CHAPTER FOURTEEN; HOMECOMING

❝ gife is a gift. don't forget to live it.  ❞

[ songs to listen to during this chapter ]

❝ the archer, taylor swift / sick of losing soulmates, dodie / numb, marina and the diamonds / people watching, conan gray / until I found you, stephen sanchez / this is me trying, taylor swift ❞

･ ｡ﾟ☆

❝ midtown high ❞

THE FIRST THING THAT HAPPENED when Peter and Alina sat down in homeroom they were sent to the principle office. They had left school yesterday midday and were now having to get scolded, again. As if Tony and his conversation wasn't enough for her, though, in Morita's defense, he didn't know that. In an effort to make her harder to find, she was listed as Pepper Potts child on paper work. He probably assumed like most rich parents, they would pay to have someone raise their kids instead of themselves. Given their addresses were completely different, it wasn't a far leap.

The two walked in silence all the way down to the office with Peter going in first. She took her seat just outside the doors and after a moment she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see Connor hesitantly take the only other seat available next to her. He could see the tensing of her jaw as she bit down to stop herself from saying anything.

She prayed he wouldn't, and he wasn't planning on it. Not until he wanted her to know, "I know you don't want to talk, so you don't have to say anything but I just wanted to say...it was real for me. You're not a bad person that's why I never told him about you and Peter. Ross doesn't know, and he never will. Not from me at least, its practically nothing given what I did but...you don't have to worry anymore is what I'm saying."

"I wish I believed that," Alina replied not even looking his way as Peter exited the office a few moments later.

Locking eyes with Connor the Stacy boy knew, "She told you?" After he'd found her last night she did end up telling him about both Stacy siblings. She had to talk to someone and Peter was the only one she could even trust. Alina could sense Peter disappointment fade to fury in seconds. She stood to her feet blocking his path between them. "She definitely told Saint Peter, how could you not. He seems like an angle in comparison," Connor said dissatisfied with everything his life had become in seconds.

"Well with your choices Connor you make it easy," he spat hatefully as Principle Morita came out to get her.

"Everything alight here," he asked looking at them all but no one said a thing. Figuring whatever they had be discussing had been dealt with he said, "Good, then get to class Peter. Miss Draganov, come with me please."

Without another choice, Peter walked away defeatedly as Alina followed their principle into his office. She took a seat I front of his desk and waited for him to begin. "So, Alina you haven't been in my office since your first day." Picking up the file of information the school kept on her he said, "You're a good kid and you're a smart kid, freaky smart by your scores."

"Bit of a loner, makes it easy to study," she lied.

"Except for Mr. Parker and Mr. Leeds, I've seen you around them fairly often," he retained before adding, "They're good kids, I've known them most their lives. Peter has been a good his whole life yet since you've entered his life thing have gotten a little... chaotic."

"So I'm being blamed for someone else's choices," said Alina shifting in her seat growing defensive. Her eyes looked anywhere but at him, at his awards, his bookshelves but never him.

The older man shook his head saying, "No, but I'm worried whatever it happening to him, may be happening to you too. So are you okay Alina? Is there a reason you've been skipping class?"

And flawless as ever she lied once more, "No, look I just wanted to go to this sale and get there before the store closed and everything good was gone. Peter wen to do his own thing, we just walked out together. Am I getting punished?"

The principle thought for a moment before offering, "Not exactly, since you clearly didn't have a good reason and I can't just forget you did it, so, you're leading the decorating committee for homecoming."

"Why," she asked curiously.

Pulling out the paining her art teacher had given him that morning when he asked, he brandished an oil paining of a woman with long red hair dressed in pink robes standing in the sea while she picked flowers growing from a tree coming from the shoreline. "Because the girl who painted this has talent, talent she shouldn't waste," he explaining handing the painting back to her, "Since this is yours after all." Alina stood taking the paining into her hands, "Just try to keep your head straight, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed stunned a little as she exited the office seeing Gwen quietly speaking with her brother. The second she caught sight of them her brief joy was snuffed out. Alina scoffed walking away from them ignoring Gwen protest for her to stop.

"If it wasn't clear yesterday, I don't want to speak to you," Alina repeated not bothering to look back as she walked towards what little was left of her first period.

Still Gwen persisted grabbing her hand to stop her, "I know you hate me and you have every right and I know I destroyed memories I could never understand the meaning of, but..I really was your friend. I never cared for a second about what they said about you I know you suffered. You're a good person Alina, I never doubted that."

"That does mean something to me, but you're right you can't understand what you ruined. I get why you did it, I wouldn't do anything differently if I have a brother. But you were careless," she told her ripping her arm from her. Since she and her brother clearly weren't understanding how she felt, she would educate them.

