"Then, then, he told me I had pretty eyes." I let out a huff and fall on my bed. "Seriously, what am I supposed to think of that?"

Harley shakes his head at me with a knowing grin. "Maybe, it means you should start believing me when I say that he likes you too."

"I don't think it does though. You haven't seen the way he looks at Liz. Even when he gives me compliments, he doesn't look at me like that."

"Wait, he gives you compliments too?"

"Only because I told him why I don't do well with them. Now, he's made it his mission to change that." I mumble and avoid looking at my screen so I don't have to see Harley's incredulous gaze. "I'm telling you. He doesn't see me that way, and I can't let myself think he does. Because if he doesn't, then it will change our friendship."

"Fine, I'll let it go, but for the record, I still think he likes you." He sighs and changes the subject, "So, how's the other stuff going?"

"Oddly quiet since the ferry incident." I tell him and scrunch my eyebrows as I think back over it. "I don't like it. The only time people like this are quiet is when they're running or planning something else, and I doubt Vulture is running."

"What does Tony think?" Harley questions, and I just sigh.

"He's really busy with getting everything ready for the move. So, for now, I'm just going to keep an eye out for anything that might mean Vulture's making a comeback."

"Probably a good idea. It should also give you time to focus on getting yourself a homecoming date." He teases with a wink and laughs when I roll my eyes at him. "What? Are you seriously telling me that you don't want to go to your own homecoming?"

"Not since there will be plenty of homecoming's yet to come." I lie; it's mostly because the only guy who asked was Flash. Plus, with my feelings for Peter, I doubt I could enjoy the night while watching him pine over Liz. "I'm probably just going to stay home or help with the move."

"Fine, be boring." Harley jokes, and I stick my tongue out at him in reply.

"How on earth can I be boring? I'm literally a part-time Avenger." I tease and look up when there's a knock on my door. "Come in."

"Hey, bug. Can you come down to the lab when you're done? I need your help packing up your workspace." Dad asks as he leans in the room.

"Sure thing." I tell him with a smile. "I've gotta go, Harley."

"Fine, go be an awesome part-time Avenger." He complains with an overdramatic pout. "Bye, Lia."

"Bye, Harley." I shove my phone into my pocket and keep my head down as I weave through the mess of people packing up all the Avenger's stuff in the tower. Luckily, no one pays much attention to a teenage girl walking around, and even if they did, the non-disclosure agreements prevent them from saying anything.

"Did you have a good chat with Harley?" Dad asks as I enter the lab with a bounce in my step. "Also, did I hear something about homecoming?"

"Yes, to both things. Harley was teasing me about the fact that I have no plans to go." I ignore Dad's look as I sort through my chunk of the lab. "Don't give me that look, please. We agreed that I wasn't going to date anyone for a while, and I don't feel like changing that yet."

"You know that rule was for before you got everything under control and started making progress with Dr. Sharpe." He tells me and sits on the stool next to me. "It's okay to let people in again. I did with Pepper, and while it's hard at times, it's always worth been worth the struggle."

"Yeah, but I don't think that someone sees me like I see them." I whisper in a soft voice, but Dad still hears it judging by the wide look in his eyes. "Either way, I'm still not sure if I'm ready for that yet. My focus right now is on stopping Vulture and getting proof that the REM Trials are real."

"Trust me, bug. You've got to give yourself a break every once in a while. Otherwise, you'll work yourself to death. I know because I almost did." He gently grabs on my wrist to stop me so he knows I'm listening, "But that was back when I didn't know that my greatest creation already existed."

"Thanks, Dad, but I don't know if I'll be able to really slow down until I know. You're the only person who believes me when I say that the REM Trials are real—that they're out there testing and hurting people like me for their own gain. I need proof. Mum barely believed me when I told her that Jim blamed me for months about the accident; so I doubt she'd listen when I tell him he's involved in this without solid evidence."

"I know, bug, and we'll get it—together. Please, just be patient with me. We have to go about this carefully if we don't want to piss off the wrong people or tip them off." He looks me in the eye for a long moment as he tries to gauge my reaction, "Promise me you won't do anything without me."

"I promise." I whisper half-heartedly and return to packing. My motion abruptly stops when I come across a familiar red and blue suit, "He really was just trying to help. Even if it didn't seem like it, his heart is in the right place."

"Doesn't mean he didn't royally screw up."

"As if you or I haven't either?" I argue and sigh when I realize it's never going to go anywhere. "He's been different since you took it, you know. I haven't heard him talk about Spiderman once. Not to mention, he hardly smiles as much as he used to."

"He'll earn it back eventually."

"How? He doesn't even believe in himself anymore."

"You didn't either a while ago." Dad replies with a smile as he nudges my shoulder, "and look at you now. If he's meant to have that suit, he's going to have to realize he doesn't need it to be a hero. It's why I gave you yours, and I'll do the same for him when the time comes."

I stare down at the suit and nod. He has a point. If anyone was born to be a hero, it's Peter Parker, who always seems to worry about others before himself, who went out of his way the first day we met to make sure I was okay and has every day since, who completely and utterly stole my heart without realizing it.

