Note: This story was co-written with the wonderfully talented Solstilla. You can find her on FFN, AO3, and Tumblr at Solstilla. Our mutual Tumblr is InfiniteSundrop, and you can find me on Tumblr at InfiniteInMyOwnLittleWorld!
Summary: They say time heals. It's been nine months since Lily lost her mother and sister, but she still feels their absence every day. The only thing getting her through these difficult times has been the masked hero, Spider-Man. With the attacks on the city getting worse each day, and with the growing animosity towards London's only hope, Lily has no choice but to act. After all, we all have powers of one kind or another, in our own way. (Spider-Man AU)
Warnings for the whole fic: Grief/Mourning/Survivor's Guilt, Violence, Referenced Character Death (minor)
Chapter Exclusive Warnings: Destruction of Property (debris), Grief
Author Note: Thank you for your patience with this update! This chapter ended up way longer than we anticipated, so we hope that makes up for the delay! Hope you enjoy!
Once Lily had been told that if counting sheep didn't work, try imagining you were an ant crawling up your own body.
The problem with that was all she could imagine was scaling up the side of Big Ben with Spider-Man holding onto her with one hand, while the other supported them by a delicate little thread.
The web-shooters.
Lily huffed, rolling onto her side and closing her eyes tightly to block out the lights from the streetlamps below. She had to sleep. She could sort out the web-shooters another night.
Besides, it wasn't as if she would figure out how they worked in one night. Surely it had taken Spider-Man time to make them. Or maybe he didn't even make them at all? Maybe he had a guy on the inside? But then, if he had someone or even just more resources than Lily did, it would be nearly impossible for Lily to figure out the shooters, wouldn't it?
Would theory be enough? And if it were enough, what would she even do once she figured them out? It wasn't as if Lily had super strength or anything. There was no way an average person could just casually pull off the car door like Spider-Man had that night.
Oh. She was spiraling again.
Taking a shuddering breath, Lily peeled back her blankets and padded over to her desk.
At this rate, she wasn't going to be getting any sleep anyway. Lily just had to be careful to keep quiet, so she didn't wake her father.
He hadn't known. When she stepped inside, the first thing Lily had been greeted with was a bone-crushing hug and murmurs to 'never do that again'. At first, Lily thought he meant what she did in Piccadilly Circus, but from the jacket hanging halfway off his arm, she realized that he'd gone looking for her.
Which could only mean he hadn't seen the nightly news coverage.
Lily winced at the memory. She'd put her father through so much worry tonight and that wasn't even the worst part.
Tomorrow morning would be brutal when he finally saw what she'd really been up to. Even if her face wasn't included in the story, she knew he would know where she was.
He'd asked her, of course, where she had been. Then when he took a closer look at her, he grabbed her face to look at the dark bruise lining the side of her face from the crash and demanded to know what happened.
She didn't have the heart to tell him. Not yet.
In an attempt to postpone the inevitable, Lily kept tight-lipped. "I took a ride on the Tube. I...someone knocked into me. It was an accident. I'm fine." She'd hurried off not long after that. If she kept away, perhaps she wouldn't have to lie to her father more.
Besides, she hadn't lied, had she? A short Tube ride had been part of her night, and while the bruise wasn't from being jostled by the stampede, it had happened.
She knew better than to tell him that she had taken part in destroying Piccadilly Circus, driving a stolen taxi into a statue, and escaping the press in Spider-Man's arms. He'd had enough excitement for one night; she didn't think he could handle hearing those things too.
She swallowed thickly at the reminder of being held in Spider-Man's arms, at their conversation while on the clock tower. He'd told her not to try anything like that again, and she'd agreed.
And yet, here she was trying to work out how his web-shooters worked so she could...what, exactly? What was her mission?
Lily ignored the little voice in the back of her head screaming out that she could help Spider-Man. That she could help people just like he did. That, maybe if Spider-Man had help nine months, her mother and sister could have made it home from the bridge that fateful day.
There were still more lives that needed saving. If only she could figure out those web-shooters.
But Lily had other priorities to attend to. She'd seen just how badly her recklessness had affected her father tonight. She'd seen the expression on his face when she came home.
Not to mention the impact it had on Hestia when she'd run into the stampede. No. Lily couldn't just...use the web-shooters.
Right?
That was a ridiculous thought. No, this was her own curiosity running rampant. She was a biology major - a scientist - and the technology behind the web-shooters had merely piqued her interest.
Of course it intrigued her. Wasn't everyone in the city wondering how Spider-Man did such amazing things? If they weren't, they should have been. The webbing gave him the power to hold up bridges, trap villains, and climb buildings as tall as Big Ben. It was so strong that it could bear the weight of two people in midair.
It seemed like a substance so durable would be impossible, but she'd seen it with her own eyes.
She sat down, grabbing one of her textbooks out of a large pile of papers - school research that was probably more important than this - before she began thumbing through the pages.
Where to start, though? None of the chapter subjects- enzyme models, peptides, in vivo sensors - had anything to do with the chemistry behind the substance inside Spider-Man's web-shooters that made it so fascinating.
With a huff, she closed the book and set it aside. Her discard pile, she thought dryly.
If she couldn't sort out the chemistry behind the webs themselves, she would simply have to begin with the shooters. Ripping out a few clean pages from her notebook, she decided she'd try to sketch the web-shooters. If she could create a prototype of the casing, she could worry about the webbing later.
She shut her eyes, trying to picture it in her mind. At the time, she'd thought that his web-shooters were built into the suit, but now that she thought it over, she thought it was just as likely that he wore part of it underneath his suit.
Likely to cover up the technology from others. Lily chewed on her cheek. Should she really be doing this? It was late, and she needed sleep…
Counting sheep had proven fruitless. That weird ant trick had only succeeded in reminding Lily of Spider-Man.
And it wasn't like Lily was going to be doing anything with this information, and she decided that was enough permission to continue going.
Putting pen to paper, Lily sketched out Spider-Man's arm and hand. He'd had a metal mechanism that moved with his wrist movements. The fabric of the suit contorted with whatever inner workings made the web-shooters work. Although she remembered that the suit had a texture, she couldn't picture the exact pattern she had seen. She scowled, dropping her pen onto the paper.
Yes, she knew this wasn't going to be easy, but she hadn't known she wouldn't have any idea where to start. She felt lost, and completely out of her wits. Lily knew biology, and she knew basic chemistry, but this was beyond what she'd learned. She was only beginning to dabble in bio-engineering because of a required course she was frustrated she had to take.
The lightbulb flickered on, grabbing her bio-engineering textbook.
Fifty pages later, Lily was beginning to lose hope in her idea. This was all fairly new information to her, and sure, she was learning a lot, but it was all too basic. Everything in this textbook would be foundational knowledge as opposed to the clearly advanced information used to make the web-shooters.
Flipping through the book, Lily leaned her head on her hands, feeling herself growing more and more tired. Despite the gnawing desire to know exactly how the webs were made, flipping through a textbook at midnight was one way to put yourself to sleep. In fact, it was even better than counting sheep.
Lily's eyes fluttered shut, her breathing evening out.
That was until a thump outside jolted her upright in her seat.
Lily scrambled to her feet, the motion causing all the papers on her desk to scatter onto the floor. She ignored them, more interested in who or what had made the noise. It sounded close, and she knew her father was a sound sleeper.
She just hoped none of the tattooed villains were coming for her after she'd helped Spider-Man that night.
Lily crept out into the quiet sitting room. It was dark, but she didn't want to turn any lights on and alert whoever had made the noise that someone was awake in the flat.
Thump.
There it was again. Her eyes darted from window to window, but Lily saw...absolutely nothing. Part of her wondered whether it was just a neighbor, if she was better off just going to bed.
But she couldn't do that. Not after the night she'd had.
She unlocked the door slowly, the bolt sliding back with a quiet click. She couldn't wake her dad. He'd think she was sneaking out, and she thought he had worried enough for one night.
