The Spider and The Flame (Peter Parker)

Part 20- Normality

Peter's POV

"I can keep the suit?" I ask, completely dumbfounded. Mr. Stark simply chuckles.

"Well it doesn't fit me." He laughs. He reaches over to me and I hug him, feeling so very grateful for his help. He has really helped me to see just how good I can be. Spider-Man can really become something special. "No, no, just reaching for the door." He coughs, opening my door for me.

"Oh.." I mumble, slightly embarrassed. I make my way out of the car and take the small briefcase from Happy's hands. It's heavier than I expected, but I can handle it. After all, I am a lot stronger than I look.

Up the stairs to my and Aunt May's apartment, I reach the door and slide the key into the slot. I unlock it and enter the apartment, keeping the briefcase close to me.

Quickly I run to my room and drop it in the corner.

"Hey!" I hear a voice in front of me, scaring the shit out of me. I look up and find Ned sitting on my bed.

"Ned!" I smile, walking over towards him. "How you been, man?"

"Good, good." Ned's eyes narrow and he inhales deeply with his nose, "I ordered a Lego death star the other day so it'll be here in a few months. Help me with it when it gets here?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I reply, not paying attention to Ned. My attention is diverted to the case in the corner of my room. Ned's not stupid, he can easily tell that the case is way out of my price range.

"What's with the case?" He asks, arriving to the question faster than I thought he would.

"Mr. Stark gave it to me as a present" I lie, exceptionally well might I add. Ned's eyes light up while he stares at the expensive case.

"Is there anything in it?" He continues.

"Nope, just an expensive briefcase. Makes me look like a real baller though." I laugh, and take a seat next to Ned on my bed. I lean my weight on my knees and sigh.

"You sure you're okay?" Ned turns towards me, "you just seem kind of upset."

"Just..." I think about how I'm feeling, and I really can't decide. I'm so heartbroken it's killing me, but I'm also undeniably angry. Thinking back to everything I went through with her, every memory is now twisted by the idea that she may have been lying. The night that we spent together in the pool used to be one of the best nights of my life and now, I don't know whether it was real or not. How can I go on knowing that the best moments of my life could easily be fake? I want to know the truth, I need to hear it from her face to face. But at the same time, if I see her face, I don't know how well I'd be able to control myself. If I ever see her again, I know that I'll either be overcome with anger or fall into her arms again. It's really not easy to guess. "I'm just missing the internship."

"You'll get to go back though!" Ned tries to cheer me up. "You'll see her again."

"What?" I ask, knitting my eyebrows together.

"I said, you'll get to work with Tony Stark again." Ned chuckles.

"Oh, yeah. Right." I stutter, and smile. "I'm pretty tired actually, I think I might hit the sack early."

"Oh, okay. Sorry, I'll leave." His eyes sadden and he stands, walking towards the door. "See you at school then? First day back on Monday..."

"Yeah, I'll see you." I faintly smile as Ned walks out. He can tell I'm upset, he knows me too well. But he also knows better than to keep asking questions.

My feet carry me to my door and I reach for the knob. Just as I'm about to turn it, I hear Ned speaking on the other side of the door.

"I'm worried about him, May. He seems... Depressed." He says about me.

"He's probably just missing the Stark life. He went from living in a billion dollar research facility back to this place!" May answers.

"That's what he told me, but I don't think it's true. He reeks of booze, May. I don't think he even knows it. He's slow and quiet and not himself. Just, watch him."

"He's fine, Ned. I always watch him. I'm sure he'll be all better by Monday." I hear the front door of the apartment open and close.

Finally turning the doorknob, I find Aunt May standing in the kitchen with one of her hands running through her hair, and her other hand rested on the countertop.

"You say hi to Ned before me?" Aunt May turns towards me with a disappointed, yet understanding look.

"I went to drop off my bags in my room and he was there, I'm sorry." I answer, reaching my arms out.

Aunt May hugs me tightly and runs a hand on the back of my head. I close my eyes and hold her equally as tight. I nearly start crying, but I hold myself together just enough.

"How was the internship?" She asks, disconnecting the hug and turning towards the fridge. She opens the door and pulls out a jug of milk.

"It was good." I answer simply, shifting my weight on my toes.

"Good? That's all I get?" She laughs, pouring each of us a glass of milk. She hands it to me and I take it.

"It was long and everyday was the exact same." I answer, sipping my milk.

"Did you have any fun?"

I think about my experience at the facility and back to all of the fun memories Ash and I had. Although I don't fully understand what her intentions were, I did still enjoy a lot of the time we spent together. "Yeah, I think I did. Bittersweet fun, but fun nonetheless."

"What?" Aunt May laughs, "Bittersweet? Nonetheless? You've been spending too much time with scientists. You don't sound like you!" She smiles.

"Grew a few brain cells I guess." I smile. I place my empty milk glass on the counter.

"Smells like you lost more than you gained," she sighs. "Go take a shower, you smell like a wet bar."