chance
summary: And, midway through ransacking Peter Parker's room, Ray-Lynne knew she probably looked crazy. But, her neighbor was hiding a secret, and she intended to find out.
chapter one: meet cute
Akin to her peers, Ray-Lynne Cortez did not take a particular liking to the choices in her life. Like many before her, she submitted to the demands of everyday life, even if those actions did not acquiesce to her desires. Not everyone could do as they pleased and find satisfaction in life, even in New York, the city of dreams. Actually, especially in New York. The act of simply living required sacrifice, a fact that had been mentally engineered into her mind for so long that it had appeared almost inherent in nature. And yet, with those first signs of freedom peeking just above the horizon of her near future, she crumbled to the will of others. It was difficult to be both young and strong in an opinionated world, and far too easy to fall under a state of impressionability, to change the color of one's feathers to match a shade of likeness.
Decisions needed to be made, and disregarding the appeasement of those who had birthed and/or molded your very existence was not a smart decision. So, she followed them—her parents, siblings, relatives, friends, mentors, and watchful, judgmental strangers. Lies were useful tools she used everyday to construct a façade of indestructibility and acceptance. But, tried as she might, she could not accept what was to become of her: a pristine model of predictability. She was anything but what her family had wanted and expected her to be.
At this time of day, her family had expected her to be in the library, reading till her eyes crossed and soaking as much information into her brain as possible. Instead, she was outside a random alley in Queens, smoking a joint, thinking about her post-secondary existence, and watching an altercation between a catty, brunette girl and a tall boy, whom she recognized as her geographically-close neighbor that she had never formally met.
From what Ray could gather, the girl, who could now be identified as Jennifer, did not want to be seen in certain public places with the guy, especially in her home, due to their social class differences. Ray was almost in disbelief at the topic of the predicament. They lived in New York City, a mecca of tolerance, and it was 2012. To think the broad would address class dissociations in Queens, no less.
"Look, just because Flash has taken a liking to you does not mean I'm about to stoop down to that level. I will call YOU. YOU do not get to call ME. I will schedule everything: where to meet and what time. All YOU have to do is show up."
"Jennifer, don't you think that, um," he paused, clearly uncomfortable with her stern expression, "that's a bit unfair? I mean, what if I'm busy-"
"Oh please," she laughed, "as if you have a life. I'll see you around. Bye."
The situation was such a typical rendition of a teenage sitcom or drama that when Jennifer walked away—though Ray would have described her walk as more of an obnoxious strut—she half-expected the girl to turn back, apologize, and let the credits roll. But, she never turned back, and so, as soon as she was out of earshot, Ray found herself bursting into laughter at the exchange between the tall, lost boy and the pretty brunette girl who had verbally obliterated his below average ego mere seconds ago.
The boy averted his stare to Ray, looking somewhat embarrassed at the fact that he had an audience. She knew she must have looked like a crazy person, laughing her ass off with a joint fit loosely between her fingers. But, she could have cared less at that moment.
"She's lying to you, you know," she informed him, her amusement still apparent to the boy in question. "About being all rich, that is. Kind of obvious."
He turned his body slowly so that it was facing in her direction. It was a wonder how they had never crossed paths for living so close to one another. They had even gone to the same school together. He went to Midtown High School, and was a year or two younger than her; that much, she knew from the one year she attended the school. She remembered seeing him in the halls with a camera firmly gripped in his hands, taking pictures of everyone and everything. She remembered him skateboarding home, while she walked. She also remembered that he wasn't exactly well-liked by the student body, as demonstrated by the encounter.
"What makes you say that?" he asked awkwardly, clearly unsure of what to say. They were still quite a distance apart. She was sitting on the lowest step of the fire escape, her back resting against the wall, and he was standing at the opposite end of the alley near the dumpster. It had only occurred to her that this was an odd setting for the boy and Jennifer the brunette to meet to talk about a school project.
"I guess these are things only a member of the female species would know. But, if this girl was as rich as she claims, she wouldn't be in Queens, holding an obviously fake Gucci bag and wearing Manolo Blahnik knock-offs from Macy's."
He seemed to nod in understanding, still staring at her as if trying to place her in his mind. It appeared he had recognized her as well. "She says her father works on Wall Street," he finally managed to say.
"Yeah, as a janitor maybe."
A small laugh emitted from his lips before his expression returned to its usual neutrality. "Why would she lie?" he inquired.
Whether the question was directed to himself or Ray, she did not know, but she decided to answer anyway. "Really? You have to ask why?"
"I'm sensing you know something that I don't..."
"Tell me, have you ever lied before?"
"Well, I-"
"It's a simple question, bud. Yes or no?"
"Yes."
"And why did you lie?"
"I suppose maybe...to keep certain things of my life private..."
"So, to protect your privacy, and therefore, protect yourself," she mused, to which he only nodded in agreement. "Well, believe it or not, but you two just lied for the very same reasons... in two different circumstances, of course. This girl's not lying just for the hell of it. She's lying because she thinks she has something to lose, maybe her dignity or status, and she wants to protect it. So, you see, you two aren't really much different from one another...except that she's a bitch."
He didn't know what to say, and Ray couldn't blame him. Despite living in New York, she knew the boy was sheltered and probably didn't talk to many people, or have conversations, such as these, with people he'd just met. She remembered her mother had called him 'a poor lonesome boy', which was painfully offensive, but half-true. Ray and just about every student living in New York had grown accustomed to strange talks with strangers. Meeting new people was all a part of both New York and student living.
