"You've Got Me" - The Greeting Committee

To say that Lila was weirded out by the events of the night before would be a semi-inaccurate understatement. She wasn't weirded out, to her, it was more comparable to meeting a celebrity. Like when Peter told her how he came home to Tony Stark sitting on his living room couch. Peter Parker walking through her house felt like playing out something that was supposed to stay in her head. And her dad was definitely not part of the picture.

Regardless, her dad made tomato basil as promised, and got acquainted with the boy Lila had been secretly crushing on for forever. Lila picked out a record from her mom's collection (Sheer Heart Attack from Queen's repertoire) and they all enjoyed conversation that lasted through the evening. And for a while, Lila merely observed the two of them talking about a wide variety of topics. Content with only piping in here and there, it wasn't until Peter started talking about Tony Stark's clean energy initiative that Lila really started investing herself in the conversation. It was something her and her dad had talked about countless times, trying to incorporate several of Stark's inventions into their store to minimize their carbon footprint. Peter listened with great and genuine interest, pitching several ideas to Ted and Lila about how to better involve the clean energy they wished to use. Dinner ended with Ted jotting notes down on a legal notepad as Peter spoke rather excitedly.

When it was time to do the dishes, it was mentioned that Peter's aunt was May Parker, the woman the Landry family volunteered with on Sunday's down at one of the local homeless shelters in Queens. Peter smiled a small, proud smile as Ted talked about how amazing her work was in the Queens community, how she was instrumental in keeping everyone close and friendly with each other. Almost bashfully, Peter repeatedly said thanks, knowing May would be thrilled to hear that. He was politely insistent that he help clean everything up, and it became an assembly line of dishwashing. Ted washed, Peter dried, and Lila placed them in the dishwasher. Lila thought the night was ending, until Peter asked if she had Mr. Puth for AP Literature. Peter missed the homework assignment for that day, and wondered if Lila had it written down somewhere. Which she did, it was in her planner, which was in her backpack, which was in her bedroom since they got home.

She anxiously led Peter down the hallway, furiously blushing as her dad mouthed to her to keep the door open, and walked into her bedroom. She silently thanked the Asgardians that she made her bed and picked up her room that morning before school. Peter looked around the room with a polite interest, noting the brick wall, the bed, the large desk, even larger bookshelf, and the record player perched in between. "You guys seem to really like record players," He noted, walking further into the room. He could smell the faint notes of the candle that sat on Lila's desk, and it didn't go unnoticed the picture of the beautiful woman that matched all the other pictures around their house. This one was different, she had a little girl perched in her lap, both elegantly dressed, and they were looking at each other like they had the funniest secret between them in the whole world. When Peter looked back to Lila, he saw she was looking at the same picture.

"Yeah, my - my mom and dad kind of bonded over that stuff. I g-grew up on the sound, since they both had an extensive collection. And when records started coming back, I started building my own. It was - it was a way to feel closer to my mom." She walked over to her bookshelf, where an entire shelf was dedicated to vinyl records. She pulled one out, smiling softly at the cover, and placed a record on the player. Soon, soft notes of trumpets filled the room. She then went over to her desk, where her backpack was sitting in her chair, very aware of Peter still looking around her room. In her mind, she was going over any and everything that could possibly be judged. Part of the reason why she kept her room minimally decorated was so she could avoid that-

"You're into photography?"

Lila's head whirled around, back to the bookshelf where Peter now stood. He held her camera in his hands, observing the model and its features as well. She blushed, gripping her planner tightly. "Yeah, uh - just a hobby. I like - I like looking back at how much New York's changed just over the c-course of my life."

"Do you mind?" Peter held up the camera, asking if he could look through her photos. She shook her head, and invited him to sit down on her bed. She sat down on her desk chair and watched with bated breath as he looked through all her pictures. It wasn't something she was embarrassed of, or felt they were very private, but she knew that Peter was an avid photographer, and felt that they were on too different of skill levels to be comparing each other's work. Yet again, Lila was surprised by Peter's kindness, for he smiled at every picture she took. "These pictures are really... happy. All of them."