The cool October air had no effect on Lily as she stepped out of her apartment. Too invested in the noise, she glanced around the apartment building's corridor. Nothing looked out of place or abnormal. The hallway was bathed in a yellow glow from each apartment's outside light, but all the windows were dark.
Had she imagined the thump? No, it wasn't possible. She'd heard it more than once. There had to be something. Lily's eyes scanned up and down the hallway, looking for a possible source of the noise.
Nothing.
She turned her head to look the other way when a flash of red caught her eye. Suspended in midair by nothing but his webs was none other than Spider-Man.
Lily stumbled back in surprise, not expecting to see the masked superhero at her flat again. She supposed he'd been the one making the noise - perhaps trying to get her outside, even. "Wha-what are you doing here?" she stammered, blinking the leftover sleepiness from her eyes as she watched him swing back with his legs. The motion provided him enough momentum to fly forward just a bit so he could land on his feet right beside her.
She could hear the grin in his voice as he said, "Coming to see you again, of course."
Cheeks reddening, Lily stepped closer to him. Despite their proximity, she hadn't expected her new acquaintance to slip an arm around her waist. Before she had the chance to say anything, Spiderman tilted his head, and Lily imagined a lopsided sort of smile under that mask.
"Now what are you doing out here? It's cold out. Can I help you inside?" Spider-Man murmured, and suddenly she was keenly aware of his hand on her back.
Lily wrapped her arms around his waist in response, nodding her head into his chest. He shook with gentle laughter before they lifted off the ground.
Once again, Lily was soaring through the air with Spider-Man. The web-shooters! She tried to get a look, but Spider-Man was watching her this time.
Something in her gut twisted with guilt, and Lily looked away, instead watching where they were going. Her bedroom window.
She reached out - Spider-Man seemed a bit preoccupied keeping the both of them mid-air - and slid the glass pane all the way up. The superhero held Lily while she slipped her feet in first, then landed safely on the floor of her bedroom.
Before he could let go, Lily grabbed his hand. Thankfully, it appeared as if Spider-Man hadn't had any plans to leave.
He slipped through the window slowly, using her hand as leverage. Once they were both inside her room, the air seemed to shift.
"You can't keep working on those web-shooters, Lily," he said, watching her closely as if he was anticipating an argument.
Her eyes widened. How had he known about that? She looked around her room, frowning when she realized he must have seen her rough sketch of them on the floor. Right?
Or maybe it was just him noticing her looking at them when he took her up to her bedroom? But then why was he here?
Was it possible that Spider-Man had seen her interest in the shooters earlier that night and it just clicked?
That was the only explanation.
"No, you don't understand, it's just..it's incredible science…tha-"
"That helps me do very dangerous things," he finished. "And we both know you like to put yourself in danger too." The silence that followed his statement felt rather incriminating, and Lily opened her mouth to protest before quickly closing it back. She had no defense to counter with.
However, that didn't mean the way Spider-Man crossed his arms across his chest all smugly got a free pass. She leaned forward, gently pushing his arms down. "Point taken. Is that all you came here for?"
"No," he said defensively, looking away and leaning back on her windowsill. Somehow he looked both endearing and infuriating at the same time. For a moment, Lily was reminded of someone, but no name came to mind. She quickly threw the notion away.
"Right," she said, taking a seat at her desk, giving him a few moments to speak. When he didn't, she raised one eyebrow at him expectantly. "Just come to hang out?"
"Something like that," he laughed. The sound filled Lily's chest with warmth. Her annoyance seemed to melt away.
Spider-Man had a very nice laugh.
Come to think of it, Spider-Man had a very nice, well, everything. If only she could see his face.
She couldn't deny that she was attracted to him, even without knowing his identity. He was a superhero. He went around saving the city with little thanks. He was funny, and sweet. And he'd seemed to take some sort of interest in her.
Realizing that she'd taken far too long to answer, Lily tilted her head. "Do you come visit people who destroy the city with you often?"
"No," he sighed, shaking his head. "Only the ones that commit grand theft for me."
There it was again. That funny feeling in her stomach, but this time it was much more pleasant. "Oh," she breathed.
Spider-Man let out a soft sort of huff under his mask-laughter- before nodding. "Yeah, oh."
"I was going to say thank you," she blurted out, thinking about the events of the night. "I was going to, but you were already gone. So...er, thank you. For tonight."
Shaking his head quickly, Spider-Man said, "While I don't want you to do it again, I should be the one thanking you. You saved me tonight."
She'd saved him. She, Lily Evans, had saved Spider-Man.
Sure, she knew it the moment she crashed the taxi into the statue, which had trapped the villains, but hearing him say it without lecturing her too much made her feel...well, like a hero.
Suddenly, those sketches on the ground felt a whole world more important. She'd have to pick them up the instant he left.
Lily couldn't give up on the idea simply because Spider-Man and her father didn't like her putting herself in danger. This was about more than one person's safety; it was about countless innocent lives. She'd saved people tonight. More than just Spider-Man, too. If the villains had got away, if they'd hurt Spider-Man, who knows where London would be right now?
So lost in thought, she forgot the very person she'd been thinking about was right in front of her until his hand came out and he gently tilted her head up. "Alright, Lily?"
Lily parted her lips, words evading her. She swallowed quickly, before nodding. More than alright, really.
He hummed softly as if he were deep in thought about something before reluctantly tearing his hand away. "It was...I hope I see you again," he admitted, stepping back towards the open window. "Perhaps under better circumstances, hmm?"
Before Lily could say a word, Spider-Man climbed back through the window, one hand holding onto her windowsill while the other pointed at a nearby building, the webbing shooting out with a quiet whirring noise. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Lily watched her window far longer than was necessary, but eventually, she had to admit to herself that he really was gone.
Again.
Sighing in defeat, she closed her window back, trudged to her desk, and slumped into her chair.
Picking up every fallen article and laying them neatly-and face down-on her desk, Lily tried to push him from her mind. School and work tomorrow would be hard enough given everything that had happened. A sleepless night would only compound the problem.
Try as she might to forget the man in the suit, the effort felt fruitless.
Lily stared at her textbook for a moment, but she wasn't in the mindset to research anymore. Instead, she looked down at the papers in front of her, grabbing a pen to continue working on her latest sketch.
Biting her lip, Lily tried to recall the finer details of the web-shooters that she had missed in her previous sketches, but all she saw in her mind's eyes was Spider-Man watching her disapprovingly. She groaned, dropping her head into her elbow. This was infuriating.
No sleep. No progress on the shooters. Something had to give.
Twiddling her pen in her fingers, Lily took a deep breath in. Fresh air. Surely that would help.
Standing to open her window, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.
He was there. At her window.
Lily scrambled over, pushing it back open and staring at Spider-Man incredulously. "You really missed me that much, huh?" she teased, leaning forward playfully as if challenging him to deny it.
This time, instead of bracing himself against the brownstone of her building, he was hanging upside down from the roof. When he didn't answer her right away, Lily rolled her eyes, moving to step away. "Get back in here, then. Come on, it's too cold to be out at this-"
"Can't stay," he finally replied evenly. He appeared way too comfortable dangling by a thread. "I just forgot to do one thing before I left."
"Oh?" Lily asked, now hopping up onto her windowsill to bring herself closer, folding her legs to the side and bracing her back against the window frame. Her green eyes trailed up, finally looking at him head-on. She hadn't realized how much closer they were in this new position. "And what might that one thing be?"
He looked like he was leaning closer too, and before she could say a word, he stretched out a hand towards her. Reaching out to cup her cheek, his thumb brushed along her skin affectionately. Her breath hitched in her throat. "Are you sure you can't guess?" he murmured, his voice more gravelly than usual.
"Can I pull your mask up?" she whispered, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.
He nodded his assent, and Lily pushed against the window frame to sit on her feet.
