I had planned to post this yesterday but with the weirdness that was the power outage going out and losing a server or some such technical nonsense, that didn't work out so well. So since the delay ruined my schedule a bit, instead of getting the filler chapter and the part 1 I was planning on posting separately, you will get it all at once! Yay!

Enjoy!


The Amazing Spider-Girl

|Issue #11|

Surprise | Picture Perfect


|Parker Residence|

Payton was happy to be home. She thought the day was never going to end by the way it had been going, and frankly, she was just not in the mood for anymore surprises.

"Hey sweetie. How was school?" Her aunt had a warm smile waiting for her as soon as she stepped through the door and it was just the thing Payton needed after a long day. She smiled tiredly at her aunt.

Payton dropped the normally heavy backpack on the ground like it weighed nothing, not bothering to act like it had weighed her down all day long when she barely notices anymore because of her strength.

"Fine. Long. Glad to be home. How was your day?" She asked as she wrapped her aunt in a firm but gentled hug. The woman grinned at the affection and held her girl closer, squeezing tighter. She briefly noted how much more solid her girl felt in her arms but didn't linger on the thought for long.

"Better than yours by the looks of it. Want me to make you something to eat?" She pulled herself back enough to look at the teenager still snuggled in her arms.

"Um yeah, that would be great actually. When's dinner?" She mumbled into her neck.

"It's crockpot beef stew tonight so you don't need to help me. It should be ready in another hour. Your uncle isn't getting home till late so we'll eat without him. 6:30 alright with you?"

"Yeah. I think I'm going to go up to my room and crash for a bit. I'll just wait for dinner to eat." Payton finally pulled back from the warm embrace, feeling much better than she did before because of it.

May smiled warmly at her niece as she reached up and cupped her cheek, brushing the soft skin of her cheekbone with her thumb.

"You okay?" She asked, looking a little concerned.

Payton smiled brightly, putting more energy into her voice that she didn't feel at all.

"Yeah. Totally fine. I'm just a bit tired. Busy day. Lots of homework. Thought I'd take a nap before I got started on it all."

May's worried features softened at that and she smiled as she caressed the cheek in her hand for a moment more before dropping her hand.

"Good. You go get some rest. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Payton nodded and walked over to her bag and picked it up.

"I'll set the table later, okay?"

May smiled up at Payton as she started climbing the stairs.

"Thank you sweetie." Payton smiled and nodded. "Oh! Payton?"

The girl stopped her assent and stepped down a bit to look at her aunt.

"A package came for you while you were at school. I set it on your bed since your desk was cluttered again."

Payton furrowed her brow. "A package? I don't remember ordering anything."

Her aunt shrugged. "A sharply dressed man showed up at the door with a blue box an hour or so ago and said it was for you. I just assumed it was one of your parts you always seemed to be in need of." May said.

Blue box?

Unsure what else it could be since she hadn't ordered anything in a while, Payton shrugged.

"Maybe I just forgot about it. Thanks Auntie."

"Kay. Whatever it is, I don't want a mess in the basement again." She said sternly.

Payton nodded and tossed an "alright," over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs and made her way to her room. She noticed it immediately once she opened the door, her feet carrying her the rest of the way inside.

A medium sized periwinkle blue box sat on her bed just as her aunt had said. Though she hadn't mentioned the bright pink bow it was tastefully tied in.

Payton made a face at the colors as she carefully inspected the box. It looked fancy. Way too fancy to be anything Payton would have ordered.

Not seeing a card or name of any sort she shrugged and saw no other option but to open it up and see what was inside. Hopefully it wasn't a bomb or something. No, her senses would have spiked if it was anything dangerous, she was sure.

Payton tugged on the pink ribbon with both hands and ripped the nice looking fabric without another thought. She lifted the lid and frowned at what was inside.

Another box was held inside, this one wrapped in moss green paper and topped with a forest green bow.

