A/N: OKAY SO before you get into this story, I know it may not make a whole lot of sense family wise because of the time each character joined the Marvel film universe and what not but I guess you can technically call this story an AU just because of things that may pop up in future chapters
CHAPTER ONE
For the past two days, I haven't been out of the apartment. No school, no movie nights with Peter and Ned, no training at Stark Tower with Natasha and Wanda, no ultimate science labs with Bruce Banner, and no usual number 12 at Delmar's.
"SCARLETT? SCARLETT I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! COME ON OPEN UP!" I hear my best friend, Peter Parker pounding on the door of my apartment.
I ignore him, hoping he'll go away. I know he won't but a girl can dream.
"SCARLETT COME ON! ITS ME, PETER PARKER, YOUR BESTEST FRIEND EVER!" I hear him shouting from the other side of the door while I sit on the couch crying, wanting to be left alone.
"Go away!" I yell back at him, my mind completely numb and not thinking about anything in particular. I mindlessly make two flowers spin in circles around each other, completely ignoring Peter. "Scarlett, please…I know you're hurting. You haven't been out of your apartment for two days and haven't been at school…Come on… I can hear you crying and I can't do anything about it if you don't let me in... Please…" He says softly.
I reluctantly get off the couch and trudge over to the door, put the flowers back into their vase, and then slowly open the door. Leaning on the door frame in my baggy shirt and grey sweatpants, I stare at him, waiting for him to do, or say something.
He doesn't say anything to me. All he does is grab me by the shoulder and pulls me into a hug. He starts to walk forward a little bit, with me still in his strong arms, just enough to close the door behind up so we don't disturb Mrs. Jensen, out grouchy old neighbor who hates any type of noise.
I cry into Peter's chest and he rubs my back and kisses my head and tells me that everything will be okay. He leads me to the couch and puts an arm around my shoulders and another stroking my hair.
After calming down, I explain everything to Peter.
"The visions are back. I can't keep them away. The specialists I see have tried finding ways to control them but even they are stumped. I've been through so many tests and trial runs that I'm about to give up." I say flatly as I sit on the couch next to him and stare at the wall, not focusing on anything specific. "Yesterday I had one before I left for school that was so terrible that I couldn't bear to face the school day so I had my dad call me in sick. I stayed up last night crying into my pillow and was so exhausted I stayed home today to sleep. But then another one came. Another awful one that broke me down into tears."
Silence.
"Scarlett…" Peter speaks up after a while. "Why didn't you come to me in the first place? You know how much I love you and care about you. I'm there for you a hundred percent of the time." He pulls me into a one-armed hug on strokes my head.
"I don't know Peter… I guess I-" I was cut off by the sound of a beeping phone. "Let me guess," I begin with a huff, "Stark internship?" I turn around to face the boy sitting on the couch.
He looks at me apologetically. "I'm sorry Scar... If I could explain, I would. But I can't right now. I promise I'll tell you when I get the chance to okay?"
"Yeah. Whatever. Fine." I say, forgetting about the visions for a moment and becoming upset and hurt at the fact that he leaves at the worst possible times for his damn internship. I didn't even know that uncle Tony started an internship program. He doesn't seem like the type of guy to do that.
"I'm really sorry Scarlett. I see the red and blue swirls in your eyes and it pains me to see it but I promise you, if I could stay I would… but Mister Stark hates me being late. I have fifteen minutes from the time he messages me until the time I have to be at Stark Tower."
"Just leave already!" I snap, seeing Peter's eyes go straight from surprise to guilt once again, in the blink of an eye.
He leaves through the window and I let out a quiet, low, and short scream then flop back onto the couch, ready to cry again, when I hear a familiar voice behind me.
"Tough day Bug?" I turn t see my dad standing at the kitchen bar top.
"Dad!" I run up and hug my father, who I haven't seen in almost a week. "I didn't even hear you came in!"
"I'm sorry I was gone for so long sweetie. I had to get some things settled with the crew and we ended up in Moscow for a few days."
