poisoned 🕷️ peter parker [1]

6

Happy had been so kind to take Jessica back home. It was pretty late and even though she hadn't known May for too long, she had a feeling she would freak out. On her way home, she had thought of one thing that Mr. Stark hadn't mentioned. How was she going to keep track on the crime fighting spider? She tried to remember if she had seen him at school, but she couldn't put her finger on it. 

Before she realised it, she had made it to the apartment. She got into it by using the set of keys May had given her. As soon as she was in and closed the door, she heard May coming for her. There was also a strange smell of burnt.

"Oh my God, there you are Jessica! What happened?!" 

"Well, I stayed in school a little longer for a tour." She said as an excuse, which wasn't really a lie.  "And then I got lost on my way here." May bit her lip as she stared at Jessica with a worried look. "I'm sorry I made you worry." That obligated May to pull her into a hug. 

"It's okay, dear. Anyways, I've kept myself busy attempting to make dinner." She then noticed the smoke coming out of the kitchen. "But that turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster." 

They both laughed. Jessica thought May was pretty funny. And kind. And pretty. She treated her like one of the family. She made her feel nice, like she was at home. 

"Let's go to dinner." May suggested. "Thai? Jessica do you like Thai?"

"I love Thai." She smiled. After all that had happened during her pretty shitty day, she thought going out with her was a really good idea. "And please call me Jess. I like it better."

"Sure thing, Jess." She returned the smile. Suddenly, a noise was heard from a room at the end of the hallway. May turned around. "What was that?"

"It's nothing! Nothing!"

Jessica was surprised to actually hear a reply. She had almost forgot May had a nephew, but she didn't remember what his name was.

"That was Peter... Hey, you're officially meeting tonight! Why don't you go and tell him we're going out while I make sure I didn't start any fire."

The teenage girl did as she was told. She walked to the room at the end of the hallway and opened the door, forgetting to knock. Inside she found an almost naked boy and another one standing right besides him. On the floor, a wrecked Lego Death Star and a pile of red and blue clothes. When the undressed boy turned to her in shock, she froze. 

She had just seen his face, in the compound and in the street. It was Spider-boy. 

"What the-" She could not believe her eyes. "You!" 

"What are you doing here? Did you follow me home?"

"What? No!" Jessica exclaimed. Was he May's nephew? Well he must have been, either way he wouldn't be here. But didn't he know she was staying there? "I live here." She clarified. Her eyes fell to his bare torso, then she looked away, somewhere between embarrassed and uncomfortable. "And put on some clothes, please."

"Yeah, right!" The boy laughed incredulously as he put on a sweatshirt. "I don't think so. It's been just me and May for some time. I think I would recall if someone else had moved in." 

"Didn't Mr. Stark tell you I was going to live here because of the 'internship'? "

"Wh- I swear that's the first time I've heard about that." 

The truth was that May had actually told him, he just didn't pay attention at the time.

"Well, surprise. Get used to it." She told him. "Your aunt thinks we're working together, and I am only here to finish high school, is that clear?" Before leaving the two friends alone again, she turned to do what she had come to. "Also, dress up, we're eating out."

. . .

The Thai restaurant was quieter than a library. Neither Jessica or Peter had said a word to each other. The girl now knew why Mr. Stark had told her to keep an eye on the superhero wannabe. It should have been easy, living in the same house and probably going together to school. She played with her exotic food as she though about what she had coming.

The boy, on his part, wasn't as bothered as Jessica appeared to be. He just was a bit mad because his mentor, the Iron Man, hadn't count on him to tell him what his plans were.

And for May, she was just trying to pick up a conversation.

"You guys are so quiet tonight. What's the matter?" She got no response. "Jessica, why don't you tell us something about yourself. Where are you from?"

"What?"

At that moment she remembered Mr. Stark had told her she was an exchange student.

"Uh- Canada. I'm from Canada. But my dad's really from Queens. He used to talk about it a lot."

"Oh, that's interesting! Right, Peter?"

The teen boy showed no excitement. He was playing with his food as well. "Yeah, very interesting."

"What's wrong with your larb? Thought you loved larb. It's too larby? Not larby enough. How many times do I have to say 'larb' before you talk to me?" Even though she tried, her nephew wouldn't talk. "You know I larb you."

That last comment made Jessica chuckle.

"That one was good." She smiled to the woman sitting next to her.

"I'm just stressed. The internship, and I'm tired. A lot of work." Peter finally replied, what made May roll her eyes.

"The Stark internship. I have to tell you, not a fan of that Tony Stark. You're distracted all the time." As she saw her nephew wouldn't pay her attention, she turned to Jessica. "He's got you in your head. What does he have you doing?"

Delmar's Sandwiches was destroyed in an explosion...

But Jessica's attention had been caught by the sound of the news playing on the TV behind her. 

"You need to use your instincts." Peter said, confusing his aunt.

...after an ATM robbery was thwarted by Queens' own crime stopper the Spider-Man. As the Spider-Man attempted to foil their heist a powerful blast was set off, slicing through the bodega across the street. Miraculously, no one was harmed.

After hearing the news, May looked at Peter in a concerned way. "If you spot something like that happening, you turn and you run the other way."

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah." The boy assured her. "Of course."

Jessica was watching the scene before her trying to process the information. She looked at the boy with her mouth slightly opened, shocked. She had never felt such disbelief. It looked like Spider-Man, as she had heard on the TV, was a tough one to control. He, on the other hand, continued to eating his dinner, as if nothing had happened. 

Oh boy, what had she coming.