Chapter 5 - To woo or to be wooed

Tyler Riddle in his bedroom

Sunday morning

I finally started on my journey to getting strength to rival some of earth's mightiest. After the whole situation on Friday, Matt has only given me one session of training. The very first thing he told me to do was to increase all my senses to the maximum I could do without injuring myself, the exception being sight. Needless to say, I was not happy about it. I've become so aware of everything that it's maddening. 

My clothes feel like sandpaper. The sun makes me feel like it's trying to cook me, the air conditioning is trying to freeze me to death. And the smells. Oh God, the smells. They're disgusting and they're everywhere. I can't seem to wash my own stench off myself no matter how much I try. I constantly feel off balance, and feeling every muscle in your body move individually is just disgusting, not cool.  Forget about training, my first session with Matt was just torture and him coaxing me away from madness. It's like a permanent flashbang effect, except there's no light and it affects every sense. 

We never even touched on echolocation. And now he wants me to keep all my senses heightened as a form of training and acclimation. I suppose this was what he had to deal with as a child. Still, I keep a pair of ear and nose plugs in case I wind up needing them. I don't think an ordinary human mind was meant to process this much information, so I need to make the necessary enhancements to my brain as soon as possible.

Nia smells nice, but I also smell myself on her sometimes. It's probably just me getting a whiff of my own scent trail. Her nice smell must be part of some cute little sister power she has. I swear, she's cute even when her face has Nutella all over it.

Gwen's ballet performance is supposed to be at 5 today. I think I'll just stay in my room, absorb tap water when I'm hungry, and acclimate to my hyperactive senses until I have to leave.

=÷=

Midtown High Auditorium for the Performing Arts

Tyler Riddle

I arrived at the location of the performance  half an hour early. Gwen and the other ballet dancers were doing stretches up on stage. My Gwen was wearing an ordinary pink leotard and tights with no frills, but it more than suited her. Her outfit blended almost seamlessly with her skin and hugged every curve. These uniforms may be functional, but they were clearly made for men to see. I took a seat and waited for the performance to start.

Thirty minutes later, and the auditorium filled up. It was pretty sparse, only about a hundred people showed up, but it was still chaotic for me. All their quiet voices were very loud for me, and their combined body heat made me feel like I was gonna melt. 

All of a sudden, the lights go out, soft piano music starts playing, and the dancers come out in strides. Gwen spots me, flashing an angelic smile, and I froze. Like a deer in headlights, all my senses just focused on her. 

They started dancing, but all I saw was Gwen. I was hooked, my plans to woo her were thrown into the gutter. 

I don't think I blinked for an entire hour, because my eyes hurt like all hell at the end of the performance. Rubbing my eyes oh so gently, I spot Gwen walking up to me, still in her leotard. I catch a whiff of a fruity scent, kinda like plums.

"Hey Tyler! What did you think?" She asks, playfully.

"You were beautiful up there."

"Oh really," she says, giggling, "I'm really glad you came to watch me perform."

"You're my friend, of course I'd be here. Why would you think differently?"

"Well is Peter here? Besides, I know people don't consider ballet a sport or much of an art form. It's viewed like cheerleading, but there's no football team behind us, and we don't wear skimpy clothing."

I don't know about that last one. Those leotards may cover a lot of skin, but they reveal a whole lot more of a girl's figure. I know they wear breast bands too, but they obviously aren't working for her.

"I'm sure it takes a lot of practice to build up the sense of balance and motor skills necessary to pull off all those moves." I add. Smart compliments give extra brownie points. You can never have too many brownie points.

"So Gwen, I've been meaning to ask you. Do you want to go on a date with me?," I ask with a shy smile.

"I thought you'd never ask. I've been waiting for almost a week. What made you decide to do it now?"

"I thought I would take some more time and get you to know me better before I did."

"That would have worked if you weren't so obvious."

"Pete said something similar."

"I told him to."

Damn, he really is a Turncoat. He must be some sort of friend for hire, selling my information to every girl that asks. First Nia, now Gwen. He's not just a double agent, he's a triple agent. I'll have to retract some information from him later. 

"So is that a yes?"

"Yes! What's your plan for our date, and when is it?"

"Let's go with Friday after school, the day after our field trip to Oscorp. I got us a trial run at becoming interns in their genetics labs. They want some fresh minds, and if they like what we say, we might be permanent members of the team."

"You know me so well! How did you do it?"

"I talked about a few really good ideas and theories in front of Harry Osborn. I figured he would blab to his dad and I was right."

"Hmm.. manipulative. I like it. What else will we be doing?" She asks mischievously.

I didn't actually have anything else planned, I didn't think she would want to do more. Ok something simple.

"We'll go to the movies afterwards."

"Oh, and what else?"

Damn, she's not taking it easy on me is she? Come on think. We can't go shopping that late. Let's umm.. umm…

"Ice cream?"

"Sounds like a plan," she says, "Oh, and just because this will be our first date, don't think that we're not a couple yet. You're already mine." She gives me a kiss on the side of my mouth before walking away, sashaying her hips. She's almost as manipulative as me.

I should go tell Matt and Nia the good news when I get back. I'll keep it a surprise from Peter until I see him at school. I also need to figure out a plan to steal the spiders inside Oscorp labs. They could be very useful if I want to alter my body in the future.

Horizon42

Today's chapter is slightly shorter than normal. I was just tired, but tomorrow's chapter will be...interesting. Favorite if you liked and comment if you have something to say. I respond to almost every comment.