Wings || Peter Parker

Part 2, Chapter 39: The beginning...again

"Alright guys, you know the drill. My name is Max Pierce. I was born with wings, and for the last four months, I was living with Tony Stark in the Avengers Tower. You know the rest, I was raised in a HYDRA lab for most of my life. Stark got me out and I befriended Peter Parker, and his boyfriend, Harley. I learned how to fly, jumped off a couple buildings, and ran away once or twice. 

I got scolded for doing that. A lot of times, actually. 

Tony Stark doesn't really like me anymore. Peter Parker doesn't like me anymore, and Harley Keener definitely hates me now. They have a reason to. Accidentally outing people is pretty shitty.

I don't know how New York feels about me now. I kind of abandoned the avengers. Not like I was ever going to be one anyways. No one would trust me with that responsibility. 

I ran away from the tower last time you saw me. I left the story high in the sky.

Literally.

I'm pretty sure I've terrorized a few truck drivers. I probably scared the shit out of birds. They were probably thinking 'What is this person flying with wings? Ah! Squak, I've been accidentally hit!' Sorry, Mr. Piegeon. 

Anyways, I've learned a lot living on the streets of New York. Especially when I have to stay hidden on rooftops most of the time.

I've only been here for a few weeks. I stayed on the top of a building.

My roof is on top of a vertical mall, with half the roof raised eight feet to make room for a roof access door. There's a tarp and a ton of sheet metal that I stay behind most of the days. I found the utility hallways behind the food court, which is only a floor below me. 

I stole a ton of food. Can't blame me though, I can't be seen in public, or be reported to Stark. I can't risk him finding me again.

I took a few blankets and sheets from the bed bath and beyond storage room the first night I spent there. I snuck in before the mall closed, and spent the night on one of the display beds. Then almost got busted by security. I took two fleece blankets and a comforter.

I use the comforter as a mattress on the cement ground. My backpack full of clothes is my pillow, and the fleece blankets are for warmth. So far, the only weather I've had to deal with is the cold. And even then, I've got an advantage with my winter fluff coming in on my wings. 

It's mid-October. Soon I'm going to have to worry about snow. Then shelter from the snow and wind. No one shovels the rooftops, they just place the heating vents so they waste energy to melt the snow instead of heating the inside of the building. Like school buildings do.

I try not to leave the roof much, but I need meals, and I need resources. I've got a stash of water bottles from the back rooms, and a box of chip bags, but I need real food as well. I try not to, but I do have to sneak down to the food court during the very busy hours some days, which means there won't be anyone hanging out in back rooms.

I've gotten good at sleeping through honking horns and keeping up good hygiene. There's a gym across the street that has shit security, so I shower there every other night before going to sleep. 

I've also started swearing more and talking to the pigeons on the roofs. One keeps coming back, and it waddles up to me and perches on a long-abandoned trash can next to my shelter every day. We once had a whole conversation about me rambling to him(or her, or whatever the pigeon feels like identifying as) about my life.

Anyways, back on topic. It's day 25 on the roof. I washed my hair last night in the Planet Fitness showers. I at a bag of chips for breakfast, and had a very one-sided conversation with a pigeon.

I was still lying on the comforter, wings curled perfectly over the blankets and me, so everything but my face was covered in warmth. It was October 20th, and I had plans for today. 

Firstly, I needed to restock on supplies for my little area. I needed more bottled water and more easy food like the box of chips I'd had. I ate the last one this morning. I also needed to search in the clothing departments for new clothes. My hoodies had already worn out, and the cuts in the back had stretched to be more useless than useful, basically leaving my entire back open.

I could also use entertainment. I'd grabbed a book earlier, one resting out of place in a back room that had definitely belonged to someone, but I read it and returned it the next day. It was not a great book.

There was a Barnes and Noble in the mall, on the second floor. It's risky, but I could spend the night just browsing through the new book shipments and carting all my stuff to the exit door on the roof, so then when it was time to leave I could just shove it all out the door and sort through it later.

I decided on doing that, so now I was just left until eleven PM to fill my time. I couldn't fly, I'd seen Spiderman swing by on a couple of occasions. I couldn't go down into the streets to wander around, and I couldn't go inside the building.

It was dark and shady behind my tarp and metal sheets, so I didn't get up. I fell back asleep until four, thanks to the digital watch I'd taken from Target. It was a Spiderman watch. The time was 4:03.

I don't know why I'm telling you all this Mr. Pigeon Sir." I glanced at the bird sitting next to me on the trashcan. "I just rambled for like, half an hour. I don't know why I went into everything in detail. There's this little dumb bitch of an author inside my brain who's just brain shitting at 2 am."

The pigeon cooed.

"Anyways, have you heard about the new news? The tower is looking for me. It's pretty funny. I hope they don't find me up on my rooftop."

"Are you high?" He cocked his head.

"No," I responded, smiling. "I'm losing my mind, thank you very much."

Anyways, Hi y'all. Apparently putting a story on hiatus for me, means fall asleep fully clothed with your bedroom light on for two weeks straight, then start spamming the keyboard on a sunday night at 2 am. I have school tommorow.

Anyways, again, Max has a pigeon friend. that's it. He's new, that's why she told him her story.

no other reason.

definitely not for y'all reading it to get caught up.

not at all.