Allison felt quite dumb for hoping that her face wouldn't bruise from what happened with her father the night before. She kept on trying her best to stay positive despite the circumstances but her efforts were ultimately left in vain. The next morning she woke up with an awful headache and a disgustingly purple jaw. Great, this is just perfect! What am I supposed to tell the people at school? She thought, barely paying any attention to herself while getting dressed for the day. Feeling a little lazy about how she looked, the sophomore threw on a grey hoodie with a worn-out Pepsi logo. She put on black baggy sweatpants, converse and then put her blonde hair into a messy ponytail with a purple scrunchie. Her parents hated the way she dressed but it was the one thing in her life that they had no control over. She had to admit, it was a nice change.
She slowly opened the door to her room, seeing the outside of her little safe haven for the first time since her father lost his temper and took it out on her face just only a day before. Allison wasn't entirely sure if her father truly was serious about her staying put all night but she wasn't going to try her luck just to find out. It was painfully quiet in the house, as her mother made bland-tasting waffles in the toaster and her father was already chowing down on a small stack himself. The two were in the kitchen, both of them completely calm. They didn't give their daughter a glare or even a passing glance when she walked into the room. She didn't dare speak of something first. Instead, she opted to make herself a little bowl of cereal for breakfast to keep herself busy. She didn't even want to ask her mother if she could have some waffles to eat. Her parents refused to ever let her drink coffee in the morning (Even though they drank it themselves), no matter how worn out she truly was in the morning. As she made her bowl of cereal, she could feel her father's intense stare on her back. She made sure to do everything just right, not in the mood to start another fight this early in the day. To her relief, he didn't say anything to her, even when she sat down across from him at the polished kitchen table to chow down.
Her mother, however, was a completely different case.
"Good morning; you remember what you are supposed to do today, hun?" Allison hated when her mother called her that. It gave off the impression that her mother actually cared about her, or at the very least, enough to give her a nickname. True, things between her and her mother never got physical like it did with her father but it definitely was verbal. Her mom had no problem whatsoever with displaying how she disapproved with almost everything she said and did. Plus, her mother had no problem instigating her father further into anger against her.
Allison nodded, "Yes I do, mom. I will have to ask Peter for his number so we can work out time to do our project outside of school; to ensure we waste no more valuable time."
Her mother smiled in satisfaction, "Good girl."
"Ha! Good girl…" her father shook his head. Then he looked up at his daughter after swallowing a mouthful of waffles, "Is this... Peter boy smart?"
Allison bit her lip and shuffled around in her chair, obviously getting very uncomfortable, "Err, yes I believe so. I haven't talked to him much, but I think I remember hearing that he is one of the smartest people in my grade."
"He's an intelligent boy, huh?" her father chuckled, "I must meet him, then. When you study with him this weekend, have him come over here. I want to see if he truly is as smart as you say. Plus, then we can keep an eye on you two so much better."
Allison raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by what her father was implying.
"Oh relax!" her mother scoffed, "We wouldn't ever let her do something like that! I don't care how smart he is, Allison couldn't ever do such a thing in high school."
"Oh I know who our daughter is, the kind of girl she is!" her father spoke as if Allison wasn't sitting right in front of him, "She is rebellious and unpredictable."
Allison finished her bowl of cereal fast and abruptly stood up from her wooden chair. As she went to clean her dishes she couldn't help but really think about what her parents were talking about right in front of her face with little consideration to what she might think of it. Yes, Peter was quite sweet, yes, Peter was kind of cute and yes, Peter was admirably smart. But how could her parents honestly think this was not inappropriate to discuss, especially right in front of her? The more she thought about it, with Peter of all people, the hotter her face began to feel…
She looked at the digital clock attached to the silver oven, warning her it was almost time to leave for school. Thank goodness… Allison thought, sighing in relief. She politely pushed past her mother to climb down the stairs into the entryway. Throwing her coat over her, she ran back upstairs to grab her backpack, only to run right back down. She opened the door to the garage and yelled, "I will see you later."
"Goodbye, hun!" and, "Don't lay a finger on my car!" was heard from up the stairs before Allison closed the door behind her.
Walking into science class on the particularly gloomy Friday afternoon, Peter's mind was moving a hundred miles an hour. He had not given the huge science project much thought due to his surveillance as Spider-Man the night before. His mind did wander back to Allison often, wondering what was up with her but it never led to anything important. Now that it was time for class, he realized he should have spent more time thinking about what to do for their poster. This was a pretty big project and he'd hate to cause her grade to suffer because his head was in the clouds the whole time. He plopped down into his seat, the girl sitting next to him was on her phone, as she usually was. Peter's head turned towards Allison's desk, only to find it empty.
