A/N: I own nothing.
Chapter 6: Songs Of Solace
Mary Jane saw her aunt come over to her when she came back down without the food she'd taken upstairs. "I left in the spare rooms so if she gets hungry she can eat it."
Anna frowned at this and looked upwards to where the guest room would be located. "Has she said anything?"
Mary Jane shook her head. "No, she didn't even look up when I went in there, just kept staring at the wall." She said and the image of the same brunette she'd seen the previous day was such a stark contrast with the one in the third guest room bed…just staring desolately out at nothing.
"Poor dear." Anna said sympathetically, and MJ realized that her aunt had probably known Perenna as well since she had been May Parker's best friend.
"Have you ever seen her act like this before?" Mary Jane questioned.
Anna looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Once, though it was long ago; when she first started living with May and Ben."
There was a knock at the door and MJ started to head over to it. "I'll get it." She said and her aunt nodded. MJ opened the door to see a frazzled looking redhead, who for a second stared at her in shock before looking panicky again. "Um, hi?"
"Yeah, I'm Harry, Perenna's friend and I tried calling her, but she wouldn't answer her phone." The redhead replied. "The news let it out this morning about what had happened to Perry's aunt and uncle and is there any chance she's here?"
"Yes…though your definition of 'alright' might vary." Mary Jane replied.
Harry frowned in confusion. ""Why? Is there something wrong?" he paused. "Besides the obvious?"
Mary Jane moved back from the door. "You can come in, you've probably known her longer; maybe you can her to snap out of it."
The other redhead's frown deepened. "Alright then." He answered and MJ lead him up the stairs to the third room of the house. He looked around the room and saw a tray sitting on the bedside table, and a form was curled up under the streets of the bed, a head of brown messy hair visibly at the top of the bed. He walked over to the bed and saw his friend's eyes staring vacantly at the wall. "Perry?"
There was no verbal response, but the blank look in her eyes got a little less…dead.
"It's me, Harry." The boy said.
"I know who you are. I'm upset, not stupid." The brunette girl snapped quietly, her eyes flashing in anger before burying her face into the pillow.
"Well, uh, I know you're not stupid." Harry replied nervously, and while the look on MJ's face said that this was the only time Perenna had spoken, he decided to go on. "How are you doing?" There was no answer, but Perenna peeked out from the pillow and she glared at him. "Right, stupid question. Okay, how are you…" he trailed off and paused. "Okay, I got nothing." He said shrugging.
There was no answer, but there was a snort from the form on the bed.
"Don't you know it's not exactly…healthy to be in bed all day." Harry said.
"Of course I know that." Perenna replied quietly. "I also know that if you're here you must have heard about what happened." She continued. "And while I also appreciate that you came here, I promise that I'll be fine, just let me mourn."
Mary Jane knew that despite the fact she hadn't known Perenna that long, she had gathered from the time they had already spent together, that since she'd said her piece she was going to go back to being quiet. "Come on," she said grabbing a hold of Harry's arm, "let's let her mourn then." She said pulling him to the door, but stopped at the doorway. "Just as a reminder though, Perry; there's food for you on the bed side night stand."
Again, no response, but the girl did nod.
"Are you sure she should be left alone?" Harry questioned as they descended the stairs.
"She's grieving, but she won't do anything rash." Mary Jane paused. "Or at least I hope she won't."
That didn't settle Harry's nerves and looked at the older Watson. "'Scuse me ma'am, but do you know what's going to happen to Perry?"
The older woman shook her head. "I have applied for temporary custody of her, but whether she can be allowed to stay here will be up to the courts to decide."
"Oh." Harry looked back up the stairs before looking back at the women. "I guess I better be going then."
"Nice meeting you, though I gotta say I thought it'd be under better circumstances." MJ said.
"I second that." Harry replied absently before he walked out of the house.
Mary Jane looked back up the stairs as well before she herself went to get something to eat.
The next time MJ went up to check on Perenna, the girl was sitting up and staring blankly out the window, the sandwich having been half eaten. "Perenna?"
"It's my entire fault that they're dead." She said listlessly.
Mary Jane furrowed her brow before she quickly understood what the brunette was talking about. Though instead of saying that it wasn't the girl's fault, as she believed telling her that would be counterproductive to helping her, she instead replied, "And why do you think that it's your fault?"
"I lied to Aunt May about going to the library, to go wrestle and win money to help pay for the hospital bill," Perenna continued, "but I was embittered by the fact I only got second, and hadn't won enough money to pay the bill, so I let the thief that killed them go." She looked over at MJ, her eyes blank.
"How did you know it was the same person?" Mary Jane questioned gently.
