Chapter Twelve
Rain
Peter was staring dumbfounded at his apartment door. He had not even realized when he had arrived. The absurdity of this situation was indescribable. The whole bizarre feeling it brought on made Peter speechless. He did not know how to express what he was feeling. Hell! He did not even know what he was experiencing on the inside. He could not even figure out what he had been up against or whether it had been an assault. Peter was not even certain what that thing had wanted. Was it a friend or a foe? Could he trust that creature at all or was it everything but his ally? He had no clue and honestly right now he did not care.
With a lack of effort Peter reached down into his pocket and pulled out his key. He unlocked his door and opened it. He set his body on autopilot as he went in and put his belongings on the table in the living room. Peter then turned around and froze. His eyes widened. Then they went back to their normal size. Was it let's bewilder and scare Peter shitless day?!
"Hey there man. Don't worry. I'm not a ghost though you appear to have seen a handful of apparitions these days, am I right?" The man, who was currently occupying Peter's couch, said.
"L-Luke. Is that….am I…?" Peter stammered. He then tried to form a coherent sentence, but was found at a loss of any comprehendible thought.
Luke only smirked and motioned for Peter to come and sit beside him. Peter just did as he was silently told and was soon found in an embrace that nearly knocked the breath out of him. Despite the limp, Luke was still extremely strong. Peter had forgotten for a second who he was conversing with. The two soon let go of each other and a smile appeared on both of their faces.
"Sorry for just dropping in out of nowhere. Ava told me you were going to come home at around six so I decided to pay you a little visit." Luke explained, but seeing the question in Peter's eyes, he added, "She's still at the hospital… with Danny."
Peter's eyes widened slightly at the revelation he had just been bombarded with. Ava was not here waiting for him like she had promised she would. She was at the hospital with Danny. That thought caused a sad smile to replace the previous happy one.
"I'm never going to be good enough for her, will I?" Peter asked.
Luke's eyes widened at the sadness he just witnessed in his friend's eyes. He then looked down, deciding it would be better not to say anything and give Peter time to recollect himself. Soon Peter had managed to compose himself and questioned, "What exactly are you doing here Luke? It's not that I'm not happy to see you, it's just…"
"It's late. I know." Luke cut him off, then added, "I needed to talk to you and see whether you're aware of what's exactly going on."
Peter's scornful look took Luke slightly aback. Peter then bent his head down, allowing his bangs to cast a veil around his eyes, shielding them from anyone wishing to pry on what is going on inside his soul. After all, the matters of the heart are the deadliest weapon one can use and one's greatest weakness.
"I know about everything Luke." Peter said as he pulled his head up and looked directly into Luke's eyes, successfully surprising his friend once more for now Peter's gaze held nothing but contempt.
"I've seen it all." Peter continued, his fists shaking, " The longing glances, the sorrowful looks they'd throw each other, the guilt their gazes were drowning in every fucking time either of them had the guts to look me in the eye; I've witnessed and noticed everything. And I know that even after all these years, even after they promised to never see each other again and Danny pushed her away, even after I asked her to marry me and she accepted, even after all that love, it was all lies. And you know what's the most messed up part?"
Luke could only shake his head, giving his friend a negative answer. Peter now had tears of regret and misery streaming down his face. His bright eyes were swimming in agony as he whispered, "I haven't made a single move to put an end to it all simply because I don't care. I don't care if she leaves me. I don't care if she cheats on me with my best friend. I just don't care because I'm too busy worrying about a ghost that didn't give a shit about me before and certainly still doesn't."
"Oh man, Pete, I'm so sorry." Luke said.
"Don't be. It's not like it's your fault. Ava and I made that decision. Danny did as well. Back then it seemed right, but now…" Peter began to say but could not voice the greatest change that had happened mere days ago.
"Sam's back." Luke uttered.
"Exactly." Peter confirmed. He then added, "I just don't know what to do anymore."
Luke chuckled as he replied, "Yes, you do."
Peter frowned before responding, "No, I don't."
