Veronica Barnes: Trained to Kill

VIII.

Date: 3/9/2016
Location: Forest Hills, Queens

Three months had passed and Veronica and Peter had grown extremely close at this point. They sat next to each other on the edge of a building overlooking Queens, the sun setting. Veronica had calmed down now, Peter finally convincing her it wasn't her fault that all those people had died. She had begun to grow feelings for him, but never said anything. Sure, she still was titled "Penis Parker's Hotter-Than-Liz Girlfriend" at school, but she had grown to not care at this point.

"Wanna do something fun?" he asked her, breaking the silence between the two as they ate churros. The girl now had her own make-shift suit. She didn't have webs, but she at least had a mask with goggles to hide her face and would hang around with Spider-Man, helping him with miscellaneous things, but was mainly just his side-kick.

She swallowed her last bite of churro. "Like what?"

He stood up and held his hand out to her for him to take, and he pulled her up before quickly pulling down his mask, Veronica following his movement. Swiftly, he wrapped his right arm around her waist and jumping off the side of the building, shooting a web as she screamed slightly and squeezed her eyes shut.

"PETER!" she screamed, burying her head into his neck, holding on tightly as he laughed at her.

"Hold on!" he yelled over the noise, the pair dropping down several stories as she screamed. Cold water brushed against her feet and they swung upwards before they hit solid ground. She opened her eyes, the two on top of a bridge overlooking to water, up twenty stories in the air. She had her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms still around his neck. He wrapped his other arm around her as well.

"You alright?" he asked, laughing slightly at her as she didn't let go.

"Yeah," she spoke, releasing her grip around his neck but he still held her thighs up around his body. "S-Sorry," she gulped, looking into his eyes, his face unmasked.

He smiled and pulled her mask off her face, looking into her eyes as well. "It's...Its okay. No one can see us up here."

She nodded and the two looked into each other's eyes longingly before Peter leaned in and kissed her quickly, surprising her and he pulled away fast. He let go of her, setting her down. "I'm...I'm sorry I...I don't know what..."

She smiled and shook her head, cutting him off by placing a hand on his cheek and kissing him softly before pulling away, resting their foreheads together. "It's okay," she whispered.

They stood there for a moment, intertwined fingers connecting them. They looked over the water, now dark outside.

"You...You ready to head back?" he asked her and she smiled and nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and she jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist and grabbing his neck, lowering her mask over her face before he lowered his and removed his left arm from her body. He jumped down, the cool air hitting her skin, and this time she didn't scream. Instead, she left her eyes open, looking around as he swung between buildings before they got back to the alley where they had left their clothes.

She pulled her mask off and shoved it into her backpack, pulling off her hoodie, all in the color green, and quickly zipping a jacket up over her sports bra, leaving on the leggings. She turned around, Peter now dressed and waiting for her at the entrance of the alley, and she walked up to him with her backpack in her right hand as she held her hand out, Peter taking it in his left hand as they walked out together and down the sidewalk together.

"What are we going to do about Mr. Stark?" Peter asked her. "I mean if...if he finds out May will kick you out because she'll think we're...you know..." he scrunched up his nose and she laughed at his reaction.

"He doesn't need to know," she smiled. "We'll just keep ourselves a secret."

He nodded, turning left and leading her down the sidewalk to where their apartment was. "May isn't home, she has Elizabeth with her trying to find a school to take her in if you want to...to sleep in my room?"

She grinned slightly. "Alright, Spidey."

Date: 4/7/2016
Location: Forest Hills, Queens

They had been dating a month now, successfully keeping their relationship hidden under the rug.

"Alright," May smiled at them, holding her bag over her shoulder as she held the hand of Elizabeth. "I'm taking her up to Brooklyn to enroll her in that school and I'll be gone until the 11th. Are you sure you two will be alright here alone-?"

"May, we'll be fine," Peter reassured her, leaning on the counter as Veronica sat on the armrest of the couch. "We won't burn down the house, actually we'll just order pizza."

Veronica nodded. "Don't worry about us, May. Just make sure Elizabeth gets into a good school that she really likes."

May smiled. "Alright, I'll see you guys on the 11th."

"Bye May!!" they called after her as she opened the door and shut it after her, locking it quickly.
           Peter makes his way over to the window, watching as the two make it out of the building and into their car, driving off down the street away from the apartment building. "They're gone," Peter smirks. "Do you wanna maybe..."

She made her way over to him, cutting him off with a kiss. "You don't ever have to ask me that question." She moved back forward, their lips falling together as Peter backed her into his room.

...

          Veronica laid against the mattress, the sheet over her body in her sports bra and underwear. It was dark out, the two laying beside each other on the bottom of his bunk bed.

Peter smiled and looked down at her, her head on his chest, tracing his fingers over her tattoos on her arm.

She tilted her head up to look at him and giggled. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Because you're beautiful," he whispered.

She shook her head at him. "You're so cheesy," she smiled. "And that is why I love you, Peter Parker."
           His cheeks grew slightly red. "You...You love me?"

She nodded her head. "I do, Peter. I didn't know what love really meant until I met you..."

"And now look who's the cheesy one," he smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"All I'm saying is thank you for teaching me what love is. And...And thank you for finding me that day. If you hadn't I'd probably be dead by now."

He smiled down at her. "I love you, too, Veronica."

All of a sudden the door swung open, causing them to jump. "Well, well," the voice spoke, standing in the shadows so they couldn't see who it was. "Look what we have here." He stepped forward, Peter pulling the sheet up over himself and Veronica to keep the intruder from seeing her body. Veronica carefully moved her hand over to the night stand, grabbing a pen. The figure got closer and she sat up quickly, stabbing the pen into his side. The figured groaned and staggered back, Peter flipping over Veronica and over to the other side of the room to turn on the lights.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked. "What the hell-?"

"You two have a lot of explaining to do."