Tangerine — Tommy Newport

Whenever Lila was in doubt, she called her dad. Whenever Lila felt like she failed, or like she needed help, she called her dad. She called her dad a lot, it turned out, and that evening was no exception. MJ had just dropped her off at her hotel room, triple checking that it was okay for her to be by herself before parting with one last worried look.

How could Lila blame her? What happened at the carnival was horrific and downright mortifying. But Lila realized that night it was something she really couldn't help. The lack of control over her fear was startling, to say the very least. And she knew Michelle was now aware that something worse was going on with her. She didn't know yet how to justify it without revealing everything.

More importantly, she lost control in a moment she really needed the opposite. She was supposed to make sure everyone stayed inside, and even that proved to be difficult. And so, when the few tears that fell had subsided, Lila decided to distract herself with a phone call.

It would be the afternoon, so Lila knew Ted was available, and he picked up on the second ring. His voice was initially worried and relieved, having seen the news about the attack that evening in Prague. Lila assured him she was nowhere near it, even though it was a lie. But hearing him talk to her secured her anchor to reality, she felt the very last of her tension leave her shoulders.

Ted told her he'd just gotten off the phone with Mr. Harrington, who was beside himself with frenzied concern. It seemed he was going down the list to inform everyone of the events that occurred, and it appeared to be the general consensus amongst parents that the trip should end early. Ted asked her point blank if she wanted to come home, citing that Edith would entirely understand given the circumstances. It jolted Lila a little bit, the thought of not seeing her family twisted her stomach.

She told him as much, that she couldn't travel so far to not see her grandmother. And that was true, she still wanted to see her family, now more than ever. And based on the fact that the world didn't seem to be ending, Lila knew that Peter won, there weren't any more monsters.

Ted confessed he felt selfish, because he wanted her back in New York as soon as possible, to which she smiled and said she missed him too. He sighed and said he'd call Mr. Harrington back and figure out a place where Lila could branch off and depart for Paris on her own. He also said once he figured it out, he would call Edith for Lila, and inform her of when and where Lila would arrive in France. Several "I love you's" later, Lila ended the call, and she was back in her quiet room.

Well, it would've been quiet save for the voices that sounded outside her door. She immediately recognized Ned, followed by a quieter voice she couldn't discern, until a third voice belonging to her teacher said, "Peter! You're not dead! Oh, my god, yes, good. Stay here! Don't — Ned, put some clothes on. We're booking flights!"

Her heart twisted, Peter was back. By the sound of it, he seemed completely fine, too. That relief aided Lila's heart a little, easing the pain of what happened that night. At least it wasn't all for nothing. That ease went away nearly as quickly, for hearing Mr. Harrington talk about booking flights brought her back to reality.  The trip really was over, and she and Peter didn't even make it to Paris.

When Lila finally opened the door, Peter's back was to her. He was watching the chaos of the rest of the school group unfold. Her heart skipped a beat, he was still wearing his shirt and slacks, despite his hair looking a little messier than earlier.

"Hey," she said, not even forcing her casual tone. Looking at him made it easy to leave her panic attack in the past. He spun around, eyes finding hers and he smiled.

"Hey."

"How did it — how did it go?" Lila asked, keeping her question vague in case of eavesdroppers. She was pretty sure Flash was right next door.

"Oh, um, good. It was good, it's... all over now," His tone grew remorseful, and suddenly Lila realized he wasn't talking about the Elementals anymore.

She nodded, feeling the same regret he did. "I'm really glad you're okay," She said truthfully, and then shrugged. "So much for Paris, though."

"Are you still going?" Peter asked? "Or is Mr. Harrington making you go home, too?"

She smiled, "I'm still going, I talked to m-my dad about it earlier. I think my grandmother would be p-pretty peeved if I didn't make it." She tucked  hair behind her ear and said, "I wish you were still c-coming, though. So much — So much for being tourists together."

"It would've been fun," Peter agreed.

"Yeah," Lila said, nodding. "Um, anyway, I'm glad you're back, Peter. Have a good night." She sent a small smile his way before turning around and shutting her door. She had a firm grip still on the handle, and her back was resting against it.

She shut her eyes, breathing out a huff of air at the thought of her plan never coming to fruition. She'd never even got the chance to come clean to Peter. Never even got to give him her gift.

A strong tug in her gut pushed one thought to the front of her brain in that split-second. She'd just have to make her plan succeed. What was she doing still in her room? There was still time, she was still in Prague!