Payton pulled the present out of the box and into her lap once she sat down. This package actually had a card attached to it and Payton quickly snatched it up, her curiosity nearly getting the best of her that she almost tore the thing in half.


Happy (Almost) Birthday!

A deal is a deal after all. Inside you will find your earnings as we agreed upon before the field trip.

Also, a little something extra. ;)

And no you can't give it back. I conveniently managed to lose the receipt so no take backs!

Have fun. Remember to get my good side.

- Harry

P.S. - Don't you just love the colors? Knew you would.


Payton shook her head at her friend. She had an idea what that 'extra' might be but hoped it would turn out to be something else. Something else less expensive, but she doubted it.

Unable to stand the suspense any longer, she ripped open the box and pulled off the lid. Just as Harry had said, her new phone gleamed up at her. She didn't know what brand it was. It looked like a very thin tablet. Payton picked up the sleek looking device and turned it over in her hands. The back of it was brandished with an O shaped design that she would know anywhere.

Was this an Oscorp product? Payton decided to mess with it later and set it aside on her nightstand. Attention back on the box, she started pulling out the blue bubble wrap the phone had been laying on.

Once she got to the bottom she gasped.

"He didn't."

He did.

Harry Freaking Osborn had got her a new camera just as he promised. A nice, top of the line, professional digital camera. She turned it on and almost couldn't contain the gleeful giggles as it chimed prettily for her. She took a few practice shots and grinned like a fool at the clarity and resolution and then she played with the many filters and different customizable settings before she stopped herself.

What was she doing? She couldn't take this? She was holding something that normally would have taken her at least two years of saving, crimping and budgeting her money to get.

Uncle Ben wouldn't let her take it, and she shouldn't even be using it for that matter.

Payton whimpered pitifully at the beautiful piece of machinery in her hand. It was so pretty.

Payton pulled out her ancient flip phone and carefully entered Harry's number. It range twice before it was picked up on the other line.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to call? Sweet right?" Came Harry's smug voice in her ear.

"Harry, what the hell?"

"I don't hear much of a thank you in there."

"Harry." She hissed softly.

"Yes?" He drawled playfully, she could hear his smirk over the phone.

"Harry, this is way too much."

"No it isn't. Not to me. In fact it's just the perfect amount. You deserve the best, Pay. And lucky for you I have the means to get it, it didn't even put a knick in my account."

"I don't know." She said uncertainly.

"Keep it. I'll come up with something. If it means so much to you I'll think of someway for you to pay me back, but you have to do it and not argue. No matter how big or small the request."

Payton paused at the deal. This was Harry after all, she could be agreeing to anything.

"Agreed?"

Payton sighed, resigned. "Agreed."

"Good."

"Oh God. Did I just sign away my soul?"

"Nearly." He laughed.

"I have to go but I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah okay."

"Oh and Payton."

"Yeah?"

"Say hi to Berry for me." He said. She could hear him laughing before he ended the call.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Payton wondered. She shook her head and decided to put everything away and take a quick nap before she went downstairs to help her Aunt set the table.


|The next day...|

Payton woke up that morning feeling amazing, with her fatigue from last night being nothing but a memory. She felt stronger, not by much, but just enough to take notice. No longer did she ache all over while her body felt like a tense spring ready to burst at any moment.

Although the day before had proved more eventful than the brunette was used to, she was excited for the day to begin as she went about her morning routine quickly, her mind filled with camera angles and, surprisingly enough, Rachel Berry. Mostly she just hoped she'd be able to deliver the goods that Miss Berry was so certain she possessed. She wasn't so sure about that but she was willing to give it her all. Hopefully she wouldn't disappoint her and the Glee club too spectacularly.

Payton looked at herself in her closet mirror briefly before shaking her head and sighing. Concealing them seemed pointless now. She rifled through her closet for a few minutes before settling on one of her more nicer shirts. She stripped out of her night shirt and donned the sturdy striped French terry tee. Since the shirt was black and white she went through her drawers and pulled out her favorite pair of pants, a fashionably baggy (or so her aunt said when she bought them for her) black thing she knew would serve her well when she took pictures after school and would be up moving around.

