Theo

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Sophia's voice is a muffled command against Manon's shoulder as she embraces the oldest. She doesn't care that the visual's perfume is gone and has been replaced by a thin layer of sweat, because after the day they had at the dance studio- they are all in the same condition.

When they detach, Manon smiles at her leader like she wants to tease her, but shares her worries too much to "Only if you do the same."

Sophia nods - already knowing she will have to text for Megan and Lara since they will likely forget - and goes to hug Daniela one last time, before the two girls get into the taxi and drive off.

As the car takes a turn and disappears into the night, Megan takes a moment to stretch, feeling her muscles burn and letting out a small groan when her back protests with a loud pop. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat." her sentence ends with a yawn.

"Tell me about it." Lara laments, hand disappearing into her purse as she looks for her compact mirror. When she finds it, the small object makes a sound as it's being open and the vocalist looks at the reflection: disheveled hair and the makeup around her eyes is uneven from when she splashed her face with water during their last break but was too tired to fix it. She cringes at what she sees but doesn't do anything about it- they're almost home anyway. She wordlessly hands Megan the mirror when the girl extends her arm, and laughs as she makes a similar face at her own state. "And I still don't get why we have to walk all the way home."

Yoonchae starts walking ahead of them, the only one with the maps app open on her phone - even if after all the days spent walking the same road, they all know it by heart - and the other three follow. The same slow, fatigued step as the maknae.

"All the way home is barely twenty minutes." Sophia corrects, tone soft and gentle despite the teasing undertone. One hand is around Yoonchae's wrist to check the road on her phone while the other holds her purse. "And I thought we all agreed to it. You especially said it was a way to look at the scenery without being constantly spotted by fans."

Lara rolls her eyes with a huff like a kid being scolded by her mom "The first two nights maybe. Not every night. After the first week it's just boring." it's not every night, it's actually more common for them to take a uber instead of walking- but that's a clarification that would bring her argument down. So Lara doesn't bring it up, and shifts her attention to Megan's phone, the girl's Instagram home page staring back at her.

The leader raises her voice, restraining a disbelieving laugh "Oh, quit whining! We're almost done anyway, and after the show we'll have a lot of time off." Yoonchae makes a relieved sound at the thought, making Sophia smile unconsciously.

She lets go of Yoonchae's wrist to grab her own phone. She checks the group chat with all of the girls, only to find it empty - though it's not surprising since it usually takes Manon and Daniela at least ten minutes to get home with the taxi - so she leaves the chat without a second thought. Then her fingers hover over your contact.

Her last text, a quick text she sent during one of their breaks - 'the instructor is trying to kill me, come pick me up pls' - sits in the chat, read and ignored. She hadn't meant it seriously; it was not like she could leave in the middle of practise, and she always refused whenever you offered to bring them all home.

She remembers how much you pestered her about it the first week, insisting it wasn't a problem and you enjoyed late night-walks. But Sophia wasn't planning on letting you tire yourself out before work just for them. So in the end, she won the battle of stubbornness, and you never walked them home once.

"Wow. You two sure have been talking a lot lately, uh?" a shiver runs down Sophia's spine at the sudden intrusion, her head jerks back and her eyes blink rapidly at Lara, who appeared next to her out of nowhere- Megan's Instagram was boring her.

Sophia looks back at her own phone. She hadn't realized she was reading old texts.

"Eh..yeah? I guess." she shrugs. Could a few texts a day be considered a lot? All she knows is that it comes naturally to her to check her phone between breaks or when she wakes up, finding an unread message from you. Like it is natural for her to hear your voice through Yoonchae's phone when the two of you (and sometimes Megan) play games together. The screen turns off as the device is put back into Sophia's pocket, and that simple act is enough for a smirk to grow on the vocalist's face, though she keeps quiet.

They pass under a streetlight and Lara gets a glimpse of Sophia's face, pink nose and cheeks despite the late winter air, while her eyes move to the youngest's phone even when her own vibrates against her thigh. It could be a text from you, but for some reason she doesn't want to check it with Lara standing so close to her.