Her body was on auto-pilot as she was thinking all of this, moving for her. She reopened the door and was going to call out for Peter, but she didn't need to. He was right outside her door, directly in front of her, and his arm raised like he'd been planning to knock. She smiled, the breath she'd taken to call after him leaving her quickly.

He smiled back at her. "Uh, look, I — I'm not ready for this trip to be over yet. And I kinda wanna do something fun, that's not on the itinerary or planned or with Mr. Harrington —"

"Yes." Lila said, hardly believing that this was happening. Her smile grew larger, a blush making itself at home on her cheeks.

Peter raised his eyebrows, "'Yes,' like... you wanna go?"

Lila nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I wanna go."

Peter blinked in surprise, a smile of his own tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Okay, awesome. I'll see you outside in ten minutes?"

"Race you down," Lila jutted her chin slightly, her breath catching at the small laugh Peter let out. She shut her door after Peter agreed, the grin stretching her lips to the point of discomfort. But how could she care?

Lila had ten minutes, but she didn't really need it. Her dress had a little bit of dust on it from falling to the ground, but she brushed it out quickly, followed by brushing out her hair. She clipped half of it up and left half of it down, and hurriedly brushed her teeth. She walked over to her suitcase and rifled through the clothing until she pulled out the framed napkin she'd saved for Paris. She tucked it into her backpack before racing back to the bathroom to spit out her toothpaste.

A lip balm was applied, and with one final look in the mirror, Lila smiled and slipped on her shoes. All in all: six-and-a-half minutes. Her backpack was over her shoulder when she grabbed her room key and slipped outside her hotel room. She crept over to the elevator and got in, pulling out her phone all the while to send MJ a text.

Thank you again for tonight, it meant more than you know. I think it's finally happening with Peter! We're going for a walk, I'm gonna tell him how I feel.

She put her phone in her backpack and re-shouldered it right as the bell sounded for the lobby. Walking into the lobby, she smiled, seeing Peter lean casually against a pillar. Of course he'd beaten her downstairs. He wore a pair of jeans and a navy zip up, underneath was a shirt with the NASA logo on it. He'd been watching the television, but his attention fell to the elevator when he also heard the bell.

Kicking off of the column, his expression brightened considerably when he saw her walk over. "Hey," he said once they were closer.

"Hey, yourself," Lila replied, nerves dancing across her skin.

"So, where do you wanna go?"

"Well," Lila said, and the pair began to walk towards the hotel doors, "I know it's still sc-science-related, but the old town hall isn't far from here. We could go see the astronomical clock?"

"That sounds perfect," Peter agreed, and the two set off into the night. It was eerily quiet, very few pedestrians were out. It wasn't even that late, it just seemed that the fear of a fire monster kept everyone indoors.

The two walked along in comfortable silence for a while, merely enjoying the quiet around them, the nice weather, and each other's company. Lila was correct, the square containing the old town hall was not far from their hotel at all, they made it down in record time.

The square was just as empty as the streets, but the lighting was warm and bright enough to cast a pleasant glow on the street. Stone pavers lined the walkways nicely, cut off and replaced with beautiful black and white tile work that decorated the fronts of the buildings. The architecture alone was stunning: all different colors of white, yellow, pink and blue distinguished each building, but were all married by the red roof shingles decorating each one. In the distance sat a church with two severe towers, accented with gold trimmings. Lila could only assume that it was even more beautiful in the daytime.

But the reason they came to the square appeared right in the middle. The tower faced the opposite of the church, and near the bottom were two enormous clock facings. They weren't like normal twelve-hour clocks, in fact, Lila had zero clue how they operated. But beautiful gold gilding highlighted intricate zodiac symbols, as well as several rings of numbers and symbols Lila couldn't comprehend. It would have been so cool to learn about it with her class, but even just seeing the clock itself made Lila stop in admiration.

"I'm really glad we're doing this," Peter finally said, his eyes moving between both Lila and the clock they'd stopped in front of.

Lila looked back over at him and nodded in agreement," Yeah, me too." There was a beat of silence before she said, "It's amazing. I-I don't know too much about this clock, but it's so resilient. It was first built in 1410, and one of the few — few things in this square to survive the Nazi bombings of Old Town. To this day, it's the o-oldest working astronomical clock in existence." Peter said nothing, and Lila realized she was probably talking about clocks a little too much. She blushed before saying a sheepish, "Sorry."

"It's okay," Peter laughed a little bit. The two moved closer to the clock, hands brushing due to their close proximity. They both flinched away a bit, Lila wringing her hands with nerves. "There's this thing I've been wanting to talk to you about. For a while, actually."