"Careful," Spider-Man said, his tone full of amusement. "I wouldn't want to have to save you again."
Lily laughed despite herself, carefully reaching up to where the mask ended at his neck and slid it down his face to reveal his lips. He did have the most adorable lop-sided grin.
"Excited, are you?" she teased, her face now inches from his.
"Aren't you?" he asked as their noses - his still covered by his mask - brushed against each other. A moment later, Lily could feel the ghost of his lips against hers as her eyes fluttered shut.
He tilted her head just slightly to kiss her. For a moment, just one moment, she could feel a smile on his lips, but then, it was gone, his lips pressed fully against her own. They were soft and warm, and Lily wished he were on the ground, wanting nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and pull him closer.
At first, the kiss was gentle, but it quickly became more insistent even with the inherent awkwardness that came from kissing someone who was upside down. It didn't bother her, not in the slightest. Spider-Man was kissing her - her, Lily Evans - and it was as if her brain had disconnected from her body.
Too soon, he pulled away, his breath heavy. Lily giggled, her hands on his cheeks, although she was rather breathless herself. This time, Spider-Man opened his mouth to speak, but Lily cut him off, pressing a bunch of tiny little kisses into his lips before they recaptured hers.
Her hand slid behind his neck of its own accord, as if silently asking for him to come down, come closer. Maybe it would have worked too, if she hadn't heard her father from the other room. "You should...You should go," she gasped breathily against his lips. She didn't want him to, but she could hear her father calling her.
"Lily!"
She began to tear herself away from him unwillingly to turn towards the door, but when she opened her eyes to get one last look at him...
Her desk sat in front of her, and a sketch paper stuck to her cheek. Her desk lamp burned bright, and the sun peeked through her curtains. Lily blinked at the bright lights, looking around in confusion.
Where was Spider-Man?
How was it suddenly so bright out?
Had she dreamt all of that?
Although she would deny it, even to herself, something inside her sunk at the realization. It was only a dream.
Sure, there were boys at school she was interested in, but none of them really seemed to mirror her interest. Or they would send her mixed signals that just left her feeling confused.
But Spider-Man...he was sweet. He hadn't needed to stay with her until she had calmed down before helping her home. It would have been just as easy for him to drop her off. Instead, he spent time with her and showed her beautiful views of the city.
Now that she thought about it, she was quite sure they'd flirted after the fight too.
"Lily?" She jumped up, pulled from her thoughts as her dad knocked on the door.
Cursing under her breath, Lily piled up all her papers and shoved them inside her chemistry textbook before running to her door and peaking out.
"Yes Dad?" she asked innocently.
Her father, Thomas, had a bemused smile on his face. "Morning, sleepyhead," he greeted, tilting his head as he took in her slightly disheveled appearance. He was in a chipper mood for all that had transpired last night. Lily thought maybe he was worried about upsetting her. "You're usually up earlier than this. I was beginning to think I was going to have to fend for myself this morning and have breakfast alone."
Lily whipped back around, glancing at the clock in her room. She wondered if she'd slept straight through her alarm. It was lucky her father had woken her because she didn't want to miss her class. She'd be cutting it close as is. "You might have to this morning," she answered apologetically as she went to gather her things.
"Cereal it is then," he grumbled slightly before smiling at her. "Have a good day, Lil."
Shoving her books into her school bag, Lily looked up and shot her father a warm smile. Why wasn't he more upset about last night? "You too, Dad."
Lily grabbed her last textbook - the chemistry book she'd used as a pillow the night before and subsequently had a very sore neck from- before going to get dressed.
Usually, she dressed up for school, taking the time to do her hair and put on just a touch of makeup.
It was partly because she wanted people to feel like she made an effort. After everything she had gone through last semester, she still got worried glances from her classmates sometimes. Appearing more put-together had started to ward that off a bit.
There was also the fact that she liked dressing up.
And as much as she didn't want to admit it, it might have had a little to do with trying to garner the attention of a certain classmate. Besides, if she didn't see him in classes, she always saw him at work.
Today was different. She was still completely frustrated with James after their disagreement at the Prophet. In fact, she was hoping to evade him altogether. So, instead of her usual styled hair, she threw her red locks into a messy bun, and she forwent makeup completely.
As she slipped out of her bedroom, she paused when she noticed her father lower his spoon and watch her. He had an intensity in his eyes she hadn't experienced since she first lost her mother.
Lily pursed her lips, glancing over her shoulder at him while grabbing a granola bar for her own breakfast on the go.
"Are you feeling unwell, Lily?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing together. Before Lily could calm his fears, her father was standing, heading towards the medicine cabinet and pulling out a thermometer. "You were out awfully late last night in the cold and rain. Maybe you should sta-"
"Dad! I'm alright, really. I stayed up late studying since I was out, and I didn't want to get behind on my work." At least it was a half-truth. Lily smiled reassuringly, plucking the thermometer out of her father's hands and placing it back in the cabinet. "I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me so much."
With that, Lily went on her toes to kiss her father's cheek before returning to her room to fetch her school bag. Pulling it over her shoulder, she started to the front door.
Everything felt as if it were happening in slow motion. She'd stepped into the foyer as her father lifted the remote for the telly. Lily knew exactly what he was switching on and knew she had to make it out the front door before her father figured out what really happened last night.
"Spider-Man's mystery woman: a lover or new sidekick? More at ten!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw her father whip around to look at Lily, but by then she had already slipped out the front door and began barreling down the street.
Oh, she was in trouble when she got home.
Lily made her way down the street at a much faster rate than her usual pace, not wanting her father to come after her. Once she was sure she'd lost him, she slowed, almost to her Tube station by that point.
It seemed so strange that the last time she'd walked this route, she'd been making her way towards the fight in Piccadilly Circus.
She hadn't met Spider-Man yet.
She hadn't crashed a taxi into a national landmark.
And she definitely hadn't had this many people staring at her.
In her hurry, Lily didn't notice the Londoners pointing and staring at her. She had been too busy trying to run from her father, whom she was sure was very upset with her by this point. Now, a silence fell as people spoke about her in hushed whispers as she passed, making her way down the staircase of the Underground station.
She scanned her Oyster card and began walking towards the platform, trying to ignore the photo of her plastered on every front page at the newsstand. She had to admit that they'd managed to get a good shot.
There she was, hanging tightly onto Spider-Man as they swung away from the scene. She must've been in shock at that point because she was still looking at the camera instead of burying her face in Spider-Man's shoulder. Surprisingly, she didn't think she looked completely terrified either.
More than anything, there was absolutely no mistaking her for another person. Anyone who knew Lily would automatically know that she'd been the one escaping the attack with Spider-Man.
Her feet led her, leaving her mind busy trying not to pay any attention to all the attention she was receiving. In fact, she'd been so preoccupied with keeping her head down and averting the gaze of onlookers that Lily hadn't even realized she reached her stop for school until the train was nearly empty.
Lily checked her watch as she rushed off the train. She had some time before class began, but she wanted to get in and settled. If random strangers on the streets had pointed her out, she was worried about what her peers and, more importantly, what her friends would do when they saw her.
She didn't have to wait long to find out. When Lily arrived at the science building, someone was standing there, arms crossed, as she waited for her.
"Hes…" Lily started as she made her way towards her. From the way Hestia's eyes narrowed, Lily could tell she was upset about what happened the night before.
The girl shook her head in response. "Don't," she replied, frowning. "Lily, you could've been killed. What were you thinking?" Hestia was right. She had a knack for that, really.
She was right last night when she'd told Lily to run and she was now. Lily licked her lips nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, racking her brain for something to say. Although Lily opened her lips, no sound came out. She shut her mouth again, suspecting she must look something akin to a goldfish.
"That's what I thought," she sighed, her anger deflating like a balloon at Lily's inability to defend herself. "You weren't thinking at all, were you?"