In the quiet that falls among the girls, between the sound of a car speeding past them and keychains clashing together, none of them notices the fifth person that started following them from one rooftop to the other and is now actively trailing behind them, until a deeper - kind of familiar - voice echoes in the empty street.

"Hey, I follow that guy! He's pretty cool!"

Despite the cheerful tone, Megan's soul almost leaves her body to ascend to the afterlife. The others turn around and find the dancer clutching her chest tightly while her phone hangs in the air, suspended by a nearly transparent web attached to your hand.

You're hanging upside down from a second-floor balcony, knees bent and head tilted to the side. Big white plastic eyes stare into Megan's frightened ones. Her mouth - at eye level with your lenses - is locked open; how she didn't scream her lungs out is a mystery. When she realizes it's you, however, her voice dies in her throat and her soul almost escapes once again, but this time for an entirely different reason.

And she can't even attempt to cuss you out.

You close your eyes, making your lenses become more of an oval shape, and make a smile that you hope she can hear through your tone.

"Sorry Meg- an" the nickname you use when you're not wearing the mask almost slips out, but you're able to play it off, acting as though you don't remember her name. "I didn't mean to scare you." you clean her phone, removing any web residues from its case before handing it to her, the selfie you posted on Instagram last week illuminating her features.

"Megan, yeah" she nods, the tips of her fingers brush against yours as she takes her phone and puts it back into her pocket, much like Sophia did a few minutes ago "And it's fine, I was just surprised is all."

She watches as you detach yourself from the web and turn to stand on your feet, and she now has to raise her head to look you in the eyes. Lara, Sophia and Yoonchae take a step closer to the two of you, with Sophia standing right in front of you.

"Were you following us?" she asks, her tone is polite despite the clear caution; it's not aggressive in any shape or form but you're so used to a playful Sophia that the stark difference is enough to make you feel like a dog with its tail between its legs. Megan and Lara look at their leader, probably reading between the lines like you just did, but don't say anything.

"I was in the neighborhood," you reply calmly, hand on your hips to look more confident than you sound "and a friend asked me to walk you home. So here I am."

Lara is the only one who looks confused by your statement, but Sophia's sigh fills in the blank. You hear it too, and a smile forms on your face. Is this what the sigh she sends over text sounds like?

"You could have told us your friend hired a special bodyguard just for us." the indian girl whispers next to her friend's ear, hot breath hitting the tip and making it redden. Though the last part is probably due to the words alone.

"I- I didn't. I specifically said not to"

"Can we go now?" Yoonchae speaks up, ignorant of the staring context going on between Lara and Sophia "I want to sleep." she murmurs then, head bowed to look at her phone to avoid the annoying (softened) expressions she's certain are on her bandmates' faces right this moment.

You answer before anyone else has the chance to, saving Yoonchae from whatever Lara was about to say- her exaggerated pout and hand over her chest exactly what the mankae wants to avoid "Sure, lead the way."

The youngest looks at you for a second, like she doesn't know if your interruption was on purpose or if it was just a coincidence. She decides that it's not that important after all and smiles at you. With a nod, she starts walking again.

You technically know where you're headed; you walked them all home plenty of times before, but Spiderman isn't supposed to know where they live so you stay behind with Megan, while the other girls walk ahead.

You don't mind talking with the dancer, you used the interests you know you both have in common to distract her from asking any personal information about yourself, though you could see she was holding back from doing so and for that you're glad. Sophia kept glancing back every few minutes without saying anything, and every attempt at bringing her into the conversation was a bust, for she would give a short answer - longer if it was something Megan said - and turn back around, pretending to check the road on Yoonchae's phone.

The only time you don't catch her staring is when you're looking at Megan's phone and she's showing you her latest Valorant match, where her team 'won thanks to her'. She's totally playing it up to make herself look better. You remember how it really went- still, you play along.

"Didn't you say you normally main Sage?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to try a duelist for once."

Sophia hears things she can't even begin to understand, but she hears your gentle, interested tone and sees Megan's gigantic smile and can't help but do the same. She turns around feeling a little lighter.

She unlocks her phone to check the notification she got shortly before your arrival, hoping it's a message from you, but to her luck- it's just a spam email. To make matters worse, Lara is beside her.

