❝𝑨𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒚❞ ━ Miguel O'Hara𝑿OC!Reader

chapter two.

• ° ✶ ° •

Starsilk had made two performances in the time that Miguel had last spoken to her. Despite making no effort to attend these shows he found himself circling back to the missing data. His finger tapped absently on the empty brackets missing Star's name, and as if in response, the computer screen murmured under each mindless thud. It was trivial to question any further and would ruffle unnecessary feathers if Miguel began to inquire with the stage staff that worked closely with her. Besides, it wasn't significantly important. The plausibility of at least a quarter of the Spider H-Que residents' identities are unaccounted for, according to Lyla, anyway.

Despite his better judgment, Miguel sauntered down to the entertainment sector of H-que.

It didn't take long to find the popstar, she was hard to miss. It would be more difficult not to see her, Star's suit was so bright that she was comparable to the sun, in that Miguel found himself unable to look directly at her without squinting in fear of getting flash burns.
Star was engulfed by a team of dancers that appeared to be practicing for a set, the speakers overhead crackled with each pause and rewind as they all devotedly repeated the steps after every "5, 6, 7, 8…"

A few faces dropped once they noticed Miguel's presence and he quickly realized his own unfortunate doing… What was he doing here? Everyone must have pondered the same as the music squeaked to a stop and all heads slowly turned to him, Star being the last to regard him.

There was a stiff silence with the occasional shuffle, Star blinked at him patiently "Mr. O'Hara"

No one ever addressed him so formally, at least, no one of her notoriety. Star didn't seem the type to easily cower under authority unlike other spider-individuals who would splutter "Yes sir!" And "No sir!", but he never found himself to question the expressions. As much as Miguel would love to admit that he thought there was an undercurrent of fear to Star, he knew there wasn't, she was addressing him so properly for alternative reasons and, unusually, he disliked the generosity of it.

"Just doing my rounds…"

He fabricated,

"Of course!" Star responded promptly "Feel free to enjoy the rehearsal"

"Everything seems in order" Miguel settled a hand on his hip "I'll leave you to it"

He began to leave but a melodic voice called out to him "Can you dance, Mr. O'Hara?"

A flush of red prickled across his cheeks as his jaw tightened at the question.

"I- ugh" Miguel cleared his throat "Not today, I'll leave it to the professionals"

A spider-woman with long curled hair emerged from the dancers, she was adorned in celtic knots and laced Irish pumps "Maybe we should take five"

"Great idea!" Star agreed "Everyone has been doing so well, let's all stretch our legs for a bit"

Everyone dispersed from the stage but Star remained. Miguel continued to leave but she called after him again,

"Show me what you got"

"I said not today" Miguel repeated,

Star boldly crossed her arms,

"I'm not dancing for you" He reasoned "Why do you want me to?"

She cocked a brow under her mask, "I want to see if you have what it takes"

"What it takes?" Miguel chortled "Believe me, I have what it takes"

"Then show me"

Like a loose thread from a tapestry, Star unraveled his weakly competitive ego.
Miguel wagged a finger at her "I… I don't need to dance for you"

"Why else would you be here, Mr. O'Hara?" Star meandered from the stage, "You want to be a part of the show, right?"

He could either admit he wanted to dance for her, or he could tell the truth, a truth he wasn't fully willing to confess. Miguel didn't trust her.

Star extended a manicured hand, but he simply turned his head away.

There was a long pause.

"So, you're not here for the show"

Miguel didn't respond. 

"Perhaps a fight is more your style"

He snapped wide eyes at her "Excu-"

"C,mom!" She teased "A friendly sparring match, let's do it"

Miguel gawked at her under his mask "That’s completely unprofessional"

It would, however, open the opportunity to finally know who she is. It would quench the thirst of not knowing. Perhaps, if he let her win she would be more willing to share her name at the very least. For the sake of the missing computer data he agreed,

"When?"

"Two days time, 8 a.m." Star settled "Strength & Conditioning sector"

Miguel scoffed, as if there were anywhere else to do it. "Fine, I'll go easy on you"

"I'm sure you will" She said "But I can't promise the same"

Star walked back towards the stage where she would wait for her dancers to come back, she cued the music again.

"My dancers will be back soon…" Star exclaimed over the song, "I'll break down the bad news, gently"

"What bad news?" Miguel replied,

"That you won't be dancing with us, Mr. O'Hara" She smiled "They'll be gutted"

Miguel shortly left the entertainment zone, meeting the dancers on the way out, none of which seemed to acknowledge him anymore, bar a few that respectfully bowed their heads.

His brief conversation with Star enveloped his mind, just like the music being played for the dancers he kept hitting rewind and playing the scene again in his head. He learnt nothing new from her other than that she is a lot more camp than he anticipated. So is the way with the majority of spiderfolk in H-que, all of which had the playful wits of a bored teenager. It was a quality that Miguel lacked, and often loathed in others. Star was vexingly unserious. It was tolerable in others to some degree. But something about the way Star spoke to him in particular made his gut twist into a fit of nausea.

Miguel could not disclose why he agreed to the sparring match, aside from possibly getting to know her name, something which wasn't even guaranteed. But it was the only thing he mulled over the next two days…