Ciao people! How have y'all been? So yeah I'm back with the 6th chapter for y'all! And by the way if it makes any difference for you, I just turned fourteen on 11th, Yay! So anyway, besides the birthday bumps, something else has got me excited. The story plot of course. So here's what it is.

So the last chapter was a bit sappy, I admit. The thing is that Ava has a secret, but what that is? Nobody knows. But can Peter make her share it with him? Will it blossom into something more than friendship between them? Read to find out! ;)

ZWENJOY!

Chapter 6: Bruised Memories

The slight, hushing blue water skimmed along the beach as it gently washed over the soft sand. There were no clouds in the sky, so a big glob of intense-white color emerged from the darkness. The Moon. As the mists dispersed, the pure white radiance spread throughout the night sky, marking the arrival of the great emperor of the dark. The water below sparkled the twinkling reflection of the stars, as if paying tribute to the moon as it continued to beam it's brightness through the atmosphere

The moon just settled at the horizon, touching the brim of the ocean in a far-away distance. It was a full-moon night, so the glob appeared larger than ever, a seemingly peaceful look on its face. The moonlight lit all the features on the Earth, everything glowed in an undescribed warmth. Just the right night for…

Peter had no interest in the magnificence of Earth's natural satellite, all he cared about was making the miserable girl beside him to open up. But he was looking at the random stones beneath his feet, not wanting to meet her eyes just yet. She looked surprisingly vulnerable. Both of them sat on a flat-bed rock near the shore, next to each other. She had pulled up her legs and wrapped both the arms around them, drawing her knees closer to her chest. She looked up at the beautiful sky with a blank expression, a fading grim in her chocolate orbs.

Finally, Peter lifted his gaze from the stones to his troubled friend, who was still staring into oblivion. Her hair moved slowly with the song of the wind, rhythmically. The moonlight lit up her cocoa complexion, as it sparkled through her dark eyes. Strangely enough, Peter was unreasonably comfortable sitting with her, alone. Although she was in a distressed state of mind, extremely depressed and about to tell him the biggest secret of her life, he had longed to talk to her again. He had missed her…

"A stunning night, huh?" Ava's voice echoed through the silent atmosphere, startling Peter out of his thoughts. She spoke so out of the blue that it almost sounded as if the voice had been the call from nowhere.

But it was her voice, as she looked up from her hunched position. Peter recovered, flashed a genuine smile before answering, "I suppose, but it has got no competition up on you." He tried to make it sound sarcastic, just to make her feel better. But deep down, he knew for sure that it was true.

She looked confused but then she let out a soft, low chuckle. Peter joined in with her, all smiles. She continued for some moments then she grew silent again and looked into his cerulean eyes. A wave of sadness crept over eyes as she broke into a nervous smile.

"That's exactly what my father said." And then she was again staring into her stupor.

Peter steadied. He studied her face, but it was unreadable. As much he wanted to know about it, he didn't want to push too hard. So he just waited patiently until she was ready.

So after a few moments, Ava gained her composure and smiled indefinitely. It wasn't a smile, just a twist of the lips to hide her pain.

"I don't think I can do this, Pete…" She said, her voice more fragile than he'd ever heard it.

He knew he had to take it slowly. Ava was a secretive girl and it was wholly her decision whether she should share her secrets or not. Peter didn't argue that, but he also knew one more thing. Whatever this thing was, it was weakening her, slowly churning her level-headed mind. And Peter couldn't let that happen. He cared about her, deeply and just wanted to make her sure that he was there for her.

So he began slowly, choosing each word with care, "Ava, I know there are somethings that are best kept hidden. You don't wanna disclose it to the world. But believe me, that thing eats you up inside. Makes you weak, and you succumb to your fears. You know that's what happened to me."

She nodded gradually, taking in every word he said whilst never getting her eyes off him.

