Chapter Text
As expected, the previous day's catastrophe was on the news, blasting on the television in Chase's living room. They were calling it an unfortunate failed test, courtesy of the military, which would make much more sense if they lived in a big city.
Sugar Springs was too rural to host any sort of military testing. Even Grandpa Ralph wasn't convinced.
"Demolishing buildings in the middle of the day is not because of military tests gone wrong! Someone messed up somewhere, and they need to be fired and sent to jail immediately!" Grandpa hollered from the kitchen, vigorously mixing pancake batter.
Chase chuckled and poked at the food on his plate. The reporter was terribly distracting, making it difficult for Chase to enjoy his breakfast the way he typically would.
While the cause of the chaos was unknown to the general public, Chase was fairly certain he had the answer. Ex Libris had to be behind the explosion.
"A mystery hero emerged from the rubble!" The news anchor exclaimed. "As you can see from the anonymous video submission, this person arrived on the scene just after the first explosion. It looks as though they immediately began moving people to safety. Who are they? Where are they now?"
Hmmm… Chase took a bite of the blueberry pancakes before tapping the fork against his plate. Something about this "mystery hero" wasn't sitting right. Acting quickly in a dangerous situation wasn't impossible. Emergency service members did it all the time. And Onyx Spider was known for swooping in to protect people well before police officers ever showed up.
But Chase found it odd that this person disappeared immediately after they gathered a few people to safety. They didn't check on people outside the blast radius based on what the footage showed, nor did they wait for someone more qualified to arrive.
Onyx Spider always waited. Onyx Spider always made sure people could get out of the way before simply leaving the scene.
Why wasn't Onyx Spider there?
"Hang on," Chase mumbled, pushing his chair away from the table. "I… need to figure this out."
"Chase? You didn't finish your food!"
Grandpa Ralph's voice faded against Chase's racing thoughts. He was sure he'd get a good lecture on the importance of breakfast and how unlike him it was to skip out on seconds, but there wasn't a moment to waste.
Chase burst through his bedroom door and closed it a bit too aggressively. He immediately began to pace, replaying the entire day to make sense of what the news revealed versus what he knew to be true.
"Explosion went off. People screamed. Chaos and lots of running," Chase murmured. "This is exactly the sort of thing Onyx Spider would show up for. Where was he?"
He scratched at the back of his arms, squeezing his eyes shut as he remembered how terrified everyone around him sounded. How helpless he was to do anything to help people.
"Buddy reacted so quickly. Before I could even blink, he knew to run in the opposite direction of the blast."
Chase bit the inside of his cheek and stopped pacing, his eyes opening wide.
"He threw himself at me before the bomb went off…"
His heart thundered in his chest, palms sweating as he clenched his hands at his sides.
"And he told me to shut up and move away from the window the first day we met, before the shaking started. How can that be? Is he psychic? No…"
Chase ran his hands through his hair and dropped himself onto the edge of his bed. He bounced his legs and dragged his hands down his face.
"He moved so fast," he whispered as he brought his wrist up in front of his face. "And that grip he had on me felt so familiar."
No. There's no way.
Chase wrapped his own fingers around his wrist and closed his eyes, picturing being pulled along through the streets of Sugar Springs. It was Onyx Spider leading him, but when he turned around, Chase saw piercing blues staring back at him.
He shook his head and shot to his feet. "Buddy is… could he be—"
"Chase! It's your turn to deal with Boris this morning!" Deacon hollered from down the hall. His footsteps grew louder before he knocked several times on Chase's door. "Go feed that stupid horse. I will never understand why he hates me so much."
"Y-yeah, Dorkin. I'll be there in a sec!"
Chase drew in a deep breath and pulled out his phone. There was an easy way to get the confirmation he needed.
Chase: hey Buddy! totes random q for you… are you the
Almost as quickly as he typed the message, Chase deleted everything. It was ridiculous to outright ask someone if they were the masked hero of Sugar Springs. Clearly, Onyx Spider was protecting his identity for a reason. That's what the mask and lack of conversational skills were for.
And what if Chase was wrong? His hunches about people were seldom incorrect, but this was one situation where he needed much more proof. Just because Onyx Spider didn't show up during a disaster where Buddy so happened to be didn't necessarily mean the two were the same person.
Even if they both grunted at him the exact same way and used the same insults.
Chase shot Buddy a quick text, checking in on him and thanking him for walking him home, before he ran outside to deal with the family horse.
Class wasn't cancelled, even after the destruction done to Sugar Springs. It was a bit odd walking onto campus and listening to the other students gossip about the catastrophe.