Lila nearly stumbled forward, but instead used the momentum to turn back around. God, she hoped this was going where she thought it was going. She really didn't know how to play it cool, or play it dumb, so she replied with, "Me too. I a-also wanted to talk to you. But you first! What's — What's up?"

"Lila, this past year as your friend has meant the world to me," He started, and he looked genuinely nervous. It probably didn't help that Lila's heart was also pounding, and she hoped he couldn't hear it. "We've been through so much, and I just — I want you to know that getting to know you and spending more time with you has been some of the best of it.

"It's our last night together in Europe, and I had this — this plan that I wanted to tell you." He shut his eyes, like he was trying to start over. He reached for his back pocket, and shook his head. "I'm just gonna — I'm just gonna tell you." He heaved a big breath, and Lila was practically trying to replicate Michael Jackson's dancing with the way she was leaning forward. "Lila, I—"

"Lila!"

"Oh, you're kidding me," Lila muttered, glancing over Peter's shoulder to see who could have possibly interrupted them. Her confusion only grew when she saw MJ jogging over to them, still in the dress she borrowed. "MJ? What—? H-How?"

"We share locations, remember?" MJ panted. It became clear that she ran the entire way over here. She huffed, "I'm glad you're feeling better. Anyway," She turned her attention to Peter, who looked downright lost, "I know what you're doing, but you need to tell Lila the truth first."

Peter's mouth opened and closed a few times before he found his words. "Well, yeah. I'm — I'm kind of trying."

MJ looked confused, "Wait, you were?"

"Yes?"

"You were gonna tell Lila that you're Spider-Man?"

No one expected that question, least of all Peter. Both Lila and Peter were shocked into silence for a moment, and had the sound of the clock next to them not been ticking, she would've considered the crazy idea that time stopped, too. But it didn't, and the shock wore off. Peter let out a quiet, "What?"

Michelle's expression flattened, annoyed at having to repeat herself. "That's what you were going to tell her, is that you're Spider-Man."

"MJ..." Lila trailed off, not even sure how to react. This was so bold of her friend, and it was the last thing she was expecting to hear at that exact moment. Part of her wondered if MJ even knew this was what she was going to say. Lila's mind was working overtime, and she shared a panicked, confused look with Peter.

Denial was the instinctual thing to do, apparently, for Peter responded, "No. It wasn't — and I'm not Spider-Man."

"I mean — I've been watching you for a while now," MJ smiled, rather sheepishly. She knew it sounded weird, but Lila knew she meant it in a purely observational, platonic way. "It's kind of obvious."

"I'm not Spider-Man," Peter reiterated. "I mean — what would make you think that I was Spider-Man?"

"Peter, Washington?" MJ scoffed.

"Yeah?"

"The fact that you, like, disappear out of nowhere for no reason?"

"No," Lila said, finally catching up to her brain. "No, MJ, remember? He — He was sick! He had the — the t-tummy—?"

"You know Susan Yang thinks you're a male escort?" MJ said, and if it wasn't so serious, Lila would've laughed outright at the accusation.

She also would've laughed at the mortified expression growing on Peter's face, coupled with the brief look he sent her, like he wished she didn't hear that. "What? No, of course I'm not a male escort!"

"Well, then, you're Spider-Man."

"No," Peter denied again, "I'm not Spider-Man."

MJ still wouldn't back down. It was part of what made her such an excellent decathlon captain. She was also downright murderous in debate, and it unfortunately served her very well in this instance. "What about tonight? You snuck off and you fought that thing, I saw you."

"You can't have seen him because he's n-not Spider-Man!" Lila lied, heart in her throat. The look of incredulity her friend sent her made her skin itch. It appeared that she thought Lila was just agreeing with Peter for the sake of agreeing with her crush.

"And also, on the news, that was the Night Monkey," Peter added, and Lila sent him a confused glance.

"Night Monkey?" She and MJ chorused.

Peter nodded, his lips pursed in embarrassment. "Yeah. That's what it said on the news. And the news... never lies."

MJ rolled her eyes, pulling her backpack around to open the top of it. She scoffed, "Night Monkey, okay." She grabbed the item that was sitting at the very top. It was a sleek, silver, cylindrical item, but it wasn't any identifiable object. The only thing that was identifiable was the glistening spider web that was neatly sprawled across it. "Well, do the Night Monkey and Spider-Man use the same webs?"

Peter swallowed, knowing his window for lying was shrinking. "Maybe. Maybe he's a spider monkey, who knows?"