"I followed the police and I beat him up." Perenna replied and she paused. "I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him so badly, but after I saw his face, I saw that it was the one who I let get away, I knocked him out instead."
MJ was silent as she mulled this over. "So you feel guilty." She said finally and tentatively sat beside Perenna and put an arm around her shoulder.
Perenna didn't move away and let her head rest on the other girl's shoulder. "They would still be alive if I had just found another way to pay the bill. And what's worse is that entering the wrestling tournament was for nothing. I still don't have enough money and my own selfishness cost me my aunt and uncle. I'm all alone now."
The arm around the brunette's shoulder tightened. "No, you're not." MJ replied seriously. "You've still got your friends, and you've got Aunt Anna and me." She added with cheer to try and lighten the mood.
Perenna appeared to be mulling the proclamation over and her eyes gained back some of the previous life that had been there the day before. "Yes, I suppose you could be right." She answered softly. "I'm not alone; after all, Harry had come to see how I was."
"He seemed…nice enough, if a little…spacey." Mary Jane replied.
Perenna didn't respond to that as she wrapped one of her own arms around MJ's shoulder and they sat in a relatively comfortable silence.
"You look more…restful." Mary Jane commented lightly as Perenna came down stairs to eat breakfast, though she was still wearing the clothes from the previous day, and the day before that. "Though it looks like you also need a shower."
Perenna grimaced. "I just came down to grab something to eat, and then I'm going to take a shower." She said grabbing an apple out of the fridge. "Thank you Miss Watson for allowing me to stay here." She said timidly.
"It's no problem dear." The older woman said patting her on the shoulder.
Perenna nodded as she bit into the apple and after finishing it up, and started to head for the door. "I suppose I should go get some clothes then-"
"Oh, no you don't." MJ said grabbing a hold of Perenna's hand. "Come on, you can borrow some of my clothes." she added pulling Perenna back up the stairs.
"You don't have too, really; I can just go…" The brunette trailed off before she nodded. "Alright, you win." She relented.
MJ smiled at her before letting go of the other girl's hand and dug out of her drawer a dark red shirt with silver etchings of roses on it and blue skinny jeans. "Here, you borrow these."
Perenna took the clothing with no protest and nodded. "Thanks." She said before going into the bathroom. She saw herself in the mirror and she admitted she did look a lot better than she did yesterday. Perhaps it was the cathartic action of getting the guilt off her chest when she talked to MJ?
She pulled the shirt off and stared at the red and blue top half of her costume she hadn't changed out of. She tried not to flinch at the sight, but as she looked at the reflection in the mirror, all the anger and despair came back; the suit suddenly gave her another idea.
A crazy, strange idea…
After showering though, Perenna came out wearing the clothes and her blow-dried hair was once again pulled up into a ponytail. She went back into the room she was staying in before pulling on her coat and put her pack over her shoulder. She made her way downstairs, finding MJ already waiting. "Ready for your first day?" she asked softly.
"You ready to go back to school?" Mary Jane retorted, but there was no cheek in her voice, just genuine concern.
Perenna paused in thought, before nodding. "Yeah, I can go back."
Mary Jane frowned, as the brunette seemed to have purposely avoided directly answering the question, but she didn't push it. "Well, alright then. Though I am curious to see if the building is as large on the inside as looks on the outside."
"We were standing a bit away from the school, but ya, it does look small, doesn't it?" Perenna quipped softly.
MJ smirked as the two of them headed out the door. "See ya, Aunt Anna!"
"Have a nice day girls." Anna called back.
Perenna closed the door behind her and the two girls headed down the street to the bus stop. When the bus came and they got on it, Perenna noticed that her blond friend hadn't stopped by her house, and since Harry knew enough to try the neighbours about asking if they knew where she was, it made her wonder if her older friend had also stopped by when she had been asleep.
"Hey MJ, did a tall blond guy with muscles happen to stop by yesterday?" she asked when they took their seats.
Mary Jane raised a brow. "No, why do you ask?"
"Oh, I was just thinking that if Harry had stopped by your aunt's house to ask if she'd seen me, then I maybe my other friend might have done the same." Perenna answered. "But I guess not." She shrugged.
"Let me get this straight, you have two guy friends…and not one of them is your boyfriend?" Mary Jane asked with surprise in her voice. When Perenna shook her head, her tone turned sly. "Do you have a girlfriend then?" she questioned in a conspiratory whisper.
Perenna blushed before shaking her head. "Not even that." She replied before her thoughts came back to the fact Eddie hadn't shown up. Was he trying to avoid her to sufficiently provoke annoyance to make their 'break up' seem more real? Or was he just avoiding her?
She'd know anyway they arrived at school and when the bus stopped just down the street from the school, the duo walked toward the school. "Just a heads up though, if you hang around with me, it's going to get you heckled too probably."