A few girls walked past Chase, talking about how they hoped the mystery hero was a hot single local to the area. Chase rolled his eyes.
Probably an industry plant. Mystery hero my butt.
A group of people stood close to the classroom door and regaled their versions of what happened, claiming they were at the scene of the incident. One of them said something about how they ushered a few people away from falling debris, which was mostly believable.
It would be a wonder if anyone got anything done in class. There were far too many loud conversations happening inside. If the professor could hold their attention for the entire hour, Chase would be impressed.
Chase slumped into his chair and checked his phone to see if Buddy had responded.
Nothing.
Not that they'd texted a ton prior, but Buddy was quick to respond. The message sitting on delivered was a tad worrisome. Chase could try to ask Buddy how he felt when he showed up for class.
He will show up. Right? Why wouldn't he…?
The professor took his place at the front of the room, indicating the start of class. Chase looked back over his shoulder, as if willing Buddy into his seat would magically cause him to show up.
Five minutes into the lecture, the door opened. Chase sat up straight, his heart fluttering in his chest as a sense of relief washed over him. He imagined teasing Buddy hardcore about being this late and the adorable pout that would follow.
Adorable… what am I thinking?!
Only, his feelings of relief and preemptive satisfaction were replaced with a heavy sadness when a stranger with brown hair, a white T-shirt, and what appeared to be blue board shorts stood in the doorway.
Chase sighed and sank further into his seat, tapping the screen of his phone to check on his messages one more time.
"So sorry I'm late! Is this, uh," the guy stammered, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, "business communications?"
"It is," the instructor replied, "please pick any open desk, then come see me after class is over."
A new student this far into the term? Interesting, Chase thought as the brunette sauntered toward him.
"Mind if I sit here?" He asked with a kind smile, taking a seat at Buddy's desk.
Chase blinked a few times and offered a smile of his own. "Oh, sure. Someone usually sits there, but you can take the spot for now."
"Thanks, dude. Sorry to disturb you."
As Chase turned back around, the new guy tapped him on the shoulder.
"Sorry again, but could you maybe help me catch up?"
"Not right now," Chase whispered, "but I can when class is over."
The hour went by quickly, and Chase realized his notes were gibberish. He doodled in the margins and wrote down connections between Ex Libris and his encounters with odd people, as well as Onyx Spider. He hoped he didn't miss anything too important, especially when the entire class broke out into more conversations about the explosion the moment class ended.
"Hey, so teach gave me the syllabus and some notes, but he told me to find another student to ask for more help," the new guy rubbed the back of his neck, standing between Chase and the exit.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Are you busy right now? I was planning on heading to the coffee shop to… study."
Chase wanted to sit in the corner booth and send Buddy ten more text messages to see if the goth was even still alive, but he could probably get away with sending one or two while helping this person out. The guy looked genuinely lost, and sitting on his phone the whole time would be extremely inconsiderate.
"I'm Chase, by the way." Chase held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you! My friends call me Wave," the new guy — Wave — replied with a firm handshake.
"Well, Wave, let me show you where the coffee shop is, and I will do my best to get you up to speed. I have an hour between this and my next thing. That cool?"
"Totally! Thanks, man!"
The walk to the coffee shop was filled with small talk. Chase learned that Wave used to surf, which is where the nickname came from. Chase mentioned wanting to learn, but he was too busy dancing and keeping up his strength training. Perhaps one day they could hit the beach together.
Would Buddy enjoy the beach? He'd probably need SPF one thousand if he ever got close to the ocean.
Chase chuckled to himself at the idea of a beach trip with the goth as he and Wave entered the cafe. While Wave ordered his drink, Chase shot off another text to Buddy.
Chase: hey, hope ur ok. kinda weird not having you bother me in class today.
He tucked his phone back into his jacket pocket and led Wave to a table close to the front of the cafe.
Maybe he'll swing by for his coffee and see me… that jerk needs to seriously learn some communication etiquette or something.
"Before we get too deep into things," Chase began, slowly pulling out his notebook, "I have to ask. How did they let you into classes this late in the semester?"
Wave rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous smile pulling across his face. "Ah, yeah. Well, my uncle pulled some strings."
Chase tilted his head. "Is your uncle a big shot or something?"
"I don't really know," Wave shrugged, spinning his drink a few times. "He hired me to work for him, and I live in his house. But apparently, working part-time isn't enough to keep me housed, so he wanted me in school. And here I am! Aren't you guys also halfway through some project, too?"
"Mhmm," Chase nodded as he began to flip through his notes, "it's a partnered project, too. Did the professor assign you a partner?"
