Chapter 93
[124]
Ren found himself wandering through the party alone, Ann had disappeared at some point without a word, leaving him a bit worried but he knew she could take care of herself. As he walked around aimlessly, admiring the work he and the others had put into decorations and entertainment, he accidentally bumped into another person.
“Sorry about that!” He apologized. “I wasn’t looking where I was…” He trailed off as he noticed the person in front of him.
“Senpai?” Sumire’s eyes widened in surprise.
It had been a while since the two of them spoke to each other, Ren had done something that had apparently offended the girl and caused her to cease all contact with him. Seeing her now, Ren realized he’d never noticed how pretty the girl was when she wasn’t constantly hiding herself. Dressed as what appeared to be Little Red Riding Hood, Sumire looked beautiful with her hair down and her glasses off, though her usual shyness was still present.
“Um, hi.” He waved awkwardly. “H-How’ve you been?”
“G-Good…” Sumire replied, looking away with red cheeks. “I...I like your c-costume.”
“Thanks.” Ren replied back, unsure of what else to say. “Can...Can I ask-”
“Sumi, come on!” Kasumi appeared next to her sister, dressed as Cinderella. “If we don’t hurry then...Oh, it’s you.” She turned to Ren, a look of disgust on her face. As she looked him up and down in his costume, her scowl deepened but her cheeks grew slightly red as well. “You don’t look anything like the real one.”
“I’m sorry?” Ren raised an eyebrow.
“Spider-Man. He’s waaay taller and buffer. You look ridiculous in that outfit.”
“I see…” Ren stifled a laugh. Did...Did Kasumi have a crush on Spider-Man? That was kind of hilarious.
“C’mon Sumi!” The girl grabbed her more passive twin’s arm and dragged her away. “Let’s ditch this loser.”
“B-But Kasumi!” Her sister protested, but eventually obliged and was dragged off.
‘Huh.’ Ren thought. ‘I wonder where they were off to? Maybe the same place Ann went?’ He wondered. Before he could search for the blonde however, he saw another figure he recognized standing by themselves.
Deciding to approach, he struck up a conversation with her. “I’m surprised you're not wearing your maid outfit. That would’ve been an interesting costume.”
“Wha-” Kawakami turned to the student in shock, eyes wide and mouth agape. Realizing who it was talking to her, she calmed down for a moment before looking at him angrily and pulling him aside. “You cannot talk about that here! Understand? I could lose my job!”
Seeing his mistake, he apologized, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. The two stood in an awkward silence before Ren finally worked up the nerve to speak again.
“So...What is it you’re dressed up as exactly? I can’t really tell.” He looked at her costume which was a simple black dress with a deep v-neck.
“Morticia Addams.” She said as if it were obvious. When Ren showed no signs of recognition, she elaborated. “The Addams Family?”
“No idea.” He responded. “Well...you look great. Wait, is that weird to say to a teacher?”
Kawakami sighed and put her face to her palm. “At this point I don’t even know. Our relationship is too weird. Do not tell anyone I said that!”
“No problem. You know me, I’ve been on thin ice with the school since day one.” He half-joked.
“Yeah…” Kawakami looked away, feeling somewhat guilty. “Thanks again for your help the other day. You have no idea how much that helped me.”
“Sure thing, I’m glad to have helped you.” He replied. “But if this is a regular problem for you, I think you should tell people. Try to get the help you need, even if it’s just advice.” He said with an innocent smile.
‘Dammit!’ Kawakami thought. ‘Why is my heart racing? He’s a student. My student! I’m not supposed to feel like...like this!’
As the boy walked off to rejoin the party, the teacher called out to him before he left.
“Hey Amamiya!” The boy looked at her curiously. “I...You look good in your costume too.” She said shyly. The boy smiled and nodded before leaving to presumably rejoin his friends, leaving Kawakami by herself. “Ugh, I need a drink.”
As Ren continued to wander aimlessly, he was caught off guard when an arm suddenly wrapped around his own and a body pressed against his side. When he turned to see who it was next to him, he was shocked to see the last girl he’d expect.
“Makoto?” He asked in disbelief. “What are you doing? Aren’t you still on concessions duty?”
“It’s fine.” She responded, smiling up at him. “I found a replacement. So, since neither of us is busy, why don’t we enjoy the party together?” She asked, pressing her chest against his arm.
