skulls

011, TALK TO ME!

SKULLS / CHAPTER ELEVEN
TALK TO ME!

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MUCH LIKE THE NIGHT HE FIRST MET SPIDER-MAN, Silas finds himself cruising along on top of a lorry, cheering and screaming as much as he can through his beanie with the wind tearing at his eyes.

Every single time they catch sight of each other, Spider-Man tries his hardest to motion for Silas to crouch, but he simply shrugs in return and continues to pretend to surf on top of the vehicles.

He knows from many a Google search that it's a good four or five-hour drive from New York to Washington, but the time flies nearly as fast as the street signs by the side of the highway as Silas hops from coach to bus to transport lorry and back again. It's way too fun for something that should worry him a lot - Silas doesn't have a clue why he's going halfway across the country, and Spider-Man won't tell him - but he'll live in the moment for now.

He sighs happily and falls backwards, hitting his head lightly on the metal. Spider-Man is lying directly behind him, his head next to Silas', and he smiles even more thinking about the situation.

"Going to tell me why we need to head straight to Washington? The new Saw film started showing, and I wanted to be the first to see it so I could warn everyone to stay far, far away." Silas mock-pouts, until Spider-Man reaches back to poke him sharply in the shoulder. "What was that for?"

"Wanted to see if I could shut you up. I don't know, I just want to enjoy this ride."

Ordinarily, this would be met with some sarcastic remark from Silas, but instead, he just nods and lies down again, staring straight up into the sunlight. It hurts his eyes and makes white spots dance wherever he looks, but there's something about it that feels sort of nostalgic, making him long for the old summers back before all of this happened. Before he became a wreck, before he started up this superhero work to fill the weirdly constant void in his heart.

"Are you alright?" Spider-Man asks from somewhere behind him, and Silas nods a little against the top of the van. He's fallen back into his dormant state of staying quiet and in his mind, and while he hates it, it's a little better than always doubting himself. "We're nearly there now."

Just as he says that, the very tip of the Washington Monument comes into view, and Silas sits up to watch it appear. The van they're sitting on doesn't seem to notice as Spider-Man jumps off and Silas shuffles to the edge, ready to commando roll into the grassy verge next to the highway.

Eventually, Silas kicks off and drops to the floor, gritting his teeth as his shoulder takes the full force of the fall. It's nothing he hasn't felt before, to be honest, but it still discomforts him as he stands up and begins to kick a path in the grass.

Spider-Man trails after him, eventually moving a little quicker to walk in line with Silas. He seems worried about something; even just from the way he walks and stares down at the ground, Silas can tell that something's going on.

"I need to tell you something." Spider-Man starts, before Silas can ask why his mood has suddenly dipped. He nods, trying to ignore his heart rate quickening. It's entirely possible that he's about to finally reveal his identity, something that Silas has been wanting to know for so long.

"What?" He asks, squinting against the harsh sun as they walk next to the road. The sound of the city gets a little louder as the traffic quietens, and Spider-Man's sigh is actually audible.

"I-I'm probably going to give myself away here, but..." He shrugs a little, turning the corner and catching sight of the state's 'welcome' sign. "My high school's here at the moment, I couldn't make the trip because, you know, superhero stuff, but I wanted to go see them."

Despite how this doesn't genuinely mean anything in the grand scheme of things, Silas is still caught off-guard by the idea that Spider-Man is the same age as him. All the fantasies seemed like just that: fantasies, but now, there's a realistic chance of Skullrider and Spider-Man going from begrudging enemies to best friends, and possibly even something more, if that's not wishful thinking.

But if he's honest, there's a greater chance that it isn't. Silas has seen the supposedly 'official' Spider-Man Twitter account like a few joking 'Bider-Man' Tweets, and maybe he's taking that a little too far, but if he was completely straight, he wouldn't do that, would he?

Silas grins to himself, and turns to the boy walking next to him. "Let's go see some students!" Maybe not the best grammar or English he's ever used, but good enough for this rare, fleeting moment of a complete lack of self-hatred.

word count: 856!
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