"Did either of you ever wonder about what happens when you're done? When I'm forced to sign that paper and they ultimately find some way I've violated it and they lock me up. Do you have any idea what happens to me once I am," she asked her barely controlling her own volume.

"We didn't think he would hurt y-" before she finished Alina interjected, "Exactly! You didn't think."

Lowering her voice she went on to say, "I get forced all over again to respond to their needs, leave people I can help behind, kill people they dead a threat. You have hardly no idea the horrible thing your own government does openly, could you imagine what they would do with someone like me, in secret? You didn't ask him because if you had confirmed what you expected for me, you would;t have been able to do it. So you chose ignorance to protect yourself from the truth of what you were risking for me. To men like Ross, I will always be a teenager living a normal life who never should've gotten the chance to. They will put me right back to living a life of numb forever watched from behind glass."

"I'm sorry, what can I do to prove that to you," Gwen said holding back tears.

Letting out a breath she said, "Nothing...and you know what scares me most about this all? It proved to me that no matter how strong and smart I am, I'm naive. I didn't see what was right in front of me, how easy it was to connect with people. Ross put you both where I. could see you and I fell for it. I'm naive because I never got to experience having friends, being normal, and I desperately wanted it. I wanted what you and Connor, and everyone here were given for free. I want a normal day where I go shopping, and get ice cream, watch fireworks, building stupid snowman.Those are all memories you guys get to have while I'm struggling not to explode all the time. I try so hard and I've got enough things that upset me so from now on –– leave me alone."

Alina turned to leave but she realized she had one more thing she needed her to know, "I don't do this without guilt or because I want to. I've lost enough, and I really, really didn't want you or Connor to be another one of those things I barely knew before it was ripped away." As she walked away Alina surprisingly felt...relief like she'd let go of something that was no longer her responsibility.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ midtown high [ spanish classroom ]❞

Most of her day had been normal but now that the day was almost over, Alina just wanted to leave. One of the drawbacks to being normal, classes, especially classes she couldn't really explain how she knew what she did. Though no one ever pushed her once she said she was a loner with time to spare, seemed no one would doubt she was a loner. Alina was watching the clock tick away while their teacher asked them questions.

She wasn't listening for most of the time, she only listened for the bell signaling class, and their day, was over. Ned had left early for an appointment so Alina and Peter were just going to head home immediately. Just as they shut their lockers to leave Peter asked, "Do you have plans?"

"Besides taking a well deserved nap, no. You," Alina returned as they walked out the front doors of the school.

"Nothing, do you want to hang out," he wondered, "Not doing recon or anything? Just hanging out, at least pretending we didn't mess things up as bad as mainly me did?"

Hearing his question she realized, up until that moment they hadn't Hund out to do something normal, ever. Despite not really being in the best of moods Alina understood that maybe just this once it was worth a shot. Especially when Peter was the one person she always certainly knew would be honest.

"I'd really like that. There's still a ton of New York I've never seen before," Alina offered happily.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ empire state building, evening ❞

They had gone almost anywhere Peter could think to take her. Something that was much easier to do when they could use their powers. The could literally float above the city. Since he knew she loved art, he took her to the museum of art where she used her magic to keep them unseen and unheard. It was their own private art show and it truly was like no one else was there.

She had allowed Peter to swing them through time square and though terrifying it was beautiful. This came after a heated debate on which way was better to get around, flying, or webbing. The swirling colors, the quick movements, the leaping feeling in her heart every time he created a new web. She had to admit it was better than simply flying, mostly given she didn't often fly and enjoy it the way he enjoyed his webs.

Then they spent hours at Coney Island before they finally decided to stop at a corner market and get snacks. After which Alina threw down the challenge of seeing which one of them could get to the top of the Empire State Building to end the night.

A race she easily won, in a way that Peter considered cheating given she teleported to right outside the building instead of flying. She was there before he even made it a block away. "This was really nice, today," Alina said looking out into the vast city lights while she sat next to him.

"It was. I honestly forgot how fun the city can be sometimes," Peter said looking at it longingly.

Leaning into him she said, "That's because you forget you can still have fun."

"What do you mean," he wondered.

The Draganov girl gently told him, "You have so much fun being Spiderman, and that's good, beautiful, hell I envy how much you can enjoy your powers. But, you're still a teenager and since I've met you I have see you run from everything normal in your life. Spiderman is good, let him be a part of you, but don't forget all those other parts of you to. I happen to like Peter more than Spiderman if I'm honest."

"What do you think I should be doing," he wondered offering her a twizzler.

