Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/12298680. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage Category: F/F Fandom: Wynonna_Earp_(TV) Relationship: Waverly_Earp/Nicole_Haught Character: Waverly_Earp, Wynonna_Earp, Nicole_Haught, Jeremy_Chetri, Xavier_Dolls, Doc_Holliday_(Wynonna_Earp), Rosita_Bustillos Additional Tags: Eventual_Smut, Lots_of_nerdy_jokes, Waverly_is_Spider-Girl, Alternate Universe_-_Superheroes/Superpowers, High_School, Nicole_is_a_swimmer because_why_not Stats: Published: 2017-10-07 Updated: 2017-10-11 Chapters: 2/? Words: 10447 ****** Spider-Wave ****** by tacosaretasty Summary Waverly is absolutely obsessed with Spider-Man, and she always jokes about being the real life version of Peter Parker. Until one day she gets bitten by a spider.   (Based on the Spider-Wave edit by @wayxhaught: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMk7GIw6gcc&feature=youtu.be) Notes hey, you guys! so, a while ago i saw @wayxhaught's spider-wave edit and really felt like writing about it, but never really had the inspiration. UNTIL TODAY! (yeah, i wrote the entire first chapter today and couldn't wait to post it so here it goes). she's given me full permission to write a story based on her edit (btw, be sure to check it out https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wMk7GIw6gcc&feature=youtu.be). if anyone's wondering, my twitter is @haughtdamnit, i'll follow everyone back! please leave kudos and comments so i'll know your opinion on my work. hope you enjoy the read! ***** Chapter 1 ***** Spider-Wave   Waverly Earp couldn’t help but groan in misery when her phone buzzed on the wooden nightstand and, not one second later, the Spider-Man theme song started echoing loudly through her ears. She hadto change that alarm soon, because waking up to it every single day was definitely going to make her favorite movie unwatchable. She just wanted to say a few very bad words her aunt Gus couldn’t dreamof hearing, because having to get up at 7 AM was pure torture — especially considering she’d gone to bed at 3. But, hey, it wasn’t her fault. She had things to do that needed to be prioritized, incredibly important things that were waymore crucial than sleeping — such as, well, rewatching the Grey’s Anatomy plane crash episode for the millionth time (she still wasn’t over Lexie Grey), updating her Tumblr page with quality memes, showering at 1 AM when she could do it for as long as she wanted without Wynonna banging on the door telling her to hurry and, last but not least, masturbating. It was actually healthy, so she’d read. Waverly’s problem wasn’t going to schoolin general, she was quite popular due to all the extracurricular activities she took part in — cheerleading, the academic decathlon, the Ancient History and the French club — her problem was going to school that day, when Spider-Man Homecoming was coming out on theaters. She’d been a fan of the sequel ever since her father took her to the movies when she was just a kid, and they watched the first one together. It was one of the last memories she had with him before he passed. Seeing Peter Parker in high school was definitely going to be interesting, and she’d found so many ways to feel represented by him in the comic books and she hoped that getting to see the situations interpreted by real living people would fulfill her expectations. But she had school, and there was no way in hell she’d be able to get tickets after it. The Purgatory cinema’s rooms were quite small, and they ran out of tickets faster than anything else, especially given that the only three things to do in town were go to the movies, drink at Shorty’s and watch the boys’ football team play and lose shamefully every other Friday night. Wynonna stormed into Waverly’s bedroom, making a very impatient aunt Gus complain from downstairs with a loud “Wynonna, I already told you not to open the door like that!”, and indelicately turned the light on. “Wynonna! What the fuck?” The youngest Earp complained, sitting on the bed as her sister stood in the middle of the room wearing nothing but a bath robe. “Why are you naked?” Waverly was an eleventh-grader who was a year early (she’d skipped third grade), so she and her best friend, Jeremy Chetri, were the only sixteen-year- olds in her class. Wynonna was only one grade above her, but she was two years older, even though they didn’t really feel the age gap most of the time. While Waverly could be truly mature sometimes, Wynonna could go from an eighteen- year-old to an eight-year-old in a matter of seconds – but only when she was intentionally annoying. “Because a certain someone took a shower in the middle of the night and now we’re out of hot water!” The blue-eyed girl tapped her own forehead, her paler than usual lips and wet hair indicating that she’d figured that out the hard way. “Seriously, why don’t you just, um, sleep, like a normal person?” “I function better at night.” Waverly answered, shrugging lightly as she slowly got up from the bed. “And it sure is easier to shower in the middle of the night, when you’re not awake to be a pain in my ass.” “First of all, I think we’ve agreed that the pain-in-the-ass sister is Willa, who thankfully left for college and, second of all, I wouldn’t be so annoying if it didn’t take you eternity to wash your hair.” “It does not. I just like standing under the hot water because it helps me relax!” “Well, okay, miss relaxation, some of us hatecold showers, so make sure you don’t use all the hot water next time.” “Okay, okay. I will. Good morning to you, too.” “Always a pleasure.” Wynonna grinned ironically, taking a few steps towards the bedroom exit. “And hurry up, I have things to do.” The blue-eyed girl left the room, and, right after that, Waverly grabbed her cheerleading uniform in the closet and made her way to the bathroom.   -x-   “Have I mentioned how much I hategym class?” Jeremy fixed his backpack strap on his shoulder, walking down the Purgatory High first-floor hallways next to Waverly. “I can’t believe I’m missing the new Spider-Man movie for that!” “Calm down, Jer, second period hasn’t even started yet and gym’s only on the last one.” “I don’t care, gym makes me miserable all day long, Mary Jane.” They stopped walking, standing in front of their lockers because Jeremy had forgotten to pick up his chemistry book. “We’ve already discussed that and I’m notMary Jane, I’m Peter.” Waverly leaned her back against her locker, waiting for Chetri to get whatever he needed. “And at least today we just have to run outdoors. It can get worse.” “How so?” “We could have to climb a rope.” They started making their way to the chemistry lab, which was actually quite close to where they were. “You’re right, it canget worse. And don’t remind me of the seventh grade nightmare.” He sighed. “But it still sucks. I wish someone shot me, like, in the spleen, so I would die and get it over with.” Waverly chuckled softly, entering the lab and taking a seat on her usual stool. Since they were a few minutes early, most people hadn’t arrived yet, including her lab partner, Rosita Bustillos. Earp was incredibly grateful for having Rosita as her lab partner, given that the girl was a straight-A student when it came to chemistry. She clearly had a crush on Waverly, which wasn’t bad at all, even though the green-eyed wasn’t looking for a relationship – but, hey, she wouldn’t say no to an old fashioned “no feelings” make-out session. “You canlive without a spleen, you know. You just might be more prone to certain types of bacterial infections and need yearly vaccines and prophylactic