He looked back up at her, silently asking for an explanation. She shrugged, sighing as she thought about it. "Yeah, well, some photographers capitalize on pain, and anguish, and stuff that really m-matters. I guess... I think people sometimes forget that h-happiness matters too. I know all about - about anguish, and pain, and - and sadness. S-So I think it's important to remember that happiness happens all around us. And I take happy pictures so I - so I remember that." A look that Lila couldn't read ran through Peter's eyes, before a smile took over his features.

The pair spent the next hour talking about random topics before Peter had to leave. They were so wrapped up in their conversation that Peter almost forgot to get the homework assignment from Lila. And Lila didn't even realize that her stutter lessened significantly over the course of the pair talking to each other.

                                    *****

"One black coffee," Lila declared as she held out a thermos to Michelle. She found her friend at the foot of the stairs, her hands moving across the pages of her sketchbook as she took on the morning scene. MJ glanced up, eyeing the coffee suspiciously, like Lila had slipped arsenic in it just because. She then looked up to Lila, who sighed, "My dad made some this morning. Apparently he's scheduled to provide arrangements for a charity event with the Osborn's, and has to get started on it today. I asked him to save you some." Michelle merely stared at Lila, and she took it as a need to fill the silence. "I didn't have any, okay? I had some Earl Grey this morning." A skeptical raise of the eyebrow made a huff pass Lila's lips. "It was decaf."

"It's just that the last time-"

"I'm well aware of the last time I had caffeine," Lila stated grumpily as Michelle took the thermos from her, savoring the drink. She was with Lila that Saturday in April, when Lila's anxiety had taken a turn for the worse. It was nearing the anniversary of her mother's death, and Lila was feeling not at all like herself. Michelle suggested coffee and a bookstore, trying to get her mind off of her troubles, when she realized that it was a mistake. She'd left for a few minutes to look at sketchbooks when she found Delilah sobbing over a kitten calendar. Realizing that the caffeine probably only made things worse for her, Michelle made Lila promise that she'd cut it out of her life entirely. Lila agreed wholeheartedly, and hadn't touched it since.

A honk sounded from behind them, and Lila turned around in time to see Peter narrowly avoid being hit by Flash Thompson's expensive car. He greeted Peter in his usual fashion ("Sup, Penis Parker!"), and drove around to the parking lot. Silently cursing Flash out, and making sure to make their next tutoring session extra difficult, her eyes once again landed on Peter. She saw as he clenched his jaw, and took out his headphones. Walking over to the stairs, she gathered up her courage to say, "Good morning, Peter," as he walked by her. He glanced to the side, and smiled softly at Lila, not forgetting what she told him about Flash yesterday. He waved to her, then to Michelle, and headed inside. Lila turned back around and looked to Michelle, blushing as she noticed MJ watching the whole interaction. "That was what the coffee was for."

Michelle took a sip, "It was for Peter?"

"No, no, it was for you," Lila tightened her ponytail before resting her hands on the straps of her backpack. She waited for Michelle to put her things away before heading up the stairs with her friend and into the school. "I just wanted to say thanks for pushing me to talk to Peter."

"I didn't push you to do anything of the sort. Talking to high school boys is pointless." MJ's locker was the closest to the two of them, and she pulled out everything she needed for her morning classes. She silently handed back the coffee to Lila to hold, and placed her bag into her locker before shutting it. Taking the coffee from Lila, they headed down the hallway to her locker, so she could get ready for the day as well.

Lila smiled, knowing that Michelle had her quirks, and had her ways of being there for Lila, though she'd never outright admit it. This was one of them. "Thanks for knowing it's not - it's not pointless to me." All she got in return was a nod.

                                 *****

The next time Michelle showed that she was there for Lila was during lunch, when the two of them sat at the end of a table. On the opposite side were Peter and his friend, Ned Leeds, another boy Lila knew from academic decathlon. Michelle hadn't taken her eyes off of her book save to drink out of her milk carton. Lila was working on her homework, occasionally eating some of the veggies and hummus she'd packed. She usually would've been editing something or other for Sophie's podcast, or helping her dad with certain orders for the the shops, but Liz Allan had mentioned that Lila might need to practice some more with the other teammates for nationals. She did an excellent job the day before, but Liz wanted to make sure she could be competitive in every aspect of what they were likely to be tested on. So there she sat, working on calculus homework across from her best friend.

