I feel like, because of my last authors note, I should make it known that this is a completely different universe than Calm and Reposed:P
Twenty to life. Twenty to life is the estimate of how long it would be until Felicia Hardy saw her father again. He was convicted of 9 offenses of Grand Theft. 8 of Breaking and Entering. 1 Aggravated Assault charge. 8 Damage of Private Property. No outside contact, no visitors. Twenty to life.
Her father had been caught, and put on trial within a two week period. To her, it felt like yesterday she was watching on the news as Spiderman, and the NYPD caught her father and his helpers. She wonders if they know why Walter Hardy stole for a living. She wonders if they know it was to pay for her mothers medical bills, and to provide for their family. Trying to survive cancer wasn't cheap.
Luckily Walter Hardy had planned for the event of his arrest. The Hardy bank account was dry, but their home and city had a few pockets of money. It won't last very long, and Lydia Hardy will have to move the two of them to somewhere more affordable.
Felicia's already beginning to decide what she can do without, in the event of her having to sell her things to make it by. Her mother is still too sick to work.
With her fathers 'career' her family moved frequently, so moving isn't the problem, it's the one bedroom apartment they now share. They move into the apartment one week after her fathers sentence. Lydia takes the bedroom, Felicia gets the futon in the living room. The Hardy's now travel double what they are used to to get anywhere. Queens isn't anything like their quaint Manhattan apartment. The Hardy's weren't used to a glamorous lifestyle, but they definitely weren't used to this. Most of the money Walter would make went to his boss, and to medical bills.
Felicia dresses like she would any other day on her first day back. She'd prefer to wear comfy clothing, she's exhausted from the previous events in her and her 'bed' isn't exactly comfortable. It's her first time taking the subway from Queens, and she's worried she'll get lost on her way to school. Luckily her classmates, Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, board a station or two after she does. She hadn't expected to see anyone from school on the subway, and makes sure to zone into the music she's listening to.
She doesn't know much about either one of her classmates. They're not exactly in her friend group. She knows that Peter Parker hadn't been popular, or nearly as good looking until the middle of his junior year. She knows that MJ is with Harry Osborn, and that Peter has dated, on and off, Gwen Stacy. When they had broken up the first time their were rumors about him and Mary Jane, but they were back together now. Felicia glances to MJ and Peter, and quickly decides that the way he looks at MJ provides enough evidence to support the rumors. He's gently examining her black eye, and his eyes are a mixture of sympathy, and hatred. A look Felicia registers as one that you give when someone you love is hurt.
Felicia's never had a boyfriend before. No one has ever really taken interest in her, except that one time Flash catcalled her. She wonders what it must be like to be Gwen Stacy, or even Mary Jane Watson, and have her pick of guys. Of course Felicia wouldn't really want that, but she can't help but wonder.
She pulls her left earbud out to hear what the conductor says, and if her memory is right they are two stations from their exit. She'll wait on her classmates to make a move first, though. As they stop at the next exit she watches from the corner of her eye for any movement. The two friends have been carrying a conversation the whole trip, and now sat looking at each other. Felicia glances over in time to catch MJ place a soft kiss on Peters lips. His eyes close, but quickly open to meet Felicia's. She looks away quickly, but can't help but glance back. She was so sure Peter was with Gwen again.
She sees Peter push MJ away from him. She can't hear over her music, but she can read MJ's lips well enough to know that she's repeating 'I'm sorry' again, and again. She watches as MJ places her head in her hands. The two don't speak again, and MJ exits the subway as soon as the door opens for their station. Felicia stands to leave, and sees Peter still sitting there. She wants to ask if everything's okay, but doesn't feel like it's her place.
She's walking the short distance from the station to Midtown when she feels a hand tap her shoulder. Felicia pulls out her headphones, and turns to see and out of breath Peter Parker. She looks at him, questioningly, but doesn't say anything.
"Hey, Felicia, right?" He asks and she nods. "I've never seen you on the subway before."
"I just moved to Queens." She says, not wanting to go into detail.
"Oh. Well welcome to the neighborhood!"
"Thanks." Felicia lets out a small laugh.
"Look-" Peter starts, scratching the back of his neck. "You saw what happened on the subway, and I wanted to ask that you don't tell Gwen. I know that you don't know either one of us very well and-" He begins to ramble.
"I won't say anything." She says softly.
"Are you sure?" He asks, and she nods. "It's just there's a lot of stuff going on with MJ, and she kissed me, and I don't want Gwen taking it the wrong way. I'm going to tell her, but I want her to hear from me."
"I won't say anything." She repeats.
"That's great, thanks!" He says, and smiles at her.
"No problem." Peter doesn't walk with her the rest of the way, in fact he runs ahead of her to catch up with MJ.