He moved a little closer to her and continued, "You know, when Uncle Ben died… I was broken. Shattered inside out. I spent every day cursing myself, crying in the corners, mourning over him. He had died because of me, I hided that secret from Aunt May for six months. I was scared, Ava. But then I couldn't live with that guilt surging through me every single second. My head started going crazy. That's when I gathered courage and told her everything. I thought she'd abandon me after what I'd did, but she didn't. And I learnt one thing then, the people who love you will always be by your back, no matter how shitty the world gets. They always accept you with your secrets. You just have to trust them to know your belongings. It makes you feel much better. Like I did, I moved on and started a new life."

Ava gasped. "Pete…I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I…"

But he cut her off, "Hey, it's okay. I just…don't want you to go through what I've been. If you keep it in there, you're just gonna grieve and regret things. I don't want that for you Ava, I can't see you like this… I trusted you with my secret, Ava…Can you trust yours with me?"

She staggered. She held his gaze, his eyes which were lit with fire. So many emotions rushing through them. Pain, anger, desperation, worry, plead…she found her walls crumbling. Everything he said was the complete truth, saying any less would be insulting. She had never thought Peter would be so serious about something. Especially when it was about her.

Peter was the closest to a best friend Ava ever had since childhood. She had always been on her own. So when Peter came around, she was more than happy, though she never showed it. Of course, she was annoyed when he went off the track, but then he'd be the only one to cheer her up. She didn't knew how time flew away quickly and Peter grew up so fast. The seriousness, the imploring was evident on his face. That's when a voice spoke up inside her mind.

Tell him, Ava. If he couldn't understand then no one else will. He's your best friend…

She took a deep breath and loosed her position to bring her legs to the ground. She stared at the full moon and began in a slight shaky voice, "When I was just a little girl of age 9…

Rincon, Puerto Rico.

It was a quiet, peaceful day in the wonderful city of Rincon. People in Hawaiian shirts were moving about the small streets. At the end of one turn stood a small house belonging to the Ayala family. Hector, Maria, Filippo and Ava were the residents of the small household.

They were a loving and happy family who worked all day and spent the night with each other. Everything was normal, except for the fact that the father, Hector had a secret alias 'White Tiger' which was a secret only shared with his daughter, Ava.

That evening when Hector came home from work, his wife Maria welcomed him with a long kiss. Filippo, Ava's older brother just rolled his eyes as the couple continued to make out. Even though it had been almost an eternity since they had been wed, their love for each other had not changed a nail in the 15 years of their married life. They pulled away finally when they heard a loud squeal of a child through the hallway.

"DADDY!" A small girl with rich-brown eyes and pulled up black hair came storming towards Hector. His lips parted into a huge smile as he lifted the girl off her feet and into his arms. She cheered and wrapped her hands around her daddy's neck as she kissed his cheek.

"There's my little girl! I've got a surprise for you", he said before kissing her on the forehead and putting her to her feet. He then reached down into his workbag and pulled out something which he immediately hid behind him.

Ava excitedly clasped her hands together, "What is it, Daddy?"

"As I said, it's a surprise. Now first close your eyes. Seal 'em shut, okay?" He said in fatherly affection.

She followed his command and closed her eyes, her face never hiding the exhilaration. Her father pulled out his hand from backside and revealed a beautifully dressed doll in his hand. When she opened her eyes, she yelped with joy.

"Aww, thank you Daddy. She's so pretty", Ava said as she hugged the doll dearly.

"Maybe, but it's got no competition up on you", He said as she continued to hug the doll, with happiness sparkling in her eyes.

"I was so dumb and naïve back then. But you know, I was always Daddy's little girl. We had some good times back then", She said sadly as tears gathered in her eyes.

Peter sensed this and moved even closer to her, sitting so nigh that their knees and shoulders brushed against each other. Ava didn't move, didn't jerk either. So he placed his hand upon hers. She looked at him instinctively, but she didn't remove her hand from his grasp. He nodded slowly as she closed her eyes and spoke up after a full minute, "So that night we planned to go out to a restaurant…"

The sun had fallen behind the horizon, and the first of the stars appeared in the sky as a family walked towards an Italian restaurant on the other side of the road.

"Honey, thank you for this treat" Maria said as she held onto her husband's arm.