The bell rang loudly, and Mr. Benson went to close the door with still no sign of Allison anywhere. Peter sighed, not thinking he'd have to work by himself the whole hour. At least now I don't have to worry about upsetting her today… he thought, sighing. Shifting his attention over towards the front of the room, where Mr. Benson was standing behind the table next to his desk.
"Alright, class I would like to-Ms. Nelson, what did I say about using your phone in class?"
The girl next to Peter sighed overdramatically, putting her phone down onto the table, "That consistent phone time causes your brain to rot. Mr. Benson, we all don't need a PSA right now."
A few people chuckled at her comment and Mr. Benson tried hard not to roll his eyes at the girl. "Yes well, anyways-" he started but then he got cut off by the door opening. Everyone's attention moved over to Allison standing in the doorway, clutching onto her science notebook and folder. Eyes quickly darted to her jaw where a large purple and black bruise was very visible. Whispers around the classroom rose as she began to make her way towards her chair on the opposite end of the classroom. "My God…" the girl next to Peter muttered as Allison tried her best not to look even more uncomfortable than she already was. Peter's eyes narrowed with a mixed feeling of worry and shock. His eyes met Ned's, who looked just as dumbfounded as Peter did.
Mr. Benson cleared his throat, "Have a pass, Ms. Westbay?"
She shook her head "no."
Mr. Benson sighed in slight disappointment and then turned towards his desk to type something. Allison's shoulders fell; she hoped desperately that her parents never found out that she was late to class. She kept her eyes down at the tabletop, forcing herself not to look up at the students who were still looking curiously at her jaw. The girl sitting next to Allison bit her lip, holding back the obvious question that seemingly everyone wanted to ask her. Thankfully, Mr. Benson finished up his work on the computer quickly and stood back up behind the desk once again.
"Alright everyone, I want to give you all time today to work on your projects." He started loudly, gaining mostly everyone's attention, "Please go meet up with your partners and get working. Chop chop!"
With that, loud noises erupted from the class as people fought for seats and angerly tried to remember what they were supposed to do for their posters the night before. Keeping her head down, Allison grabbed her things and walked over to Peter's table to sit down next to him.
"Hey, Allison…" he started awkwardly, "If you don't m-mind me asking-"
"It's nothing, Peter." She said sternly, "I don't want to talk about it. Everyone's been bugging me about it all day."
"Hmm, alright… I understand."
She knew Peter was still very curious about it, but she really couldn't tell him what had happened. The things her father would do if she was telling people how he disciplined her. But that made her remember, "Oh Peter… could I, maybe, have your phone number? My p-parents… my parents would like me to work on it as much as possible and they said you could even come over to my house if you could…"
Peter perked his lips up in thought, "Sure, I can come over tonight after school if that's alright. I really don't have anything planned at the moment."
"Let me ask my mother, then." Allison smiled only a little bit.
'Could Peter come over after school today to work on our project?' she typed, careful to not say anything that would possibly upset her mother.
A brief moment of awkwardness passed through the two of them. Peter shuffled through his notes, forcing himself to stay busy as he waited for Allison's mother to answer her. Allison stared blankly at her phone, waiting impatiently. Her mind wandered to the inappropriate conversation her parents were having earlier that same day. She bit her lip hard, feeling the warmth creep back up onto her face and shifted around in her seat. Then her phone buzzed, pulling her out of her thoughts.
'That is fine, have him come right after school. Stay in the living room when you guys work, though, hun.' Her mother replied.
'Thank you, mother.' she replied, then she set her phone back down on the table.
Allison cleared her throat and getting Peter's attention, "You may come over."
Her voice was rough and was shaking slightly as if she didn't even want him to come over.
"I can always come over later if… when you're not busy. I would hate to be a bother." Peter tried.
"No, it is fine, really. I just… I'm not used to having someone over at my house, that's all." Allison shrugged. It wasn't a lie; she was never allowed to have her friends over. Not even to help her study for something. "You can just ask us for help. You'll just get distracted." her parents would scoff, and then drop the subject at that.
"Oh well," Peter scratched the back of his neck, "I hope it's not too weird for you." he looked down at his feet, his eyes moved at a thousand miles an hour. Despite the nervous edge added to the tone of his voice, it was still very soft and gentle. He really was trying his best to emphasize that he didn't want to push her out of her comfort zone too much.
"It will be fine… I promise." she smiled weakly.
