Silver In Her Hair

Please consider! I am loving it and can't wait for the next part but its not easy to keep track of it here.

(We are so back! This one is a LONG one, but it’s gonna set up a lot of the dynamics and drama that I got planned. It’s gonna be a lot of lore building around our girl Ella, but this helps with everything Mohabbot that will be coming later, I promise it will make sense. Our girl Ella Abbot is going through it! But Samira always got her. Sorry if there are any typos, I’m human 😢)

Link For Pt.1

WC: 4.3k

Ella is a good kid. Well, she used to be. Everyone used to tell her that. She got good grades like her mother did when she was younger, listened to her teachers unlike her father, and had a smile her Uncle Robby would die for. To the world, she was precious Ella. And even though those memories were a blur now, she still liked to remember the way her parents would light up when people talked about her.

“Ella’s a dream to have as a teacher.”

“Couldn’t ask for a better student, gonna miss her next year.”

“Ella is like the perfect daughter.”

She wondered what they would all think of her now. Precious Ella had really “changed”. Now she’s just Ella Abbot, who rarely laughs, doesn’t really talk, is already doing poorly in two classes, and worst of all, skips school. Oh, the horror.

💕

Central Mall was only a thirteen-minute skate from Morgan Middle School. Almost like they were begging the kids to leave. Still, Ella was never one of those kids. She never saw the point in leaving school, only to spend the day walking in and out of stores with no money to buy anything. As pathetic as it sounded, she liked school. No one taught English like Mrs. Brown, and Mr. Lincoln’s science jokes weren’t that cringey, at least he tried to make it fun. Not to mention, with skipping, there was a high risk of being caught.

Because nothing seemed as torturous as being in Principal Rodriguez’s office with your parents on the other end of the phone screaming their heads off. And with a grandmother like hers, it just wasn’t worth it.

But Ella really didn’t have much room to judge the kids that would slip out of the windows in the gym bathrooms. At least they did it with their friends. And Ella, unfortunately, didn’t have any friends. Except for, maybe, Mia Lee. But that was only if Mia was mad at her best friend, and even then the friendship was more just two people who didn’t want to sit alone at lunch. She used to be good at making friends, had a ton in elementary, but like everything else. It didn’t last.

So, Ella ditched the idea of Mia and took her chances with the only other kids in school who skated, hoping something was there. At first, even the idea of going up to them made her sick. Some of them were in eighth grade, making them a year older, official teenagers. And they were different.

They didn’t listen to the pop music that played on loop in TikTok edits; they didn’t spend all their free time in some Twitch streamer's chat. They wore old graphic T-shirts, refused to wear jackets when it snowed, and some of them even smoked. They were cool. And she was a curly-headed freak who would just stare at them at the end of school, tugging at her sleeves. But it turned out it was easier to talk to them than she expected, because one day she literally said fuck it, and took off. All she had to do was skate by them, catch their attention, and the rest was history.

It was nice. To actually joke with people her age that liked the same things she did. She was laughing, smiling, and she even told her dad about them; she obviously left out the fact they stole vapes from their older siblings. But they were chill. The only real issue was that they liked to skip, and they skipped a lot.

💕

Ella was going to say no that day. Like all the other days, just tell them she would catch them after school, and link up at the skate park. Because Ella was a good kid. She didn’t need to see Grandma’s face if she ever got caught. She tried to imagine what her dad would say; would he play the ‘disappointment card’? Maybe get angry? Maybe not even care. That sounded more like him. He was still too busy being a hero to notice if she missed school. Whatever, didn’t matter. All she knew was that she was going to say no. But then he asked her to come.

And is there nothing worse than a crush in middle school?

Reed Foster was the best skater in the whole school. He had long hair, blue colored braces, and since his growth spurt, could beat anyone in any sport. That meant most of the girls had a crush on him, and Ella thought she was the exception; she liked to think she was better than those love-sick girls. Until she was around his friend group, and she noticed how effortlessly cool he was. He skated like he was sleeping, talked about old bands with such insane knowledge, and suddenly, if he even looked in her direction, her face would grow hot. Even making conversation was hard, despite the fact they were both friends. She would pull on her sleeves ten times more than usual if he approached her.

