•••
Ella removed her shoes in the entrance as she closed the door. Her parents were sat at the table.
She wondered what Peter felt to left so abruptly. He told her that when his sense alerted him, it was when an upcoming danger was about to hit him. But on the rooftop of her building, they were safe. So if he felt a danger miles away, it must be pretty big and dangerous. Her stomach twisted at the thought. She hoped he would be alright.
"Peter left already?" Mrs. Cadogan asked when she saw her daughter coming back.
"Yeah, he, uh, something came up," Ella lied. There was no way she would tell them why he left. "His aunt needed him for something,"
"Your boyfriend is truly something," Mr. Cadogan said as he took a spoon of his dish.
Ella looked at him. She knew perfectly well what he meant. She knew it wasn't a compliment. But she, too, didn't like the way the diner ended. She especially did not like the way her father got so upset so fast. Yes, he didn't like the vigilante. But she never saw him this upset. And Peter wasn't even offensive. Her father didn't even let him a chance that he shut him down.
"What was that earlier?" Ella asked crossing her arms, unpleased. Mr. Cadogan lifted his eyebrows as he looked at her.
"I should be asking you that, Ella," he said, leaning onto the table. "You don't have the best taste in boys,"
"Or maybe you don't like when someone holds his opinion against you," she shot back.
"Peter was the one being disrespectful,"
"Disrepectful?" She scoffed. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "So just because he has a different opinion than you about something, he is being disrespectful?"
Her father only bitterly chuckled.
"I am not the one who put his blood and soul to defend a criminal," Charles reasoned. "It tells me a lot about your lover,"
"Peter is hurt and frustrated, can't you see that?!" Ella exclaimed. It was very infuriating to see her father judging the boy she loved so quickly. "He just lost his uncle and the murderer is still out there! He just thinks that the vigilante is another help to find him, that's all,"
"So criminality is the way?" Mr. Cadogan asked. Ella ran a hand in her hand in frustration. It was as if her father refused to listen. "That guy behave recklessly and as he pleases. We have laws and he must respect them,"
"Spider-Man is not a criminal," Ella defended."Maybe if you would at least take the time observe him you would know! He has never assaulted any civilian! He only fights criminals! If it wasn't for him I would be dead by now!"
"What?" Mr. Cadogan said, confused.
Realization hit Ella as she mentally cursed. It was the one thing she must keep to herself. And she gave it away. Peter nor Spider-Man would surely not be the matter now. She was screwed.
"Ella," Mrs. Cadogan pressed. "What do you mean by that?"
Ella sighed. There was no going back now. There was no way she could make up a believable lie anymore.
"I... I was working on an article for the Bugle. Jameson wanted a paper covering the tracksuit gang," she explained. The expression on her father she faded as he realized where the explaination was going. "So I... I sneaked into their hideout,"
"You what?!" Both her parents exclaimed.
"Everything was going well but I fell from the rooftop...," Ella continued, looking down. "I... they had guns and.. and I thought they were about to kill me but Spider-Man intervened. He fought them, beat them all. Spider-Man saved me, dad. He's not the bad guy," she added, looking at her father straight in the eyes.
Mr. Cadogan sighed and held his head in his hand.
"Charles," Mrs. Cadogan stepped in. "Peter is no bad guy either. Maybe, just maybe, you hate the idea of your beloved daughter dating him because you still see her as your little baby,"
"Cerys, come on," Charles scoffed. But his reaction was enough of an answer for her. "Anyway, Orela, you're grounded,"
"What?!"
"I'll give Peter time to proove himself," Charles continued. And to that Ella's lips curled up. But the smile quickly faded away. "But did you really think I would let pass the fact that you endangered your own life? I told you to stop investigating on such matter and you ignored my words, again,"
Ella stayed quiet. She only nodded. She couldn't do more. She knew she deserved it. And she couldn't do anything about it anyway.
"Until I say otherwise, you're not allowed to hang out with anyone. Not even Gwen," Ella widened her eyes at her father's words. Not even Gwen? Now that was cruel. "And if you want to spend time with Peter, then you have your shared classes,"
Ella sighed, but still nodded.
"Come on, let's finish dining," Mrs. Cadogan said as she led her daughter to the table. "And stop playing Sherlock, alright?"
Ella slightly chuckled as she sat down. At least, her father was not forbidding her to see Peter. She wouldn't have listen to him if he would have anyway.
Even though this dinner didn't end perfectly, Ella didn't lose hope. She truly wanted her father to like Peter. The latter was not vile and bad. He was sweet and caring, incredibly adorable and talented. Peter was a good guy. He had high morals. He was someone we could count on. He had an incredibly big and generous heart. That was what made her fall for him.
But the sound of the chair sliding onto the floor snapped Ella out of her thoughts. Her eyesbrows knitted together as she watched her father hastily standing up and putting his police jacket on.
