Flower Child (Peter Parker, MCU)

"Peter Knows Spider-Man!"

"Silhouettes" - Colony House

Lila's tears had dried by the time she entered the bathroom. Needing a minute to herself, she decided the best course of action would be the girl's restroom down the left-hand corridor on the second floor. It was a bathroom that was barely used, and was more so a place that the girls of Midtown deemed a safe-zone. Anyone could go in, feel their emotions, and no one would judge. It was a sort of unspoken tradition that only enforced Lila's appreciation of women.

So naturally, no one cornered her into expressing what was wrong with her. She merely walked up to a mirror, and began applying the concealer that Peter had given back to her. A large part of her was completely shocked that he even still kept it. She'd given it to him months ago, and had nearly forgotten about it herself. A smaller, less voluntary part of her completely melted at the gesture. When he held out the Covergirl disc in his hands, her legs nearly buckled right then and there. It took all of her willpower not to break down into horrible sobs once again, mostly stemming from his kindness. When she took the makeup from him, when she felt her hand brush his, she knew there was no way that she could ever let someone like Peter pass her by.

As she dabbed the concealer to the bruise on her temple, Lila paused. She took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Since her hair was pulled back, she could see her pale skin reflect harshly in the bathroom light, and the vast contradiction the dark red left around her eyes. Even her lips were paler than usual, something Lila didn't think was possible. Gaunt was the only word to come to mind when she thought to describe herself in that mirror. Suddenly, a loud laugh just outside the door caused her to jump and whirl around. The sound quickly died off, and Lila realized it was just a student passing by the bathroom, no doubt on their way to class. Lila sighed, and turned back to the mirror, only this time, she studied the glass rather than herself.

There were several encouraging notes written on the mirrors that lined the bathroom, ranging from Remember You're Beautiful to You're Doing Amazing, Sweetie! and more. Lila even found an Eleanor Roosevelt quote along the words, and smiled softly as she read it. It was a sheer miracle that the teachers seemed to leave the graffiti alone, but it was more likely that students some time ago petitioned to leave it up. Whatever the case, Lila was grateful, as the messages began to fill her with more hope.

The second time she was interrupted, it was by means of her cellphone. Still eyeing the writing on the mirror, she produced her phone from her jean pocket. A quick glance at her phone was all she needed to know about who was calling her. The picture that came up was a picture Lila had taken one Saturday, when the sun was shining down after a brief rainstorm, and the colors reflected beautifully on the girl's glasses.

The phone wasn't even up to Lila's ear when Sophie practically shouted, "Phish Food! Phish Food - Lila - oh, my God - Lila are you okay?"

Pursing her lips, Lila's eyes lingered on an RBG quote as she tried to keep the tears at bay. "Um - define okay." She tore her gaze off the mirror, off the girl staring back at her that she didn't quite recognize. She put her back against the far wall and slowly sank down to the floor, getting comfortable. "How much did my dad tell you?"

"Um - absolutely nothing. I know you, and I know that you totally would've gone to Delmar's after we cancelled our dinner. I'm standing outside of it right now, were you - were you here last night?"

Lila was nodding, and then she remembered Sophie wasn't with her. Her hand that wasn't holding her cellphone started pinching her leg, almost like a reminder that the only place last night could still hurt her was in her head. And in her injuries, but Lila pushed that aside. "If I say yes, are you going to feel bad about it? Because if that's the case-"