His deadly gaze lifted to something behind me and I immediately whirled around.

Spider-Man was right there, standing right behind me because of course he hadn't left when I'd told him to.

He glanced down at me in silent apology and I wanted to be angry at him but I couldn't bring myself to be; I was just this huge mess of emotions and my head couldn't decide on any which one. I stared at him with saucer eyes and a mouth that refused to form words, but it was only for a brief moment before his gaze was back on my papá.

"Sir, you need to step away," Spidey said, speaking in a low voice in an attempt to sound older and more mature. Papá glared at me with this awful combination of hatred and betrayal and rage. I felt myself shrinking under that horrible scowl for a moment before Spider-Man—bless that stubborn, incredible boy—stepped directly in front of me, diverting papá's attention from me to him.

"Sir–" He began.

"The fuck's this, chica?" Papá demanded, still addressing me despite Spidey blocking his view. "You's trying to arrest me now!?"

"Sir, I–"

"You! Get the fuck out of here now!" I flinched at the increasing volume of his voice.

"Sorry sir, I can't do that," Spider-Man announced, finally able to speak more than one word.

"And why's the fuck not!?"

I tried to think, I really did. I tried thinking of the best solution but

my brain was this useless, bumbling disaster of noise and it was doing absolutely nothing to help the current situation. All I knew was that papá was literally going to rip apart my first ever friend if he didn't get out of here soon. And I knew that I couldn't let that happen.

I reached a hand forward to grab Spidey's forearm, and he was instantly looking down at me in concern.

"Please get out of here," I begged, trying to convey through my words and my desperate expression that I actually cared. Because he was only making the situation worse for both of us the longer he stayed. Papá would beat me for having any interactions with Spider-Man, and worse if he didn't leave right now.

"I can't," he whispered, turning back to my papá who was staring at us in utter disbelief. Then his stupid, drunk-self turned and tried to make a run toward the door. Like a striking viper, Spider-Man lifted his arm and fired another web at him. Papá's outstretched hand was instantly entangled in another web and yanked from the door handle by a connected string Spidey held. He yelled in frustration, trying to tear his hand free of the sticky substance.

"Sorry sir, I can't let you leave," Spidey apologized, sounding fat from apologetic.

What the hell does that mean?

"Why's the fuck not!?" Papá roared, spittle flying from his mouth.

I tugged on Spidey's arm not very gently. "What the hell are you doing?" I hissed. Unless he planed to continue this ridiculous stand-off why would he have any reason to make papá stay here? Spidey removed his arm from my grasp and instead replaced it with his hand, which I took without a single thought or hesitation.

"Sir I need you to calm down," he advised calmly. "Please take a seat, and we can talk."

"There's nothing to talk 'bout!" He yelled, rubbing his entangled hands together in a useless attempt to remove the webbing. "Get 'way from me!"

BANG BANG BANG

My heart stopped for a moment before continuing it's rapid pulse as David's enraged voice came from the other side of the door.

"The hell's going on in there, Florez!?"

"This fucker's in my apartment!" Papá shouted tugging desperately against the string of webbing Spidey still held in his secure grasp.

Spider-Man stiffened as the door flew open and almost nailed papá in the process. David stepped inside, taking in the scene before him slack-jawed. Papá—beaten and drunk as hell—had his hands coated in Spider-Man's webbing, who stood with one hand grasping the webbing and the other grasped firmly in my own while I all but cowered behind him with my brain an absolutely useless disaster.

"Sir–"

"What the fuck!?" He demanded. "Get your asses the hell out of my complex!"

"Sir–!" But David was having absolutely none of it.

"Now, goddamnit!"

Papá's fiery gaze swivelled from Spider-Man to David in a nanosecond and the two were locked in the most intense staring contest I'd ever witnessed. Spidey and I watched in silent horror as the two men glared death wishes upon the other.

"You," David seethed, "are a drunk-ass son of a bitch and a criminal."

"Fuck off!"