antibiotics, but, yeah, it is possible to live without one, so your sentence doesn’t make much sense when I put it like that.” “Why do you have to be such a nerd?” “Look who’s talking.” “Mm, you sounded so hot saying all those smart things that all my proteins were denatured.” Rosita said as she left her backpack on the table, sitting on the stool next to Waverly – who’d only then noticed her. “How are you guys doing?” “Jeremy’s bitter about PE and we’re both bitter about being at school instead of in line to get Spider-Man: Homecoming tickets.” Waverly spoke, smiling at Bustillos for a second as she tilted her head slightly to the right. “And I’ll give you an eight point five for the pick-up line. How are you?” “I’m fine, except for the fact that I deserve at leasta nine. That was very creative and appropriate for the moment.” “You’re going to have to work harder on your sweet-talk if you want to flatter me. A pretty face isn’t all it takes, Rosi.” Earp joked, chuckling softly in a way that made wrinkles show in the corners of her eyes. “But a rocking body and a remarkably furrowed brain is.” “I guess you’re right.” Waverly lifted an eyebrow, smoothly biting the tip of her lower lip. “By the way, it’s impressive that you know that the more you learn, the more your brain crinkles.” “What can I say? I have all kinds of gyri and sulci.” “That sounds verykinky.” “Honey, you haven’t even seen me tryyet.” Jeremy cleared his throat loudly, successfully catching both girls’ attention. “You guys. It’s barely eight in the morning. Let’s keep it clean.” “Don’t be such a prude, Chetri.” Rosita giggled, watching as the boy walked over to his table. “It’s no fun.” “I’d rather only say appropriate things in the school environment.” He said, glancing at the chemistry teacher, Mr. Holliday, who’d just gotten into the classroom. “Though he surely makes me want to speak unimaginable profanities.” “Unimaginable profanities.” Waverly teased, failing to make an accurate impression of Jeremy’s voice. “And you call mea nerd.” Mr. Holliday left his materials on the desk, the white lab coat he wore not able to cover a few toned arm muscles of his. “Good morning, class. Please, be seated.” His strong accent made Jeremy want to groan in appeasement. “Everybody put your glasses on and let’s get to work.”   -x-   It was the fourth period, and Waverly incessantly checked her Twitter hoping to get some news about the Spider-Man tickets. It was such a shame she couldn’t buy it online – the Purgatory movie theater was so lame they didn’t even sell tickets through the internet. She didn’t usually use her cellphone in class – actually, she was the kind of person who hatedall those students who texted during class and disrespected the teacher –, but it was Spider-Man. And it was physics. The teacher was a jerk, so she didn’t even feel bad about not paying attention to anything he was saying. Waverly updated the page again. Alltickets were sold out for the day. “Damn it!” She said, and it probably came out louder than usual because every single person in the classroom looked at her. Jeremy babbled a discreet “what the fuck?” as the teacher, Mr. Jenkins, walked over to her desk. “Is something wrong, Miss Earp?” Waverly gulped. “Mm, no, Mr. Jenkins. I’m sorry.” “Maybe you should pay attention to what’s happening around you instead of checking your phone desperately. What is it, are you waiting for a boy to text you?” “No, sir.” “Well, whatever it is, you can do it in the principal’s office.” “But–” “No but. Go. And take your things.” Waverly clumsily tossed the physics book inside her backpack, standing up fast and leaving the classroom without looking back. That was probably the most embarrassed she’d ever been in her life, given that she’d never even been called out during class. Gus would be so disappointed. She walked down the hallway slowly, sadly, getting to the principal’s office in a few minutes. Someone was already in there, so she had to sit on one of the chairs right outside the door and simply wait. One minute went by, then two, and then three. They felt like hours, and all the waiting was making her anxious – it might seem like an exaggeration, but she had a perfectrecord. The kind of record that universities pay attention to. She’d only missed class three times in her life, and all of them had perfectly plausible justifications. The sound of footsteps echoed through Waverly’s ears and, for what she could hear, whoever was responsible for them wore boots – the agonizingly steady noise gave that up – and was definitely getting closer. She raised her head a little, looking over to the end of the hallway and, in that moment, all the stress that had pretty much taken over her body seemed to vanish for a second. A tall, pale redhead walked distractedly, as if she couldn’t tell exactly where she was, with a swimming bag hanging from her shoulder. Waverly noticed she was right – the girl wore brown lace boots, that matched her (oh God) skintight jeans perfectly. “Hey.” The ginger head said, making Earp blink strongly and come back to reality. The principal’s office hassle hit her once again. “Is this the principal’s office?” Waverly nodded politely, letting out a smooth, minimum chuckle. “Well, it’s what the sign on the door says.” The girl, whose name the cheerleader didn’t know yet, tapped her own forehead lightly. “Damn. I hadn’t seen it. Should reallypay more attention to signs on doors, they usually say a lot.” “Yeah, you should.” Waverly chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to brush off the anxiety so the redhead wouldn’t notice. She didn’t want anyone to know how big of a deal going to the principal’s office was for her. “I assume you’re new here.” “Is it really that obvious?” “Well, yeah.” Earp confessed. “But it’s fine. The Purgatory High hallways still puzzle me sometimes. I’m Waverly, by the way. Waverly Earp. And you can sit here, it’ll probably be a while until you can talk to Principal Rodriguez.” “Thanks, Waverly Earp.” The girl took a seat next to the brunette, letting her swimming bag rest on the floor. “I’m Nicole Haught. It’s nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you, too.” Waverly smiled – it was her number one trick. She couldn’t name oneperson in Purgatory who didn’t like her, and it was all about the smile and wave. Plus, talking to that Nicole Haught girl – who was indeed Haught, she thought – could be a way to get rid of the nervousness. “So, where are you from, Nicole?” “Originally, Manhattan. Then my dad needed to serve the army and so far I’ve lived in six different states.” She said, smirking courteously. “The last one before I came here was Arizona.” “Wow. It must have been nice to live in all those different places.” “Eh, I’d rather stay in the same place for more than two or three years. It’s harder to adapt to some places than it is to others. And, once you make a life for yourself, you have to leave it all behind. Friends, relationships, projects… Over. Just like that. Though it’ll end next year, since it’s my last school year before college.” “Ouch.” Earp intertwined her own fingers together. “I can’t imagine how that must feel. I have neverleft Purgatory, not even on a trip, so my friends are pretty much the same since I was a child.” “Seriously? So you’ve never even seen the ocean?” “Nope.” “Wow.” A slightly surprised expression took charge of Nicole’s face, but it quickly softened as she tried to think of another topic. She didn’t want the conversation with Waverly to die because, honestly, something about the shorter girl was incredibly interesting and she just had to find