"Yeah, someone dropped the class, so I'm picking up where they left off."
Chase's stomach sank, praying Buddy wasn't the one to drop. If he had been, then the instructor would have let Chase know he was being reassigned, and that didn't happen. Which meant Buddy was still enrolled; he just opted to skip out.
"Why didn't you ask them for help? Not that I mind! I'm just curious."
Wave took a long sip of coffee and beamed. "Well, you seemed like a super nice guy! Not intimidating, like my project partner. I figured I'd catch up with someone who seems nice, then go into the project with less than a hundred questions."
Chase sputtered a laugh. "I totally understand! I am super nice and totes happy to get you started. Here, let's get into it."
He briefly went over the notes he had taken over the last few weeks, careful to skip over anything Ex Libris-related. The corporation name itself was sprinkled along some of the pages, but only in the context of the project itself. That wasn't suspicious, or at least, Chase hoped it wasn't.
Wave took a few notes of his own and asked a question or two. Lucky for both of them, the course had been fairly straightforward.
"Thanks, man. I think I have a decent idea of what to expect. The instructor seems chill, too. No tests?" Wave pumped his fist into the air. "That's so rad!"
"No problem! If you have any other questions, I'm happy to answer. But I think your partner can probably take it from here," Chase offered as he closed his notebook and shoved it back into his bag.
Wave nodded. "I appreciate it. I do have a question, but more about the town than the class."
"Sure, what's up? I know this town like the back of my hand!" Chase gloated, pointing toward his chest with both thumbs.
"Are the constant earthquakes normal?" Wave rubbed at the back of his neck and looked around the cafe before continuing. "Where I'm from, one or two every once in a while made sense. But they happen a lot here, huh? Fault line, maybe?"
Chase opened his mouth to answer but thought twice before speaking. Telling someone new to town about Ex Libris could prove to be confusing, especially without any sort of context. He tapped his chin and clicked his tongue before coming up with a vague enough answer. If Wave was interested, then maybe Chase could go into more detail another day.
"Sugar Springs wasn't prone to earthquakes until pretty recently. Weird, right?"
Wave nodded slowly, then furrowed his brow, clearly confused.
"I know people keep talking about climate change, but that doesn't affect the ground shaking, does it?"
"Not that I know of," Chase shrugged and leaned forward, lowering his voice, "but I think I have a pretty solid theory as to why—"
Before he could finish, Chase's phone rang, volume blaring through the coffee shop. Customers turned toward the offending sound, sending Chase into a minor panic as he jumped to answer.
Buddy?
"H-hey! Hello?"
"Dude, where are you?" Simon's voice scolded on the other end. "You always complain about me not showing up when I'm supposed to! Aren't we rehearsing today?"
Chase pulled the phone from his face to check the time when his stomach dropped.
"Crud, you're right. I'll be there in ten! Warm up without me!"
Simon laughed on the other end before hanging up. Chase quickly gathered his things and shot Wave an apologetic smile.
"I am so sorry to run out like this. I gotta go, but I'll see you in class tomorrow, right?"
"All good, bro. See you tomorrow!"
Lucky for Chase, Sugar Springs had plenty of alleyways for shortcuts through the busiest parts of town. Getting to the dance studio in less than ten minutes was easy enough.
This will be my warm-up, Chase told himself as he climbed up short walls and jumped over debris left in the streets. Simon will be just fine warming up on his own.
"I'm here!" Chase hollered, offering a beaming smile to his clearly unamused friend.
Simon chuckled as he paused his own warm-up playlist. "Relax, Chase. You didn't need to rush over here. I've made you wait way longer than this."
Chase rolled his eyes. It was true; he'd waited almost an hour once for Simon to show up, but he still felt bad for running fifteen minutes behind schedule, especially since this was a rare Simon-arriving-on-time moment. He'd take the ridicule this one time.
Setting up his portable speaker, Chase bit the inside of his cheek. He had a ridiculous thought, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get through practice without acting on it.
"I'm going to ask you to do something for me, and I need you to just roll with it," Chase sighed, running a hand through his hair.
Simon arched an eyebrow in response.
Chase held out his arm. "Grab my wrist."
"Chase, I love you, but you're not my type," Simon shot back, folding his arms across his chest with a sly grin.
"Simon, no one is your type," Chase groaned, "so shut up and humor me. I'm experimenting."
"Kinky," Simon snickered, "I'll do it, but don't blame me if you end up liking this, my friend."
Chase rolled his eyes at his best friend's antics as he went along with Chase's request.
While there weren't many ways to grab hold of someone by the wrist, it was clear to Chase that it was easy enough to recognize the touch of another person. Simon's grip was very different.
