CHAPTER FIFTEEN; SPIDER MAN

❝ the what ifs are what kills you slowly ❞

[ songs to listen to during this chapter ]

❝ mary on a cross, ghost / afterglow, taylor swift / till forever falls apart, ashe / I wanna be yours, arctic monkeys / ❞

･ ｡ﾟ☆

❝ soho, nyc ❞

AS MUCH AS ALINA WANTED TO MISS the homecoming dance she quickly found out that wasn't an option. She was awoken that morning by Sabrina, Michelle, and May knocking on her door. An idea set in motion by Michelle of all people, something she realized she may need to do after she heard about Peter and Liz. That and the obvious rift between her and the Stacy siblings told Michelle that she could probably use a friend.

Alina wasn't inclined to argue when they all showed up outside her door waiting to see her. And May? She was so excited to take someone dress shopping, she'd never gotten to with Peter. However, dress shopping was something the Draganov teem thought would be easier. She would just pick up a few, try them on and choose which still was the general idea but the amount of dresses? Astronomical.

"Hows it looking girls," May shouted curiously through the fitting room doors.

Sabrina was the first to answer, "I think the red one is the winner for me, this or the lilac."

Michelle, who already decided on hers, exited the fitting room saying, "The dark blue will do for me."

"I was hoping you'd choose that one," said May as the younger girl came to join her at her side.

Looking herself up and down in the mirror in the gold almost cocktail like dress Alina answered, "It's not looking good for this one, I look like the flames on the statue of liberty in this." The brunette began to unzip when a blue dress came over from the top.

"Try this," said May as Alina took it in her hands. While she began to undress May wondered, "So, are you guys going together or do you have dates?"

"Solo for me," answered Michelle.

Exiting the fitting room having decided on the red dress Sabrina said, "I was going to look for one then I decided it was better to go without one. I didn't want the headache, how about you Alina? Did Connor ask you?"

Alina paused, grateful the door was blocking them from seeing her. Zipping up the light blue silk dress she said, "No, I don't think he will."

"Really? You should've heard him talking about you. He sounded pretty intent on asking you," Sabrina said having heard him speaking non-stop about her.

Admitting her own theory she'd been watching curiously the semester Michelle said, "I thought it was a fair toss up between him and Peter."

"Peter," May said her confusion mixed with excitement at the idea.

Desperately wanting to put an end to the conversation, Alina abruptly exited the fitting room showing them her dress. "How do I look," she asked clenching her fist unconsciously.

"If you don't mind me saying I think that is the one," examined May in awe.

Pulling out her phone Sabrina said, "I agree, that color suits your perfectly. Do you want a picture of it?"

"Maybe tomorrow," said Alina already wanting to crawl back into her other clothes.

"You look really pretty Alina," added Michelle with a smile.

"Thanks, I think I'll get it. As for a date, I don't have one and until this morning I didn't think I was going," admitted the brunette.

An idea flickered through Sabrina's mind as she offered, "Well why don't the three of us go together. We can meet there and be each others dates."

Michelle shrugged not having an issue with the idea, "I'm cool with it."

Alina hesitated a moment before saying, "Okay. I-I'll meet you guys there tomorrow night."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ alina's apartment ❞

Peter exited his apartment fixing his jacket, he was heading straight to the elevator when he thought about how nervous he was. His feet stopped him midway down the hall as he rushed back past his apartment down towards Alina's. His knocks barley lasted before Alina opened her door revealing her gorgeous silk pale blue dress. She wore silver heels that had straps that wrapped around her foot and ankle.

Her curls were much tighter than she usually wore them with braids pinned on either side of her head. With much effort she managed to use a pale blue eyeshadow that faded into a lighter glitter. She'd also decided to go with a clear lip gloss that added just enough shine to her lips. Without fail she also had sky blue earrings with diamonds on her lobe, along with leaf designed matching set of jewels.

"Wow," Peter said completely forgetting why he was even there originally.

