Next chapter! :D Please enjoy and review!
I didn't stay in the apartment for long. I threw away my cereal, switched into fresh jeans and a blue hoody, and then raced for the door. I very nearly forgot to lock it, but went I did I nearly broke the key. I needed to get out of there. I needed air, to think. Who had given me that note? Why had they sent it? Where were they now? Whoever it was, I wanted to beat the crap out of them! Why was my personal life any business to them? I hated people like that, the ones who always wanted to get involved. They needed to learn on how to mind their own business.
I flew down the four flights of stairs, barging past a couple of girls at the door way. They squealed in protest, complaining loudly. I ignored them, racing out into the streets and through the busy crowds of people. Noise, so much noise. Voices, cars, opening and shutting doors, footsteps. And then there were so many smells. Sweat, food, petrol. Get away, get away!
I fled down an alley, my foot landing into a puddle, the splash echoing from the walls. I ignored the cold liquid the flood into my shoe, leaping onto the fire escape of one of the buildings. That was one of the main things I had discovered over the last six months. When you were high up and far away from below, you could actually think. Nothing seemed to matter, not when the breeze was in your hair, the noise was kept to a minimum, and your body felt weightless. The freedom of being at peace was like a drug. If I wasn't vandalizing, abusing, screaming or running, I was on a rooftop somewhere, listening to the quiet whistle of the wind. Up here, nothing could ever reach me. Up here, I could drown at peace.
I dangled my legs over the perimeter, not intending to jump, just admire the damned view of New York. The city full of the wrong doers, the vermin, the pathetic. Like me. Everyone here was damaged in their own way. Every tourist was an idiot for being here. Damn them all. Sometimes, I wished I could stay up on the building rooftops and watch the birds, and sometimes I wished I could reach up and touch the clouds. Weightless, protected, away from the wrongness of the world. Untouchable.
"Don't jump." Came a quiet voice behind me, and I fell backwards, away from the perimeter. A hand landed on my shoulder, another on my arm, and I was gently hoisted to my feet. I flinched out of the touch, glaring at whoever dared interrupt me. My mouth fell open.
Peter Parker was at my side, arms ready to steady me, a backpack on his back. He also had a skateboard between his legs, trapped between his knees. He was scrawnier than I thought, wearing battered converse shoes, skinny jeans, a basic shirt and a brown jacket with a large hood. His smile was shy, but his eyes glinted with somewhat mischief. All the more reason not to trust him.
"Didn't mean to scare you." he said, his voice light.
"Did you follow me?" I demanded, clenching my fists at my sides. He laughed.
"Why would I follow you?" he asked.
"To make sure I didn't jump." I snapped, and I barged past him. My arm slammed forcefully into his, but I think my body shook more than his. I ground my teeth. How could someone so thin be so... solid?
"So... why were you on the fire escape last night?" he asked casually, his steps falling into pace with mine as I strode back towards the fire escape on the current building.
"Not of your business."
"I think it is. I carried you home, remember?"
"I never asked you to! Leave me alone!" I froze for a moment, thinking. "Did you post a note under my door?"
He frowned, and it was convincing. "What note?"
"Forget it." I jumped down onto the fire escape. I was about to climb down when I saw Parker looking into the distance, his body sagging as he sighed. I found myself suddenly transfixed. The sun shone behind him, still rising as it was only in the early half of the morning, and I could only see his silhouette. Lean, powerful, deceiving. Standing tall and wide, hair gently moving with the breeze. And then he looked at me, his head blocking the sun, and I remembered what monster he really was, just like any other human being. I continued my descent.
"Well, if you're not exactly talkative, I might as well not waste my time." He said, and then he jumped, landing two flights below me. I gaped down at him. How was that possible? Had he not hurt his ankle or something? He looked up and grinned, and then outstretched his hand. I shook my head and screw my face up at him, and then climbed back onto the roof.
