(Fem.) Percy meets Spidey

31

I wasn't sure what to make of Percy. For as loud as she normally was, and for the weird moments I couldn't quite remember, she seemed perfectly quiet and subdued the way home. Her gaze remained on the ground, picking out the cracks and weeds that made up the sidewalk in front of our building. Not a word had left her mouth since the earlier conversation, so I jolted when she spoke. 

"Can I hang out at your place for a while?" she asked. "I- I don't think my mom will take it too well when she finds out I'm not with my dad, and I'd rather put off going home as long as possible. I mean, my dad doesn't care if I actually go to visit him or not, so I don't get why she's so uptight about me going."

"Maybe she wants you to spend time with him." I expected the bite in my tone to force some sort of reaction. At least she had both parents. At least she wouldn't have to deal with Flash taunting her that she gets the people around her killed. 

"I don't feel right taking him away from important stuff. I mean, his job was part of the reason he left to begin with. Couldn't be distracted by a kid. But now he can because I'm actually useful. And also because his brother is continually trying to murder me, and we can't have that." Percy shrugged. "So can I hang out at your place or not?"

I sighed and pulled open the door to the building. "Come on," I said. We took the stairs two at a time. The elevator would've been better but the "out of order' sign took that option away. Percy was nearly on all fours as she skipped an extra step. She peered out the landing door into the hall and exhaled. She let me walk past her and to my apartment. I slid the key into the lock and twisted. 

"May?" I called. A chair scraped from the kitchen and soon May stared at me and Percy through her glasses. "Do you mind if she comes in for a bit?" I slipped past her before her response came. 

"Hi." Percy stood stiff in the doorway. May nodded and reached forward to draw her in. Percy flinched. She did end up coming inside, but the way she slinked forward reminded me far too much of a puppy with its tail tucked between its legs. My expression mirrored May's frown.

"There's some food on the stove if you want some," said May. Her eyes followed Percy until she disappeared around the corner at which point she leaned towards me. "What was that?" Her voice was barely above a whisper but it didn't stop the concern from washing through.

"I don't know. She- She said she was with her dad earlier and she just kinda ditched him in the middle of a park."

"Did she tell him she was leaving?"

"No. She wanted to come here so Sally wouldn't get mad at her."

May pressed her lips together. Her eyes trailed away. "Or maybe so her dad couldn't find her easily." She sighed and dropped her head. "Your suit is away right?" I nodded. It was shoved under my bed, tucked behind a few boxes of Legos. "Good, go do teenager stuff. But not too much teenager stuff."

My face scrunched up. "May."

"I have to say it." She put her hands between us. "Just leave the door open." 

When I walked into the kitchen, I expected Percy to have grabbed something to eat. She hadn't. Sitting at the table, her hands were folded in her lap, and she stared around the apartment. She seemed relaxed and yet that wasn't the right word. There wasn't any tension in her body, but her eyes were alert. Systematically they scanned over the room only to sweep back and begin again. Green and seeming to glow with power, her gaze locked onto me. I shivered, Spidey sense tingling. Something wasn't right with her. And I didn't mean in that she had a screw loose. I've never felt like that unless there was something actively posing some danger, even if said danger was a spitball. 

"Do you want to build a Lego set?" I asked. Ned would kill me for not inviting him, but its not like we hadn't done that one before. That one was also the reason I moved where I stored them after knocking it off one late night.

"Sure."

Percy followed me into my room and stood as I pulled out a box. I patted the floor and she sat. I poured out the bricks on the short rug, before grabbing the assembly pamphlet.  As I skimmed through it, Percy shifted through the bricks gathering all of the gray two by fours. The blocks cascaded over each other. 

"Hey, uh, are you okay?" I asked. "You kinda- You flinched."

She froze, hand hovering above the pile. It slipped down and she sorted through it again. "I'm fine." I narrowed my eyes and stared at her. Percy shifted, moving her legs under herself. I didn't miss the way she never looked up at me. Or the way she seemed to draw her limbs closer to herself. Her free hand rubbed at the opposite wrist. "Everything's fine, Peter. There's nothing to worry about. I'm just a jumpy person. Kidnappings will do that to a person." 

Maybe I would've bought it, maybe but not for the wavering smile she tried to paint on her face like a mask. 

Please enjoy this chapter while i enjoy the remainder of my winter break

If you have anything you want to see, just shoot a comment because i ....may or may not have forgotten what came after this

See yah