Damage Control.
Jeremy felt like Peter Parker must have felt in -was it Spider-Man 1, 2 or 3? - Spider-Man 2 when he was trying to stop the train from careening off the tracks. He'd sent off his webs and attached them to the sides of buildings and Jeremy had seen the suit rip and his arm muscles tense up as he strained to avoid the death of the hundred people or so on the train.
Jeremy felt exactly like that as he tried to undo the damage that just occurred. In a way, it felt unreal. But at the same time, he had a perfect recollection of the situation falling to pieces really fast.
One minute all was manageable, the next his parents were freaked out and Sasha was probably contemplating how to hang herself from his ceiling or stab herself with a paintbrush.
He had seen the tortured look on her face. It was the look of a person that was undergoing too much pain to even bear. It was the look he believed suicidal people had before they took the plunge.
Which was why he tactlessly scolded his parents about their behavior.
"What. Was. That? Why is she here?" His mom said. Her face was still pale and and her hand fluttered near her heart once or twice.
"Are these kind of folks you hang out with now? What about Tony?" His dad said at the same time.
"Oh my God are you guys so heartless that you can't freaking behave when you see a deformed person? Can you not be so dramatic?" Jeremy exploded.
"She's deformed? Oh dear, I hope it's not contagious." His mother made a puking noise that made him even angrier.
"For fuck's sake, she's still a human being! And she has feelings too, you know! How could you stand there and act so disgusted?" He was so angry that he swore again.
"You will not swear at your mom or me ever again, let's get that clear." His father's voice reined in his anger a little.
"Sorry. But what you guys did wasn't fair!"
"What wasn't fair was the fact that you didn't warn us in advance. That was immature and irresponsible of you." Jeremy winced at his Dad's words.
"I don't like her. It's not good for you to be seen hanging out with someone like that." Lisa said, firmly.
"I don't care how it looks. She's my friend, not yours and not anyone else's. Mine. And I won't have you saying crap like that about her. So she will hang with me and you will either like it or make yourself scarce." In his head he had said or go to hell but he held his tongue.
His voice and eyes carried that cold fury that made people scared of him. He'd gotten it from his mother surprisingly. Underneath the supermodel exterior, she had a layer of titanium that he had seen countless times while growing up.
Harley Cox looked at his son with worry and concern. He wasn't acting normal. The Jeremy he knew would never act this way about someone that was just a friend. With horror, he asked the question he dreaded most: Jeremy, Do you have feelings for this girl?
Lisa clutched at his arm with horror but he didn't look at her, he was looking at Jeremy. Already the pause was too long; whatever words that came out of his lips except YES would be a lie.
"No. She's just my friend and I feel she's my responsibility. I'm going to protect her."
Harley shook his head in despair. As much as Jeremy believed what he was saying, he knew better.
His son did like her that way.
"Fine. I'm sorry for acting so badly. Invite her for dinner or something later on so we can get to know your new 'friend'."
Lisa looked at Harley with clear surprise but she kept her mouth shut and offered a strained smile.
Jeremy was surprised by how fast they accepted it. And he was also happy that the entire situation had made them to forget about what she was actually doing there. His room would be an issue for another day.
"Are you and Cara still together?" Lisa asked, as he turned to go.
"No. She's with Tony now."
Lisa was shocked. They'd been an item since forever. Wow.
"Thanks Dad, Mom. I've got to go check on her."
He still worried that she may have committed suicide. It was actually becoming scary in his head as he approached the door and hesitated before opening.
He saw her lifeless body on the floor, with two slender paintbrushes embedded in her right eye, the lovely green one. Blood pooled around her, matting her shiny blonde hair with its rusty color. Her dungarees were bloodied and her mouth was open in an eternal scream. The room smell like a perverse mixture of death and paint. The tang of blood was sharp and disgusting. She died because of him and his stupid immature ways.
Jeremy felt bile rush up his throat as he closed his eyes and opened them once more.
And breathed a sigh of relief.
She was okay - not okay emotionally but at least she was alive. The panic that filled him receded. She was up on the ladder, painting with a scary intensity. In that little time, she had covered much ground. And it was already beginning to look beautiful.
"Sasha?" He approached slowly, not wanting to scare her.
"I'd like to be left alone. Please." The last part was shaky but she refused to face him, preferring to focus on the job at hand.
"Sasha, I'm sorry for-"
"I said fucking leave me alone! I fucking left you alone yesterday so I need you to leave me the fuck alone right now!"
Her voice wasn't even angry at all. It was low and intense, punctuated with sobs.
Jeremy was at loss. He wasn't sure how to tread. Should he leave her alone? Or ignore her wishes and bundle her up in his arms?
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked hesitantly.
When he got no reply, he turned around and left.
Sasha watched him leave and used her forearm to wipe the hot tears. She took a deep shaky breath and continued her work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You don't have to drop me off. I'm capable of walking."
Jeremy didn't bother giving her a reply. He just opened the car door and pointed inside.
She threw up her hands in frustration and tried to walk around the car. To her surprise, she found him in front of her, blocking the path.
"Sasha, I know you're mad at me and I'm sorry." He said, grabbing her shoulders and holding her in place.
"I'm not mad at you!" She said after struggling a bit.
"Oh yeah?"
"I just really need some time to think it out and everything. You know, just to see if this relationship is really worth it."
Those words made him go cold. She was reconsidering the relationship? They had barely even started going out! What the hell?
He eyed her with suspicion.
"Still, I'm driving you home. I can't let you be kidnapped now , can I?"
"Who'd kidnap me? Who am I?"
He rolled his eyes and physically lifted her into the car. She was so surprised, she froze. He belted her him and shut the door, before going round to his side.
"This lifting thing eventually gets annoying, you know! Why should you be able to make me do what I don't want to do by the sheer strength of your arms?! It's unacceptable!"
She folded her arms in a cross manner.
"Maybe you should have had Kung fu classes instead of plain ol' arts class." He thickened his voice so it came out gruff and rustic, like an old cowboy in the prairie.
She punched his arm and stifled a smile.
"I'm sorry about my parents Sasha. I didn't want you guys to meet like that."
"When did you want us to meet? After you'd prepped them about what they were about to see?" She asked bitterly.
"Nope. Preferably never"
A small smile broke out at his little joke.
"They're okay, but it's just that they were surprised. I talked to them, and they're more open to meeting you again in better... um ...circumstances."
She nodded.
"You're still a jack ass though."
"Why?"
"You didn't tell me!"
"I accept the title."
¥•
Doesn't mean everything is okay. Things like that remain even after months of its occurrence.
So how do you like the story so far?
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Ally_town