"W-Wait, I'm so confused," Lila shook her head, staring at her friend. "Where did you even — even get that? You were with me the whole t-time?"

A look of guilt appeared on MJ's face for an instant before she regained her calm composure. "I was, I swear. I just — while you were calming down, you didn't want anyone to touch you, and — and this thing flew right by us. I grabbed it and came back to you."

"Calming down?" Peter asked, looking to Lila in curiosity.

Lila hit her cheek in discomfort. She didn't think she'd have to revisit what happened that night until at least tomorrow. "Y-Yeah, uh — some guy in a kn-knight costume knocked me over at the festival."

"And then she had a panic attack," MJ was looking between the two, but her words were a little dismissive. Lila had to remind herself that her friend didn't know about a lot of things. "I think she must've seen what the fire monster was doing when it happened."

But Peter knew the truth, and he was looking at her, eyes tinged with sadness. Lila shook her head at him and shrugged, "But I — I calmed myself d-down. We're all f-fine—"

Everyone was not fine, for in that moment, the device MJ still gripped in her hands exploded into light. Above them, an Elemental monster faced them. Lightning swirled around it, as if this one was made from a cloud. However, the most peculiar thing about it was that it made no sound. In fact, when it made a menacing swipe towards the three of them, it went directly through them. Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.

"The hell was that?" Peter asked after a beat.

The device rested between the three of them: each poised to run or defend themselves. MJ was glancing around the square, as if looking for it down the street. She shouldered her backpack before answering, "I don't know."

Lila was the only one whose eyes were glued to device that Michelle had dropped in the midst of the Elemental's appearance. On its sides were a flickering blue light. Peter followed her line of vision, and slowly walked over to it before picking it up. "What is it?" Lila asked him. "Some kind of p-projector?"

"Yeah, but it's... really advanced," Peter replied. His brain was moving a mile a minute, digesting everything he just witnessed.

"It looked so real," MJ said, and they all agreed. It was so believable, they all had no trouble thinking it was real. But if that wasn't real...

"Wait a minute," MJ said, "Does that mean...?"

"The Elementals are fake?" Peter had a hard time even posing the question. His face was scrunched up in disbelief. "That doesn't make any sense! Because we were there, right? There was fire, and destruction, and..."

Lila shook her head, also at a loss, "But who w-would do something like this?"

Her question was answered when the device (Lila just assumed to call it a projector) emitted yet another display of the Elemental. It was the same scene they'd just witnessed, only with one key difference. A figure with gold armor, a red cape and a fishbowl-shaped helmet shot green lasers at the Elemental, an image fighting another image.

"Mysterio..." MJ whispered, in disbelief. Her eyes watched the projected image over and over again, taking in every detail until it disappeared.

But once Lila saw Mysterio in the image, her eyes landed on Peter. Peter, whose back faced them as they watched the image swirl around them, tensed immensely. He was slow to turn around, but his panicked expression landed on Lila, and she tensed in preparation for what was about to happen.

She should've expected what he'd say next, but Peter Parker was full of surprises. He looked right over to MJ, and said, "I am Spider-Man," he confirmed, glancing upwards at where the image had been. He swallowed and said, "And I've really messed up."

Both girls were taken aback, but for different reasons entirely. MJ shook her head, seemingly struggling to process his sentence. "Wait, you're — you're b-being serious right now?"

"Messed up?" Lila asked.

"Mm-hmm," Was all the panicked confirmation he'd could muster, it seemed.

"You're not joking? You're like a hundred-percent serious? Because it's not funny," MJ's response would've been comical had the situation not been so tense. And Lila wish Peter would outright just say why he messed up. But her friend wasn't up to speed yet like she was.

"No, I'm not joking."

"Because, I was — I was only like sixty-seven-percent sure."

"MJ—" Lila said, realizing that MJ was once again expecting to be lied to and left disappointed. But it was becoming clear to her that MJ wouldn't have much time to get over her shock if the tension in Peter's body was anything to go by. And she still didn't know what he meant when he said he messed up.

"So, why — why are you here?"

"MJ—"

"Why are you on this school trip?"

"MJ!" Lila raised her voice slightly louder than both her friends next to her. It effectively shut MJ up, who looked at her in shocked confusion. "Look, I — I know you have a lot of questions, b-but we have to get out of here." She turned to Peter, "Right?"

"Yeah," He said, holding his arms out to lead them back to the hotel. "We've really gotta go."

"Okay," MJ said, smiling slightly. Lila would've laughed at the proud expression she wore, but her mind was swimming. "Okay. I can't believe I figured it out!"

