up the wires, she finds them connected to Ned's laptop. It seems like Peter was getting into the system, a screwdriver laying on the top of the suit. Eszter glances back at Peter, brows furrowed, and with a small jerk of her head, the enhanced looks skeptical.
Peter swallows hard, a little nervous considering Eszter is living with the man who created his suit; although the enhanced wouldn't stop him, but she can sure as well talk.
Nearing the beds, Eszter shuffles over as she slides onto the thick mattress, pushing herself further up onto the flat part. Eszter pushes her long skirt down as it bunches around her thighs and then resting her hands on her lap. Grabbing a pillow from the head of the bed, Eszter drags a pillow over her lap. The enhanced leans forward to get a good glimpse of Ned's laptop, noticing codes flashing across the screen.
He was hacking into the dataset of the suit.
"Tony is a freakin' genius! You don't think he'll find out?"
"Of course he will, but not right away," Peter falls on his knees as he kneels before the bed, sticking a flashlight in his mouth as he pokes and prods at the stud with a screwdriver.
"Okay, so wait, what is it that you're trying to do?"
"He's removing the tracker from his suit, which I'm still kind of hesitant about," Ned informs.
Peter hums, pulling the flashlight from between his lips. "Uh, because I gotta follow these guys to their boss before they move again, and I don't really want Mr. Stark to know about it."
"So, you're lying to Iron Man, now?"
"No. I'm not lying. He just doesn't really get what I can do yet," Peter turns away, focusing on his suit again.
Eszter bobs her head as she makes sighs loudly. "It's still lying," Peter gives her a blank look. "Look, I get it. Really, I do. I know I stopped the whole superhero thing, but it's the same reason why I'm even wearing this thing." The enhanced was upset at the thought. Peter knew that. He felt bad that he compared his troubles to Eszter's; they were incomparable. "Anyway, the tracker?"
"Right," Peter picks up the tweezers that he had taken from May's makeup bag, hoping his aunt wouldn't need it while he's away. Peter places the bottom half of the tweezers under the tracker, clasping it closed as he squeezes the object. "Gotcha." Peter peels the tracker piece from the suit, moving slowly so it wouldn't snap and send an alarm. Then, he plants it on the lamp. "Alright, Happy, enjoy tracking this lamp."
"I can't believe you just did that."
Peter glances up at the girl, shrugging innocently.
"There's a ton of other subsystems in here," Ned types as his eyes widen in surprise.
Eszter looks away from Peter to check out the screen, noticing how it switches from one to two. Code words appearing.
Peter hums.
"But they're all disabled by the . . ." Ned squints.
But then, Eszter sees it. "'Training Wheels Protocol.'" The enhanced cackles loudly.
Peter jumps up from the floor, yanking the flashlight from his lips again, but he was offended. He couldn't believe his ears, Tony had put him on training wheels? This was absurd.
"What?" Peter exclaims. He lands on the pillow on Eszter's lap abruptly, surprising the enhanced as she grunts from the sudden weight; Eszter smacks Peter's back hard, but Peter shrugs it off. "'Training Wheels Protocol'?" Ned snorts. "Turn it off."
"I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, they're probably blocked for a reason," Ned stifles his laughter, but Peter wasn't having it.
"You're crushing my legs!" Eszter cries out, shoving Peter's shoulders but the boy stayed put. "God, you're so annoying."'
"Come on, man," Eszter sighs in relief when Peter drags himself off of her legs, he flails his arms. "I don't need training wheels. I'm sick of him treating me like a kid all the time."
Eszter nearly laughs at the scene, watching as Peter jumped on the bed, bouncing a little; however, the enhanced doesn't. "Welcome to my world," she grumbles, tucking her legs underneath her with the struggle of her legs getting stuck in her skirt.
"It's not cool," Peter whines.
"But you kind of are a kid," Eszter interjects, looking at Peter knowingly.
"A kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands."
"Peter, I just don't think we should be doing this," Ned grew worried, unsure if he wanted to do this. "I mean, what is this is illegal?"
"Yeah, Peter, I don't think we should be doing this. I wouldn't hear the end of it."
"Look, please," Peter jumps off the second bed and onto the ground. Eszter raises a brow as Peter was practically on his knees, begging Ned to unlock the protocol from his suit. "This is my chance to prove myself. I can handle it. Ned, come on."
