"𝙊𝙊𝙃-𝙊𝙊𝙃, 𝙎𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙂𝙎 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙅𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝘾𝘼𝙉'𝙏 𝙍𝙀𝙁𝙐𝙎𝙀. She wanna ride me like a cruise, and I'm not tryna lose."

Miles bops his head as he walks through the school halls, whispering the lyrics to the song playing in his red and black headphones. He weaves in between busy high schoolers being invisible without being literally invisible. He's able to adjust his headphones on his head without getting his fingers stuck to them now that he has a somewhat good idea of how to control his powers. If he's listening to music or has a song playing in his head, then he's able to relax, and relaxing gives him the ability to stop sticking. He's also learned that the key to the invisibility is just focusing hard on becoming invisible, which works about three-fourths of the time.

Miles continues down the hall, a slight bounce in his step, when he feels someone's presence. He glances beside him. Taryn, carrying her books at her side, falls into step with Miles. He pauses his music and slips his headphones off so they are around his neck.

"Taryn," Miles says with a bright smile. Honestly, he never thought that he'd ever be walking through Brooklyn Visions High with Taryn Merrick, a girl who has no friends but looks as tough as nails, by his side. He didn't even know her name until recently. Nonetheless, he appreciates her company, especially since Ganke seemed to move on from Miles.

Taryn keeps her gaze straight in front of her so she doesn't run into any students as she talks. "So I had this idea."

"Okay."

"About you being Spider-Man now."

Miles's eyes widen. He glances around the two, scanning the students in the crowded hall to make sure they weren't eavesdropping on what Taryn just said.

"Shhh, someone could have heard you!" He didn't exactly like the idea of everyone at his school knowing about his new powers.

Taryn rolls her eyes. "No one's even listening. Or cares." She looks at Miles from the corner of her eye. "Stop stressing, seriously. You're going to have a heart attack at fourteen if you don't calm yourself down."

Miles frowns. "I'm sixteen," he corrects her, offended.

She ignores him. "Anyways, my idea. So you know how Spider-Man had a red and blue suit?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm going to make you a new and improved suit. You're welcome."

"What?" Miles blinks and looks down at the confusing girl at his side. "What are you talking about? What do I need a suit for? I'm just getting used to my powers, I'm not going to be able to fight crime anytime soon."

"Sure you can." Taryn brushes off Miles's concerns. "Besides, you can't practice in the open without concealing your identity."

Miles opens his mouth to voice more concerns, but comes up with none. He would be exploiting his identity to the world as another Spider-Man if he used his powers without a suit.

"Okay, that makes sense. What do you have in mind?"

The ends of Taryn's lips are pulled upward. "Meet me at the broken water fountain on the first floor after school."

Miles waited by the broken water fountain for five minutes before Taryn showed up. She has her bulging backpack slung over one shoulder and nods in greeting when she approaches Miles.

"Ready to go?" She doesn't wait for Miles to follow before turning and walking towards the front doors.

Miles stumbles over his untied shoelace to catch up to the determined girl. "Go where?"

"You'll see."

Miles's brow furrows. Why couldn't Taryn just tell him? Her constant vagueness is starting to irritate him.

Despite this, Miles follows Taryn out of the school and down the street. She eventually leads him to a run-down apartment complex and takes him up to her floor. When they enter her family's apartment, Miles's pace slows as he takes in the space.

It's small and isn't too messy, but definitely lived in. His mom would immediately spring into action and tidy the place up, straightening every little thing if she were there because that's just how she is. He glances at the pictures hung up and on top of cabinets. Most pictures look old, like they were taken a few decades ago from their condition and the clothing of the people in the pictures.

Taryn doesn't slow her steps as Miles lingers in the living room and dining space. His attention is drawn to the old box TV with a thick layer of dust covering it and its stand.

When Taryn reaches her bedroom, she leans against the wooden door frame and glances at Miles loitering around in her home. "Morales."

Miles looks up. Taryn raises her brow at him.

"You coming, or . . .?"

"Yeah." Miles looks away from the TV and pictures and follows the impatient girl.

She climbs up on the top bunk of the bunk bed she shares with her sister. Her sneaker-clad feet dangle over the edge.

Miles hooks his thumbs in the straps of his backpack and casually scans the room. It's messy, but not cluttered at all. There are some dirty clothes on the ground in a pile next to the dresser and a over-filled trash bin under the small window.

"So," Miles starts as Taryn peels her backpack off her back and plops it on her lap. "Where's the fam?"

"At the hospital with my mom."

Miles's eyes are drawn to Taryn. His brow furrows.

"Is she okay?"

"Hopefully." Taryn doesn't lift her attention from her backpack. She pulls out folders and sets them aside. "Her test results haven't come in yet."

Miles doesn't know what to say. His family has been fortunate enough to never really have a health scare except for when he broke his arm on a trampoline when he was seven, so he can't say that he knows how she feels or assure her that everything will be okay. He doesn't know.

He just clears his throat and drums his thumbs against his backpack straps.

"So, like the productive person I am, I've been working on some designs," Taryn breaks Miles's awkward silence without even noticing it. She takes out a notebook and flips it open to a page filled with what looks like doodles on lined paper

When Miles looks closer, however, he realizes that they're not just doodles. They're sketches of a faceless figure wearing a Spider-Man suit, but it doesn't look normal. Instead of the blue and red, it's black and red. The spider on the chest is the same as the first Spider-Man's.

