IF RILEY THOUGHT her life was going to get better, easier, she was far from right. It only got more complicated, confusing.
The day after the match, which went really well considering it was the first match of the season, videos of a masked 'hero' started surfacing first on YouTube, and then all over social media.
Riley was amazed, to say the least. This person, whoever they are, is able to stop busses with their bare hands, fight crime on a daily basis, and save normal people, all whilst wearing what seems to be a red and blue jumper and trousers. Accompanied by a red mask with goggles. It was incredible!
This 'hero' is all that is talked about in school. Everywhere she went, Riley would be hearing of the red and blue hero that saves the town. She was surprised that she wasn't searching this person up. Because that's what she would have done, if she was that interested.
She had more important things to worry about. Like decathlon, and homework, and why her mom was coming home later than usual. At least Peter was back in school. He didn't seem at all interested in this new hero either.
As she sat at the back of her math class, she couldn't help but notice some people in front of her watching a new video of the 'hero'.
Maths was starting to get boring, so she decided on watching it from behind them. She should really be paying attention to the teacher, but this video seemed genuinely interesting.
The 'hero' just stopped a car from hitting a bus with their bare hands! It was pretty cool, Riley had to admit. And the video was pretty recent. Who knows who was videoing this person!
The bell rings and the guys in front pocket their phones, ending the video and Riley's interest. She packs away her book and equipment before following the sea of students out of the class.
It was now lunch. Everyone had smiles on their faces at the thought of food. But instead of heading to lunch, she heads to her locker to put some books away.
She pushes past eager students, trying to reach the cafeteria, and reaches her locker with a roll of her eyes. People these days. Always on the move.
Riley pulls open her locker and replaces her physics book with her maths book. She sighs. Today has been so long. She just wants to get home and catch up with her best friend.
"Hey, Riley!" She hears a happy voice from beside her and turns to come face to face with Tyler.
"Tyler, how was chem?" Riley asks the girl who is currently leaning up against the locker next to her. She smiles as Riley closes her locker and turns to face her.
"Sciencey. Can I sit with you guys today?" The girl asks, pleading with her eyes. Riley smiles. She had only known the girl a little less than a day. But her mom always told her to make new friends. A new addition to the group couldn't hurt.
"Sure. They're probably all in there already." She smiles and hoists her bag on her shoulder before following after a smiling Tyler.
"Thanks!" The girl smiles and holds open the door to the cafeteria. Riley smiles in thanks before heading over to their usual table and sitting down next to Peter.
"Hey." He smiles and moves his back off of the seat next to him so she could sit down. She smiles.
"Thanks. What you looking at?" Riley asks Gwen and Harry, both looking with intense curiosity at her phone.
"This!" Gwen exclaims and shows the girl her phone. Riley sees a blur of red and a car being stopped.
"Oh. Cool." She smiles and looks down. Peter fidgets in his seat when he sees the video, however Riley doesn't notice.
"Peter, have you seen it?" Harry asks, almost like he could see through the boy. He shakes his head.
"This dude is awesome!" Harry laughs and shows Peter the same video. But he gets a similar reaction to Riley. Peter doesn't seem that interested.
"Cool." The teen replies with a quick smile.
"Whats not interesting about this? Dude stopped a car! He shoots webs from his wrists! He's awesome!" Harry cries, looking around himself after to make sure he didn't cause any disruption to people eating their lunch.
"I dunno. And who said it was a dude?" Riley asks, Tyler watching closely at the group with interest.
"Pretty much everyone. I mean, it makes sense." Ned says, joining the group after buying his lunch. He sits down on the other side of Peter.
"It makes-what? You're just assuming it's a guy?" Tyler speaks up, earning the whole group to face her.
"Well, yeah. I mean, it doesn't look like a girl." Ned defends himself, obviously not seeing what he could be implying.
"And how?" Tyler asks, a slight tint of annoyance in her voice. Riley did not take Tyler to be the kind of person to argue against something like this.
"Well... it looks like a dude. A guy can do that sort of stuff?" Ned trembles, worried about starting something bad. Tyler scoffs.
"A girl can do that stuff as well! A girl can be smarter than a guy! I'm not saying I disagree with you, I just hate it when people just presume!" The girl throws her hands into the air in annoyance before calming down and sighing.
Riley looks at the girl with a smirk. Peter looks on in shock. Harry and Gwen exchange curious glances. And Ned looks sorry.
