"(____), you need to loosen up a bit!"
Pavitr told his best friend as she clung to him for dear life. Pavitr Prabhakar, known by few as Spiderman, had decided to take his best friend on a trip around Mumbatten; with a twist. Meaning he was going to sling around on his webs while only holding onto her with one hand hundreds of feet above the ground.
"Pav this is TERRIFYING!"
She shouted back, burying her head into the crook of his neck as he swung around a large building. Her hijab had been styled tightly around her head, yet somehow it was still managing to nearly fly off.
"It's not that bad once you get used to it!"
Pavitr laughed joyfully. (____) lifted her head up slightly to glare at him.
"After months of barely talking to me you tell me you're Spiderman, and the same day you decide it's a good idea to take ME, someone who's AFRAID OF HEIGHTS, on a trip HUNDREDS OF FEET IN THE AIR? ARE YOU INSANE?"
She shrieked as they dipped down low, nearly hitting the pavement before Pav pulled them back up again.
"Yeah I am, thank you for noticing!"
Pav joked happily. (____) yelped once more as they jolted forward when Pav yanked down on his web. She had closed her eyes at this point and was simply trying not to slip out of Pav's arms. She only opened her eyes the tiniest bit when she felt a thud. They had landed on a rooftop.
"See? It wasn't even that bad," Pav said in a triumphant voice. Under his mask, he had the smugest grin ever. (____) just scowled at him.
"For you maybe. I'm not Spiderman, Pavitr, I'm not used to it," She scolded him, smacking his shoulder.
Pav removed his mask and grinned at her. "One day you'll get used to it, I promise." He said cheerfully, ruffling her head and messing up her hijab further. She swatted his hand away, still scowling.
(____) turned around. The sight had taken away her breath. It was… gorgeous. The sun was setting, and it cast a golden yellow glow on the already colourful city of Mumbatten. The sky was partially cloudy, revealing the most beautiful colours that were peaking through gaps in the flowy masses.
"Woah…" (____) whispered quietly, her eyes widening. "This is… so pretty…"
Pav smiled softly as he watched her expressions change with everything she saw. "Was it worth it?" He asked, sitting down on the edge of the building, gesturing for her to follow.
"Was what worth it?" (____) asked subconsciously. She was still distracted by what she was seeing and barely registered his words.
"Me slinging you around the city," Pav said as she plopped down next to him. "Was this worth the trip?"
She turned her head ever so slightly and smiled. "Definitely." She sighed. Pav scooched a little closer to her and rested his head on her shoulder. She slightly tensed up at this. She wasn't used to him using physical affection with her, not since he had started dating Gayatri.
(____) had been in love with Pavitr for years. She had thought that he felt the same way, until around two years ago. A… villain of sorts, the Spot, had nearly destroyed Mumbatten completely. (____) had suffered from severe injuries when a building collapsed and she was trapped beneath some rubble. She had woken from a long coma to find that Pavitr, in the time she was out, had started talking (as in, started a romantic relationship) with someone.
When he had revealed that the girl he had started talking to was Gayatri Singh, the one girl everyone loved but (____) just couldn't seem to get along with, her heart had torn into two. Apparently, Gayatri was someone he could confide in completely. He talked to her every day, she helped him cope. She brought him comfort. And who was (____) to be hurt over that? Her best friend needed someone to talk with to deal with what had happened.
Of course, the way she was now wasn’t just a result of the fact that her love for Pav was one-sided. She had been dealing with anxiety and recurring thoughts of things she was terrified of. Stress from school and home life. Just trying to get by in life was tearing her apart on the inside, and for some reason, she could never put it into words. That’s why she hadn’t talked to anyone about it. She genuinely couldn’t put it into words. (And when she did, it was jumbled and didn’t make sense to anyone but her).
(____) had realised she had zoned out when she felt Pav lift his head.
"What's wrong?" Pav asked, concerned he did something that made her uncomfortable.
(____) smiled softly. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just… not used to you doing things like this."
"Like what, resting my head on your shoulder?" Pav asked with a smile.
"Yeah, I mean if I'm being completely straightforward with you, ever since you and Gayatri started dating you haven't so much as given me a hug," (____) shrugged, still looking off into the sunset. Pav frowned a bit. He hadn't really given her any hugs or anything like that since Gayatri and he started dating. That made him feel… guilty in a way.
"Oh… you're right, I'm sorry," He said softly looking at her. She turned her head and smiled at him.
"It's fine, I get it," She assured gently. However, Pav could sense a hint of sadness behind her tone. Which made him feel even worse.
Pav looked like he wanted to say something else to her, but her smile had slowly softened and she had turned away to gaze at the sunset. He didn't want to ruin this moment for her. He enjoyed seeing her happy.
Now thinking about it, he hadn’t seen her this… content, in a long time. She was almost always stressed out about one thing or another, and Pavitr rarely saw her give anything a genuine smile. Then again, over the past two years, he hadn’t been hanging out with her as much as he would like. Balancing school, being Spiderman, and dating Gayatri had really taken up a lot of his time. And the incident with the Spot two years ago, with nearly losing his entire dimension, that had really taken a toll on him. He vividly remembered saving Gayatri from falling to her death, and then learning that (____), his best friend in the whole world, had ended up in the hospital with severe internal injuries and little to no chance of survival.
It was a rough year.
And now here she was, bathed in golden yellow light, eyes staring far away into the distance. She survived. She was well and alive.
Yet… Pavitr didn’t see a light in her eyes. Not the same light he saw when she spoke a long while ago. She was no longer passionate about the things he remembered she loved. Looking at her now, he had realised how much of the old her had chipped away. After two years of still keeping in touch, still being friends, but at the same time not really connecting in a meaningful way, Pav just now realised how different (____) was from two years ago.
“Pav,” (____) asked, quirking up an eyebrow. “Why are you staring at me?”
Pav didn’t answer right away but quickly smiled. “Your hijab looks really nice today, that's all.” He reassured her cheerfully. He could faintly make out a light dusting of blush on her cheeks when he told her this.
“Oh, thanks, I guess,” She mused, a small smile tugging the corners of her mouth. Tugging her sleeves over her hands and pulling her legs to her chest, she hugged herself tightly and rested her chin on her knees. ‘He thinks my hijab looks nice’ She thought to herself happily.
Pav watched her as she smiled to herself. He felt a little buzz in his pocket. Someone texted him. He went to check who it was. It was Gayatri.
‘What time did you want to come over to my house?’ it read.
‘Around eight maybe?’ Pav typed. His finger hovered over the send button though. Currently, it was seven in the evening. That would only give him another hour with (____). He didn’t really want to hang out with Gayatri at that moment, he realised. He needed to work on restoring his friendship with (____) right now.
He deleted his text.
‘Does tomorrow work instead? Hanging out with (____) rn.’ He sent that instead.
‘...’
‘Sure :) tell her I said hi <3’
Pav smiled.
‘Ofc <3’