"Thanks for the warning," Mary Jane replied and put her arm around Perenna's shoulder, "but who I'm friends with is none of their business."
"Friends?" Perenna repeated surprised. "You wanna be friends? With me?"
MJ nodded. "Sure I do, and since you said you have no female friends, I can be your first one." She added winking.
Perenna blushed. "Uh, that's great, MJ." While she really did like her male friends, it got tiring to see them both shy away from subjects that they thought were too 'girly.' "Now I have someone to talk about girl things with who won't try changing the subject on me."
"Yeah, boys; who needs 'em right?" The redhead questioned smirking.
"Right." Perenna replied absently and they stopped at her locker, not noticing, or rather, ignoring the looks they were getting. She took off her coat and put it onto the hanger inside. "Maybe I should have worn my hoodie, this feels kinda weird." She said patting the fabric that clung to her upper body to emphasis her point. "Not to mention these." She said gesturing to the jeans she was wearing. "Though I do appreciate you letting me borrow your clothes, I really do."
"But there just not your style?" Mary Jane questioned and Perenna nodded guiltily. "That's too bad, because you look great in them."
Perenna blushed again and put her pack back over her shoulder. "Uh, we should go get your schedule." She murmured. "Come on, I'll show you where the main office is." Her blush reddened as MJ put her arm back around her shoulder. Though she incredibly dense to 'certain things,' this was rather obvious. "Uh, Mary Jane, we've only known each other for a few days."
The redhead's expression didn't change. "And since we're going to be living together, we should get to 'know each other' better, don't you think?" she purred and smirked at the brunette's continually reddening face. "Aw, you're so cute when you're flustered."
"Lying in on a little thick don't aren't you?" Perenna quipped nervously.
Mary Jane kept the smirk on her face. "Hey, if it makes you nervous, I'll tone it down a bit."
"Thank you." Perenna said gratefully, and in a way she was grateful that the redhead was taking her mind off more depressing matters. The thoughts of guilt were still lurking at the edge of her mind, ready to remind her of her failure. She occupied her thoughts though of trying to get a job to pay for the hospital bill and the upcoming funeral for her aunt and uncle.
"Hi Perry." A light feminine, bubbly voice said and the brunette looked up from where she waited outside the office for MJ to retrieve her class schedule.
"Hello Gwen." Perenna replied civilly. The blond had it all it seemed, she had the brain, looks, and money, yet she never dated; though Perenna thought it had something to do with boys being scared off by the fact the girl's father was the Chief of the police force.
"Are you in trouble?" Gwen questioned tilting her head.
Perenna shook her head. "No, I'm just waiting for my friend to get her schedule."
"Her? So you got yourself a girlfriend?" Gwen questioned.
While Perenna knew the blond was just saying the literal meaning that she had a friend who was a girl, Perenna felt the need to correct it anyway. "Yes, I have a friend who happens to be a girl." She stressed.
"Well good for you, it must have been trying with only guys for friends." Gwen replied kindly.
"Yes, it was at times," The brunette agreed, "but they're still my best friends."
"Well, have a nice day." Gwen said giving her a small wave before walking off.
Perenna reflected on the girl's attitude for a moment; since she showed no difference toward her, did this mean she didn't know what had happened to her guardians? Or was simply the girl trying to be nice, since she knew that anyone else would have rubbed the incident in her face. Her thoughts trailed off as Mary Jane came out of the office. "What'cha got then?"
"English, Drama, P.E, and then Science." Mary Jane listed off.
"Hmm, I got both English first and Science as my last period too." Perenna replied.
"Really? That's great." MJ said cheerily. "So where's English then?"
Perenna smiled slightly before grabbing the redhead's hand. "Come on, if we make it there first we can get good seats."
"Wow, you really are a nerd, aren't you?" Mary Jane quipped.
Instead of taking offense, Perenna's smile widened. "Sure am."
Their bantering was cut short as an arm roughly wrapped around her neck, but before she could react, the voice spoke, "Glad to see your back, I'd hate to go to class all by my lonesome."
Perenna calmed instantly and patted the arm. "Hey Harry, could you let me go? You hugging me like this is a little awkward."
"Oh, right, sorry." Harry replied as he pulled his arm away and looked over at the other redhead. "Hey…you from yesterday."
"Mary Jane." The redheaded girl supplied.
"Right, Mary Jane." Harry nodded and looked back at Perenna. "How are you today?"
"Harry, it's not even 9 o'clock, ask me at the end of the day." Perenna retorted smirking. "How are you doing though?"
"Same old, same old." Harry replied evasively. "Tried out for the Basketball team last Thursday, supposed to know who got onto the team tomorrow though." He added.
