Flowers in the Window || W2S

13

"And the top story this hour, the number of young women who have supposedly been kidnapped by the 'fairytale thief' has reached nine. Margot Byrne, aged-"

You genuinely spat out your water.

Throwing yourself out of bed, where you had been peacefully listening to the news from your room while revising and still being sick, you sprinted to the living room, where Bryce had a similar horror-struck expression to your own.

"-police currently investigating say they have no concrete leads on the case. Police Commissioner Ralph Colegate is expected to meet with Spider-Man in a hidden location later this afternoon. Other stories this hour-"

You didn't give one tiny shit about the other news. Rushing back to your bedroom, you found that someone had already anticipated your reaction-the familiar blue eyes were waiting, filled with pure concern, watching you carefully as you wrenched the window open and practically fell into his arms.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered into your hair.

You almost didn't hear him. Whether because of the illness, or the exhaustion, or just the fact that this was your best friend, you had started hysterically sobbing against Harry's chest, your arms around his waist, constricting like little snakes, never wanting to let go. He lifted you slightly, moving you over to the bed, and then pulled you onto his lap and gently held you close as you continued to cry, his fingers brushing your hair in a warm manner.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated when the worst of the crying was over. "I should have been watching more. This is all my fault, I-"

"Don't you dare," you cut him off-albeit a lot less firm than you'd meant to. "You wouldn't have to be watching if there wasn't some psycho woman flying around and robbing and kidnapping random girls like that. This isn't your fault at all."

He looked doubtful, but still pulled you even closer when you reached up to kiss his jaw, lips brushing all the stubble that was constantly growing on his face.

"What do we do?" It seemed a silly question, but you needed something.

He thought for a moment. "I think I might have to call in a favour. One of my friends in a different city-he's not far away. He could help..he found this ring a few years ago, see, and this alien thing came out of nowhere and was like 'This ring shall give you all my power, I'm dying, you are the chosen one', all that jazz. So my mate took this ring, a nice, shiny, unassuming, green ring, and now he has the ability to turn all his thoughts into physical form, but it's all green."

You let out a light cough, as you always did whenever you cried. "Who is this friend?"

"Well," Harry said, a slight smile on his face, "His actual name is Will, but you'd know him better as..actually, have you ever heard of the Green Lantern?"

"Wasn't that a movie or something?"

"Yeah, it used to be an urban legend. It's real, though-I should get him to come over some time soon and meet you. You'd like him, I think."

Sniffing, you realised the pair of you had gotten sidetracked. "What do we do right now, then?"

"I have a meeting with Commissioner Colegate later today. I'll hear his game plan first, report back to you, and we can go from there." He took your face in his hands and tilted your head up to look at him. "But I want you to promise me something. You're going to promise me something, and I'm going to promise you something."

"Go on, then."

He took a deep breath. "Promise me you'll never put yourself in danger on purpose. I know you're not stupid, but I also know how much you care about your friends. Please, don't do that to yourself-let me handle the dangerous parts, and you can support me. I don't want you to get hurt again-I had enough nightmares when Catastrophe shot you."