out exactly what it was. “So… Since I’m new here, maybe you could give me a few tips on what to do to kill time around town.” Waverly narrowed her eyes, cocking her head forward since she knew her answer would be incredibly disappointing for Nicole. “Well… There’s Shorty’s Saloon, but after happy hour it’s mostly occupied by drunks. Every other Friday night the boys’ football team plays and I cheer, but they always, without exception, lose embarrassingly to whatever team they’re up against. The whole town gathers up to watch, though, so that’s nice. Of course, except for the pissed off dads who think it’s unacceptable that their kid lost and tries to pin it on anyone but the team.” “Those are the worst.” “Right?” Earp shook her head marginally. “And then there’s the movie theater. The rooms are quite tiny, to be honest, but if you get there early you can assure a good seat.” “Mm, I guess I’ll check it out later. I’ve been meaning to watch the new Spider-Man.” Waverly couldn’t hold back a bright smile, and her eyes were probably wider than she intended them to be, because Nicole frowned confusedly at the sight. “Sorry, it’s just… I loveSpider-Man. He’s my favorite superhero of all time. I’m actually here because I was trying to check if the tickets for today were already sold out during physics class and the teacher caught me.” She confessed, feeling a tad embarrassed. “Are you a fan too?” “Actually, I just like the movies. Superheroes in general. I’m not an avid comic book reader, and I don’t really know much about sci-fi, but, yeah, the movies are pretty good.” “Pretty good?” Waverly narrowed her eyes, wrinkling her forehead as she simply couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “I mean, Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man can be considered pretty good, but Tobey Maguire? God, I’m a total nerd for the first sequel. The comic books are better, though, but I think I just feel this way because whatever happens in them is the original story, not something adapted to fit an hour and a half like the movies.” Nicole chuckled tenderly, unable to help herself from finding Waverly’s passion regarding the superhero absolutely endearing. “Purgatory really isa strange place.” “What do you mean?” Earp stared at Haught, leaning her head against the wall behind her. “Back in Arizona and pretty much all the other states, the cheerleaders only talked about boys, makeup and the right type of makeup to wear on a date with a boy. Here, there’s a cheerleader who’s probably the biggest Spider-Man fan I’ve ever seen.” “Oh. Then it’s a goodstrange place.” Nicole nodded, agreeing with what the brunette said. “Want to know what the best part is?” “It gets better?” “Hell yeah. I’m the captainof the cheerleading team.” “That’s impressive, Waverly Earp.” Haught said, letting her hands rest on her thighs. “Oh, and you didn’t tell me the rest of the story.” “What story?” “You said you were trying to check if there were still tickets left for Spider- Man today. Could you do it before the teacher caught you?” “Yes, actually, but they’re all sold out for the day.” “Oh, I’m sorry, that’s too bad. You must be very excited to watch it.” “Thanks.” Waverly smiled briefly. “I am. But, eh, I’ll go tomorrow. I was just looking forward to watching it on the debut day.” Nicole stood in silence for a few seconds, as if she was having some sort of inner debate with herself, until she finally opened her mouth again. “I’m new in town, I just arrived last night. So far I’ve only had time to apply to the swimming team, I mean, I won’t even start coming to class until tomorrow because my dad got transferred on such short notice and I have to talk to the principal about a few things first. My point is I don’t know anythingin this city. Maybe you could show me around sometime. Those three things you can do for fun in Purgatory, you know. I could really use a tour guide. If you want, of course.” Waverly grinned, the corners of her eyes wrinkling up once again. “It’ll be my pleasure. We could watch Spider-Man tomorrow, if you don’t mind my friend Jeremy coming with us.” “Amazing.” “No, not the amazing. Homecoming.” “What?” Nicole puckered her brow, not sure of what Earp had said. “You know… The Amazing Spider-Man. It was a joke. We’re not watching The Amazing Spider-Man, we’re watching Spider-Man: Homecoming.” “Oh!” The redhead laughed. “Okay. That was cute.” Before Waverly could say anything else, the door to the principal’s office was opened and a jock walked out of the room, without really looking at any of the girls before making his way down the hallway and disappearing there. Every single muscle on Earp’s body stiffened as Principal Rodriguez appeared in the hallway, looking confusedly at her. “Waverly? What happened, do you need to talk about the cheerleaders? Or is it the decathlon? I know the budgets are low this year and, trust me, I’m working on them.” The tiny woman said. She wasn’t really used to having the brunette in her office unless it was related to the extracurricular activities or to ask for more resource when organizing the annual dances. “Um, no, I… Mr. Jenkins sent me here.” “What happened?” “He caught me using my–” “Wait a second, you’re Nicole Haught, right?” The principal looked over at the auburn-haired girl who sat on the chair. Nicole quickly stood up, offering the woman her hand. “Yes, ma’am, that’s me. Nice to meet you.” Rodriguez shook her hand quickly. “We have to discuss your transference, right?” “Yes, actually. I was hoping we could do it today so I’ll start tomorrow, of course, if it’s possible.” “Oh, today… Today will be hard, I only have thirty minutes before this meeting with the superintendent, but you have no time to lose since it’s the middle of the school year and I don’t want to make you wait and jeopardize your education. Can we speak in my office right now and solve everything?” “Sure, it’d be great.” “Good. Go in.” Waverly watched as Nicole simply did as Principal Rodriguez said, kind of uncertain about what she should do. “What about me?” The woman sighed. “You’re a good kid. I’m letting you go now, don’t do anything wrong again.” “Thanks, Principal Rodriguez.” “Sure. Don’t be late for class.” “I won’t.”   -x-   “Another lap!” The gym teacher yelled as the entire class ran in circles on the football field. Jeremy and Waverly ran side by side and, while the girl wasn’t even a bit tired yet, the boy already sweated as if he’d run a marathon. “I reallydon’t understand why they make us run outdoors instead of in the gymnasium. Okay, it’s nice to breathe fresh air and get some vitamin D, so it’s a good idea in theory. In reality, there’s a laboratory testing some hardcore radiation-based medication rightnext to the field, and I honestly don’t know who thought it’d be smart to expose tired teenagers to that kind of thing.” “Come on, Jer, the Black Badge Labs have enough technology to keep all the radiation inside.” “I don’t know, what if a contaminated bug or something escapes?” “I think you’ve been thinking too much about Spider-Man, and that’s coming from me.” “It’s a possibility.” He said, breathing heavily as he slowed down his pace. “My whole body feels like jello.” “Fine, let’s say it’s a possibility. A radioactive spider bites me and I prove my point: Iam Peter.” Waverly giggled at the sight of her friend. He looked awful – as he alwaysdid in gym class. “Don’t be such a crybaby. Come on, Chetri, put those legs to work!” “Don’t mock me, cheerleader. You’re all sporty and muscular and I, on the other hand, am a couch potato. You don’t get to tell me not to be a crybaby.” “Yes, I