"He still hasn't answered?"

Sophia's glare is weak, a mix between already knowing it's a lost cause and not having the strength for a real glare at all, and it only feeds Lara's amusement.

"He said he had to work, so it's not surprising.."

Lara raises an eyebrow; she knows Sophia's not done. "But?"

The idol hesitates, breathing in air to formulate a response that gets stuck in her throat, and sighs. When she speaks, with a voice much lower than intended, the pout is evident in both her words and on her lips. Something she does not realize is happening.

"He always finds time to text me back."

As if your spider senses had alerted you to a catastrophic event about to happen, your head darts up from Megan's phone to look at the back of Sophia's head. You tried not to pay attention to their hushed - and thus private - conversation, but you couldn't help your advanced hearing. Hearing your name coming out of Lara's mouth was all you needed to step in.

"He's probably just busy with work; he still hasn't answered any of my texts yet either."

Sophia's fingers halt on her phone screen and she almost stops walking. Both she and Lara turn to look at you, the latter seems mostly confused but you know Sophia enough to recognize her tilted head and furrowed brows as mild annoyance. "What?"

"Oh, so- sorry! I- uh" you slap your mouth shut - Eevee would burst out laughing at how the 'mighty Spiderman' fucking stuttered just because a girl looked at him the wrong way. You clear your throat and make sure your voice sounds lower than your 'civilian' persona's before speaking. "I just thought you were talking about my friend."

"They are." Yoonchae says without looking up from her phone; she didn't mean to eavesdrop either, but Sophia is right next to her, and it's not like whatever goes on with her housemate is ever a secret for her. Megan raises her head, intrigued by the different voices suddenly joining a conversation she's not part of.

She doesn't have time to understand what it is about, considering it doesn't last much longer. Sophia only looks at you for a second before turning back around without a word. You all take a turn and she uses that opportunity to take a step forward and create further distance between you two; with enough firmness to look final and enough space to make you pout under the mask. Lara looks at you like she wants to say something, something to move past the awkward moment and distract from the leader's behaviour, but decides against it at the very last minute.

The pink-haired girl, still clueless about whatever just happened, grabs onto your bicep to catch your attention and resumes talking about her Valorant match.

That's how the rest of the walk goes, Yoonchae eventually slows down to where you and Megan are, and slowly becomes an integral part of the conversation. The topics vary, from video games to funny stories that happened while you were on patrol, all the way to how they feel about New York and living so far away from home. Yoonchae mentions missing her country's cuisine, something not even a determined Sophia can replicate due to the lack of specific ingredients. You make a mental note to check if that small Korean market on the other side of the city is still open.

Lara and Sophia remain ahead to lead the rest of you; they're not talking about you anymore but their tone stays hushed. And this time - even if you can distinctly hear what they're saying - you do your best to act like you can't, and never once intervene.

Once you reach your first destination of the night, everyone stops in front of the house ready to say goodnight. You stop walking in time before you can crash into Sophia, but you have to grab Megan's arm so she doesn't bump into the vocalist in front of her. The girl's sentence is left unfinished as she takes her eyes off you to look at her surroundings. She mumbles a small 'sorry' both to you and Lara, but you two just smile at her.

Sophia's eyes fall on your hand still on her bandmate's arm, silently, almost unnoticeably. But you do notice - you were looking at her after all - and move your hand away. She doesn't comment on it.

While the girls say goodbye you stand a few feet back to give them privacy, only raising your head from the ground when you hear Lara's voice calling your name. She wishes you goodnight with a soft wave of her hand. You reply a little more eagerly than she does, but she doesn't seem to mind; in fact, her smile brightens and she lets out a little giggle. Megan looks at you next, and with the time you spent with her you can tell she's torn about something - her next move, probably.

She takes a step forward and stops abruptly right after; her forearms are close to her chest with her hands twitching against the fabric of her sweater. You mimic her, and walk until you're right in front of her; your cheeks get warmer at the thought of what you're about to do - due to embarrassment or something else you don't know - and raise your arms in the air. You tilt your head to the side. Megan's eyes light up and, with much more confidence than before, wraps her arms around your shoulders. Megan hugs you, and unlike the first time, you're prepared; when your hands land on her higher back it doesn't feel awkward or forced. It feels just right, like you're hugging a friend.