She left her hair down, the ends curling slightly. She hardly ever let her hair down but she figured why not. She didn't have to worry about her hair absorbing most of a slushy attack and sticking to her skin all day so now seemed as good a time as any. She threw on the first pair of shoes she could find that weren't athletic, which happened to be the ones she preferred when she went out skateboarding.

She ate quickly, nearly shoveling her food in her mouth before she kissed both her aunt and uncle on the forehead and cheek, respectively, and shouted a goodbye over her shoulder before she left the house.

Like every morning, Payton rode to school on her skateboard. She kept the tricks to a minimum, wanting to make it to school sooner than that would have allowed her.

Twenty minutes later she walking through familiar double doors. She went straight for her locker. She wasn't as weighed down as she looked, since she was carrying her book bag, her skateboard and her camera bag with her new digital in it, but unloading some of what she had couldn't hurt.

Harry showed up next to her locker a few minutes later. A cheerful smile on his face the first thing Payton notices.

"Hey Oz."

"Sup Pay. Hey you're wearing the shirt I got you." His eyes scanned her attire up and down and seemed to come to a state of approval halfway through.

"You didn't get me this. I bought it. You just said you liked it when I picked it out.

"Oh yeah." His voice filled with slow building realization. "That was the only shirt out of an armful that didn't hurt my eyes when you stepped out of the changing room."

Payton snorted.

"You're an ass." She said matter-of-factly.

Harry grinned.

"You love me. Just admit it."

Payton barked a laugh.

"Like I'd ever say such a thing to you when your ego is this ginormous."

"Yeah, I don't hear a denial."

She crossed her eyes in annoyance. "Ugh."

"Well, don't love me all at once. Make it gradual I say." He smirked.

"Ignoring you."

"Hey. I'm just saying, you look nice." His tone sounded genuine so Payton took it for what it was.

"Why didn't you just start with that?"

"There's no fun in that." He said grinning.

Payton shook her head and closed her locker.

Her spine tensed before the tingles started behind her ears. Uh oh. That didn't feel good.

"What's wrong?" Harry wondered out loud as he frowned at her tense posture.

"Harry I got to go. See ya around." Payton rushed out without answering him.

"But our next class is this way." He said confused as he pointed at the opposite end of the hallway.

"Yeah but I got to go this way. Bye." She waved.

Before he could say anything else, Payton had left his side and was turning a corner. Just as she disappeared out of sight a small group of Cheerios marched down the hall, armed to the teeth in different colored slushy. His eyes widened as they came his way, glaring at Payton's locker as if that would make her materialize in front of them. Shit. She narrowly avoided a Slushy Storm. He didn't think anyone had done that and lived to tell about it.

Payton must have really good timing.


Today was going to be a busy day... or at least that was one of the rumors going around at Midtown High. According to too many daisy chains to count there was a no holds bar target placed on Parker's back. And since the jocks and Cheerio's operated separately when they each attempted an attack, Payton guessed that there were two of them and she had a pretty good idea what faction each suspect was from. It was unlikely she had pissed off anymore Cheerios that week, and since Quinn didn't have a really good reason to be mad at her, (she hoped), it was unlikely it was her. That left two. Even still, this had Santana written all over it, and surprisingly enough, Flash as well.

And ya know what, Payton believed the rumor mill. It was going to be busy for her. She had dodged two sets of jocks at two different times and each time Payton turned a corner a Cheerio was waiting for her, either to follow her or gather enough of their own kind to use numbers to gang up on her. She really had to get creative with that one to get away. She hadn't had to use her strength much and had mostly just seemed extra agile and graceful than usual, nothing too excellent but just enough to get by.

