A/N: I forgot. I forgot again! Why do I always forget it's Wednesdayyyy ugh. I've had the longest week omg I'm so exhausted and all I wanna do rn is be a lil spoon but I don't have a boo, sadly :(

So the last chapter was pretty angsty. Or no wait that was the chapter before. I don't even remember my own story damn. Anyway, this one's sad(ish).

Okay so yeah I'm about to collapse from exhaustion but here's the new chapter :)

"She died in a fire. Burned alive."

Adelaide,

I think this belongs to you. Thought you should know that Tony sold the Tower and moved out. We're at the Avengers Compound upstate now, if you're wondering. It'd be nice if you came to visit. I know I already said this, but he misses you. We all do. Please, come home.

Love,

Happy.

Adelaide opened the package.

It was the Deathboard. And her suit.

Tony was at a funeral.

He didn't know whose it was. Everybody was crying, whispering things, staring at the ground. He didn't know any of these people. The coffin was at the front of the graveyard site. He began to make his way through the crowd of black coats and dresses and umbrellas.

The rain was pouring steadily, almost in an eerie sense. The sky was a dark gray, casting a miserable shadow onto everything under it. A crow crowed not too far away. It sounded like a laugh. Or maybe it was a warning.

"So young," someone whispered as he passed them.

"...should have paid more attention," someone else whispered.

"...never know when anything could happen."

"Can't believe this. They should have been more careful. Anger can really change a person."

"...I can't imagine how painful it must have been."

Tony's heart began to beat more frantically as he heard the spectators' whispers. Who were they talking about? Who was in the coffin up there? He began to run through a list of people in his head, trying to remember when he had seen them last and what the last thing he'd said to them was.

Finally, he broke through the crowd.

In the front was a bare white casket. It was closed but there was a framed picture beside it sitting on an easel.

It was Adie.

"She died in a fire," a stranger taunted in his ear, "Burned alive. She tried to call you for help but you were too consumed with your anger to answer. They couldn't even fix her face enough for the funeral." The stranger laughed in his ear.

Tony stopped breathing.

His heart had just stopped. He looked around. Everything was in a negative light now. Had he died? The crow began crowing louder. The rain fell faster. It sounded like it was laughing at him. The crowd was getting scared.

He took an unsure step towards the coffin.

"She would still be alive if you had just answered the call," someone said. Their voice sounded distorted. If his heart had stopped, how was he still alive?

"Heartless monster," someone hissed and the sound traveled into his ear like a snake slithering inside. But they were right. He didn't need a heart to stay alive. He really was a heartless monster.

He stopped in front of the coffin, looking down at it.

The rain stopped—it was holding its breath. The crows fell silent. The murmur of the crowd rippled towards him like a tidal wave and then they fell silent, too.

With a steady hand, he opened the casket.

The crows screamed. The rain blew everywhere. Thunder rolled in the sky. Behind him, the crowd shrieked.

Inside was burnt, blackened remnants of flesh.

This morning, Peter and Ned had decided to take the subway to school.

They were walking down the street together as Ned pelted him with a million questions. Peter had explained everything to him by now and the curiosity was bubbling out of his best friend. Peter wasn't sure how he felt about Ned knowing that he was Spider-Man, but it was too late to mull over that now and he had decided to move on.

"You got bit by a spider? Can it bite me?" Ned asked, "Well, it probably would've hurt, right? You know what? Whatever. Even if it did hurt, I'd let it bite me. Maybe. How much did it hurt?"

"The spider's dead, Ned," Peter sighed as they approached the end of the street. He shifted the books in his hand uncomfortably. With his backpack gone, he had to carry everything in his hand now. Which was a lot of stuff. Obviously, it wasn't heavy for him, but that didn't mean it was comfortable.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered to the sight in front of him.

"Woah," Ned breathed from beside him.

It was Delmar's.

Or, what was left of it. The deli had been burned to a blackened ash and it was swarming with officials from different departments. Peter could barely make out the name above the deli.

"You were here?" Ned asked.

Peter looked across the street at the bank where, sure enough, there were more officials crowding the area. Everything was marked off by DO NOT CROSS tape and barricades.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"You could've died," Ned breathed. Peter realized he had no idea that Ada was the one who could have died. If he hadn't gotten there in time, the entire burning deli could have collapsed on her.

You said we were done. So stop acting like you still care.

He glanced at the caved in roof. He swallowed. What would he do if Ada had died? Was what she had done so unforgivable?

You're not a hero, Peter.

They both silently stared at the sight, lost in their thoughts.

"Do you lay eggs?" Ned suddenly blurted. Peter blinked and then turned to him.

"What?" he laughed, "No."

Ned continued to drown him with questions all morning.

"Can you spit venom?" Ned asked just as Peter closed his locker. He sighed.

"No," he said. This had to be the millionth question Ned had asked him and it was barely even nine in the morning.

"Can you summon an army of spiders?" Ned asked, following him down the hall even though his class was on the other end.