"It's okay dad. Did you bring me a bottle of sand?
"Of course I did. How could I forget?" When I was younger, a friend I used to have, Liz Allan (who is now queen bee of our high school), used to collect snow globes from all the places her dad visited on business trips. I decided I wanted to collect something too since my dad was always going places. He told me that my mother loved the beach so it was then that I decided to collect sand from all over the world.
I take the little bottle and set it on a shelf in the dining room next to all the others and then print out a sticker label that said, "Moscow 2017" on it in a fancy print. I stuck it on the face of the shelf below the bottle and then turn to my dad.
"Thanks Dad. I love you so much." I give him a tight hug.
"I love you too, kiddo."
We decided to have a Disney movie night that night since he didn't have a mission assignment to go on or anything so I had him home all to myself.
We watched Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Mulan, Pocahontas, and Princess and the Frog. We ate popcorn and sang all the songs, although dad was horribly off pitch. But it didn't matter to me. Just being able to spend time with him like this made everything better.
After our marathon of movies, it was about ten at night and he had to get back to Stark Tower for some sleep. He had a meeting the next day and I had school so I saw him off at the main entrance of the apartment building and then went back inside.
I mope back into my apartment and am surprised at what I saw, well actually WHO I saw, sitting on my couch.
"Why the long face?"
"Damn you! Can you not give me a heart attack once in a while Spider-boy?" I say to the red and blue clad superhero.
"It's more fun this way though!" He mockingly whines.
"Whatever." I roll my eyes and smile, sitting down on the couch next to him. I met him about six months ago when we there was a meeting at Stark Tower with all the Avengers, me, and Spiderman.
Uncle Tony told me and him to 'take a walk' so we ended up in the gardens and talked for hours before my dad found us. Before we had left, he tried to put up a fight but uncle Tony just smiled and then said, 'This is not a matter we should discuss in front of these kids.' My dad backed down and told us to go. It was so easy to talk to him about my family and what it's like being the daughter of my father. Almost as easy as talking to Peter…
"Anyways, I swung by your window earlier today, while I was doing my usual rounds, and you seemed quite upset. Was is about that boy you always hang out with? What's his name? Peter?"
"Yeah. Peter Parker. I just don't understand him. He seems like he cares but when I need him the most, he gets a fucking phone call or text message from Mister Stark and then says he's gotta leave. He says he loves me and cares about me but if he really did, then why would he leave in the middle of me having an emotional breakdown?"
"Scarlett you've got it all wrong!" He says quickly. "He does love you! A-and I'm sure he has a pretty reasonable explanation for it. I-I mean, why wouldn't he?" He says stuttering as if he were nervous.
"How can you be so sure? You don't even know him."
"Oh, you'd be surprised," I hear him mumble to himself.
"What was that?"
"O-oh n-nothing I just meant that you'd be surprised at, uh, how, uh, similar g-guys are with their thinking!" He stumbles.
"Yeah, okay, whatever you say Spider-boy." I tease. He hates it when I call him that.
"Spider-man!" He fights back.
"Mhm sure." I laugh. "Shouldn't you be like fighting evil bicycle stealers or something like that?"
"Yeah I probably should. I'll see you later okay?"
"Sounds good to me." He gives me a little salute and jumps out the window.
Seconds later, he pops his head back in to say something that I almost didn't catch, he said it so quickly. "Oh yeah by the way I've seen the way he looks at you and I think he loves you as more than a best friend, kay, bye!" and just like that, he was gone.
I run to the window and call out, "What did you mean by that?" I yell as he swings from building to building.
"I don't know!" He yells back. Then he's really gone.
I turn out all the lights and go to the bathroom and get ready for bed. I fall asleep after making the decision not to talk to Peter at all until he tells me what he's hiding.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT WON ANY OF THE CHARACTERS CREATED BY MARVEL. ONLY THE CHARACTERS I MAKE UP TO BE PART OF THIS STORY. THANK YOU.