"I know you steal to pay me and I know you abuse the hell outa your girl!" He spat, jabbing a finger in my direction. "I'm callin' the police and they can deal with this fuckin' freak show. None of you fuckin' move," he ordered, pulling a phone from his jean pocket and dialling 911. We did as we were told and remained exactly where we stood, none of us wanting to risk the wrath of David.

"Yeah, I got an issue in my apartment complex," he said, casting an irritated glance at me and Spidey as he spoke to the dispatcher. "Fuckin Spider-Man's tryna take care of a drunk criminal and his abused daughter."

•••

"Kasandra?" I forced my tired eyes up and my lips to return the smile the social worker was giving me to the best of my abilities. The woman appeared to be oddly cheerful considering my absolute shit situation and the fact that she had to deal with me right then. The poor woman was doing her best to keep a real smile on her pretty, porcelain-skinned face.

"My name's Allyssa. How are you doing, Kasandra?" She asked, sitting down in the seat across from me.

"Fine... and just Kasey is fine," I said, shifting in the overly comfortable chair in some room within some police station I'd been taken to over an hour ago. The police had all but busted into the apartment, barely taking the time to question David or me or Spider-Man or anyone before arresting papá. Then they spoke to what felt like everyone in the complex regarding me and papá before heading off to the police station with my belongings to figure out what the the hell was gonna happen to me. And that's right about when Spider-Man decided to run off to who-knows-where.

"Alrighty Kasey, can you tell me about your father?" She asked, setting her purse, pen and clipboard with it's accompanying mountain of papers down on the metal table between us.

"What do you want to know?" I was not in the mood sugar coating or any of that bullshit. I wanted to get to the point and figure this shit out so I could get a decent sleep for the first time ever and actually eat a decent meal.

"Whatever you're willing to tell me." I raised a brow at that and she just responded by forcing her smile to be even sweeter.

Does she think I'm some toddler? But Allyssa wasn't saying anything else so I just sighed and start talking.

"Well he's not much of a father," I muttered, looking down and fiddling with my hair. "He usually comes home late at night absolutely hammered. I don't know why, but he's angry all the time so he let's it out on me and then he passes out and doesn't wake up until after noon the next day," I shrugged. "I'm usually at school."

Allyssa's silence prompted me to look up. She was watching me in slight confusion, wanting to inquire about anything but not wanting to interrupt me.

"I had a stash of my own money that I hid and used to pay for administration," I explained. She nodded and quickly wrote something down in neat handwriting before looking back up and waiting expectantly for me to continue. But there was no way I was gonna make her istening to my entire, depressing life story. I couldn't handle any more pity and all I wanted was to leave that life far, far behind me. Talking about it any more than I had to was not going to help in the least.

"You can ask me whatever you need to know," I said, a tad more abrupt than necessary. "I'm fine with talking about it. Seriously." She must've heard this quite often from other kids because she recognized my tone and expression and knew arguing would do nothing. I was grateful for that.

"Alright. How long has this been going on for?"

"Forever. I don't remember anything else."

"What sort of abuse has he inflicted, Kasey?" I breathed in deeply through my nose.

"Verbal and mental, mostly. He'd yell at me a lot and tell me nobody cared, that I was stupid, that he hated me, stuff like that. Sometimes it was physical, but never... anything else." Allyssa nodded in understanding and continued her writing.

"Do you have any other family?"

I shook my head. "No. Not that I know of." She looked up at me in bewilderment and concern.

"Your mother?"

"Don't remember anything about her. Papá only ever said that he hated her and that she was stupid and stuff."

"No relatives?" She was beginning to sound as hopeless as I'd been feeling my whole life.

I shrugged again. "I dunno."

"...Friends?"

I actually laughed then, thinking of the boy who'd disappeared an hour or so earlier with a promise that he'd be back—a promise that I was beginning to regret believing. "Sort of, actually. But I'm not entirely sure because I've never really considered anyone a friend until a few days ago."

She smiled sympathetically and nodded again. "Do you know if this friend and his or her guardians would be alright with taking you in?"

And I felt my heart stop for a moment, and I kind of just stared at her in disbelief, with my mouth hanging open and my bulging eyes on the verge of tears yet again.