The three of them jogged out of the empty streets of Prague. And in five minutes flat, they made it back to their hotel. Entering the lobby, Peter's head was on a swivel and his eyes flickered between every visible security camera. There was nothing they could do about the elevator, however. Luckily, they were alone on the ride up.

"Peter," Lila asked, breaking the silence, "What did you mean when — when you said you messed up? What h-happened?"

Peter shifted on his feet, pinching his expression into one of shame and embarrassment. It hurt Lila to see. Not minutes ago, he was smiling with her, his eyes fond and carefree. "I — uh — I sort of gave Beck Tony's glasses."

Lila's eyes widened, her skin prickling in fear. Why he would suddenly feel the need to do that wasn't clear, but it wasn't like it mattered. Peter did it, he gave Mysterio the glasses, and with it access to E.D.I.T.H. The enormity of what E.D.I.T.H was capable of made it more obvious why Peter would pass on such responsibility, but it sucked that he gave it to the wrong person. "Oh."

"Beck?" MJ asked aloud.

Lila turned to her, "Mysterio's real name is Quentin Beck. He's been w-working with Nick Fury and Peter to stop the Elementals. He claimed that he — he was from a different Earth, but—"

"It was just another thing he lied about," Peter bit out. His tone was harsh, but very much self-inflicted. There was some serious mental ass-kicking going on in Peter's brain, and Lila wished she had time to tell him that it wasn't his fault. There were people (and creatures) out there that relied on trickery to get their way, Peter wasn't the first person to fall victim to it.

"So you know the truth, too?" MJ asked Lila in a quiet voice. Lila flinched when she looked over: her friend looked lost and left-out. It was only a matter of time until the shock subsided, and Lila dreaded that moment. The elevator doors opened, and the three of them briskly walked over to Peter's room, where backpacks were discarded as well as cell-phones.

Lila nodded to her friend, "Since W-Washington," she confirmed, and MJ's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "I cornered Peter into an answer, he literally had no choice."

Peter was hardly listening, his thoughts still trying to formulate a plan of action through the fog of betrayal. "I can't believe I gave Beck those glasses. I mean, how could I be that stupid?" He was throwing the curtains shut as he spoke, chastising his mistakes still, and peering through a small gap in the drapery as he continued, "He's probably spying on me right now or sending a drone to come kill me."

Michelle still looked lost, and Lila decided to buffer Peter's thought process and briefly explain MJ's new double-life. "Peter g-gave a pair of glasses to Beck that were Tony Stark's. They — They gave Peter access to all of Tony's p-protocols."

"Including high-tech drones."

Lila pursed her lips, nodding. "Yeah, in-including high-tech drones."

"You had access to killer drones?" MJ asked, processing this way better than Lila had. At least she was talking.

Peter had gone over to his computer, at last putting Michelle's VPN to good use, and locking out any data tracking and effectively encrypting his own information. "Yeah," He said, still focused on the screen, "I didn't really want them, especially after I almost killed Brad."

"You almost killed Brad?" The girls asked in unison. It was apparently a rhetorical question, as Peter turned around with his game-face on.

"Look," he said, turning to Lila. It made sense, she was the default for these kinds of things. Plus, she'd also be able to fill in the gaps for MJ later. "I have to call Mr. Fury and tell him that Beck's a fraud, but I think he tapped my phone."

"Okay," Lila nodded, her mind sharpening. How it became so easy to think in high-stress scenarios was really something she should start adding to her college applications. But she digressed. "I-Is Nick Fury still in P-Prague?"

"No," Peter thought, a lightbulb suddenly going off. "But I know where he's going. I need my suit—" he lunged for his discarded backpack and hastily dumped the contents on his bed, "— and I have to go to Berlin—" he took his hoodie off, "— and talk to Mr. Fury in person." His shirt was discarded next, and he froze.

So did Lila, entirely aware that she'd been watching every single movement. And it wasn't like she hadn't seen Peter without his shirt, but he was normally bloodied, and she was usually stitching him up. He was... well, he was really muscular—

She had been staring way too long before her brain rebooted. Blush that felt like fire crept up her face and neck, and she hastily turned around, nearly eating a piece of MJ's hair in the process. She missed the blush fall on Peter's cheeks, but she heard a lot of zipping and rustling behind her. And in front of her to her left, there stood Ned in the open doorway. He also looked like his brain was rebooting, but staring at MJ, Lila understood their reasons were different.