Speaking of Liz Allan, she was busy working across the cafeteria, setting up homecoming posters and banners alike around the room. Lila would've thought nothing of it, but then Peter and Ned had to start talking to each other. Glancing over at the pair of them, they were sat next to each other rather than across like Lila and Michelle, and they both had awestruck expressions on their faces. Following their gaze back to Liz, Lila's stomach sank. "Did Liz get a new top?"

"No," Ned answered easily. "We've seen that before, but never with that skirt." The pair of them and Lila looked back over at Liz, who was sporting a very preppy sweater and jean skirt, paired with white high tops. There was nothing remotely outstanding about Liz's cute outfit, but Lila couldn't help but start feeling uncomfortable in her soft sweater and jeans, wondering why she didn't start wearing cuter clothes...

"We should stop staring before it gets creepy, though," Peter suggested, still not taking his eyes off Liz.

Michelle, who noticed Lila's grip on her pencil tighten significantly, but otherwise show no outward signs of distress or discomfort, looked over to the two boys. "Too late," She said. The boys looked over to her and Lila, who was also looking at Michelle with a confused expression on her face. "You guys are losers." If she felt the kick that Lila landed to her shin, she didn't show it. She simply turned back to her book.

"But, then why do you sit with us?" Ned asked.

Looking back up at them, Michelle answered, "Because I don't have any friends."

If they boys weren't bewildered before, they sure were at that statement. Both pairs of eyes slid to Lila, who still had a slightly wide-eyed look. A pale pink sat on her cheeks when they both looked at her, until Ned looked back at Michelle. "I thought Lila was your friend."

"Is she?" Michelle didn't even bother to look up from her book at that statement. Peter and Ned both looked back to Lila, who merely offered a shrug in response. She was about to say something to them when her phone buzzed with a text from Sophie. She saw the time displayed on her phone and realized she had to leave if she wanted to talk to one of her teachers about some of the homework. She started putting everything away, but not before tapping Michelle's foot with her own, much more gently this time, as a way of saying thanks for supporting her when she was letting her mind and her jealousy get the best of her. Then she scurried out of the cafeteria.

                                     *****

"Next question," Liz said, staring between the two tables perched on the stage. She stood in front of them, note cards on her stand as she read them off. "What is the heaviest naturally-occurring element?"

Sat at the one of the two tables were Abraham and Cindy, then Ned and Charles. Lila sat next to Michelle at the edge of the stage, both reading different books. Lila's was still for school, while MJ's was merely for fun. Although, she wasn't sure how Of Human Bondage would be a book to read for fun, but who was Lila to judge. Charles, a boy with big glasses and an even bigger sense of humor, rang the bell on his table. "Hydrogen's the lightest," He answered confidently, before adding, "That's not the question. Okay, yeah," He went back to look at his notes, but the other table rang the bell.

"Uranium!" Abraham answered, and Liz nodded approvingly.

"That is correct. Thank you, Abraham." Abraham had a smug look on his face as they turned back to their notes. Lila's gaze flickered over from Liz to Flash, who was sitting with his feet propped up and was reading what looked like a comic book. She saw Sally laying on the floor, feet in the air as she worked on her own homework. "Please open your books to page ten."

Then finally, Lila's stare caught on to Peter, talking in a hushed voice to Mr. Harrington. "... Because if Mr. Stark needs me, I have to make sure I'm here."

"You've never even been in the same room as Tony Stark," Flash said from across the way, the degrading tone of his voice not sitting well with Lila. It never did. The way Peter tensed, Lila could tell it didn't sit well with him either. That made her feel worse.

"Wait. What's happening?" Cindy asked, taking everyone's attention and putting it on Peter and Mr. Harrington.

Sally answered, "Peter's not coming to Washington."

Everyone felt a tinge of dread. Peter was one of their strongest assets on the team, and everyone remembered how he dominated the physics question that stumped everyone else in a competition last year. Cindy was just the first to vocalize her dismay. "What? No, no, no, no, no."

Abraham rang the bell. "Why not?"

"Really?" Liz added, trying her best to be nice but her disappointment came through over much else. "Right before nationals?"

"He already quit marching band and robotics lab," Michelle pointed out, to everyone's confusion. The only person who wasn't confused was right next to her, and her eyes got big. Lila panicked briefly, for everyone started to stare at Michelle for saying that out loud, wondering why she knew that. She looked at the teammates at the tables, who were all unashamedly looking her way, waiting for her to elaborate. "I'm not obsessed with him, just very observant."

