SKYFALL | PETER PARKER [ 1 ]

16: THE AFTERMATH

"And don't think you'll get out of this one easily. The school gave you detentions for three days. It'll give me time to think about my punishment."

The teenager just smiled at her mother and nodded, before she entered the bathroom.

After a long shower, Eleanor walked into her room in her pajamas, drying her hair with a towel. She sat down on her white, wooden desk, and looked for a specific book she had around. She then placed the towel on her chair, and reached out for a book with a hard, black cover.

She placed it in the center of her desk, and after taking a long breath, she opened it. Pictures of her when she was a baby appeared, and images of her growing up came as she swept the pages. Her eyes landed on a specific picture: one of her father and her at a science fair back at her hometown. She smiled at the memory: she had tried to make a moving solar system structure, but one night before the competition, it didn't work. Her father stayed up all night to fix it, and she had won 1st place. Her fingers grazed the figure of her father on the paper, as she let out a tear.

She knew Mr. Stark wasn't being mean, instead, he had all the reasons to take her suit away. He was trying to protect her, and Eleanor perfectly knew that if her father was in Tony Stark's place, he'd say the same.

Her hand traveled to the necklace that always hung on her neck, she caressed it as she looked at the picture. She then walked towards her bed, and laid down. She then made the mental commitment to not use her powers ever again, unless she felt ready. She closed her eyes and made herself comfortable to sleep, the city sounds from the outside making up a perfect lullaby.

°°°

"You've been quiet all morning, you okay?" MJ asked Eleanor, as they both sat on a lunch table.

Eleanor opened her bottle of water. "I'm fine." She returned as she took a sip, and closed it. "Just a lot of things in my mind."

"Hey, I know you're gonna say no, but there's this badass horror movie I rented the other night, I was thinking that you could maybe come to my place and watch it, but you have the Stark Internship-"

"No, uh." Eleanor meditated her answer. "I won't be going to the internship for a while, so I guess I'm free."

"Wow, that's new. Why?" Her friend asked, worried, as she took a bite from her apple.

"Mr. Stark won't be available. We can do the movie thing, but you will need to come to my place since I'm grounded and won't be able to leave the house in probably a whole year from now." Eleanor chuckled, and MJ was even more surprised.

"The hell did you do?" MJ wondered, to which Eleanor just shrugged her shoulders. MJ left her half-eaten apple on the tray. "Okay, don't worry, I'll show up at your place. Is 8 o'clock okay-"

"Hey, guys." Both of her heads turned to see Ned Leeds standing beside them. "Can we sit?"

"You don't have to ask, man." MJ replied, scooting away so he could sit.

At first, Eleanor assumed it was just Ned, but then, a familiar figure sat in front of her, giving a soft smile as their eyes met.

"H-hey, El." He spoke and gave another soft smile.

"Hi."  She answered, her eyes lifting from her tray for a small fraction of time to glance at him.