Night had fallen and the city raged on.
You know that saying? The city never sleeps.
That was one hundred percent true.
The cars below were just flashes of light, the Oscorp tower radiated a green hue and the honking of taxis below was faint but, Vienna could hear it all.
On any other occasion, Vienna would find solace in her surroundings. What wasn't their to love? She could see the city from above. The Empire State Building provided an enigmatic view, an addicting one at that.
But, Vienna was terrified. The girl's breathing was irregular. Her hands shook in fear...
Somehow, Vienna Wallace, a prima ballerina, stood on the highest ledge of the Empire State Building. And if she inched herself any closer to the edge, the 1453 foot drop would welcome her with open arms.
The last thing Vienna should be doing is standing on the very edge. Yet, there she stood. In her ballerina attire with pointe shoes strapped to her feet. Was she crazy? Apparently so.
Vienna gasped as a cool breeze grazed her skin. Goosebumps trailed up and down her arms only intensifying the brutal thump of her heartbeat. This was terrible. Not only was she looking down at all of Queens but... she wasn't alone.
Vienna turned her head to look behind her. There they were, dressed in black and ready to start a war against ____? Who were they? Vienna had no clue. She was too focused on her skin which was pale with a greenish hue. All thanks to the queasy feeling she couldn't shake. Vienna was dizzy... her head was pounding, the rash on her back from the Oscorp explosion was aching and still, she pointed her left foot forward and dragged the right one behind her, in the motion of a circle.
An extremely small circle. The ledge couldn't be more than a foot in width. One wrong move and goodbye Vienna...
Why was she doing a ballet routine on the highest ledge of the Empire State Building? Of all places. Especially when her vision was blurred and she couldn't see properly.
Vienna's legs shook. This was no time for falter in her movements. Usually, Vienna's limbs were languid. Not this time.
Vienna pushed up onto her left foot; she was standing on her toes. The teenager pushed her right foot to stretch behind her.
Before, there used to be a peaceful moment in her dream. But now there wasn't. Rather than the wind knocking her off the ledge a harsh blow to the ribs did so---
SATURDAY
WALLACE RESIDENCE
❝ ❞
❝AHuAH.❞
Vienna shot off her bed, in a cold sweat and straight onto the floor. She didn't care though. The sweat dripping down her forehead was the least of her problems. The excruciating ache in her ribs and up her sides was her priority.
Vienna gasped for air with her face pressed into the cool hardwood. What time was it even? Vienna peered under her bed, she could see a dim light shining through her apartment window and onto the floor.
Must be close to 7:00 am.
But that was beside the point. Vienna could hardly breathe. Her concern shouldn't have been the time. It should've been the fact that her oxygen intake level was low, too low. Let's not forget that her back also felt like it was on fire too.
She had enough. Vienna pushed off the floor, ❝FuCk.❞ , in pain. Why was her entire body aching? Did Peter get home safely after he dropped her off last night? That was too much to think about.
Once Vienna stood up she rushed into her bathroom. The girl felt queasy, she chalked it up to the LED lights in the washroom, they were too bright and made her nauseous.
Vienna placed her hands out in front of her. They were shaky and pale, awfully pale. What was going on? They almost looked as pale as her skin in the nightmare...
Her nightmare. That reminded her of the excruciating ache in her ribs. Vienna rubbed the sleep from her soil brown eyes and looked in the mirror. Fuck, she looked ghastly. Her eyes were red and sunken. The dark circles beneath them were far from welcoming.
PANG
PANG
PANG
And that forsaken pain up her back and ribs wouldn't falter. Her nightmare had never been this horrific. It never actually inflicted pain upon her body. Vienna looked down at her thin pyjama shirt. She decided to lift it up and look at the places her pain manifested from.
❝Holy shit.❞ Vienna mumbled.
The girl reached up and touched her ribs. They were a horrendous shade of red and purple. Vienna gasped at the sight. Her Oscorp injuries had been a green shade yesterday, she swore. This looked fresh, too fresh. Vienna took a shaky breath a turned to look at her back.
There, on her back, was the rash from the Oscorp chemical bomb. Originally it was a little patch on her lower back but not anymore. The burn had spread up her spine and it left behind a blueish trail. What the fuck? That wasn't there yesterday. How did that happen overnight? Had it been like that for days and she hadn't noticed?