So during that afternoon, as Reed chugged down his blue Gatorade, his eyes fell to her, and Ella lost her ability to speak.

“Oh wait, Abbot.” He flashed his braces at her with a smile. “Did anyone tell you we’re going to Central tomorrow? You down?”

“Uh.” Ella squeaked before Bryan Allen came skating by.

“Don’t ask her.” Bryan hopped off his board. “She’s a teacher’s pet.”

Asshole.

Besides the skipping, the other pain in the ass about this friend group was Bryan. Who didn’t seem to like her the second she joined. If it wasn’t for the others, she probably would have backed down, let him talk his crap, and slowly exit. But it appeared that Bryan’s whole existence within the group was to be annoying, so she ignored him.

“Shit. I forgot.” Reed said, putting down his Gatorade, wiping his mouth with the back of the sleeve. “Would’ve been cool if you came though.”

That made Ella almost jump from her board that she was sitting on. Well, she couldn’t say no now. Reed wanted her there, or it seemed like it. Two weeks ago, guys like Reed would pass her by her locker with not even a glance; now he was practically asking her to come to the mall with him. I mean… would anyone truly notice if she skipped for one day? Wow, it was scary how fast her opinions changed, but then again, it was Reed Foster.

“I… I think I’ll come.” Ella said, her voice coming out more shaky than she intended. Then she cleared her throat, and that’s when Reed and Bryan turned back to her. “Yeah. I’ll come. We’re not doing much in class anyway.”

“Wait. Really?” Bryan scoffed, as the last two of the group skated in front of her. “You’re really gonna come? You know you can’t back out.”

Hailey Rivera was the only other girl of the group; she wore combat boots no matter the weather, loved to collect blind boxes, and always kept her long black hair in a ponytail.

“Abbot, if you come, I won’t be the only girl!” Hailey was grinning. “We could go to Sephora or something.”

Bryan rolled his eyes. “Great for you.”

“Wait, Ella. You’re actually gonna skip?” Benjamin May asked, who seemed as unconvinced as Bryan.

Benjamin, or Benji, as they called him, was always kinda there. He was the final member of their little group, and apparently Reed’s best friend. Bryan always teased him about his height, cause the dude was tall with long arms, and even longer legs. But it wasn’t good for any kind of sport. He was just good at skating, and that’s all Ella really saw him do. Benji was also pretty nice to her, though she hated the fact that he always tended to baby her. She knew he had a couple of sisters, so she figured that’s why he treated her like that. But she couldn’t shake the irritation when he would look at her the same way the adults used to.

It was the ‘I’m so sorry, Ella.’ look. God, she hated that look.

“You sure?” Benji pressed further, just making Ella even more sure about her decision.

“Yeah, of course.” She said, almost too quickly. Her hands went to her necklace. “I mean, it would be fun, right?”

“Yes, it's gonna be so much fun!” Hailey beamed. “Finally, Abbot. We are going to have the best time!”

“If you say so.” Bryan rolled his eyes again before getting on his board and taking off.

“Nice, Abbot.” Reed held out his fist. Ella tried to calm herself, trying her best to play it cool as she returned the favor, hoping it wasn’t obvious how badly she was blushing. But she did catch Benji’s expression; he kinda did that thing where he opened his mouth, ready to say something but ultimately let it go. What’s up with him?

💕

So that is how Ella got here. Skating up to the mall's entrance at ten am, when she should be in third period.

“Come on, Abbot!” Bryan called as he swerved past a mother and her son leaving the mall. “Why you skating so slow?”

Why was she skating so slow? Ella blinked as she tried to stay balanced. She didn’t even know how she was skating at all.

From the second she agreed to this, Ella felt her stomach turn, her hands constantly at her necklace. It lasted all night, from the second she woke up and hugged her dad goodbye, to the second she got into first period and took attendance. It got worse when the third period came, as she found herself becoming numb. She couldn’t even remember asking to use the bathroom, or getting her skateboard out of her locker, or even meeting with Hailey, who led her out the window. All she knew was that one moment she was in school, and the next she was a block away waiting at a crosswalk for the boys to make their escape.

“Hey, you good?”