Checking the time on her phone she asked hurriedly, "Thank you Spidey, you look great too but is that all you needed?"

Snapping out of it Peter said, "I'm kinda nervous. What if I step off her feet? And because I step on her she leaves tells everyone how stupid I am and never returns?" As he spoke Alina moved out of the doorway allowing him to pass her by as he spoke. While he finished he saw Alina looking smugly at him, "What?"

"Your tie is messed up," said the enhanced teen stepping forward to fix it. Peter let out a heavy breath as she adjusted the tie as needed, as she finished she patted his chest, "There, perfect." Alina held his gaze for a moment before stepping away, "And I think Liz already knows you're a bit weird –– I don't think she's running from you if she hasn't yet."

"Do you want a ride? I'm sure Liz wouldn't mind if I asked," Peter wondered not wanting to make her go alone.

She shook her head telling him, "I'll be fine. You deserve to have a date, not a third wheel. Sabrina and Michelle are meeting me there so I won't be alone."

Glancing at his phone seeing the time he said, "Speaking of, I gotta get going or I'm gonna be late to meet her."

"Okay, I'll see you there Spiderman," she teased twirling her fingers opening the door behind her for him.

Peter made his way to the door looking back at her as he said, "You really do look pretty Alina. Connor missed out on an amazing date." Alina couldn't find the words to say, she simply smiled at him as he left her apartment. Once he was gone she found herself standing at the door wishing for something more. She wasn't exactly sure what more she wanted from him or herself but she couldn't help but reach for him. Caught up in her own moment she failed to hear Peter's hesitation to leave before he finally did.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ toomes vehicle [ nyc streets ] ❞

Out of all the girls Peter Parker could have a crush on, it had to be the one with a supervillain for a father. As he sat in the car with Liz at his side he felt like such a fool not to have seen it sooner. He'd tried calling Alina but she must've already been inside because she wasn't answering. Now all he could do was endure the painful, knowing silence all the way to the school.

Liz hadn't even noticed the anxiety, she was looking through her phone camera, wearing the corsage Peter gave her. "What are you gonna do, Pete," Toomes, or the Vulture asked him.

Peter was visibly stunned, "What," he croaked out.

Looking at him through the rearview mirror he clarified, "When you graduate, what do you think you're gonna do?"

"Oh, um, I don't know," he managed to say.

Glancing up from her phone Liz said, "Don't grill him, Dad."

"Just saying, you know. All you guys who go to that school, you pretty much have your life planned out, right," asked the older man playing as if the boy hadn't felt off to him the moment since he arrived.

Peter shook his head denying, "Yeah, no, I'm just a sophomore."

Knowing he was being humble Liz told her father hoping this would suffice his interest, "Peter has an internship with Tony Stark, him and our friend Alina. So I think he doesn't have to worry."

If Peter were a cartoon his eyes would've exploded into a volcano of tears at her mention. He could see a light go off in her fathers mind, "Really?" She hummed focusing back on her phone once more, "Stark?"

Liz nodded confirming once more, "So cool."

"What do you and your friend do," he asked wanting to see if he would have to make up an answer.

The Parker boy tried to end the idea of it swiftly, "Yeah, actually, I don't intern for him anymore."

Liz turned to Peter, frowning, "Seriously?"

Clearly, at least to her father, Peter made up, "Yeah, it got, um... boring."

"It was boring? You got to hang out with Spider-Man and Hex," Liz said amazed he could find such little interest in them.

Peter could throw up, and Toomes could see it as he confirmed, "Really? Spider-Man? Wow. What's he like?"

"Yeah, he's nice. Nice man. Solid dude," he reasoned.

"And Hex? What's an ex-assassin like," wondered Toomes judgment spilling from his words.

Peter's jaw clenched stating, "She's a lot nicer than most people will ever know."

Toomes hummed as his daughter brought Peter's attention to her phone, "Look, so cute."