do, crybaby.” She jokily tapped him on the shoulder. “Just pretend like Mr. Holliday is waiting for you in the locker room, but you have to do all the laps first.” “Waverly!” “Do all the laps to give him a lap dance.” “You did notjust say that!” “Ooh, I did.” She chortled, watching as Jeremy’s already crimson face from all the running got even redder. They ran for a few more minutes, until the teacher blew her whistle and said: “Dismissed!” “I could cry of happiness right now.” Jeremy said, walking slowly to the bleachers to pick up his bag. Waverly did the same, but, instead of going straight to locker room like her friend did, she stood there for a while because her phone buzzed unstoppably as a lotof texts arrived in the French club group chat – something about a list of French movies they allshould watch, according to one of the girls –, and she actually found the subject interesting, since the only French movie anyone had ever recommended her was Blue is the Warmest Color (and she hated the ending). Soon, she was the only one standing on the field – everyone was desperate to go to the locker room right after the teacher dismissed them from gym, because the showers always ended up getting occupied and an enormous queue was formed because some of the girls took really long showers – and, since the tickets to Spider-Man were already sold out, she didn’t even bother hurrying up to go home. Something told her that watching the movie with Nicole the next day would be much better, anyway. When Waverly finally picked up her stuff, she didn’t notice her backpack was open and her cheerleading uniform – which she had taken off to put on her gym clothes – fell off, making her have to squat and pick it up. As soon as her hand touched the floor, some sort of black bug climbed into her hand and, in a moment of pure reflex, she hit it. But not before it could bite her. Excruciating pain took charge of her entire body for a second, making her drop her uniform again, and a weird feeling of dizziness mixed with something else she wasn’t really sure of what it was made her nearly fall to the ground – but that didn’t happen. Strong hands grabbed her waist, and she felt the back of her head hit something that felt a lot like a neck curve. The pain stopped, as if it were never there. Waverly regained her senses steadily, and she weirdly felt like that was the best she’d even been in her life. The slight weariness caused by gym class was simply gone, and the smell of the freshly wet grass was even more appreciable. She noticed she was still in a stranger’s arms. When Earp turned around, she saw that it wasn’t exactly a stranger. “Nicole? How– How did you…?” “I was taking a look at the school when I saw you were alone here. So I figured I could come say hi, you know, since I didn’t even get your phone earlier. And then you screamed.” “I screamed?” “Mm, yeah. Loudly.” Nicole looked worriedly at Waverly. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, thanks, I guess I just got bit by a…” Earp looked down to her hand – which she’d only then noticed had been static since she felt that strong pain –, seeing the dead bug still there. She shook it hastily, making the creature fall back on the floor. “Spider. Wow. That’s funny.” Haught widened her eyes, chuckling at the irony on that. “I think you’re officially Spider-Wave now.” Waverly snickered, feeling more restored than she ever had in her life, and picked up her stuff from the floor again. “I stink from PE. It’s best that I go take a shower.” “You don’t stink, but it isbest that you go. I walked by the soccer field and saw some of the girls getting ready to leave, the locker room is going to be crowded in a few minutes.” “Thanks. For warning me and, you know, keeping me from falling. That was very sweet.” “Well, it’s not like I’d just watch you fall. You don’t have to thank me.” “I do, you’ve got some pretty good reflexes.” Waverly complimented the redhead. “Oh! I almost forgot!” She reached for her pencil case inside of the backpack, getting a pen in there. “Give me your hand.” Nicole didn’t even question, she simply did what the brunette asked, and soon enough she had Waverly Earp’s number written on her palm. “You said you were going to ask for my number. Here it is.” “Awesome. Thank you.” Nicole grinned, her warm brown eyes pointed right to Waverly. “No, thank you.” The cheerleader said, starting to make her way towards the locker room, but not before she could look back to say one last thing to the redhead. “I’ll see you around.” “See you around, Spider-Wave.” ***** Chapter 2 ***** Chapter Summary Waverly finds out the consequences of getting bit by a spider. Chapter Notes heyyy! thank you so much for the positive response to chapter 1, i've received some very nice comments. you guys are the best! also, this went on @heathermgirls' fanfiction list and it got me excited because she only recommends good stuff. please don't forget to leave comments and kudos! in case you're wondering, my twitter is @haughtdamnit - i'll follow everyone back :) thanks again for all you guys said about chapter 1! enjoy! After showering, Waverly didn’t even wait for Wynonna to give her a ride home – since they had to share the car Gus gave them the Christmas before –, because all the energy she’d suddenly gotten made her want to walk the entire five blocks between Purgatory High and the homestead, and just take in the smell of cherry trees and freshly baked muffins the café always provided at that time of the day. She simply texted her sister a “don’t wait for me” and started to make her way down the street, which was considerably empty since most students had already gone home and no one in town wanted to be around the Black Badge Labs after the news that an alleged virus contaminated the whole premises the year before. It didn’t go on reliable sources like the TV or the local newspaper, but it became a rumor when they closed their doors for three months and then reopened again stronger than ever, soon after the CEO that ruled the economic part of the laboratories announced they were going to start testing radiation- based medication that would possibly cure cancer. Waverly didn’t believe the virus story – even though she was a keen conspiracy theory enthusiast, it didn’t make much sense that the Purgatory Presbyterian Hospital didn’t have any records of sickness or death under mysterious circumstances. Of course, the Black Badge Labs had enough money to bribe whoever they wanted to keep that a secret, but the city was so small that if anyone went MIA everybody would know. One time, Betty Parsons went to visit her sick mother just outside the Ghost River Triangle without warning her neighbors and, not one day later, Sheriff Nedley was already getting dozens of calls to file a missing person’s report. As Waverly started walking down the third block, in a moment of pure distraction, she felt her body being pulled to a dumpster alley as a firm hand grabbed her forearm. She was quickly tossed to the ground, but stood up in a jump – just like she used to do in cheerleading practice –, looking frightfully at a tall, blond-haired male figure whose face she couldn’t really see given that it was covered by a black cloth. “Hi, doll.” His voice was low, almost ironic, which made goosebumps run all the way up Waverly’s spine. “Don’t you think this skirt you’re wearing is a little too short for a girl your age?” Earp gulped, her chest going up and down from the heavy breathing as she stared directly at the man without risking saying anything. Even though she couldn’t see it, his eyes gave up the fact that