"Where is he?" I whisper to Ned and fiddle with the buttons of the awful yellow blazer. Peter had promised that he would be on time for the bus, but like always, he seems to be running behind schedule. The only problem is, if he doesn't show up soon, we might leave without him.

Ned gives me a quick smile and points over my shoulder, where I turn to find a running Peter Parker with his backpack almost falling off his shoulder. "I'm here." I smile at him as he tugs the bag back onto his shoulder.

Flash nudges me and Ned aside to square off with Peter, "What are you doing? You really think that you can just show up, and we'll welcome you back?"

At that same moment, Mr. Harrington emerges from the bus and smiles widely when he sees Peter. I have to bite back a laugh as he immediately welcomes Peter back to his spot on the team and bumps Flash back to being first alternate.

I step forward to say something to Peter and Ned, but Liz steps in front fo me and says something that brings that daydreaming look to Peter's face. It sends a sharp pain in my chest that I purposefully ignore along with everyone as I get on the bus and claim a seat in the back far away from anyone.

Peter and Ned both give me a look as they sit down a few rows ahead of me as they whisper something. ARTI seems to be feeling nosy today because he enhances the conversation so I can read it across my lenses. I try not to look, but it's hard to ignore them when I see my own name.

"Do you think Lia's okay?" Peter asks, and I can hear the concern as ARTI turns up the volume too. "She seemed so excited about the trip the other day."

"I don't know." Ned replies, and I can practically feel his eyes on me as I stare down at my dark phone screen. "Something's definitely off though."

"ARTI, please." I whisper, definitely not in the mood to hear my two friends debate what's wrong with me. Instead, I offer them a half smile and pull out my phone to text Will and Harley to pass the time.

The hours drag by in a massive blur of bells ringing and Liz's insistence that we practice. I ignore it the whole time not having the energy to put on a cheery attitude and answer questions for the entirety of the ride or until my ears start bleeding. "Hey, Lia." Peter smiles as he slides onto the bench next to me.

"Hey, Pete." I tell him with an easy smile. "You going crazy yet?"

"What—Oh, with the practice? Not really. I mean, Liz is just trying to make sure we're prepared." He tells me, and I have to bite back the massive sigh. If only he knew that Liz's main concern with this is college applications and not the team's best interests, he might just think differently. "So, what're you doing?"

"Texting Harley—and Will." His smile falters a little bit at the mention of my two friends, but I try not to read too much into it. "Take a picture with me."

"What?"

"Take a picture with me. Please? I hate them, but my dad and mates want updates about the trip." I give him an exaggerated pout until he reluctantly agrees, which makes me laugh as I hold up my phone and throw up a peace sign while he makes a goofy face. "Perfect. Thanks, Peter."

"So—why does everyone want updates from the trip?" He asks and fidgets in his seat, which he only ever does when he's nervous.

"Well, Harley, Will, and Trish are all wanting to see what D.C. is like, and my dad just likes staying informed, I suppose." I sigh and lean my head back against the worn leather. "I wish we were there already. All the bells ringing and light is giving me an awful migraine."

Peter stays quiet for a long moment before he speaks up again, his voice timid as he asks, "Are you not sleeping again?" The question immediately makes me stiffen, and he rambles in order to explain himself. "It's just—you've always told me that you get migraines and more sensitive to light when you don't sleep."

"You remember that?" I question and move my head to look at him. "That was—what—months ago?"

"Yeah, I remember what my friends tell me." He awkwardly chuckles, and I join in, a part of me hating the casual use of 'friend.' "You never answered me though."

"No, I haven't. My mum insisted I stay over at hers so she could bring me this morning. Something about 'not seeing me enough.'" I mumble and pick at my chipped nail polish. "I don't sleep well at her flat."

Peter nods, clearly seeing that this is one topic not to press for more information. "I think Mr. Harrington said we have another hour."

"Kill me now." I complain. "Or at least distract me to pass the time."

Peter smiles, but ultimately tells me stories about him and Ned before I met them that make the time pass by like the trees on the side of the highway. Before we know it, Mr. Harrington is calling for us to collect our room assignments and keys. "Michelle and Lia."

I give her a brief nod, and inwardly cheer that I won't have to deal with someone wanting to talk or keep me up all night. She merely returns the gesture as she grabs the room key and her bag before heading in. I turn to Peter and Ned with a sigh. "Well, I'm going to my room for a long nap. Call me if you need me."

