❝Just because you hate everybody doesn't mean everybody hates you. You have people that still need you around, and I'm not afraid to admit I'm one of them.❞
. . .in which she must find a way to navigate through a changed world and a changed heart.
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☼ ☼ ☼
It was dark out, but Andi could see perfectly. She sat quietly in the boat with Peter, Gwen, and Fury, her attention on the calming sound of the flowing water. Everything was so quiet, so peaceful, and she hated that it was about to be taken away from her. She'd come to Italy with the anticipation she wouldn't have to worry about being Recluse. She'd come to Italy with the anticipation that she'd be given the break she believed she deserved, but as usual, there was always something. It was as if everything bad was attached to her like a dark shadow, and she wondered if Peter and Gwen felt that way as well.
Her mind shifted to Gwen, and she tore her attention away from the water and to her friend. She was having a quiet conversation with Nick Fury, who was more than thrilled to have three young heroes rather than just two. Granted, he wasn't too keen on their teenage status, but not many people were.
"We never did get the chance to talk, y'know?" Andi said to Gwen, her words capturing the attention of Gwen and Peter alike.
Gwen excused herself from Fury and scooted closer to Andi. "You're right, we didn't," she replied. "I assume you have quite a few questions."
"I assume you do as well," Andi said with a quiet chuckle.
"Of course I do," Gwen said, glancing between her and Peter, who had found a spot beside Andi. "How did this happen to you guys? Were you bitten? I was bitten a few months ago."
"I was bitten," Peter answered her.
"I was injured messing around with some sort of arachnid experimentation," Andi explained to Gwen. "It was a bit of a shock when I woke up the next morning stuck to the ceiling."
"I bet that would've been a sight to see," Gwen laughed.
"It sure freaked my aunt out."
"I just—I wasn't really expecting to find that two of the planet's greatest heroes were two of my best friends," Gwen said. "I mean, you guys are practically legendary. You're Tony Stark's brightest pupils, you saved the universe with the Avengers, and you've both managed to uphold your perfect GPAs and your social lives through it all."
"Let me stop you right there, Gwen," Andi said to her. "I don't have a social life."
Peter rolled his eyes at Andi. "She doesn't have a social life because she chooses not to."
"That's not true!" Andi retorted. "I just don't like people."
"I guess that's where the name 'Recluse' comes from, huh?" Gwen laughed quietly.
"It's also a spider," Andi reminded her. "It's a play on words, I guess. Tony, um, he picked out the name for me."
"So, you guys really knew Tony Stark?" Gwen asked, her eyes bright.
Andi's expression changed almost instantaneously, and Peter was the first to notice. She was okay with a brief mention of Tony, but what she was not okay with was a full conversation involving him. She wasn't sure she could hold one. Thus far, the only one she'd been able to talk to about Tony was Peter, and it'd hardly been a conversation at all. Regardless, he was the only person Andi felt comfortable enough to talk about him with. She wasn't quite sure she was there with Gwen yet.