"I just got a text from George," he said as he walked out of the living room. "He needs back up,"
"What's happening?" Cerys asked as she stood up and followed her husband.
Ella got up from her chair as well and followed suit. By the grave look on her father's face, she knew that the situation was not a light one. Was it related to what Peter sensed? Was he in trouble? Did he encounter a major threat? Would he still be coming back alive? And what about her father? If what Peter was facing was too big for him, he father would never come out of the fight alive. Would he come back home safe? Was it the last time she would see him?
By the time she stepped in the corridor, her dad was already putting his shoes on, his gun attached to his waist.
"I don't know but George said it was an emergency," Charles said. "Something happened on Williamsburg Bridge,"
"Be careful," Cerys said as she kissed her husband.
"I will, no worries," Charles smiled. "Don't stay up all night, kiddo," he told his daughter as he kissed her on the head.
Then he left.
There was a silence. Mrs. Cadogan and Ella shared a concerned glance before going back to the living room. Suddenly, they had lost any appetite. They cleaned the table, washed the dishes, prepared themselves to sleep and lied down on their respective beds.
Ella stayed up quite a long time. She couldn't find sleep. She wasn't ready to join Morpheus yet. She was too stressed, too anxious to even close her eyes. The thought of losing her father lingered in her head. She didn't want her last conversation with him to be an argument. And then there was Peter... he must also be fighting God's know what...
She sighed.
She didn't want to think about the bad outcomes but they seemed to be the most likely to happen and she hated it. This sickening feeling of fear and anxiety was eating her alive, burning her body from the inside as the raging storm in her head wouldn't ease. She waited for the front door to open. She waited for her father to return home. She waited for Peter to call her. But one hour passed, then another, then another. And eventually, fatigue forced her into the realm of dreams.
That night was by far one of the worse. Although she slept, she felt like she hadn't. The sickening feeling was still very much present throughout the night and at the awakening. And her face showed it well. The black circle under her eyes was the mark of the horrible night she had spent.
First thing she did was to check her phone. But the absence of phonecall from Peter didn't ease her fear. Did he went back home safe? Was he alright? Was he still...
But Ella didn't end this thought and stood up. She would see him at school. He was alright. He was. And on this thought, she got ready for the day.
Her desastrous anxiety decreased amd her heart was then filled with relief when she saw her father eating breakfast in the dining room. Without even thinking, Ella walked over to him and embraced him. He chuckled.
"If you keep hugging me this tight, I'll definitely die," Charles joked. Ella chuckled as she pulled away.
"I'm glad you're safe," Ella smiled as she took a toast.
"There's no way I'm leaving soon. Who would keep your tornado self in check otherwise?" He laughed. Ella playfully rolled her eyes.
"Very funny," she smiled. "Anyway, I'll go or I'll miss my bus. See you later, dad,"
"Don't forget-"
"Yes, I'll come back home immediately after school," she finished before leaving.
Ella was quite frustrated that she wasn't able to spend a little more time with her dad. She thought she wouldn't see him again so she wanted to make sure he was really okay. But she couldn't afford to be late. Her teacher wouldn't let it pass.
So Ella sped to the bus stop. When it arrived, Gwen was sat in her usual seat at the back of the bus so Ella joined her.
"Hey, girl," the Stacy girl greeted as Ella sat beside her.
"Hi, what's up?"
"Nothing much, the usual," Gwen said. "What about you? What's up with Peter? You are finally a thing or I have to take matter in my own hands?"
"Oh, so we going there already?" Ella laughed at her friend's bluntness. "Not even a 'how are you doing?'"
"I'm not the type to beat around the bush, you know that," Gwen joked.
"Well...," Ella chuckled nervously. "We... uh... Peter and I... are a thing...,"
"Are you being serious?" Gwen straightened up with a broad smile. "Are you 100% serious because that's not funny,"
"I'm serious," Ella giggled as she nodded. "Peter and I are dating,"
Gwen excitedly squealed but still tried to contain her happiness. She had waited for this moment for so long. She felt like the child she was raising was finally grown and flying with her own wings.
"You have no idea how happy I am," Gwen squealed. "You two are the cutest,"
Ella slightly blushed at the comment. It was still quite strange to Ella to use the word 'dating'. She had never dated anyone before. And using it for Peter was even stranger as she would have never thought he would reciprocate her feelings. She felt like she wad daydreaming. But it was real. She just needed some time to fully realize it.
"Hey, did you hear about what happen yesterday on the Williamsburg Bridge?" Gwen suddenly asked.
Ella frowned. It was where her father was called for backup. Ella didn't think of looking up what was happening the night before. She was too anxious to even think of it and she suspected that it would only have made her anxiety worse. She felt asleep, anyway so...
"No, what happened?"
