Disclaimer: Pay attention guys, as is always the case, Marvel owns the rights and a total profit of nothing is being made on this fic.
A/N: Co-project with CMR Rosa. This story is a What-If based on a scene from Brian Micheal Bendis's Alias series starring Jessica Jones/Jewel. For those of you unfamiliar with her, Jess is a retcon character whose superhero origin is closely tied with that of several other characters that existed before her, including one Peter Parker whom she had a crush on. She and Peter become friends years later in adulthood, but what if they're first meeting hadn't gone south in high school and they became friends then? Beware that in order to stay true to Jess's character and the spirit of Alias, Jess's language is rather…strong. This is rated T for a reason. Currently a One Shot, but may be expanded depending on the level of interest.
One day in one of the common rooms of Avengers Tower, Peter, his wife, Mary Jane, Jessica, her husband, Luke, and her daughter, Dani went through Jess and Peter's old high school yearbooks laughing. It occurred to them they simply could not imagine a universe where things had gone differently, a universe where Peter Parker and Jessica Jones had not known each other since high school. Going through the pictures they thought back to a time that was beginning to feel so long ago…
Jessica hated her life, her school, herself. Her therapist had told her she hadn't caused the accident, that she wasn't the one driving, that she wasn't the one illegally transporting radioactive materials over state lines. And she was starting to believe it. She was starting to let that awful guilt stop consuming her, but it didn't stop complete asses like Flash from taunting her. From calling her "comma girl". From bringing her back to those horrible last moments with her mom, her dad and Phillip before the crash. In movies and crap the last thing you do with your family is sit around, have a touching moment, and say something like "I love you." You don't have a fight with your little brother and call him a "little fucking asshole."
She sat on the bleachers in a fetal position, sobbing. "Fuckers", she muttered as the jocks walked away. Who cared about Flash and his cronies anyway?
The flimsy optimism did nothing to help, she continued to cry. But just then she saw something she thought she'd never see. Peter Parker. Peter Parker whom she'd had a crush on for years. Peter Parker whom was adorable, smart and funny. Peter Parker coming up the bleachers to talk to her. "Jessica?" he called. "Are you okay?"
Jessica smiled. Maybe this day was going to get better after all.
"I'm Peter Parker." He introduced himself.
"I know." After all she had only been doodling his name on her notebook for ages.
"Oh, have we met?" he asked tentatively.
"Yeah." She may or may not have totally been incapable of forming two shitty words in front of him, but they had met "Kind of." She may or may not have been watching him from afar and he may or may not have been totally unaware of her effing existence until today. But being all stalker on him totally counted, right? And she had tried to talk him the day of the radiation experiment field trip, right?
"I-I saw what happened today," stuttered Peter "That Flash is a class A jerk." This he said with much more conviction.
"He's a fucking repressed dickhead retard," responded Jessica
Peter blinked, seemingly a bit uncomfortable with the assertion, or at least the way she had worded it. "I uh-okay", he managed "I wouldn't put it in those words exactly-but…I heard what happened to you…about your family and everything…" he began, the words he wanted to say seemed to have a hard time forming "and I wanted to say that-I felt real bad for you because I also…"
"You-you what?" Jess could feel the anger in her forming. This was not how she saw this going. These were not the words she wanted to hear coming out of Peter's mouth.
Peter, unaware of her inner turmoil continued trying to explain himself, "I feel bad for you because…"
Jess had heard enough. "You pity me?" she exclaimed in anger. Of course. Of freaking course, she thought. He didn't understand. He just…he just. She got up and began to run away. "You came up here to tell me you pity me?" She cried. She was no fucking charity case, and she was not going to stay here and be treated one. Of all the goddamned injustice in the goddamned fucking world, of freaking course. Peter's attempts to get her to stop with a weak "No, I…" barely registered. She continued running making it almost to the ends of the bleachers. She felt her heart clench in her chest, as she continued to run voicing the derision the world seemed to be throwing at her towards Peter "You finally talk to me and it's to tell me you pity me."
In another life Peter's finial attempt to get her stop would have fallen on deaf ears. In another life Jess would not talk to Peter again for years. In another life Jess would not meet one of her closest friends until it was over ten years too late. But that life was not this one. In this life Peter managed to finish what he had to say and the words would get through to Jessica, stopping her.