Ella turned beside her. It was Benji, because it always was Benji. She saw the other three already far ahead, excited to head inside as they threw open the mall doors that led to the food court.

“I’m good.” Ella shrugged. Not knowing why he would lag behind just to ask her. She wanted to catch up to Reed.

“Oh, okay.” Benji nodded. “You got money, right? For lunch?”

“Yep.” The cash in her pocket that her grandmother had given her was now feeling heavy in her pocket.

The two of them caught up with the others quickly, all meeting by a Wayfinding map to figure out where they were going first. Ella had been to this mall a handful of times. Obviously never without an adult. She knew this was the place most kids came to hang out, whether they were in middle or high school. But being finally in it, just her and her friends. The nausea in her stomach began to turn into something else.

“Pop Mart!” Hailey pointed at the map screen; the happiness in her voice made Ella giggle a little. “We are going there first!”

“You can’t spend all your money on a blind box again.” Bryan sighed. “You won’t have any for food, and I’m not sharing!”

“Yeah, I know, big back. You always hog your food.” Hailey stuck her tongue out. “I just want to look.”

“We can head there first. I wanna look at some stuff there too.” Ella piped up, making sure she saw Bryan’s face as she agreed with Hailey.

“Yeah. Let’s go there, it’s in the middle of the mall, so not a bad place to start.” Reed nodded in Ella’s direction, and Ella could feel her heart do a backflip.

She hated to admit it. But Ella was having a lot of fun. They stayed at Pop Mart for a while, looking at almost everything. They had to physically pull Hailey from spending all her cash by the Skullpanda section.

But the real fun began when they got to the other stores. They sniffed through almost every candle at Bath & Body Works, got Bryan to eat a free dog treat at a pet store, and they even went to Spencer's, completely ignoring the workers' faces as they laughed their way through. They were about to head to the food court when Ella stepped out and felt her entire body freeze.

“Oh, no.” She muttered. Her eyes locked onto the familiar face. She was in the next store over; Ella didn’t even see her as she made her way into the store. Of course she was here. The one fucking day Ella decided to skip school was the one day Samira Mohan decided to come to the mall.

No. No. No. No.

“Shit!” Ella cursed as she grabbed the nearest person and pulled themselves back into the store.

The entire group stared at her like she was crazy, cause she did look crazy. She was breathing hard, eyes wide as she stared, clutching onto Benji’s arm.

“Ow…?” Benji looked down at his arms, then looked back at her. “Ella?”

Ella only let a small breath out. “Oh shit.”

“What?” Bryan stepped forward, his tone annoyed.

“That woman, at the other store.” Ella gestured with her head at the shop across from them. “The one that just went in. She knows my dad.”

“Huh?” Hailey blinked, her face also going into a slight panic. “Like for real?”

“Yes, they work at the same hospital.” Ella nodded so fast her neck hurt.

“You think she would recognize you?” Reed stepped forward, and suddenly she felt like an idiot. She was probably being so weird in front of him. But the question he asked was unfortunately a loaded one.

Weeks ago, Samira probably wouldn’t have recognized her, but ever since Aunt Lin had the baby, Grandma had been spending more time at her house to help out. Which left Grandma late to watch Ella for the night, so Ella was at the Pitt more than usual. And she would have hated the entire experience if Samira wasn’t there. It didn’t matter if she was leaving by the time they walked in, or if she was on night shift (those nights were Ella’s favorite); Samira always talked to her.

And they talked about anything they could. Ella finally got the names of all the hair products she used, and Samira (being an angel) went through her routine with Ella, adjusting some steps to fit Ella’s style. Ella managed to get her on a skateboard about twice. Samira only managed to wobble for about five seconds before asking to get off. And Ella lived for the moments Samira was able to sneak away to the break room when things weren’t going too fast in the ER. Ella told her all about the shows she was watching; Samira told her about some of the gossip that was going around, and Ella had even told her about Reed. It was just so easy to talk to Samira; even her dad agreed, considering how many times she caught them laughing if they shared a shift.

Ella sighed, letting go of Benji’s arm. If it was any other coworker of her father's, she could have tied her hair up, put on her hood, and passed by. But not Samira, definitely not.

“She will 100% recognize me.” Ella tried to look at her friends but found her gaze at the floor.

