The Butterfly Effect: a Peter Parker Fan Fic

Part 8; Football God

I bury my face in my hands and groan. "I'll just assume that you're annoyed about the homework and not the fact that you need to talk with me more."

"You think what you want to think," I say while I pat his back sarcastically.

The shrill ringing of the bell goes and I jump out of my seat. "Text me!" I call out to Peter. I think he calls out after me, but I lose him as I find myself in the flood of students desperate to get home. My body goes rigid and I squeeze past everyone. I'm not claustrophobic, it just feels strange to be so close to strangers who have probably been sweating all day.

A hand pulls on the strap of my bag and drags me through the student body and into the nearest classroom. "What the Hell?" I say out loud, looking around the classroom. When I turn around completely, the figure who stands there causes the blood to boil inside of me. "Pinell," I hiss.

"Ms Garcia," he states, "how are you on this fine day?"

"What do you want?" I release a breath as I say this.

He takes a seat at his desk and loosens his tie, "I have a proposition for you."

I laugh harshly and advance towards the door, "okay. Have a nice day."

"I know all about your family, Raven," my hand hovers above the door handle as he pauses, "or should I say, Mariposa?"

I storm towards him and slam my hand on his desk, "how did you know about that?"

"Who cares about how I know? Shouldn't you want to know what my proposition is?"

"You better not do anything that is going to affect my family or I in--"

"--you need to take down Stark Industries," he blurts out, cutting me off.

My face falls and my heart stops beating for a moment as I try to process his words. "You... you want me to take down Stark Industries?"

"Yes," he nods enthusiastically, "I want you to take down Tony Stark and his company."

My breath becomes shaky, "how do you expect me to do that? Why do you want that? Why would I want that? What's even in this for me? When do--"

"--I know you have a ton of questions," he interrupts, "I don't know exactly how you want to do it, but I know that your father is related to Stark. Tony and the rest of those alien-freaks he leads killed my family, my two kids and my wife, back in Sokovia. My wife was a doctor who went to go and help some people there and she was pregnant with twins. I went with her. She was only two months in, but I can't be a father because Tony compromised the whole mission and killed all three of them and I survived."

Even though I'm supposed to hate him, I feel a little bit of sympathy towards this man. His wife was a good person who only wanted to help others and she lost her life and her two unborn children in the process.

"What's in it for me?" I ask, crossing my arms across my chest.

He licks his lips, "well don't you want revenge for what he did to you and your family? I'm not saying to kill the guy, but maybe find a way to expose him and take his company away from him. He's clearly not fit to run such a thing."

Goosebumps spread along my arms and a cool breeze fills the room. I wrap my arms around myself and glare at Pinell, "my answer is no, Pinell. This is stupid and me of all people? I can't do it."

His face falls and I actually leave the classroom before he can say something. The hallway is still filled, but not as packed as it was before. I can actually walk freely. The moral thing in this situation is to turn down the offer. But the doofus has a point. I've always wanted revenge and this could be it. I'm not hurting or killing anyone by doing this. On the other hand, I would rather hang myself than team up with this sad excuse of a human being. And even though what he did was wrong, Tony is my uncle after all. We're blood related.

A few steps out and the chill from the classroom instantly disappears as the August sun hits me. As I glance around, I spot a quiet corner of the school close to the oval. My feet take me over there before I can change my mind. I drop my bag from my shoulders and it land with a thud! onto the pavement. My hands rummage through it, pushing aside any books and reaching for the inside zip. Inside this pocket, there is a secret hole where I hide anything I don't want my mom or the teachers find.

I bite my lip in anticipation as I hope  what I want-- no, what I need is in there. A relieved sigh escapes my lips as my fingers wrap around a box and a cool, metal tool. A box of cigarettes and a lighter to be exact.

I know I'm only a teenager and I know that smoking deteriorates your lungs and basically takes 14 minutes off of your life or whatever, but whenever I'm stressed, I can't fight the sudden craving that overcomes me. And after what Pinell had offered, this is definitely an occasion to smoke.

The cigarette dangles loosely from my lips as the lighter refuses to produce a flame. I cover it with my hand, drumming my foot on the pavement impatiently. A sudden burst of heat comes across my hands. The flame dances as the soft breeze blows it around. I press the lighter to the end of the cig and take a puff.

Tension leaves my entire body as rings of smoke disappear into the air. I fall onto the floor and try to relax even more, leaning my back onto the brick wall. Strands of hair get stuck but it doesn't phase me as I press the cigarette to my lips again.

"I never took you for a smoker," a voice says.

It falls from between my fingers in alarm. But the voice isn't familiar. A figure stands over me.

Nate.

What does he want?

"You know they kill your lungs right?" he tilts his head tauntingly.

My head turns away from him and I shove the packet back into my bag, "I'm not the idiot you all take me for."

"I never said that," he replies with a hint of serenity, "it's Midtown Tech, of course you're smart."

I stand up and hoist my backpack onto my right shoulder, "it's Midtown Tech so I should be serious about my studies and I'm not really."

"I'm not either," he offers.

My hands rub together in an attempt to rub the gravel off, "you're gonna have a football scholarship. I'm not."

He opens his mouth to speak but clamps it shut again, clearly having nothing to respond with. He extends a hand, "I'm--"

"--Nate. Football God. I know. Everyone knows," I interrupt, eyeing his hand but not taking it.

"Football God?" he smirks and his hand falls to his side awkwardly.

I shake my head, a cool smile on my face, "take that as the only compliment you'll ever get from me."

"And that's what I get for being nice," he mutters.

"You don't deserve nice from me if you're going to be whispering about me to your friend," I snap.

His face shows a blank expression. I scoff and storm off towards the train station.

"Raven! Wait!" he calls out behind me, his footsteps pounding behind me.

I don't face him, but instead stick my middle finger up at him and shout to the trees in front of me, "talk to the finger!"

The sound of his footsteps come closer and closer as I continue to walk ahead.

A hand touches my shoulder and I turn around, ready to snap again. "Just leave me alo--" but my sentence is cut short and my face falls.

"So you are back," Cassie says.