Lily swallowed thickly. "No, I was." She pressed her lips together, looking down for a moment and arranging her items neatly on her desk to buy herself time to figure out how to explain what exactly happened. "I-they-The Prophet wants to arrest Spider-Man!" she finally blurted out, her voice a bit louder than was necessary.
She glanced around the vacant room before looking at Hestia again and lowering her voice. "I was thinking about Spider-Man, alright? I was trying to help him."
"You what?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. Hestia grimaced as she processed what Lily said. "Lily, you do realize that Spider-Man is a superhero, yeah? You...You ran headfirst into danger. You could have died!" Her voice got higher than Lily'd ever heard it as she squeaked out the last word. "And for what? Spider-Man can deal with this. He can."
But he needed her last night.
Lily just pressed her lips together, lifting her shoulders in an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry," she whispered, looking at her best friend with knitted brows, hoping to convey her sincerity.
And it was true, she was sorry. Lily was sorry for how worried she'd made her. The look on Hestia's face last night had gutted her, and she was seeing it again now. Lily never wanted to make her best friend hurt the way she was hurting at this moment.
Hestia stayed silent, staring at Lily before nodding weakly. "Just...just don't do it again, please?" she begged, her voice strained and shaky.
The frog in Lily's throat must have grown, because she found herself unable to speak. What was she supposed to say? How could she just lie to her best friend directly to her face? Instead, she looked over at her with remorse. "Hes, I can't promise anything. Last night, I- I saved Spider-Man. I did."
Hestia stared at her for longer than a comfortable amount of time. It was like she was trying to figure out what to make of Lily. "I know," she agreed. "We all saw you crash that taxi into the statue. They had it on the news this morning." Lily blinked back her surprise at that. How?
Hestia bit her lip, shuffling back and forth a bit until she was full-blown pacing. "The footage from the surveillance camera was grainy, but I knew it was you…"
With a sudden stop, Hestia straightened up and looked back at Lily again. "It was brave," she admitted, "but also very, very stupid, Lily." She grabbed Lily's hands in hers and squeezed tightly. "Lily, I know you want to help, but as I said, Spider-Man's got this. He can take care of himself."
Maybe he could. Or maybe he would have died last night if she hadn't been there to help him. Just because he was a superhero who had unnaturally strong webbing didn't mean he was invincible.
Lily knew there was no arguing with Hestia though. Instead of answering, she squeezed her best friend's hands back and offered her a weak smile. "Class is going to start soon, Hes. You need to get to yours and it's almost halfway across campus."
Hestia didn't move. She just stared at Lily with her mouth hanging open slightly. "This conversation is not over," she said, the finality in her voice sharp enough to sting. Lily nodded, trying to keep her expression unreadable.
"I expected nothing less," she admitted. After a moment of hesitation, she called after Hestia as she approached the classroom door. "Love you…"
Hestia froze for a moment before turning around. If looks could kill. "Yeah, Lil, that's the whole point. Don't try anything like that again. Ever."
Lily watched as Hestia swished back around, her long dark hair flying behind her. And then she was gone.
Great.
The worst part was, Lily couldn't even be upset with Hestia. If their situations were reversed, she thought maybe she would be worse than Hestia. Her mother and sister's deaths had been accidents, merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but if she knew any of the people she loved were willingly putting themselves in danger...well, she could see why it bothered Hestia.
Ignoring the unbearable guilt eating at her, Lily pulled her notebook and pencils out of her school bag. More students were filing through the door, but Lily paid them no mind. She was here for bio-organic chemistry. She needed to focus on her studies.
Still, try as she might, Lily knew that people were staring at her. From her normal seat in the middle of the room, she could hear the murmurs as people whispered about her. It almost made her feel like an animal in a zoo.
She half-expected someone to take the empty seat and sit beside her for curiosity's sake, but as Slughorn entered the classroom, her lab partner's seat was, as usual, empty.
Today, she was almost glad for it.
After what had happened at the Prophet yesterday, Lily wasn't very much in the mood to talk to James Potter. Besides, she couldn't even begin to imagine how he would react to all the news surrounding her and Spider-Man.
Would he assume the worst and think she was doing it for the Prophet? Or would he just be annoyed that she'd ignored his advice to leave well enough alone?
But he didn't understand. Just like Hestia didn't. A world without Spider-Man meant a world where more people would've gotten hurt last night. It meant a world where more people would've died that day on the bridge.
Lily was willing to sacrifice anything to keep him around. The realization surprised her a bit.
It was true. Despite the fallout from last night unraveling around her, nothing else seemed nearly as important. She had to help Spider-Man. If not her, then who?
She was snapped out of her thoughts as the classroom door creaked open. The lecture she hadn't been listening to halted, and all eyes turned to the back of the class. Think of the devil, and he shall appear, wasn't that the saying?
Lily watched as James Potter entered the classroom, trying his best to creep into his seat without much notice. It wasn't effective, really, since Slughorn had stopped talking at his entrance. James didn't seem to notice everyone was staring at him. He was concentrating on something else.
"Mr. Potter," Slughorn greeted with feigned cheerfulness. Lily could see or, rather hear, right through that. He was disappointed. Perhaps he expected more out of Dean McGonagall's charge. "So glad you could finally join us, my boy."
James slid into the seat next to her with his usual carefree attitude. "Good to finally be here, sir." Lily looked ahead, not daring to sneak a glance over at her chronically absent lab partner. She wanted him to know she was angry with him.
Yesterday, perhaps she had overreacted a bit when James declined her proposal to work together to save Spider-Man. Fair enough. However, she found it oddly suspicious that he came to class the day after Lily had made the news.
Not to mention, anytime James Potter was involved in her life she didn't know what to make of him. Sure, he was witty and charming. Sometimes. Other times, he could be plain rude or aggravating. One minute, he was laughing with her and Lily thought they were something like friends. The very next, he was cold and pushed her away.
She was growing tired of it. If he wanted to be cold towards her, Lily would dish it right back.
Slughorn quirked an eyebrow, and Lily could tell he was unimpressed with James's humor. He took a few more moments to write something on a writing pad, presumably his attendance sheet, before continuing on with his lesson.
This time, instead of allowing herself to become consumed by her thoughts, Lily forced herself to focus on the lecture.
The only problem was that although she was hearing the words, her mind was so preoccupied by the boy sitting beside her, Slughorn's meticulously crafted lesson plan turned to gibberish in her mind.
Why had he showed up all of a sudden? Was it because he'd seen the news and knew she'd helped Spider-Man? Lily still wasn't sure why he'd been skipping his classes all year in the first place. Now, here he was, waltzing into class late and joking with Slughorn as if nothing had ever been amiss.
Her jaw clenched as, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a small slip of paper being slid across the table to her. She let out a little huff, sliding the paper in front of her a bit aggressively.
'Are you still mad at me?'
He had to be joking. Lily furrowed her eyebrows, looking back up at him in distaste and crumbling up the paper in her hands to prove her point.
Well, he supposed that answered his question. As Lily crumpled the paper into a ball before rolling it back to his side of the desk, James knew: yes, she was absolutely still angry with him. It felt silly to him after what they had been through since their chat at the Prophet. To him, it seemed like a million years ago.
She'd risked her life for him since then. They'd fought in one of his most difficult battles thus far together since then. He'd picked her up and taken her to safety.
But she didn't know he'd been there. For once, James was jealous that Spider-Man got all the glory.
He wasn't going to give up that easily. James tore another piece of paper out of his notebook, ignoring the annoyed look the girl at the table next to his had given him because of the noise, and scribbled, 'Can't we just talk about this, Lily? Please?' He folded the note carefully before sliding it back over to her side.
He watched as Lily opened the note and pressed her lips together. Oh no. That wasn't a promising sign. Still, she reached for her pen to write him back, so maybe not all hope was lost yet.