Working together in silence for the rest of class, a new form of tension grew between them; a tension that they could not ever describe. Peter would shoot a glance over at her at random and Allison would simply pretend not to notice it. She would ask to see his notes, and for once in his life, someone didn't ridicule his handwriting or make fun of the way he took notes. He was taken aback by how sweet she actually was after opening up to him just a little bit. It was a small step, but it was enough to peak Peter's interest a little bit. After almost a full hour of work, the bell rang obnoxiously, as if it was trying to pull them apart. Instead of rushing to gather her things like the day before, Allison got her stuff together rather slow. Peter copied her pace, wondering who would have to say goodbye first.
"Well, umm, I guess I will see you after school…" she said, almost breathlessly.
"Yeah, I can meet you at your locker." Peter smiled helpfully, which Allison sweetly returned.
His eyes widened slightly, as they stood by the table, unapologetically staring into each other's eyes. Allison's lips parted a little, the unsureness of the situation plastered all over her face. As if he was a tidal wave crashing over her shores, every thought of her parents' cruelty was washed out of her brain. The one and only thing that was on her mind was who was standing right in front of her; Peter also not showing any sign of thinking about anyone or anything else other than her either.
"Hey? What's wrong with you two?"
Peter and Allison snapped out of their trances, looking over at Ned. It seemed to her that he appeared out of nowhere and the realization that she was just gawking at Peter for a whole minute, caused her face to turn a very bright shade of pink.
"I'll see you later, Peter," she mumbled, keeping her head down as she moved past Ned and out the classroom door into the hallway. Peter's eyes followed her figure until it disappeared completely in the ever-growing crowd in the hall.
"Oh, now I see what's going on…" Ned grinned smugly at his best friend.
"What? No-wh-what are you talking about?" Peter stuttered as the two began to walk out of the classroom.
"When you asked about her yesterday I thought you were just curious. Now I understand what's really happening here." Peter gave his friend a confused look, "Dude, you have a crush on Allison."
Peter's mouth hung open as if he was surprised at this bit of information himself, "Huh?"
"C'mon Pete, it's painfully obvious. You don't just drool over a girl for a minute and not like her!"
"I dunno man, I-I don't think-"
"Peter, you're being ridiculous." Ned frowned, stopping in front of the doorframe of a classroom on the side of the busy hallway, "Just admit it, man, it'll cause you less stress if you do." Without another word, Ned turned around and disappeared inside the classroom, leaving Peter a flustered mess in the middle of the hallway.
3… 2… 1…!
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Peter huffed, hastily picking up his notebook and folder from his desk. Racing out the door of the classroom, he was determined to get to his locker as quick as he possibly could. He hated the thought of Allison waiting awkwardly for him to hurry up. Peter couldn't help but wonder if she would forget about them working together after school. Surely she wouldn't… right? The thought made him move even quicker than before; he practically hit the girl next to him with the door of his locker by throwing it open. Shoving his science supplies inside his backpack, he darted off in the hallway to Allison's locker. He was in such a hurry that he paid no mind to Flash, who threw a casual insult Peter's way as he passed him in the hall.
Turning a corner in the hallway, Peter spotted Allison standing patiently by her own locker. Her eyes were searching around the hallway, obviously looking for him in the crowd. He quickened his pace a bit more, slightly annoyed that he still caused her to wait on him despite his efforts. He pushed past someone very tall and next thing he knew, he was standing right in front of her. His eyes widened a little, as they were quite close; the moving crowd behind Peter practically shoving him closer towards her. Wonder glowed in her eyes as she looked up at him, suddenly feeling a little less shy then she did earlier.
Ned's voice echoed loudly in Peter's mind, causing him to clear his throat and move his eyes away from hers. "Should we get going?" he asked, his voice sounding much less confident than what he was trying to convey.
Allison nodded, fighting the urge to bite her nails. She started walking first, leading him outside and stopping for a moment to look for her bus. Peter stood by her, suddenly wondering what people are going to think if they see him randomly appearing on her bus. He didn't get to get lost in thought about it because Allison gestured for him to follow her. Peter obeyed and walked along the sidewalk that was still full of teenagers swearing loudly and laughing. Allison jumped from the sidewalk to the parking lot towards a bus near the front of the line.
The bus driver didn't even give Peter a passing glance, and luckily, other high schoolers did not seem to notice him as well. Allison sat down by the window and Peter plopped down next to her, careful to give her space if she desired. "It's about a fifteen-minute drive until," Allison paused for a second, "until we get to my house."
"Ok, sounds good." Peter smiled, ignoring her hesitating the way that she did.