And when she pulls away it's not because she felt you tense against her or because Sophia scolded her.

She and Lara say goodnight one last time before disappearing behind their front door, and both you and Sophia wait to hear it lock before looking away.

You take in the newly formed silence and breathe in the chilly air as you begin walking. But the aforementioned silence doesn't last long.

"Are you walking us home too?"

You stop in your tracks at Sophia's words. When you turn around, her brown eyes are already on you; her coat is now zipped all the way up and her arms move to cross over her chest as the wind suddenly picks up. Your mind goes to the jacket you left in your backpack before leaving your house, the one you didn't know if you should bring or not - but you don't think she would have accepted it either way.

You hesitate. "Uhh if you don't mind? I have been instructed to bring all of you home."

Yoonchae stops walking when she hears your voices so far away, and you feel her eyes on the back of your head.

Sophia looks at her, seemingly contemplating something. After a minute, she just shrugs.

"If you have nothing better to do."

After that, she catches up to Yoonchae, leaving you behind. With a sigh that is thankfully hidden by the mask, you follow them.

Yoonchae may hold the position of katseye's maknae- but she's not dumb. She may have spent too much time on her phone to notice the subtle glances you and Sophia keep exchanging - the ones where you think the other is not looking - but the tension is palpable even to her.

So she tries to lighten the mood: she asks about what you normally do on patrol, about places where they could go while they stay in the city. You try to answer as honestly as possible, but also try not to give your identity away. Sophia sometimes puts in her two cents, though she mostly keeps to herself.

But what is certain is that thanks to Yoonchae everyone feels more at ease, and the rest of the walk home is actually enjoyable.

So enjoyable that you don't realize the five minutes it takes to get to Sophia and Yoonchae's house are up until you're standing right outside.

It doesn't take a genius to know that the day drained them, so when the youngest murmurs a small 'goodnight' before heading for the door with the keys already in her hand you don't take it to heart. You simply watch her go with a small smile on your face after waving back.

Sophia doesn't follow her; on the contrary, she stands next to you, her head almost touching your shoulder as she looks at Yoonchae unlocking the door.

"Leave it open, I'll come in in a bit." her voice is loud so it reaches the mankae, who's looking at her with a questioning glance. The words don't really clear up the confusion, but Yoonchae nods and does as she's told.

Sophia sees her friend disappear behind the wooden door and the living room lighting up. The same thing happens with one of the rooms on the second floor - Yoonchae's bedroom - a few seconds later. You stand beside the singer, even if you're not sure what for; before you can ask anything, Sophia speaks up.

"Thank you for tonight," she tilts her head towards you and almost leans on your shoulder. Her eyes are still on the house, her tone is calm, the softest you've heard it directed to you tonight by far. Your eyes are on her face the entire time. "You didn't have to. I mean- you did it because you were asked to." you try to speak, but she raises one hand in the air, stopping you. She turns her body so she's facing you. "But I still think it's right to thank you."

She smiles, and you can't help but let your eyes fall on the movement- the streetlight really makes her pink lip gloss shine. You look back at her eyes and notice the same streetlight is making them look a lighter brown. The light from the second floor switches off - signaling that Yoonchae must have gone to sleep - but you only realize because the warm hue on Sophia's face disappears, leaving only the bright white light of the streetlight.

You snap out of whatever trance you were stuck in with a soft shake of your head - you must be more tired than you thought - and answer. "It was nothing, really. It's work."

Sophia looks like she wants to add something, if you have learnt anything from all this time spent with her, but in the end just smiles, and adjusts the purse on her shoulder. She heads for the door and pushes it open. Instead of walking into the house, however, she turns back to look at you.

"Goodnight, Spiderman." it's only a whisper, but you catch it without any problem; your lenses grow twice their normal size, and the girl almost giggles.

"Goodnight Sophia!"

She enters the house then, and even after hearing the sound of the front door being locked, you wait for the other room on the second floor to light up before swinging away.

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