In Loving Memory [A Marvel Cinematic Universe Fanfiction] *Discontinued*

Prom

March, 2024

It's been 6 months since The Avengers brought everyone back after the Snap. Now everyone refers to the whole thing as The Blip, which is a weird way to put the suffering of half the world that happened over 5 years.
Anways, Harley and i have been together for 6 months, now. I've been told by many people that we are "So cute, it's gross." And that pretty much sums up Harley and I. I told him i loved him 3 months ago, and he said it right back. And if you must know, yes, we did the do.
But right now, i'm happier than i've ever been. I never in my wildest dreams thought it was possible to be this happy. But everyday i prove myself wrong.
By now, the compound has been built back. I moved into it 2 months ago. My new room is much different than my first one. There isn't a wall made of glass, instead a strip of glass going around 2 walls since my room is on the corner of the building. This whole floor is just bedrooms with bathrooms and closets...plenty of closests to hide your boyfriend in when your 16 year old best friend makes a suprise visit. Yes, that has actually happened 3 times now. One time, Harley was...let's say less than decent.
But things couldn't be better. I feel good, i feel happy.
But we all know that never lasts forever. Because i've been having those weird dreams again, seeing things happen over and over again, and it's clearer everytime. They're all filled with dread and pain and noise, but the same thing always happens at the end.
It didn't take me long to figure it out.
I'm going to die.
...
"So," i start, walking down the street with Ned and Peter. "Prom is next week."
They were all still Sophmores/10th graders, but the school was letting the Snapped in their grade go to Junior Prom after they begged for it for 3 months. The administration had finally caved.
"Yup. Let's hope it doesn't go like homecoming did," Ned answers. "Woo."
I remember Peter telling me about the whole Vulture, homecoming, Liz, Washington monument situation.
"You boys figure out who you're asking yet?" I ask with a smirk, hoping Peter will finally stop being shy and ask MJ out.
"Nope. Going solo this year," Ned replies with a smile. "So the ladies will all know i'm available."
"Peter? You're pretty quiet over there." I say, looking over across Ned to see Peter. "How about asking MJ?" I suggest.
"No," Peter says flatly.
"Why not?" I ask.
"Because i have the whole Europe plan, you know this," he says.
"Right, the Europe plan," i say.
"Speaking of Prom, i was wondering if you would want to chaperone." He says, completly out of nowhere.
"What?" I say.
"I was just thinking, since you've never actually been to a school dance, you might want to at least see one."
"Peter Parker, trying to teach me how to be human since 2018." I say, laughing. "Yeah, okay, i'll do it."
"Harley can, too, if you want a date."
"Oh, well now it's a done deal."
"But i better not catch you two like last week," he says with a mix of a joking voice and grossed out.
"We closed the door for a reason!" I say, wanting to change the subject as soon as possible.
"Put a sign on the door or something. I saw way more than i needed to, that day."
"Like i want to advertise it to the world."
"Not the world, just innocent passerby."
"Can we get back to the subject of Prom, please?" I say desprately.
"Fine," Peter says.
"So do i have to wear Prom clothes or just semi-formal?" I ask.
"I have no idea, you'd have to ask someone at the school."
"You're someone at the school."
"I mean someone at the school who would know, like the organizers."
"Ok," i say.
"Oh my god!" Someone says across the street. I look across, expecting to see someone getting mugged, but instead i see a teenage girl staring at me and smiling. She makes her way inbetween the cars at a standstill to me.
"You're Frankie Grant!" She says, giddy with exitement.
"Uh, yeah," i say, confused. "Can i help you?"
"Can i get a picture with you?" She asks.
Well, that was what i least expected.
"Why? I ask before i realize it's come out of my mouth.
"Because you're my favorite Avenger!" She says.
"Ok, then," i say. I find myself smiling. This has never happened, before.
"Do you mind?" She asks Peter.
"No, i don't mind." He says, flashing me a smile. "Oh if only you knew," he says as i stand in front of the camera.
"What is he talking about?" The girl asks me.
"No idea," i say, even though i do. I glare at him, then smile for the picture.
Peter's finger taps the screen and he lowers the phone, handing it to the girl. "Here you go."
"Thank you so much!" The girl says as she takes her phone back.
"No problem," i say, waving to her as she crosses the street again. The road is still at a standstill, but they still honk at ehr as she weaves back through the cars.
"Where are we going, again?" I ask. We were going to get lunch, but i forgot where.
"Delmar's," Peter says. "Trust me, it's great."