"You… you didn't forget your science stuff, did you?" she asked.
Peter laughed, "No, no! I wouldn't think of it."
She laughed as well and then the bus started vibrating slightly, the engine making a loud noise. The bus started moving out of the parking lot of the high school, no one on board taking notice of Peter's sudden appearance on the vehicle.
It wasn't until the bus reached Allison's stop where a few people began to notice that Peter isn't necessarily supposed to be there. The large vehicle came to an abrupt stop and Allison stood up from her seat. Peter did the same and walked out into the aisle, where a few curious eyes followed him. Allison never had people over, so she couldn't even begin to imagine what they were thinking when they saw that. Despite that, no one said a word about it and they were long forgotten by the time the two stepped off the bus and onto the street corner. Allison kept her eyes down at the ground, not even looking up at the house they were walking towards even once.
This time, Peter couldn't resist the urge to speak up, "Hey umm… you alright? You seem off."
She peered up at him, her eyebrow slightly raised, "Ye-yeah… yeah, I'm fine."
"I promise I won't be weird around your parents." Peter blurted then took in a sharp breath, "Oh I didn't mean to say it like that… it sounded better in my head, I swear."
Allison giggled, a smile remaining on her face until they were fully up the driveway. Her nose wrinkled slightly when they were in the garage door. Before she could even think of stopping herself, she said instinctively, "Don't touch the cars."
Peter stopped walking, a little surprised by the harsh tone of her voice. He simply nodded awkwardly, then tensed up his shoulders to make sure he wouldn't even get too close one of the cars. She gave him a weak smile before Allison opened the door for him, welcoming him inside. Immediately Peter was hit with the smell of something that was freshly baked from the oven. Allison was quick to politely grab Peter's jacket and hang it up in the closet for him.
"Oh thanks, you didn't have to-"
"Of course I had to." Allison shook her head but added a smile.
She walked with him up the stairs to the main floor, where her mother was hurriedly shuffling around the kitchen. Noticing her daughter and the boy standing awkwardly next to her, she finally stopped what she was doing. Her mother put on her very best, most convincing, lovely smile. "Hello, you must be Peter. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said in a calm and welcoming voice.
Peter fell for it, "Oh well, ah, thank you. It's nice to meet you as well."
Allison bit her lip and resisted the urge to cross her arms, "Did you make something, mother?"
"Yes, thank you for asking, hun." her mother nodded, "I baked a small batch of cookies for our guest."
"Oh wow thank you!" Peter smiled graciously, "You really did have to do that…"
"Do not be silly, you are a guest so it's what I ought to do." She paused then did her best to hide the glare she threw at Allison, "Just don't let those cookies distract you two as you work."
This time Peter caught on, clenching his jaw. His eyes darted to the floor to avoid Allison mom's and then hesitantly, made their way to Allison. She looked at him too, and gave him a weak smile.
"Yeah, we should get to that…" she nodded, turning away and sitting down on the couch. Peter followed suit, silently getting out his things.
Peter wasn't entirely sure what he thought it was going to be like at Allison's house. He certainly didn't think they were going to sit in awkward silence doing work. Allison's mother was sticking to them like glue, barely even taking her eyes off Peter. It was as if he was a bomb that she thought was going to blow up at any moment. Every time he looked up at her she quickly put on a fake smile but he knew it disappeared the moment he looked away from her. Not only that but Allison was tenser than she ever was in class. Alarms were going off in his head, filling with questions he didn't think he even wanted answers to.
The door suddenly burst open, making Allison jump up even more than Peter did. Her mother, on the other hand, did not even flinch. Peter lifted his head from his "storyboard" of the poster to look at a man wearing an expensive-looking suit walking up the stairs towards the living room. He eyed Peter suspiciously, not even looking at Allison.
"Hello, dear." he gave his wife a quick hug before she turned away from him to dart back into the kitchen. He stayed in the same spot, facing Peter and Allison with a blank look on his face. It was as if he was an emotionless robot, scanning Peter up and down for anything to critique. Allison cleared her throat as politely as she could. Her father only moved his head over to her. Peter did the same, thankful that the man's eyes were off him.
"Hello, dad. How was work?" her voice was in the same tone as it was when Peter first talked to her. Calm yet extremely careful, a shell of how it usually sounds. Her voice is normally relaxed and sweet, now it sounded as if she was desperately trying to keep calm at gunpoint.
"Long and arduous." he answered halfheartedly, "As it always is."
"Tomorrow's another day."
For once the man smiled, "That it is, Allison. Is this Peter?"