"Yeah, when the time comes." I echo, because I know it's only a matter of time before he realizes what the rest of us know. Even if it does take a little bit of nudging.

"We probably should keep packing before Happy comes in and has an aneurism when he realizes we're not close to being done. Plus, I didn't let you stay home from school for nothing." Dad teases as we both focus on packing anything we want to go upstate into the crates.

My phone buzzes in my pocket after I've gotten the crate nearly full. I quickly pull it from my pocket assuming it's notes or homework updates from Peter and Ned, but my heart drops as I read the flurry of messages pouring in.

At the bottom are texts from MJ with only the words, "I'm sorry." It doesn't make sense to me until I move farther up and see an excited text from Peter that reads, "GUYS, I ASKED LIZ TO HOMECOMING AND SHE SAID YES."

I try to pretend the words aren't a dagger in my chest, but they are. Maybe it was stupid of me to hold onto the sliver of hope that he could like me back. Maybe I should have just come to terms with only ever being friends with Peter, but I didn't—couldn't. Now it hurts just as bad as a supernova in my chest.

He asked Liz to homecoming.

It rings in my head like a gong—impossible to ignore—and brings tears building up in my eyes. My hands shake as I hastily close up the crate and call to Dad that I'm finished in as few words as possible so he can't hear the tremble in my voice. All I can think about is getting to my room and not leaving until Homecoming is long over.

My fingers shake as I send Harley a simple text. "You were wrong."

I try not to cry as I curl up under my covers and try to ignore the pain in my chest or the churning of my stomach. After all, this is everything Peter wanted. It's hard to be mad at him when I know that he's happy. More than anything that's all I need—for Peter to be happy with or without me.

It's fine. I'm fine, or at least, I will be.

Although, as I push it to the back of my head and continue packing up, there's still a nagging feeling in my gut that something isn't right. It's hard to tell if it's about the homecoming situation or maybe it's the lingering silence from Vulture's crew since the ferry.

I latch onto it and settle down on my bed with a notepad as I try to brainstorm what Vulture and his men might be planning since their big deal was busted. It makes me feel like Sherlock as I lay out the situation and facts out in front to work out Vulture's next move.

ARTI helps me cross-reference the data of the stolen tech to the list of confiscated weaponry. That combined with the weapons I've recovered from the streets, it paints a pretty clear pictures of their current inventory. I doubt they could manage even a small sale with what's left.

With a low stockpile and a bunch of government agencies on alert, Vulture is either going to be desperate or scared. If he's the latter, he's probably long gone, but from what I've seen, he doesn't seem like the type to run.

No, he strikes me as the kind who would risk it for one final payday. Men like him think too highly of themselves to not risk it on the biggest payday they can find. Question is—what would that be?

It only takes a second for the answer to hit me like a bullet. There's a huge payday just outside my door being prepped for the plane. Even one of those boxes would make Vulture's usual haul look like pocket change.

But a whole plane's worth? It's practically a man like Vulture's holy grail.

I stumble over my own feet as I run around the tower searching for my dad. He needs to know so we can find a way to stop Vulture for good. "Happy," I call when I finally spot him in the crowd of unfamiliar faces, "where's Tony?" It feels strange calling him by his name after months of calling him 'Dad,' but with all these people around it's better to be safe.

"He left around an hour ago to head out for meetings and getting everything ready upstate." Happy tells me not looking up from his clipboard, but when he does, his face scrunches with concern when he notices my expression. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I think I know what Vulture's next target is." I tell him in a hushed voice and motion around us, "This. Think about it. He's gonna be looking for one final payday, and here we are loading up millions of dollars into a plane that's going to fly without any on-board security."

Happy stays quiet for a moment and glances down at his clipboard. "Let me call Tony and see what he thinks." I cross my arms and patiently wait as he talks to Dad and fills him in on the situation. "He wants to talk to you."

I take the phone from Happy and press it to my ear. "So, I'm assuming Happy told you everything?" Dad hums in confirmation. "Okay, so before you freak out, I think I'm right about this. Plus, Vulture's known for hitting loads while they're in transit."

"What do you suggest we do then?"

"Enhance the plane's security system, at the very least, maybe run a decoy plane to distract them, and—" I try to build my confidence as I speak, "—and let me stay with the plane to make sure the cargo gets there safely."

"You want to what?" Dad asks in that eerie calm voice that screams 'I'm about to get lectured.' "Why would I let you stay on a plane that you think is going to be the target of a major criminal?"

"Because, if you're right, there's no threat, and if you're not, I can alert you and Happy at the first sign of trouble, intercept before anything can happen, and stop him once and for all." I retort with a small smile. "Not to mention, we both know I'm just as—if not more stubborn—than you. So do you really think I'll do this plan with or without your help?"

There's a grumbling on the other side of the line, and I smirk knowing he realizes I'm right. "There really is no way to talk you out of this, huh?"

"No, there's not." I tell him. "So, where do we wanna start?"

"Let me finish this meeting, and then we can get started." He says, and I agree feeling a little bit better. Still, there's a lingering feeling of dread in the back of my mind, and I pray that for once, this will turn out to be just a feeling and nothing more.