Vienna shut her eyes. How was this possible?
What was she going to do?
The hospital told her that if her wounds got worse to visit emerge. But, Vienna was stubborn and hated doctors. She sure as hell wasn't going back. And she sure as hell wasn't going to tell her dad either. He would just end up calling her mom and then, well, unless Vienna was dying... she never wanted to see her mother again.
Not after all the years Vienna spent under her roof but barely got to see her.
❝Shit.❞
Vienna reached forward and grabbed the bathroom countertop. Something didn't feel right. But, who was she gonna tell?
Well, the first person that came to mind was Darius. But, Vienna knew he'd be asleep till 3pm. And if there was one thing that boy needed... it was beauty sleep.
Gwen? Jesus, no. They'd just started to become close friends. After the Oscorp bomb they only exchanged numbers. Vienna made a mental note to text her later.
Peter? Well, that would work. Peter could help her and probably heal her wounds with all that knowledge he kept.
Vienna looked down at the watch on her wrist. 6:50 am. By the time she made it to Peter's house it would be past 7:00 am. Peter would definitely be up and Aunt May would probably be home.
Vienna decided to get dressed. A white sweater and sweatpants would have to do. Anything that touched her ribs was off limits. Her sustained injuries were too sensitive for fitted clothes. So, the loose and comfy fit would have to do.
——
SATURDAY
PARKER RESIDENCE
Turns out Aunt May was home. Her training shift at the hospital had ended the moment Vienna arrived, at 7: 20 am. And, of course, May Parker let Vienna into her home without a second thought. She offered Vienna breakfast to which she politely declined and that ultimately led to Vienna's current situation. Sitting in Peter's living room contemplating if she should tell him about her injuries and brutal nightmare.
❝Vienna, what's wrong?❞
Peter snapped her out of her thoughts.
Vienna looked up from her clasped hands with a raised eyebrow.
❝Nothing's wrong, Peter.❞
What a load of bullshit.
Vienna heard Peter sigh and it made her think about the past week. The pair had been arguing because he was keeping secrets and she refused to open up. Enough was enough. Vienna had to come clean-or at least tell a smidge of the truth. She didn't want to fight again.
❝Okay, that was a lie.❞
Vienna refused to look at Peter when he spoke. Instead, she settled her brown orbs on the Christmas tree in his living room. It had enough tinsel and ornaments to distract her while she came clean.
Vienna looked at him for a brief second, before averting her eyes back to the Christmas tree. ❝It's just, I don't know, my nightmare was worse last night and I thought maybe you would be able to help distract me today? Is that stupid?❞
Well, that was part of the truth. Vienna had just left out the chemical rash spreading on her back and the fresh bruises on her ribcage.
❝Vee,❞ he touched her arm gently. ❝That's not stupid, you know that you can always come to me if you need something. ❞
Vienna let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. That was exactly what she needed to hear. Especially when she'd been avoiding her father who was usually her number now support system.
❝It's nice knowing you have my back,❞ Vienna looked at Peter with a little smile.
Peter knew that smile. It was the look she gave before saying something that would usually make Peter blush on command.
❝Beautiful.❞
Vienna was serious when she said that nickname was staying. Peter didn't mind it but, he wouldn't let Vienna have the satisfaction of knowing he liked it.
❝Haha, you're hilarious.❞ Peter rolled his eyes. ❝I'm assuming you're gonna be calling me that all day?❞
Vienna tapped her chin and pretended to ponder, although, she already knew the answer.
❝All-day, all month, all year... forever.❞ Vienna sent him a teasing look with a cocked brow.
And for a moment it was just an intense staring contest between the pair. Who would look away first? Peter did. All thanks to aunt May, who walked into the room and spoke up.
❝Peter-- Am I interrupting something?❞
Aunt May had a smirk on her face while she looked between Vienna and Peter. From her perspective, it looked like they were about to kiss. Two teenagers facing each other on a couch and slowly leaning in with teasing smiles... looked like it was about to be a kiss... Until it wasn't.