Sweating nervously, and with a blush forming on his cheeks, Ren nodded nervously. The two joined in the festivities together and enjoyed a variety of food and games around the party. Though throughout all of it, Ren couldn’t take his eyes off of Makoto, for some reason she seemed different than usual. Leaning against his arm at every opportunity, playing with her hair and acting unusually ditzy.
“Makoto.” Ren suddenly stopped, surprising the girl. “What’s going on?”
“W-What do you mean?” She played dumb, looking away. “We’re hanging out at the dance together.”
“No I mean, why are you acting like this? Like...Well, like Ann.”
“Ren, what are you talking about? I’m being my usual self. Maybe it’s just that you’ve never seen me at a party before?” She suggested. “I’ve been told I’m a bit of a ‘party animal'.” She lied. In truth, she was acting this way because it was the only way she could think of to get close to him. It worked with Ann, so why not her?
“I don’t know if I believe that.” Ren said skeptically. “Besides, I prefer the real you. The one who’s uptight but fun. The one who looks out for her friends almost like a mom. The one who can easily kick my ass in a fight. The one I know and love.”
“W-Wait…” Her face flushed. “L-L-Love? What do you mean by-”
“MAKOTO NIIJIMA!” Her sentence was interrupted by a loud voice calling her name. All heads in the gymnasium turned to see who was shouting, only to find Ann Takamaki looking very angry.
“Ann?” Ren questioned as the girl stomped toward the two of them.
“Now hold on Ann, I can explain…” The brunette backed away, looking guilty and afraid.
“Explain what!?” Ann yelled aggressively. “That you had Yusuke lock me in the girl’s bathroom!?” Turning towards the crowd staring at her, she grew even angrier. “What are you all looking at!?”
Immediately, everyone turned back to what they were doing out of fear of the enraged blonde. Not wanting to draw a crowd again, Ren ushered the two girls to the corner of the room so that they could have some privacy away from prying ears.
“Okay, what is going on?” Ren demanded, looking between the two girls.
“She started it!” They both pointed to one another.
“What!? Me?” Ann was baffled. “What did I do to you?”
“You ditched your post to spend time with Ren!” Makoto yelled back. “You sabotaged me!”
“Sabotage? You said you were fine with me asking him out!” Ann accused the other girl. “You said you didn’t feel that way about him!”
“Well I lied! I do like him! Okay? I...I just couldn’t say it until now!” She turned to Ren. “I like you! I’ve liked you since we started studying together! Y-You opened me up to things outside of school a-and changed my world!” Her face became so red she couldn’t take it and had to look down. “A-And I think I might be in love with you!”
“You...love me?” Ren was shocked. His heart was racing and his face was nearly as red as Makoto’s. Before he could say anything else in response, Ann intruded.
“Hey! That isn’t fair!” She protested. “I love him too!”
This also came as a shock to Ren. The boy felt like he’d just been punched in the gut twice in a row. And somewhere, out in the gymnasium, Morgana felt a chill run down his spine and a sudden feeling of hopelessness come over him.
“I’ve liked you since the first day of school!” Ann confessed to Ren. “When we were standing together out in the rain! And when you came with me to visit Shiho in the hospital! And when you saved me...from Kamoshida.” She recalled the memory sadly, tears flowing from her eyes. “All of those times we were together...they made me fall for you!”
“Ann…” Ren looked at the crying girl, then over to the one blushing so hard, she couldn’t face him. “Makoto…” Both of these girls, his friends, had just bore their souls out to him. What was he supposed to do? If he chose one the other would be heartbroken. And, if he was being honest with himself, he couldn’t choose one to begin with.
As he tried to think, his brain was suddenly overcome by a feeling of alarm. His spider-sense! Something was wrong, people were in danger!
He looked out over the party but saw nothing out of the ordinary, just teenagers dancing together. As he looked out over the party, he felt it. He felt where the danger was coming from, out in the hallway, northeast of the gym. Had his spider-sense always been this accurate? He couldn’t determine the direction of danger before, just the danger itself. So why was it stronger now? Could it mean a stronger threat?
Turning back to the two girls in front of him, they both looked at him expectantly yet fearful, both afraid that he’d choose the other instead of them. When they saw the alarm on his face however, those looks shifted to ones of concern.
