Street lights glisten on the boulevard
And cold nights make staying alert so hard
For heaven's sake, keep me awake so I won't be caught off guard
Clearly I am a passerby but I'll find a place to stay
Dear pacific day, won't you take me away?

-Rainbow Veins; by Owl City

When Peter opened the front door, he quickly went in and held the door open for Gemma to follow suit. She looked around, looking more curious than judgmental at the obvious lack of cleanliness. For Gemma, she didn't mind the fact that it wasn't immaculate, the way it looked gave it the feeling of a home. When she saw Peter close the door, he looked at her anxiously for a moment.

"My aunt won't be home for a while," he said, taking off his shoes. "Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

Mirroring Peter in taking off her shoes, Gemma bit her bottom lip as she quickly thought over the questions. "Maybe water?" she said, sounding unsure.

Nodding, Peter went into the apartment's kitchen to get some water. Gemma stood near the doorway awkwardly, unsure on how to proceed. She had gone to Peter's in hopes of treating the injuries he got during the fight; but now that she was at his home, she felt kind of uncomfortable and less sure than when she was at the school. But she also knew that she didn't want Peter getting any kind of infection from any open wounds; she'd feel awful if she left him in a condition like that.

When he came back, holding a glass of water, he motioned Gemma over to where the living area was. "Sorry it's such a mess," he stammered. "I-If I'd known what was going to happen..."

"It's fine," Gemma responded. "Uhm...thanks for the water." Giving a quick nod, he handed it to her before sitting down on the sofa. Gemma followed suit not long after. "Do you have a first aid kit?" she asked. Getting up, Peter went to retrieve the first aid kit. That meant Gemma had a moment to gather herself and calm her zapping nerves. Biting her bottom lip, Gemma could already imagine what Remy would say and do once he figured out what happened. The last thing Gemma wanted was for Remy to get the wrong idea about what had happened. She didn't want him looking at Peter wrong, but chances were he'd look at Peter as part of the problem. Letting out a sigh, Gemma rubbed her forehead in frustration.

"Are you OK?" Peter's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking over at him, Gemma saw how his shoulders were slouched, his brows knitted together in concern. In his hands was a white box, obviously the first aid.

"I'm OK," she said, forcing a smile; the action causing her cheek to ache a little. "Just a, uh, headache."

Peter's face scrunched up a little, turning into a grimace. "I-I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Why don't we focus on you, huh?" Gemma suggested. "Wouldn't feel right to leave you like that."

Handing her the first aid, Peter sat down and waited for her to get to work.

0-0-0-0

If he were going to be completely honest with himself, Peter had to admit it was a bit fascinating watching Gemma effortlessly get out what she needed to help him. And he also had to admit it was a bit heartwarming to know that a complete stranger like Gemma, the new kid at his school, would help him out without a second thought. Peter still couldn't believe that someone managed to stand up for him; it wasn't really common for someone to do that. On very rare occasions would a teacher step in before the situation got too out of hand, but never a student. Especially a freshman. Peter had to give Gemma credit — she had guts.

When Gemma got all the materials she needed, she motioned Peter to get himself comfortable for her to work on him.

"There's not a lot of disinfectant in here," she said, "but I think there's enough for your lip."

"Thank you for doing this," Peter said, leaning forward just enough to help Gemma out. She didn't respond, but she did look up at him for a moment before she poured a little disinfectant onto a cotton ball. Dabbing his lip gently, she tried watched his every movement, in case she hurt him in any way. Peter's split lip had all but stopped bleeding, which she was relieved for.

"How does your nose feel?" she asked, dipping another cotton ball into the glass of water to wipe away the blood on his cheek.

"It's a little sore," he responded.

"Does it feel broken?"

"I-I don't think so."

Gemma hummed before responding. "I'd go see a doctor, just in case," she said.

"How do you know so much on this stuff?"

"My brothers got into some fights, one of them broke his nose more than once. I used to help them patch up, too, so..." Gemma shrugged. "I've seen him crack it back into place before. It's gross."

Peter's lips pursed. "How many brothers do you have?" he asked.

"Three." Furrowing her brows, she gave him a look. "You keep talking and your lip will split open again."

Silence fell between the two while Gemma worked on wiping the blood off of Peter's face. It wasn't as awkward between the two as it initially had been; and Peter didn't really mean for it to be so awkward between them. Sometimes he wished he was confident enough to be around other people, that it wasn't so hard for him. A good chunk of him was envious of those who could easily and effortlessly talk and be around others; who could make friends without so much as lifting a finger. Peter, on the other hand, could hardly talk to anyone without stuttering and had a hard time focusing on what he really wanted to get across. Ned, his only friend at Midtown, seemed to balance out Peter's awkwardness with his enthusiasm, which was probably why they were such good friends.

Gemma, on the other hand, was a little different than Ned, obviously. She didn't share Ned's enthusiasm, she was more introverted, from what Peter could see. Though he had to admit it was because she was new to the area; she was probably still adjusting.

Aside from all that, though, Peter couldn't help but take in a few of Gemma's physical features as well. Gemma had to be a few inches shorter than him, and he wasn't very tall. Her hair was a light brown, styled as a messy bob, the tips of her hair curling slightly while her bangs were swept to the side. Gemma's eyes were a mixture of brown and green and he noticed freckles dotting across her nose and cheeks. He hadn't noticed the freckles before, probably because he wasn't really paying much attention.

"I'm done." Snapping out of his trance, Peter blinked a few times before noticing that Gemma was looking at him funny. "You'll probably need ice," she said, "to help ease the swelling and bruising. And I'd still go see a doctor for your nose, just to play it safe."

"Thanks," Peter mumbled.

"No problem," she said. Once she had returned everything to the first aid kit and closed it, she looked over at Peter for a bit. The bruises had definitely darkened, but he looked a little better without the blood on his face. "So...I should probably get going, then?" she said, laughing nervously.

"Y-You don't have to," Peter exclaimed. "We could hang out for a little bit and then I'll walk you home."

Thinking it over, Gemma let out a sigh before nodding. Maybe it'll give her a chance to get to know Peter better.

(A/N):

Sorry for the wait on this chapter and how poorly written it turned out. I tried making it as interesting as possible, but I was running on fumes. Leave any thoughts you've got.

MARVEL's not mine.

So, I may be a bit late to this, but, from what I have read, some comic-con/expo or whatever played a footage for what we should expect in the INFINITY WAR movie. The footage itself hasn't been released onto the interwebs, and I don't know if or when it will be, but there are some descriptions on what the footage showed on some websites. I dunno. I thought that was something worth sharing.

I digress.

Let me know if there's anything I should improve on.

Thanks.

Jasper