'No.' She'd written a couple lines below it for emphasis. So maybe she didn't want to pass notes like someone in secondary school.
James gave a hurried glimpse towards Slughorn, and upon seeing him fully engrossed in the lesson he was giving them on protein synthesis, he slowly scooted his chair closer to Lily's. "Please," he whispered, turning his head completely to look at her. What did he care about punishments? He was failing anyway. He was only here to talk to her. "I just want to talk about this."
So that might have been a big mistake, judging by the way her green eyes flashed. He opened his mouth to speak again but stopped when he saw her jaw clench and her hand flew up into the air.
What was she doing?
"Sir, I'm sorry. Could you repeat that last part? I didn't quite hear it over my lab partner trying to distract me." James gaped at her in surprise, and for a moment, he swore he saw something of a smirk playing on Lily's lips.
"Mr. Potter," Slughorn said, no longer hiding his annoyance. "No more disturbances, please, or I shall have to ask you to leave. You've missed too much class for that."
James nodded mutely, returning to the paper he'd been passing as notes. The big underlined no stung as he looked at it.
Yesterday, at the Prophet, all he'd been trying to do was keep her safe, keep her away from Spider-Man. Look how well that turned out.
The first thing he saw as Aunt Minnie turned on the telly that morning was Lily's face, stricken with a mixture of awe and terror as she clung onto him.
Things had gotten out of hand last night. He wanted to blame it on Lily's own recklessness, and that was partly the reason. But there was also the fact that he couldn't think properly with her around, especially when she was in danger.
She'd been in danger last night. His actions, perhaps even his own rash decision-making, had put her in harm's way.
If something would've happened to her - of all people, her - he didn't know what he would do with himself. He'd gone through heartbreaking loss before, but that hadn't been his fault. James was only a child back then. Now, this was his responsibility. If he couldn't keep her safe from the villains, Spider-Man, or herself...Well, he wasn't sure he could handle that.
Part of him wondered if he had lost her already. Here she was getting him in trouble with Slughorn to get out of talking with him.
He wished she could understand what was really going on, but it wasn't possible. Lily would be in more danger if she knew that he was Spider-Man. As long as he could keep her from doing something dangerous again, it was better this way, even if she stayed angry with him.
Sooner than James would have liked, Professor Slughorn dismissed the class. He jumped a bit in his seat as his classmates gathered their items and began to leave, Lily included.
Scrambling to catch up, he dumped his notes back into his bag before leaping out of his seat. As Lily's red hair whipped around the corner, James approached the doorway. With his foot just outside the threshold of the classroom, he'd heard, "Mr. Potter, please hang back a moment."
James closed his eyes, cursing inwardly.
Of all days, why today? He slinked back into the classroom, turning his head to face the elderly professor.
"James, you do realize that you are failing this course, correct?"
James grimaced. "Yes, sir," he mumbled. He'd had a conversation - well, more of a lecture - about his slipping grades with his aunt that morning. She'd made him come over to her flat and told him how disappointed she was. "I'm well aware and so is my aunt."
He bit his lip, deciding he should try to explain the best he could without divulging anything. "I'm working on it, sir. I'm...trying to be better."
It was a lie, really. All he did anymore was lie to anyone and everyone. Sure, it didn't seem like such a big thing to lie to people like Slughorn. He was nothing but a teacher to him. Lying to people like Lily and Aunt Minnie was what really hurt. It was a necessary evil, though. It was only to keep them safe.
Slughorn pressed his lips together into a thin line as if he was considering what James had told him. A long silence passed between the two of them, and James wondered what he could possibly be thinking about that was more important than catching up to Lily.
Finally, the old man spoke, raising his head a bit. "I want to suggest tutoring. In fact, I will give you five extra credit points just to go to tutoring." He sighed, shaking his head. "I don't want to fail you, my boy. Please take the offer."
James' heart sank at that. It was one thing to come to class. If there was an emergency, he could make up some excuse and run out at a moment's notice. For a tutor to expect him, to make time for him, it would be much more difficult to escape if something happened. "I…" He ruffled his hair nervously at Slughorn's expression; the old man looked at him expectantly, with worried eyes and furrowed eyebrows. "That's a very generous offer, sir. I'll...I'll try my best to make it happen."
Slughorn only sighed in response, turning to go behind his desk and pull out a few more pads of paper. He seemed to thrive in organized chaos. Littered all over his desk were books, papers, and, of course, more writing pads. He sorted through the pile he placed on his desk before exclaiming, "Ah-ha!"
He stood tall once more, holding out the yellow pad to James. "Tutor sign-ups. The first column is all available tutors, second is their times. Third is where you should sign up."
James stared at the list in front of him. It wasn't very long per-say. Most people didn't feel comfortable enough with the content to offer tutoring in bio-organic chemistry. But there were tutors available. One name caught his eye in the list: Evans, Lily. Besides her name, written neatly in her loopy scrawl was her times. Every Monday and Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm.
Slughorn beamed, seeing him staring at Lily's name. "An excellent choice, my boy! Ah, and it's Tuesday. She'll be available tomorrow if you can catch her in time."
James nodded his head, thinking that over. That was...perfect, actually. As long as nothing happened and he didn't have to cancel.
His stomach twisted at the thought. He could already picture her reaction. If he thought she was angry now, he couldn't imagine how she would react then.
He needed to speak to her sooner.
First, though, James needed to get Slughorn off his back. As well-intentioned as the old professor may have been, James didn't have time for this right now.
He nodded his thanks, handing back the paper pad. "Yeah, I actually think I'll go catch her now."
Either oblivious to or willfully ignoring James's rush to get out of the classroom, Slughorn clapped his hands together, a bright smile stretching across his features. "So glad to have you back, Mr. Potter. You'll be right on track in no time!"
"Er...right," he agreed as he raced out. "Thanks, Professor!"
James burst through the stairwell doors, running downstairs and through the science building. It earned him "watch out, young man!" from one of the professors on the first floor, something he'd probably regret later when Aunt Minnie caught wind of it, but for now, it didn't matter one bit.
"Lily!" he called as he pushed through the front doors of the building. He could see her up ahead, her red hair unmistakable in the crowd. "Lily, wait up!" He knew she probably wouldn't. She was too angry with him to stop and wait, which would possibly make her late to her next class.
Since classes had just let out, the campus was swarming with students. Some strolled along leisurely as they spoke with friends or walked back to their dormitories. Others were rushing to a class. As he hurried to catch up with her, even with her distinctive red hair, he lost her in the crowd.
Unfortunately for him, she was headed to one of the classes they didn't share. He'd given himself a lighter schedule this semester due to the whole constantly-saving-the-city thing, so he didn't know where she was going to be. He did, however, know exactly where she would end up.
He'd have to show up at the Daily Prophet. He could coincidentally drop by with some pictures while she was there.
The only problem with that plan was that he was all out of pictures. He'd need to take some more before returning. James knew he couldn't come back with any old picture, not after what had happened the night before. Journalists and photographers would be scouring the scene, desperate for the best stories and shots after Spider-Man and Lily's fight with the Carrows.
It was unfortunate that he'd have to go back there, but he was sure photos of the aftermath at Piccadilly Circus were the only thing Rita would even look at today.
With the Underground down at Piccadilly Circus, it would have made the most sense to travel via web, if it weren't for all the reporters and police that were surely lingering at the scene.
No, that certainly complicated things. Running a hand through his unkempt hair-he hadn't even bothered to brush it after seeing Lily's face on the telly-James weighed his options. Taxis would be blocked from entering that section of town. He could walk, but he'd never make it back to the Prophet in time to see Lily, which would defeat the point entirely.
While he supposed he could just take a taxi as far as he could go, it still made more sense to take his webs to the perimeter of the destruction.
Maybe he could get pictures there to show off all that Spider-Man had saved. A part of him wanted to laugh at the thought. Lily was avoiding him because he'd refused to take pictures that painted Spider-Man in a positive light, and yet, here he was doing just that. Irony was cruel like that.