The way up to my room is a blurry daze of pain from the bright lobby lights before dropping my bag and falling onto the unclaimed bed. "Activating Tuck-In Protocol." ARTI's voice says quietly as I put a pillow over my head to block out the light and fall asleep.

I wake up with a throbbing headache to a dimly lit room. "Hey, you're actually alive." MJ calls as she doesn't bother to look up from her book. "Liz is gathering everyone to go down to the pool soon if you wanted to come."

My stomach churns at the mention of water. Ever since the accident, I haven't been able to go near a pool or any body of water. It was bad enough going over the bridges on the drive here, but there's no way I could go swimming without risking an incident. "I'm gonna pass. To be perfectly honest, I don't really feel like dealing with everyone at the moment."

The statement elicits a laugh out of her as she closes her book. "That's a mood."

"Then why are you going?" I question as I finally sit up on the mattress.

"I like people watching."

"You know, I think that you don't hate people as much as you pretend to." She gives me a pointed look in silent dispute, but I can tell it's half-hearted. "Don't worry; I won't tell."

"Good. Otherwise, I'd have to kill you." She comments, but our conversation is interrupted by a knock on the door. "That's probably Liz. You still sure you don't wanna come?"

"I'm sure." I tell her with a thankful smile. "Although, I do think I'll go raid the vending machine. For some reason I have a horrible craving for crisps." MJ gives me a look before shaking her head, grabbing her book, and muttering something about, "being too British." I ignore it though as a grab the room card and cash and decide to leave my glasses on the nightstand since the hotel is pretty dim at this time of night.

My mind wanders as I go into the hallway, and I find myself wondering if Peter is really going to track down these criminals on this trip. Unfortunately, it means that I'm not exactly paying attention to where I'm going until I run into someone. "Sorry," I mumble and look up to see Peter with a hoodie on and up. "Oh, um—hey, Pete."

He pauses for a long second and looks at me with wide eyes. It takes me a moment to realize why—I don't have my glasses on, which means this is the first time he's ever seen me without them. "Lia," He says my name in a way I've never heard from him before, "your—you're not wearing your glasses."

I smile softly and notice his eyes lingering right about where my scar is. My stomach churns with terror as I hastily brush my hair down to cover it. "Yeah, believe it or not, I do take them off sometimes. It just has to be dim enough."

"Well, you um—you look nice without them." He stutters, which brings a raging blush to my cheeks. "So, you're not going to the pool with the others?"

Any smile that might have been on my face disappears in an instant. "No, I—I don't really like swimming. It's a long story." It's only now that I notice his backpack slung over his shoulder. "You're really going after them tonight aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." He whispers with a curious look on his face. "I'll be back before the competition though."

In a burst of confidence, I step forward and give him a serious look, and I'd be lying if I said getting to look him in the eye without my glasses blocking us makes my heart flutter in my chest. "Promise? And promise that you'll be careful?"

"Of course, I promise." He tells me with a soft smile, and I wrap my arms around him in a quick hug. "Hey. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."

"You better be," I whisper and try to not let my emotions get the best of me, "Cause if you don't, I'll have to have Star Wars marathons with Ned by myself."

"Don't worry. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He pulls away and smiles widely at me.

"Then go stop the bad guys, Spidey." I force on a smile that I'm sure he sees straight through. He just shakes his head, gives me one last look as he walks to the stairs, and disappears from view. "Just make sure you come back in one piece. Please." I whisper to the empty space he once was.

'Trust him, Lia.' I tell myself and continue on with my night gathering snacks and crashing once I've eaten them all only to be with nightmares of being back in that alleyway. Except, this time, I'm with Peter instead of Henry.

My heart pounds in my chest as MJ nudges me awake and out of my seemingly unending nightmares. "You okay?" She questions as I slip on my glasses and try to get my breathing to even out. "We're supposed to be down in the lobby in ten minutes."

"I'll meet you down there." I check my phone for any messages from Peter or Ned about the night's events as she heads out, but there's nothing. "ARTI, track Peter's suit."

"Of course," he replies as he brings up the map and narrows down the location. "It appears to be just down the hall."

"He's back." The thought makes me breathe a heavy sigh of relief. I quickly throw on my clothes and rush down the hall to check up on them myself. Except, when I get there, Liz is already knocking on their door. She gives me an odd look, "Don't worry, I'll get them downstairs."