The bell rung and the students moved into the classroom.
Perenna looked around the lunch room, but could see neither hide nor hair of her blond male friend. "Harry, have you seen Eddie at all today?"
The redheaded male shook his head. "No, why?"
"It's just that he never tried to see me yesterday, or showed up today." Perenna replied. "I'm just wondering where he could be, that's all."
"Maybe he decided to skip?" Harry suggested.
This made Perenna frown slightly. "Yeah, maybe…" she trailed off before shaking her head and as she looked around once more, she noticed something else. "Since Flash hasn't tried to be the cloud on my sunny day, I take it that he hasn't come back to school yet?" she asked with a rueful smile at the 'sunny day' part, which was more like an already cloudy, rainy day to begin with.
"No, so I suggest you enjoy it while it lasts." Harry retorted rolling his eyes. "You okay to come over after school and get started on the English assignment? Uh, you can tag along too if you want." He said looking at the other redhead.
Mary Jane tapped her chin. "Sounds like a plan, count me in." she chimed.
Perenna smiled, but took another look around. Maybe the reason no one knew about what had happened to her aunt and uncle was because none of the other teenagers watched the news? She hoped that was the case anyway.
"So how was your first day?" Perenna asked as she sat down on the aisle seat of the bus and Mary Jane took the window seat, Harry taking the seat behind them.
Mary Jane shrugged. "It was okay, but do the teachers always have to give so much homework?"
Perenna shrugged also. "Eh, what can you do?"
Harry snorted. "To you it may not be a big deal, but then again, none of us has your brain." He mocked.
"Whatever." Perenna retorted flippantly. "And to answer your earlier question…I feel fine." She said earnestly. "Much better in fact, although if it was the change of scenery or the fresh air is debatable."
"Well I'm glad that you look much livelier than you did yesterday." Mary Jane said smiling as she placed a hand on Perenna's shoulder, and the brunette smiled back.
The redheaded boy looked between the two girl's and too long glances they shared. "Uh, did I miss something yesterday?" Then more slyly he said, "'Cause if I did, you can tell me about it."
Mary Jane pulled her hand back and rolled her eyes as Perenna twisted around to smack Harry on the shoulder lightly. "Nothing happened, we just talked, so get mind out of the gutter."
"Right, you both just talked." Harry's tone implied that he didn't believe them for a minute.
Perenna tried to smack him again, but he moved back into his seat. She huffed lightly before settling back in her seat and enjoyed the rest of the bus ride.
It did not last much longer though as the bus stopped at the corner of the street where Harry's home was and the trio got off the bus, the walk from point A to B not taking longer than ten minutes and soon the three of them were inside the grand house and making their way upstairs.
Perenna though stopped on the first step. "Wait, I'll go make the snacks, you two go on ahead."
"Ohh, snacks, you two really must work up an appetite." Mary Jane chuckled as she and Harry continued up the stairs.
Perenna shook her head and headed into the kitchen, grabbing a plate out of the cupboard and after taking turkey, and cucumbers out of the fridge; she got to work making the sandwiches. Afterwards when she finished making the third turkey sandwich, she had just put the turkey away and was about to grab the plate when she saw the new arrival and froze. 'Maybe he won't notice me?' she thought before striking the idea down to be too stupid. "Uh, hello Mr. Osborn."
The older red-haired man looked at her. "Miss Parker, you're here to help Harry no doubt."
Perenna tried not to cringe. "Actually sir, we're working on a school assignment." She replied and grabbed the plate before cautiously trying to move passed the man, only to freeze as his hand came down on her shoulder and tried hard not to jerk away.
"I heard what happened to your aunt and uncle from the news yesterday, and after such a tragedy it's a surprise to see you about." Osborn observed, his eyes narrowing intently on her.
Perenna managed to keep her wits. "It was, but I've had my friends there to help me cope." She responded. "If you'll excuse me now sir…" she said pointedly. Osborn continued to glare at her until he removed his hand and Perenna was allowed free movement and she managed to restrain herself from sprinting to the stairs and running up them.
When she came into the bed room though, her redheaded male friend looked at her in concern. "Perry, what's wrong?" he asked looking at her pale face.
"I talked to you dad when he came into the kitchen." Perenna answered steadily, even surprising herself.
"My dad's home?" Harry asked in surprise.
Mary Jane gave him a quick look, but didn't ask him to elaborate as she took the plate from Perenna and walked her over to the bed. "We could go if he scared you…"
Perenna shook her head and paused for a moment and gave MJ an annoyed look as her face gained back its color. "He didn't scare me," she muttered, "he just surprised me, that's all. And I'll be fine, really."
Although neither Harry nor Mary Jane looked like they believed her, neither one of them pushed the subject.