The crowds were thinning now that classes were about to start. James walked a few blocks away from campus, not wanting anyone to see Spider-Man leaving from the same place he went to school. If Lily heard that Spider-Man was seen on campus on the day that James just so happened to come to class, she might figure it out. He knew she was smart enough to connect it.
Once he was far enough away, he ducked into a dark alley. Seeing that it was clear, James stuffed his glasses into his pants pocket then pulled his mask from his bag. Yanking it over his head, James was grateful to have his sight back through the eye covers with his prescription built-in.
Moments later, he emerged and shot his webbing at a nearby building. James grasped the web, swinging off towards Piccadilly Circus.
Once he got close enough to see police barricading the road past the National Gallery, he knew it was much worse than he had thought the night before.
He thought he'd managed to keep the damage just in Piccadilly Circus, but now, he saw buildings crumbled much farther back. It was a wonder that no one had died.
James slowed to a stop before he got to the barricade, dropping down into another secluded alleyway. He made quick work to pull his clothes out of his backpack and put them on over his suit, shoving the mask and gloves back into his bag so no one would spot them. Placing his glasses back on his face, James was able to find his camera and press badge much easier.
Emerging from the alley, James fiddled with the camera strap around his neck as he walked towards the barricade. The police officers stationed at the barrier were keeping guard as pedestrians craned their necks to try and catch a glimpse at the destruction up ahead.
Following their sightline, James's blood turned cold as he realized just how bad the damage was.
While the entire building before him hadn't been torn down, there was a large chunk missing from the top, and he suspected the floors beneath had been showered in debris.
He swallowed thickly, thanking whatever force might be out there that no civilians had gotten hurt. Something told him that as his foes grew more powerful and gained more advanced weapons, the likelihood of that was decreasing significantly.
How had they even found those laser guns? James knew The Carrows couldn't have been intelligent enough to craft them themselves. There had to be some sort of middle-man in this all.
But who?
"Press only!" he heard a voice call to the crowd, pushing back the pedestrians ahead of him. James cursed under his breath as the man in front of him stepped on his foot and he jerked back, his camera swinging with his movement and hitting the man square in the back.
"Watch it!" the man cried, whipping around before his anger died on his lips. "Oh, sorry. Didn't realize you were trying to get in."
James ducked his head and nodded slightly, lifting his press badge to show to the others at the barricade.
It was like magic. The crowd dispersed a bit to give him some room, and suddenly the destruction ahead was plainly visible. Maybe it was more like a curse.
Very few buildings still stood, most of them crumpled into piles of rubble along the ground. Trying to keep his hands steady, James lifted his camera, aiming it at the top of the half-crumpled building. He swallowed hard, taking another photo to get a long shot of all the damage.
A cry from the stragglers just ahead chilled him to his core. Turning his attention to where it came from, he saw an elderly woman with tears streaking down her cheeks. She pushed through the others, and there was no resistance.
James watched as she gripped the barrier, looking out in devastation. He thought he heard her murmuring over and over again "my home..my shop…"
His chest constricted. This poor woman. She'd lost everything.
Because of him.
The police shared a look between each other before one approached the old lady, talking quietly. She kept shaking her head and sobbing and all James could do was watch as the officer escorted her to his car to help her calm down.
This felt wrong. Taking these photos of all the destruction he'd caused, watching this person who'd lost everything in one night, it felt rotten. He felt like he was exploiting this woman's tragedy.
In this moment, he was no better than Rita.
A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts. "What station are you from?"
Clearing his throat of the frog caught in it, James lifted his press badge. "Erm, paper. The Daily Prophet," he said to the officer.
Police captain, he realized, looking at their badge. So this was the person who put out wanted posters for Spider-Man. His jaw tightened on reflex, doing his best to remain composed.
The officer pursed his lips, and for a moment, James panicked that he hadn't zipped his backpack completely or that part of the suit was hanging out, but the cop nodded and he was granted access to the scene.
"Follow the tape on the road," the officer called. James nodded, breathing in a sigh of relief at no longer being by the cop's side.
His lungs filled with dust from the debris, and he coughed loudly. His Spider-Man mask must have filtered the air last night. Something in the corner of his eye caught James's attention. A medical mask.
He thanked his spider reflexes, catching it before it touched the ground. "Might need that!" said the police captain, apparently amused by James's near-miss.
Without a word, James pulled the blue face mask over his mouth and nose before stepping into the destruction.
The desolation only got worse as he moved closer to its epicenter. At the fringe, it had been pieces of buildings, a wall or two grazed by the laser beam. Then, it turned to a handful of buildings completely destroyed. He knew he was getting close when all the buildings were heaps of rubble on the ground.
By the time he got to the Circus, he was out of breath from the walk and trying his best not to cough even with the mask on. The air was thick with the cement particles floating around, and the other press members there were coughing. Many of them were running in to report on the case in front of the camera before hurrying back out into nearby streets.
Although it made him sick to think about people making money off others' misery, he knew how suspicious it would be if he arrived at the Daily Prophet empty-handed.
Lily would know he'd only come to talk to her right away.
James pulled out his camera, putting his eye to the viewfinder before scanning around. He stopped, frozen, when he saw that the taxi was still exactly where Lily had crashed it: through the Eros statue.
He supposed the roads were too damaged to risk moving the taxi at this point. While news crews and police had driven onto the scene last night, no cars were being allowed anywhere near the center. Just like James, it seemed that the police had surveyed the streets today and found that it was far worse than it looked last night.
He thought he'd been helping. The Carrows were destroying every building at one of the most popular tourist destinations in London, and he couldn't simply sit aside while they bulldozed the entire city in one fell swoop. Had he not gotten involved, London would be a pile of rubble by this point.
Wouldn't it?
James was terrified to admit that maybe Spider-Man had caused more trouble than help last night. After all, Amycus' gun had gone haywire and, James assumed, caused a majority of the damage farther back because of him. Maybe if he'd just gotten his job done quicker, most of this could have been avoided.
Glancing back down the street, James looked at all the crumbled buildings around him. These were peoples' lives: their jobs, their homes, their sense of security. People like that old woman had lost everything because of him.
And here he was, the cause of all the destruction, taking pictures and posing as if he were a mere bystander.
He swallowed thickly, raising the camera with unsteady hands to snap a couple of photos of the damage, including a shot of the crushed taxi. It was difficult to get clear pictures between all the floating particles and the guilt pulsing through his every nerve, but he managed to get some.
Now he needed to get out of here. He needed to clear his head.
Besides, Lily would be heading to work right about now, and after seeing all the damage he'd left, he was worried about her.
No wonder she'd been so reckless last night. It was utter chaos. She'd just been trying to help in the only way she knew how.
James tucked his camera close to his chest as he maneuvered through the different clusters of media workers, just trying to get back to the barricade as fast as possible.
Instead of looking at the buildings-he couldn't-his eyes were trained on the ground. Sawdust and concrete led the way.
He hadn't even noticed how far he'd come until he walked right into the barrier.
There were a few chuckles from some members of the crowd, but mostly concerned faces and hard stares greeted James when he finally looked up. Clearing his throat, he exited through the proper channel.
He tucked his camera back into his bag after he cleared the crowd. Despite the fact that he felt horrible about what had happened, he knew the only thing he could do now was try to help Lily.
If he changed back into the suit and webbed to the Prophet, he could probably catch her before she was pulled away to her duties as an intern, so he did just that.
James emerged from the same alley as before, swinging up onto the rooftops before making his way towards the Daily Prophet's headquarters. As usual, he heard the murmurs and gasps as people noticed him swinging from building to building. He tried to ignore them, but he found himself wondering what the people of London must be thinking of him after what happened the night before.
But thoughts like that were dangerous. He had to focus. He needed to talk to Lily.