“Well, then maybe we should head back,” Benji said. He pulled out his phone from his back pocket. Checking the time before clicking it off. “If we head back now, it will be lunch. It will be like we never even left.”

“What?” Bryan’s jaw dropped. “We are not going back because of her.”

“Okay, fine.” Benji suddenly stood taller, his voice rising. “I’ll go back with her. I have to pick up my sister anyway.”

Ella turned her head toward Benji, everyone was looking at him. Her mind seemed to split. It was a good plan for the moment. It would be like the whole day didn’t even happen. After lunch, most students got so jumbled that teachers barely noticed who was in the earlier periods. It could work. But as much as that was the easy way out, she didn’t want it.

Ella looked to Reed, who looked as though he was also getting annoyed at the situation. She didn’t want loose the fact he thought she was finally cool enough to skip.

“It’s fine,” Ella said finally. The attention left Benji and was now on her. “Let’s just head to the food court, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t see me.”

Benji just stared at her. It wasn’t that look she hated; it was something else. Ella couldn’t meet his eyes.

“I’m fine, really.” Ella turned to the rest of them. “I’ll be careful. If I see her, we’ll just go in the opposite direction. Come on.” And Ella pushed her way out of the store, her eyes closely watching across from them.

Looking back. She should have left with Benji.

💕

It was easy for the others to get back into having fun. But Ella was on constant alert, looking over her shoulders whenever they were not in a store, checking her phone like crazy for any text, and to make sure that her location still said she was in school (Hailey taught her a hack to use). Benji wasn’t talking much either, but she couldn’t focus too hard on that.

They got to a Five Below that was at the back of the mall toward the exit. From the second the five of them came to the store's entrance, the security guard that was hovering by the back doors approached them.

“Hey,” The guard snapped his fingers at them. “No skateboards in here.”

Bryan made a face. “Okay…and?”

“Every other store let us bring our boards.” Reed pointed out.

“But not this one.” The security guard's voice got a bit rougher. Ella pulled on her sleeve. She didn’t like a second of this interaction. She wanted to suggest that they go to a different store, or better, just leave.

“If you leave your skateboards here, I’ll watch them.” The guard continued. “Get what you need and leave.”

“How can I trust you?” Bryan had a smug grin. He waved his board in the guard's face. “My mom is gonna be real pissed if you steal my board.”

Reed and Hailey laughed at this; Ella did too, though she wasn’t sure why. Toward the left side, she saw Benji, staring down at his shoes, looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the world.

“Leave the board or get out.” The security guard said calmly. Chills instantly went up Ella’s arms. They should go. This wasn’t worth it.

Reed put down his board first. “Fine.”

Hailey followed suit. “Don’t try it out. I don’t want the deck to snap.”

That got a laugh out of Bryan, who also dropped his board. Ella found the grip on her board became tighter; she almost looked to Benji. He seemed the only one with common sense, as he still had his board. But then he dropped it without a sound. And Ella found herself letting go of the board.

She didn’t understand the hype around this store, why Bryan was desperate to get in here. It was just a bunch of cheap things in poor condition. Even the workers behind the cashiers looked more miserable than the other stores. Yet, if there was one thing Ella learned about these guys, they took nothing seriously. They ran up and down the aisles, touched everything they could, and laughed at a volume no other customer would appreciate. Ella tried to get back into it, but with Samira still in the mall and not having her board, it made her fidgeting only worse. It didn’t help that Benji was walking around like a sad puppy.

I should say something. Ella swallowed as she saw him by the posters, watching the other three play with Nerf guns.

“Hey,” Ella said, her voice shaking. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Benji said, not even looking at her.

That’s when her head began to spiral. He probably was still thinking about the way she reacted when he just wanted to be nice. Sure, he was being annoying, but he was still nice. And Benji was an alright guy, she should have…

“If you’re re mad about when I didn’t want to leave, just know that I–” She started, but Benji turned his head.

“We’re good, Ella.” Though he wasn’t showing much emotion, Ella could tell he meant it. “Trust me. I just wanna go home.”

She wanted to press, wanted to say “me too”, when Bryan’s loud chuckle made them both turn their necks.

“Yo, Benji!” Bryan called. “Come look at Reed’s dumbass.”

