「Sunflower」a Spider-Man/Miles Morales fan-fiction ☆

Chapter 11.

Maybe it was my fault.

My stubbornness was no secret to Liz. No matter how wrong I am, I stand firmly by my decisions.

She's a jerk for acting out like that!

Liz never shares her feelings. It's her own fault for bottling things up. If she was completely clear to me from day one she wouldn't have this outburst!

She should know better! If ever I step out of bounds I expect her to call me out on it.

"Argh! Flipper flopper!"

I clamped a hand over my mouth, though I had already gained everyone's attention. The eyes were everywhere, observing each move, attempting to capture any fault in me that would quench their thirst and meet their expectations.

Their eyes describe judgement, rejection, hatred for the unknown. They scowled and rebuked my very presence with every ounce of their being. Even those who held no opinion couldn't be bothered to show sympathy. It was an unspoken law, but they already agreed that I would be their ultimate enemy.

It's literally me against the world.

"Hey, Vanessa!"

My shoulders squared up at the call of my name. It wasn't hard to recognize the male voice, plus nobody addresses me by my full name except for him.

Out of the entire student body, I relied on Miles alone, especially because my Latino-African friend was entirely oblivious to gossip on campus. Miles had better things to do, like maintaining his double life.

"Miles! Long time no see." I was met with his contagious smile that had the strength to lighten up my terrible mood.

"Sorry," he cleared his throat and straightened the blue tie around his neck. "These couple days have been quite frantic."

Muffling the giggles in the palm of my hand, I muttered lowly, "I've heard about your unlucky run-ins with Black Cat."

I laughed at the striking similarities between Peter and Miles' experience with Black Cat. But as comedic it was for me, the memory seemed to leave Miles with a bittersweet taste in his mouth. He rolled his mocha brown eyes at me and grimaced.

"She's... a bit more challenging than the rest." His hand scratching at the back of his head was a clear sign of nervousness and discomfort. Not to mention the glow on his face. "Plus, my technique is still pretty sloppy. Just wait until I improve! I'll have that cat in the bag."

"You're terrible," I squealed out in between chuckles.

"Yeah, I know," stated the boy with a prideful stance. "But hey I was thinking... um, maybe if-! Would you-? I mean may you-? Could you-?"

With Miles, the greatest skill I've mastered is the art of patience. Through our many conversations it has come to my attention that Miles is not particularly good with words. Rather, he is slow and hesitant on what to say. I typically dislike slow speakers, yet I was willing to wait for him. For whatever reason, I longed to hear his thoughts.

Finally the young boy squealed out, "Are you free right now?"

I shook my head no.

"Parents texted me to head home soon, probably to catch up on my chores."

"Sounds like a lot of fun," Miles mocked.

I threw my fist collided into the side of his shoulder. There was just enough strength to send him tumbling back.

Miles chuckled at the mediocre effort. "See you tomorrow, I guess. And maybe you'd be up for some web slinging?"

I pretended to overthink the matter, even though the answer was definitely yes. "It's a date."

He waved me off as I lost myself in the crowded hallway heading towards the school's main entrance. His face was still beaming with some unidentifiable resolution.

Author's note: Boring chapter, I know DX sorry guys but I swear it leads up to something.

Next week I won't be publishing the next chapter because I'll be playing in a competition. I will try not to get injured and also catch up on the delayed chapters. So please stick around!

Thank you for reading and have a nice life!