When he arrived at the Prophet, James wasted no time rushing inside. The clock on the wall said it was a quarter past two, and he knew he'd be cutting it close. Lily was always prompt, and she didn't take long to get started with her responsibilities once she got to work. Usually, she'd chat with him for a moment or two before rushing off to see what Rita needed.
That didn't seem to be the case today. Once he walked inside, he was immediately greeted by a swarm of Prophet employees gathered by the entrance, and in the middle of them was Lily, looking wide-eyed and overwhelmed.
"Libby," he heard Rita cry, shoving through the crowd with her notepad and obnoxiously green voice recorder. "Did you really crash the taxi into the statue, or was that all for show? What was Spider-Man like? Do you know who he is?"
Lily spun around at that. James watched as her face grew red at her boss's disinterest in her real name, or, possibly, her blatant disregard for Lily's safety. James wasn't sure which upset her more - after all, both were so characteristically Rita - but he could tell she was upset nonetheless. He knew the other reporters crowded around her weren't helping either.
"Her name's Lily," someone from the back called irritably.
James didn't have to glance around to know it was Mary MacDonald. She was probably the only other person in the room that knew Lily's name. She was another intern, and he knew that she and Lily got along quite well at work.
James pursed his lips, wondering if he should say anything after what had happened when he told Rita he wouldn't be taking pictures of Spider-Man. He'd been dismissed for the day, and to make matters worse, it had only made Lily angry with him. But now, Lily looked so desperate, he knew he had to say something.
So, despite the fact that this could definitely get him in trouble, he said, "Do you think you should get to write an article about her when you can't even remember her name?"
He wasn't expecting everyone to turn from Lily to look at him. Frowning, he raised an eyebrow. "Don't you people have better things to do than crowd her? I mean, I dunno... Maybe your jobs?"
A senior reporter looked him over, a small smirk playing on her lips. "What do you think we're doing? We're the press, we follow news stories." She glanced over to Lily, and then back to James. "And your little girlfriend here is the top one right now."
James scowled at that. "She doesn't have to talk to you. She doesn't want to talk to you." He pushed through the crowd so he could stand next to Lily. "I mean, look at her. Don't you think she's been through enough in the past day?"
He'd been worried about Lily last night after the fight, but it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now.
After seeing the destruction in the daylight and seeing Lily's expression now, the dark bruise along the side of her face, James knew it had been far bigger than he realized. The fact of the matter was that she could've died at the fight, and she had to be feeling some way about that.
He needed to help her, even if the only thing he was able to do was get these reporters away from her.
His outburst was met with silence, and slowly, the crowd dispersed. Once everyone had left, James turned to Lily.
While all eyes turned to Lily as James yelled at the reporters, Lily stared back at James with her lips parted slightly in astonishment. If she was being honest with herself, she hadn't known he cared that much.
Something inside her bubbled up at his words, and she couldn't quite place it.
What he said, though, hit her like a ton of bricks. Maybe he was right. The past day had been a lot. Was that why he wanted to talk to her?
Feeling the urge to cry rise in her chest, she took in a deep, stuttering breath. No. Not at work. Not now that she was finally being left alone.
James hadn't moved, just staring back at her with an expression she couldn't quite read. Concern? Pity? In some ways, Lily almost thought he looked mournful or apologetic. Was this all just because of yesterday?
She licked her lips, not sure what to say, but knowing she had to say something. Do something. Anything.
"You didn't have to do that, you know," Lily blurted out, surprising herself with the edge in her voice. She hadn't meant to come across irritated, but she thought perhaps the events of the past twenty-four hours could explain her tone rather easily.
James hesitated; maybe she had come too strong. "I know I didn't have to," he answered, shrugging. "I wanted to. You didn't deserve that."
You didn't deserve that. Here she was being excessively angry at him for something so common sense and he said something so kind to her.
Honestly, just seeing how Hestia had reacted to what had happened last night and their talk this morning kind of shook Lily a bit.
Maybe she hadn't been thinking clearly when she decided to follow Spider-Man, but she didn't really regret it. However, Lily's decisions were just that: her own.
She could have died last night. How could she expect James to make the kind of sacrifices and risks she was taking?
How would she react if she found out he was?
Lily let out a little breath, more of a huff, as she laughed at her own stubbornness. If their situations were reversed, she'd have been even more persistent in their bio-organic chem class than he was. "Yeah," she said slowly, finally meeting his gaze.
His hazel eyes were wide with what looked like concern. She wanted to kick herself for how she'd acted earlier, trying to push him away.
This wasn't James sending her mixed signals. Not today. Not yesterday, either. This was about self-preservation, and here she was faulting him for that.
For what felt like the millionth time that day, her face grew heated and her eyes welled up, but she refused to allow tears to fall. Swallowing hard, she shook her head. "Oh, god, James, I'm so sorry," she whispered. "Thank you...for...for that. Just now."
She cleared her throat, trying to act as if the wobble in her voice was merely a scratch. He didn't look convinced. James shifted his weight from one foot to another, staring down awkwardly as if he didn't know what to say to that.
"Er...sure," he agreed before biting his lip. "Listen, I…"
Lily shook her head, reaching forward and grabbing his hands so he would look at her. "No, James. I-really. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking yesterday when I asked you to take photos of Spider-Man with me to clear his name." Just as suddenly as she took his hands, she dropped them, as if they were burning her skin.
Instead, she occupied herself with rubbing her palms together anxiously. "I wasn't thinking about how it could get you in trouble with the law-" Before she had arrived at the Prophet, the police had shown up on campus to interrogate her; she'd been lucky she could be honest in that Spider-Man's identity was entirely a mystery to her. And thankfully, they said not to worry about the damages due to the car as it was clearly in self-defense.
It could have gone another way really easily and Lily could have found herself in even worse trouble than what was surely awaiting her at home with her father.
"-It could have gotten you injured, or worse. And I'm sure your Aunt already has enough on her plate than to worry about your safety," she plunged on. "Not only that, but if you were me and I were you, I'd be so furious with you right now for ignoring me! And James, I'm...I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have ignored you or gotten you in trouble with Slughorn and-" She groaned, putting her hands up in her hair.
"Lily!" he exclaimed, and she felt his fingers wrap around the sides of her shoulders. She lurched to a stop - when had she even started moving? - and stared up at him. "It's fine, okay? You already said you were sorry." A small smile was playing at his lips now. "Honestly, I was just going to ask you if you'd help me with bio-organic chem. Slughorn said I need to find a tutor if I want any hope of passing this semester."
"A tutor?" Lily asked, blinking up at him owlishly. The gears in her head were turning at that one.
He wasn't upset with her for the way she'd been acting? He just..accepted her apology? He merely wanted her company because he needed a tutor?
And why did her heart sink at the thought?
Swallowing back her pride, Lily offered him a meek smile. "I tutor in bio-organic chemistry. But only on Mondays and Wednesdays."
James nodded softly, one of his hands reaching up to ruffle in his hair. "Yeah. I know. Slughorn and I already discussed it. Maybe we could start tomorrow if you're not too busy?" At her nod, James grinned before glancing down at his watch. "Speaking of busy, I need to go upload these before today's deadline. Want to walk with me so we can talk about it?"
Tomorrow. Lily blinked at that. She'd have to prepare her tutoring sheets tonight, but considering the fact that she'd be forbidden from ever stepping foot outside again except for class and sometimes work, that was certainly manageable.
"Yeah," she agreed, pulling her bag onto her shoulder more so it wouldn't slip as they walked together. "What pictures did you get?"
Something fluttered in her stomach at the smile he gave her. She felt it too. They were back to being friends-or friend adjacent-whatever they were, again. In her anger, Lily hadn't realized how much she missed this. Him.
He didn't always show her his photos before turning them in, but sometimes if they had time to kill, it was nice to just talk. Besides, James was a very talented photographer. Sometimes she didn't know how he got some of the shots he did.