When Ella and Benji approached, they saw Hailey holding her laughter, as Reed, with the biggest smile on his face, told them to be quiet. Ella was confused at first when she saw them, only to watch Reed pull up his shirt to reveal a pair of headphones hidden in his waistband. Ella’s eyes got wide.

“You’re not gonna do that.” Benji sighed, understanding instantly.

“Chill.” Reed got defensive. His whiny tone throwing Ella off. “It’s just headphones.”

“That are five bucks.” Benji groaned. “Dude, they have our boards.”

“Can you relax?” Bryan hissed. “If we get caught, then we will pay.”

“Why not just pay now?” Ella pointed out. She heard Bryan whisper ‘teacher’s pet ’ as she looked toward Reed, who gave her a disappointed look. Like she was in the wrong.

“Come on, Abbot.” Reed shook his head. “You’re better than that.”

Really? She wanted to say. But Benji’s voice cut through. “Reed, what about the detectors?”

“We go at the same time, trust me, it won’t go off,” Bryan said like it was obvious. “Plus those things never work. I do this all the time with my brothers.”

Benji looked as unconvinced as Ella felt, but Bryan and Reed were already turning away with Hailey right behind them.

“We should stop them,” Ella muttered to Benji as they followed.

“They won’t listen,” Benji mumbled. He looked like Uncle Robby during handoffs, or her dad’s after a crazy shift.

They got to the exit, Reed, Bryan, and Hailey all giggling as they approached the detectors. Benji and Ella stayed close behind them, though neither one of them was smiling. Ella saw the security guard standing in front of the store, over their boards like he said he would. She could just grab her board and go home. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears as the five of them stepped through. Her breath hitched as she watched Reed’s body cross the line.

And for a second, nothing happened. And Ella almost smiled with relief.

But then the alarms went off. Her hands went to her ears. Benji cursed, and Reed looked like a deer in headlights as the security guard came marching over.

“I knew it!” The guard was close to screaming. “Empty your pockets, come on! You first!”

He pointed a finger at Benji, who only threw his hands up. “Me first? Really?”

Ella felt her face grow hot, she was still clutching her ears, before she could even register the other two security guards by the exit, now alerted and heading in their direction. Reed, the idiot, got a grand idea.

“Fuck that,” Reed said, as he grabbed his board and quickly ran off. Skating before the others could even process what he did. The guards all turned in his direction, the first guard yelling something which gave Hailey plenty of time to grab her own board and dash.

Ella wished she was a fast thinker, or at least faster than Bryan, who also took the guards' distraction as time to get not his board, but Ella’s. She barely was able to yell out to him before the first security guard was towering over, she saw two more security guards on Benji. One grabbing him by the arms, the other rushing to pick up the remaining boards.

“Hey, listen, kid, call your friends and let’s get this fixed. This doesn’t have to be something big.”

The security guard was looming over her, and Ella had to take a step back. She was breathing fast, her eyes stung, as she heard Benji try to fight those that had a grasp on him. She wanted home. She wanted her dad. She didn’t know how she even got here. Fuck this, all of this. This would never happen if mom…

Ella didn’t finish that thought. She looked back at Benji. Let him go. Ella wanted to say, but her throat felt stuck. Benji didn’t do anything wrong; they didn’t even want to go in. She should have just stayed in class. Should have left when Benji offered. She should have never said yes to Reed fucking Foster.

And whether it was stupidity or panic. Ella took off. Running with tears streaming down her face as she heard the footsteps behind her. She wasn’t the fastest in her grade, and she knew she wasn’t going far without her board, but she was faster than them. And that’s all she cared about.

She only looked back once, barely making out what she was seeing because of how she was crying. It only took her one look back to completely be thrown off balance as she ran right into someone’s chest, feeling arms wrap around her. Confused, sobbing, and wanting nothing more than to disappear, Ella looked up. Blinking away tears to see who she ran into.

Never in her life was she so happy to see those brown eyes looking down at her.

“El?” Samira said, completely baffled, she bent a little to Ella’s level, noticing her tears. “Why are you..?”

That’s when Ella lost it, she wrapped her arms around Samira’s waist, pulling her tightly.