"Im sorry, Tyler. I didn't mean to offend you!" He says quickly, a small apologetic smile on his red face.
"Its cool, Ned. Just don't assume." She says with a smile. Ned nods and sighs.
"Welcome to the group." Gwen jokes and the rest of them laugh with each other. Peter looks to Riley with a smile, he really did like her.
The last two periods were short. They had a decathlon meeting in fifth period where they discussed training schedules, when and where. Flash was still annoyed with Riley for taking his place. And sixth period was English. There was nothing new to learn.
So when the last bell went, Riley got up so quick she had a head rush. She had to shake it off before staggering out of the class and heading to the exit to meet Peter. They had arranged to hang out after school.
People jostle past her, Tyler being amongst them. She waved at Riley before leaving and heading home. There was something new about the girl that Riley liked. Maybe it was the strong name she had like herself, or the way she carried herself, or maybe the fact that they were so similar. She didn't know.
Riley leaves the school and breathes in the cool air before leaning against a railing to wait for Peter. She brings our her phone and checks instagram. Some celebs were posting about their awesome summer holidays that they had. The throwback tag indicating so.
Riley sighs, missing the warm weather and sunny beaches. She went to France for the summer. Just her mom and her. It was bliss. She loved France, and spending a couple of weeks with her mom was the bonding time they needed. Her dad wasn't with them for this holiday. It was new.
"Hey, Riley!" Peter walks up to the girl who pockets her phone and smiles.
"Hey! Wanna head to the park? I kinda need the air." She suggests, wanting to make the most of the weather before it got bad.
"Yeah. That sounds good." The boy agrees and they head to the station. They don't say much, they found comfort in the silence between them, as they head across the field and up the stairs.
The train was already there when they arrived, and so quickly got on and held onto the handles so they could stand properly. Peter hands her a headphone which she gladly accepts, and they listen to his music for the next few minutes.
And in that time, she studied Peter closely. The way his gorgeous brown eyes dart around quickly, surveying his surroundings. His smile, so cute and innocent. And how his hair falls across his face, him having to push it back with his hand. His glasses were no longer there to stop it from getting in his eyes. But she liked it.
"You're staring." He whispers, and she blushes as she realises she's been caught.
"Sorry. I just-sorry." She mumbles, quickly looking anywhere other than the boy in front of her. He smirks, she was staring at him. HIM. He felt a surge of happiness and love. Love.
They stand in silence, apart from the music in their ears neither said a word to each other, both worried they'd get caught by the other.
A young man sits in front of them, watching his phone with a smile. Peter looks down at his phone, flicking through social media. Riley takes the moment to peer over at the man and see what has him so fixated.
It's the same video about the guy in red and blue. Riley rolls her eyes at the man as he watches the red and blue guy stop the car. He will disappear, just like everyone else, she thinks.
The train reaches Queens and the two get off, Riley giving Peter his headphone back. He thanks her before pocketing his phone and heading out of the station.
"So, Tyler seems to fit in well." Peter laughs at himself and Riley smiles. After that small argument she had with Ned, she got on really well with him and the group. She really did fit in.
"Yeah. She's cool. She's gonna be great." Riley tells him and places her hands in her pockets.
"Yeah. How did you meet her, again?" Peter asks and crosses the road, Riley following after.
"Oh. We were at the first game of the season. She just kinda came up to me, sat down and we started talking." Riley says with a smile. How they met was so normal, so normal compared to the rest of her life.
"Ha. Cool." Peter states and they walk in silence for the next few moments as they reach the park.
Riley wraps her coat around her as she heads up the small hit and plants herself down on their bench. Peter sits down next to her and leans into the back of it.
"Ben told me he saw you here the other day." Peter turns to her with curiosity as he remembers what his Uncle said, he had seemed rather happy to tell Peter about seeing Riley.
"Oh yeah! He was just sat here, and I felt like I should come and say Hi!" Riley replies with a smile, fiddling with the zip of her coat, a dark green bomber jacket her mom got her for her birthday last year.
"That's cool. He said you guys had a nice chat." Peter laughs, air quoting the last two words with a slight emphasis on them.
"Oh yeah! It got kinda deep, but it was really nice. We spoke about life and school, you came up a couple times." She tells him and he looks slightly confused as to why they may have mentioned him.
"I did?" He asks and turns to face her slightly, a squint to his eye. A squint of curiosity and confusion.