"Yeah, Thnx Dad. It's quite a surprise." Filippo quipped in as he smiled widely.

Ava just nodded and smiled and jumped all the way into the restaurant. Once they were inside, they found themselves a family table and sat down. A server had their orders and they started chatting as they waited for it.

"…yeah, Andre fell off for the 7th time that day. I was doubling over with laughter…" Filippo hooted so hard that he almost choked.

That's when a loud explosion ringed from the far end of the street and send chaos flooding all over the diner. Inside and out on the road, there were hordes of people running and screaming in every direction. Hector sniffed the air and muttered under his breath.

Kraven…

He turned towards Filippo, "Okay, you gotta be the big man today, Fil. Take care of your mother and sister. Get them somewhere safe."

Filippo gave him an affirmative nod and grabbed Maria and Ava by their arms and pulled them towards the exit, disappearing into the crowd. Ava kept shouting her daddy's name but Filippo's grip was firm. Her voice faded into the roaring confusion.

…

After a while, they were running through an empty street when Ava pulled her hand from her brother's grip and started looking around frantically.

"What are you doing, Ava? We need to go!" Filippo ordered.

"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITHOUT DADDY!" She practically screamed.

"HE SAID THAT…" He was cut off when a dagger emerged from nowhere, aiming straight for Filippo's heart, and cutting swiftly as it finally found its home. Filippo's chest. He gasped, wailed in pain and took off his feet and was about to land hard on the ground below but Maria caught him as tears freed from her eyes, falling upon his face.

"NO! FILIPPO!" she screamed as she held her son's body close to her chest.

Ava's legs weakened. She fell upon the ground, staring in horror as life itself slowly drained out of her brother's body. Her head spiraled, heart ached. Her brother was dead. Her companion was dead. And she couldn't perceive that. No…

That's when a body came flying through the air and thrashed hard into the road. The body had a white-black tiger resembling suit. Ava's eyes lit up with recognition.

"DADDY!" Ava screamed as she scrambled to her feet and drop next to her dad, lifting his body. The portion of the suit near the stomach was stained with bright red smear. A gaping stab wound stood out in the middle. She carefully removed his mask from his face. When he saw her face, he smiled wearily.

"Hey, princess…" He said in an exhausting voice as he grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

"Ouch, poor baby. Don't worry, Uncle Kraven is not gonna kill you", A deep, cruel voice of a man with Russian accent come through the shadows, followed by his muscular body and ruthless stare with another dagger in his hand.

"I've got some other plans for you…" He said as he grinned evilly.

Hector gave him a death glare, "Don't dare you touch her…"

Kraven ignored him and made his way towards Ava, whilst laughing like a maniac. That's when her mother stepped in front of them both. Tears soaked up her face.

"Please…she's just a little girl. Please, leave her. You…can have me, but please let her go. I beg you…" her mother clenched her fists as she said those word.

Hector, unable to say anything closed his eyes shut, sick of everything and too weak to fight it. Kraven eyed Maria upside down and brought an evil smirk on his face.

"You'd be better than the little bitch anytime. And yes, I'm gonna borrow your wife now, don't mind that, Hector", he said as he mercilessly pulled her with him behind the covers of a fence.

"MOM!" Ava yelled as she heard Maria's heart-wrenching shouts as Kraven began ripping her sexuality.

"Ava…" he father managed to say as she looked down at him with tears flowing down her face.

"Here, a gift from me", he said as he pulled the tiger amulet from his waist and handed it to Ava and closed her fist around it.

"I want you to promise me something", Hector said with cracking in his voice, but firmly.

Ava nodded, bot able to speak as the sobbing clogged her voice.

"I want you to protect this amulet for me, no matter the cost. You'll do that for your daddy?"

"Yes…" she tightened her grip on it as she vowed to herself to revenge Kraven for whatever he'd done.

"That's my girl. You're so beautiful…" he said as his breath finally hitched and came to a halt. His grip on her hand loosened as Ava wailed at the top of her lungs. She couldn't cry or fight, all of her senses went numb. She was just sitting there, with her dead daddy in her arms, everything around her collapsing into oblivion…

"…that all happened in one night, Peter. I was devastated…I tried…" Ava struggled to speak as silent tears sailed down her beautiful face.

