fearless || peter parker

three || gloves and glowsticks

I was a glowstick.

I had spent the night on Nitara's floor, away from the water puddle, and between the bed and the wall to hopefully avoid being seen by her Baba in the morning. Which had proven to be a success- that was the only thing I really had going for me now. Being somewhat undercover, you could say.

I was about to put on the outfit I had chosen from Nitara's dresser- we were about the same size, but our styles definitely differentiated. I wasn't one for cardigans, especially in the summer. I did find a nice little tank top, shorts, and I even found an old plaid belt of mine in the depths of the dresser. Evaluating the ensemble in the mirror, though, part of my back was revealed by the tank top, and I didn't trust my hair to stay in place to keep the scars covered. Cursing, I took off the shirt and rummaged through the drawers for another option.

Nothing white was an option. First, I was wearing a black bra, which my apron at work covered up relatively well, but a plain white shirt not so much. Second, I didn't want to stir any questions as to why I was glowing purple. Reluctantly, I slid on a violet t-shirt, supposing it was my best bet to blend my chemically wrong backside.

I didn't even know what to call it. What was it called when somebody glowed? Fluorescence? No. Bioluminescence. It was seven in the morning and I was pulling last year's science class out of my mind.

"Baba just left for work," Nitara said, poking her head into her room. "We can go now."

I tucked a stray wisp of hair behind my ear, and twiddled one of my piercings. It was my third one, and there was a little bump on my ear from the metal. Nitara called me to the kitchenette, and threw me a bagel which I nearly dropped. She picked up her schoolbag and left the apartment, and I followed, empty handed minus the bagel. Usually I showered every morning, so I hoped questions didn't arise as to why I smelled faintly of blood.

Nitara and I left the building rather hastily as she speedwalked down the sidewalk. To my delight, we were heading in the direction of the alley, and in just a few minutes the warehouse came into view, a dying flower in a bouquet of buildings. I followed Nitara across the street as we crept up to the apartments next to it, sticking against the bricks for horizontal coverage.

"What a drab warehouse," Nitara spit, waving her hand at the stained gray cement that hid what was going on inside. I could barely see the start of the narrow windows from where we were, but there was no light streaming between the cardboard blockers. The darkness from last night had also faded, lucky for me- I didn't want to have to explain myself to Nitara about how I could see in artificial darkness, and how I was even more of an anomaly than she first thought.

I clenched my fists together as Nitara motioned me to follow her. I gladly let her enter the alley first, but I became reluctant when she dared to go deeper down the road. I didn't want to go farther, but I didn't want to be alone, either.

"Whereabouts was the body?" Nitara asked, searching down the alley. When we had crept to the halfway point, I spotted the double doors looming beside us, and pointed at them. Nitara didn't need words.

"It's gone," Nitara said simply.

I sighed and pushed ahead of my friend. "Yeah, no shit." I walked in a circle over where I had seen the man get thrown. And, even though some of the pavement was still wet from last night's rain, the puddles of the black substance that ravaged my skin were gone, leaving only dry stains of gray contrasting the pavement.

"Are you sure he was dead?"

"Positive," I answered, still searching the spot. I only turned around when I heard a door creak open, as I caught Nitara gazing into the dark building. "No! Whatareyoudoing?"