"Yeah. He just said to keep an eye on you, you're a good kid blah blah blah. Mr Delmar even told me to keep an eye on you. People are starting to think you're up to something!" She laughs and he tenses, staring at her.
"Do you think I'm up to something?" He asks sternly. She stares at him, confused with his tone of voice.
"No. No of course not." She lies. Something was up. She knew that. Why else would he be jumpy at school? Or have missed that week off?
"Okay. Good." He mumbles and leans back on the bench.
She watches him for a moment. He seems tense. He always seems tense. But today, he seemed far more tense than before.
But, she got distracted from those thoughts quickly when she began studying his features. The features of him that were, in her eyes, just plain gorgeous.
She liked Peter. She really did. But part of her was starting to think that she liked him a lot more than she told herself. She got a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever he was around, and she couldn't help but smile.
When he wasn't in, she would miss him and try to contact him a lot. There was just something about him. Ever since she's known him, there's always been something that pulled her in. She didn't know what.
She was interrupted from her thoughts when a series of sirens filled the air around them. She turned her head away from Peter to see where they were coming from.
Police cars were screaming down the road along the park, she could count around five, but of course there would be more.
"I wonder where they're off to." She turns back to talk to Peter but she's shocked.
The boy who was sat there before was not sat there now. He had just vanished.
"Peter?" She calls out around her. She swivels around on the bench to look for the boy, but he must have moved quickly. She couldn't see him anywhere.
Riley sat there quietly for a moment. She was confused as to why he would leave so suddenly without saying goodbye. Or why he would leave in the first place. She sighs and stands up, pulling her bag onto her back as she goes.
She pulls out her phone as she heads down the park and begins to text Peter, an empty feeling in her stomach.
To: Peter
Where'd you go? You just disappeared. And you didn't say goodbye? Did something happen? Please let me know.
She hits send and leaves the park, placing her phone in her pocket. She was disappointed as well as sad. Disappointed that they were both looking forward to hanging out and it's cut short because he left. But didn't even say why or where he was going.
Riley shakes her head, sighing as she crosses the road. This has happened once before. The police had distracted her when they were walking home from school, and he'd vanished. Not even a goodbye.
She crosses the road and heads up to her home. She pulls out her key and unlocks the front door, placing her bag inside when she walks in.
"Hey mom!" Riley calls into the house. Her mom quickly comes round the corner, her phone to her ear, and places a finger to her mouth to quiet her daughter. Riley gives an apologetic smile before heading to the kitchen to get something to eat.
She pulls out a bowl and pours in some lucky charms before adding milk and sitting at the island. She could hear her mom in the lounge, talking in the phone. She could hear a few words.
"Its been so long, though. Wouldn't he have forgotten us?" She asks the person on the phone. Riley listens in silence.
"Okay then. But are you sure he should come back?" Laura continues into the phone.
If Peter leaving suddenly wasn't confusing, then this conversation added to the pile. Her mom was talking about someone, Riley knew that. But that someone was coming back? Riley wanted to know who it was.
"Okay. No, that's absolutely fine. It'll be good to have him back. Okay. Thank you. Let me know when you have a date." Laura finishes and ends the call, heading into the kitchen to grab her coat and keys.
"Who was that?" Riley asks, shovelling some cereal into her mouth. Her mom looks at her and shakes her head dismissively.
"Just your Aunt." She says quickly, pulling her hair into a bun to go to work.
"What were you talking about?" Riley asks, hoping she'd get an answer.
"Nothing important, Riley. I gotta go, I'll see you later, okay?" Her mom says and grabs her bag and keys, Riley nodding before receiving a kiss on the head from her mom as she leaves the house.
Riley turns back to her food. It was important. Otherwise her mom wouldn't have sounded so worried on the phone. She sighs. First Peter, now her mom. He didnt even text her back. What was going on?
***
Peter had now left Riley around six times. They were all the same. They would be hanging out after school, Riley would get distracted, and when she looks back, Peter is gone.
As of right now, they were walking back to hers to do some revision for a physics test the next day. But Riley was just waiting for him to disappear again.
They walk in silence as they leave the station, Riley looking down at the sidewalk instead of at Peter. He was looking at her with an apologetic expression.
"Where do you go?" She asks suddenly. She looks up to him and he stops walking.
"What do you mean?" He asks, his eyes flicking elsewhere. She sighs and shakes her head.
"You keep disappearing whenever I'm with you. You never even say you're leaving! What's going on?" She asks him, throwing her hands up in frustration. He licks his lips and looks around himself.