he held a disgusting smile, and Waverly couldn’t help but think that, in that moment, she could be in the passenger seat of her and Wynonna’s car, listening to her indie pop Spotify playlist as her sister – who’d never admit how much she liked those songs – complained about her “awful” taste in music. “You’re coming with me.” He took a few steps towards the girl, leaving her with absolutely no way out. “And you can choose to do it the easy way…” The man grabbed Waverly’s wrist, pulling a pocket knife out of God knows where and placing it against her neck. “Or the hard.” Waverly Earp had no idea that, from that moment on, her life was about to change forever. She didn’t know what hit her, but an abrupt confidence took charge of her entire body and some sort of inner gut – almost an instinct – told her exactly what to do next. So she moved to the side hastily, getting rid of the man’s grip and speedily standing right behind him. It could be the adrenaline, but she didn’t even fear him anymore. Something told her she could take him down. “Oh, you reallyshouldn’t have done that!” He said furiously, turning around to face her once again, and lifted his knife up in her direction. Waverly used her incredible flexibility to kick him on the chest, making him fall to the ground and consequently drop his weapon. The man’s eyes grew wide – he clearlywasn’t expecting that kind of strength from someone that tiny (neither was Waverly, to be honest) –, and he couldn’t stand up because the kick had made him run out of air for a moment. But Waverly wasn’t done. She walked towards him self-assuredly, and managed to make him get up by grabbing his jacket tightly, pushing him against the wall roughly. “I hope this teaches you neverto mess with girls again, you pervert!” She dared to say, without letting him go. “What’s up with you, little girl?” “I reallydon’t like when strange men call me doll.” Waverly punched him in the face, her subconscious whispering for her to do more, that gut, that instinct trying to take over her again. A sense. Almost like a spider. So she did as her subconscious told. Earp took a few steps back, still holding the blond figure by his jacket’s collar, and threw him against the wall once again, but this time making his feet stop touching the floor. She lifted her arm front not even a second after letting the man go, and watched dumbfounded as some sort of white, sticky substance was shot straight out of her wrist, trapping him to the wall. “WHAT THE FUCK?” She yelled loudly, looking at her own hands as if they were someone else’s. The man’s face revealed absolute shock, as she simply softened her expression, eyed him quickly and said: “Um, You– Uh, good luck getting out of there. I’ll make sure the police get here soon.” She picked up her backpack on the floor, running away from the alley in the opposite direction from her house, in order to pass by one of the payphones in the main avenue and make an anonymous report to the police about the offender on the loose. Once she was far from where she’d left the man, she stopped for a second. Spider web had come out of her wrist. Spider web. Waverly wasn’t gullible – on the other hand, she was quite mature for her age when compared to her friends –, but there was no denying to what was in front of her. The comic books and movies she had looked up to her entirelife, just like that, were real. She was just like Peter Parker. Earp pinched her arm once, and then twice. Nothing. It wasn’t a dream. Jeremy was right. A contaminated bug somehow got out of the Black Badge Labs and in the football field. A spider full of radioactive decay and God knows what else bit her, and, all of a sudden, Waverly had spidey superpowers. And that was so… Cool. Gus was at work, and Wynonna probably wouldn’t notice if her little sister took a few extra hours to get home, so the cheerleader decided that, after reporting the assaulter to the police, she was going to test her powers – exactly like Peter in Amazing Fantasy #15, except she’d do it discreetly, and not get in wrestling competitions. Waverly Earp had motherfucking superpowers. She tried to let the information sink in as she finally got to the payphone, but it was going to take a lotmore time than that for it to hit her. She couldn’t wait to say everything Jeremy – he would be so excited, and she immediately thought he could be her “guy in the chair” –, but had to figure out exactly what and how to tell him. Earp decided not to worry about that, then. She just took a quarter out of her backpack and put it in the phone, dialing 911 and waiting for someone to pick up. “911, what’s your emergency?” A woman said through the call, and Waverly recognized that voice immediately. It was one of the cops who worked at the station with Nedley, the same who’d helped get her cat out of a tree after Wynonna put it there when they were only kids. “Um… I’d like to make an anonymous report of an offender.” She tried to low her voice a bit, so the usual high-pitched tone didn’t give her up. “Go ahead.” “A blond man, about six feet tall attacked a girl in an alley three blocks away from Purgatory High, right beside the Cooper family’s house. He threatened her with a knife so she’d follow him somewhere. The girl is safe, I, uh, made sure she got home. The assaulter is still there. I trapped him.” “What do you mean you trapped him, ma’am?” “You’ll see. Purgatory is safe now. Make sure he never attacks anyone again.” Before the woman could say anything, Waverly hung up the phone and went back to walking, trying to find somewhere more vacant than the main avenue so she could test her powers securely. Only to be safe, she picked up the oversized black hoodie she kept in her backpack for emergencies – like spilling grape juice on her regular clothes (it had happened more than once) – and put it on, still praising herself mentally for what she’d said on the phone. Purgatory is safe now. She sounded like an actualsuperhero. Waverly wandered around for another few minutes, finally stopping behind the Gardner Corporation building – a company run by the richest family in the entire Ghost River Triangle –, that sentence still repeating itself over and over in her head. Purgatory is safe now. She was just a high school student – one with a lotof things to do. Maybe she shouldn’t start making promises of starting a new vigilante justice system in town. Maybe she couldn’t even handle being a lifesaver. And her life wouldn’t even be remotelyas cool as Peter Parker’s. The worst thing that had ever happened in Purgatory was a bank robbery in 1995. 1995. Waverly shrugged. The fact that she had superpowers – her favorite superhero in the whole world’s superpowers – hadn’t even completely sunk in yet and she was already being pessimistic about it. So, with a big grin on her face – the one that made wrinkles show in the corners of her eyes –, she dropped her backpack on the floor and looked around to make sure no one was watching, putting both hands on the building’s wall to check if she could crawl it. So far, Waverly had noticed that all the powers she knew she had were also shown in the Spider-Man stories, such as spider-like speed, agility and strength, the spidey sense and webbing. Unlike Peter Parker, though, she’d already started out with organicwebbing, instead of having to make use of web shooters until she developed that ability. She wanted to find out if she had powers like fast healing, but that one she rather wait and see.  