Alina hummed wondering what to offer before she came up with, "I can tell you what TV shows taught me kids should do. Hydra was cruel but they at least gave me cable, I assumed it was to teach me social norms. There was once a nice lady that gave me all the channels and shows I wants. So, you must have holiday episodes, my favorites came from Disney episodes. Kim Possible taught me there is always a dance episode that you must struggle to find a date for. And classically, Gossip Girl taught me always need a sneaking out, and or drinking episode to express how teens should not drink."

"So I should pick one of those for us do experience right now, that's what you're saying," he offered looking at her curiously.

"Like what," Alina wondered.

The brunette boy smiled putting down his bag of twizzlers, "Hold that thought." Before she even knew what was happening, Peter had leaped from the building falling down below.

"Peter," she shouted choking on her red slushy not having expected to just jump like that. It felt like too long had gone and he hadn't come back making Alina stand to her feet out of nerves.

Just as she was considering going after him she heard the door to the roof open behind her. She peered out behind one of the pillars seeing him holding up a bottle of whiskey, cups, and a soda. "How the hell did you get all that," Alina asked as he came walking back over to the edge to join her.

"I my have technically stolen it," he said making her eyes go wide a little. Laughing at the look on her face Peter elaborated, "I left the money, took the purchase without letting them see. So, do you know how to make these cause I have no idea what I'm doing beyond this."

Alina chuckled saying, "I think we can figure it out."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

Peter watched while Alina stumbled slightly as tried to create a flame in her hand, "Be careful," he warned putting his hands out in case he needed to catch her. Turned out, getting drunk required a lot of alcohol for both of them. They had nearly finished the bottle and he had to text May that he was staying at Alina's so she wouldn't worry.

"I'm good, I got this," she chuckled holding out her second hand. "I've been practicing illusions, making them feel even more real. And I think you're gonna love this."

Jumping down from what he was standing on he said, "You have a captive audience Milady."

"Thank you my good sir," she laughed mocking his nickname for her. Alina watched forcing the flames to move, flow through the wind obeying her every wants. Her hands moved like a ballerinas to Peter, her fingers dancing to control the growing flame. The embers of her creations trickled through the wind around her giving off a soft red and orange glow against her skin. It brought out the red flecks still sprinkled in her hair from her youth. Her hair hadn't long since become brown but like everyone, her childhood never really went away. Peter had never noticed it before, or seen her have so much blissful fun.

Noticing another beauty almost as great as the one he was watching, Peter saw her flames change colors from red to blue as it created a dragon. It was smaller in size than Alina wanted, but it was probably the best no one saw a giant dragon made of blue flames on the Empire State Building.

Instead only they could see one they size of a car but light as air not damaging anything as her design. Her concentration began to waver as she looked to Peter watching the dragon in amazement.

Peter raised his hand to feel the heat radiating off it, "How are you doing this," he asked, "It looks...alive."

"Because it is," Alina said amazed by what she had created, "The more concentration I have the more real it gets. They always answer to me, whatever it is."

"Why a dragon then," he wondered looking through the flames to her. The shades of blue now covered her with their glow not even bothering her with their small ember burning her.

She shrugged telling him, "I don't know, I just always like them. Guess too many fairy tale made me wish I could be one." The blue flamed beast nuzzled up to Alina rubbing against her legs, leaving him stunned she wasn't burned. "It can't hurt me, that's the benefit of being what created her. I can use her to hurt you but she's part of me and she knows it." Alina placed her hand on the dragons head saying, "She feels...like warmth, or life."

Suddenly, her creation bared her teeth shooting out flames even brighter and stronger that nearly caught her. Alina jumped back being caught by Peter before she could fall.  Holding up her flames seeing things were getting out hand she pulled the flames back to her, "Renvoyez les flammes au monde d'en bas."

The flames flew to her returning to the magic underneath her skin. As the world stilled the two turned to each other their smiles growing before they broke out into a fit of laughter.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

The two of the sat in silence as Alina leaned her head against Peter's shoulder. They had spoken for a while but silence became all too comfortable for them. Peter was hesitant to ruin it but his thoughts wouldn't let him no peace, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she said.

"How did you get caught by the avengers to begin with," wondered Peter feeling her stiffen, "You don't have to tell me. I was just curious."

Alina sat up leaning against the wall opposite him trying to find the words. Her mouth wouldn't let her speak but her mind haunted her with her desire to be honest with someone. "Once I tell you this Peter, you're gonna see me differently," was all she could bring herself to say at first.

He sat up replying, "I don't think I could."

She shook her head telling him, "You will, because up until now the theory of what I've done is just that, a theory."

