Maybe I'm foolish
Maybe I'm blind
Thinking I can see through this
And see what's behind
Got no way to prove it
So maybe I'm blind
But I'm only human after all
I'm only human after all
Don't put your blame on me
Don't put your blame on me
-Human; by Rag'n'Bone Man
Generously taking the dishes away and putting them in the sink, Peter told Gemma to wait by the front door. Gemma did just that, putting her tennis shoes on and slinging her backpack over her shoulders. Once Peter came to the front door, he gave Gemma a small smile before throwing on his shoes. When the duo left the apartment, Peter made sure to lock the door before leading Gemma down the stairway and out the front doors of the building.
0-0-0-0
Peter looked over at Gemma while they walked. He noticed the bruise on her face looked darker than normal. His stomach twisted painfully at the sight; he didn't want to be reminded of what happened to her, but he couldn't help but glance at it from time to time. He had to wonder how Gemma's family would react to seeing that. No doubt they'd be pointing fingers at him. Certainly if Gemma's family saw the way Peter's face looked, or maybe even tried listening to him, there'd be some kind of understanding on what really went down.
'Didn't she say she has three brothers, though?' Peter thought. He felt his heart jump in his throat. Three brothers who could also, very easily in Peter's opinion, beat his ass into the ground. If he couldn't stand a chance against Ty Duchannes, how was he supposed to handle defending himself against three angry brothers? It wouldn't matter if they were older or younger, they'd probably beat him half to death and not even feel bad. Not only that, but if Gemma's mother was as feisty as Gemma said she could be, then there'd probably be encouragement from her and a few choice words added in, as well.
The idea of having Gemma's entire family out to get him sent chills up his spine. He didn't want to be seen as bad; he never did a single bad thing in his life! Peter was pretty under the radar at the best of times at Midtown; if you could minus all the bad encounters he had with Flash and his goonies, that is. It's just...Peter didn't naturally attract any bad people to him, he was relatively invisible. For some reason, though, there were some people at Midtown — mainly Flash and his goonies — who took advantage of Peter's awkwardness, of his seemingly inability to truly stand up for himself. In Peter's eyes, he didn't really see a reason to stick up for himself. He didn't have any kind of upper body strength, so any physical attacks he'd attempt would be — for lack of a better word — pathetic. Laughable. It might stall his opponent, but not for very long. Not only that, but Peter also lacked height; which for some people might think to be an advantage, but in Peter's case, he didn't look at it that way.
He could run, not super fast, but he could hope to outrun his opponent. It's the thought that counts, right?
If Peter could manage to explain that to Gemma's family, then hopefully there'd be some kind of mutual understanding that Gemma didn't get hurt by him, but trying to protect him. Seeing how Gemma was a pretty sensible person for the most part, her mother and brothers had to have the same level of sensibility, right?
0-0-0-0
Gemma dreaded the idea of having Peter taking her home. The closer they got to her apartment building, the more she felt anxious and afraid. There was not a doubt in her mind that Remy would lose his mind the second he saw the bruise on her face. And, unfortunately, that meant any ill-feelings that would arise would be aimed at Peter. Peter Parker was the one Gemma spent the afternoon with; he was the one who was supposed to give her a quick tour — Peter had been responsible for her. Having Peter endure her eldest brother's wrath seemed unfair, and she'd try to stick up for him the best she could, but she could only do so much.
After they got off the subway, which Gemma eventually learned had a stop pretty close to her apartment building, she got off with Peter in tow. The duo hardly spoke a word since leaving Peter's home, and Gemma had to wonder where that semi-comfortable Peter Parker had gone. Was it because he was in public he became so quiet? Or was it because of her? When she glanced over at him, she could tell he was thinking very deeply. He almost looked lost inside his own head.
"What's up?" Gemma asked, hoping to snap him out of his trancelike state. When his gaze went to hers, her brows furrowed. "You look like you're thinking pretty hard there."
"I-I'm fine," he stammered, shoving his hands in his pockets.
A deep frown settled on Gemma's face. From what she could gather on Peter, he was quite awkward and shy, but he seemed to be more sociable when he became comfortable. She chose not to press more on the matter.