"Oh, Ned, perfect." Lila took that as an okay to turn around, and she saw Peter in his stealth costume. Or, she supposed, his Night Monkey costume.

"The c-costume looks great!" Ned sputtered, and everyone else's faces morphed to confusion. "For the — For the costume party... at the Prince's Castle..."

Peter pointed to MJ, "She knows, I told her."

"He didn't tell me," Michelle corrected, "I figured it out."

"Oh." Ned nodded along, looking relieved. "That's cool."

"Like a long time ago."

"The p-point is," Lila said, "Mysterio is a f-fraud."

"But — But he saved me and Betty's lives," Ned said, confusion written on his face.

"No, he's been faking the whole thing with illusion tech," MJ countered, shaking her head.

"Yeah," Peter added, "Yeah, he's using these, like, hologram projectors."

"Woah, that's — crazy," Ned summarized, and saw the other three nod in agreement before sharing looks. His eyebrows drew together in confusion. "So, you guys were working the case together, or what?"

MJ sighed, "It's been mostly me."

"We a-all found out, like, ten minutes ago," Lila concluded.

"Ned or Lila, I need one of you to call May, get her to call Mr. Harrington, say that she wanted me to stay with family in Berlin until this all blows over, okay?" Peter looked more determined than ever, and that was saying something, because the only thing Lila could see of him was his eyes.

"Got it, easy," Ned agreed, and Lila found herself nodding along.

MJ watched her, her demeanor growing stony as she said, "Wow. You guys lie with such ease."

Lila didn't even have time to flinch at the comment so obviously directed towards her before Peter was rushing towards the window. "I've gotta go."

"Uh — wait! Wait," Lila said, grabbing the device that just turned MJ's whole world upside down, "The projector! You're g-gonna need this."

Peter caught it without a second thought, his stare burning holes into Lila before glancing at Ned and MJ. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay? Anyone who knows is in danger."

With that, he was gone. Lila was quick to shut the window once more and hastily drew the curtains, but otherwise the room stayed relatively silent. The events of what happened and what were about to happen were heavy on the forefront of everyone's thoughts. Well, almost everyone.

"I've known first, and I've known longer, but it's not a competition..."

MJ took one last look out the window before her eyes landed back on Lila. Lila bit her cheek in worry, also nervous about this plan. She'd turned back to Michelle, ready to answer any other questions she might have, only to see that MJ was headed for the door. She was walking quickly, and Lila's stomach sank.

"Ned, p-please call May. And keep the explanation as minimal as possible." Running past Ned, she followed her friend into the hallway and caught the door to her room right before it slammed shut.

"MJ?"

"You should probably get back to your room, Delilah," was all the response she got back. MJ grabbed the book that was resting on her nightstand and plopped down on her bed. She cracked open the spine and began reading, but Lila knew she wasn't taking in any words. Michelle's eyes weren't moving. But Lila was more concerned with the use of her full name.

"You're angry at me."

MJ rolled her eyes, "Should I not be?"

"Well," Lila said, "I hoped you wouldn't be." Lila knew what was going on in her friend's mind. Every single thing she'd feared her friend would do, she was doing down to a tee.

And Michelle had every right to.

"Yeah, well, hoping doesn't get you very far."

Lila noticed the book in MJ's hand was upside down. And her hands were trembling ever so slightly. It broke her heart to see her friend's composure cracking. What lay underneath, she had no idea. Maybe it was something she deserved, and whether it was a fiery serpent or a sheet of indifferent ice awaiting her, Lila knew she needed to see it. She couldn't let MJ keep her feelings to herself. Not about this, not when she finally knew the truth.

"Look, it was — it was Peter's secret, MJ, I couldn't—"

Michelle scoffed, abandoning her ruse and tossing aside the book before standing up. She kept her distance from Lila, who stood next to the door, and slowly approached the ornate window, looking out on the streets of Prague. Lila, familiar entirely with her best friend's body language and mannerisms, saw Michelle cross her arms and hug them to her chest. This made Lila's heart beat a bit faster, the last thing she wanted was for Michelle to withdraw from her.

The consequences of her secrets, and lack of solid explanation was catching up to Lila too fast for her to comprehend. Instead she just watched Michelle, and waited apprehensively for her to say something, anything. "I don't care that Peter is Spider-Man. I knew it ever since Washington. I'm not stupid, he's horrible at keeping secrets. What I can't believe is that you lied to me. And I had no idea. I had no idea that you could even lie to me, and I had no reason to even suspect—"

"MJ—" Lila croaked, eyes suddenly burning from tears trying to form. It was here she also started to get a very small headache, the kind she got from crying too much and not drinking enough water after.

