MAGIC TRICKS [PETER PARKER]

PROLOGUE

"NADIA ROSE, YOU LOOK LIKE AN ANGEL DARLING."

The girl laughed at his fake English accent, tucking another small curl behind her ear. Nadia blushed. "Thanks, Drew."

It was a typical Friday night for the group of friends; they would always meet at the Wright's Mexican Restaurant on the corner of the block. There was Nadia and Zac Hernandez, the love birds of them all, Jenni Tarantino, far too pretty and smart for high school, Mario Wright, a small but big ego'd fourteen year old who was a fashion master, and then Drew Turner, the glue that held them all together. They all had screwed up family lives, so they had decided to form their own little family.

Zac sent Drew a threatening, yet joking, glare, pulling Nadia down to sit beside him. Zac grinned, wrapping an arm around her. "Step off my girl, Turner."

Drew lifted his hands in surrender, sinking down into the booth beside Jenni. "I don't want your girl, Hernandez. I'm strictly playing for the other team, if you know what I mean."

Mario rolled his eyes as he walked in from the kitchen with the plates of food. "Por el amor de Dios," he swore, shaking his head, "We get it Drew, you're gay." Drew narrowed his eyes, shrugging innocently as Jenni let out a little giggle.

"Oh, great, the other love bird is here," Mario grinned, locking eyes with Nadia, "Thought Zac was gonna die being without you for the ten minutes you were gone." Nadia gave a bubbly laugh, threading her fingers through Zac's as he blushed a bright crimson red. Mario handed out the plates, Drew with two plates of chimichangas. "Isn't tomorrow your anniversary?" Jenni asked, dipping a tortilla chip gracefully in the queso Mario had brought.

Zac glanced at Nadia. "Has it been a year already?" Nadia stole one of Jenni's chips. "I know. Can't believe I've put up with you for a whole twelve months." Just as Nadia was about to put the chip into her mouth, Zac grabbed it, placing his mouth on her's instead.

Their friends gagged and laughed, jostling each other around. Nadia smiled against her boyfriend's lips. "I should go wash my hands," she said, blushing to herself as her friends continued to joke around. She slid out of the booth and made her way to the bathroom, squirting some of the lavender scented soap onto her hands and running them under the water.

Nadia found herself grinning in the mirror. She was so ridiculously happy- the happiest she had been since her parents died. Nadia always struggled to push the thoughts of her parents to the very back of her mind. It had been accident- Nadia had leveled their suburban house in seconds, an accident. How was she to know about the powers that haunted her? Why couldn't good things last?

A scream echoed through the diner and Nadia froze, snapping from her reverie. Slowly, she crept towards the door, opening it. Her ability to breathe left her; across the diner were two men in a stand off. One was wearing a red cape that seemed like it had a mind of its own. He whirled his hands around rapidly, creating shapes with sparks and glowing symbols that appeared from no where. The other was a deathly pale with dark circles under his eyes, wearing a red robe-like shirt; he too created the glowing glyphs.

Nadia spotted her friends cowered together in opposite corners. Drew and Jenni held onto each other; there were tears streaming down Jenni's cheeks, creating lines of black mascara down her face. Mario held onto his frail grandmother, the sweet lady who owned the restaurant, caught in the crossfire. Nadia's eyes  swept across the room, searching for Zac. Terror struck her chest when she spotted his hand from behind the bar. Without thinking, she surged out, falling to her knees beside his body. Nadia shook his shoulders, feeling tears start to prick at her eyes when he remained motionless. "Zac, Zac, wake up, you have to wake up," she pleaded, gripping his tan face in her hands. Her tears were flowing now, rolling down her cheeks and chin onto Zac's shirt. Sobs wracked her chest. "Please, Zac, don't leave me."

Across the parlor, the men were still dueling, shooting glowing beams of light at each other, kicking, punching. With reality setting in, Nadia pressed her forehead to her lover's lifeless chest, sobbing relentlessly. They had killed Zac. They had killed her Zac. Nadia felt a surge of energy flow through her body, and she stared down at her hands, which glowed with a white mist. She stood to her feet, her chest burning with indescribable rage, her teeth gritting against each other as she sucked in shaky breaths. They had killed the only boy she'd ever loved. The man in the red cloak turned when he heard her stand. Nadia's eyes were a burning white, and the white mist curled around her fingers. The tears were still wet on her face, more brimming her lash line. She screamed- a loud, gut-wrenching and horrifying scream that sent off a large explosion of light, breaking the glass of the windows and blowing off the doors.

The light faded slowly, and Nadia's shoulders sank. She looked around, eyes wide and horrified at the sight of what she had done. Glass littered the floor, a small fire had started in the kitchen, and standing in the center of it all was Nadia, and the man with the red cloak. He had his hands held in a defensive stance, an orange force-field type thing shielding him and her friends from her blast. Her heart sunk into her stomach when she saw them- Mario, Drew, Jenni. They watched her with wide-eyes, terrified, afraid. Afraid of her. Nadia had half the mind to defend herself, but it wouldn't matter. They would never look at her the same.

It was eerily silent as Nadia broke down into sobs, falling to her knees once again beside Zac. He would have accepted her, told her that it was okay to be whatever she was. Held her hand as she cried over her parents, and chastised their friends for beings afraid of her. She was the same Nadia she'd always been, but they would never see that. He would have.

Nadia sobbed, not only for the loss of the one she loved most, but for the loss of innocence, of friendship, and of life.

A/N:
Y'all finally did it. You bullied be into taking out the ending of her killing them all so CONGRATS.

Jk jk jk in all honesty that was a cringe ending. So, if you're re-reading, that has changed. Only Zac is dead :( Drew, Mario, and Jenni survived. Her parents are still dead too. So sorry if this causes any confusion, but I'm gonna be editing this story pretty heavily to get rid of the cringey stuff like that :)