“Something’s wrong.” Ren said softly. “I...I need to go. If I’m not back in 2 minutes, get everyone out of here. Got it?” He didn’t wait for a response as he pushed his way through the crowd, slipping on his mask as he exited the gym, ignoring the two girl’s calling after him.
Meanwhile, out in the hallway, two students were locked in an embrace, finally releasing their pent up feelings for one another. The two of them had had a budding romance over the course of their high school years together and tonight was the night they would finally go all the way!
“Daisuke...” The girl said her lover’s name as he kissed her neck, trying to unhook her bra.
“Yeah Hikari?” Daisuke replied, fumbling with the clips on the back.
“Are you sure this is the best place to do this?” She asked. “What if we get caught?”
“No one’s gonna catch us. They’re all in the gym, they won’t come out for hours.” He reassured her, still struggling.
“Doooo you need some help there?” She asked, getting a little impatient with her boyfriend.
“No! I’ve got this! I just need to-” He stopped as the sound of loud slow footsteps began echoing through the halls.
“Shit!” Hikari whispered. “Someone’s coming!”
“I know!” Daisuke replied, pushing away from the girl. “Just act natural, we don’t wanna get busted!”
The loud footsteps grew heavier as they neared the couple, to the point that each one made the floor tremble. The two watched in fear as the shadow of a large figure appeared on the wall across from them right before the figure itself came into view.
Large, easily 8 feet tall, and covered in green scales with a shredded lab coat and purple pants over its legs and torso, the reptilian figure before them was terrifying to behold. When it’s yellow eyes with vertical pupils turned in their direction, the creature sniffed the air and began stalking towards the two, it’s mouth opening to reveal dozens of razor sharp teeth and a long slobbery tongue.
“Whoa! N-Nice c-costume man.” Daisuke said as he and Hikari began to back away. “Y-You’re a shoowin for the costume competition.”
“Y-Yeah,” Hikari chimed in. “Y-You should go sh-show it off in the gym. Th-That way.” She pointed in the opposite direction.
The Lizard however, completely ignored their words as he stalked forward toward his prey, his 4 foot tail dragging behind him as his clawed feet scraped the floor. As the seconds dragged on, the reptilian monster began to close the distance between himself and the two shivering teens. Too scared to make any sudden movements, the couple was quickly approaching the end of the hallway, and when that happened, they were done for.
“Hikari.” Daisuke said, his voice quivering. “I’m gonna rush this thing. When I do, I need you to get out of here.”
“What?” She turned to the boy. “But Daisuke…”
“Forget about me, just get to safety. Okay?”
“No! I won’t leave you to die!” Hikari protested.
“Now’s not the time for that!” He yelled back just as the two of them hit the wall behind them. “On the count of three.” He prepared himself. “One...Two…”
Just before he could finish, the lizard creature was suddenly smashed into the lockers to its left by a smaller black and red figure.
“Spider-Man!” The couple cheered as they witnessed their savior hold the beast down.
“This thing isn’t human!” He warned. “Get out of here NOW!” He ordered them as the reptile began to get back up.
The two immediately raced past him and back to the gymnasium just before the monster got back up and knocked Spider-Man off of it with its tail. When it stood back up on its feet, Ren witnessed the creature at full size and knew he was in trouble. That never stopped him before, and it definitely wouldn’t stop him now.
Ren decided to begin his attack with a rapid fire of webs, attempting to restrain the creature from a distance. When he reached for his webshooter to set the dial however, he was surprised to find nothing there.
‘Oh right.’ He remembered. ‘I left them at home. I didn’t want my costume being too real that it raised suspicion.’ He mentally slapped himself for being such an idiot.
As if sensing his fear, the Lizard quickly seized his opportunity and lunged at Ren, snapping at him with its powerful jaw, only for him to jump out of the way by clinging to the ceiling. The Lizard continued forward, crashing into the wall and getting a mouthful of concrete.
“Alright tough guy.” Ren hopped down from the ceiling before charging up his fists for a venom strike. “Been a while since I’ve had a good fist fight.” The creature turned around and snapped it’s jaw closed, crushing the concrete into dust.
Without another word, the two charged at each other and leapt into battle.