NINETEEN. will you catch me if I fall, peter parker

Nellie felt her breath leave her body as she looked down below the bridge, the city lights reflecting in the water.

Negative had a strong grip on her arm, though he allowed her more freedom than she had when in the head lock he originally had her in. She stared down at the lapping waves, the fall air crisp and cool. Her bare legs were covered in goosebumps, and her feet ached in her Homecoming heels.

"If he doesn't come―"

Nellie shook her head, glaring at Negative, "He'll be here."

Her eyes focused back on the water; there was something so serene and calming about the lights dancing across the glassy surface. She almost felt her fear floating away with the waves. Then, something caught her eye. The reflection of a red figure soared across the water, her eyes following it until she looked up, Peter coming into view.

"Negative!" Peter's voice sounded from behind his mask, as he swung down from one of the support beams atop the bridge.

Cars passed by, the sound of engines and tires against the concrete echoing. Negative turned abruptly, his eyes landing on Peter, fully suited up.

"Keep your hands off of her. Nellie, are you alright?" His feet met the ground with barely a sound and he approached them hesitantly.

Nellie had never felt so nauseous in her life. She was unsure of what could possibly unfold, and she felt like she was on the edge―literally. She could feel Negative pushing her harder, her back brushing against the railing of the bridge.

"I just want to talk," Negative explained, his tone serious.

Nellie shook her head in response to Peter's question. Of course she was not alright; she thought she was going to go to Homecoming with Peter tonight, maybe talk about where their friendship had been leading, and then go to her new home with Tony and Pepper. It was turning out to not be the happily-ever-after she'd imagined in her head.

She could see, even though he was clad in his Spider-Man suit, that Peter was tense. He probably held the weight of the world on his very shoulders, as Negative was inches away from pushing Nellie into the waters below. Her heart thumped loudly, and for a moment, she wondered if Peter could hear it.

"Then let's talk," Peter didn't dare take one step closer, and Nellie didn't blame him.

"I know you're allies with Tony Stark. I need to get ahold of Nick Fury," Negative's fingers tightened around Nellie's petite arm.

She winced slightly from his fingernails burying into her skin.

"Seriously, dude?" Peter puzzled, the eyes on his suit narrowing.

Nellie had never noticed how much emotion even the mask could portray.

"You're threatening to push my girlfriend off of a bridge just so I will be your messenger boy?"

Nellie was caught off guard for two reasons: one, Peter just called her his girlfriend, and two, he was using sarcasm in this situation, which she worried would push Negative to a point of further anger.

"Nick Fury did nothing when he knew the Maggia was experimenting on me. I was just a kid, like you. Like your girl. I don't remember who I was before; I was robbed of every memory I ever had. But I know one thing, and that is that Nick Fury knows how to fix this. He can undo what should have never been done in the first place!" Negative's facial features appeared sharper than before, and his hand that wasn't latched onto Nellie's arm was even whiter and brighter now.

Peter shook his head, holding out a hand, "No, I don't know Fury. I've never even met him. As far as I know, nobody even knows where he is. I'm sorry, but doing something to Nellie isn't going to help you." At this point he was pleading.

Nellie looked frantically between the two, her hand gripping the railing for support in case Negative tried anything.

Negative's veins seemed to glow, too, his frustration spiraling, "You're telling me, if Spider-Man was in trouble, not one of the Avengers would come to your aid? I thought you were a team," He scoffed, a vicious laugh escaping his lips.

Peter took one step forward, but cautiously. Nellie could see he was moving slow and steadily, as to not cause an uproar.

"Well, technically, I'm not an Avenger," Peter stated, and in one swift motion, slung a web to Nellie's hand where it held tightly onto the railing. "Yet," he added, pulling the web back, Nellie's wrist now secured by the material.

Negative growled, his hand still clutching Nellie's arm in what now felt like a death-grip. Her arms were now being pulled in two different directions, leaving Peter no other option than to release her right arm so her limbs would remain in tact with her body.

"Peter!" Nellie gasped as Negative shoved her to the ground, his other hand sending a wave of negative, electric energy towards Peter's torso.

Peter jumped, dodging the shock and shot a web again in Nellie's direction, but Negative intervened and singed it before it even reached her where she crawled away from him on the sidewalk.

"I don't want to kill anyone," Negative explained, though the rage in his voice was very real and aggressive.

"I can't give you what you want. If you want to talk to Fury, you'll have to find him yourself. I have no way of doing so," Peter landed, shooting web after web at Nellie, but they were seared off every single time.

Nellie's bangs clung to her forehead as she was now sweating, her fear getting the better of her. She stood up from the ground, her dress now torn and tattered.

Negative still stood between her and Peter, his hair and eyes nearly as bright as the moon above.

"You will figure out a way," Negative turned, his electric hand still extended out towards Peter warningly.

With his other hand he reached for Nellie again, despite her efforts to escape his grasp. He got ahold of the back of her hair, his grip tighter than any of the other times.

"Call Stark!" Negative demanded as he pushed Nellie forward, the railing pressing into her abdomen, causing her to cough violently.

Peter pulled out his phone slowly, Negative's eyes shooting between both him and Nellie. She could feel pain in her scalp from how tightly Negative was clutching her hair, and he forced her upper body further over the railing, but her feet remained grounded.

Her eyes again met the waters below, which no longer appeared as peaceful as she had thought before. Her breath caught in the back of her throat and her body trembled at the thought of how cold it would be. All those hundreds of feet below, the waves now seemed scary, not calm at all.

"Don't do this," Peter warned, the phone still in his hand.

"Don't make me do this," Negative spat back, shoving Nellie's head forward even more.

She felt her locket come undone, and watched as it fell way down into the darkness below. It was far too many seconds before it made impact with the water, and an audible noise somehow escaped her breathless body.

"Please," she choked out, "call him!" She begged Peter, now unable to see him.

The only thing in her sights now was what could be her fate.

She heard what she assumed to be Peter's phone smacking the ground and Negative pushed her even farther over the railing, her heart stopping. Her feet were no longer grounded. Now, the only thing keeping her on the bridge was Negative's grasp.

She could hear Peter's web shooter working. Punches were thrown. The sound of his webs singing. The shouting between the boy and the man. Her own screams.

"You don't have to remember who you were to be a better person, Negative," Peter's voice was desperate, his breath ragged. "You can change what happened to you by choosing to let it go. Don't kill her. You'll be just as evil as the men who did this to you!"

"I cannot be someone I have no memory of. You don't understand; your abilities don't take over your emotions. You can control your thoughts, your actions. All I feel is anger. Negative energy runs through my veins now while blood runs through yours! Don't tell me I can change when you have no idea what I feel!" Negative's voice was steady and fierce. "Fury could have saved me, but he left me to die. I will not spare her life when not one person cared about saving mine. Get me Fury and she lives, it is the only way the both of you are walking away unscathed."

Suddenly, she felt Negative release her, and she thought for a moment Peter was pulling her into safety. She was wrong.

All of the oxygen in her lungs left, her lips parting. She screamed, but did not hear a sound. The dark waters grew closer and closer. The temperature dropped as she fell further and further below. She thought of how her locket had disappeared into the depths so quickly, yet she seemed infinitely falling. She closed her eyes, too petrified to face what was yet to come. She thought about how close she was to having a family again―Tony and Pepper, even Peter, and their generosity warmed her heart as she plummeted into icy waters. Everything went black. Her heart seemed to stop. There was no air for her to breathe. Time stood still. She was no longer afraid anymore. She was simply numb.

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