It did little to comfort her teammates, but Lila blew out a breath of relief. She was the one who mentioned all of that to Michelle in passing. She said it just to talk about it, not caring if Michelle was really listening. Lila supposed it was a little comforting to know that MJ did, in fact, actually listen to her when she talked from time to time. But then her mind shifted back into worry, wondering why Peter decided he needed to quit the team when he'd already given Mr. Harrington a permission slip to go with them all to Washington.

"Flash, you're in for Peter," Liz said, giving one last pointed look to Peter before returning to her cards.

Flash shook his head, not looking up from his comic. "Oof, I don't know. I've gotta check my calendar first. I've got a hot date with Black Widow coming up."

A bell was rung, followed by Abraham's voice. "That is false."

"What did I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes?" Mr. Harrington scolded, before resignedly telling Peter it was okay for missing. The rest of the team went back to their normal practices, interchanging people who sat at the tables so that everyone (except for Peter) could get a chance to practice. Lila was improving, even managing to answer a few questions herself, which Liz praised highly. And at the end of their time, Liz pulled Lila aside and told her how great of a job she was doing.

She would've felt proud of herself, but Lila noticed Peter slip out before most of the kids could get their stuff. She sent a quiet thanks to Liz before following him out of the door. The bell overhead rang, and students started leaving their classrooms, making the hallway noisy again. She caught up to Peter, feeling a sense of déjà vu that she had to ignore. Like always, Peter seemed to sense that Lila was right behind him, for he turned around. He was looking relatively impatient, and that made Lila feel more nervous about talking to him. "P-Peter."

"What's up, Lila?"

She couldn't beat around the bush, for she was starting to see patterns that she herself struggled to avoid for years. "I just - I just wanted to make sure you're o-okay." She saw him tense up slightly, not a sign that would lend her any more confidence. "I know we're not - we're not really that c-close or anything, but you - you seem kind of off."

It was Peter's turn to seem kind of nervous. Scratching at the back of his head, he looked down at Lila. "Really? How - how do you figure?"

"Quitting marching band, q-quitting robotics lab, and now - and now the decathlon. I don't-" Lila swallowed, knowing that if she could help, she had to do her best. " - I don't want to overstep any b-boundaries by asking this but, would any of this - any of this h-have to do with - with your Uncle Ben?"

Peter's eyes widened in understanding, and he shook his head. "Oh, no, it's not-"

But Lila was on too much of a roll to stop. "B-Because when my mom died, I quit a - a lot of stuff, t-too. I sh-shut myself off from a lot of things that could've r-really helped me - helped me cope. And I just want t-to make sure that you're doing okay-" Peter put his hands on her shoulders, not knowing how else to interrupt her. But it instantly shut her up.

Peter retracted his hands, smiling softly. "Thanks, Lila. It's not that. I'm just - I want my internship to lead to a real job someday, so I've been taking more time to focus on that instead. You know, picking up extra jobs over there, it's just taking a lot more of my time."

Lila nodded. "I get it, my dad's shop takes up a lot of my time. And I really like helping out over there, so I get it. Just - just make sure you soak up your t-time in high school, being a k-kid. It isn't a-all so bad."

He seemed to think on it, Peter's smile growing a bit bigger. "I'll be sure to do that. Thanks again, Lila."

"S-Sorry you couldn't make it to Washington," She said before waving goodbye to Peter.

                              *****

"Ugh, my brain has been chucked in the deep fryer, Lila. Not even the Avengers are gonna be able to save me." Sophie folded her arms on top of the counter and rest her head, shutting her eyes in exhaustion. Lila stared on in amusement, before turning back to her corner of the store and continuing to sweep. Collecting the scattered soil and placing it in the trash bin, she walked over to where Sophie was sprawled out, and stood across from her in a motherly manner. Checking the clock, she realized she had every right to.

It read half-past seven, half an hour after the store closed for the evening. "Don't you have, like, a giant test this week?"

"Friday," Sophie groaned, not even moving from her spot.

