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THE SUN WAS WARM AGAINST ALISSA'S PALE SKIN. Carters car windows were rolled all the way down, the fresh breeze blowing into the vehicle with ease. Music softly hummed through the small speakers, the sound of a young woman's voice filling the empty silence that enveloped the three siblings. Brian was comfortably nestled in the backseat, stretched across the entire section. He had his own headphones stuffed in his ears, blaring his music as loud as possible. Alissa thought of doing the same, but she went against it when seeing a frown etched upon Carter's lips.

"Hey," Alissa voice interrupted Carter's thoughts, "You alright over there?"

He forced a smile onto his lips when stealing a glance at his sister, hoping she wouldn't see past it, but she did. "Always," he shortly replied. Alissa rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Tony Stark," she snipped out, hoping to get a reaction out of Carter. Instead, he just shrugged and continued driving without uttering another word to her. She was a little disappointed that he didn't say anything in response, but maybe that was for the best. She didn't want to get in a fight with him.

Alissa softly sighed to herself, resting her head on the seatbelt strap. It wasn't very comfortable, but with the numerous of thoughts zooming through her invasive mind, she hardly noticed. Of course, Peter popped into the pictures that scattered her brain every so often, a smile casting to her lips when she pictured his smile or heard his laugh in the background. Carter wondered what was going on inside her mind, trying to use the animated movie Inside Out to give him an idea of how things were going on about, but then he figured he might not have wanted to know based on the unusually happy grin plastered on her face.

"Hey, look! Dad's home!" Brian's voice snapped Alissa and Carter's attention back into reality as they neared their home. Alissa leaned forward, eyes nearly doubling in size when seeing the white Range Rover parked in the pebbled driveway.

Alissa stole a glance to Carter, noticing the way his adam's apple moved as he nervously gulped, his vibrant eyes now dimming to a cold shimmer. Alissa bit her lower lip, wincing when Carter parked the car and their father stepped out onto the porch, buff arms folded over his firm chest.

Carter let out a forced laugh, startling his siblings. Alissa noticed how his tone was clipped and a little bitter. "Figures," Carter said, confusing his siblings. He finally looked up, peering from one sibling to the other, almost ashamed. "I do one thing to his car and he notices. How convenient is that? Oh, but Brian gets another first place trophy for hockey, no, he doesn't notice it. Al gets a haircut, doesn't see that other. But I do I 9&3 thing to his car and he sees it. Isn't that fuckin' perfect?"

Alissa deeply frowned. "Y-You don't know that for sure," she tried reassuring Carter. "He might just be home b—"

"Because he wants to spend time with us?" Carter harshly snipped out, a raging fire burning in his cold eyes. Alissa sidedly glanced to Brian, the boys face turned downward. She looked back to Carter, shaking her head. Without another word, she grabbed her bag and climbed out the car. Carter scoffed and threw open his door, Brian clambering out as well, almost scared and excited.

Scott Caverly carefully eyed his children, his expression eerily calm. Alissa stood by the door, adjusting her bag before locking eyes with her father. No, she and her siblings might've been adopted, but they'd inherited some of their parents traits that were unmistakable. Alissa wasn't too sure when she actually saw her father, but he looked the exact same.

Scott's hair was beginning to gray, most of his facial stubble lighter rather than it was dark. He was muscular and very intelligent; which was why him and his lovely wife, Kelli, worked at down Oscorp as biochemists alongside their notable boss, Norman Osborn.

Typically they worked long hours, returning home long after their children had fallen asleep. By the time any of them awoke, they were already gone and back to work. Some days they were heard coming in, and some mornings they were left a heartfelt note from their dear mother. Their father wasn't a very sentimental man, leaving money for the kids to spend it on whatever they wanted without really being there for them. Kelli tried, but to her kids, her attempts were futile and under appreciated.

They were mere to strangers to their children.

"Hi dad," Brian said, fiddling with the straps of his book bag.

Scott simply nodded, briefly smiling to his son. "Brian, Alissa, why don't you two head on in. I need to talk to Carter. Alone."

Alissa hesitated.

Carter came around the front of his car, smugly smirked. Alissa and Brian shared a worried glance, both fearing what their bold and outspoken brother would do.

Carter stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, rocking on the heels of expensive shoes he wore, "No, they're fine," Carter said. "I want them here."

"Son," Scott stepped down the porch, heavily sighing, "Please, don't make this harder than it needs to be."

Carter angrily clenched his jaw, and Alissa knew whatever was coming, was happening now.

"So what if I scratched your car, huh?" Carter began. Alissa shut her eyes, not wanting to see her fathers face. Brian instinctively latched onto her hand, holding it tightly. "I do one thing and you notice? Hell, if I knew that would get your attention so quickly, I would've done it sooner!" Carter shifted. "B and Al do amazing things all the time! But no, you're never home or around to notice. But when you are, you only notice the bad things. Brian's brought home five fucking first place trophy's. I bet you didn't even know that, right?"

Brian fearfully tightened his hold on Alissa's hand. She pulled him closer, her other arm going around his shoulder in a protective manner. Carter still continued, Scott's expression was angry, but rather calm as well. "Alissa's got straight A's, and she's had them for weeks now! But did you for one second take a damn second to check in on your kids? No, you didn't. You only care about yourself."

Finally, Carter stopped, running a hand through his disheveled hand. He turned towards Alissa and Brian, frowning when he saw the two so frightened. Scott began walking forwards, straight for Carter. The boy, as brave as he was, took a cautious step back, bumping into his car. Scott narrowed his eyes, going to stand before his eldest.

"Im not here because of that," Scott said, shocking the kids. Carter's lips opened, heart plummeting into the deepest pit of his stomach. His head titled, eyes pinned to his surprised siblings. "I'm here because of what you did to Harrison's car, not because of mine. I didn't even know about that."

