fearless || peter parker

one || prelude

I was dozing off at work when the phone rang.

I jumped up. My arm had knocked a few sheets off of the counter, but I quickly hopped off of the slick wooden stool to pick them up, and then carelessly dangled the corded phone from my ear, keeping it steady between my shoulder and cheek.

"Hello, Queens Diner," I answered, clumsily shuffling all of the fallen papers in my hands. It was odd to get a call after ten at night, and I should've had that in the back of my mind when I answered.

"Diana?" a familiar voice piped up on the opposite side of the line. My cheeks blossomed when I realised that my sister was calling me at work, after I specifically asked her not to, two nights ago when I started this job. "What time are you coming home? I made a bean salad for us, but you aren't here-"

"Madison," I snapped under my breath. "I already told you not to call me at work- you'll hold up the line."

"Your cell phone was off," Madison scolded, and I rolled my eyes. "When will you be home?"

"I'm off at eleven thirty tonight," I said. "So in, like, two minutes. But it'll take me fifteen to walk, so I'll be back a little before midnight. Kapeesh?"

"Not kapeesh," Madison pushed. "Are you sure you need a job? The hours are late, this is your third night and they have you working until near midnight! You're sixteen, for crying out loud, don't they know you have school-"

I sighed. Madison was my older sister, and she's been providing for the two of us ever since my mom died last year. Now, even though she's only six years older than me, Madison is the actual definition of a helicopter parent. "No. I need a job. You can't pay the rent and buy the food all by yourself, you know."

"That shouldn't be your job," Madison said. "It's mine. I can get us by."

"You're so damn secretive," I scowled. "I don't even know where you work, because it's oh-so-secretly important. And I will help you pay the rent and buy the food, because I want to do more than just get by. I'll see you in fifteen minutes."

"Diana-"

I hung up the phone angrily, just as my boss, Marty, poked his head out from the corner of the room by the washrooms and office.

"What's that?" Marty asked me. His brown curls dropped around his face, shaping his confusion.

I bit my lip. "Nothing. Just... someone who changed their mind on ordering."

Marty shrugged. "Remember to be nice to customers, D. You sound dragged."

Marty disappeared back along the wall, and I let out a huff. I would go off at Madison when I got home. For now, I untied my red apron, threw it in the laundry bin under the desk, and clocked out. I waved an exhausted good-bye to Marty as I slipped out the glass door, sliding off my flimsy crimson visor and hanging it on the hook so I wouldn't have to walk home looking like a beachy maniac. I left the shoe room and stepped out into the cool August night. There was a breeze that glided across my cheeks, but other than that, all was calm.

Well, as calm as Queens could get at eleven-thirty on a weeknight.

A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, disrupting the unusual peace of the chaotic area. I cursed under my breath- my umbrella was hanging on the coat rack in my apartment. Even though the air was thick and mild, Madison was probably at home, running around worries that I would be in the rain.

As soon as I thought the word, a drop landed on the tip of my narrow nose, and another one soon after on my cheek. I looked up at the dark night sky, and could barely tell that gray clouds were prominently floating over the entirety of the city. Three more raindrops splashed down on my face.