twelve || stupid vendettas, and the power of sarcasm

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A/N: behold, my semi-annual update. I've mostly migrated to the archive, and even though my profile here is a desolate wasteland that amasses next to no readers because of my horrendous publishing schedule that I forged over six years ago, I figured I would emerge from the depths of AO3 to continue publishing here. I'm also going to dump a bunch of my AOT oneshot dumpster fire fics here too, because it's super late and I told myself I would write but I'm really not feeling it tonight. Now that I think about it, that's probably the only reason I'm here now. Do people still use Wattpad for oneshots? Was that ever a thing? 

Hope you enjoy if you've made it this far.

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The last thing I wanted to do the next day was go to school, especially when it hit me it was only Tuesday. October fourth. The Decathlon was in nine days- the bus for Washington would leave next Thursday. That meant I had less than two weeks to either convince Madison to let me go, or try to make Peter go.

I rolled reluctantly out of bed, and the first thing I noticed was how my knees were still sore from running last night. The second was Nitara's grandma's purse of goodies hanging on my bedpost. I pushed off my quilt, and noticed the third thing- I was still in my uniform, and yesterday's shirt was in a crumpled mess on my already cluttered floor.

I ran my hands through my semi-straightened hair and groaned.

"What's the matter?"

Madison's voice made me jump, and I wondered when she got home from work. I heard her footsteps coming closer to my door, and I was suddenly awake. If she opened that door, I would be grounded beyond college. For life, probably.

"Uh-Nothing! Don't come in! I'm changing!"

A classic. I heard her stop right outside of my door, and the handle only twisted slightly before returning to its original position. "Oh. Okay...I made breakfast."

I was frozen on my bed, already fueled by adrenaline. "Cool. Thanks."

I sighed quietly at how awkward things had gotten between us. Madison always made it clear to me that she wasn't trying to be a parent to me- no one could replace mom, or even dad. But lately it didn't seem that way, and what we had was missing. I didn't have the heart to tell her what she already knew- I hardly ever ate breakfast, and I wasn't particularly interested in what she was cooking- it was probably her supper, considering she just worked the night shift.

I heard her walk away from the door, and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. Hadn't she ever heard of knocking?

Before I even got dressed, I picked up last night's shirt from the floor. The front was perfect, but the back had several holes scorched through the fabric, and the edges around them were singed as if something hot had burnt through it. It looked like my blouse from that first night in the alley. The shirt I was wearing now was the same, but it held together well enough to still hide my back, especially with the help from my hair. The shirt was dark and indistinguishable- I supposed I could start using it for Nightmare if my current one ever wore out.

Just to be safe, I shoved it in the back of my closet before getting dressed.

Madison didn't lie about breakfast being made- there were four empty instant oatmeal packages on the counter, and a bowl full of the stuff next to it. The fruit basket on the table had been restocked, and Madison was cutting away at some of the oranges on the bar.

I tightened Nitara's purse around my shoulder and tried to quietly walk past Madison, who's back was turned, but ultimately failed.

"D!" she said, turning around happily. My sister looked absolutely exhausted, but wore a glowing smile. "I made food. Also-"

fearless || peter parkerWhere stories live. Discover now