❝Nope, nothing. Nothing, nada, what're you, huh?❞
Peter rambled and rubbed the back of his neck. His cheeks were tinted bright pink, he was blushing and doing a horrible job at hiding it. But, then again, Vienna looked the same.
❝Peter,❞ Aunt May tried to hide her laughter, ❝I need you to do me a favour.❞
May's hands were on her hips while she spoke. Her dark brown hair was pinned back which made her look an intimidating boss bitch. Vienna only hoped she could look like that at May's age.
❝Anything, Aunt May.❞ Peter stuttered. ❝Wh-what do you need?❞
❝Anything I can help with?❞ Vienna piped in with a smile.
To which Aunt May returned.
❝As a matter of a fact, yes, I could use both of your guys' help. ❞ Aunt May looked between them, smirking. ❝Our laundry machine broke right when I was about to put a load of your clothes in.❞ She pointed at Peter. ❝I need you guys to go to the laundromat and do what's left while I call a guy to fix it.❞
Before Peter could respond, Vienna did. ❝That's no problem, we can do that.❞
Peter nodded in agreement before speaking up. ❝Can we take the car?❞
Aunt May's eyes widened at Peter's question. The boy had failed his driver's test multiple times. No way in hell was she letting him drive to the laundromat, even if it was fifteen minutes away.
❝Vienna, you have your license, right?❞ Aunt May looked at the ballerina.
❝Yes, I do.❞ Vienna nodded her head.
❝Okay, then you can take the car, Peter. But, Vienna is driving.❞
Peter opened his mouth to argue but Aunt May placed her hand out as if to say-- don't start now. Peter obliged, the teenager shut his mouth and followed Vienna to the kitchen, where to pair packed the leftover laundry into garbage bags.
---
SATURDAY
THE QUEEN'S LAUNDROMAT
❝I can't believe you paid for my hot chocolate.❞
Peter spoke while he held the laundromat door open for Vienna to walk through.
It was currently 10: 00 am and the snow was coming down hard outside. The flurries were large and danced throughout the city. Thank god Vienna and Peter stopped for hot beverages next door before doing laundry. The Queen's Laundromat had practically no heating, it seemed.
❝You paid for the pizza last night.❞ Vienna reminded him of their dinner at the dance studio, yesterday. ❝It was the least I could do.❞
She dragged in a couple of bags of laundry behind her with shaky hands. Why did it have to be so cold outside? The flurries probably soaked the garbage bags and they'd only been pulled out of Aunt May's car seconds ago.
❝Let's use the one at the back.❞ Vienna pointed at the machines in the corner.
To which Peter raised an eyebrow. ❝Why does it matter?❞
Vienna made her way through the laundry mat while she spoke.
❝The machine back here is the one that never breaks in the middle of washing, trust me, I come here all the time because our apartment building's laundry machines suck.❞
Well, Peter couldn't argue that.
❝Aunt May said that you could always wash your clothes at our place,❞ Peter rubbed the back of his neck nervously. ❝You know, when it's not broken.❞
Vienna smiled while she began to unload one of the laundry bags into the machine.
❝Tell her I say thank you. But, I know she'd wash my clothes for me and well, your aunt does so much already. I could never let her wash my clothes on top of everything else she does.❞
Peter looked down at his tattered shoes and smiled. If it was even possible to like Vienna more, he did at that moment. The fact that Vienna cared about his aunt brought forth a whole new level of endearment.
❝She definitely wouldn't let you wash your clothes. Hell, aunt May doesn't even let me wash my own clothes.❞
Because I turned them Blue and Red last time.
Peter had completely forgotten about separating the whites from his Spiderman suit the last time he'd tried to do laundry. And after that, Aunt May vowed never to let Peter do his own laundry ever again. That's why today when he planned on washing his suit, he stuffed it in the middle of a dark pile of clothes.
❝Classic May.❞ Vienna shrugged her shoulders. ❝Can you pass me that bag?❞
Vienna pointed at the bag of laundry beside Peter's feet. He reached down to pick it up and turned to face Vienna. ❝Let me do the laundry, you're literally acting like my aunt right nO---❞
SPILL.
❝pEtEr!! Oh my god.❞ Vienna screeched.
