Doused In Fire |Harry Osborn|

Chapter I: Fiery Temper

"Even if it was wrong, I would do it again and again. I would always do it to protect my family from my father, to protect myself. I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest. Don't make the same mistake as my father did and only see a little girl."

-Kiara James

------------------------------------------------

Kiara James was quietly doing her homework in her room and she heard her parents beginning to argue, about something or another yet again. Kiara wiped the tears out from under her eyes, when she heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in!" She called out over her shoulder and when her oldest brother Jack opened the door to her room, she grinned brightly at him. "Jack!" Kiara shouted at the top of her lungs and she dropped the pencil onto the book and ran over to him, knocking over the chair in the process and jumping into his arms.

Jack nearly fell because of the force behind the jump and he laughed a bit at her, as she hugged him tightly with her arms around his neck. "I missed you too, kiddo." He murmured as she leaned into the hug and he laughed a bit. "If you let go and drop onto the bed, I have gifts for your birthdays that I missed." He said and Kiara squealed in delight, as she dropped immediately.

Unfortunately, she missed the intended target of her bed and hit the floor. "Ow." Kiara grumbled and Jack's smile was both teasing and concerned for her, as Kiara accepted the hand up and she sat on the bed next to her older brother.

"When I said to "let go and drop" I thought that you would have at least better aim then that." Jack teased and Kiara stuck out her tongue at him and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh shut up!" Kiara complained at a familiar teasing look that was now in his eyes, written all over his face and Kiara leaned into the offered hug. "I seriously thought that you weren't going to come home again, after what happened last time." She admitted as Jack sighed and he lifted his shoulders in a small shrug.

"I couldn't leave you behind. Or really any of you. Couldn't leave Mom either... you know that." Jack pointed out and she nodded slightly. "Anyways, enough about me. Here you go, go on and open them up. Go nuts." He encouraged and he held the multiple packages out to her, including some smaller boxes to the young girl.

"These are all for me?! Why?!" Kiara asked softly and Jack chuckled, as he shook his head at her.

"I missed a full 5 years of your birthdays last time that I left, Kiara, I am not going to skip out on them again and I am certainly not going to let you have no presents from me. So open 'em up, so I don't have to explain why they have to be taken back." Jack mumbled with a smile and Kiara threw her arms around his neck in another sort of hug, and Kiara started to open the boxes.

"It's amazing!" Kiara said excitedly to her eldest brother, who helped her to put the locket around her neck, as she had ripped the box containing it open, and Jack smiled at her excitement. "I... where did you find this?" She asked as he looked at her with a small shrug.

"I had some help finding it. From a couple of friends of yours. Peter Parker and Harry Osborn? They said that they had spotted you looking at it for a long while, so I saved up and managed to get it before it went out." Jack said and Kiara shakes her head a little bit, as she laughed.

"Guess those two actually do pay attention, once and a while at least. I never expected them to notice that or anything that is seen as so trivial by people." Kiara muttered and Jack was looking at her with raised eyebrows at her use of vocabulary. "I read a lot, Jackie boy." She said and Jack reached over and he messed up her hair with his hand that was the size of her head almost and Kiara shoved her shoulder into his chest to get him to stop and he was laughin' lightly at her and also at the old nickname, that she was the only one allowed to use for him.

Kiara looked at her closed and quite locked door,as the shouting from both of their parents got ever louder for all of them to hear, as Jack sighed. "I got a place just outside of the city, if all of you guys, just wanted to come and live with me." Jack offered and Kiara looked at the doorway, as the knocks came at it. "Who is it?" Jack asked and Kiara saw a knife that was tucked into a sheath, that was under his flannel shirt.

"It's us. Julia, Thomas, Carson, Jason and Michael." Jack unlocked the door and opened it, as the five other kids in the James family piled into Kiara's big room.

"Presents for everyone. Go to town, you guys." Jack stated and they were all cheering, as everyone pulled open their presents and Jack looked over at Kiara, who was holding the locket and smiling at him.

The shouting got louder and ever closer to the room, as Kiara tucked the locket into her shirt and tried to make herself as small as possible, while the others of various ages, they all rushed to hide their presents from Jack, who stood up and the door was kicked open.

Their father stood there, staggering and swaying with an open container in his hand and Jack stared at him, as he shook his head. "What the fuckin' hell are you doing heeere?" Their father as usual, he was slurring his words which was nothing knew and in his other hand, he had a cigar and Kiara rolled down her sleeves at the sight, having many burns already from his cigars.

"Saying hello to my siblings. Where's Mom?" Jack asked calmly, and when their dad took a drunken swing at his head, Jack blocked the blow and he'd break the bottle, which went in every direction and only served to anger the man that everyone who lived in the house and who was smart, was right to fear.

"Downstairs. Don't you stupid and dumb asses, have anywhere else to be right now?! Huh?!" Everyone was scattering at once, except for Kiara in her own room and Jack, who stood in place and was firmly planted in front of the youngest of his siblings. "You should leave. Now. Before someone gets hurt... again." Their father said and Kiara looked at Jack, who stood firmly in place in front of her like the protective older sibling he was to her and the rest. "MOVE!"

"No." Jack stated coldly and his fists clenched at his sides briefly, before a scoff came from their father and he stormed away to shout at somebody else.

Kiara moved closer to her brother with a scared expression on her face as she wrapped her arms around his waist and Jack smiled a little bit at her as Kiara sighed. "You can come and live with me from now on, you all can. I don't want you guys anywhere near that stupid asshole of a biological dad that we have. You hear me?" Kiara nodded slightly and Jack hugged her gently. "Let's get going." He said and he started to help her pack.