"You mean I don't have to go to foster care? Or juvie?" I whispered hoarsely.

And then it was her turn to laugh. "No, Kasey. Those are only options for kids who have nowhere else to go. But... if your friend can't take you in then I'm afraid we'll have to find you a foster home." My expression fell again because I didn't even know who the hell my friend was. Or if he could even 'take me in'.

"Could I make a call really quick? I just want to ask him where he is and stuff." Allyssa nodded vigorously, reaching for her purse on the table.

"Of course." She took her phone out and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I took the device from her hands and stood from my seat but there really wasn't anywhere to go with just the two chairs and the table inside the drab, grey-walled, square room.

"You can step outside, Kasey," she offered, gesturing toward the door.

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Gratefully, I opened the door and stood just outside the room, making sure she could see me through the single window and kinda hear me but not really. The last thing I needed was Allyssa thinking I was some risky, troubled teenager who was gonna make a break for it the first chance I got.

The room I'd been sitting in for what felt like ever was situated just behind the front desk of the police station. Standing outside of it now allowed me to see the empty front room and the gradually darkening sky just outside the windows.

I sighed and began to punch in Spidey's numbers from memory.

It dialled, and it rang, rang, rang. I bit my lip and glanced up when the front door was pushed open, bringing with it the sound of someone's phone ringtone.

"Who's calling you?" The woman who'd just entered asked the teenage boy beside her. I squinted, realizing the brown-haired boy who accompanied the woman looked oddly familiar... the bright blue sweater he wore had Midtown high's pale yellow logo on it, so I immediately knew I'd seen him around school at some point. They strode closer and the boy looked down, taking his phone from his pocket and looking at the screen. He tapped it and brought it up to his ear. And in the same instance he spoke into it I heard in my ear:

"Hello?"

In my split focus, I hadn't realized the line had stopped ringing and a voice now sounded through it. I opened my mouth to answer Spidey but it was then that the boy looked up and met my gaze. And this time his face was in focus so I immediately knew I did recognize him because I'd just seen him this morning at school and I'd been unknowingly hanging out with him for days. And I was so taken aback I didn't believe it but then I did because the phone number Spidey had given me was so obviously linked to this boy's phone because I'd heard that voice before, I knew that voice. It was the voice of the friend who'd left an hour ago, promising that he'd be back. And he did keep his promise because Peter Parker was Spider-Man.

"H-Hi," he said, grinning shyly and lowering the phone from his ear.

"Hi," I replied uncertainly, dropping the borrowed phone to my side. The woman beside Peter jumped into the conversation as well.

"Hi," she said, smiling at me. "You must be Kasey. Peter's told me a lot about you. I'm his aunt May but you can just call me May." I nodded and looked between Peter and his aunt, not knowing what to say or do. Peter caught my silent, confused plea and immediately dove in to save me.

"Uh, yeah, May could I just talk to Kasey real quick?" He asked, barely tearing his gaze from my own to look at his aunt. She shrugged helplessly.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'l just sit down right here." May took a seat in one of the chairs along the wall, trying her best not to look around in confusion too much.

"Thanks." He jogged up to me with an odd smile on his face.

"Peter?" I hissed. Because I couldn't quite comprehend yet that Spider-Man—the boy I'd been hanging out with the past few days and my first and only friend—was a boy I'd never even spoken to before now.

"Yeah." He smiled and added. "We were made lab partners today. A-and we're in the same history class." As if I had no clue who he was.

"I know, I just... I'm really surprised," my gaze flicked behind him at his aunt May. She had her hands clasped in her lap and her long brown hair draped neatly over one shoulder, having no clue what to do. "What'd you tell her?"

"Just that we're really good friends. And you need someone to live with I guess, because you don't wanna go to a foster home, right?"

"No... does she know?"

"I told her about your dad but not about you..." he trailed off, searching for a better word but there wasn't one.

"Stealing," I deadpanned. He nodded and looked down, scuffing his sneakers across the floor.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"So, why are you here then?" I asked, trying not to let any anger show. His expression turned serious; his smile dropping to a frown.