Oops. When Peter turned around to give Vienna the laundry bag he miscalculated the distance between them entirely. Rather than her being a foot away, Vienna ended up right beside him. Which, resulted in his hot chocolate spilling all over Vienna, staining her white sweatshirt.
❝Oh my god, I'm so sorry.❞ Peter pulled his long sleeve shirt down and reached forward, attempting to wipe away the stain on her sweater. His efforts did zilch.
❝It's fine,❞ Vienna laughed. ❝I only shouted because it was hot.❞
Peter still felt guilty, nonetheless. ❝I'm sorry, Vee.❞ His brown eyes glanced between the hot chocolate stain on her sweater and her reaction. Vienna sent him a calming smile and grabbed his shoulders.
❝Peter, it's okay, don't apologize. I was the one who made you spill it.❞ She said calmly and it almost made Peter feel better, almost.
❝At least let me wash your sweater with my clothes.❞ Peter offered.
Vienna nodded her head, yes. The only problem was she wasn't wearing anything but a bra underneath her sweatshirt. She'd have to borrow something of his.
❝I need to borrow a shirt then,❞ Vienna looked at his confused face, ❝Unless, you want to see me in a bra, beautiful.❞ She teased him and Peter opened his mouth in shock.
❝Uh, yeah, no, erm. You can, yeah you can like there's I'll. You can borrow my sweater, ❞
Peter rambled while he unzipped his sweater and gave it to her. He refused to meet to look at Vienna when she turned around to change, out of respect. His brown orbs darted anywhere but her, the laundry machine, the tiled floor, the ceiling, you name it.
His actions only made Vienna amused. ❝You can look now.❞
The sweater was huge on her petite frame, but, Peter loved it on her, nonetheless. She looked better in it than him, how was that even possible?
❝I-urm.❞ Peter's eyes were wide while he tried to find the right words.
Vienna chuckled. ❝Cat got your tongue, beautiful?❞
Oh. She was just on a roll for teasing Peter. It was one of her favourite things to do. Vienna laughed when Peter didn't respond. She decided to change the subject in an effort of saving him from the embarrassment.
❝Do you have quarters? I would pay for your laundry but I only bills on me.❞
Peter snapped out of his daze. He coughed and looked at Vienna.
❝Yeah. they're in the car. I'm gonna go and get them.❞ He stammered a bit and turned towards the direction of the door.
❝Peter!❞ Vienna stopped him in his tracks.
The boy turned around with a questioning look. ❝Yeah?❞
❝You need the keys to open the car.❞ Vienna tossed them at Peter.
And thanks to his enhanced reflexes, Peter caught them with ease.
❝Thank you, I'll be right back.❞
---
Unbeknownst to Vienna, Peter's Spiderman suit was stuffed in a ball of light clothes, not dark. Peter had been wrong. His Spiderman suit was in the lights pile, again. Thank god, Vienna didn't see it, thanks to it being in the middle of a large ball.
Vienna added her stained white sweater to the lights pile and tossed it into the machine. Peter wouldn't mind. After all, he offered to put her clothes in with his.
❝How are the machines running?❞
Peter spoke up from behind Vienna. The boy had returned with the quarters, but they appeared to be no use.
❝I lied about not having quarters.❞ Vienna smirked, deviously. ❝I knew you'd try to pay for the laundry so I made you leave so I could.❞ She shrugged her shoulders.
❝Vienna!❞ Peter groaned. ❝You gotta let me pay you back.❞
❝Nope.❞ She popped the p in response.
Peter rolled his eyes. The boy would just sneak the money into her bag when she wasn't looking. It had to be done because he knew Vienna would never accept the money upfront.
❝Why'd you do that?❞ Peter bumped her shoulder, playfully.
❝Because I put my sweater in with your batch. Part of it's mine so I should pay for it.❞
Vienna shrugged her shoulders. It seemed like the perfect answer. Although, Peter appeared to disagree. ❝Vienna, you have one article of clothing in there, not--❞
Peter was cut off. BUZZ.
The washing machine with the light clothes went off. Wow, they were already finished? How long had it taken Peter to find the quarters? A long duration, apparently. Vienna opened the machine and reached in for her sweater. But, once she pulled it out she gasped.