"I'm Ray-Lynne Cortez, your neighbor," Ray finally introduced herself. She noticed there was still an air of awkwardness revolving around the boy. She suspected it was her persistent smiling, but it wasn't flirtatious in the slightest. She was just highly amused at how uncomfortable she was making him feel. Or, maybe it was just the drugs. Maybe just the drugs.
"I know," he nodded his head in recognition. "Peter Parker. You graduated from Midtown, right?"
"That, I did," she confirmed. "Not my favorite school, but I lived. Then again, there weren't overgrown lizards invading the halls last year."
At this, he grinned. "No, there were not… What school do you go to now?"
"Empire State. Studying to become a nurse…"
"That's very…noble of you."
"Save, it," she sighed, her thoughts returning back to her original reason for smoking in the first place. "I'm no Florence Nightingale."
"Clearly," he gestured to the finished joint she threw onto the ground.
She laughed. "I'm sure Florence needed some release every now and then… What about you? Still in Midtown, taking those pictures?"
Reaching into the side of his backpack, he procured a camera, which only served to make her chuckle some more.
"Why am I not surprised? Whenever I saw you in school, your hand was practically glued to that thing."
He let out a short laugh and blushed. "I am the school photographer, so I kind of have to."
"Very impressive. I didn't pick up a yearbook after the school year passed. You any good?"
"Uh, I guess?"
"I'll be the judge of that. How 'bout I hire you for the next five minutes to take my picture then, Mr. Photographer? I could procure some type of compensation in the form of an ice cream cone just around the corner…"
"The ice cream isn't necessary…But, I could take a few head shots if you wanted. Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't have asked."
"Um, okay," he nodded his head, diligently preparing his camera to take a couple of shots for his newfound acquaintance. He'd admit that it was a bit strange, but he felt oddly at ease with her, seeing as she had been his neighbor for over a year and he was accustomed to seeing her face every now and then.
"Alright, let me get my pose ready," she joked, running up to one part of the fire escape and making a dramatic pose against the edge of the railing.
Peter laughed out loud, startled by her forwardness. He thought he would be taking just a few headshots. He certainly was not expecting…whatever she had just done.
"How do I look?" she asked, flipping her hair with sheer exaggeration.
"Should I lie to protect myself?"
She giggled. It appeared she had managed to make a small crack on the surface of the decidedly shy kid. "Watch it, bud, or I'll fire you."
"I'm shaking," he deadpanned, lifting the camera to his face. A series of flashes captured Ray in a succession of poses, some more tasteful than others, and others just so flat-out ridiculous that Peter had to keep himself from laughing, much to no avail. It would have been incredibly odd in any other situation, but the fact that Ray was completely comfortable and seemed incredibly harmless made Peter feel at ease. He couldn't remember a time when meeting someone was this simple. He supposed this was all part of the new Peter Parker, post-spider bite…and maybe the drugs?
After about six decent shots, Ray was about to end her mini-photo shoot session, when she spied the most vile creature she had ever laid eyes on, staring at her with the malice of one thousand axe-murderers.
"Ah!" she shrieked at the sight of a palm-sized rat, just chilling on her hand. Not a moment later, she found herself losing her balance and dipping backward on the ledge of the railing. Her heart sank to her chest, knowing her back would have to face the hard impact of the cement despite her reluctance. Yes, she could use. Now would be as good a time as any. But, she couldn't risk it if Peter was present. She hardly knew him, and he could report her without question. So, she continued to fall. However, instead of meeting hard pavement, she found herself falling (dumbly) into the arms of a tall and surprisingly quick Peter Parker. For once, the small, talkative girl was rendered speechless. Peter, himself, was speechless, but he managed to compose himself faster than his shorter counterpart.
"If this is your reaction to a small rodent, it's a good thing you didn't stick around for another year at Midtown," he commented, carefully bringing her to her feet.
"It just startled me; that's all," she defended, stepping back to collect her messenger back at the foot of the fire escape with her back turned against him. "But, I think what's more startling is how fast you got here."
Peter's breath seemed to hitch in his throat at her observation, and he waited on pins and needles for her to continue. Ray, herself, could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. There was no way…no possible way he could have ran that fast from point A to point B and catch her as if it was nothing. He wasn't even panting. She wanted to push it further and pry, but even in her drug-induced state, she noticed it. There was fear in Peter Parker's eyes, an anxious look that could only be acquired when someone had something to hide. Ray knew the look too well, as she had mastered the art of concealing it for years. Her neighbor had just become a whole lot more interesting.
"Those are some quick reflexes, Parker. And, have you been working out?" she asked, turning around with a bright, fake smile and walking over to poke his bicep.
He let out a laugh, relieved to hear she had not suspected a thing…or so he thought. "I guess you could say that."
"Well, I'm impressed. That would have been one painful fall and recovery, so thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"Ice cream? I could use it right about now…and I think you deserve an extra scoop for your heroic stint," she offered.
"Sure," he agreed. "I'll pay."
"Um, obviously not, you just saved my…"
And they talked this way for a couple of hours, which is exactly what Ray wanted because not once did she forget the impossible reflexes of her neighbor, Peter Parker, and she intended to find out his secret. If not for her fabricated obliviousness, Peter would obviously not have agreed to spending more time with her, which was why she was going to ride this thing out until she figured the boy-wonder out.
To think, after all this time, that she might have been living beside someone who could be just like her…
a/n: lol i keep editing this and posting it back up bcuz i always come up with an idea to make the story shorter. still tentative and may edit it again though.