Just A Kid ◇ Peter Parker

10◇ FORGETTING

Almost immediately, Peter texts back.

From: Peter
Okay. Just take your time. I'm sorry, Riley

Riley sighs. Either he's playing a really good guilt card, or he's genuinely sorry and wants to apologise. Either way, she won't give in. She needs her time. She has a brother, for Christ's sake!

Tessa runs back up to her and sits down in front of her, a stick in her mouth. Riley chuckles and picks up the stick, throwing it a few meters away. Tessa runs for it, picks it up, and runs back, dropping it at Riley's feet.

This continues for a few minutes; Riley throwing the stick, Tessa running after it and returning it to be thrown again. It distracted Riley from the person watching her from atop a building.

The Spider-man, as the public had named him, has returned to his job of crime fighting, though he was slowly becoming seen more. It only started as a few glimpses, a couple crimes stopped, but he's slowly returning to the light. Nobody knows why he disappeared, but they're glad he's back.

And as of right now, he was sat atop a building, looking down at a girl and her dog. Riley. She didn't even realise he was there, watching over her. He didn't move, didn't say anything, just made sure she was safe.

Tessa runs back to Riley and drops the stick. Riley goes to throw it again, but Tessa looks up and barks, a small bit of movement from the building catching her eye.

"What's up?" Riley asks her dog, trying to calm her down. She turns to look at where her dog is barking and sighs. Nothing is there. She looks at the building and sees nothing. He'd gone. And she didn't even know.

"Come on. Let's go." Riley tells Tessa quietly, eyeing her surroundings in case anyone was there. She clips the lead onto Tessa's collar and leads her out of the park.

She checks her phone to pass the time, seeing no texts, and therefore pockets it. Cars pass her by, the hum of the engines loud in the city. Smoke billows from above restaurants, the smell of cooking filling the air.

She sighs as she turns onto her street, Tessa leading the way. She had the faintest idea that someone was watching her, so she kept turning around. Yet no one was there. Must be her imagination.

Riley walks up the steps to her house and unlocks the door, pushing it open slowly and stepping inside, hanging her coat on the stand and taking Tessa off of her lead.

"Hey Riley." She hears a male voice say, and she turns to see Jaeden in the kitchen. She smiles.

"Hey Jaeden. Sleep alright?" She asks, noticing his yawns. He nods his head and sits at the kitchen island.

"Yeah. It w-was nice." He tells her slowly and leans back in the stool. Riley sees he has no breakfast so she heads to the cupboards. Why not make some breakfast for your brother?

"Want some breakfast?" She asks, a stupid question, but meaningful to him.

"Yes p-please." He smiles. Riley smiles back at him and starts pulling out some ingredients to make pancakes. Her dad always loved pancakes.

"Pancakes okay?" She asks, setting the ingredients down on the counter.

"Y-yeah. I love p-pancakes." Jaeden tells her and she nods her head, measuring out the ingredients and starting to mix them together.

"Dad used to love pancakes, you know?" She tells him, making light conversation. She doubts Jaeden even knows much about his father.

"He did?" He asks, sitting down at the island in front of her whilst she turns on the job ring on the oven.