Once, he had taken an overhead photo of a park from climbing one of the trees in order to get a shot of the maze that had been put up for a festival. To capture such a perfect photo in one hand was impressive.
Another time, he'd gotten a crystal clear image of bikers in action during a marathon weekend. He must have had to run along and somehow keep his camera still at the same time.
As they walked farther into the building, Lily noticed that James wasn't pulling his camera out of his bag to show her the pictures like he usually did. "I dunno if you should look at them," he finally said as they walked into the empty photography room.
The place was always quieter than the rest of the building because photographers went out into the city, and today was no different. She watched him curiously as he placed his bag down on his small desk before rooting around in it to find his camera.
Lily frowned at that. It was very unlike James to hide his pictures from her or anyone else. He was a photographer, after all. It was his job to share his pictures, and usually, he wanted her opinion of them before he turned them in. "Why?" she couldn't help but ask.
He was quiet before, only for a moment, a strange expression crossed his features. "You know what the newspaper wants to see pictures of today," he muttered.
Oh. Oh. Had he gone to the scene? At Piccadilly Circus?
He had taken pictures of the destruction, and he was aiding these reporters in writing about what she'd gone through last night.
Just like that, all her anger from earlier came rushing back. What happened to her not deserving all the harassment she was getting over last night? Those pictures would only make the questioning worse. Not only that, they were evidence of all the damage done last night.
What ever happened to protecting Spider-Man?
"I want to see them," she insisted, staring at him with hard eyes.
James pursed his lips, handing his camera over reluctantly. "Fine."
The first photo that came up on the screen was a police barricade, civilians crowded around it. She knew the area and knew the buildings that were gone now. But that wasn't what bothered her about it.
In the corner, there was an older woman on her knees, sobbing into her hands.
Lily scowled as her blood boiled with rage. She wanted to throw something, and the camera felt like it might be a good choice.
"You think this should be published?" she snarled, angrier with James now than she'd ever been before. "You think this is newsworthy? These are peoples' lives, James!" The woman had obviously suffered an unimaginable loss from the night before, not to mention how photos like this made Spider-Man look.
He shook his head quickly, trying to step closer to her to take a look. Lily took a step back, the camera still held tightly in her hands as she began flipping through the rest of the pictures.
"I was never going to publish that," he murmured quietly.
Lily scowled, looking down at the camera before looking back at him. "Then why did you take a photo of it? Why did you exploit that poor woman's grief?" She stared at him, her eyebrows furrowed together. When he didn't respond right away, she turned back to the camera.
She shouldn't have done it. Lily knew that much. In her anger, she didn't care. Looking back through the photos, Lily hit the trash bin button, deleting each individual photo one by one. She started with the one of the barricade.
It seemed to take James a moment to process what she was doing, but once he did, he grabbed the camera, tearing it out of her hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.
Lily's head snapped up and she reached out to pull the camera back, but James was already stuffing it into his bag to keep it away from her. "What the hell do you think you were doing? You actually trust these people with those pictures?" She gestured around the office. "Rita doesn't even care to learn her employee's names and you're giving her full access to the actual loss felt by half the city?" Lily pursed her lips, looking at him in distaste. "I thought you were better than that."
Better than them.
She had half the mind to walk out of the building right there. After all, what was holding her back? It wasn't like her internship paid well. She could find a million other jobs with a better reputation and a decent wage in the city. Especially after all the attention this whole Spider-Man fiasco brought.
The only things she looked forward to at this job were conversations with James and sometimes Mary, but Mary's internship was ending in a month. And James…
He wasn't who she thought he was.
Before she could rip the Prophet badge off her oxford shirt, James raised an eyebrow at her, saying, "I am better than that." She could've laughed if she wasn't so upset, but then, he continued, "I don't trust them with these photos, Lily. I trust you."
That wasn't quite what she'd been expecting. She'd been ready to yell at him some more, making a fuss that the entire office would hear, before storming out without ever speaking to him again. Tutoring be damned. If he trusted her, why'd he take those pictures in the first place? That didn't even make sense.
She hadn't realized that he was still talking. "...and you're part of this now. It's you they're interested in, Lily. Demand to...to write a piece. About Spider-Man. These pictures can be for your article."
He was no better than the others. Looking to get a promotion off of her near-death experience. She scoffed, whipping around to turn away from him.
Lily was almost to the door when he blurted out across the empty photography room, "I know Spider-Man!"
She stilled, her hand on the doorknob, her skin covered in gooseflesh. He knew Spider-Man?
"Bullshit," she spit out, turning to face him. "If you knew him, you wouldn't have taken all these pictures incriminating him."
James smiled at her sheepishly. "Well, I might've missed the mark on these ones," he admitted. "Not my best work. I was trying to show how he'd saved everyone. It could've been a lot worse." A pause. "He asked me to take pictures for him, Lily."
"Oh," she breathed, some of her anger dissipating. It still didn't make up for the poorly conceived pictures, but at least he was admitting he was wrong.
Why would Spider-Man even ask for the pictures? Didn't he care about what she had told him last night? He was wanted by the police. The press was trying to take him down. Lily had gone all that way to warn him.
But then it hit her. In all the chaos, she'd never actually warned him about Rita or the police or anything she'd meant to. Was that why he'd asked James for pictures? Did he not know how dangerous publicity would be for him?
Lily shifted uncomfortably. If he didn't know, he could be in major danger. Why hadn't James warned him if he knew the masked hero?
James was lying to her, wasn't he? She narrowed her eyes at the realization. "Prove it," she challenged, lifting her chin up in defiance, looking at him skeptically.
His lips turned into a smirk. "Usually throw rocks at people carrying lasers, do you?"
Lily's mouth hung open at his words. Okay, so he wasn't lying. He definitely knew Spider-Man.
But there was something about his smirk, about the cadence in his speech... Her breath caught in her throat, staring at James, searching his face.
No. It wasn't possible. There was no way that James Potter was Spider-Man, right? That would be-well, it would actually explain a lot.
The missed classes, specifically on days when Spider-Man had big fights or the mornings after.
It would explain his reluctance to take photos of Spider-Man and his defense of him.
His weird avoidance of making close friends even made sense now.
Her heart thudded in her chest. James wasn't avoiding her. He was protecting her.
But that wasn't possible! James was failing bio-organic chem, the very class he asked her to tutor in. How could someone failing chemistry create such intricate and complex web-shooters?
Unless that was his cover?
Lily rubbed her palm over her face in exasperation. "Right," she sighed, her fingers sliding from the bridge of her nose, over her eye, to rub up and down on her temples as if she had a headache. "Well," she continued slowly. "If you're so close, tell Spider-Man he needs to be careful."
He looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. She wondered if he knew that she'd figured it out. It didn't seem possible, but James had to be Spider-Man.
"Why don't you tell him yourself? I'll - I'll set up a meeting. You can write that article about him," James replied.
Lily nodded dumbly. She was almost certain, but she had to know for sure. Seeing him again, she knew she could figure it out.
She knew James's mannerisms. She knew what his voice sounded like.
Tonight, without the risk of death by laser gun, she'd be able to focus. She could study Spider-Man.
Besides, if James really was Spider-Man, she needed to make those web-shooters - and soon.
She needed to help him; she couldn't let him do it alone. Not anymore.
"All right," Lily agreed, nodding slowly. "Tonight."
"Tonight."
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story! If you liked it, please follow this fic so you can be notified when we update! 3
A small, but important note, as school starts back up, our availability has changed and you can expect updates less frequently. We are aiming to write as much as possible, but thank you in advance for your patience!
If you liked our banner, please check out the amazing The-Dream-Team on Tumblr (The_Dream_Team on AO3!)
You can find us on Tumblr. Our personals are Solstilla and Infiniteinmyownlittleworld. We also have a writing blog where we share updates about this story; it is infinitesundrop!