Peter withheld a sigh, "No, Ned."

"How far can you shoot your webs?" Ned asked, popping up behind him in the bathroom. Peter glared at his best friend's reflection in the mirror in front of him.

"It's unknown," he said.

"If I was you, I would stand on the edge of a building and just shoot it as far as I could—"

"Shut up, Ned," he sighed as he left him rambling in the bathroom.

"How fast can you swing? Is there a certain height?"

The librarian shushed him. Ned ignored her. Peter looked at him through a slit between books, through the shelf.

"No," he said quietly, taking out the book he needed. Ned's face appeared in the empty space. Peter glared at him, but his friend hardly seemed to notice it even care.

"What's the fastest you've swung? Wait — have you swung on top of the Empire State building!"

"Shh!" the librarian said again.

"No, Ned," Peter sighed, putting the book back on the shelf to cover his friend's face.

"You're all set, sweetheart," the woman behind the desk said, handing her a blue sheet of paper. She internally cringed at the name as it reminded her of the last person she wanted to think about right now. Adelaide looked over her schedule with a sigh.

Geometry.

World History.

Physical Education (PE).

Lunch.

Chemistry II.

Physics.

"Have a wonderful day!" the lady told the teenager as she left her office. She couldn't have a wonderful day and have geometry first thing in the morning.

With the final warning bell ringing, Adelaide made her way to Geometry. She could only hope that no one she knew was in that class. With one minute left to spare, she walked inside the room. She quickly scanned all of the faces. There was only one person she knew and it was Michelle, sitting at the back of the classroom as usual.

Adelaide let out a breath of relief.

She didn't think she could handle seeing Ned again at the moment. And definitely not Peter. Especially after last night. She didn't want to talk to him until he became sensible enough to understand that he was wrong. Which could be never.

Adelaide sat down in a seat beside Michelle just as Mr. Big Ears began taking roll.

"Aaron?"

"Here."

"Bella?"

"Hey," she said to Michelle. The curly-haired girl looked up from her book, bored.

"I thought you were Flash for a second," she mumbled. Adelaide furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Michelle?"

"Here," she mumbled in the teacher's general direction.

"I can't tell if you're insulting me," Adelaide said. Michelle shrugged.

"Adelaide?" Mr. Big Ears said.

"Here," she sighed. He smiled at her. She didn't return it.

"Vivian?"

"You decide," Michelle said and then went back to her book, yawning as she flipped the page. Adelaide stared at her for a bit before shaking her head and looking away. The girl was impossible to understand.

"Vivian Sung?" Mr. Big Ears said, "No? Alright then. Let's get started. My name is Mr. Fulmer. Let's all go around and say one thing we did this summer."

Adelaide tossed her head back and groaned.

Yesterday, Adelaide had gotten somewhat lucky.

The only class she had had with anyone she knew had been with Ned. And that was just one class. She hoped today might pass similarly. The less social interaction the better.

When she walked into World History and spotted Ned sitting beside the only empty seat left, she let out a heavy sigh, cursing at her luck. She really had to start getting to class earlier. As the teacher began to call roll, she trudged over to the empty seat and lazily sat down, avoiding his gaze.

Then, a few minutes later, "Psst!"

Adelaide looked to her left to find Ned staring at her. She watched him in confusion.

"What?" she whispered. He vigorously shook his head as if he had just remembered something.

"Nothing," he whispered back. Adelaide gave him a strange look before turning away.

"I'm Mr. Reed and I will be your world history teacher," the teacher said. Great. The past. The one thing no one liked to study. Except Mr. Skinny Tie over here, of course.

"Adel—nevermind," Ned said before she could even turn to look at him. She frowned. What was going on with him? She decided to let it go this time. Maybe he was still mad at her.

"Open your textbooks to page 233," Mr. Reed said. Everyone pulled their textbooks out and the room was filled with the sound of flipping pages. Adelaide glanced at the heading in page 233. Great Britain, the Power Hungry. She sighed.

Then she heard the sound of paper crumpling and she turned her head to find Ned balling up a piece of paper while shaking his head vigorously. Adelaide watched him in confusion. What was his deal?

"What are you doing?" she whispered. Ned looked up at her like a deer caught in headlights. He looked around and then down at the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. He stuffed it deep into his backpack.

"N-Nothing," he mumbled, "Nothing at all."

"Why are you making that face?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. His eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously.

"I-I'm nothing—I mean, n-nothing. I don't know anything weird," he rambled.

Adelaide watched him for a moment longer before turning away. He was behaving strangely but it wasn't her business anymore. She reminded herself that the past was in the past and continued to listen to Mr. Skinny Tie lecture about history.

A/N: Sooo not much going on in this chapter and it's super short but the next chapter will be better! Hopefully. I have most of it written out anyway. Sorry about this one, I know it sucks but like I literally don't have time anymore so I'm trying my best :((

Question: Do you think Ned will tell Adie?