𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒 || atsv - miles 42

𝟎𝟏.

"Yo, aren't you cold?" I yelled out to the dark figure, feeling the cold breeze brush against my skin. "It's like fifty degrees out here."

It was late at night, and it was oddly quiet. New York was known as the city that never sleeps, and usually, that's right, but tonight was weird. It was the first spring night of the year, and there wasn't a single person to be seen. I was going out for another night of spray-painting, or as my mom says: "vandalizing". I was starting to rethink that choice now that I saw this dude, I'm not tryna get kidnapped.

No response, but, to be fair I haven't said anything else to dude either. He reminded me of a cat — his dark outfit but the glowing purple from his mask and his limited movements. Then suddenly, his head turned toward me and I immediately recognized who he was.

The Prowler, of course.

Everyone, or at least most people from Brooklyn knew who he was and what he did. He was like a "superhero" to us. I didn't particularly care about him or what he did. I didn't dislike him per say, I just never understood what was so great about someone like him. Whenever someone would ask me about him, I would just shrug. I assumed everyone just automatically was a fan of him and looked up to him.

He stared at me for a bit before randomly disappearing into thin air; literally like how a cat would. You blink once, then they're gone.

"Weird," I muttered to myself, shaking my head and walking down the sidewalk toward my apartment. My palms pressed my headphones onto my ears further, the sound of my summer playlist filling my ears.

✁ ✃ ✄

By the time I got home, my mom and sister were already asleep. I kicked off my shoes and started walking around my apartment. The kitchen was clean, and the entire atmosphere was completely silent. My soft footsteps echoed throughout the small hallway as I walked to my room. I dropped my backpack full of spray cans into my closet, and took off my coat; feeling the cold air from the air conditioning hit my body.

I grabbed some pajamas from my closet and changed, yawning as I did so. I hopped into my bed and got under the covers, sighing deeply. My eyes were glued to the ceiling for a little while until my eyelids started to feel heavy and heavier...

Until my phone buzzed on my nightstand. I picked it up and looked at it with sleepy eyes.

There was a single notification on my lock screen, and it was from my best friend; Kamera. I gently tapped on the notification and my lock screen was soon replaced by the messages app. Dismissing our previous conversations, there was one grey text bubble with my name — "iris". My thumbs moved like lightning across the digital keyboard, sending a quick "yeah?" as I waited for her reply. A typing bubble popped up on the screen, and I was on edge.

Then her message came through: "You heard about that new kid coming to school tomorrow?"

-kelpnseaweed