(Warning: mild to moderately offensive language.)
That was a close call. I'm sure at least one person that night was curious as to how I took down two armed people when I look like my punches feel like a handful of grapes... Or at least that's what Caleb observed, just before I elbowed him in the ribs. I'm not even that skinny, he's just mean.
Sundays are for family, or at least that's what my family believes. I'm not technically part of my parent's religion anymore, but I don't have the heart to tell them. Sunday dinner always includes a great feast-like dinner at home. Sometimes we go to Grandma's house, but the cousins staying there are sick right now.
There are only two of us kids, me and my younger sister Sophie. I would've stopped going home every week for Sunday dinner if it wasn't for her. She needs to see some new faces every once in a while.
She hugs me tight when I walk in, head only coming to my chin. I kiss the top of her head, then escape to the laundry room before I can get captured by my mom's endless kisses.
After sticking my load in, I make my way back to the kitchen.
"Skylar my boy!" My dad says heartily from the table. "Where's your Sunday shirt?"
He's of course referring to my white button up and floral tie... usually a church outfit. "I changed after church." I lie, heading to the kitchen island to help my mom with potatoes.
When she sees me, she claps her hands over my cheeks, and kisses me all over my face. I honestly don't like it when she does that, but I smile and laugh anyway. After the food is ready, we sit and enjoy the meal... after a prayer of course. Luckily I don't have to say it this week.
"So skylar, what was your favorite part of the week?" My dad asks around a bite of potatoes.
"Um..." I cast my mind over the week's events. Getting a surprise visit from a super villain who claimed me as his nemesis. Getting my ass handed to me during a fight with him the next day. English essay. Going to a party... and basically sleeping through the whole thing. My photography class. Then getting jumped at a park and having to take down three armed assailants with the help of a cute boy... with the help of a boy. Not sure where the cute came from.
"We're waiting." Sophie reminds me.
"Don't be rude, maybe he doesn't have one." My mom chastises.
"Oh, he definitely has one, look at how red his face is." Sophie smirks at me.
You bastard. "Yeah, I went roller skating with some friends yesterday."
"Did you hold anyone's hand?" She asks, wiggling her eyebrows like the devil child she is.
"No!" Oh, shoot. I held Caleb's hand. "I did knock over a kid though."
"Grace and poise." She mocks me.
I glare at her with half lidded eyes. "Fine, what was your favorite part of the week?"
She stabs a carrot happily. "I got 100 percent on my earth science project."
"Yay!" My mom claps, trying to dispel the tension. "You worked so hard on that!"
I keep my biting words to myself. "I'm proud." I say, stabbing a steamed broccoli. "Well done."
She squints at me. "Thank you. It was fun."
I flash her a gang sign that we made up that means "you b!tch." But just as I raise my hands, she does too, and we both glare at each other. We are so gonna battle later.
I was right. After dinner we sit down in the living room for a game of cards. The competition is heated, the backstabbing is vicious, and the swears are stupidly censored.
"Check mate," I slap a card down on her pile, "Hand them over, you blinking baboon."
She defends her pile with another card of the same kind. "Try again next year, pickle juice brain."
"Children!" Mom shouts in disbelief. "The language!"
"This is English." I state. "And Sophie knows exactly what it means." I put down a wild, overriding her defense.
She stares at me in horror, taking deep offense. "You sack of potato salad!"
I laugh maliciously, taking her stack of cards, plus the ones used to attack and defend it. "You will refer to me as master, now. Or possibly Pharaoh."
The game continues, and I barely win, only a few points ahead of Dad, who snuck up the ranks without engaging in banter.
We have a rematch, in which I take second to Mom, but still one place ahead of Sophie. I don't let her forget as we eat ice cream, ribbing her and bringing up things she said while confident of her victory.
After we clean up, I bid everyone fair well, giving Sophie a big hug before saying "see you next week, Jumper cables."
"Love you, frog-eye soup."
With my arms full of clean laundry, and my stomach full of food, I set off to college once more.
~
The suit fits like a second layer of skin, and stretches with my every move. I forgot how much I love wearing this thing. I think, free falling off a tall building, and swinging off a web. There isn't any danger tonight, I just like wearing the super suit.
I have no reason to wear it regularly, no one can know I'm the one inside it. Even with Halloween coming this month, I have to invent some other costume to wear. Unless I just want to be a normie and not wear a costume this year... Which is lame.
I flick my wrist again, latching onto a building across the street. I pull towards it, let go, do a little flip, then land on top of a street lamp. Another perfect landing by none other than Spider-Man himself. Or Ghost, depending on which news station you heard about me from first.
I kinda hate having two names. It gets way too confusing. Constantly changing it up, and re-explaining to people. I was going by Ghost in the beginning, but it was confusing for people because I don't actually have ghost related powers or anything, and I couldn't just tell the whole world that it was my pen name in high school and I decided to keep it because of the sentiment. People just started calling me the Spider-Man after I did one interview and told someone I was bitten by a spider.
What was I supposed to tell them, I was bitten by a ghost? No, I didn't think so either.
I've considered changing my super hero name again, but I'm technically already registered under Ghost, and name changes are a huge hassle. And what would I even go by if I did change it? Crimson Shadow because of my suit's dominant color? I wish. Sticky Boi because of my powers? Tempting. Superman? Come on, who would I be if I did?
I hoist myself upward with some webbing, deciding to visit one of my supplies backpacks from around the city. It's not too far from here, actually. Just three streets down, thirteen blocks north, and fifteen stories up. Unless it fell for some reason, or if it was kicked off somehow.
The wind against my chest as I soar through the air? There is not a better feeling in the entire world. The way my stomach flutters when I lose altitude? I live for that. The way I can move without the hinderance of itchy jeans or baggy shirts? I wish I felt like this all the time. The way everything blurs past as I race through the air? Fantastic. I feel unstoppable. I feel alive. I love this feeling. Power, indestructability, freedom.
~
My heart pounds, and I pull my mask above my mouth so I can take deep breaths. I yell at the sky, a triumphant and adrenaline fueled sound. Okay, that's enough for tonight. I think, sitting down on the roof and dangling my feet off the edge.
"Man, what a night." I say, popping my neck. I pull my mask back down, and slide off the building. I fall for a second before pulling off into a swing. I skim the ground, touching my hand down to the pavement for a moment as I whiz past. I zip past my university, the mall, the bridge, and my rival university. Well, I wouldn't call it a rivalry, I just hate a lot of people that happen to go there.
I slow myself gradually, finally coming down from the high of being a super hero. I land in a bush somewhere, and reluctantly change into the normal clothes I had stashed in a backpack here. Everything is basically bug free, seeing as I sealed the clothes in ziplock bags. But I forgot shoes again. It's midnight, no one's gonna care.
I was right. When I walk in, all is quiet. The only sound coming from the dim television that plays a loading screen on loop in front of a sleeping Daniel. I turn off the TV, then put one of the miscellaneous blankets over him.
After brushing my teeth as quietly as I can, and changing into my pajamas, I slip into bed. Mo snores loudly from the top bunk, so my movements are covered up by the sound.
"Man, what a night." I whisper to myself, and promptly fall asleep.
~
Author's note: I was going to make this two separate chapters, but I wanted to release them both at the same time, and they are pretty short on their own. This is kind of a "filler episode" but don't worry, the next few chapters will actually be relevant to the plot... sort of... hopefull.y
Any who, I hope you liked this! Feel free to tell me in the comment section. As always, thanks for reading!