Chapter 17: Truth Comes out,

"You're kidding me, right? You have to be kidding me." Ernie asked pacing back and forth. Not even an hour past since he'd revealed his biggest secret.

'I wanted to keep this a secret until I moved out but life has bigger plan..' He sat with his anxiety trying to focus on his toes wiggling more than anything else

'well at least it's her, right…right?' He asked himself as he shook his head in regret.

'How did I even get here' His mind started to scramble right before a mix salad of emotion hit him until he was slapped by to reality and answered.

"I'm not kidding,"

"Bullshit, give me proof." Ernie challenged. His eyebrow shot up, confused at the prompt.

"Ernie, you're best friend tells you he's a vigilante and you don't believe him even though he has the proof laying right on your desk."

"Damn right, now do something spidey boy., guy, ling" She stopped, her curiosity more than any other emotion taking residence in her facial expression.

"Well uh, okay here." He got out of bed, he was glad that he had gotten the chance to wear clothes before any misunderstanding happened. The simple fact that he had new clothes was even better, it was because of the fact that he had stayed over once and twice, leaving a shirt or a pair of shorts here and there. He never found the reason to pick them up even after the amount of times she persisted. He swiped his hands smearing any sweat that had built before jumping, just enough to barely graze the ceiling with the tips of his fingers pads as they stuck to the wall, leaving the rest of his lanky body suspended. He observed, looking at her friend before terror shot clear through her eyes and to the rest of her barely coping mind.

"Oh fuck," She said plainly. He wanted to chuckle but he let her process the news at whatever speed as she could and by her ever shifting emotions to interested, to horrified, to curious and to mesmerized, back again.

After a couple of minutes of holding her hands over her mouth to stop any intruding thought from prematurely escaping, she spoke.

"Okay?" Her voice creaked like hardwood when it had a bad day.

"Okay? What does that mean?" He probed, he let go of the ceiling, allowing the rest of his body to reset to a more neutral position only to crack some of his tight joints.

"It means okay. Like this- is fine. I think," Ernie looked at him before moving off to his suit.

"Woah, hey don't' touch that. Explain Ernie"

"Well- obviously there's not much for ME to explain and by the looks of it, it seems.. complicated. So I'm going look at your shitty suit." She changes subjects, before he could try to change subject back, she looked stiff and tightly wound from the news she absorbed. He wondered if it was just his powers that had her like this. He decided to let it go for now.

"I made that suit."

"Obviously, that's why I said it's shitty."

"Fuck you"

"..." She stood silent, picked up the suit and glanced at him.

"How?" She paused.

"wh-"

"Are you so bad!" She yelled. He looked incredulously at her and she made a face that looked like she was waiting for a answer.

"Sorry I'm not the god of sewing clothes. So mean,"

"Oh lord, such a-" She paused and ended up looking at him, making direct eye contact before her eyes shifted to his lips and she turned around.

"So you have powers but you're still bad at things. God works in mysterious ways" She mumbled, they stood quiet for a while before she dropped her suit which he grabbed out of her hand and ripped off the web that was stuck to her ceiling since he didn't want to leave any trace of his powers.

"Yeah, you know-"

"Can we talk about something else?" Ernie asked walking to the bed which shook as she sat down on it. Twisting a ring that sat in the middle of middle finger.

"Okay,"

"Do you- how was your sleep"

"It was alright,- actually I kissed this girl. It was amazing…" He smiled as he looked at her face flush red, she looked up hopeful.

"S-"

"She was this girl I knew from my past, Stephanie" He lied about how he knew her- well at least in this world, though he was unsure if his coma would actually count.

"What."

"What? Yeah, I think we were friends in middle school. I had this huge crush on her-"

"I..hmm" She seemed conflicted. Isaac felt the air stifle, waiting in anticipation of what was going to happen.

"Ernie" He held his breath.

"Okay, can I just say it?"

"Sure??" He wondered.