By the ring of the last bell of the day, Payton had lost count how many times she was ducking a jock or Cheerio. It had never been this bad. Well, of course, Payton had never been this hard to catch either. Each failure probably pissed them off more and more. No doubt she was just making it worst for herself. She couldn't help it now. She refused to be slushied ever again. She had the means to stand up for herself or alter what once was the inevitable. She'll cheat what once was considered death to her a hundred times over if she has to.

Payton waited outside the locked choir room door, her back against the wall next to it. Rachel had texted her two minutes ago, saying she was on her way there now. So all Payton had to do was wait and hope a stray Cheerio or slab of beefcake wouldn't go looking for her.

She could definitely get used to this warning system of hers. It had really come in handy today.

She chuckled as she thought of how many confused and irritated Cheerios and jocks she left in her cloud of smoke each and every time she avoided them.

"What's so funny?"

Payton looked up, a small smile working its way onto her face without her consciously realizing it.

"Nothing really." She shrugged as she smiled at Rachel.

Rachel looked amused.

"Nothing sure looks awfully funny."

Payton's smile widened. "It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you sometime."

Rachel beamed the very next moment and Payton felt triumphant that she was able to put it there.

"Shall we then?"

"I'm just waiting on you. Or at least someone with a key."

Rachel grinned as she reached into her purse and pulled out a gold key from its depths. She unlocked the door and the two girls made their way inside. They talked a bit, Rachel giving instruction about where each Glee kid usually tended to sit most and with who. Mostly sharing little details about each performer as a way for Payton to get a better feel for each one. Payton greatly appreciated the attention to detail Rachel had. This sort of information was just what Payton needed to feel comfortable with what shots she should focus on more. Tina would probably be the hardest to get motivated enough to show up well on camera but Rachel said Tina was planning a duet with Artie so Payton could catch her better when they both performed. Whenever that was.

"It would be best if you were to take several shots from here," she gestures to where Payton and her are standing. "As you make your way over there." She motions with her fingers the path Payton will take across the room.

Payton nods. "I can do that."

"I was thinking an opening shot of the Glee club as they're sitting waiting for Glee club to start, catch them unaware. Almost like a before picture of themselves. Then we'll have several shots of them performing and shining on stage." Rachel smiles widely at the vision in her head.

"I can do that too." Payton looks around the space, mentally mapping out different angles she could take the pictures from. Rachel turns to the taller girl, both hands clasped together in front of her.

"This is the first day for you so anything else you come up with will be more than enough. But those suggestions are what I want to start with."

"Shouldn't be a problem." Payton smiles.

"Wonderful. Do you have enough memory on that thing? If not, I took the liberty of purchasing a few memory chips just in case." She reaches into one of the front pockets of her blue polka dotted dress and holds out three small memory chips.

Payton's eyes widen and then frowns. She shakes her head.

"No. I should be good." Harry had spoiled her something awful. He had somehow gotten his hands on a 512GB memory card. No. She definitely wouldn't need another anytime soon.

"Oh. Well, great. Never can be too prepared though." Rachel smiles, nodding along with her statement. She sets the chips down on the piano. "But in the event that you do run out of space, I'll leave these here for you."

Payton knew she didn't really need another one, let alone three spares but Rachel was being helpful. Or was wanting to be. Payton smiled encouragingly.

"Thanks for this."

Rachel waves her off, smiling sheepishly. "Think nothing of it."

Payton smiles at her cute expression but chooses to act as if she hadn't noticed, as she detaches the cap from the camera lens.

"Do you guys always perform at every meeting?"

Rachel looked over at her. "It's not always. But more often than not someone is contributing a piece they've been working on. Most times it's predetermined, like an assignment that Mr Schuester makes up for us. Other times it's something the person has been trying to work through and music is one of the ways they've used to help with the problem."

Payton nodded as she listened.

"As far as I know no one has any scheduled performances this afternoon, but history has shown that that is never a guarantee. It's possible that someone has something planned and they just haven't told anyone."

