Spider-X: A Spider-Man Story

Chapter 14: Rooftop

6:02 am. Today Peter wakes up to the memory of aliens suffocating him during the battle with Thanos. He hates that dream because he always wakes up feeling like he can't breathe.

So now he's on the roof of the Institute again, like he is most mornings or middle of the nights when he can't sleep after waking from his nightmares.

Sometimes he reads, now that his web shooters are fully functional, sometimes he practices with them. But most of the time he sits up here and watches the sunrise as he listens to the Institute waking up. If he listens particularly hard, he can hear the subway station, people starting their commutes. It's peaceful up here. Winter is slowly seeping away into spring, but the bite is still here. It's not the same as sitting on fire escapes in Queens, but the air still feels like New York. Like home.

He picks up a pair of footsteps, running to the Institute. They're quick, light, and they're running at a consistent, measured pace.Peter watches as Jean breaks through the treeline. Peter watches her jog. She checks her watch and slows down. Then she looks around briefly before looking up, right at Peter, and makes eye contact.

Peter jumps a little, surprised she spotted him at all, let alone so quickly. She jogs into the house, but Peter can hear her jog up three flights of steps and find the door to the roof. He can also hear the lock metal bend until it snaps, then her opening the door.

"How did you spot me?" Peter asks.

"How did you even get up here?" Jean examines the lock on the door. The lock she obviously broke with her cool mind powers. A lock that obviously wasn't broken before.

Peter ignores her question. "You came through the trees and looked right at me. How did you know?"

Jean sighs, "should I be concerned you're sitting on the edge of the roof?"

Peter smiles. She's right. He is sitting on the edge, his legs dangling over the side. "How long until one of us answers a question?"

Jean just raises her eyebrows. Peter appeases her and criss crosses his legs under him, scooting back a few feet. Jean shifts a little nervously, eyeing the spot next to Peter, then craning her neck to look at the ground below. "It's perfectly safe," Peter says to try and make her relax. "It's a very sturdy roof."

"You could still fall."

Peter stands up and grins. He does a backflip, right on the edge. Jean gasps and lurches forward. Peter raises his arms to do another one. "Stop! Stop!" She cries. "I'll sit if you stop doing that!"

Peter sits back down, dangling his legs over the edge. Jean joins him, tucking her feet under herself and only looking at the ground once. "What are you doing up here?"

"I like it up here. It's a nice place to think. Watch the sunrise." Peter explains it noncommittally. "So you jog?"

"I'm going for state this year," Jean explains. "I've gone to regionals twice but if I go to state, I can get a better scholarship from Boston."

Peter looks at her, "Boston College?" Jean nods. "You're really focused, aren't you?"

Jean stares at the sky. "I have to be. You're not exceptional unless you work harder than everyone else."

"You know you can move things with your mind, right? That's pretty exceptional."

Jean's grip tightens on the roof edge. "I spend most of my time avoiding the thought of my powers." She says it like a joke but Peter can sense the truth behind it.

"Why?" Peter pushes, "your powers are incredible."

Jean scoffs. "It doesn't feel that incredible." She opens her mouth, then closes it. Debating whether to say more. She finally turns to look at Peter. "I knew you were up here because I could sense it." Peter raises his eyebrows in surprise. Jean continues, "I can sense all the minds around me. Everyone has a different signature, and if I'm around people a lot, it's easier for me to learn the signature."