"It can get lonely up there, you know!" he called, but made no effort to come after me. I'd rather be lonely. A couple seconds later, I heard the clang of a skateboard hitting the pavement, and I peered over the perimeter and watched as he rolled away down the alley. Good riddance.
I stayed up on that roof for a long time, long into the evening. I watched as the sun faded into the distance, the clouds turning deep shades of oranges and reds in the process. I suppose that was the only thing I considered beautiful. Sunsets. The end of a day, the beginning of the night. The borderline of what was safe and what was dangerous.
I didn't want to go home. I wanted to stay here all night long, watch the stars twinkle in the night. They were also beautiful, I suppose, but they showed at inconvenient times. Darkness was when danger occurred. Something beautiful should occur during dangerous periods of time.
In the distance, I heard police sirens. They were a constant noise in the city, so much so that they gave you a headache. Not that they were any use. The police spent more time chasing criminals rather than catching them. They never caught my parents' killers. That was what I could give Spiderman credit for. He caught the bad guys. But I could never forgive him for not showing up that night, for not helping us.
Dreamily, I watched the birds fly in the gleam of the setting sun. No natural, so perfect. I would have given anything to be a part of that freedom, to feel the wind in my face, the experience of flying. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the cool air, chilling my insides with a certain satisfaction. I recalled how my fingers had turned numb, so I pulled my sleeves down for warmth. Maybe I should be getting home, no matter how resented I felt there.
Back to the pain.
Sighing, I got back to my feet and in five minutes on was walking back to my apartment building. I stared at my feet, ignoring the people around me just like normal. They were nothing, just obstacles always in the way. It didn't matter if I knocked a few out of the way.
"Look! There he is!" someone yelled, voice excited. A moment later and cheering erupted. Looking up through my lashes, I spotted the silhouette of the one and only. I ground my teeth in anger, watching as he swung away into the distance, vanishing round the corner of a skyscraper. I shook my head to myself in disgust. Why couldn't these people see that he was just another freak? Someone who couldn't mind his own damn business. He was no hero, just a pest, like the rest of them.
Screw them all.
At half eight on Monday morning, I woke with a groan of annoyance. Great, school. For god's sake! Kicking back the covered, I got dressed in the usual and stormed out of the apartment. Martha would have already left, for she worked at a breakfast cafe around the corner. She normally left at around eight in the morning.
Catching the bus just down the road, I found a seat near the back and placed in my ear phone, boosting my IPod to full volume. The bus was full after a few stops, full of chatty students awaiting the start of another week. But no one sat by me. They knew better. In all honestly, no one gave me a second look, knowing that I would only snap if they did. I smiled to myself, remembering the first time some tried to start a conversation. Some geeky girl with short messy hair and a relatively attractive face.
"What did you do on the weekend?" she'd asked in a sing-song voice. I'd looked up and gave her the most threatening look I could manage.
"Mine your own damn business." I'd snarled. I'd heard a few chants of a cat fight, mainly from the guys, and I recalled thinking that they were all as pathetic as they could get.
"I was only trying to start a-"
"I'd rather kill myself than speak to you." end of conversation. No one ever approached me again. Thank god.
Once the bus pulled into the grounds of school, I strolled into the building and yanked out my earphones. Another day in this hell hole, great! And to top it off, I had the joys of Biology first lesson. In my head I smacked my head against a wall. Reaching the lockers, I entered my code and took out my notebook and pen from my bag before slamming the door shut. Behind it stood Parker, leaning casually against the lockers. I blanked him.
"Thought we could walk to class together." he said, a smile in his voice.
"Stick it." I moved past him, avoiding his shoulder this time. Again, he fell into step with him, his hands in his pockets and his walk somehow lazy. Why wouldn't he leave me alone? I found myself a little rocked off course, confused by this sudden boy's approach. No one in the right mind ever approached me, knowing better of it. Why was Parker any different?