After placing her hands on the wall, she slowly lifted her feet from off the ground, wanting to yell in excitement as her whole body relied itself on the building and she crawled swiftly up the wall. She started going faster, more eager than she’d ever been in her life, which caused her to simply forget the fact that it was a building, and anyone could see her if she went too high. The exhilaration instantly stopped as her feet and hands seemed to fail and her body fell backwards, most likely due to the lack of experience. Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion, and Waverly was at least three floors high – she reallydidn’t want to find out about the fast healing like that –, so she simply pointed her wrist towards the top of the building and shot her web, sprightly slinging over the street and landing on the roof of the coffee shop across the street. And, even though she couldn’t stare directly at the people in the street, the huge agglomerate  of umbrellas in the sidewalk gave up the fact that everyonewas looking at her. Thankfully, she’d landed with her back turned to the street, so no one should’ve been able to see her face or body shape because of the enormous hoodie, but getting out of there before anyone found out her identity would be incredibly hard with all the people in the pavement staring at her behind. The sound of cameras flashing started getting louder and louder, and Earp had no idea what to do next. “Look, mom, it’s Spider-Girl!” A kid yelled, making Waverly smile brightly in the midst of all that mess. She’d be a role model to children. Earp thought for a second, trying to figure out a way to get out of there. Well, she was Spider-Girl. So she might as well jump. She ran to the edge of the café, leaping fearlessly and falling on top of a closed dumpster, the sound of hysterical footsteps echoing through her ears as the people in front of the establishment ran to the back to try and catch a glimpse of Purgatory’s new hero. Before anyone could see her, Waverly aimed at the Gardner Corporation building again, covering her face with her arm as she slung through the streets, always webbing the highest buildings she could find and, whenever she ran out of tall constructions, pointing at light poles and the biggest trees she saw. Once the girl finally found a safe, empty alleyway to hide in – Purgatory seemed to have a lotof those –, she took off her hoodie and reached for her backpack to put it in there again. “Damn it!” She cursed, noticing she’d left all her school stuff behind the Gardner Corporation properties. Luckily, her phone had been stuck between her skirt’s waistline and her stomach the entire time, and Gus probably wouldn’t have gotten home from work yet, so she wouldn’t notice Waverly getting back from school without a backpack. She could pick it up the next day – of course, ignoring the fact that anyone could walk by and steal it at any given moment. It happened all the time to Peter Parker. A smile popped up on her face as she simply left the hoodie in the pathway, knowing that the pictures of Spider-Girlwould come out any time and anyone could see her wearing the same oversized hoodie Waverly walked home bearing. She didn’t even care about not being able to get tickets to Spider-Man anymore. It didn’t matter that she didn’t get to see it on the debut day. She was going to live it every day.   -x-   Doing homework was an incredibly hard task for Waverly after she got home. Her head was so full with the entire Spider-Girl thing that it was impressive how she’d managed to answer twenty-five questions on cell reproduction and nucleic acids before, around 6 PM, lying down in her bed and trying once again to let her brain digest the fact that web slinging around the city and beating up criminals were her new lifestyle. Her Twitter timeline was filled with pictures of her – well, Spider-Girl, since none of them revealed her face –, besides the photos of the man who attacked her from earlier webbed to the wall in that dirty alley that were spread all across Purgatory newscasts  and websites. There were five missed calls from Jeremy (who’d probably seen the news) on her phone, but she had intentionally ignored them in order to push that conversation the longer she could. And then there were Wynonna and Gus. Should she tell them? Would they think she was crazy? The sound of the cheerleader’s phone buzzing interrupted her thoughts for a moment, as she noticed that an incoming text notification from Rosita had just popped up on her screen. Rosita: Hey, compound of Beryllium and Barium. How you doin’? Waverly stared at her cellphone, an involuntary silly smile taking charge of her face. Waverly: Compound of Beryllium and Barium because I’m a BaBe? Rosita: Mm, so you understand where I’m trying to get. Waverly: This one was a little obvious. I’ll give you a 7 for effort. Rosita: I’d say I’ll wait for a 10, but am already talking to one. Waverly: You never fail to flatter me. Alright, this one was worthy of a 9.5. Rosita: Fair enough for now. Rosita: Are you doing anything? Waverly: Not really. I’ve already finished Mrs. Aldrin’s biology assignment, so I’m free of all kinds of school work for the weekend. Rosita: Nerd. Rosita: How would you feel if I asked you out, like, right now? Waverly stopped for a second. She was physically attracted to Rosita, of course – who wouldn’t be? –, but going out with her was an entirely different thing. However, it’d surely be nice not to stay at home that Friday night – especially when every cell in her body begged her to go out shooting web everywhere instead of lying around doing nothing. Waverly: Where to? Rosita: Actually, I was thinking about some Netflix and chill. And veggie pizza. My place. How’s that sound? Waverly: Netflix and chill, huh? Smooth. Rosita: What can I say? I have my way with the ladies. Rosita: Plus, parents aren’t home. We can yell at the TV as loudly as we want while watching Grey’s Anatomy. Waverly knew those weren’t Rosita’s intentions by saying her parents weren’t home; however, she decided to get in her game. Waverly: You know just what to say to make me melt. Waverly: But I have to check with Gus. Be back in a sec. As if it had been planned, Gus opened Waverly’s bedroom door almost immediately, with the girl’s backpack on her hand. “Look what I found on my way home from work.” Earp froze. Her first reaction was smiling timidly, sitting on the bed as her aunt walked into the room. “Oh…” She said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for this! Thanks, Gus, you’re the best!” “Don’t.” The older woman left the backpack on the floor, taking a few steps toward her niece with a severe look on her face. “Will you please tell me why your backpack was in an alleyway behind the Gardner Corporation building?” Waverly had no idea what to say next. She couldn’t simply tell her newly discovered abilities, that was the kind of thing that required preparation and a least a little more experience – plus, if Gus knew about the Spider-Girl thing, she’d neverlet her take down criminals and protect the city (it’s for your own good, she could already picture the woman saying, you’re too young, dear). “I, um… I left it on the bleachers during gym class and forgot to pick it up afterwards. I remember seeing Mercedes Gardner around there, so, uh, she probably recognized it and took it so she could give it back tomorrow, but ended up… Forgetting it outside of her family’s building.” “Why would she simply leave it there?” “Mm… Haven’t you seen the news? Purgatory has a new superhero, apparently. This girl in a hoodie. Mercedes must’ve been standing on the street when she made an appearance and, well, was so amazed that she dropped the backpack. It happens.” Gus