>
Peter has friends that he has known for most of his life, people that have always been there for him, people that care for and worry about him. However, Peter doesn't have anyone like Clover in his life. No, she is not some best friend that he has...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Morning sunlight spills into Peter's room early the next day. The rays of sun hit Peter's face causing his eyes to blink open suddenly. His senses are soon alert and he can hear breathing and the smell of coffee on someone's breath. Peter glances down to see Clover's head in his lap, her body curled around his knee. She breaths softly in and out, her hair folded over one side of her face and her sweat shirt exposing part of her suit that she's still wearing underneath. Peter tries to lift her head off of his knee without waking her, but she stirs and her eyes shoot open. She sits up and rubs her eyes.
"God, these super senses make me hear every damn noise" Clover complains.
"Spider sense" Peter corrects.
"Sorry...spider sense" Clover says.
She raises her head from her cousin's lap when they both hear the shuffling of footsteps down the hall. They shoot up from the floor, stacking the files on the floor and tuck them under Peter's bed. Clover grabs the coffee mugs and hides them in a box in his closet. Both of them stop when they reach the map. Not knowing what to do, they decide to pin a blanket over it.
"That's not suspicious is it?" Peter says sarcastically.
"It'll have to do" Clover responds.
A knock comes at the door and May peeks inside. Her hair is in her face, her pyjamas still on. A tired look crosses May's face and a yawn is the first noise that comes from her mouth. She groggily steps into the room, not even noticing the mess.
"I'm not feeling well guys, I'm heading back to sleep. Try not to burn down the apartment" she says sheepishly and inches away from the teens and back into the hall.
"Feel better May" Peter shouts down the hall.
Shutting the door closed again, Peter tears off the blanket covering the map and snaps a few dozen pictures. He then tucks his phone in his pocket, grabs his bag and tosses a bag at Clover. Clover raises an eyebrow at her cousin, not quite sure what he's doing.
"We're not going to school today." Peter says.
"And why is that?" Clover asks.
"Because this Vulture guy is showing up more and more. The next time he shows himself, it might be something bigger than I can handle and I want you to be prepared." Peter says.
Clover nods and gathers the files up into the backpack and the two head out of the apartment and towards their abandoned warehouse. They enter the building like usual, through the skylight. As Clover lands, dust flies around her and a natural spotlight envelopes her. Peter jumps down after her and they place their things in a far corner. The whole day, Peter bombards her with information and moves and advice. The whole day Clover works to perfect what Peter has given her. All throughout the evening they continue to train. Even as the natural light fades, they fight in the dark. It isn't until they hear a ringtone that they pause. Peter creeps over to Clover's bag and tosses Clover her cellphone. Liz.
"Hi Liz" Clover says.
"Where were you and Pete today? We were all worried, me especially. Michelle told me about what happened last night, are you okay?" Liz says.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Peter's fine too, Mays sick and so is Pete I just stayed home to take care of them. You know Peter, he can barely tie his shoes without me" Clover jokes, earning a glare from Peter.
"You're right...I'll see you tomorrow I guess" she says.
"Depends"
"On what?" Liz asks.
"On Peter...and how he feels" Clover says.
"Oh okay...talk later then?" Liz says.
Clover doesn't even give her an answer before she hangs up.
Liz places her phone back in her pocket as she walks down the hall. She turns the corner and approaches the Parker apartment. With a small knock on the door, she hears rustling inside the apartment and a click of the dead bolt. May's sickly face is revealed, her nose red, eyes tired, face pale. Liz greets her with a smile. May smiles and with a small greeting lets in her daughter's best friend into the apartment. May offers some tea, but Liz refuses. Then Liz gets the answer she suspected.
"They're not here you know" May says, knowing that Liz hasn't come to chat.
With a nod of her head, Liz apologizes for the inconvenience and heads for the door.
"So you don't know?" May says.
Liz turns back to May, a puzzled look on her face.
"You don't know why they've been acting so weird. I thought that it was just a teenage thing, staying out late with friends. Peter's been this way for a while so I've learned to deal with it, but now it's Clover and I know with those two that I'd never get a straight answer." May says.
"I wish I knew...Michelle and Ned are worried too. They're not the same" Liz says.
"I'd like to say it's grief, but I know better. It's something more...Peter comes home with cuts and bruise, Clover even did just last night. They think I don't notice the bloody bandages in the trash or the fact that we're going through first aid supplies like a war zone." May says.
"We know both of them well enough to know that they're not doing anything stupid. In fact I know that whatever they're doing is probably the polar opposite. I also know them well enough that they won't stop, even if they put themselves in danger."
May and Liz give each other an understanding nod and Liz leaves the apartment and rushes down the hall all the way out of the building.
