| sparks + butterflies | a peter parker fanfiction |

-10-

576 words :)

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THE APARTMENT IN FLORENCE WAS A BIG STEP DOWN FROM THE SISTERS' PLACE IN QUEENS.

It was located on the less-fortunate side of the city, and the building was virtually abandoned, with creaky floorboards and stained walls. However, the rent was incredibly low, and fortunately, the sisters were able to maintain ownership of the two-roomed apartment whilst on the run and living in Queens.

Katrin hadn't said a word to her younger sister since they arrived, simply going through their possessions and taking stock of what they had. Thea knew she had messed up; the sisters were just starting to make some sort of a life in Queens, and now they were back to where they were six months ago.

Katrin finished packing her duffel bag, pushing her brown hair out of her face. 'You want to explain to me what on Earth just happened?'

'I-I noticed that the attacks on Queens, they all had back-up; The soldiers looked so much like HYDRA's, I was curious. I thought they could have been there for us, so I...investigated.'

Katrin exhaled, knotting her hair into a low bun.

'I was right, though!' Thea exclaimed, desperate to ease Katrin's disappointment. 'They were HYDRA. And I'm fairly sure that the entire thing with that cloaked villain was just a hoax to get us to expose ourselves,'

'Which you did,' Katrin pointed out. 'You used your powers in broad daylight, in front of civilians, surveillance cameras, and a freaking superhero,'

Thea studied her shoes. 'Well, yeah...'

'And now, not only is HYDRA back on us again, but we are now official US fugitives being investigated by General Ross for association with HYDRA.'

'Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't- I didn't know, I was just-'

'You didn't think. Theo, it's okay, we'll sort this out. I'm just irritated; we'd just settled in, you were catching up at school, there was that boy,' Katrin paused to raise her eyebrows at her sister. 'And now we have to start over again.'

Thea simultaneously blushed in embarrassment and hung her head in regret. Katrin turned back to her packing, the familiar sound of knives brushing against one another chinked softly, and Thea knew she'd screwed up.

But now that Peter was in her head, she couldn't get him out. He probably hated her by now; for all he knew, she was behind the attacks that had hurt him over and over again, and in a way, she kind of was. And if he didn't hate her, would he even notice she was gone? This thought deeply hurt Thea, and she stopped. Why did she care what Peter thought of her?

He was just a boy she sat with at lunch to avoid the stares.

He was just a boy who'd watched Star Wars with her

He was just a boy who'd invited her to dinner with his aunt to help her settle in.

He was just a boy who'd helped her in class, who'd given her the answers when she needed them and said nothing when she needed that, too.

He was just a boy who'd invited her to dinner with his aunt to help her settle in.

He was just a boy who she hadn't hesitated to defend from Flash.

He was just a boy who'd asked her on a sort-of-study-date-that-was-most-likely-entirely-platonic-but-something-felt-different-when-he'd-asked-her-and-

And then he stood you up, and you hadn't seen him since. A voice in the back of her head reminded her, pulling Thea out of her spiral. Why did she let him affect her like that?

Why was he the first thing she thought of?

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