frowned, not really buying that excuse, but, whatever the truth was, she knew Waverly was a responsible kid who rarely lied, so she might have had a good reason to make that up. “Okay.” She said. “But don’t forget your stuff like this anymore. These materials are expensive.” “I won’t. Sorry.” “It’s okay, dear. So…” The older woman grinned, parentally placing a hand on Waverly’s shoulder as she sat down on the bed. “How do you feel about this girl in a hoodie? I heard they’re calling her Spider-Girl! You must be pretty excited!” Earp smiled minimally, taking a look at the big Spider-Man poster on her wall. It still seemed unreal. “I am, Gus. I’m reallyexcited.” “Just imagine, huh? Who knew those stories could become true?” Waverly’s aunt stared at the floor for a while, an amazed look crossing her face for a second. “Superheroes are real… That’s something I thought I’d never say.” “Well, you know technology… It has its ways.” The green-eyed girl tried to change the subject smoothly, because she felt like she’d spill the truth any second if they kept talking about that. “Uh… I’ve been meaning to ask, can I go to Rosita’s? Her parents aren’t home so, you know, it’s good that she has company. I’ll be home before ten, I promise.” “It’s good that she has company, huh?” Gus chuckled lightly, getting up from the bed and making her way towards the door. “Sure, darling. Just make sure you don’t get lipstick on your neck before coming home, or I will haveto lecture you. You know, it’s my legal guardian duty.” “Why would I… Oh, Gus!” The woman laughed, walking out of the door as she lowly muttered: “As if I didn’t know…” Waverly rolled her eyes, a goofy smile popping up on her face because she knew how lucky she was to have a parental role model like Gus. Her parents had died in a car accident when she was only six years old, so growing up as the only kid in school without a mom or dad wasn’t easy. Her aunt made it a little less hard. She picked up her phone again. Waverly: Sorry to keep you waiting. Gus had a few things to say. Waverly: Buuuut… She’s okay with my going there as long as I come back home before 10. Rosita: Awesome. Rosita: I’ll be waiting. Waverly: Will be there before you know it.   -x-   Rosita’s house was bigger than all the other ones in her block – located in one of the noblest neighborhoods in the entire town –, and Waverly had walked by it a few times, but never really been past the large, green lawn that surrounded the enormous household. And she couldn’t be more impressed. Even though her lab partner was an only child, the house seemed even greater from the inside – there was a pool table, a minibar and even a Jacuzzi (and that was just a portion of the backyard) –, which made Earp think she’d have no idea what to do with that much space just for herself. “Wow.” She said once Rosita finished showing her around, falling backwards on the huge, soft couch in the TV room – yes, she had one of those – as the house owner picked up the remote and started to navigate through Netflix. “Your house is, like… Damn. How don’t you get lost in it?” Bustillos laughed. “I’ve lived here since I was five, eventually you get used to it.” “I don’t know if I would. It looks like the Barbie dream house I had as a kid. Living here must be… Wow.” “Not really. I mean, it isa great place but sometimes I just wish I lived in a smaller apartment, you know? Somewhere size-appropriate for a couple with only one daughter.” Rosita shrugged, sitting next to Waverly and unintentionally rubbing their shoulders against one another. “It gets lonely.” “How so?” “You know… My dad’s a surgeon at Purgatory Pres, so he only comes home, like, two, maybe three nights a week, and my mom works with international relations, which means she goes on a lotof sudden business trips and I end up being home alone most of the time. Like tonight.” “Well, you’re not alone. I’m here.” Rosita smiled, turning her body to the left so that she could face Waverly properly. One of her hands smoothly went to the green-eyed’s knee, fingertips gently caressing the area in a way that almost went by unnoticed. Almost. “I know.” Earp didn’t mind the subtle touch – she actually enjoyed it –, so she simply relaxed and kept listening as Rosita spoke. “Though I do fear someone’ll break in at times. It’s a ridiculously big house, so it calls people’s attention, and a burglar could get in and steal my parents’ stuff and do God knows what else while I’m alone. But my folks don’t seem to mind.” “I’m sure they do.” “Nah, I don’t think so.” The Latina got slightly closer to Waverly, daring to stop touching her knee in order to stroke her thigh slowly. “I shouldn’t worry, though. Purgatory has a new hero. Did you see her? Spider-Girl.Ugh, she looks like such a badass in the pictures even though you can’t really see her face.” The younger girl chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to hold back a proud grin that’d probably give her up. Even though she loved hearing people’s opinions on Spider-Girl, it was still a subject she couldn’t talk about without risking spilling the information. “I know, right?” She said, struggling to keep her cool. “Now, um, if I recall correctly, you said we were going to watch Grey’s Anatomy?” “Oh, sure, it’s just… It’s still shocking. A superhero. A realsuperhero. Spider-Girl! You must be freaking out!” “Yeah, yeah, I am–” “And wearing a hoodie? I mean, I don’t know if she was unprepared or anything, but it’s probably the first superhero ever not to wear spandex. Maybe that’s just a fiction thing.” “I’m sure she was simply unprepared, and, um, I was looking forward to watching the bomb episode, I haven’t seen it in a while…” Waverly tried to change the topic again. “She even caught a criminal with her web! It looks like something straight out of a movie, I’m not kiddi–” Rosita couldn’t even finish her sentence, because Waverly agilely kneeled on the couch and leaned forward, kissing the Latina in a desperate attempt to make her stop talking about Spider-Girl before a few secrets were revealed. It seemed to work, because Bustillos placed both hands on her waist and started to lie on her back, making the cheerleader straddle her as they separated their lips for a moment to reach for air. None of them said a thing before going back to the kiss. Rosita seemed like she’d wanted that for a long time, and, for Waverly, it wasn’t about keeping the other girl quiet anymore. A heatwave went all the way up her spine, making her body practically light up in a way she’d never felt before – most likely because of a hormonal alteration due to her recent DNA mutation –, and, next thing she knew, she was taking off her own t-shirt and tossing it carelessly to the floor, groaning lowly as Bustillos’ hands got dangerously close to her ass. “I see you’ve wanted this for as much time as I had, huh?” Rosita murmured, biting Waverly’s lower lip provocatively. “Shh.” Earp muttered as she left a trail of wet kisses on the Latina’s jawline. “Let’s not speak.” “Mm’kay.” Soon enough, Waverly was already getting rid of Rosita’s tank top and, once it was somewhere on the TV room floor, she started feeling even hotter and some sort of desperate sexual desire took charge of her whole body. So she dragged her hands down Bustillos’ sides, stopping at her waist and gripping it roughly. More roughly than she intended to. “Ow!” Rosita involuntarily yelled, automatically pushing back. Just like earlier when she’d crawled the Gardner Corporation building, everything from that moment on seemed to happen in slow-motion for Waverly. She felt a slight tingle on her