Black Swan ▹ Marvel

FOUR: REAL FRIEND

Elizabeth had been out of the hospital for a little over two weeks when she decided to go back to school. She still hadn't seen Ryan though even though she had plenty of chances to. Elizabeth wakes and put on jeans and a sweater and a jean jacket along with Ray-Bans given to her by her mother because her eyes were still sensitive to the sun. Elizabeth sits in the kitchen watching CNN while eating a bowl of frosted flakes.

"Today It has been almost six months since a meteorite containing strange material was confiscated by authorities destroyed the Little Italy mall in Midtown and injuring one person," a news reporter said in a strong voice. Elizabeth's mouth creases downward when a picture from her Instagram shows up on screen, "it is still unclear whether the victim, fourteen year old Elizabeth Copper lived or died." More stolen Instagram photos flash on the screen until they change topics. 

'Well guess what I lived bitch,' Elizabeth thinks and continues watching. 

She finishes her bowl of cereal and leaves the house before her mother could protest. She run to Midtown High seeing that she would be late if she didn't rush. When she gets to Midtown she enters through the front door after jumping a gate like a lot of other late students. Elizabeth walks through the hallways without running like a psychopath. The blonde stop in her tracks when she sees a plastic table littered with note and stuffed animals with a photo of her smiling face propped up in the middle with fake LED candles flickering in front of it. It hit her people still thought she was dead. She hikes her backpack up on her back and turns away to start her biology class.

"Tragic," she says in a mocking tone to no one in particular.

"Have some respect," a girl says in a disgusted voice. Elizabeth turns to see Manon. She wears an expression to match her nasally voice. Elizabeth raises her sunglasses and look at her like someone would a pouting child. Manon lets out a breathless gasp when Elizabeth stares into her eyes.

"Like I told. You haven't got the slight idea," Elizabeth replies to her shocked expression and lowers her sunglasses. She walks away and down the hallway. You know the moment in idiotic high school movies when the girl gets a makeover and walks down the hallway in slow motion with her new found confidence. This was her slow motion moment, Elizabeth Copper back from the dead after months with no communication and she was looking damn good.

"Young lady, might I ask why you're wearing sunglasses inside the school building?" a teacher asks, interrupting Elizabeth's daydream. She turns and looks at him lamely. She plucks the sunglasses off her face.

"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again," She replies and hook the sunglasses in the front of her sweater and walks to her locker.

As Elizabeth walks down the hall she pretend nothing happened; that she never even left. Being around Liz had made her very good at pretending, so good sometimes she could even fool herself.

Elizabeth shuffles through the busy halls with all the other students making their way to class. Elizabeth find my class with ease and sits down in the seat she hadn't sat in for a few months. She taps her finger on the desk as Elizabeth stares forward as students shuffle in and take their seats.

Then, Liz appears in the door. Her eyes focus on Elizabeth immediately and her eyes well with tears. She rushes over to her best friend and throws her arms around the girl.

"Elizabeth, we thought you were dead!"

She hugs me tight as her tears drop in my hair.

"I'm sorry my phone was broken," Elizabeth replies as she hugs her back.

"You were just trying to get better. You shouldn't worry about anything, but being happy and healthy," Liz tells her as they break their hug.

"I missed you, Liz," Elizabeth says as she look into her best friend's eyes.

"I missed you too."

As Elizabeth looked into Liz's eyes she realized that she really was her best friend. All this time she was her only real friend. Well besides maybe MJ.

▹

Elizabeth awoke to the sound of crackling electricity. She looks at her hands. There's electricity dancing through between her fingertips. She curls and uncurls her fingers slowly, but the electricity doesn't go away. A smile cracks on Elizabeth's face.

Without hesitation Elizabeth gets out of bed and puts on outside clothes. She climbs out her bedroom window onto a fire escape. The electricity has spread to her forearms. Elizabeth rushes down the fire escape, but with one wrong step she falls and sticks her arms out to brace her fall. She notices that she didn't hit the ground. She was floating.

"No fucking way," Elizabeth say excitedly before dropping to the ground face first. She limbers to her feet with a smile. The electricity now danced up and down Elizabeth's body, she could feel the power flowing through her veins. She stretches out a hand toward a potted plant, a blast of lightning leaves her hand and the pot explodes.

Elizabeth squeezes her eyes shut and tries to float as hard as she can. When she opens them she's no longer has both feet on the fire escape and is floating three inches above it instead. She leans back and she moves backwards. Without another thought Elizabeth lands. She runs up to the top fire escape and holds the railing and looks over the edge to the busy Brooklyn street alone. Without another thought and with a smile painted on her face Elizabeth still bright with electricity vaults herself over the railing and dives toward the street below.