"— I mean, I guess it makes sense. You were getting much closer to him these past few months, I just thought it was because he likes you, but — but it was because you were helping him." Her eyebrows looked like they were trying to connect to one another from how deeply they were furrowed, Michelle putting the pieces together and growing angrier by the second. "I mean, practically this whole time, you've been lying to me, and I had no clue!" She smiled, baring her teeth in unchecked betrayal. Michelle's arm extended to Lila, carelessly waving her hand. "I mean really, congrats to you, Delilah, you had me fooled for a really long time."

Lila's breathing hitched, but MJ paid no mind. "It wasn't like that—"

"Do you even regret it?"

"I — What?" Lila asked.

"You know what I've said about lying," The first visible traces of hurt started to shine through MJ's eyes. But she didn't break her stare, and her voice didn't waver. "You know how I feel about lying, Delilah, how I've always felt about it. So tell me: do you regret lying to my face ever since our trip to Washington?"

The first answer sprung forth in her mouth, but Lila caught it before it could pass her lips. Slowly, thoughtfully, she swallowed it down with difficulty, for it scratched at her throat and settled harshly in her stomach. Of course Lila could say that she regretted lying, but the more she thought, the more things came to light.

She rubbed her wrists subconsciously, remembering the harsh dig of zip ties and the weight of her father's unconscious back. She thought of the tiny scar along the side of her forehead, the scraping of someone else's fingernails in her scalp pulling her from unconsciousness...

She thought about the feeling of fire invading her lungs as Michelle screamed for her to help. Her mind pictured herself staring into the mirror, and how if she gazed long enough, Lila thought she could still see the handprints across her neck, feel the vice grip of someone lifting her off of her feet that way. But she blinked, and she was back in the hotel room, staring at Michelle, who was staring back expectantly. The truth was yes, she regretted hurting her friend, but—

"No." Was all the answer that came out of Lila's mouth. It was spoken quietly, but firmly. At least Lila was able to keep her intrusive thoughts at bay long enough to finally give her friend the truth. Even if it wasn't one she wanted to hear. "No, I don't."

MJ's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. Her eyes were wide, and the hurt that appeared was quickly replaced with an edged anger. "No, you don't regret lying to me?" When she was met with silence, her resolve started to crumble. Coming out more wounded than she ever would've wanted, Michelle asked, "Why?"

Lila huffed, trying to keep from sobbing. She gestured to the door which they'd both entered, as if to remind her of the room they were both previously in. "You — You heard what he said, Michelle. 'Anyone who knows about this is in danger'."

But Michelle must not have been getting the answer she wanted, for she simply waved it off. "Lila, he was talking about those drones."

"No, he wasn't," Lila shook her head. "I-I mean, yes, anyone who knows the truth about Mysterio is in danger, but — but it's so much more than that."

"What, like just knowing the truth about Peter would put me in danger?" She laughed once, sharp and derisive. At that, Lila stiffened. "That's bullshit, Lila, that happens in movies, not real life."

"Yes it does." In the whirlpool that was her thoughts, she at least managed to spit that sentence out in reply. Her ears were ringing now, and the corners of Lila's vision were white. She didn't know it at the time, but the reason why Michelle's defensive posture had so suddenly deflated, so quickly became unraveled to show worry was because Lila had gone shades paler. The tide that she'd held back had swelled to a hundred-foot tall tsunami wave, and hot, fat tears were streaming down her face. It was far outside of her control, but Lila did know that her body started shaking.

She looked to her friend, whose ridiculing laugh was replaying in her head, mixing with the ringing until she wasn't sure what was what. Michelle's expression hardly mattered, and she knew this argument was serious enough to rip their friendship to tatters, but she didn't care anymore. She didn't want what had happened to her to happen to anyone else.

"The night of homecoming, Liz's dad figured out that Peter was Spider-Man. And Peter went after him, stopping him from robbing Tony Stark. That same night, Liz's dad sent one of the men who worked for him to my flower shop and ordered him to kill me if he didn't hear back from him in an hour. Because — Because Adrian Toomes found out that I knew Peter's secret."

She swallowed harshly, angrily swatting away the tears that were still falling. MJ was rooted to the spot, looking like she was piecing everything together. "So it wasn't just a robbery..."

"I was just a backup plan," Lila confirmed, and Michelle's eyes locked with hers. "In case Toomes failed, he could still find a way to hurt Peter."