wrists, something almost ticklish and, while Rosita was too busy lying back on the couch – apparently embarrassed for having yelled like that –, Earp noticed what was going on. A fine, nearly imperceptible line of web was released from her wrist. Waverly stood up almost in a jump, able to control the webbing once her mind was taken off from its hornystate, quickly reaching for her t-shirt on the floor as Rosita – who didn’t seem to notice the webbing incident – sat back up. “Hey.” She said, frowning confusedly at the girl who, not ten seconds before, was on top of her. “It’s okay, you got a little overexcited. It’s flattering, actually. You know, you canadd pain to pleasure…” “I, uh… I’m so sorry. But I–I have to go.” Earp put her top back on clumsily, basically tripping on her feet as she tried to leave the TV room. “It’s alright, Waves, seriously, you don’t have to–” “Nah, I’ll go, I… It’s… Wynonna, she probably needs, um… Yeah. I’ll see you on Monday.” Before Rosita could say anything or even follow her to try and find out what was going on, Waverly ran to the front lawn, hastily checking out if the street was empty before shooting her web towards the roof of one of the mansions there and disappearing from anywhere her lab partner could see her.   -x-   As Waverly walked into the homestead at about 8:30 PM, she couldn’t help but feel incredibly stupid for having done something like She was going to have sex the day she got superpowers. All the sci-fi stories she’d ever read mentioned how hard it was for superheroes to maintain a sex life when not in full control of  their powers yet — Superman, The Flash and even the non-canon fanfictions she read about Supergirl and Lena Luthor —, so she had been completely irresponsible to let her horny teenage hormones (most likely reinforced) take control of her actions, especially given that she was a virgin. She had no experience whatsoever in dealing with her new skills and capabilities, and no idea of how she responded to someone else’s touches — those levels of inexperience combined could easily become a disaster. “Getting home so early, baby girl?” Wynonna, who was lying on the couch watching something on her phone, said distractedly. “Gus said you would be home before ten and that in your language means, like, ten-fifteen.” “Liar. I’m veryresponsible when it comes to punctuality, and a, um… Something unexpected came up, so I had to leave.” The youngest sister leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse of what seemed to entertain her sister so much. “What are you watching?” “Spider-Girl. That video of her slinging on Gardner Corp already has five hundred thousand views on YouTube. And it was uploaded only a few hours ago.” “FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND?!” Waverly yelled in excitement, quickly standing still once she realized the look her sister threw at her. “Um, I mean… Whoa.” “I know, right? But something’s getting to me. This hoodie she’s wearing looks a lot like the one I lost a few months ago. That’s funny, I’d always thought you’d stolen it because of its warmth.” The green-eyed smiled nervously. “Nah… It’s clearly not yourhoodie. It might resemble it, but, I mean, why would Spider-Girl have your hoodie?” “I guess you’re right. But you know what else is weird?” Wynonna raised a brow, watching as her sister shook her head negatively. “Gus mentioned she found your backpack behind… Gardner Corp. Such a coincidence, huh?” Waverly frowned in fake confusion, letting out an exaggerated chuckle. “What?” Her voice came out extremely high-pitched, as a huge grin took charge of her face. “Silly! It almost sounds like you’re suggesting I’m Spider-Girl. Pffft, I wish. She’s awesome, so awesome, but I’m not her!” The older Earp had to chew on the inside of her cheek not to laugh at her little sister, choosing to leave her alone about the Spider-Girl thing. But it wouldn’t kill to have some fun at her costs. “Okay, okay, I believe you. Just, one more thing…” “What?” Waverly asked a tad frantically, sure that she was going to give her secret up if Wynonna said one more thing that incriminated her. “Your t-shirt’s backwards. I’m guessing you had a lot of fun at Rosita’s, after all...” The cheerleader wanted to sigh in relief, but simply rolled her eyes and said “shut up” before going upstairs to her room. After the day Waverly’d had, all she needed was a shower. Once she left the bathroom, hair still wet and pajamas already on — ironically, her Spider-Man themed ones —, her phone started buzzing again and she quickly unlocked it, seeing a series of worried, confused texts from Rosita that she decided not to answer to. She definitely couldn’t deal with the girl right then and, as much as she loved getting superpowers all of a sudden, noticing how many responsibilities came with it made her have second thoughts on whether or not they were that good. Hurting Bustillos made her realize how easy it had become for her to inflict pain on others — even though she didn’t mean to. A simple moment of stress and, voilà, she could end up seriously injuring someone she loved. As Waverly scrolled through her messages tediously, truly considering going to sleep before ten on a Friday just to try and wrap her mind around what her new life was going to be like. Until she noticed an incoming text from an unknown number. Unknown: Hey! It’s Nicole from earlier. Just thought I should text you before your number was erased from my hand. Are we still set for tomorrow? Earp really did not know why, but she immediately felt slightly calmer, just like when she met the redhead outside of the principal’s office earlier that day. Something about Nicole was incredibly soothing. God, that morning didn’t even feel real — less than twelve hours before, she was still just Waverly Earp, a brainy cheerleader who loved Spider-Man and, well, she suddenly could shoot web out of her wrist and crawl up walls as if it were nothing. But she still wanted to go to the movies with Nicole. Waverly: Totally! Wouldn’t miss it for the world :) Nicole: Glad to read it! Nicole: Especially now that superheroes are a thing. That’s crazy, right? And right on the day you were bit by a spider! Waverly: Yeah, well, it’s just a coincidence. Nicole: Didn’t think it was something else. Nicole: But Spider-Wave still sounds better than Spider-Girl, to be honest. Waverly smiled. She didn’t know if the redhead was being flirty or just incredibly nice — as she’d already noticed Nicole was —, but that was a nice thing to read. Waverly: Wow, you’re sweet. Nicole: It’s my superpower. Waverly: Your superpower? :P Nicole: Well, yeah. Everybody has one. Waverly: What would mine be, then? Nicole: I don’t know you very well, but, uh… You’re super cute. Waverly: Now you’re just making me blush. Waverly: And, according to your logic, I think Mr. Jenkins is a super asshole. Nicole: I bet he is. Nicole: Shoot, my dad needs me. I have to go :/ Waverly: K. See you tomorrow, then? Nicole: Absolutely. Looking forward to it! Waverly: Me too. Bye :) Nicole: Bye, Spider-Wave. Waverly rested her head on the pillow. She was exhausted — everything that had happened since she woke up was a lotfor just one day. God, maybe it was too much for a lifetime. On what was supposed to have been a regular Friday, she’d been sent to the principal’s office, bit by a radioactive spider, become a superhero, become viral on YouTube, nearly lost her virginity, lost control of her powers and, well… Met a cute redhead. Maybe she should get used to that being her kind of regular Friday. Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!