"Um. It's hard to explain." He mumbles and he suddenly looks to the left. There's a distant wailing coming from down the street. Sirens.
"Explain! Please!" She begs him, sadness evident in her tone. He fidgets with his bag strap, his eyes concentrated on where the sirens are coming from.
"I-I can't. I gotta go!" He quickly says and walks past her.
"Peter! Please! What's going on?" She shouts after him, trying to catch up with his long strides.
He was acting strange. And it upset her. He used to tell her everything. Even that one time where he thought he had a crush on Gwen. Hes keeping secrets and she didn't like it.
"Riley! I gotta go!" He turns back and stares at her, apologetically. She sighs and shakes her head before crossing the street and walking away from him.
Peter watches her turn the corner. He felt so bad. He wanted to tell her what was going on so badly, but he just couldn't. Instead of following after her, he heads in the direction of the sirens, a look of sadness on his face.
Riley heads home quickly. She was fuming. She couldn't believe her best friend would keep secrets like this. He used to tell her everything. She sighs and holds back her screams. She wanted to scream so bad. To let the whole city know of her frustrations. But she holds it in and heads home.
She needed to scream. To shout. To let everything out. She wanted to help Peter. It didn't matter what his problem was, she just wanted to help him. Or maybe she needed the help.
She holds in the screams and unlocks the door, throwing it open with frustration. She slams it shut, ignoring the silent protests coming from her mom who was on the phone again.
Riley jumps the stairs, two at a time, and throws open her bedroom door. She slams it shut behind her, drops her bag on the floor, places her phone on her bedside table, and face plants her bed.
It is here that she finally screams into her pillow. They come out muffled, but it's enough for her. She's screaming. Venting her frustrations into the plump material in a series of shouts and curse words.
Her mom decides to let her be. She can faintly hear her daughter screaming, and she knew not to mess with her if she was upset. If her mom got involved with whatever issue Riley was dealing with, it would only make it worse. Her mom just never really understood.
Riley continues screaming. She was angry with Peter, which was a first. She just wanted to know what was going on. Why he was being so secretive. Why he wouldn't tell her. Or even Ned.
Riley and Ned had had a conversation earlier that day. Peter had ended one of their hang out sessions early just like he had with Riley. Ned didn't even know why. Peter was keeping secrets from both his best friends.
Riley screams and screams. She just wanted Peter to be honest with her. She felt like she was losing him. He was growing distant. And she couldn't afford to lose him. Not like she lost her dad.
After minutes of continuous screaming, Riley stops. A single tear falls from her eye and she rolls over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.
She lies there. Just staring at the ceiling. She doesn't even register closing her eyes and falling asleep. But she's not asleep for long before her phone is waking her up.
From: Mom
Hope you're okay. Didn't want to disturb you. At work, they needed me early. I love you xxx
She sighs and let's a small smile leave her face before checking the time. It's only been an hour or so. Wherever Peter went, he'd be home by now. She needed to talk to him. Now.
To: Mom
That's alright mom. I love you too xx
She sends the reply before pocketing her phone and leaving the room. Tessa walks past her and she quickly strokes her dog before she enters her bedroom. Riley chuckles to herself as she watches Tessa hop onto her bed and nuzzle into the covers.
Riley turns around and heads down the stairs, grabbing her keys, opening the door and locking it behind her. She takes off at a fast walk, hoping to get to Peter's with enough time to come home before it gets really dark.
She crosses the road, making sure she doesn't get hit by passing cars, waves to Mr Delmar in his store, and crosses the road to the apartments.
She enters the building and decides to take the lift. She hits the button quickly, too impatient today. It opens up and luckily she's the only one going into the metal box. She hits the correct floor number and the doors close.
She sighs and leans against the wall. She knew what she was going to say to Peter. She just didn't know if she had the guts. But he had to listen to her. She had a valid reason to come here, and he had the right to listen to her. He was her best friend.
The doors open and she heads down the corridor before stopping in front of the apartment door. Riley takes a deep breath before knocking. It opens almost instantly.
"Riley! Hey!" It was Aunt May. She gives the woman a warm smile, well, as much of a smile as she could muster.
"Hey, May. Is Peter in?" The girl asks the woman. She shakes her head.
"No. He said he was running a bit late. You can wait in his room if you want. He said he shouldn't be long." May gives the girl a wink and let's her in.
Riley thanks her before slowly making her way over to Peter's room. She takes in a breath before opening his bedroom door and stepping inside.