"Peter, if anyone knows the right answer to all of our problems, that's you. You managed to keep us together when Sam left. You knew what was best for both me and Danny. You bit back your feelings after the accident and were there for Ava when she needed comfort the most. You even allowed Sam to leave without asking questions, without throwing a fit like the rest of us." Luke explained before confessing, "Your biggest mistake was to bury your feelings and not acknowledge them. You've been keeping it all bottled up inside you and now you don't know which fucking way to turn. Your head is so messed up that you think everything is complicated when in reality it's not."
"So what do you propose I do? Break it off with Ava?" Peter asked.
Luke held up his hands in defense as he answered, "Hey, I'm not telling you to do anything. You and you alone know what's best for you. If you want to be with Ava and actually think this thing between you two could work, then fight for her. If you're convinced she's in truly in love with Danny and he still loves her back, then let her go. It'll be for the best. Don't keep being in a relationship that will only make you and the other involved in it unhappy."
Peter waited for a while. He savored the taste of guilt, anger, frustration and the feeling of being lost all the while letting all the words Luke had said sink in. After what seemed like a decade Peter had taken all the information in. He now knew what to do. Peter looked up at Luke and gave him a grateful smile.
"Thanks for everything, Luke."
"Don't mention it. There's one thing I'm still curious about, though."
"Oh really? Anything I can help with?" Peter asked slightly surprised.
"Yeah I think you can. Have you been in contact with Sam at all after he left seven years ago?" Luke asked suspicious.
Peter's eyes grew sad as he mouthed a no and then shook his head. He then explained, "If such a thing had happened, I would've told you guys. Just because Sam and I confessed right before he left, doesn't necessarily mean we promised each other to keep in touch. I was so angry at him I probably had forgotten to even ask him where he was going or whether he was coming back."
"I see. There's one thing I still can't understand – why did he leave and how did he do it? I mean I know he said goodbye, but you stopped us from going after him. Didn't Sam tell you anything specific?" Luke asked, frustrated at his lack of knowledge on the matter.
Peter shook his head before replying, "He only said that he was sorry and that he was doing this for us. He asked me not to follow him and not to allow any of you guys to do so. Apparently he had had faith in me to prevent any of that from happening. I just don't know why he did what he did beforehand."
"What did he do?" Luke asked.
Peter sighed before answering, "It's a long story Luke. One I'm not willing to tell."
"You sure?" Luke asked. He needed to know what had happened. There was just something fishy about the relationship between Peter and Sam. It seemed as though there was this huge fog around the matter and neither one of them was willing to help it abate. Not that Luke had talked to Sam. He did not even know where to find him, but Luke could imagine how willing Sam would be to spill the beans. He'd probably choose to keep all the cats in the bag as long as possible. And that was something that frustrated and angered Luke to no end.
"Remember when that night after we were attacked by two masked villains with powers to control two of the elements?" Peter suddenly asked.
"How can I forget?" Luke asked, allowing sadness and anger to cloud his normally calm and collected tone.
It was just another night of patrolling for our fellow heroes. Luke, Danny and Ava had taken the west part of the city, while Spiderman and Nova – the east. The other parts were currently being protected by other teams of S.H.I.E.L.D. It was supposed to be just another normal night. It had been like that until Danny, Luke and Ava had been attacked and had been separated from each other. Danny and Luke were facing some creepy guy that was attacking them with waves, while Ava was up against a girl with fire powers.
Spiderman and Nova had heard the SOS signal, sent to them by Iron Fist. They had arrived just in time to see Powerman blocking a water attack from his opponent, Iron Fist dodging it and White Tiger avoiding a series of fireballs. Peter had rushed in to help Ava and had managed to land a few swift kicks on the girl's opponent, enough to distract her and see whether Ava was alright. After that the two pairs had engaged themselves into battles, no one noticing that Nova was just floating into the air, doing absolutely nothing. It had taken a wave and a fire attack for him to get out of his stupor. The strangeness that night started from there.
Suddenly both of the villains abandoned their opponents and directed their attacks towards Nova, though this time they were not using their full power. Sam had dodged them easily enough, but did not retaliate. He simply kept avoiding the attacks, while Peter and Ava tried to engage the fire lady into battle, but she was proving to be far too fixated on Nova. Same went for the water guy and Danny and Luke. Everything about that situation was strange.