Lila clenched the broom handle tighter and sighed. She was by no means a bossy person, it didn't ever sit well with her, but when it came to taking care of the people she loved, Lila spared no expense. "And you told me you hadn't even edited your next Origin Story. That's supposed to be up on Saturday." Sophie lifted her head from her arms to glare at Lila. Ignoring it, Lila set the broom down and placed her hands on the counter. "Look, why don't you just go home? You can send me the file for your episode and I'll do the editing before Saturday. You need to study for your test."

Sophie stood up straight, suddenly looking unsure. "But our dinner-"

"Let's just save it for when I get back from the decathlon trip, and you're done with your test. Y-you should go, Soph, I can close up shop. I've done it before." Normally, it would've taken considerably more of an effort, but deep down, Lila knew Sophie was desperate. With a touch more goading, and assuring her that she would be fine to be by herself, Sophie left the store. Lila turned her phone's music on as loud as it could go, and began wiping down the countertops. She then locked all of the necessary cabinets and doors before spritzing a few bouquets with a bit of water. Grabbing her backpack and putting her headphones in, Lila set the store's alarm and left, locking the doors behind her. Checking the time, she noticed it was still before eight, and her stomach let out a low growl in protest of cancelling her dinner with Sophie.

Lila walked to the corner, where Delmar's Bodega was thankfully still open. Taking her headphones out of her ears, she ventured into the empty shop, the chime of the bell signaling her entrance and echoing through the space. She heard a soft mewl come from the far side of the counter, and Lila eagerly walked over to pet the large cat. "Hey, Murph," She cooed quietly, scratching behind the cat's ears. His head leaned into her hand, and a soft purr tickled her fingers as they moved to scratch his chin. She almost didn't hear Mr. Delmar walk into the room from the back, but as he did so, she glanced up and smiled softly.

"Lila Landry, a pleasure as always." Mr. Delmar grinned at the girl. She returned the greeting, and strode along the outskirts of the store, picking up some toothpaste for her dad, which she knew he was running out of. She came back up to the front counter, and ordered a sandwich to go. Mr. Delmar rang her up, a stern glint in his eyes. "Little late for you to be out. Shouldn't you be at home?"

"I had to close up shop tonight, Sophie's got a huge test this week," Lila answered, scratching her wrist after she handed Mr. Delmar cash. She watched him count it out and open his till, preparing to say something else to her. However, Lila beat him to the punch. "Dad's working late in Manhattan tonight, the Ritz is apparently hosting the Osborn's for some benefit tomorrow. And he wanted to get the final touch-ups in tonight." It was effective enough to silence Mr. Delmar's further questions, not that he really doubted her. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, and he knew that more than most.

After handing back the correct change to Lila, Mr. Delmar stated he'd head to the back to make the sandwich she'd ordered. Leaving her to her own devices, Lila quickly pulled out her phone and began unraveling her headphones and walking slowly around the store. She'd started placing the designated earbuds in each correct ear when she happened to look outside of Mr. Delmar's shop. Catty-corner to the deli was a bank, which was usually closed before Landry's was on weekdays.

Usually.

This time, when Lila looked over at the bank, it was full of people, as well as money flying everywhere. It reminded her for a brief moment of one of those machines that were at arcades, where tickets would fly up in a glass cage and the person inside would have to grab as many tickets within the time allotted. Only this time, the glass cage held four men with Avengers masks, and Spider-Man, who was being thrown around by a device of the likes Lila had never seen before. It was emitting a bluish light, and held Spider-Man in a suspended state that he seemed to struggle getting out of. Lila watched as another one of the men in a mask grabbed a shotgun, and she felt her stomach lurch.

"Mr. Delmar!" She called with urgency, and she heard him stop working on her sandwich. "C-call 9-1-1, there's - there's... I don't kn-know." She saw Mr. Delmar in the corner of her vision stand next to her and observe what she had been staring at. Mr. Delmar was quicker to react than she was, and immediately yanked her back away from the glass doors. He rounded the counter and reached for the telephone that was charging in the corner. Dialling the police, he looked at Lila and sharply told her to stay away from the windows while he waited to be connected.