"Fine, but hurry up. We're supposed to leave in fifteen minutes." Liz gives me a pointed look and huffs as she walks away checking her list on her phone.

"Guys, open the door." I call with a knock, and Ned opens the door with a wide-eyed look of panic. It makes my heart drop with a resounding thunk. "Ned, what's that face for. You know I get nervous when you make that face."

"He's still not back." Ned whispers, and I have to keep myself from throwing up. "I haven't heard anything from him either."

"Does his suit have a tracker or something?" I question even though I already know the answer, but the look on Ned's face confirms my worst fear. "You took it out didn't you. Please, tell me he has his phone at the very least."

"I think so." He tells me, and I pull my phone out to type in some code to ARTI's command center. "Are you—tracking him?"

"Trying to, but we have to get down to the lobby before the Liz has a meltdown." I tell him as I continue to type with one hand while dragging him to the elevator with the other. "If anyone asks, Peter wasn't feeling well. Got it?"

"Okay." Ned fidgets with his phone, and I just keep trying to hold out hope that Peter will be okay. "What exactly are you doing?"

"My dad works in high end tech. So I might be piggybacking on his system to try to run and emergency ping on Peter's phone and get his location." I glance at Ned, who is staring back at me with a far-flung hope that we can find our best friend. "No such luck. Wherever he is, there's no signal."

"Lia, Ned, hurry up!" Liz calls as she huffs impatiently and walks out to the bus. "We're going to be late."

I let out a sigh and follow the rest of the group out onto the bus. My stomach churns the whole way to the convention center. It all passes by in a blur of rushing around and Liz's last minute rounds of stress-quizzing. "Alright, everyone, grab your badges and head inside." Mr. Harrington calls and ushers us inside for the first round of competition.

The first few rounds go by in a flurry of bells and excitement as we make it to the final round that decides if we're the new national champions or not. Ned offers me an encouraging look, and I let out a sigh as I push the worry and Peter situation from my mind to finally concentrate.

"Well, it appears we have a tie," The moderator calls with a far too cheery smile for the knots that are tying in our stomachs, "which means a lightning round. The first team to give the right answer will be our new national champions."

I look around at my teammates, who are all either looking anxiously at the moderator or each other in preparation for the question. MJ gives me a slight nod, Liz offers a pleading look as she tries to even her breathing, and Ned is staring at the table in deep concentration as the question is asked.

The numbers run through my head as I mentally tap out the calculations on the table. It's a fairly complicated equation, which makes me nervous that I'll mess up along the way, but the room remains silent even after I double check the math in my head. I lean forward and hope that I'm right as I ring the bell and state my answer with what I hope sounds like a shred of confidence. "Zero."

"That is correct." The moderator calls, and the rest of her words are drowned out by the cheering of my teammates as they swarm me and hug me in pure joy.

"We're the new national champions!" Liz cheers and sways me back and forth in a tight hug. "You did it, Lia!" She is quickly distracted by wanting to congratulate and celebrate with everyone else before we are officially awarded and head out, still walking on air.

I pull my phone out and start a video diary as we all get on the subway to the Washington Monument. "So, pretty exciting news. The tournament just finished, and we're the new national champions!"

Ned pops up over my should to fit in the frame as he shouts, "She won it for us!"

"I answered a few questions, Ned. I didn't win the whole thing singlehandedly." I counter with a smile. "It would defeat the purpose of it being a team competition."

"But you broke the tie!" He continues to argue, and I just laugh until an arm slings over my shoulder.

"Yep, that's my girl. Winning us my trophy." Flash smirks as he holds up the plastic prize that he refuses to let go of.

"Okay. First," I say as I let my phone and hand drop to my side while the other grabs the pressure point of his hand and squeeze until he removes his arm from my shoulders, "I'm not 'your girl' and never will be. Second, it's not 'your' trophy either Flash. You barely answered two questions, and one of them was wrong."

"Whatever. At least I showed up—unlike Penis Parker."

I grit my teeth, the video long forgotten as I round on Flash with my blood boiling. "We get it, Flash. You're an insecure little boy, who needs to compensate by announcing to the world Peter has what you clearly lack."

He stands there spluttering, clearly searching for any sort of comeback, but Ned and I don't bother to wait as we hop in the subway with a victorious fist bump. "Dude, that was awesome."

"It was, wasn't it?" I grin as I slide into the bench seat with Ned right beside me. "It felt great. I've been wanting to do that since day one."