"This really isn't a good idea," the enhanced adds once again. The tone in Eszter's voice indicated that she was still hesitant about going through with this.
"Yeah, I agree with Eszter on this, Peter."
"The guy in the chair," Peter dangles the title in front of Ned.
Eszter bares her teeth as she winces. "That's low," the enhanced raises her brows, glancing between the two.
"Don't do that."
Peter gives Ned a pleading look, silently begging his friend to do this one huge favor for him. Thankfully, Eszter didn't have to do anything as this was Ned's level of expertise. But it didn't take long before Ned caved in, tapping away on his keys, surprising Eszter. She had a feeling Ned would comply, but even he knew where the line is drawn, though he still went along with it. Unfortunately, Ned was doing this for the sake of being the guy in the chair.
The suit hums before a blue light flashes through the creases of the suit, capturing the trio's attention. It lit up like a wave. Disarming and adding more activities to the suit, granting access to more aspects of the capabilities it couldn't before. Then, the suit lights up again.
Peter goes to the bathroom to quickly swap his clothes for his suit, though the boy nearly stripped in the room before Eszter stopped him. The enhanced felt a buzz in her lap, Eszter checks the text message from Michelle.
"The team's going for a night swim," Eszter informs Ned as she pulls herself out of bed, fixing her skirt right after. "You wanna come?"
"Uh, I think I'm gonna sit this one out."
Eszter frowns. "You sure?"
"Yeah. Besides, I gotta look out for Peter, you know, just in case anyone comes asking for him."
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning."
💜
Eszter had changed into her bathing suit as soon as she returned to her hotel room. The enhanced tugs the straps of her black and white plaid one-piece bathing suit over her shoulders, keeping the bathing suit in place. As flattering as it was, Eszter liked that it modestly covers her body; the enhanced had preferred her body to be covered, and it made her feel confident in her own skin. She then ties the small knot on her waist, although it had no purpose other than to make it as if the waist is singed in.
Then, Eszter flips her ombré hair onto her back, letting it flow softly. She stares back at her reflection with a nervous glint in her eyes, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious.
"Are you sure it's fine?"
"For the tenth time, it's fine," Michelle huffs again, growing annoyed with the constant question.
"I don't know . . . maybe I should--"
"Okay, let's just go," Michelle snaps her book close as she slides off the bed, grabbing Eszter's hotel towel before tossing it at the girl.
The towel smacks the enhanced straight in the face, making Eszter squeak from the sudden hit; dropping the towel in her arms, the enhanced glares at Michelle. But there was a knock at the door, grabbing the girls' attention.
Michelle walks over and opens the door, greeted by Liz and the gang.
"You guys ready?" Liz beam with excitement. The adrenaline was bumping their her veins and radiating from her person like a wave, hitting Eszter strongly.
"I'm not swimming, but yeah, we're ready."
Slipping past Liz and out the door, Michelle connected with the group wordlessly as they greeted her. Liz turns back to Eszter, who stood in the room uncomfortably; the enhanced didn't know if it was because of her bathing suit or the fact that Eszter's alone with Liz, who her best friend so happens to be completely in love with. However, Liz is a nice person, and once Eszter got to know the girl, she can see why Peter likes her.
Eszter has nothing against Liz. She doesn't hate her because of Peter. Liz is too nice for that.
Liz smiles as she meets Eszter's eyes. "I love your bathing suit. It's cute."
Feeling at ease, Eszter smiles at the compliment as she and Liz step out from the room. "Thanks. I feel kind of weird," the enhanced looks about, finding her other friends standing around in their own bathing suits. "I've never done this before."
"Sneaking out?" Liz wondered, but then she reassures the younger girl. "It'll be fine, don't worry about it. It's just to get us to loosen up and not be stressed for tomorrow. It'll be fun."
But that's not what the enhanced had met. Eszter forces an uneasy smile, beginning to panic as they were making their way down the halls of the hotel. While Eszter slowly trails behind, but Liz looks back to see the girl not bothering to keep up with the group; instead, Liz walks back to Eszter, grabbing her hand and dragging the enhanced to jog forward.
Liz and Eszter drop hands as they giggled softly to themselves, trying to be as quiet as they can be while trying to be sneaky, but the thrilling feeling was exhilarating.