Michelle sucked in a harsh breath, looking for words to say, but Lila beat her to it. It was easy, the truth came crashing down, and Lila was relieved to be drowning in it so openly. Once the floodgates opened, it was difficult to imagine stopping.

"About a month ago, when you were in Maine and my dad was in India, I was helping Peter locate Jason Macendale. Remember, he was the guy threatening Harry's dad at the gala dinners?" Michelle nodded. "One night, after a really bad fight, Jason Macendale followed Peter all the way back to my greenhouse, because I told him I would be there. The next day, Jason Macendale attacked the New York Public Library."

"The one on 42nd Street," Michelle nodded, following along. It was difficult to gauge her emotion, but Lila did know she was rapt with attention. "I saw it on Twitter, the guy bombed the whole block and managed to get away with like, zero pictures."

"If there had been," Lila continued, "Then people would've seen me thrown over his shoulder as he flew away. I was at that library with Peter trying to find him. And the diner where they found his body was where I'd been stashed a few hours before.

"You see, MJ," Lila's voice wavered, and her skin started to feel clammy and itchy. But she had to tell her, it might've been her only chance. "What the news won't say — and what only a handful of people know — was that p-prior to the library incident, and prior to his fight with Peter, Jason Macendale had summoned a demon from a realm called — called N'Astihr." The word left a coppery tang on her tongue, like just saying it drew blood to her mouth. But still, Lila continued.

"I don't know how, and I've been mostly kept out of the loop on that because I asked. I don't know much more than the b-bare — bare minimum about this demon, but I assure you it was very real. Macendale was possessed. And he followed Peter back to me, where Macendale recognized me, and the demon decided to use me against him."

"Lila—" A few tears had fallen from Michelle's shocked face and dripped onto the carpet. But Lila shook her head. She was on a roll, she had to keep going.

She held up her left arm, which showed nothing now, but Lila could still remember it vividly. "That burn on my wrist that I told you was from soup broth? It was a handprint just days before. I don't know how but as soon as he touched me with his bare hands, I could see things that I didn't know were real." She rubbed her neck gently, but almost like she was trying to pull air in. "I didn't have a stomach bug that weekend. I missed school because there was literally no part of me left unscathed. I-I wore makeup that entire week so that you wouldn't see the bruises from when he'd held me by the neck, from when he'd choked me more than once.

"It took both Peter and Doctor Strange to take him down. And by the time the demon was gone, he'd cast a spell on me that — that..." Lila's courage faltered, and she suddenly couldn't find the words. How could she explain something so horrible that it made her nightmares seem preferable?

"You don't have to tell me," Michelle interjected, seemingly sensing that they were encroaching on territory that was still actively traumatizing her best friend. "Lila, I—"

"I almost died, MJ," Lila finally said. The complicated truth of that simple sentence was finally out. "Apparently I was just minutes away from dying. And I could feel all of it, too. I just — Peter isn't just talking about Mysterio. You have to understand that you're a part of this now.

"And I'm so sorry that I hurt you, but if I could spare you from anything that happened to me from happening to you, then I would." At the last sentence, her voice fractured into a sob. "When you came back from Maine with those stupid f-fucking flowers, I wanted to vomit, because I couldn't tell you the truth. This whole month, I know you've been worried about my anxiety. It's because of what happened with Macendale. This trip, I know you've noticed certain things about me, like what happened tonight at the festival. That's because the second I see that chain mail, I suddenly see Macendale, all because he wore it. And when I see him, sometimes I-I forget that he's dead, and it's just the two of us, and I couldn't tell you. But I wanted to, I want — I wanted to tell you..."

She hadn't realized that Michelle's arms were wrapped around her until she began to collapse. Lila's knees hit the soft carpet of the hotel floor as she sobbed into her best friend's shoulder. Anytime she could take in air, she exhaled an apology, clutching onto her friend as tight as she could.

After about five minutes, when Lila's breathing had returned to normal, MJ pulled back, and stared at her friend. "I know now, Lila," she said, brushing pieces of hair that stuck to Lila's skin off of her face. She licked her lips and looked down in shame, "And I'm so sorry you went through all of that alone. But you're not alone anymore. I know, and — and I think you're one of the bravest people out there."

Lila didn't believe her, but she hiccuped and said, "You think?"

"Definitely braver than Parker." That made Lila laugh. She shook her head in disbelief.

"For what it's worth, MJ, I really am sorry I couldn't tell you."

Michelle wiped her own tears and nodded. "I get why you didn't. But, I know now. You're not alone anymore."

And for the first time since that night Peter held her until she was asleep, Lila believed it.