"I-I thought you could come stay with us until something else is figured out. Y'know, only if you want. It'd be better than a foster home."

He lives with his aunt?

"You guys are willing to do that?" I searched his face for any hesitation, anything at all. But he just nodded, another one of his nervous smiles slowly making it's way back onto his face.

"Yeah." Peter must've read the uncertainty in my features so he continued. "May doesn't wanna let you go to foster care either. Trust me Kasey, we'd both love to have you around."

"...You're sure? I've been an inconvenience my whole life, I don't wanna keep being one." Peter shook his head and turned to address his aunt.

"Hey, May?" He called. She looked up at us and smiled, prompting him to continue "You're cool with Kasey staying with us?"

"Yeah of course! Kasey, you're more than welcome to stay with us."

"Are you sure?" I asked, wanting to accept more than anything but wanting to be sure. "I really don't want to inconvenience anybody."

"Inconvenience?" May repeated incredulously. She stood from her chair and began walking over to us. "That is not possible. I've been needing another girl to talk to for thirteen years now," she laughed, gesturing to Peter.

Huh, she must've basically raised him. Wonder what happened to his parents. The door behind us opened suddenly, making me jump and turn around. Allyssa appeared, looking between the three of us in utter befuddlement.

"Kasey?" She asked, turning to me for an explanation. "Who's this?" She asked, glancing between Peter and his aunt.

"Uh, this is my friend Peter and his aunt May," I explained. Then remembered that I still had her phone. "Here," I said, holding it out to her. "Thanks for letting me use it, they just showed up right as I called."

"Oh, no worries. I just looked out the window and saw a bunch of people so I hurried out," she laughed, taking her phone from me with one hand and holding out the other to May. "Hi, I'm Allyssa."

"May," she replied, shaking her hand. "We're going to take in Kasey. If that's alright. I don't really know how all this works," she admitted sheepishly. Allyssa laughed again and waved away her concerns.

"That's alright, I can show you how everything goes. I have all the papers with me if you'd like to come discuss and sign everything?"

May nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great."

"Perfect," Allyssa smiled and turned to Peter and I. "It'll only take a few minutes , you two can just wait out here." I nodded, glancing over at Peter, who was mimicking my movements. May and Allyssa disappeared into the room and Peter went to sit in one of the chairs, but I was desperate for air and made a beeline to the front doors instead.

"I'm just gonna go outside for a few minutes, I've been trapped in here forever," I said, heading toward the doors.

"Oh, y-yeah, of course. I'll go with you," he agreed, standing up to follow me.

I laughed. "I'm not gonna run off, Spider-Man." He grinned, hurrying in front of me to hold the door open.

"I know."

The night air was so cold and refreshing on my skin I wasn't sure I'd ever willingly go back indoors again. It was peaceful being out there— calming and familiar. It helped to finally get my mind of everything that'd transpired earlier today.

"I'm sorry," Peter said quietly. "I know I shouldn't have interfered after you told me not to, but I–"

"Peter," I cut him off gently because there was no need for him to be apologizing. He stopped and looked over at me with his mouth half open.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I'm really grateful for what you did. It scared the hell out of me and I didn't know what to do or what would happen, but everything is all worked out now, so it's fine." I looked back out across the noisy city and it's cloudy grey skies.

"Thank you for doing all this for me. It really means a lot," I murmured.

"Yeah, of course. That's what friends are for."

AN: Sorry for not posting yesterday, I just had so much homework and by the time it was all done I was like half asleep, so to make up for the late update I made this chapter extra long!

KASEY AND PETER FINALLY SPOKE TO EACHOTHER AHHHH SO CUTE.

This story is definitely gonna follow the Spider-Man: Homecoming plot because I'm kinda uncreative lol, and Peter is still gonna have a little crush on Liz but not forever ;)

Anyways, thanks so much for all the reviews! It's awesome to read through all of them! Keep them coming and thanks for being awesome!

So I didn't like how this chapter turned out the first time so I went through it and fixed it haha. Also, I'm gonna turn my author's note at the beginning into an extended summary :)