It felt like Eszter has a place where she can belong, to feel somewhat normal in her not-so-normal life;. However, Eszter isn't necessarily close with everyone in her team, everyone has treated her like she didn't possess some strange powers that no one can comprehend. All besides Flash, though the enhanced knows he merely does it for the laughs.
Then, when Eszter lifts her gaze and to her surprise --maybe her dismay--the enhanced's smile seemed to fall into a near frown.
Peter's eyes widen as he catches the two girls rushing down the hall, but it was Liz's smile that seemed to have caught the boy's attention. His gaze almost stuck on her before he notices Eszter standing beside Liz. Peter catches a quick glimpse of their bathing suit; as quickly as he did, Peter casts his gaze up from their bodies and sticks to their faces, refusing to look anywhere else but their eyes.
With flushed cheeks, Peter was in awe. "Hey, Liz . . ."
Subconsciously, Eszter rolls her eyes. "I'm here, too," the enhanced grumbles lowly, but neither Liz nor Peter had heard her comment.
"Perfect timing," Liz nears Peter and passes him, causing him to trail after her with a twirl on his toes. Eszter ignores the paging feeling in her chest. "We're gonna go swimming." Then, Liz beckons the group to follow in a bad stealthy movement. "Come on, come on."
Running like a quiet stampede, Eszter shuffles out of the way as the group of teens start rushing across the hall, feeling giddy and excited. It was the rushing feeling of being rebellious on a night like this, to let loose and relax before the big day.
"Hey, Peter," Sally greets as she runs across him.
Cindy merely giggles with a small wave, rushing behind her friends. Flash comes through and darts across the trio, but not before granting Peter a proper smack in the rear. Peter jumps at the suddenness; he yelps in a whisper, glaring at Flash as the boy chuckles into the wind.
"I was, uh, I was gonna go study in the business center," Peter stammers over his words nervously, trying to sound convincing.
"Peter, you don't need to study. You're, like, the smartest guy I've ever met," Peter looks at Liz with a sparkle in his eyes, heart beating loudly in his ears as he gulps. "And besides, um, a rebellious group activity the day before the competition is good for morale." Peter hums, a little confused, but he thought it was adorable. "Um, well, I read that in a TED Talk, so, I--I heard it in a TED Talk. And I read a coaching book."
Eszter watches with a gloomy look on her face as she could feel her heart practically frowning at their interaction, hurting her chest. It was disheartening to witness her crush be so giddy with another girl, someone like Liz, who can make Peter so happy. Although Peter rarely ever talks to Liz, he still admires her from a distance.
"Wow, you really--this is important to you?"
"Yeah, it's our future. I'm not gonna screw it up. Besides, we raided the minibar, and these candy bars were, like, eleven dollars," Liz grins as she tosses a bag of Skittles at Peter, who instantly catches it. "So, get your trunks on and come on. Backing away, Liz bites her lip to suppress her grin. "Come on, Eszter."
"I'll meet you there," the enhanced says.
Eszter flashes Liz a quick smile as the older teen rushes after the group, leaving Peter and Eszter behind. Shifting of her bare feet, Eszter notices the uncomfortable feeling radiating from her best friend, most likely from the fact that he's standing beside Eszter while in her bathing suit. The enhanced unfolds her towel and wraps it around her waist, feeling equal as uncomfortable.
But when Eszter glances at Peter, the boy was still staring in the direction Liz had scurried off to, and the enhanced makes a small noise to catch his attention.
"Uh, are you heading out?" She finally asks.
Peter blinks, shaking his head as he looks at Eszter, confused. "Hm? What?"
"You're dressed in a sweater, and I can see your suit underneath," Eszter points at Peter's red cloth feet.
"Oh, uh," Peter clears his throat. He was aware of his best friend, who is standing mere inches away from him in nothing but her bathing suit, though Peter was lucky to see Eszter had wrapped her towel around her. Nevertheless, the hero keeps his gaze on her face, not wanting to make Eszter feel uncomfortable. Eszter is pretty, no doubt, but it's rude. "Yeah, yeah. I'm heading out now. If I leave now, I can come back just before the competition."
"Well, you better, or Flash will have to take your place," Eszter jokes.
Peter lets out a forced laugh as his eyes drift from Eszter. He's always thought of Eszter as an attractive girl, but Peter never thought he'd hear himself think that. Wait, why was Peter thinking about Eszter this way?