❝Why is it red and blue?❞ Vienna raised her eyebrow. ❝Why are all the white's red and blue?❞
Peter's eyebrows shot up at Vienna's question. No. He swore that his suit was put in with the dark batch of clothes, not the whites! This was bad, if Vienna dug any deeper she would find his Spiderman suit. Nope, that would not happen. Peter couldn't let that happen.
❝Look, the darks just went off.❞ Peter blurted. The boy gently grabbed Vienna's shoulders and pushed her towards the machine with darks.
❝Peter?!❞ Vienna gasped once he shoved her, not hard enough to hurt but still with force.
❝Oh, I see the problem.❞ Peter grabbed his backpack and brought it up to the machine. The boy shoved his Spider-Man suit into his backpack quickly, but the action still caught Vienna's eye.
❝What was that?❞
Vienna pointed at his bag with raised eyebrows.
That made Peter gulp. He was always a terrible liar when it came down to Vienna.
❝The Um, the❞ Peter searched his mind for an excuse, what was red and blue? What did he tell aunt May last time he turned the laundry blue and red?
❝I put my American flag in the erm, the washing machine, by accident.❞ Peter tapped the machine while rubbing the back of his neck. Evidently, Vienna did not buy it for a second.
❝The American Flag? You were washing the American Flag?❞ Her light British accent was thicker than usual as she questioned him. Peter was surprise.
❝Yeah. It needed to be washed.❞
Peter shrugged his shoulders, attempting to be nonchalant but, ultimately he failed.
❝Whatever you say, Parker.❞ Vienna rolled her eyes. Peter was getting weirder and weirder everyday. ❝I was thinking that after this we could—-❞
*SIREN NOISE*
*SIREN NOISE*
*SIREN NOISE*
Vienna was cut off by the sounds off sirens outside. Both Peter and Vienna's head shot towards the window. Through thick flurries, they spotted red and blue lights flashing. It was cop cars speeding down one of Queen's main streets.
Crime could never cease, it seemed.
❝I'm gonna use the bathroom next door. Want anything from the coffee shop?❞
Peter spoke up after the cops disappeared. His tone was laced with concern. Why was Peter concerned? He had nothing to be worried about.
❝An iced coffee and before you say anything about it being a cold drink for the weather, it's the same temperature in my mouth all year round.❞
Vienna playfully sassed him while she folded the now red and blue batch of laundry. Who the hell washed the American flag? Vienna knew that Peter was lying, but, she let it go, for now.
❝Sounds good, I'll be back in like 15.❞
Vienna nodded her head. She found it odd that Peter was going to take 15 minutes if the shop was next door. And her inclination had been correct; ten minutes turned into twenty and twenty turned to thirty and thirty turned to forty and suddenly Vienna had finished the laundry, packed it up, called Peter several times, searched the coffee shop and he was nowhere to be found.
And the worst part was Peter had aunt May's car keys. So, the poor girl ended up walking home to the Parker residence with three large laundry bags. Vienna was infuriated. Not only because Peter left her at the laundromat but because his little secret was tearing their friendship apart.
—-
Aunt May wasn't home when Vienna got there. It was a good thing too, for Peter's sake anyway. The woman would've reigned her wrath on him if she'd seen Vienna walk in all by herself with three laundry bags, in the middle of a blizzard.
Vienna groaned before plopping herself on Peter's living room couch. She planned on staying there until Peter decided to pop in. Who knew how long that would take?
Vienna huffed. The girl turned on the Parker's living room tv. That would provide enough entertainment, for the time being.
BREAKING NEWS: FOOTAGE OF SPIDER-MAN CAUGHT SWINGING OUT OF RIGGLER'S COFFEE HOUSE APRX 40 MINUTES AGO. MOMENTS BEFORE HIS RUN IN WITHDRTFVHHYTGHUYTUG
The rest of that news headline was all blurred for Vienna. The news reporters voice faded as she recollected her thoughts. The RIGGLER'S coffee house was where Peter claimed to be going before he diassapeared... aproximentally forty minutes ago!
NO.
Vienna's brain started to wander.
Peter Parker... her best friend... Spider-Man?
Was Peter Parker Spider-Man?!?
Hold that thought.
Vienna shot off the living room couch and darted up the stairs to Peter's room. She threw open his closet door, she knew what she was searching for... there.