As the two swooned over whatever was on her phone Toomes continued glaring at him. "I've seen you around, right? I mean... Somewhere. We've, uh, have we ever? Because even the voice," he tried to say.

Liz quickly thought of, "Um, he does Academic Decathlon with me. And he was at my party."

"It was a great party, really great, yeah. Beautiful house, a lot of windows," complimented Peter sensing the difference in the conversation.

Peter and Liz smiled at each other as she reminded, "You were there for, like, two seconds. Alina was there longer than you, not by much, she left right after you remember?"

Letting out a nervous laugh he said, "That was... I was there longer than two seconds."

"You disappeared," she corrected him.

Peter shook his head saying, "No, no. I did not disappear."

"Yes, you did. You disappeared like you always do. Like you did in D.C., too," Liz said knowing full well he had a talent for disappearing.

Toomes glanced at Peter suspiciously while they stopped at an intersection, "That's terrible, what happened down there in D.C., though. Were you scared?" Peter nodded tersely as the older man went on, "I'll bet you were glad when your old pal Spider-Man showed up in the elevator, though, huh? Especially, Alina, right? Spiderman came to save her."

Peter glanced at Liz awkwardly saying, "Yeah, well, I actually didn't go up. I saw it all from the ground. Alina just told me about it later." Toomes stared at Peter through the rearview mirror as he finished, "We were very lucky that he was there that day."

Grinning Toomes mocked, unbeknownst to his daughter, "Good old Spider-Man."

The traffic light turns green immediately causing the car behind them to blare his horn, "Dad, the light," Liz pointed out.

Toomes continued driving in pondering silence the next few blocks until he reached the school. Outside, well-dressed teenagers were walking to the entrance decorated with colorful balloons. "Here we are. End of the line," he announced.

"Thanks, Dad," said Liz about to exit the car.

"You head in there, gumdrop. I'm gonna give Peter the, uh, the 'dad talk,'" he said much to Peter's dismay.

Looking to Peter she offered thinking it wasn't that big of a deal, "Don't let him intimidate you." Before leaving she leaned forward kissing her dad on the cheek, "Love you."

"Love you, gumdrop."

"Have a safe flight," she told him getting out of the car rushing to meet some of her friends standing outside.

Grabbing hold of his gun on his waist, Toomes turned to Peter asking, "Does she know?"

Playing coy the young man smirked countering, "Know what?"

He was happy to here this, Toomes nodded saying, "So she doesn't. Good. Close to the vest. I admire that. I've got a few secrets of my own. Of all the reasons I didn't want my daughter to date..." Toomes cracked a grin and shrugged, but Peter did not say anything. "Peter, nothing is more important than family. You saved my daughter's life. I could never forget something like that. So I'm gonna give you one chance. Are you ready? You walk through those doors, you forget any of this happened. And don't you ever, ever interfere with my business again. Because if you do, I'll kill you and everybody you love. I'll kill you dead. I'll kill Alina who we both know is really someone else. That's what I'll do to protect my family. Do you understand?"

"You couldn't hurt her if you tried," warned Peter knowing if he tried, he would be horrifically told otherwise.

Peter nodded, still meeting Toomes' eyes, "I just saved your life. Now, what do you say?"

His eyes serious and unwavering Peter said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, you go in there, tell your friend that you guys are done playing hero's, and you show my daughter a good time, okay? Just not too good."

Without another word Peter got out of the car with a tense expression on his face. Not wasting a second the older man pulled off from the curb in a rush to complete his task before it was too late.

Everything felt muffled as if he was underwater as he passed other students in the halls. He was about to pass through the doors to the gym when he stopped watching his friends through the glass doors. Party in full swing. Spotting him, Ned waved to him and Michelle smiled before playfully flipping Peter the finger.

For just a moment, he accepted Toomes offer entering the gym the music and chattering instantly filling Peter's ears. Liz was dancing with some of her friends when she noticed Peter hesitating nearby. He looked terrified as she approached him to ask, "Hey. What did he say to you?"