"Peter probably would've laughed." At the comment, Ned's expression grows somber as he checks his phone again. "Still haven't heard from him. Do you think he's okay?"

My first thought is "no." Because truthfully, while I know Peter is strong and capable, I'm terrified one day he's going to meet someone stronger than he can handle. I just hope that it isn't today or anytime soon, but of course, I can't tell Ned these things. He's already so worried about him; there's no way I can add more to that burden.

So I lie, "Yeah, I think he's fine. Probably just lost cell service or had his battery die."

ARTI flashes a message across my screen, his voice a quiet whisper as he says, "I'll continue to monitor cell towers in the area if his phone goes back online, and update you with any relevant information."

It softens the edges of my worry a little, but not by much. "For now, he'd definitely want us to celebrate becoming national champions." I tell Ned, who breaks into a smile. "I almost forgot to ask, do you know much about the monument? My mate, Will, is bugging me to go and take pictures for him, but besides knowing that it's a monolith, I'm lost."

"I actually haven't been before, but they give a tour when you go up the elevator." Ned tells me with a shrug, and my stomach starts to twist in knots at the reminder that it's a tiny elevator ride up. One crammed full of people, encased in stone, and who knows when it was last checked.

He seems to notice my sudden change in enthusiasm and the blood draining from my face based on the worried look he's giving me. "You okay?"

"Um—I think so. It's just, I'm not really one for tight spaces with lots of people. It gives me a bad feeling." I tell him and brush it off to try to reassure both of us. "I'll be fine. I'm sure nothing will happen and I'm probably just overthinking it."

"Well, I'll be there the whole time if you freak out or something." Ned's overwhelming care and concern makes me smile and helps me relax as we finally stop and get off to walk the rest of the way as a group with Mr. Harrington constantly counting us to make sure we're all present.

I look up at the tower of stone. "You're actually impressed by this?" MJ scoffs as she sits down on one of the stone benches circling the monument.

"Not really. I'll always think the Elizabeth Tower—or Big Ben as it's incorrectly called—is better." She grins at the comment. "Plus, didn't they use slave labor for it?"

"Yep. It's why I'm not going. I'd rather not support it."

"I respect that. The only reason I am is my friend would kill me if I didn't go and send him a million pictures. He's obsessed with these kinds of things."

"American monuments?"

"Architecture." I retort, and she nods just before cracking open her book to signal the end of the conversation. "I'll see you when we come back down then."

All I get from her is a brief wave, which is about all I really expected. Ned gives me a look with his phone pressed against his ear as I catch up with him just before security. "Is that Peter?" I whisper, and he quickly nods in response before were being ushered through security.

Liz takes the momentary opportunity to grab Ned's phone when she realizes it's Peter for the sole sake of lecturing him. Of course, that's all she cares about. Not what could have kept him away. She's just assuming that he ditched and nearly cost her the precious title—that we still won.

"What was he trying to say? Did he explain what happened or where he was?" The questions tumble past my lips faster than I can think them, but Ned just shrugs as he grabs his phone, where Peter hasn't tried calling back on. We're shoved into the elevator with the others, and I lean over to whisper, "Hopefully he can tell us after. Because we can't exactly leave now."

"Yeah, we'll just have to wait."

Everything seems normal. The guide drones on about the history and construction of the monument, which is all delivered in the most monotonous and unenthusiastic way. It makes my head hurt, or maybe that's just the bad feeling and anxiety from earlier coming back in full force.

Except, it keeps getting stronger until I'm on edge waiting for a disaster to happen.

It comes in a bright purple light bursting from Ned's backpack, and the beams trail upward and cut through the ceiling of the elevator with only burning orange cracks left behind as it fades. My heart launches into my throat before falling down to the concrete that now hundreds of feet below us, and I don't need ARTI's display to tell me what happened.

The radiation from the X-ray activated the core into detonating. It's power blasted a whole in the elevator—and likely all the way through the top of the monument. Although, ARTI is displaying data that tells me it's much worse than that. Not only are we stuck, but despite the guides assurances, the safety systems are failing.

"Everyone just stay calm." Someone keeps repeated amidst the panicking shouts, and I try not to fall to the floor as the panic settles in.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Ned attempts to comfort me, and while it doesn't do much, the sounds of his voice gives me something to focus on and push the panic to the back of my mind.

I know it's not going to be okay. Not unless I do something.