Pretty soon Nova grew tired of the constant dodging and attacked the fire girl with a few blasts of energy. The problem was that he was not even using his full force. He was not giving it his all and that was what made all his teammates slightly suspicious. They were definitely going to question his actions later.
Suddenly the water guy increased his attack drastically and managed to knock out both Danny and Luke for a few seconds. He then aimed an attack for Peter and Ava effectively making them dodge it, thus landing far enough from the fire girl. The latter attacked Sam with a huge fireball, effectively knocking him off his feet (Nova landed to try and get a better range for the girl a few minutes ago). The water guy then leaped into the air and landed directly in front of the fire girl.
"Sister we must stop this!" He screamed.
She cackled before asking, "Why? I'm having so much fun toying with these little humans."
The water guy glared at her. He then turned around, threw a huge wave at all of our fellow heroes, disconcerting them all. After that he grabbed the girl's wrist and started pulling her away from the battlefield. Her protests were drowned out from the sound of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicopters. Despite the noise, these frightening words could be heard, "Nova, come with us or you will regret it."
The threat came from a female voice, but what shocked all of Sam's teammates was the boy's question, "And what if I refuse?"
"Like I already said – you will regret it. Don't taunt me little boy. Lord only knows what I'm capable of."
With that both the fire girl and water boy disappeared. At first our fellow heroes had thought that they were just a minor threat, then they had been convinced that defeating those would be difficult, but now – they could not comprehend what had just transpired before their eyes and could only ask themselves one thing – How did Sam know them?
After their injuries had been taken care of, the team had gathered in a conference room and was now waiting for the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, to arrive. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife and all the member of the team noticed it especially Nova. Sam was now squirming in his seat, not knowing how he was going to keep his secret. He was not even certain if those two morons had been his siblings. Perhaps he had made a mistake, but no it could not be. It had been them which meant he would have to take heed of Akantha's words. After all, there was no telling what either she or Ademus could do to his friends. He knew the two would not hurt him too much, but what about the others? They could not deal with such high level attacks. Hell, even Sam was not sure whether he would be able to win a battle against one of his siblings if he unlocked his full power.
Sam's eyes widened. He felt the fire starting to build up inside him. He shut his eyes tight and prevented a moan from escaping his lips. He groaned and grunted almost voicelessly, but the others noticed his discomfort. Ava moved to touch his shoulder in what appeared to be genuine concern for her teammate, though Sam was not sure why she was doing it. Perhaps after the past few years even they had become close.
Just as Ava's hand was a bout to come into contact with Sam's heated skin, he shot out of his seat, saying in a voice that was dangerously low and cold, "Don't you dare touch me."
Ava's eyes widened. They soon returned to their normal size. Ava then glared at Sam. She withdrew her hand and put it on her hip, mumbling, "Sorry for worrying."
Sam bit his lip almost drawing out blood. He shut his eyes tight and started counting to ten. Soon it helped lessen the tension in his shoulders. He even managed to bring his heart rate down a bit. After that even his temperature started decreasing. Sam was soon back to normal. He then reopened his eyes and was shocked to see all the startled and confused looks his teammates were throwing him. Luke, naturally, was the first to break out of his stupor.
"Alright, I've been keeping quiet all night but even I can't ignore what just happened. You were acting as though we were your enemies." Luke said.
Sam's eyes widened. He had not realized he had started distancing himself from them. It had happened on pure instinct. He had not even processed it. He had simply become the boy from his pre teen years when he had been forced to go back to his home planet - the worst decision of his life. And now his brother and sister were going to drag him back to that hellhole. No way was Sam repeating his mistake without a valid reason.
"That's enough!" Nick Fury yelled. He had entered just in time to prevent a fight from breaking out.
Sam's eyes widened. He had not even heard his friends' talking to him. He had simply retreated back to his thoughts or perhaps he was still far too shocked to comprehend anything that was happening around him. Sam was startled when someone put a hand on his shoulder. He would've jerked it off immediately had he not noticed just who this hand belonged to. His eyes widened. Nick Fury was looking at him with compassion. Perhaps he would not need to explain anything to him. After all, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been the one to save him from that place. He could not imagine Nick Fury of all people agreeing to Sam's going back there.