° ° °

Alissa and Brian worriedly sat in the kitchen, having been told to go inside after Carter revealed what he'd done to their father. That time, neither of them protested. Alissa wasn't sure what was going to happen, but an awful feeling was continuously traveling through her body. Brian was working on his homework, Alissa having already finished hers with the help of Peter.

Now, the field trip form sat in front of Alissa, almost taunting her. She had forgot about getting a signature, and she knew there was no chance her father was going to sign it now. Her mother wasn't home, and she could hardly write her own signature; forging was was not an option, sadly. Brian had offered to do it, but she kindly denied it, not wanting to get in trouble. If it came down to it, she just wouldn't go.

She wanted to, especially when Peter was going and planning to take pictures for the schools newspaper. Gwen and Mary Jane were also going, and it was surely going to be wonderful. However, it had been some time since they were told to go inside, and it was eerily quite inside the Caverly home.

"You think he's okay?" Brian wondered, lowering his pencil to look over at his sister. Alissa turned her head, timidly nodding.

"Yeah, I do. Dad. . .he may not be the best at certain aspects of being a parent, but he wouldn't hurt anyone, especially us. He's not—" Alissa stopped, almost spilling the name of the most awful man she knew. Brian furrowed his eyebrows together, wondering why she'd stopped. Luckily, he didn't question it. "He's a good man. He's just working hard, for us, and so is mom."

Brian warmly smiled, his chubby cheeks resembling those of a chipmunk. Alissa let out a giggle, pulling out her phone. A few seconds after, the front door opened, two different voices speaking. Alissa and Brian turned around, shocked to see one was their mother and the other was Carter. Alissa titled her head to the side and stared, watching as their mother hugged Carter before nudging him in the direction of the stairs.

The blonde woman sighed as she watched him scurry up the stairs. She turned on her heel, stopping when she saw her other two children staring at her. She grinned, coming down the hall with a small sway in her steps. Despite the tired expression on her face, she looked as pretty as ever.

Her blonde hair was pinned in a bun behind her head, make up light yet nice. Her white lab coat was still hanging on her shoulders, the Oscorp badge dangled from the front pocket. Her smile was sweet and friendly; always making Alissa felt a little more safe when she was with her mother.

"Hi, my loves," she sweetly greeted them. Alissa and Brian returned the woman's smile, moving as their mother sat down across from them. "How are you? How's school going?"

"Mom," Alissa began, "What happened?" Brian leaned forward, wanting to hear. Kelli pushed her hands down the table, shaking her head, a sigh surpassing her glossy lips.

"Your dad, he didn't react well to what happened," she said. "He could hardly speak to Carter, and I was already on my way here—"

"You were?" Alissa couldn't help but sound surprised. Her parents hardly ever got home before dark.

Kelli slightly titled her head to the side, frowning. "Yeah, I was. I wanted to go to Brian's hockey. . ." The look on Alissa and Brian's face told her. "I missed it, didn't I?"

Brian sadly nodded, remembering the times he glanced at his siblings in hopes of seeing either of his parents seated next to them. So many times he had gotten his hopes up, thinking that maybe they would finally come and cheer him on, shouting that number 13 was their son.

He was let down every single time.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," Kelli sincerely apologized, holding her hand out for him to take. He just stared at her hand, internally debating if he should take it. Kelli noticed, pulling her hand away with her chest feeling heavier. "Anyways, I came and talked to both of them. Your dad's back at work, and I have to return in a little bit, but I thought I check on you two and see how you're doing."

"Is he grounded?" Brian wondered.

Kelli shook her head, biting the inside of her cheek with a sigh. "Well, you could say he is, but. . .we're not really gonna know, now are we?" Alissa and Brian cracked a small, timid smile, making Kelli grin. "That's awful, and I know, but I promise, we're going to make more time for you all, okay? We just have to finish this project and then your father and I will have more time than ever to spend with all of you. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Yeah, but it also sounds like you're getting our hopes up," Alissa replied. "Mom, I wanna believe this, I do, but I can't. We've gotten our hopes up one too many times just to be let down. We're not doing it anymore," she firmly stated, voice firm and a little louder than she intended for.

Kelli leaned back in the chair, pursing her lips as she nodded. Her eyebrows were scrunched together, a pained look on her face, but it disappeared within seconds. "I know, I know. We've let you down more than any parent should, and I'm truly sorry. But I do mean it. After this project, we're gonna have more time, okay?"

"What's the project?" Brian asked.

Kelli lightly chuckled. "I can't tell you that, but it's gonna be amazing. We're really onto something, I think." Suddenly, Kelli turned to Alissa. "Wait, your father and I are going to the New York Hall tomorrow to help out with the demonstration and its your school that's going there for a field trip, right? Are you planning on going? Do you know if Carter wants to? I—"

"I just need a signature," Alissa answered, sliding the paper towards her mother in hopes that the woman would sign it. "And so does Carter."

Kelli took the form scanning over the words, nodding as her lips silently moved. "Okay, go get his and get a pen. I'll sign it."

Alissa quickly stood, grabbing Carter's bag that was carelessly thrown by the front door. She scrimmaged through it, not noticing a certain love note stuck in between his notebook and folder. Finally, she found it and returned to the kitchen. Her mother happily accepted the paper and pen, swiftly signing her name on the forms. She grinned as she slid the papers towards Alissa, but she paused. Alissa's head flicked up, a bit confused.

"Just promise me one thing," Kelli requested. Alissa frowned, but nodded. "Don't let your father see you or Carter. There's a few unlikely chances something could go wrong, and because of that, your father might worry if he sees either of you. I'll distract him if I see you both, but try to stay out of his sight, okay?"

Alissa family nodded, smiling. "Okay. Thank you, mom."