Peter needed to learn to clean. That was her first thought as she stepped inside. She closes the door behind her and pushes some clothes aside.
"Such a teenager." She whispers to herself and places some of his clothes onto his chair. She shoves a couple pieces of paper off of his bed, not reading the scientific equations on them, and sits down under the bed frame.
Her legs shake as she awaits for Peter. She runs the words inside her head like she's preparing for an audition. Only she's really preparing an argument with the boy, hoping she would get some answer from him.
At that moment, she heard his window slowly open. Riley turns to look behind her and sees a figure making their way through the small hole in the wall.
"Peter?" She asks and the said boy jumps, dropping his bag on the floor and falling the next few feet.
"Riley? What the hell? What-what are you doing here?" He whisper shouts, trying to look away from her, trying to cover himself.
"You're aunt let me in. I needed to talk to you and-what have you done to your face?" She asks him, suddenly aware of the bleeding cut across his cheek.
All previous thoughts of asking what he's been up to, where he's been, why he's been leaving her, and why he came through the window had vanished. She was now worried about his face.
"I-um. I got in a fight." He mumbles, partially telling the truth. But Riley didn't know that. She sighs and kneels down next to him to inspect the cut.
"With who?" She asks and tilts his head to see the wound clearer. He coughs.
"F-flash. I'm fine!" He quickly adds, seeing the look of horror on her face. She stares at him for a moment before standing up.
"Im gonna get something for that. Stay there." She tells him and leaves before he can object.
Everything she had planned to do when she came here had now been forgotten. It all seemed rather ridiculous now that Peter was hurt. She couldn't care less about where he had gone, only that he was hurt and needed someone to be nice to him.
May was in her room so Riley quickly grabbed a frozen bag of peas and the first aid kit from under the kitchen sink. It had a fee plasters, some stitching tape and some antibacterial wipes. It was good enough. And the wound wasn't that bad.
She quickly headed back into the bedroom and saw that Peter hadn't moved an inch. She let out a small chuckle.
"Whats funny?" The boy asks as he sits up so Riley can sit next to him.
"Nothing. Just you." She tells him and gets out a wipe to clean the cut.
"This may sting a bit." She warns him and slowly begins to dab around the area. Peter doesn't even flinch. He just watches her with curiosity.
"Peter, where have you been going?" She asks, remembering what she was here for. The words made their way out of her mouth before she could register them.
He sighs and looks to the floor and she gets the stitching tape and starts covering the cut to keep it together and let it heal.
"Trust me when I say it's not important. I had a few errands to run. And I'm really sorry I left you all the time." He apologises and looks back up at her with a sad smile.
It wasn't the answer she hoped for, but it was good enough. For now.
"Its fine. I just get worried, you know? Now hold this against your cheek. It should keep the swelling down." She instructs him and passes him the peas, him holding them to his cheek like she told him to do.
Riley leans back and watches him for a moment. She knew he was leaving some things out. They may not be of importance, but she worried. What if all the others times he was off fighting Flash? Or maybe he was having to run from him? What if it was something else?
"Peter. Can you promise me something?" She asks and watches as his eyes meet hers. He nods his head.
"Don't keep secrets from me. Please. I'm your best friend." She tells him and takes his hand in hers, running her thumb over his knuckles which seemed slightly bruised. He keeps looking at her.
"I promise." He whispers. She smiles at him and nods her head.
Her eyes travel around the room and they land on a card. A birthday card.
"Holy shit! I forgot your birthday! The fourth, right? Oh my god I'm sorry sorry!" She cries, placing a hand to her mouth. She was so worried about how and where he was that she forgot his birthday.
"Oh my god, Riley." He laughs and leans back against the wall. She looks at him with confusion.
"What?" She asks and moves the frozen peas back against his face.
"You choose now, of all times, to worry about my birthday." He laughs.
She smiles at him and starts to laugh as well. He was right. She had bad timing. She always has.
So here's the next chapter! So sorry it took like maybe two weeks! I've been super stressed! But it's here! And I'm happy to say this was not a filler! It actually had a point!
But yeah! Happy October 1st! It's practically Halloween! I think I'm gonna dress up as Georgie from IT and stand under a lamp post with a balloon the whole evening. Good idea?
How's everyone? Leave me a comment on how you think the chapter went and I'll be sure to respond! And I hit 800+ reads! Thank you so much! I love you guys!
Thanks for reading this! And I look forward to updating next! Xx