The others had watched the scene unfold before their eyes which only served to increase their bewilderment. They were not even more perplexed and did not know what would serve as a light to their confusion. They could only hope that Sam would soon remember who he was and would be willing to shed some light upon the matter. Unfortunately, Nick Fury had other plans.
"I think it's high time we called it a night." The director said.
Just as everyone was about to protest, Nick held up his hand and explained, "You are now far too emotional to be able to achieve anything remotely successful. I advise you all to go home and rest. Tomorrow we shall discuss this matter."
All of them nodded, while Sam looked away. He knew what was about to happen. Nick Fury was not going to let this go and neither were his teammates. He was just hoping he would be able to escape their clutches until tomorrow morning. All he needed now was rest, a warm bath and blissful sleep. Too bad he was not going to receive any of it.
"Danny, Luke and Ava will be sleeping in Peter's house if that is alright with you Peter." Nick said or rather ordered. Before anyone could question his motives he simply added as an explanation, "I gather all of you will start attacking Nova with questions the minute you exit this place and that is something I will not allow. You are all grown men and women. I think it's high time you began differentiating which time is right for such an activity and which is not. I trust you will follow my orders this once."
Iron Fist was the first to recover. He bowed slightly in apology and exited the room. Powerman followed shortly. White Tiger hesitated for a bit, but soon complied with the director's wishes. Spiderman cast Sam one final glance before following the others. The metal doors shut behind them, leaving both Nova and the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. alone in silence.
"I still wish there was a way we could find out what they talked about that night. I'm certain that was when everything began." Luke said.
"Yeah, just about a month before Sam disappeared." Peter agreed.
"Do you think Nick Fury knew?" Luke asked.
"Definitely otherwise he would not have been so compliant that night. Something tells me Sam and he come from a long way." Peter answered.
Luke nodded and then questioned, "Do you think it would be a good idea to contact him?"
"Who? Sam?" Peter enquired, not understanding how this was going to help them. Sam had been gone for seven years straight and now had come back like a ghost but had kept his distance ever since. Despite their friendly chit chat (or rather what Sam and Peter considered a happy and friendly conversation between two friends who had not really spoken to each other for years), Peter knew it would take time for Sam to open up.
"No, Fury. Perhaps he will be willing to tell us something." Luke proposed as an idea.
"I doubt that. He did not help us back then, why would he do so now?" Peter contradicted everything Luke had said successfully crashing all hopes of actually using the latter's idea as a plan.
"Yeah you're probably right. So what do you suggest we do then?" Luke questioned.
Peter smirked as he answered, "Just wait and see."
"What do you mean?" Luke asked suspicion evident in his tone, causing Peter to chuckle.
"Relax dude. I'll explain. Can't leave you in the dark after everything we've been through." Peter said, small flames of mischief dancing in his eyes. He then added, "Sam called me today."
"What?! And you're telling me this now?!" Luke asked in disbelief.
"Yeah sorry about that. Anyway, we talked and he asked me whether we could hang out. I know it's not much, but it's a start." Peter explained, scratching the back of his head and smiling sheepishly at his friend.
Luke smiled as well and nodded. He then replied, "Yeah you're right. I should probably stop getting so worked up about it. I just can't ignore this gut wrenching feeling inside though. I just have a hunch. No, I just know that something big is supposed to happen soon. Weird, huh?"
"Yeah. Kind of, but I feel the same way." Peter responded before looking at the clock. His eyes widened. It was really late. Peter then looked at Luke and offered him to stay over. Luke declined as kindly as he could, saying he would rather call a cab. After much convincing the latter found himself sleeping in the Peter's room, while Peter crashed in the guestroom, claiming that it was better this way. Luke figured Ava had used the guestroom, but did not want to further increase the awkwardness that followed Peter's statement. Luke just went along with the request and was soon sound asleep in Peter's room. Not too far away from him, in the guestroom, Peter lay awake, unable to shake off the feeling that someone was watching him.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Thank you for the wonderful support. I hope you've all spent your holidays in the way you wanted to. Thank you for reading. =)
~ QueenofRhymes ~