Turning a block, Gemma saw her apartment building, looming over them, looking rather intimidating. She could see Peter shifting on his feet out of the corner of her eye. Was he nervous? He had to be.
"I can go from here," she said. "I appreciate you getting me this far."
"Are you sure?"
Nodding, Gemma looked at Peter with a somewhat forced smile. "Don't worry," she exclaimed, "I'll be just fine, OK? You got me to my building, which I should thank you for."
"It's, uh, it's no big deal," he said, lowering his head to hide a sheepish smile. "So...we can hang out again sometime, right?"
"Yeah, you still owe me that tour."
Letting out a somewhat anxious chuckle, Peter nodded.
"Maybe I'll see you at school tomorrow," Gemma said, giving Peter an informal goodbye wave.
"See you around."
0-0-0-0
Gemma chose to take the stairs to her apartment instead of the elevator. Generally, Gemma was quite lazy and liked taking the elevator; but she wanted to take as much time as possible getting home. The journey to her building with Peter seemed relatively quick, something she wasn't too pleased with. If Gemma could help it, she would've requested they take longer getting back, but Gemma knew, deep down, Remy and Izabela would go bat-shit crazy if she wasn't home sooner or later. Jai and Titus would also have their fair share of freaking out, but they were more reserved with their emotions, not allowing themselves to become completely overwhelmed.
Sighing, Gemma stopped on the landing of the second story; only one more flight of stairs to go before she was on her floor. What would happen when she got inside? The bruise would probably be the first thing that's noticed. If that would be the case, then Gemma knew she'd be in a whole lot of trouble. The only reason she convinced Peter she could go on by herself was because she didn't want him being exposed to her pissed off family. Peter was really nice, and she didn't want him being scared off.
'Mom will go crazy and Remy'll be out for blood,' she thought, feeling her stomach knot up painfully. 'There's no telling what either of them will do, which is terrifying.'
It really was terrifying. Gemma had no idea what her mother and brother would say, do, or react. Remy may go down to the high school and hunt down Peter himself. Izabela may go calling everyone she knows to figure out who 'Peter Parker' was. It would turn into a big mess of things.
'There's gotta be something to stop them from going nuts...,' a small voice in the back of her head whispered. 'You've just made friends with Peter, and it'd be a shame for that to be taken away so quickly. He's pretty nice, too, isn't he?'
Swallowing thickly, Gemma tried finding some decent solution to her seemingly overwhelming problem.
(A/N):
What do YOU guys think will happen? How should Remy and Izabela react? We've seen Izabela at least once so far in this story, but we haven't seen Remy yet. Tell me your thoughts on all this! Constructive criticism is always welcome.
MARVEL isn't mine.
I may be a bit late to this, but I heard MARVEL released a trailer for their INHUMANS T.V. show. I haven't seen the trailer, but is it good? Is it bad? I've heard the interweb's been roasting it, so I can only gather a lot of people don't like it. Tell me your thoughts on that!
Before I wrap this author's note up, I feel like I have a solid idea on how Gemma's Inhuman powers will be activated! I won't give anything away, so don't worry about spoilers or anything. Also, as a few of you reviewers are probably speculating or wondering, Peter doesn't have his spidey powers yet. He's still an ordinary kid. I feel like I have a good way to incorporate how he got his spider powers, though I'm not sure if it's necessary to add it into this story. What do you guys think? I know I'm probably asking a lot of you guys, but I want to understand your views on all this!
(Also, how many of you who're DOCTOR WHO fans heard that the 13th Doctor is going to be a woman, or at least rumored to be a woman? I find it to be interesting, since they had the Master being a woman during Peter Capaldi's time. I've heard that a female Doctor has received a lot of negative backlash. But if they can have a female Master — or the Mistress, I think she's called — then they can at least give a female Doctor a chance. It sounds pretty interesting to me, though I have no idea who the actress is who's possibly going to be playing 13. Anywho, if you've got something to say on that then go ahead and leave a review!)
Let me know if there's anything I should improve on.
Thanks.
Jasper