No wonder Buddy's hold on me felt so familiar…
"Can I let go now?" Simon's dry tone pulled Chase from his thoughts.
Chase wiggled his arm free and rubbed his wrist with a smile. "Right, sorry. Thanks, man. I have what I need."
"You're being weird. Late to practice and holding us up? Is this about a boy?"
"W-what? No!" Chase snapped much too loudly, his voice echoing through the studio. "No. No boy. Just, um, thoughts! Of certain things. Let's get into this routine and nail it on the first run-through, okay?"
Chase felt his face burn as he skipped to his phone, pressing play and turning up the volume as loud as he could respectfully crank it.
Rehearsal went by quickly, as Chase found it easy enough to keep his mind off of Buddy and the previous day's disaster. He and Simon, as expected, managed to be utterly perfect each time they went through their routine. It was almost time to record themselves and send it off to… someone. Chase wasn't sure who, yet, but he would find out just who would be interested in signing the next big idols from a small town.
"All right, man. I'm gonna bounce," Chase huffed and puffed, collecting everything he'd sprawled out on the floor.
Simon folded his arms, shooting Chase an accusatory look. "Really? Not even going to suggest a milkshake run and make me front you the cash you'll never pay back? You sure you aren't seeing someone?"
Chase froze and clicked his tongue. "Simon, if I had a boyfriend, you'd know. There would be signs. Like me telling you I have a boyfriend."
"You say that," Simon sighed, walking with Chase toward the exit, "but you're acting like you have a big secret. I'll find you out, Chase Hollow."
"I'm so scared!" Chase held his hands to his face before waving at his best friend. "See you later!"
Chase jogged home, wishing he were much better at playing things cool. Simon read him like a book, even if he was very wrong about the reason he was acting so differently.
Buddy going radio silent was throwing him off his game. Ghosting should be expected from a mysterious mall goth, which was why all of this was messing with his brain even more. This particular mysterious goth didn't seem like the type to blow off class or ignore Chase.
Chase was hard to ignore; Buddy said so himself.
He pushed through the front door and tossed his bag onto the couch. Gathering what he assumed were leftovers from lunch, Chase buzzed around the kitchen quickly before bolting toward Deacon's room.
"Deacon!" Chase called out with a mouth full of green beans. "Have you seen the news at all this afternoon?"
His cousin jumped and shoved what Chase assumed was a notebook full of romance novel ideas underneath his textbooks.
"Have I what? Chase, why are you in—"
"I sure haven't," Chase interrupted, pacing back and forth while shoving more food into his mouth. "Has Onyx Spider been in the news at all?"
Deacon swiveled his chair and tilted his head. He took a beat before answering.
"No? I don't actively look for his name anywhere. And why do you care all of a sudden? I thought you hated that guy for being an overnight sensation?"
"Hate is a strong word, Dorkin," Chase scoffed, "and I care because of what happened yesterday! A huge explosion and, what, no masked hero? No follow-up? Did something happen to him? Maybe he wasn't around because—"
Chase's heart was pounding hard against his chest, his breath coming way too quickly. The room was spinning slightly as rapid, horrific visions plagued his mind.
"Hey, Chase. Breathe."
Deacon got up, led Chase to a small ottoman in the corner of the room, and took the empty plate from his hands. "Nothing happened to him, okay? Maybe he just can't be in two places at once, and someone else needed his help at the time."
Two places at once, huh? Chase thought, attempting to breathe.
"You're probably right."
"I am right. Are you okay? I haven't seen you this worked up since Alastair cancelled his North American tour."
Chase sighed. "Things are just so weird around here. Please tell me you notice now, Dorkin. Especially after yesterday."
"I'll admit, things seem to be taking a strange turn around here. I just try not to think about it. I'm staying distracted with med school."
"And writing your own kissy novels?" Chase arched his eyebrow and snickered, earning an elbow to the ribs from his annoyed cousin.
"Find a distraction. Let law enforcement, Onyx Spider, and whoever this new guy is take care of the dangerous, weird stuff. Okay?"
Chase nodded, rising to his feet. "Thanks, Deac."
As Chase rushed out of his room, Deacon yelled for Chase to come back and clean up his mess. Chase would claim he never heard such a demand and go back for his dirty dish in the morning.
"A distraction, huh?" Chase looked down at his phone and pulled up his text thread with Buddy, dropping himself at his desk. None of his messages had been read, but he sent one more before diving back into his Ex Libris research.
Chase: hope ur alive. kinda miss you. weird right? anyway, I wanna repay you for saving my life. talk soon, I hope.