"Ok," i say, giving him a small smile. I have to make him seem like everything is okay with me. I don't want people to know what i know. I haven't even told Wanda or Harley.
I know it seems like i'm not making as big a deal out of thus as i should be, but i think i've just come to accept it. There's not really anything i can do about it, it's going to happen. Maybe i'm in denial, but i thought i was going to die years ago. Not when i tried to kill myself 4 and 6 years ago, but when i was 8 years old, i thought i was going to die in that facility with Strucker. I thought he was going to kill me.
Even though i know it's going to happen, i have no idea when or where it will happen. It could happen tommorrow, it could happen in 5 years, but i know what will happen.
There is a man who will not be real. He will be a holograph projection and he will disappear. In his place will be a white drone and it will shoot me 3 times. It will take me a few minutes to bleed out and die, but i've seen it happen so many times that when it does happen, it will come as no shock to me. It's going to happen so quickly that i can't stop it. I'll try to stop it, but i won't be quick enough.
And i can't change that.
...
I'm supposed to keep and eye on the snacks and punch table, make sure no one spikes the punch or takes an insane amount of candy. They're playing music i have no taste for and the whole place looks like a Fortnite dance lobby, but i can tell Peter's having fun. He's with Ned and MJ, and occasionally i see him look at MJ like...well, i don't know how to describe it. I've never seen it anywhere other than him looking at her.
"Hey," Harley says, startling me as he hugs me from behind. "How are you doing?"
"Fine," i say, taking my hands off the table and putting my arms on top of his. He moves us gently from side to side, his head lowered to my neck. His lips brush against my skin and goosebumps cover my skin.
"Harley, not here," i say, nearly grinning.
"Then where?" He replies, gently kissing my neck.
"Not here, not now!" We have to nearly yell so we can hear each other over the blasting music.
"Why?" He pouts, moving his head off of my neck and resting his cheek on my head. He's much taller than me. He's nearly 6 feet tall, and i'm about Peter's height.
"Because there's not really a place we can go that's not already occupied by teenagers doing the same thing," i say. It's probably true.
"You have a point," he says. "Then let's leave."
"We can't just leave," i retort, straightening a container of candy on the table.
"Why not?"
"Because we have to stay and help clean up after."
"I do not want to be the one who has to clean those bathrooms."
"Ew, gross," i say, fighting the urge to think about that. But instead of images of teens doing the nasty in the bathroom, i see something else.
The man in my dreams. The one with the fishbowl on his head. I still haven't figured out why that's there. He has brown hair, a beard, and blue eyes.
"I can't have you telling everyone what i'm doing, now can i?" He says, then disappears. In his place is the familiar white drone. I start to raise my hand to block it's shots, but it is quicker than i am. Three loud bangs go off, each one more muffled than the last. They hit me and i can feel them. One in my stomach, one in my ribcage, puncturing a lung, and one and inch away from my heart. I've always been able to feel them, but this time when i come out of the vision, they still hurt a bit.
"What's wrong?" Harley asks. He noticed that i had held his arms a little tighter and moved one of my hands to where i could still feel the shot near my heart.
"Nothing," i say, putting my hand back down. The pain start to dull down and soon just feels like an ache that quickly goes away.
Peter glances over to us and i smile at him, giving him a thumbs up. He gives me a small smile back, but it didn't look geniune. He looks...terrified, now that i notice it.
"Hold on..." I say, peeling Harley's arms off of me.
Are you okay? I say into Peter's head.
What have i told you about getting in my head? Peter thinks at me.
To not to i say. But you don't look too good.
Well, thanks he thinks.
No, that's not what i meant. I mean you look scared or panicked.
I think i'm having another attack he thinks, but he tries to hide it from me. He looks at me for a second, says something to Ned, then starts to walk towards the gym exit.
"I have to go," i say, walking out from behind the table.
"Where are you going?" Harley says, starting to follow me.
"No, don't come with me," i say. "Stay there, make sure no one spikes the punch!"
I run as fast as i can in heels (which isn't very fast) to the door Peter went out of. It's an empty, dark hallway, and i don't see Peter anywhere.
"Shit," i say to myself.
There's a door leading outside towards the end of the hallway, so i try that. The second i open the door, the cold bites at my arms. My hands immedeatly go up to cover my arms, even though it won't do much good.
"Peter?" I call out. My breath floats in front of me in a fog.
"What are you doing out here?" He says, but it comes from above me. I look up and he's on the goddamn roof.
"What are you doing up there?" I half-shout up to him. The school is in the middle of Queens, so there's hundreds of buildings surrounding us on all sides. "It's freezing out here."
