As Darkness Falls Upon Us // MCU

the subway station

It was a slightly overcast Wednesday afternoon in Queens, New York, when Meaghan and Maize got on the subway after school to head into the heart of Queens to see their friend, Peter.

Their train wasn't usually busy at this time of day, and for that they were grateful. After stepping onto the platform, their train arrived and opened its doors and they walked on. Meaghan let out a sigh of relief to finally take her heavy maroon backpack off her shoulders, then free to run her fingers through her hair and pull it up into a loose ponytail. Maize slid her own backpack off, placing it on the plastic bench seat next to her with her arm looped through one of the straps so it wouldn't go flying down the train at any foreseeable moment.

"How much do you want to bet that when we get there, Peter's frustrated with a code?"

"Everything. I doubt he'll look at us, he's so determined to program that damn software system of his to impress MIT. He doesn't even have to worry, he's getting scholarships thrown at him from every direction. I mean, we get obsessed over things sometimes, but not like Peter. We can't even take the kid in public, he just looks lost whenever he's away from his laptop."

"That's going to be today's goal. We're taking him out of his apartment and we're going to go do something. I've had a bad week, were going to have fun, damn it!" Maize exclaimed with a laugh.

The ride to the stop in Queens closest to Peter's house was over fairly fast, the train didn't make too many stops on their way. The girls grabbed their things and headed towards the doors, ready to step off the train and onto the platform. The walk to Peter's building was scenic and only a handful of blocks. They knew the route well; to them, Peter's house was always their safe space.

When they reached the building, Peter's Aunt May buzzed them through and they climbed the stairs to his floor. In the stairwell, the interior was showing its age. The metal railings were losing their shine and had a thin layer of grime on them, and no one had bothered to paint them for years. The vinyl flooring was cracking at the edge of the stairs, slowly flaking away.

When they reached Peter's floor they opened the heavy door with a small window near the side and stepped into the hallway. Maize pulled out her key ring and sorted through the attachments to find the key to his apartment in case the door wasn't already opened for them. It wasn't, and she heard voices coming from inside, one she didn't particularly recognize. They knocked on the door before unlocking it, opening it and stepping inside.

Maize and Meaghan put their backpacks by the door, then placing the voices coming from the kitchen. For a few moments, they stayed in the living room, not wanting to intrude in their conversation. They had been heard and the voices began to move with feet accompanying them to the living room to greet the girls. Aunt May was first, then Peter but he was talking to a middle-aged man whose face they had yet to see. He was dressed in an expensive suit and his watch glinted in the afternoon sun, the gold and diamonds reflecting against the walls as he moved. He had a clean haircut and a neat goatee, and a deep tenor voice with no lack of projection that resonated in the apartment.

Maize looked on the table next to the door and saw the keys for a Lamborghini among the other humble keys. Meaghan saw it too, but she kept more of an eye on Maize who was slowly but actively reaching out to the bowl, her fingers creeping up towards the set of keys that could only belong to the man in the suit. Meaghan pushed her hand away with a loud slap that everyone heard, followed by a harsh whisper of a scold and a piercing look. Maize then shoving her hands in her pockets and keeping them there. Though, in the process of slapping, Maize managed to grab the keys and was holding them in her hand in her pocket, Meaghan unamused.

"I'll give them back!" She muttered.

"How?!"

"Slip them in his pocket when he's not looking!"