The elevator shifts a bit, and I close my eyes and concentrate on my breathing as I curl and solidify the shadows beneath the car to help stabilize us. It makes my muscles strain with effort and drains mass amounts of energy from me.

What really doesn't help is everyone shifting on the elevator as they move to make it out. It's my only comfort that despite the struggle, it's helping the others get to safety, and no on suspects that I'm doing anything more than panicking as I grip the railing like my life depends on it—but that's mostly because all of ours do.

Flash shoves Liz out of the way to get out of the elevator. He refuses to let go of the stupid piece of plastic as he climbs out and shouts at the people up there, "Take my trophy."

The elevator shifts and drops, and in that split second I'm back in the van with Jim right at the moment of impact. My lungs constrict and tears build in my eyes, but I keep trying to hold us up. Each time it shifts, I'm back there again and again.

My concentration slips as there's a little extra force as Flash makes it up, and we immediately start to plummet. Everyone starts to scream and hold on as we fall. I clench my jaw and keep myself from making this all worse by going full supernova.

Something makes us stop suddenly, and I look up to see a web holding us up. Ned and I share a look of excitement and relief. For a moment, we start to move back up as Peter strains to pull us up.

Of course, nothing ever goes as planned, and Peter tumbles down into the elevator with us as we start to fall again. Our decent stops for a moment as he lands against the floor with a loud thud before we start falling once more. This time, Peter catches his feet on a corner of the roofing and connects his webs to the top of the monument.

I let out a breathe and use the last of my energy to help him out a little bit as he works to pull us up. Ned begins to cheer and jump up and down. "Yes, yes, yes!" He shouts.

"Hey, hey, hey. Big guy, quit moving around." Peter shouts, which makes Ned immediately stop and apologize. It's not long before we make it all the way up to the top where the elevator doors should have opened. There's a group of people waiting, and they help Ned, Mr. Harrington, and Liz climb out as he shouts for us to rush out.

I wait for Liz to be clear before moving forward. My hand reaches out for help, and I only get to blink before the floor bottoms out from under me. A scream bubbles up my throat as I desperately reach for Peter's hand, but they just barely miss each other.

For a second, I almost think this is how it ends for me. I've made it through disasters of my own making and accidents out of my control, and I'm not ready to give up. My shadows curl around me, ready to get me out before the webbing wraps around my wrist. "I got you." He whispers, just loud enough for me to hear it as I'm suspended just underneath him. "I promise, I got you. You're okay."

He slowly lifts me up until we can get a hold of each others hands. I keep a solid grip on him as tears stream down my face. The people waiting at the top help me out of the shaft and onto the ground again, but even then, I can't quite let go of Peter's hand for a few extra seconds.

"This is a prime opportunity to kiss him, Lia." ARTI calls in my ear, and I almost want to laugh at his suggestion. The idea makes my heart pound even harder in my chest as he says something in a thick Queens accent.

It's quiet for a moment, and I almost find myself leaning towards him before there's a clanging and he falls down the elevator shaft. "Thank you." Mr. Harrington calls, and even though I know he's going to be okay, I still worry.

"Are you really friends with Peter Parker?" Flash shouts down after him, and Mr. Harrington pulls him back with a disapproving look.

My limbs shake and tremble from the effort of keeping myself upright, and I have to force away the darkness creeping across the edges of my vision. Luckily, Ned realizes how close I am to passing out and let's me lean on him.

We're all taken back down to the ground where the Fire department and ambulances are waiting for us. Ned refuses to leave my side as we get checked out. The entire time, he tries to help me calm down by talking to me about anything and everything.

I just feel numb and unable to move aside from the constant shaking and tears.

It only seems to break when Peter shows up, disheveled and still panicked. "Hey, you—you guys okay?" He questions Ned since I'm unresponsive, and the latter just nods towards me before he leaves to give us a second.

My feet tap out an erratic beat on the back of the ambulance, and my phone keeps buzzing since I haven't been able to bring myself to answer it. "Do you want me to get that for you? It might be your parents checking in." I barely manage a nod, and he quickly swipes and sends a few messages on my behalf before taking a hesitant step closer.

I wrap my arms around him, just needing to be comforted for a second. Peter immediately reacts and carefully holds me like he knows I'm already trying not to break. "Hey, you're okay now. I've got you. You're safe now. I promise."

He keeps a hold of me long after I calmed down to make sure I'm okay, and for the first time after this all started. I do.