Miles takes the notebook from Taryn's hands and holds it up in front of him.

"Woah," he marvels. "These are siiiiiiick."

Taryn leans forward and swipes the notebook back. "The real thing will look much better, don't worry."

"This is so cool," Miles continues to gape at her work. "But where am I going to get this?"

"Me. I'm going to make it. Duh."

Miles gives her a quizzical look. "How?"

"I stole some Spider-Man merch that I'm going to fix up," Taryn explains nonchalantly.

Miles skeptically studies her. "Uh, what?" Did she just say that she stole the Spider-Man merch? Isn't that against everything Spider-Man stands for?

Taryn looks up from the notebook. She blinks. "I said that I purchased the merch from the store with my money."

Miles narrows his eyes. Taryn moves on.

"Anyways, I need to get some measurements." She sets her notebook to the side and slips down from the top bunk and onto the floor. Miles doesn't have time to react before she pulls out a flimsy tape measure from her pocket and opens it up, wrapping it around Miles's waist. He lifts his arms and looks down at what her actions with a furrowed brow.

"What are you—"

"I said I needed measurements, now hush before I choke you out with my measuring tape." She leans in and squints as reads the numbers. She continues to measure is legs and his shoulders. Once she gets all the measurements she needs, she hoists herself up onto her bed effortlessly and writes something down.

Miles leans against the bed and tries to peer over her arm to see what she was doing. She finished and set it face-down on the mattress before he could see anything.

"How do you even know how to do this kind of stuff?" Miles asks. "Are you good at it?"

"I like to have a lot of hobbies," Taryn replies as she leans back against the wall the bunk is pressed against. "And yes, I'm good. Do you even have to ask?" She runs a hand through her black hair to brush out a tangle. "Once I perfect a hobby, I move on to the next. I learned how to do stuff with clothing and cloth a month or so ago."

As soon as she finishes her sentence, her phone in her back pocket vibrates loudly. She pulls it out and answers, holding it to her ear.

Miles clears his throat and turns away, not wanting to seem like he's eavesdropping in on her private conversation. He steps over to the dresser. There are little bottles of different scents of perfume, which oddly remind him of the small bottles that the mall sets out for people to sample in the store.

"Fine, sheesh, I'm on my way," Taryn mutters to the person on the other end of the call before she hangs up.

Miles turns from reading the different scent labels on the perfume bottles and watches her pack her backpack back up and zip it back up.

"What's up?" He asks.

Taryn pulls on her backpack and tugs her hair out from being sandwiched between her back and the bag. "My annoying sister wants me to come to the depressing hospital with her and my brother."

"Bummer."

Taryn blows a strand of her hair out of her face and agrees in a breath, "Yeah."

Miles shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

"Okay you can go now," Taryn says.

"Okay."

The two walk out of Taryn's bedroom and cross the small apartment. They exit the building together, but before they split up, Taryn stops Miles.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school."

He nods.

She's acting all cool, but she looks really stressed.

No duh, Miles. She's going to the hospital to see her mom. Who wouldn't be stressed?!

Maybe I should crack a joke. No, that's a bad idea.

But she looks like she could use one.

Taryn looks like she's about to turn. Miles's eyes widen and he tries to come up with something to say.

"Hey," he blurts.

Taryn raises a brow at him expectedly. His hands sweat a little more than usual as he desperately tries to come up with something to say.

SAY SOMETHING.

I HAVE NOTHING!

"Making me a suit," Miles says, the words coming to him on the fly as he tries to act casual. "That's really cool of you. I appreciate it."

She cracks a small smile. "Don't mention it, every superhero needs a suit."

"I'm not a superhero."

"Yet."

Now both Miles and Taryn have smiles.

Miles smiles a lot, and Taryn does too, but her smiles are usually more tight-lipped and not genuine. This smile, although small, is real. And Miles gives himself a pat on the back for that.

"Alright, see you around," Taryn says, ending the conversation.

"Yeah, see you." Miles gives a small wave before turning and walking the opposite way Taryn goes.

She smiles at the ground as she walks, but every ounce of happiness she has fades as soon as she steps inside the hospital a few minutes away.

Zach is sitting in the waiting room with his elbows on his knees and his head ducked, his face out of view. Megan is standing, pacing the small room with her phone clutched to her chest.

As soon as Megan hears Taryn walk up to them, Megan sends the younger Merrick a glare.

"Where the hell have you been?" Megan demands.

Taryn frowns. "At home," she huffs defensively.

Megan's furious expression doesn't falter. "Well, Taryn, while you were at home doing whatever the hell it is you do, mom has been here wasting away! And all you've been doing is sitting at home like the lazy ass you are!"

Taryn flinches at Megan's insults. It isn't the volume she uses, which happens to draw the attention of a few bystanders and hospital staff. They return to their own business after a few seconds.

"What are you talking about?" Taryn asks, her eyes narrowed on her older sister. "What do you mean she's wasting away?"

Megan runs her hands down her face and then hugs herself. She shakes her head and looks at the ground, sighing.

Taryn's stomach drops.

"What do you mean?" She repeats, worry replacing her irritation.

"The tests came in," Zach from his seat.

Taryn's eyes snap to his in anticipation for his next words. They seem to come out of his mouth in slow motion.

"She has pancreatic cancer, Taryn."