He never said another word to me, but he made sure to keep in time with me. I hated that, and I also hated the eyes that landed on us. He walked so close, making it actually believable that we were walking together towards class. I watched as confusion fell on many faces, many of which I didn't recognise. I felt like a sore thumb. I normally blended in with the crowd, no one ever noticing me. This time last week, things were just what they were supposed to be. But now, on this fresh start to a week, everyone was seeing me. All because of one really annoying Peter Parker.
The bell shrilled, indicating the start of first class. Parker and I went into class, and I realized that, unfortunately, he sat one row across and a desk behind. I settled in my seat, my skin prickling with anxiety. I opened my notebook, starting to doodle in its pages. Within minutes, the teacher started to ramble, but I heard her as more of a drone in my ears. Even though I couldn't really hear her as I was an expert at zoning out, I was increasingly aware of a pair of eyes burning into my back. I snuck a peek back at Parker, and sure enough his eyes were trained on me and only me. He gave me a sly smile, and in return I pulled my hood up.
Blank him, blank him! But I couldn't blank him. His gaze was like a burning sensation, something so hard to ignore. I could feel his gaze scorching my hand as I scribbled away, drawing hell knows what with my black ball pen. What was his problem? If I could, I would have turned to him and demanded that exact question, but I would have rather avoided detention. For the last half hour of class, I stared up at the clock at the front of the room, begging for time to go quicker.
When the bell finally went, I practically ran for the door and down the corridor. However, during my haste, I slammed straight into a girl who I later learned was called Charlotte Steele, and her boyfriend, Jason Black. Both were very tall, glaring down at me like a pair of bulldogs waiting to tear me to shreds.
"Watch where you're going, you freak!" Charlotte spat, slamming her hands in my chest. My breath caught with slight shock, and I tried to reason with what she had just done. I was suddenly blinded with rage. How dare she! So, naturally, I leapt at her, my hand slamming into her face.
The next thing I knew, her boyfriend rammed me into the lockers, shaking me like a baby rattle. I clawed at his bare arms, trying to scratch at his face. His face, from what I could tell, was screwed up with fury, and he was at least two heads taller than me. I vaguely heard the girl ranting for him to beat the crap out of me, and in all honesty, he was doing a good job. My head spun, pain shot up my spine. He slammed his feet down on mine, ensuring to keep his crotch free of any for of injury.
"Let go!" I cried, and I realised I sounded frightened. I was! The guy was rattling the life out of me! People began to circle up, chanting and protesting at the same time.
"Beat the crap out of her!"
"Come one, you're not being fair, man!"
"Knock it off, man!"
They were no help, the ones trying to reason with him. It was clear that he had lost it, and I felt ready to collapse after ten seconds of throttling. Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, he was off me, and a new figure stood in his place. Seeing double, whoever stood in front of me pressed their back into my front, shielding me away from my attacker. All fell silent, absorbing whatever the hell was happening.
"Move, Parker." Someone said, presumably the boyfriend.
"Get lost and leave her alone." Parker said, his voice low, rumbling through his body and into me. What was he doing? Was he insane? Who the hell in the right mind would help me?
"I said move it!"
"I never saw you as the kind of guy to hit girls, man." People oohed with the accusation, and silence followed for a moment. I took note of Parker's body tensing in front of me, readying for an attack. He moved back slightly more, completely trapping me in his protective stance. And then...
"Come on, Jason, let's go." Charlotte said, and a few seconds later I heard the boyfriend's gruff agreement. Over Parker's shoulder, I watched him stride down the corridor, wrapping an arm around the girlfriend. Finally, Parker relaxed, and everyone moved off towards their classes. The whole event happened in under a minute. Parker turned to me slumped against the lockers.
"You okay?" he asked gently. I shook my head, my head pounding. I must have lost my footing, because suddenly he was holding me up, lifting my arm around his shoulders and offering support. If I had the strength, I would have pushed him away. But, realistically, I needed the help, and I hated myself for admitting it. "Come on, let's get you to class."
Seeing no other choice, I leaned into him and let him lead me down the corridor, but not before stopping to get some wet tissues to put to my head.