Payton nodded again as she took a couple practice shots of the empty chairs and then a few of the instruments.

"What about you?"

Payton's brow furrowed slightly as she looked up from her camera and gave her attention to the other girl.

"What about me?"

"Have you ever thought of performing?"

"Me?" She asked incredulously, gesturing to herself with her own camera. Rachel smiled and nodded. "Um, no. No. Nonono."

"That's a lot of no's there Miss Parker." Rachel's lips curled into an amused smirk and Payton fought valiantly not to stare at that pretty smile.

"That's because I'm not very good..." Payton said, embarrassment creeping into her voice. Here Rachel is, who probably sounds amazing, though Payton has never heard her, and then there's Payton who sounds more like a train crashing into a chainsaw factory. It just didn't mix.

Rachel lets out a little sigh, which didn't sound cute at all, while a slowly creeping tiny smile appears on her face.

"Pity."

"It sure is." Payton softly deadpanned under her breath.

Payton stayed in the background for most of the meeting. Her shutter silently taking snap shot after snap shot of the teenagers. She had to get creative when some of the members would remember that she was there and look at her, as well as straight into the camera.

Rachel had noticed this quickly and was able to redirect the Glee club's attention away from Payton and back to whatever the topic of discussion was about. By the end of the meeting, Payton felt that she took more than enough pictures to satisfy Rachel and herself. Now she just needed to go home and load these onto her computer so she could get a better look at each of them.

As the last Gleek filed out of the choir room, Rachel turned to Payton, who was the only other person left in the room and smiled widely at her.

"That went very well, don't you think?"

Payton smiled in return at the infectious smile. "Totally. Mercedes and Kurt wouldn't stop primping themselves and touching up their hair throughout the meeting but I think I got a few of them when they forgot themselves."

Rachel nodded. "Good. I was worried about that. At least you were able to get something."

"See for yourself." Payton cycled through the numerous pictures until finding the few she needed. She turned the camera to show Rachel, who had stood closer to the photographer to get a better look. Rachel was standing so close Payton could feel the warmth of her body against her side. Her brain short circuited when her nose caught the subtle hint of vanilla and wild flowers. It was heady and Payton could feel the smell diluting her senses. All she could smell was Rachel.

"These came out great! I like this one of Kurt especially." She pointed to the screen. "It really captures a side of him I don't often see. This is exactly what I was telling the group about." Rachel nearly gushed as the taller girl blushed on the spot.

"Um, thanks." Payton murmured as she nervously cleared her throat. Rachel smiled as she pulled away slightly, taking her body heat along with her. Payton's almost frowned at the loss but did her best to ignore her body's reaction and focus on packing up her equipment inside her camera bag that was on the floor. Once she stood back up with her bags in her hands, she turned around to face Rachel.

"I think it would benefit us both if you were able to accompany me to my home so we could go over the photos for the day." Rachel said all in one breath.

Payton pauses. All that information passes by her in a flurry of words and she blinks as she tries to remember it all. Yeesh, the girl could be one hell of an auctioneer, no question.

She took a moment before answering. "Um, I uh, yeah that would be okay. I mean, sure." Payton said as she reached beneath her hair and rubbed the back of her neck.

Rachel beamed another beautiful smile at Payton and then grabbed her wrist. Rachel reached into her purse and pulled out a pen. Clicking the top, she pulled the arm closer to her and began writing in her address.

"Meet me at this address." She said. "Do you need a ride?"

Payton looked up from the curly handwriting inked across her skin and shook her head.

"No I should be good with my board."

Rachel nodded and stood back. "Then I'll see you soon."

Payton nodded and followed Rachel to her car. Rachel waved through her open car window as she drove off. She looked at the numbers and letters spelled neatly across her palm, a smile finding its way upon her lips. This would be interesting.


So hows the story so far? I'd love to hear your thoughts. The next chapter is mostly finished so you can expect an update within the next week or so.