"A thing... a monster attacked," Gwen said. Ella widened her eyes. Did she hear right?
"A monster?"
"Believe me, I was as shocked as you when I saw the footages on the news," the blonde girl took her phone and went to her social media. "Look,"
Gwen showed Ella a video. Someone filmed the event of the bridge. A gigantic think was terrorizing the civilians, throwing cars out of his way. The thing was too big and tall to be human. It was too dark to see it well but it seemed to have a long tail trailing behind it.
"What the...," Ella only said, speechless.
Was it what Peter fought? Was it what he sense? Did Peter really fought this thing? Was he alright? Could this thing even was beatable? Was Peter... was he still alive?
"Spider-Man saved all the people that the... lizard threw off the bridge," Gwen said, snapping Ella out from her thoughts. "My father calls him a criminal but I don't think he is. Or he wouldn't have came to help these people on the bridge,"
"Yeah, Spider-Man is a hero," Ella smiled, but her concern did not left.
For the rest of the morning, her thoughts were plagued with question. Today, she shared no classes with Peter in the morning. So she had to wait for the break to see him. And he was not the type to check his phone during classes so he hadn't responded to her countless texts yet. And it was driving her insane. She had no way whatsover to know if he was alright.
When it was finally time for the break, Ella sped at the courtyard where she and Peter would sometimes hangout. Gwen had to go to the debate club for a meeting.
Sat at a table outside, Peter was checking photographs on his camera. Words were not enough to describe how Ella was relieved to see him.
"Peter," she called.
He looked up and smiled when his eyes landed on her. But concern quickly appeared when he noticed her glossy teary eyes. He stood up and walked over her Ella sped to him to engulf him in a tight hug. Peter instantly wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You're fine," she breathed as she burried her face in the crook of his neck.
Peter immediately understood what put her in such a troubled state. He tightened the hug and softly kissed the top of her head.
"I'm fine," Peter repeated.
"Answer my texts next time... I thought...," Ella quietly said as she pulled away.
"I'm sorry," he kissed her forehead. "I immediately fell asleep when I got home and I didn't think of checking my phone,"
Ella nodded. She took a deep breath and calmed down. Everything was alright. Peter was safe and healthy. He was alright, not hurt. Her heart, her body, her entire soul was lighter and more at ease.
"You gotta lay low," she finally when they sat at the table.
"No, can't do that," Peter shook his head. Ella frowned.
"You've got to. You saw what it did, Peter," she pressed, but the look on his face told her he had already made his decision. A decision that she obviously wasn't liking at all. "I mean, why...?"
"Because of last night," he said as the memory of the event flooded his mind. "Those people on the bridge. Whatever was attacking them would have killed them. So... I gotta go after it,"
"That's not your job,"
"Maybe it is," he looked at her, dead serious. Ella stared at him. He had a look on she had never seen before. A very serious and sure look. As if he figured what he was meant to do. "You asked me yesterday about the things I was sure of when I wear the mask. I am certain that I want to keep you safe. Now I am also certain that I want to protect the people of New York,"
"You could die," Ella quietly said. "This thing is no little theft, Peter. This is a whole other level,"
"I know. But my uncle once told me that with great powers come great responsibilities," Peter said with so much determination and certainty in his voice. "I have to do something, Ella. When you can do the things that I can do, then a bad thing happens. Not doing anything doesn't feel right,"
Ella stared at him. No confusion, no hesitation, only pure determination in his eyes. He was not saying this lightly. He meant it. He wanted to do it. He was meant to do it.
"Protecting the innocent from the bad guys, eh," Ella softly smiled as she laid her head on his shoulder.
The look he had on. She knew why she connected to it. She knew why it was familiar. His look of determination and certainty, she had the same when she found what she wanted to do with her life. Peter just did. She was no one to tell him to give up.
"Be careful, please,"
"I will," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Hey... um, are you free tonight? My aunt wishes to meet you,"
Ella looked up at him, a broad smile on. Of course she wanted to meet his aunt. But her smile slowly faded. Peter noticed it.
"But if you don't want to, it's fine-"
"No, no, no, I would love to meet her really. But I can't," she said as she sat up. "I'm grounded for an undermined time,"
Peter frowned but he quickly guessed why she was not allowed to go out.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble between you and your father,"
"No, it's fine," she reassured. "Actually it's not your fault. Or it wasn't this situation involving you that got me grounded. While trying to clear Spider-Man's name, I gave away the whole tracksuit gang situation. I let you guess my dad's reaction. So I'll be limited for a while,"
"I still can crash your room," he playfully nudged her.
"You would do that?" She smiled.
"Yeah," he shrugged. "If I can't spend time with you, I'll make time," he added before giving her a peck on the lips. Ella giggled as gave him a brief kiss too.
But this little bubble of happiness was short-lived.