It's not that Felicia doesn't have friends, she does, but only two of them attend Midtown, and they have no classes together. She sits in her English class, away from most of the other students in that class. It's the only class she has with Peter Parker, and the only class that the four friends have together. The four friends are, of course, Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, MJ Watson, and Harry Osborn. There are other small groups of friends seated together in the classroom.
"Where's Felicia been?" Some girl whispers to her friends.
"You haven't heard?" Felicia zones into her copy of Hamlet, not wanting to hear a retelling of how her father had been arrested, how her mother is too sick to work, and how she'd probably never see him again.
The bell can't ring fast enough, and she's determined to be the first one out of the classroom. She gathers her things quickly and leaves, trying to ignore four of her classmates sympathetic stares. None of them understand. Peter, she was sure lived a nice life with his mom and dad. The same for Mary Jane, who she was sure was spoilt to death by her family. Harry Osborn's father was a billionaires, and he had everything handed to him. The only person whose stare didn't cause her anger was Gwen Stacy's, who Felicia knew had lost her father just the year before.
Felicia does her work in silence for the rest of the day, not even speaking to her two friends during lunch. She rushes to the consulars office after school, quietly asking for a free lunch form. They protest at first, but even then she doesn't admit to not eating lunch because she didn't have the money. She boards the first subway back to Queens, and is followed by the same company she had that morning: Peter and MJ. This time, instead of her eyes lingering on the two of them, she feels Peters eyes stay on her for most of the ride.
MJ and Peter exit on the same exit the boarded on and Felicia exits on the next one. She goes home to gather some of the things she's decided to pawn off, a few necklaces and a guitar she never learned, and now will never learn. She can't escape the feeling that someone is following her as she moves through the unfamiliar territory that is Queens. She makes a deal with the worker at the pawn shop, $150 wasn't too bad. She'd need to find a job soon.
She manages to pick up a few applications on her way home. It isn't until she's in the safety of her apartment that she feels completely alone. Her mothers in her bedroom, but she doesn't feel the harsh stares of her peers and that's close enough to alone. She heats up her mother a bowl of soup, and brings it to her. Her mother, who had grown depressed at the loss of Walter Hardy, whispers a 'Thank you' and begins to eat.
Felicia has so much make-up work, and homework that she looses track of time. By the time she's only a quarter of her way done it's already midnight, and she's forgotten to eat dinner. She quickly snacks on a few crackers, before deciding she should fill out her job applications before going to sleeps. She sits at the coffee table, the living room lit by only the tv, and fills out the redundant forms. It's then she hears the light taping on the window. She ignores it the first time, blaming it on exhaustion, but it happens again. This time she moves slowly to the fire escape, and in some part of her tired mind she has deluded herself into believing that it's her father. She imagines Walter Hardy, followed by the crew of Punk'd, to enter the apartment. She stops before lifting the shade and closes her eyes.
She's drawn from her thoughts by a tapping again. She finally gathers the courage to open the shades, only to be met by the same red and blue suit that she has seen standing next to her father on ever newspaper cover. She's confused at first, but he motions for her to open the window, and she does so. He crawls into the apartment and stands in front of her. He's only a little bit taller than her, but his body wider. She's confused as to why he's here.
"I'm sorry." He says simply, handing her a small bag, like the kind you keep pencils in.
"You shouldn't be." She replies after realizing what this meeting is about. Spiderman feels bad, or at least he's acting like he does, about catching her father.
"I didn't realize what the ripple effects would be." He says, and although his mask covers his eyes, she knows he is looking around the small apartment. Felicia just states at him. "Open it!" He motions to the bag in her hands. She slides the zipper open, and glances inside. There's money, and a lot of it.
"I don't need this." She says, handing it back to him.
"Please take it." He refuses to grab it.
"No." Felicia shakes her head. "I don't need, or want it."
"Please." He says again. "This way you won't have to work as much." He motion to the applications sprawled across the table.
"We're fine." She says, and this time he takes it.
"If you say so."
"Thank you, though."
"Anything to help." He nods to her. He turns to go out the window, but looks back before leaving. "I am so sorry, Felicia Hardy." He then leaps out the window and is gone.
Felicia gets maybe and hour and a half of sleeps, but she feels better in the morning. She's fixing a cup of coffee when there's a tap on the window. She opens the window, and fully takes in the apartments view of New York. It looks beautiful in the sunrise. She's fixing to shut the window when she notices a bag, the same one she saw last night. There's a sticky note attached that says 'I don't take no for an answer' and she chuckles a little. This Spiderman guy is a character.
She looks to the building across the street to see the red and blue wearing superhero. He waves to her quickly, and swings off. She feels her cheeks heat up and grow pink.
Felicia Hardy has a crush on the masked man.
But Spiderman's money, like all money, begins to runout. Felicia has a job, but her hours start to fall, and she has to focus on school if she wants to graduate. Mrs. Hardy begins to feel better about her husband, but every wave of chemo put her back in bed. Felicia pickpockets for the first time one day after school, on the crowded subway, to pay for dinner. She doesn't notice Peter Parkers eyes lingering on hers.