"I.. Okay you may of not been dreaming"

""What do you mean"

"You came in, I was asleep, you got in my bed but you seemed to be Sleep walking. I was going to scream before I realized it was you and you kissed me"

"Oh" He thought out loud.

"Oh?" She said, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Well I don't know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that"

"I know but, I was wondering if.. There was some part of you that meant it"

"…" He grunted for her to continue.

"I am asking because I like you and I was thinking we could try to date, or something" She shuttered, holding on to every word a little longer as she got to the end

"Look Ernie, you're my best friend and I owe you a lot. I'd do anything for you…But I don't see you like that. I know that we have a great rel-"

He paused as he watched her tightened her grip on suit. What felt like hours had passed with him not know what to do when he heard.

"Get out please." She whispered as her body started to shake, he rubbed his head feeling awkward but she looked at him, a tearing sliding down her eye as she looked hurt.

"Please, I just remembered. I have something to do. I'll text you later." She said weakly.

"Uh- okay? What do -"

"Go please, I'm running late!" She yelled, pointing out the window. She started to get more and more agitated the longer he was there and so he quickly opened the window. Looking at her as her eyes went red,

"Ernie can we just-"

"Isaac, get the fuck out!" She hissed as she threw the suit at him. He looked at her incredelously,

'I'm sorry' He thought, before leaping off of the building. He felt like it was probably best for him to leave, he didn't want her to pop a brain cell, he had to go home and face whatever was going to happen to him anyways.

[Ernie pov]

Ernie looked at the ghost of her best friend, the person who she loved most in the world, the person who she'd spend hours loving and confessing too in her mind. All for naught, she knew when that he might've been asleep but he was speaking to her, clearly and very coherently.

"I am such a fucking Idiot."

"Hey- Erni-"

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM" She yelled at the perputrator who was her sister. The door was immediately closed and she only felt worse. She felt her heart break multiple times and it felt like every chance she tried to clean it up the pieces would just turn to dust.

"Can't believe I told him."

The person she hated most at that moment was herself.

[Isaac pov]

Isaac landed in alley around the block, the puddles of mixed trash, unknown liquids and less than clean sewer water splashed on his feet, getting the juice into his socks which caused his anger to boil but he breathed out, allowing it subside as he walked home.

'It's just one small shitty thing, in a quickly becoming day of further shittiness' He said as he turned his book bag around. Isaac had double back to the warehouse so he could retrieve his things before he arrived home so he wouldn't have to replace everything. That would've taken to much time as some of the things that made up the contents of the bag were way too expensive. Unfortunately, it seemed like with the loosely cold snow, it ended up drenching his bag more than anything and the number one thing that he couldn't afford was it to get drenched. His essays, each and every one that was carefully crafted was bonded together in a mass of what was only recognizable as wet tissue. He repeated his usual breathing method to calm himself which was easily becoming more and more ineffective the more bad shit that happened today but he put that thought aside and grabbed his phone, looking to see if a certain someone texted him.

"Nothing," He said as he made his to his front porch. He went back into his book bag to grab the keys that jingled in excitement of being touch for the first time in a while. He shook the loose white wet paper litter that clung to everything that was remotely close to it and opened the brown coffee stained door that led to the inside of the home. He breathed in the smell of lavender that usually permeated through the house and looked around as he took off his shoes in the mud room. Quickly, he noticed that things seemed to be a little off, for one. There was TV playing, which meant that they were either gone which was bad in it's own right. Or, Uncle Adrian was talking with Aunt D about something related to Liz or the very worst case him.

He clapped the shoes together ever so lightly to try to separate any solid that clamped itself to the soles but being ineffective he just left it and continued on. He walked, making a b-line for the stairs but his Aunt D sense immediately activated.

"Liv, Is that you?" His aunt asked, he back stiffened as the rest of his body went still like trying to avoid a T-rex from eating him.

He heard a voice call out from in front of him. He saw a brown haired girl with deep dark eyes peer just like his aunt days before.

"No I'm in the kitchen, it's Isaac." Liv revealed.

'FUCK!'