It was the picture of her on the ballet stage, taken from up high, the one she'd found last time Vienna went snooping in his closet. It looked like the photo was taken from the glass roof of the Queen's Ballet Academy. And if there was one person guaranteed to be up that high it had to be Spider-Man. And what was Peter constantly doing? Taking pictures. The equation added up perfectly.
Vienna played back all the strange occurrences she noticed from both Peter and Spiderman.
- In the ambulance after the Oscorp explosion... Spider-Man called Vienna by her full name... ❝Her name is Vienna Anne Wallace.❞ She'd never told him her full name.
- Spiderman walked her home almost every night. That was something Peter did every time she went to his house.
- Spiderman told Vienna he'd catch her if she fell. Peter said the same thing in the ballet studio... ❝Didn't I tell you I would always catch you if you fall?❞ Peter never told Vienna that but, Spiderman did... ❝Yes, I'll always catch you if you fall...❞
- Spiderman told Vienna he was thinking of learning Ballet... ❝Well, I was just thinking about learning ballet.❞ the next day Peter showed up asking to learn it... ❝I'm... I'm interested in learning... ballet?❞
- Peter disappeared at the Oscorp building and somehow, Spiderman showed up before the authorities.
- Spiderman calls Vienna, Vee. Only Darius and Peter call her that.
- Peter had the picture of her doing ballet in his closet. But, he'd never seen her perform. At least not as Peter Parker, perhaps he did as Spiderman?
- LASTLY! HE TURNED VIENNA'S SWEATER RED AND BLUE... WHAT WAS RED AND BLUE?! SPIDERMAN'S SUIT!!
❝hOlY FuCK!❞ Vienna shouted.
It would all make sense. The reason Peter was being distant, the countless times he tried to tell her something but came up with a spur of the moment excuse... Let's not forget when Peter snuck out that night and Vienna woke up alone...
This couldn't be possible but, it was. Peter Parker was Spider-Man, Vienna had no doubt in her mind. Part of her felt a wave of relief for figuring it out but, the other part was livid and hurt.
Did Peter feel like he couldn't trust her?
Would he deny it if she asked?
How would she even bring it up?
Where even was Peter?
That last question was answered when Peter climbed into his bedroom, an hour later. He was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt, as well as a expression of guilt once his eyes landed on Vienna. She could only assume his suit was underneath his comfy attire.
❝I'm sorry.❞
Peter closed his eyes while he spoke. He knew that was a lame apology but, how could he elaborate on this one. What was his excuse this time?
Peter was running out of excuses, and Vienna was getting tired of hearing them. She had a stoic expression painted on her features, Vienna had a supernatural like poker face.
❝You're sorry?❞ Vienna laughed sarcastically; but her words were laced with venom.
❝Who's apologizing to me? Spider-Man or Peter Parker?❞ She raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest.
Peter's mouth shot open, he tried to respond but no words came out. How did she figure it out?
❝Actually, no, don't answer that.❞ Vienna clenched her fists, her nails dug into her palm.
❝I already know the answer.❞
Peter tried to protest, ❝No, I'm not. Where'd you come up with that?❞ But he failed, miserably.
Vienna scoffed. The girl made sure to stare him down while the words poured from her mouth. She was dishing it out, for the first time in forever.
❝Cut. The. Bullshit, Spider-Man.❞ Vienna heaved,
❝You ran out on me at the laundromat, you turned my clothes blue and red, Spider-Man
knew my full name back in the ambulance, only you know that, Spider-Man calls me Vee, only you do that. I know you walk me home every
night, even if you wear a mask to hide the fact it's you. I know you saved me from Oscorp. Oh, and I almost forgot!❞
Vienna paused, catching her breath. ❝Peter Parker has never seen me perform a ballet routine but,❞ Vienna yanked his closet door open. ❝but Spider-Man has!❞
Her nimble finger slammed against the photo of herself, dancing on the stage. Peter had been caught, red handed; all the evidence stacked up against him.
❝Vienna, I am so—❞
Vienna cut him off. She placed her hands on her hips before speaking, with a tone that made Peter's hear clench.
❝Do you not trust me?❞
He voice cracked slightly at the end of the question. Vienna was scared to receive an answer.