"No, what? I don't pity you Jess, I understand you."
"What?" she asked. She was taken aback, but there was still an edge to the word, she didn't quite think he did.
"My parents died when I was little," began Peter quietly. "I was raised by my aunt and uncle and well," his voice grew even quieter "my uncle was murdered last year. I know what it's like to lose someone you care about…and to feel like no one understands. I uh, well, if you ever need someone to talk, you can, well you can talk to me, I guess."
Jessica blinked, allowing the admission to sink in. "Oh, I…I didn't know….thanks." she stared for a second before letting the next part out "I'm sorry…for freaking out you like that. That was fucking stupid of me."
"Yeah sure, no problem," said Peter as he shifted his weight (she noticed he also flinched a little, she wondered if he was one of those really squeaky clean people that couldn't stand cussing; come to think of it, she had never heard him say anything even remotely PG-13 in class or around school). While she pondered this she noticed he sat down. "Really, I get it. You have a right to be mad," he added "After my uncle…" his voice trailed off
"So you and your uncle…you were close?" she asked, she moved up the bleachers, sitting closer to him.
"Yeah, he really was like a father to me," Peter smiled as if savoring a memory.
Jessica felt her (usually very in place) defenses falling a bit, allowing her to share what was on her mind "There's a family that wants to adopt me," she said in a small voice "I, well they're really nice but I don't want to feel like I'm replacing them…my family I mean"
Peter just nodded, playing the listener as she continued. "I think though…I think I may just have let them, these adoption people, in though."
"I never knew my parents," said Peter "but my Aunt and Uncle made sure that I knew all about them and stuff. My parents had this dream for me to become a scientist just like them; it's always been a motivator for me when people pick on me for being a brainiac, that in the end I'm doing something for the greater good and it's something my parents would have wanted. Just because you love someone now doesn't mean you can't also love someone from past."
Jess smiled despite herself, "what that your personal motto?"
"No that would be 'with great power comes great responsibility, it's um…well it's something my uncle told me once."
"Nice, if I'm ever in a situation where that's the least bit applicable I'll keep it in mind."
Peter frowned; Jess wondered if she had misspoken, breaking the little moment of trust that had formed. But instead Peter changed conversation topics with a determined but pondering look on his face.
"Have you ever just tried standing up to, or telling someone about Flash?" he asked "About how mean he is to you."
"No, have you?"
"Not really. But I always admire a person that tries."
Jess and Peter smiled at each other in companionable silence, before wordlessly getting up and walking back towards the school. Unfortunately for them, Flash decided to make an appearance, his posy smirking behind them as they noticed the duo.
"Parker and Comma Girl, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N…"
Jessica felt the anger and embarrassment from earlier returning. Damn, she had thought she was done with that for today.
"Hey Flash," said Peter with determination "Shut up."
"What ya going to do about Parker?" His goons laughed behind him.
"Nothing, he's going to stand there while you, your friends, and I have a long chat, Mr. Thompson," the duo turned around to see a rather haughty looking administrator pulling Flash by the elbow as if he were a little kid. They laughed.
Jessica said her goodbye to Peter and ran towards the street doing a happy dance; she felt positively elated. As if her whole life was for the first time, going right. The happy images of what was going on flashing through her head. She felt as if she were weightless. It took her a few moments to realize she really was. That she, Jessica Cambell (soon to be Jones), was airborne, soaring over the skyline. And oh shit that was the Hudson River coming up…
Jessica Jones and Peter Parker became nothing short of best friends. Two people that came understand each other heart and soul and understood the pitfalls of love, loss, power, and responsibility; they always had each other to rely on. Things were rocky at first, Jessica habit of spouting f bombs at random intervals always made the very conservatively raised Peter uncomfortable and after their foray into dating senior year had gone south Jessica was ready to call any and all interactions between the two quits. But things always seemed to work out in the end, the universe seemed determined to remind Jessica Jones and Peter Parker (as well as Spider-Man and Jewel-due to Peter's insistence she never quite retired from Superheroics) the importance of their friendship.