"I'm gonna . . ." Peter juts his thumb in the opposite direction, beginning to panic internally.
Peter couldn't be here any longer, fearing that his thoughts would turn into emotions, and he would rather not have Eszter know how conflicted he feels.
"Right. I have to go anyways," the two stood there in silence as Eszter looks away. The awkward tension fills the air and grows thick, making the two friends wonder what to say. Neither of them could understand the sudden change in their friendship, but no one bothered to mention it. Then, Eszter smacks her lips. "Okay, see you later. Be careful!"
Eszter finally meets Peter's gaze, giving him a stern glare before walking away first. However, Peter doesn't move as he watches Eszter walk away, confused about what happened a few seconds ago; just seconds ago, Peter thought he was uncomfortable seeing Eszter in a bathing suit, but after the realization had hit him, it wasn't that.
Something was different, and Peter wasn't sure if it scared him or not. Peter's brow knit together as he turns around and begins walking towards the exit.
The teenager enters the hotel pool, smiling on cue as a cheery voice filled Eszter's ears, forming a smile at the sight of her classmates' little get-together. Everyone was practically swimming in the pool, all besides Michelle, who was sitting on one of the pool chairs with a book in her hands.
Eszter walked alongside the pool until she picked the chair beside Michelle, unwrapping her towel from her waist and lying it on the empty chair. Circling back towards the pool's stairs, Eszter stands in front of the pool, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Eszter," Liz calls, waving her hand as he pats the spot next to her.
Walking over, Eszter shuffles carefully over the short wall that divides the hot tub from the pool, but she gasps when a sudden wave of water splashes her. A bubble of laughter floods the pool area as the others watch Eszter stood there, glaring at Flash playfully.
Chuckling, Eszter rolls her tongue across the inner part of her bottom lip. "Oh, you're dead, Flash," she turns away and picks her spot next to Liz.
Dipping her feet into the warm water, Eszter surprises everyone in the pool when she suddenly kicks her feet, creating big splashes; quickly turning away, the others shielded their faces from the water hitting them. Eszter bursts into a fit of laughter as Cindy squeals. Abraham began pushing the water outward, and with the help from Flash, they splashed a wave of water back at Eszter, nearly drenching the enhanced.
Eszter squeals as she stops kicking her feet, and as she shields her face, the enhanced swipes the water from her eyes.
"Why don't you come in? Water's fine!" Flash suggests as he swims closer to Eszter, but goes to lean against the wall of the pool.
"Uh, no," Eszter suddenly stiffens in her spot at the thought, shaking her head rather quickly as she tries to hide the real reason why she didn't want to swim. "I'm not in the mood."
"Oh, come on. Don't be like that," Flash taunts, beckoning the enhanced in the pool.
"Yeah, Eszter, jump in!" Cindy exclaims, splashing the water about.
"I--I can't swim," Eszter admits, blushing in embarrassment.
Eszter isn't scared of going into the water and learning, she's more afraid of the idea of not being able to learn how to and drown. The enhanced wants to learn, but she never really thought about it. There was never time for her to learn, nor did she have someone willing to teach her--Peter had, but he was always busy, but Eszter supposes she knows why now.
"Come on, you got all of us who can swim," Eszter snorts, about to make a smart comment, but Flash beats her to it. "I'll teach you."
Flash holds out his hands for Eszter to take, but she hesitates. She gives him a knowing look, a little skeptical. "I thought you did like me? You know, being a Witch and all," Eszter wonders.
"Hey, being a Witch isn't all too bad," Flash chuckles lightheartedly, surprising Eszter. "Besides, I can get to know you now--I mean, we are teammates, so we might as well, right?"
As much as Eszter would like to say something snark would, but he was somewhat right. They are a team, and they do have to get along at some point, she supposes. Eszter can't stay mad at Flash forever. She wouldn't mind bonding a little with Flash because all they had ever done was make sarcastic comments at one another, so having a civil conversation with the boy will be new for Eszter. Considering that out of everyone in their team, Eszter and Flash had never really gotten along ever since everyone discovered she was enhanced.
Eszter grins. "Is Flash going soft now?"
"If you don't accept my help, I'll drag you in."
"I didn't think of you to commit murder."
Flash rolls his eyes. "You're so annoying," he cackles.
