Lost Home

Runaway

I spend a lot of the weekend deliberating how I'm going to do this, and if I really should, and there's a lot of good reasons why I should stay and tell Pepper and Aunt May, but a lot more, better, reasons why I shouldn't.

I feel bad about dragging MJ and Ned into my mess too, but I'm glad they are helping me, which makes me feel worse, and then I think about all the people I won't be able to help which makes me feel even worse, and it's all a big loop, eugh. I feel sick.

I apparently look sick too, because Pepper mentioned something about me being pasty that ended with Morgan trying to shove cough medicine down my throat. It was banana flavour. And nothing that's banana flavoured ever tastes good.

Ned tries to persuade me out of it, until I remind him that if I don't disappear Mysterio will go after him and his family first. Then the berating starts to go away.

When Monday comes MJ and I agree to meet up close enough to the school that I can get my suit ,which I gave to ned so he could take the tracker out of it, when we leave.

It's an alley. A pretty disgusting one too; I try not to think too much about it.

She has a really small backpack with her, considering she's not going back to her house for, I don't really know how long actually.

I'm starting to get anxious, running the note over and over in my head, wondering if it really means he'll kill me and my family and friends if I don't run away. Then I remember his face as he tried to kill me, and, guess what! I'm pretty sure he would.

" Hey, earth to Spiderboy, you sure you want to do this? I mean, it's fine if you don't, just hours of my life I won't ever get back," She's looking at me funnily, then I realize that I started to climb up the wall as I paced. Not my best habit.

"Uh, yeah, I do. I was just thinking about Mysterio," I pause then I remember she doesn't actually know where we're going, "There's an apartment in High Bridge that Mr. Stark bought for whatever reason and forgot about, or maybe just abandoned, I'm not really sure. Anyway, he bought it nearly a decade before he met Pepper, and she doesn't know about it. I don't even think Rhodey knows about it. E.D.I.T.H says he was REALLY drunk when he bought it."

"Ookkaaayyyy..."

We sit there and talk about random stuff, waiting for Ned to show up during lunch so we can take the suit and go.

He shows up exactly five minutes after the bell rings, with a reminder to tell hime we're okay as soon as we know that we actually are.

Suddenly Ned starts crying, and I hug him, not quite sure what to do with my arms or words, so everything comes out at once, and suddenly I'm talking about the new StarWars movie that came out and about all the cool lego sets he'll get for his birthday, and about a bunch of other things I didn't know I was thinking about but suddenly am.

MJ even hugs him goodbye; they've grown ridiculously close over laughing at me. Scarily close. Not as in, 'I'm going to lose my girlfriend!' Scary, but 'I'm never going to get a break!' Kinda scary.

I hail a taxi, directing them to a place far away enough from the apartment that no one will think we've gone there.

I give him a 20 dollar tip, and the instructions not to tell, hoping bribing him will work as well for me as well as it did for Mr. Stark.

When we get to the apartment I pull out the key I made using the 3D printer in the tech lab, which may not have been the best idea, since after I had to spend like 40$ printing enough balls to wipe the key from it's memory.

The inside is filled with the nicer-than-my-apartment-but-still-not-nice modern furniture I have ever seen. Everything is coated in dust, and there are a couple items that were either forgotten or unwanted; an old vogue magazine, a little homemade elephant, and philosophy book on the bookshelf.

Otherwise it's abandoned, all the personality gone, empty shelves, bare walls, all there is are the obvious things for a living room. A couch, chair, bookshelf, side table, coffee table. Same with the rest of the rooms. I don't mind, but I think it might feel empty for a while, neither MJ or I brought very much.

There are two identical adult bedrooms, thank goodness, and a baby's room. We each take one, then curl up on the couch. I'm not really sure what to do, but I'm, like, 97% sure MJ will figure out how many books we're going to need to fill that shelf. And, maybe, eventually, Ned could come and visit?

_________________________________

A/N:

Does anyone want the chapters to be longer? I'm fine with that, could you just tell me if they're too short?