Peter paused considering her words, would he see her differently? Perhaps, but he knew anything she'd ever done was out of pure and utter grief for what had been taken for her. "You can tell me," he said sure of himself.

"Natasha lied when she told everyone she went looking for something and found me. The something she was looking for was always me, she..uh got assigned to track someone who had was killing Shield agents. This point no one knew about hydra, not until after her and Steve found out about them. Only then did she realize why she couldn't track me, she didn't know the whole story. I broke free of hydra, and the second I was free I tracked down every single person who kept me chained up. Or at least as much of them as I could, and I found the scientist and I made them suffer for what they did to me. She found me while I was hurting and gave me another option."

"Which was," Peter pondered.

"She thought it was freedom, I think I just ran from it. Those feelings, everything that burns inside me...it's never going away. Almost every memory I have is of me either being tortured, taught, watching tv, or killing someone. I'm not a good person, I'm not even a person. Which is why Tony was right, as much as it pains me to say," Alina said hardly looking at him as she spoke.

The Parker boy looked puzzled, "About?"

"What he says about you and me. I came here to be normal yet I've done everything but, I'm starting to think I might never be," the brunette admitted before finishing with, "And you are a hero, with or without a suit."

Pulling his legs in he said, "I don't much feel like one, and you don't have to be normal Alina. Maybe you can't be fully honest with people about what you are, neither can i. We can always be our own weird brand of normal together." Alina chuckled shaking her head at him, "What's so funny," he asked nudging her foot with his.

Alina leaned towards him amazed he couldn't see it as she said, "You don't see yourself as a hero yet I just told you one of the worse things I've ever done yet you? You find a reason to give me hope. That's what is heroic about you Peter, your heart and immense capacity to care and protect people that makes you one. Anyone could've gotten the power you did and let it go to their head, but not you. You remained good, not many people can have power and not be corrupted by it. My own sometimes creates the worse monster out of me, and here you are always trying to do the right thing."

"Thank you Alina, and by that logic, always trying to do the right thing, makes you one hell of a hero as well. But we should probably get out of here, we still do have to get to school in the morning," Peter said standing to his feet offering his hand.

Before taking it she asked, "Are you still staying over? Or were you planning to go home drunk?"

"Your house is probably better," he said realizing how bad of an idea it would be to get home.

Alina took his hand allowing him to pull her up from the ground. He pulled with such strength he stumbled back pulling her in close. So close in fact their faces were mere inches apart, she had never been so close to him before. To truly see his dark brown eyes reflecting the distant city lights. Nor had she noticed the waves in his hair hiding. Stepping back Alina cleared her throat, "I can get us there quick. Probably not best to not fly or try and web home."

Moving back from her Peter nodded sheepishly saying, "Yeah, yeah you're right." She held out her hand opening a doorway for them that on the other side he could see her home.

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·

❝ midtown high, the next day ❞

Peter was standing looking in at the toothy case at the photo of everyone hugging Alina for answering the winning question. As he stood there he saw Liz walking near. The second she saw him she tried to turn away so he called out, "Hey, look, I, uh... I just wanted to apologize about the whole Decathlon thing. I really-"

Liz cut him off saying, "It's fine. Last week, Decathlon was the most important thing, but then I almost died. We all almost died."

"No, I, I just mean that... it was not cool, especially," Peter wanted to find the right words but he couldn't, he sighed finally saying, "because... I like you.

"I know," she admitted standing with him in the empty halls.

Peter stared at her, shocked, "You do?"

Truly believing her words Liz replied amused, "You're terrible at keeping secrets."

Unable to help himself he smiled, "Yeah, you'd be surprised." There was an awkward pause before he said, "I got to get to class, but, um, I'd say we should hang out, but I'm gonna be in detention for...ever, but, um, I guess you already have a date to homecoming."

"Actually I don't, with all the planning I haven't had time to find one," Liz admitted only recently having begun to think about her date.

Knowing this was the only chance Peter had to ask, "Uh, do you want to go with me?"

The much taller girl smiled agreeing, "Yeah. Sure."

"Really," he replied in shock making her laugh, "I mean, uh, great. Cool."

"Cool," she said moving around him awkwardly wondering if he was going the same way.

Pointing behind her in the opposite direction he said, "I'm actually going that way." The two smiled parting ways, Peter was so overjoyed as he walked by with his hall pass he hadn't even seen Alina there. Etched on her face was a look of longing watching having heard every word. She knew they were not anything but friends but in her heart of hearts, a piece of her knew. A piece of her had hoped they could be more but Peter had a life before her, one she had just accepted he still very much wanted.

alina's homecoming dress