2/03 Instance: Ctenizoidea

[Starfish]

Timeline - Some point after 'Trim Your Bush'

Eddie scratched his head, tearing another depressing graphite drawing from his art pad and flinging it into the mess his room had become. He was perched, like a black widow, withing a million strings of tar-like webbing.

Every part of his back and arms was attatched to one of the hundreds of coarsing threads, making his room look more like a treacle nightmare than a living quarters. 'The Faint - Glass Danse' pounded from Ed's stereo as he began another miserable masterpiece.

Darren frowned at the door, head cocked to one side as he listened to the music. Just his luck that he'd be partnered with the brit-emo-kid for this art project, well he wasn't gonna do all the work and only get a pass, he'd made Eddie pull his fair share if he had to pull the guy out of his self-made fortress of solitude kicking and screaming if need be.

"Hey! Eddie," he rapped on the door loudly, "open up you over-grown amoeba!"

"Didn't I say leave me alone?!", he practically screeched back. Mind you, that was about three months ago. Eddie wanted no company - he was comfy, and safe from all the shit outside that door.

"Maybe you did and I just couldn't hear it over the sounds of your emo wanking," Darren tried the door, "have you forgotten that this is a school and you have like ... classes and stuff man?" Locked ... damnit, he'd have to pay for it if he kicked it down ... unless he could make it look like Eddie had done it from the inside, that might work ...

Eddie sighed as loudly as possible, he dropped his art utensils into his mass of webbing and leant back - now upside down, he used his left hand to extend a tendril and turn off the music and his right to move the cobbweb cluster nearest the door to pull it open a crack.

Darren's eyes widened a little as the door was opened and he saw the state of the room, "Jeeeeesus man, a oil tanker run aground in here or something?" He took in the thin figure hanging from the bottom of the crazy goth web, "I hope that when you get a roomie he isn't OCD about spiders or anything."

"He - like everyone else, hopefully including yourself - can piss off...", Eddie replied with a sigh, looking away from Darren and reaching down for his art things. "What do you want, anyway? Must have a good reason for disturbing the 'Brood-Mother'...", the D&D nerd within Ed was desperately trickling out, it seemed.

"Awww, now that's just mean," Darren drawled, folding his arms, "where else is the poor bastard meant to sleep?" Darren proped himself against the door frame, "Oh believe me, I'm not here outta the goodness of my heart, I'm here 'cos of those classes I mentioned before, the ones that we get grades for?"

"Well we've been partnered up for an art project, and if you don't do your share then I only get a pass, I don't 'just get passes' in art," he almost growled.

"Wow...there IS something you genuinely give a shit about more than computers, huh?", Eddie smirked to himself as he added some shading to the drawing in his lap. "What do we - sorry, you have to do? I've no interest in anything at the moment...", Eddie winced a little at the taste of his lying.

"You lie like a cheap rug," Darren rolled his eyes, "it's a photography project, now it's my turn to ask a question. Why the fuck have you been holed up in here like some kind of rodent? Get sick of all the girls blowing you off with your lame pick-ups or something?"

Eddie smiled a fraction. "That and life...just, with May and everything, you know? I also have no luck with people, I miss home a little and frankly? I miss having someone.", he closed his eyes and took a breath. "I feel safer inside a web sometimes - beats all that crap out there for sure..."

Darren studied the web for a moment, "Yeah, I can get that," he conceded, tweaking one of the strands, refraining from passing comment on Mayhem apart from, "You do know he's back don't you?" he tweaked it again.

"...oh...huh.", was all Eddie managed to reply. "I just don't wanna....you know, he's...", the boy at the heart of the web twisted around to watch Darren; "My feelings won't change: I can't see him like that..."

"... Yeah, you know he's mostly fixed now," he tried to pull his hand away but it was stuck to the web, "then again, since you spent all your time in the gooey fortress of solitude and you're not on myspace you wouldn't, huh?" he sniffed, "Have you not even opened a window since you hid away? It smells like decomposing laundry in here."

