The Masks we Hide Behind || Peter Parker [1]

twenty-seven: everybody wants to rule the world

The catchy beat of one of my favorite songs plays into my ears as I skip across the rooftop of an office building. Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears blasts into my ears as I spin, skip, and do ridiculous dance moves on top of the building. I continue to embarrass myself to anybody watching until I leap off of the building and soar down into the city air, watching as the growing lines of traffic come closer, closer, and closer until I catch myself with a web.

Welcome to your life
There's no turning back

The sun has just set, but it's still light out, and the glow of the city lights dominates the cool blue glow of the sky. I can still see everything perfectly as I clumsily swing through the city, bringing myself up high enough to see over all of the buildings for a brief second, until I go descending back down. I let out a cheer as my stomach drops and my limbs flail, before I catch myself yet again.

Even while we sleep
We will find you

"Acting on your best behavior, turn your back on mother nature...everybody wants to rule the wooorld!" I belt out as I let myself swing up and over the buildings. I look around wildly, staring at the calm body of water surrounding the city. I descend yet again and find myself lost in the music and really enjoying myself.

Shit.

The word races through my mind once I realize that the whole reason I suited up, snuck out, and lied to my mother was to visit Avalanche's warehouse. I have the address memorized. And what am I doing? Listening to music and acting like an idiot on the complete opposite side of the city.

But it's fine. It's fine!

So, I turn myself around and make my way through the city. A feeling of nervousness looms over me at the thought of paying Avalanche a visit, considering the fact that during our last encounter I literally lost control of myself, which didn't go well at all, and yesterday, I had a very vivid nightmare of him that I still can't shake off.

I try to shake the feeling of nervousness off and focus on getting there as my music plays into my ears, but I can't help but worry. It'll be fine. It'll be fine. I'll be fine, I'm gonna be fine. I repeat to myself as I race through the city, trying to get this over with as quickly as possible.

The warehouse is just how I pictured it - old, run down, abandoned, and very creepy looking. There's tall windows stretching across the sides of the building near the top, and I spot one shattered window as I peer down at the building from across the street. I aim and shoot a web, letting it drag me with it and silently sticking to the wall. There's enough room for me to fit through without getting cut by the shards of glass, if I'm careful.

Before I enter the building, I peer in and look around. The top floor is almost empty, the only thing being boxes scattered here and there. I climb in and silently land on my toes, making my way towards one of the boxes. One of them lies open and looks like it has been rummaged through recently, and I silently tiptoe over to the box.

I peer inside and spot multiple beige folders holding stacks of papers with names labeled on them. The first thing I notice is that they're all females, and they're in alphabetical order. One file sticks out slightly and is crowded with papers, and it's the largest out of all of them. A shiver runs down my spine as I read the name listed on the tab of the folder. Madelyn Lee.

A pit forms in my stomach and I suddenly feel sick as I pull it out of the box and open the folder, sitting on my knees and quietly flipping through the pages. Every single detail of myself and my life is listed in here, and I'm suddenly terrified. But I can't leave. I'm already here.