Peter just stared at Liz with an anxious look, "Gotta go. I'm, I'm sorry. You don't deserve this." In a flash he began running through the gym leaving Liz to watch as he fled. He only stopped when he finally saw Alina, she was dancing with Sabrina and Malik. Suddenly he remembered her words, she hadn't tried to be normal, until now.

Toomes was his problem, he started it and only he was going to finish it. Alina never had someone who saw her as anything but a pawned to be moved about the board for advantage, he didn't want to be another one like that. Before he moved, Alina caught his glance and tried moving towards him seeing the unnerved look on his face.

Knowing she could hear him he said, "Don't, let me do this myself Alina."

"Do what," she tried asking forgetting he couldn't hear her the same. But it wouldn't have mattered if he could hear her, the second he said what he needed to he took off rushing out the back doors. "Peter," Alina called out racing after him only for someone to grab her arm and stop her.

Yanking her arm she saw Connor hand been the one to stop her, "I don't have time for whatever it is you want," she tried.

But Connor reached out grabbing her once more, "I'm not trying to stop you, I'm trying to warn you." Alina stopped allowing him to speak, "Ross has mens watching this place so if you leave they'll follow. If you use your powers he'll be right there waiting to catch you. Peter can protect himself, you need to protect you. I know you hate me but if you go to help him you will end up right back behind the glass."

Alina wanted to head his warning, but she couldn't. "Thank you, but I'm not gonna leave him to do this on his own," she refused pulling from his grasp once more as she took off to find Peter.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ midtown high [ bus depot ] ❞

Now clad in his homemade Spider-Man suit, Peter raced out the schools back entrance. As he was about to round the school bus, a powerful shocking pulse sent him flying back. "He gave you a choice. You chose wrong," Schultz reminded as he stood over the teenage boy.

Peter rolled onto his back, "Ah, what the hell," he groaned.

Schultz came closer asking him, "What's with the crappy costume?"

The Shocker prepared his gauntlet for another shot while Peter searched for his web-shooter. It had been on his wrist but the impact of his first attacked had knocked it clean off. "My web shooters," Peter mumbled finding them lying on the ground on the other side of the lot.

He raced towards them but Schultz shot a school bus which slid across the ground smacking Peter. Like a fly that had been swatted Peter was flung to the ground knocking his web-shooter away. "I wasn't sure about this thing at first, but damn," remarked the Shocker.

Once more Schultz hit Peter with the weapon, throwing him inside the bus this time all the way to the back of the bus. When he finally stopped Peter looked up spotting chewed gums under a seat, "Ugh. Gross."

Without mercy, Schultz punched the bus into the air making it tumble until the vehicle landed upside down on the ground. Opening the door, Peter stumbled out slowly crawling to his web-shooter. "Why did he send you here," he asked trying to stall.

Schultz shrugged telling him, "Guess you'll never know."

The man raised his fist about to hit him again when his fist was stopped mid motion. Peter looked up to see Alina with her hands glowing and Ned hovering close behind her. She swung her hand slamming him into the bus before using the metal to act as chains around his body.

In utter shock Peter turned jumping up to his feet, "Nice shot!" Running up to them he rushed out, "The guy with the wings is Liz's dad!"

"What," both Ned and Alina cried out.

"I know. I gotta tell Mr. Stark. Call Happy Hogan. He's Mr. Stark's head of security. And, uh, get a computer to track my phone for me," warned Peter trying to back away and leave.

Ned cautiously wondered, "Are you gonna be okay?"

Seeing that he was about to jump Alina grabbed his arm warning, "I'm coming with you, and don't you ever try and leave me behind again."

Despite his and her own better angels, Peter agreed, "Never again." Thinking it was quicker, Peter grabbed hold of her using his webs to swing them up and away. "Hurry, we gotta catch him before he leaves town," shouted Peter as they faded away to catch up with him.