Peter staggered as his grip on her hand tightened. He couldn't bear what she'd just said. Something which was so terrible, ruthless and heart-breaking. This was why she hated Kraven with such ferocious intensity. He could've never imagined she carried such dreadful secret all this time. He looked over to Ava, who was staring back at him, her eyes red and puffy. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, he was just so anxious that his lips quivered. So instead she spoke with a haunted, defeated voice.

"Those few weeks were a nightmare to me, Peter. The house, the walls, all those picture frame seemed to eat me alive. I couldn't sleep for nights. I almost wished I had been killed that night…" She broke into a hysteric sob, burying her head into her palms.

Peter acted almost instantly, he put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him, snuggling his head upon hers rubbing her sides in order to comfort her.

"Shhh….it's okay. It's okay. I'm here for you Ava. We're gonna make it through this." He said in an uplifting voice.

She continued to sob into his chest, her shoulders heaving up and down continuously as his arms tightened around her. Peter didn't complain as her sobbing slowly lessened. He held her and he was going to be there for her, no matter what. He was the one she'd shared her most treacherous secret with and he wanted to prove to her that it was worth it. After an eternity, Ava stopped sobbing as she slowly pulled away from him, looking at him with deep sincerity while his eyes glowed with respect for his comrade.

He slowly reached up and wiped the tears off her face with his long fingers and smiled, "Now that it's off your chest, are you feeling better?"

She nodded and returned his smile, "Thanks for listening Peter."

He pulled his hand away and his face turned serious again, "What did you do after that?"

She sighed and answered, "My uncle took me to Brooklyn and I was trained there by him. The amulet took a lot to keep it in the control, so I couldn't let my emotions from running high. I became cold and distant, never really talking to anyone. After a couple of years, I met three idiots who were just as broke as me, so we teamed up. That and then I met you…and I'm glad that I did." She smiled and nudged his arm slightly.

He smirked, "Well, that's definitely a first." She giggled at that and he followed. After some time their laughter died out and a comfortable silence filled the air, until Ava spoke up.

"I'm really feeling better now, knowing that there is someone I can share things with. Thank you for being there for me. Today's the day it all happened, 7 years ago. I was just so disturbed this whole week. Then you pulled that prank and it ticked me off. I blew upon you. I'm really sorry, Pete."

"Hey you don't have a singke reason to apologise. I'm just glad to have you back. Thank you for trusting me. And I'm really proud of you. I'll be there whenever you need to talk, okay?" he said.

She nodded, then saw the sleep evident in his eyes, "I wore you out. Come on, I think you could use some sleep."

"Are you saying that I'm a sleepyhead?" He said, pouting like a little child.

She just rolled her eyes, took his hand and pulled him up with her, "No, I'm not." She laughed and started walking towards the hotel, with her hand still holding onto his.

They walked side by side, unaware of their intertwined hands as they talked and chuckled. But a pair of eyes watched the two from a gallery of one of the hotel's room with tears glistening in her emerald eyes.

Liz…

Whew, so that sums up the sixth chapter. I'm not really good at writing this angsty stuff but I tried hard. Hope it turned out to all the numbers. Let me know what you think in your reviews. Also, my school's just started so I won't be able to keep up with the regular updates. Until then!

Spawn Hades: Pretty good guesses actually. But as I mentioned earlier that the team does not work for SHIELD. Also don't you think it's a little for early for confessions? XD

Guest: Thnx. It indeed is Ear-twerking!

Guest: Of course, I gonna complete this story. Oooh so you think I'm a genius with work, that sure is flattering!

Man285: Thnx, it really means a lot coming from you. Also you could say 'კარგისამუშაოდას' (which is Good Job, sister I suppose!)

The Story's Shadow: LOL, I actually thought that it was a little darker. Anyway, yeah Macy is a total sweetheart. Guess you'll be seeing more of her in the following chapters.

GuestinyourStory: Well, it's gotten better, I can tell you that!