She feels guilty afterwards.
Felicia doesn't pickpocket, or steal anything for a very long time. But as prom grows closer she has a burning desire to do one thing normal. She stays in Manhattan, where she knows she'll get the most money. She finds out quickly that most people prefer carrying credit cards over cash. She evens out with a nice $90, enough to buy a ticket, but she still needs a dress.
She shoplifts for the first time that following weekend. She gets caught of course, sneaking out with a prom dress is surprisingly difficult. The police get called, but the store doesn't press charges. They just ask for her to pay for the damages done to the dress while trying to detach the security ink tag, and there goes her $90. But in the end her mom isn't called, and Felicia gets off with a warning, so it's okay.
To her delight the wall crawler makes an appearance the next night. He doesn't tap on her window, he knocks rather harshly. It's almost midnight, and Felicia hopes it didn't wake her mother. She slides the glass up anyways, and tries to not show how happy he is to see him. He climbs in, and crosses his arms. "What?" She says quietly, chuckling a little.
"I gave you money." He says sternly. "I gave you money, Felicia, so you wouldn't do anything stupid."
"What are you talking about?"
"You've been stealing."
"I don't know what you mean." She lies smoothly.
"I know you've been pickpocketing, and I know you tried to shoplift." His voice is filled with anger, if only she knew who was behind the mask, and how he didn't have much money either. "I gave you money, where did it go?"
"My moms sick." She drops the innocent act. "She's very sick, and it costs a lot to take care of her."
"I see." He nods. "You don't have to steal for a living."
"I have a job." She notions to her uniform that's sitting on the table. "But it's not enough. I have to pay for this place." She explains. "I have to pay for the subway, and for hospital bills, and for clothes, and for school supplies, and I have to eat."
"That doesn't justify your stealing, and shoplifting. You didn't need those things." Felicia doesn't answer, and she doesn't look at him. "You don't need those things." He repeats.
"I just wanted to go to prom." She shrugs. He nods.
"Don't let it happen again." And with that he leaves. Felicia doesn't go to her senior prom.
She's called to the consulars office on a Thursday afternoon, three weeks before graduation. "You owe us $35 in graduation fee's, and we still haven't collected the $40 for cap and gown, and there's a $30 fine for your school fees being late." The consular explains sadly. "If it was just one of these I could probably overlook it, but it's too much."
"I can't pay it." She shrugs.
"Okay." The consular nods. "I can void the cap and gown fee, the graduation fee, and if we can keep it between us, I'll ignore the late fee." She looks over her papers again. "Then you can graduate, you just can't walk."
"Okay." Felicia nods, settling for what she can. "Thank you." She turns to leave the office.
"Felicia," The consular calls before she opens the door. "I'm sorry, I really am."
The leaves the consulars office, and goes to exit through the main office, where she's sees Peter and a older woman who she assumes is his mother. The woman is talking to the secretary, and Peter sits on a bench. "Hey!" He calls after her. She turns, slightly confused. She hasn't spoken to Peter since that first day on the subway.
"Hey." She says as he follows her out front door of the office, and into the lobby.
"What's up?" He asks.
"Oh, I'm just headed to English."
"Is everything okay?" He asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She says, then attempts to change the subject. "I saw pictures of you and Gwen at prom! You both looked really nice. I loved her dress." She says, thinking about how it was the same one she attempted to steal.
"Thank you! I'll let her know you said that." He says, looking through the windows to check on his mom.
"Are you in trouble?" Felicia asks.
"I accidentally broke a basketball goal, again."
"Again?" She laughs.
"Yeah." He shrugs. "They may not let me walk at graduation."
"That sucks!" Felicia says genuinely feeling sympathy for the somewhat popular boy. "That's kind of an overreaction, don't you think?"
"Yeah, definitely. I've been looking forward to graduation since my first day of freshman year."
"Haven't we all?" She laughs, beginning to feel sad about not being able to walk.
"Peter Parker!" His mother calls as she leaves the office.
"Yes Aunt May?" Wait, Aunt May? Felicia's mind runs in circles. Peter lives with his Aunt?
"You're suspended for the rest of the day, but you can walk."
"Awesome!"
"But that doesn't mean you're not in trouble with me!" He follows her as she leaves.
"Bye Felicia!" He calls, and she waves to him.
That night she finds a bag of money outside her window with just enough to pay her fee's. She looks around outside, and see's Spiderman. She doesn't mean to cry, but she can't stop the first tear. He doesn't stay around to watch. Felicia Hardy would graduate like a normal teenager. She would graduate and only a small group of people will clap when her names is called. Two are her friends, and the other four are their own clique.
That's the last time she sees the mysterious man until two years later when she's a sophomore at ESU. When she sees him again she's not Felicia Hardy, she's the Black Cat. And she's even more in love with Spiderman than she was as a teenager.