She nodded warily, "Yes, Peter, meet my dad." Allison gestured towards her father and he frowned at her movement as if it were offensive.
"N-nice to meet you, sir…" he smiled weakly.
"Hmm…" his nose crinkled, "Very frail you are… not much confidence."
"Excuse me?" Peter furrowed his brow.
"And fires back." her father scoffed, "I understand now, how my daughter gets distracted and disobedient now; hanging out with kids like you."
"Dad, please don't-"
"Quiet you!" her father shouted.
A bitter silence, filled with tension, followed after Allison's father yelled. His face was red with building anger, her mother's was blank as if nothing had happened, Allison's showed discomfort and embarrassment, and Peter's was full of shock. His mind was racing with everything that was unfolding before him. Puzzle pieces were landing perfectly into place in his head. The more he thought about it, his eyes blazed with fury.
"The bruise… the bruise on Allison's face…" Peter breathed more confidently, "That was from you, wasn't it?"
"What did you say to me, boy?" her father snapped.
"Peter…" Allison shook her head, her eyes wide.
He gave her a meaningful glance before looking back at her father. His raging eyes were now focused on Peter.
"That bruise on her face, you did that." Peter stood up from the couch, "You did that to her, I know you did."
Her father turned towards Allison and screamed, "What did you tell him?"
Allison pressed herself against the back of the couch. She opened her mouth to say something but no words would come out. Her father started to make his way over to her, but Peter stood in his way. The teenager crossed his arms dangerously and glared at the man. Her father lifted a fist at him and swung it hard at him. Peter didn't even blink; he caught it in his right hand, eyes not even shying away from him. Allison's father huffed, trying to pull his fist away from Peter's grasp. However Peter didn't budge, only gripping onto his hand harder. There was a loud cracking noise and the man's expression went from angry to terrified. He opened his mouth to yell out in pain but then Peter released him. He backed away, where Allison's mother stood in shock.
Peter turned around to face Allison, "C'mon, we are leaving." he reached his hand out to her and she quickly took it. He pulled her up yet he didn't let go of her hand. She could feel her face getting hot again but she forced those thoughts out of her brain for the moment.
"No!" her mother exclaimed, "You-you can't take her away!"
"Don't stutter, hun." Allison spat bravely.
Her mother covered her mouth with her hands and her father bit his lip. Peter gripped Allison's hand tight and led her out of the living room. He looked behind them as they both walked down the stairs. He gestured for her to get her stuff on and she obeyed. He did the same, glaring hard at her father.
"She better be back home soon, boy. Or I will call the cops on you." he snarled.
"I think you're the one who'll hear from the cops, sir." Peter frowned, opening the front door. "Thank goodness a police station is only a few blocks from here."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"He is right, dad. I'm sick and tired of living like this… I hate living like this."
"You ungrateful-!"
Peter pushed Allison out the door as her father flew down the stairs after them. They ran down the sidewalk, Peter still holding her hand. They could hear the distant sound of her father running after them, yelling their names furiously. Allison didn't look back at him, despite her fear compelling her to. But Peter's tight yet warm grip on her hand told her to stay strong. They both ran for probably twenty minutes; they couldn't stop yet with her father trailing after them. A few more minutes went by and the sound of his voice was no longer present. Peter and Allison slowed to merely a speed walk.
"I got to get you to a police station soon," Peter said, out of breath.
She smiled weakly, "Thank you, Peter…"
He stopped walking, "Allison… why didn't you tell anyone what was happening to you?"
Her face fell, "Peter I… I was terrified of what my dad would do if…" she stopped, choking back the tears that started to build up in her eyes.
Sadness overtook his features and he slowly raised a hand to push some stray hair out of her face, "It's OK, Allison. You never need to worry about him ever again, I promise you."
"Promise?" she breathed, her cheeks reddening at his soft touch.
Peter smiled at her weakly, turning crimson, "I-I promise…"
Tears fell down Allison's face and she threw herself at Peter. She hugged him close to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hesitated but then embraced her as well, smiling goofily. After a few minutes of hugging, the two reluctantly pulled away from each other's grasp.
"C'mon," Peter smiled, "we should get going."
Allison gave him a whole-hearted, sweet grin in return.
Hello everyone, it is me, BaagelScribbles. I trust y'all are having a swell day~
I am so sorry this took so long for me to finish. This is a pretty long part so I had to spend some time to edit this. However, I will say, I really like writing for Peter Parker. I am definitely going to write more him in the future.
Thank you all so much for reading!
-BaagelScribbles
:3