If y’all go back to season 1, Langdon is only close with two people. He annoys Garcia, occasionally gets on Heather’s (and Princess’) nerves and the only people who he considers his friends are Robby and Dana.

When Javadi first sees Mckay’s ankle monitor and is asking people around “what’s up with Mckay?” she goes to Langdon first. The Senior Resident. And he knows jack shit about Mckay, best he knows is that she has a son, and everyone knows that. Javadi at the end of the day knows more about Mckay than Langdon ever does. I don’t think I see him talk much to Mohan, and sure, he hangs with the male nurses when they are ready to make some bets but it’s not close. It’s clear that his closest relationship was Robby, and he burns that bridge. That’s what makes his replacement with Dennis, sting.

It is clear that Dana being sweet to him is because she’s the only person he really talked to. Especially about personal life. And it is so clear, when in season 2, he finally learns about Mckay’s only struggles with addiction, that he had been going to work with the same mindset he hated the others for. He treated them like coworkers, which there is nothing wrong with, but he never reached out to them, never pushed for something more.

So they didn’t either, and that just adds another layer to his connection with Mel. Because not only is learning more things about the ER with her, but he is learning how to close to the people who also need that support. It also adds a layer with Santos, who while he was gone formed more connections with everyone. She had Dennis, she has something with Garcia, she talks a shit with Princess and Perlah, jokes with Dana and Javadi, and has all the humor the attendants love.

-Trinity is the main driver, which means Samira always sits shotgun. Vic hated being in the backat first till she realized she had the whole space to herself, which is pretty nice when they go on long trips.

- The trio blew up on Vic’s tiktok account for their Love Island reactions after casa amor, in which they were screaming at the TV.

- Speaking of Love Island, Vic begged them to watch it with her. Samira was hesitant because she thought that shows like that made people dumber, but after the third episode had become hooked. Trin was actually a huge Love Island fan and so excited to watch it with the girls. However, she felt like the girls would absolutely make fun of her for that fact (which they would have), so she pretended that she had not interest. And only would watch it because both Samira and Vic were. The girls quickly caught onto Trin when she shrieked when Ariana Madix first came into the villa.

- The girls each have their own unique sisterly relationship with Dennis. Samira is his older sister who he often goes to when needing advice. Trin is his twin, who knows what he’s thinking before he even says it. And Vic is his little sister, who never brings her wallet when they go out to eat. He always complains he’s broke but will refuse that she pays.

- The trio likes to think of themselves as the sun, the moon, and the stars. Samira is the sun, Trin is the moon, and Vic is the stars. For some reason it always made sense to them, especially after Samira had gotten them all necklaces with each of the symbols that they never take off.

- Samira and Vic are huggers. Trinity can’t really run away if both of them grab her. She says she hates it, and half of that is true, yet if she doesn’t get at least one hug from the girls every hangout she thinks something is wrong.

- The trio, love their ‘special guests’, which are just other people that have joined their hangouts. This includes Mel, Dennis, Emma and Joy.

(The other day, I had an idea for a spider-verse AU with the ships Al-Hashimi x Mohan, and Santos x Javadi. I wanna start writing it once, i’m less busy and once I read more crashtos lmao. But here’s the concept that has been living in my brain)

Samira Mohan aka Spider-Woman

Hometown: Queens, NYC

Other HC:

- Has a playlist just for when she swings across the city, it makes her feel like she is in a movie.

- Feeds the stray cats that live around her apartment, and names them after Knicks players. She currently has Josh, Jalen, Karla and OG.

Victoria Javadi aka Spider-Girl

Hometown: Brooklyn, NYC

Other HC:

- Currently a student at NYU, and absolutely loves it. But now that she is a superhero has to find balance with classes, fighting crime and a social life.

- Roomate Joy designs her suits and is the only person in her life that knows her secret.

Baran Al-Hashimi aka The Chief

Hometown: Bronx, NYC

Other HC:

- Local pizza place knows her order by heart, and all she has to do is call ahead and they have it ready for her.

- Huge Yankees fan, and going to games is something she and her son love to do together.

Trinity Santos aka The Rookie

Hometown: Manhattan, NYC

- Hops turnstiles because she’s not paying for that.