Eszter merely shrugs. "So I've heard."
Accepting Flash's hands, Eszter slides her hands into Flash's as they slowly slide up to his forearm; the enhanced puts all of her weight on his arms as Flash helps Eszter slide further into the pool. Liz stayed behind but watches out for Eszter as the enhanced was going into the deep end; she didn't want Eszter to drown suddenly.
But then Eszter instantly began to panic once she realized her feet couldn't touch the floor, the enhanced frantically flail to keep up, but her chin would occasionally dip into the water. However, Flash plants his hands on Eszter's hips to help keep her afloat, chuckling a little at the enhanced's reaction--the way Eszter kicked her feet and immediately released her grip from Flash, nearly drowning herself. Luckily, Flash was able to keep her afloat.
The mere thought of drowning petrified Eszter more than anything.
"You have to help me on this," Flash cackles, settling his hands firmly on Eszter's waist, careful with his hands as he knew his boundaries. (He also wasn't looking to be on the enhanced's bad side, but he won't admit it).
"Kick your feet," Abraham informs, kicking his own feet to keep his head above water.
"I'm trying," Eszter flails dramatically, kicking her feet. The enhanced was starting to grow tired by the second. "Okay, now what?"
"Do this," Cindy does a demonstration of pushing her hands through the water, moving it in a repeated motion. "It'll help you stay above water."
Eszter grunts. "It's tiring."
The group chuckle at that, watching Eszter's swimming lesson in amusement. They were surrounding the enhanced, knowing that they will jump in to help Eszter if she needs them.
"You get used to it," Sally comments.
"Okay, I'm gonna pull you towards the middle, okay?" Flash starts to move, pulling Eszter away from the wall and into the middle of the deep end.
Eszter's eyes widens. "What? No, I'm not ready for that!"
Flash grins, kicking his own feet as he continues to drag Eszter near the middle, but it was proving to be difficult when the enhanced struggled against him. "You'll be fine. I'm here."
Liz frown worriedly. "Flash, she's not ready for that," she straightens in her seat, preparing herself to jump into the pool to help if needed.
"She's fine," Flash waves her off.
"I swear, Flash, if I drown--"
"You won't drown. Just kick your feet and push your arms out," Flash grips Eszter's waist as a reminder that he still has her, letting her know that he wasn't going to let go. Flash continues to pulls Eszter closer into the middle. "I got you."
The rest of the group watches carefully, sure to be there if they catch her struggling. Eszter continues to kick aggressively in the water to keep herself afloat, attempting to swim, but the enhanced continuously hits Flash a couple fo times. Breathing heavily, Eszter could feel the pressure of the water sitting against her chest and stomach.
"Oh, my God," Eszter exclaims in excitement, pushing herself with Flash into the middles; she was ecstatic. "I'm doing it! I'm actually swimming."
"Good job, Eszter," Liz congratulates proudly.
Flash smirks. "See, I told you."
💜
From the top of the building of the pool section, Peter was kneeling in front of the glass window. He watches as his teammates have fun together, wishing he could've enjoyed this moment with them, but Peter knew he couldn't. There was a bigger matter that was a stake and Peter couldn't make the time for a quick pool party.
He watches Liz sit alone alongside the poor, clapping with a toothy grin on her lips. He pouts at the scene, wishing that it could've been him to make that smile on her face, but Peter doubts he could've. This would've been the perfect moment for the hero to make his move, to get to know Liz on a more personal level. However, Peter had a mission.
Then, his gaze drifted away and towards the water, and to his surprise, Peter spotted Eszter in the middle of the pool; Peter knew Eszter couldn't swim, but seeing the enhanced in the middle of the deep side of the pool was quite surprising. For the longest time, Eszter would never go in the pool when he'd ask, bt Peter was guilty that he wasn't there. Someone such as Flash to teach his best friend how to swim, even though Peter promised Eszter that he'd teach her how to swim.
However, Peter never had because Spider-Man was slowly taking over his social life.
But one look at Eszter hanging on Flash's shoulders instantly left an unsettling feeling in Peter's chest; like a clenching of his heart, Peter didn't like the way Eszter wrapped her arms around Flash. He didn't like the way Eszter would smile at Flash, laugh at something. Nor did Peter like how they swam together.
That was an odd feeling that he'll never shake off.