FIREWEAVER | A Spiderverse Fanfic

Chapter Six

The ride home on the metro was long, crowded, and cold. The humidity outside seemed to only worsen in the small confines of the cabin, which also only seemed to get smaller with Esme sitting squeezed between Sophia and tia Maria. Her shoulders squared from their weight as her arms were neatly placed on her lap.

She sighed, feeling Sophia's eyes on her the entire time. How was she going to explain what happened to her?

'Hey Sophia, you know how I said I was fine this morning? Yeah, well, I lied- and even though I said I'd have nothing to do with being a freak, I just held my own against a super villain with some mega gross powers!'

If only it were that easy.

When they got off, they walked the elderly couple to their home. A chill breeze blew across Esme's forehead, soothing the fever she felt beneath her skin.

Her limbs ached, but she made sure to hide her limp around the others- a feat easier said than done. She could feel her bones grinding, her back throbbing from where she slammed against it.

Esme couldn't help but feel empathy for the dolls she used to toss around her room. Her fight with Roulette had left her feeling like one of the tiny ballerinas she'd smack into her play set- only Esme had been thrown into a skyscraper instead of a Malibu home.

Orange leaves floated around her, keys jangling as her tio tried to find the right one to the door.

"You girls should stay the night. I don't want either of you going home at this hour- especially after what happened. People will be trying to take advantage of the chaos." Tia Maria spoke.

Esme looked away, her eyes surveying the yard as if it was anything of interest. The grass was dry, shriveled from the summer and only worsening now with fall arrived.

"That's really sweet of you, but me and Esme can handle ourselves-" Sophia began.

"No, I'm not asking. I won't let you go home with these circumstances. Stay the night." Tia Maria crossed her arms, making it apparent that neither of the girls would have much break through.

"Okay, okay. We will." Esme motioned her hands, giving a soft smile.

She realized she was moving them and looked back down at her hands, withdrawing them to her side. She could still feel the heat running in them, she needed to be more careful. What if that weird webbing came out? Or she set the house on fire?

Sophia's eyes glanced towards Esme's hand, as if sharing the sentiment. Esme felt like a ticking time bomb, her pulse throbbing in her wrist like a count down.

"Got it!" Her tio sighed a breath of relief, twisting the lock.

"You know, if you upgraded to a holo lock like everyone else it wouldn't be so difficult," Sophia remarked, walking in after him.

Esme shuffled through behind her tia, wincing as the light switch flicked and the room was bathed in a warm white.

She halted at the door frame, her hand lingering against a scratch on the dark wood, remembering a time where it had been much harder to reach. She looked around the cozy room as if she was looking with fresh eyes.

She looked at her feet at the empty floorboards  that once held a white rug with years of stains from juice cups and spilled cheery-o's.

Esme's eyes trailed upwards at the chandelier, three light bulbs on instead of four, an empty space on one of the arches from the time she had tried to do a dance and her ballet shoe was sent flying, smashing the glass.

She stifled a smile, looking back down to the walls of the foyer, a painting of a child's handiwork hanging in a black frame, a supposed illustration of a tree and black and white dog that looked much more like a cow. Three stick drawings of a little girl and two adults, their names initialed above their heads.