Eddie gestured to his spent wardrobe within the laundry basket beside what was once his bed, unusually, he was dressed in four day old black trousers and nothing more. "I keep my laptop close, but only for porn, to be honest...", Ed shrugged, "Besides, not like I ever do anymore...". Another cluster of webbing drooped down, within it, Eddie's laptop.

"End of the day, I'm kind of...I don't want to see my best friend like that - ever again if need be - and if that makes me an asshole, then you are too for not understanding why first...", Eddie elevated himself and returned to drawing. "Now, if you don't mind...", he gestured to the door.

"Yeah, I know I'm an asshole, but I think I'm in the presence of a master here, also I think I'm stuck," Darren muttered, grabbing his wrist in his hand and trying to pull it away.

Eddie sighed, shuffling a little, he pulled the tendril frim Darren's arm. "Are you gonna go then? Or do you want to explain this Art thing before you do?", Eddie said, without looking at him.

"We need to take photos, both of us, and it kinda needs to be outside your room and if we get anything less then an A+ I will compress your body into a space much smaller then an atom and jettison you into the sun, capiche?" Darren threatened, shaking out his freed hand.

Eddie shrugged again. Actually, he was kind of afraid that Darren might do that. "Fine...I'll go out. Out of town, maybe to a city like...", he paused, thinking about his Dad. "W-wait. Washington DC.", he suddenly decided, with two backflips he receeded all the webbing into his body - a whirlling, whipping sound followed them.

"Wait? Washington? How the fuck're you gonna get there?" Though to be fair ... if he did go there and take photos it would make for an A+ project ...

"I'll be honest, I've no fucking idea.", Eddie stated, matter of factly. He went about finding a bag in amongst the hundreds of pictures on the floor. "I will though. How long until this needs handing in? And I'm pretty sure you could drop me off there, or I could find a ride to make it a little less conspicuos."

"You ain't in England anymore buddy, it's not like everywhere's only a few hours away on the train and I'm not hotwiring the jet for you to go running off to DC man, or have you forgotten that you're an unregistered, illegal alien mutant?" Darren rolled his eyes, okay yeah, he did come from a tiny island but surely they couldn't be that inbred?

"You wanna run around a city fine, I'd suggest one a lil' closer to home like New York, and we've got three weeks to do this shit, Lorna sent you an email about it with all the details."

Eddie began stowwing away his toiletries into a bag, his back errupted with tentacles as he reached for his laptop behind him. "One useful thing - for being stuck in here so long, I've learned how to use these powers better.", Ed looked over his shoulder, "New York it is then, if you could take those clothes there for a wash, that's be good."

"Do I look like your freakin' maid?" Darred puffed indignatly, producing a cigarette and lighting it with the tip of his finger, "just remember to liase with me with the photos you're taking so we stay on the same page, okay? And try not to get caught by any anti-terror cops taking pictures of shit, huh?"

Eddie stood up, turning around. "Don't worry...", he started, pausing as his body errupted with activity; he contorted his form into a streamlined, black shape with white lines (clearly his ribs once) across his chest like a spider-symbol. His eyes, now huge and white, and a large grin akin to his monstrous form upon his 'face'. The form dispersed as quickly as it appeared. "...I'm quicker nowwerdays."

Darren looked Eddie up and down, "Well at least looking like that people are more likely to think 'lost gimp on his way to a fetish party' then 'arghohmyfuckinggodalienmonster' but still watch your back out there Limey," he grinned, "you're not in Kansas anymore ..."

"Thanks, see you back here with some quality images, 'Megaman'.", Eddie winked at Darren, turning back to his packing. "T-teddy says hi...", he added quietly.

"Megaman?" Darren snorted, "That's a new one, beats Five anyways," he smirked a little, "see you around man, and take some good pictures," his enhanced senses picked up on the last part and he frowned, "Uh ... hi and bye Teddy?" He backed out of the room and shut the door behind him.

What a wierd crazy emo that one was!

[stjohn]

lol, Nice instance guys!

[steyn]

Lol, I seem to like Darren more and more