He nodded slightly when an operator picked up his call. He stepped closer to the doors to get a better look at what was going on and relayed what was going on into the phone. "Uh - Spider-Man is fighting the Avengers in a bank on 21st Street... No, no, they're wearing masks that look like the Avengers... Do they have - yes, they are carrying weapons... I don't... they're robbing an ATM and there's money everywhere-" He didn't even have time to yell out in surprise when a vivid purple light shone through all the windows. Lila saw the light grow brighter before it crashed into Delmar's, shattering the glass and making several things explode. The smell of smoke and dust filled her senses before a heavy shelf to the left collapsed on top of her, sending her small frame to the floor. A flare of pain radiated in her side before a rack of gummy worms went tumbling down, the edge of it hitting her in the head and knocking her out cold.

                           *****

By the time the laser had shut off, Peter was already sprinting towards the deli that was currently up in flames. Leaping over a pile of rubble, Peter glanced around, urgently looking for anyone in the store. "Hey, Mr. Delmar, you in here? Is anybody in here? Hello?" He didn't have to search much longer, for Mr. Delmar was tucked in the corner, coughing on his share of smoke. Peter rushed over to him, throwing an arm around his shoulders and hoisting him upright. Before Peter left, he noticed a ball of fur trembling under an overturned table. He swept Mr. Delmar's cat up in his free arm, and rushed the pair out of the building.

Peter helped Mr. Delmar to the streetlamp just outside his deli, where he proceeded to cough violently as he breathed in the clean air. Peter kept trying to give him his cat, when Mr. Delmar gripped onto his shoulder tightly. Due to the inability to form complete sentences while his lungs filtered out the smoke and dust, Peter couldn't really understand what Mr. Delmar was trying to say. Leaning closer, he heard Mr. Delmar say, "Lila."

"Lila?"

"Lila, she... closed her dad's shop... came in for... still inside... Lila..." Peter's blood ran cold. Staring down the street, he saw the darkened sign of Landry's Flowers, remembering that it was merely a few doors down and realized just what Mr. Delmar meant when he mentioned a Lila. Without hesitating, Peter shoved the cat into Mr. Delmar's arms before heading back into the burning building.

"Delilah!" Peter shouted, coughing slightly as the smoke began to creep into his throat. His suit was clearing the building of any other people possibly present when his eyes came upon a figure on the ground. Surging forward, Peter saw her honey-colored hair before he saw her face, and noticed a large shelf covering most of her small figure. He lifted the shelf off of her, barely reading the screen in his suit explaining her head was injured due to another object hitting it, or that she had some kind of injury on her side. Once everything was clear around her, he gently shook her shoulder in attempt to make sure she wasn't as gravely hurt as it appeared.

After a few seconds of yelling her name and shaking her shoulder, Lila's face scrunched up before she let out several coughs. She did her best to roll over onto her back, but she merely groaned in pain. Opening her eyes and blinking rapidly to stop them burning from the smoke, they landed on Peter in surprise. He leaned over her, subconsciously clearing the hair from her face. "Are you okay? Mr. Delmar, he - he told me you were in here. Can you stand up, Miss?"

"Lila," She corrected, her voiced laced with discomfort due to the pain taking over most of her attention. "I can't - I can't get up by myself. I need - it hurts." Peter did his best to gently turn her over before he thrust an arm under her legs and another around her shoulders, carefully lifting her off the ground. It was slightly awkward, for her backpack was still on her back, but Peter managed to ignore it thanks to the multiple whimpers she let out. He tried not to cringe at the pained expression she wore, nor did he try and let the guilt settle in his stomach either. He should've been more careful-

"Mr. Delmar-" She started as Peter carried her out, but the man in question was already there, helping Lila stand up as Peter set her down. He stared at her for a few seconds and how she clutched her side while she coughed, but for the most part, she was in tact. He stared back over at the bank, seeing the broken glass everywhere, but no sign of any of the bank robbers. Throwing his head back in exasperation, Peter sighed. He turned back around to double check on Lila and Mr. Delmar, hearing the sirens of police cars creep closer and closer. Knowing that they would be just fine was all Peter needed before he was off, swinging down the street in the opposite direction, already calling Happy Hogan with information on the technology in the weapons used against him.

It did occur to him at some point that saving Lila Landry was the closest Peter had ever come to his two lives intersecting. The thought left him uneasy, and he was grateful to be in and out before anything could come of it. Just another close call for Peter. That is, until he came home, where his best friend found him crawling on the ceiling.

So, Hozier's album has me w h i p p e d. Also, I put Lila's bedroom in the header. Unedited. Xx.