"It's better than in there." He says, bringing his kees to his face and burying his head in then. His voice breaks a little and just that sound makes my heart crack.
I fly up to him and sit beside him, my legs dangling off the edge. The back of my heels dangle off my feet, threatening to fall to the ground.
"Peter," i say, looking over to him. I don't know what to say after that.
"What?" He says, but it's less of a question and more of an annoyed bark at me.
"Are you okay?" I ask. I think i know the answer. I know what he'll tell me, and i know what the real answer is.
"I'm fine," he lies.
"Stop telling me that, i know it's not true," i say, letting my heels fall to the ground. It's not too high up, so it shouldn't break them or anything. And they're cheap, painful heels, anyways.
"Then stop asking if you already know the answer," he pulls his head up and just looks in front of him, into the empty space there.
"Peter, look at me," i say. And i know what i'll say next. "I know it's hard. I really do. I've lost people, too."
"But we all came back," he says. "Mr. Stark isn't."
"You forget that i knew Tony longer than you," i say, getting ready to do an impromptu speech. "We had both greived you longer than we knew you. And i haven't just lost him. I've lost my parents, my brother (author: little did she know, she didn't just lose her "parents", but also one of her biological parents...and he's been in multiple MCU movies...lets just say she looks a lot like her father), Natasha..." For some reason, i still can't get over her. Everytime i think of her, i can still see her dead at the bottom of that cliff. "I know you have to take time to greive, but--"
"That's the problem!" He interupts, looking straight at me. "I can't! Everywhere i look, he's there! It's...it's..."
"Suffocating," i say.
"Yeah," he says.
I hate seeing him like this, so upset. To be honest, i don't understand why he effects me so much. Sure, he saved my life and he's funny, but why do i feel like if he was in danger, i'd die to protect him? Why do i feel like i could trust him with my life?
Maybe it's because almost everyday when i first got here, he came to make sure i was okay. He also showed me all this stuff like Star Wars and helped me become as normal a person as i could be. He helped me through those few months i knew him before he died. He distracted me from thinking about what i'd done in New York, he gave me something to live for. Maybe it's because he was the first person i remember who treated me like that.
But even with all that, why did he care so much? Why does he still care so much? I never did anything for him in the few months we first knew each other, yet he always made sure i was okay and cares so much about me. But why?
Why does it hurt me so much to see him in pain like this?
I trust him with my life. Maybe i can trust him with this.
"Peter?" I say so quietly that even with his heightened hearing, he couldn't hear me if he were a few feet away.
"What?" He replies. He doesn't look at me.
"I think..." I really don't want to say this, but i feel like i have to. "I think i'm going to die."
He whips his head around to me, turning his whole body to me.
"Are you sick? What's wrong, what's going on?" He asks, all of his anger disolving into fear.
"I keep having the same dream every night," i say, looking at him. "They're like those dreams i had in the weeks leading uo to Thanos. But in them, there's someone else and in the end, i always get shot three times and wake up."
"Well, dreams don't necessarily mean--"
"I had one a few minutes ago," i say. "I wasn't dreaming."
He doesn't say anything. Of course he doesn't. What can you say after that?
"I don't know when and i don't know where," i fill the silence. I describe the vision as best i can to him and he just sits there, his mouth slightly parted, trying to process this.
"How long have you known?" He asks after i finish.
"5 months," i answer.
"And you weren't going to tell me?" He shouts at me. "Have you told anyone besides me?"
"I--" i start, but he cuts me off.
"Oh, no, i'll bet you've told Harley all about it!"
"What does Harley have to do with this?" I shout back.
"You're going to die, and you wait for months, not knowing when or where it's going to happen! What would have happened if you didn't tell anyone? I would have lost you, we all would have lost you! And i can't...i can't lose you. I can't lose anyone else." He gets so quiet i can barely hear him.
"I'm sorry," i say. "But i knew it was going to happen, and i didn't want people treating me differently for however long i have left."
My voice start shaking, and not from the cold. I stand up, too, and step in front of him. My eyes fill with tears and they threaten to spill over.
"I can't lose you," he whispers. He steps forward towards me. Without shoes, i'm about an inch shorter than him.
He hugs me, his head buried in my shoulder.
"I'm sorry i didn't tell you," i say, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his shoulder. The tears start to spil over, and i can tell he's crying, too, because something wet and hot splashes on my shoulder. My dress is a cold shoulder one. The tear slides down my shoulder and onto the fabric below it.
"I love you," he whispers to me. His voice cracks when he says it.
"I love you, too," i say, my voice so strained i can barely get it out.