MIND GAMES|PETER PARKER

1.7

Jessie blinked rapidly for a few seconds to adjust her eyes to the light and continued walking out of the building. She noticed the familiar sound of sirens blaring in the distance and she ran as fast as she could down the street until she reached an empty ally. Oh, the alleyways of Queens, she thought to herself.

She stayed there for a while to catch her breath and then walked along the streets until she found a building that belonged to a law firm. She walked in and asked the lady at the front desk for her phone.

"Why should I do that?" The lady asked.

"Lady, please just listen to me. I have endured more than I can handle in the last hour and I'm exhausted. I just need to call my boss," Jessie explained. The woman watched her hesitantly and Jessie was too tired to deal with it any longer. She handed over her cell to Jessie, not really realizing that Jessie was making her do it and she punched in the number.

"Talk to me."

"I need you to come get me."

"Jessie? What the hell? Why haven't you been answering me? Where are you right now? What about my information?"

"Tony, would you please shut up for a second?!"

"..."

"Thank you. Now, listen to me. I was just kidnapped by a bunch of assholes with guns asking for Spiderman's true identity. They took my phone and my knife and beat the shit out of me until I nearly died and I sort of accidentally killed all of them. I have experienced love, heartbreak, and everything else a girl should be experiencing at this age, but I had to throw it all away because of this stupid job! I am finished with this god damn mission. Now please, come get me."

"...where are you?"

Jessie looked at the lady. "Excuse me, where am I exactly?"

She stared at Jessie wide-eyed and shocked after hearing her outburst over the phone. "10818 Queens Blvd, 402 Forest Hills."

"You heard that?"

"Yeah. I'm coming to pick you up now. Hold tight. I'll be there in a few."

"Thanks."

She hung up and handed the phone back to the lady. She walked to the chairs and sat down on the one with the most cushions. She went over the conversation she had with Tony in her head and realized he would have a mouthful to say when he saw her.

She sighed and waited an hour and a half until she saw a black Range Rover pull up with a familiar license plate on the back of it. She hopped out of the chair and walked out of the door without so much as a second glance back at the lady.

Jessie opened the door and stepped into the car where Tony was sitting in the seat across from her.

"You had quite the adventure," He said as he saw het torn clothes and bruised/bloodied skin. He thought about how ugly her face looked, the way it was sunken in and ghostly pale.

"Oh, yeah. It was a blast. And can you please keep your thoughts to yourself?" She rolled her eyes. He shrugged and threw her a cellphone. She gave him a confused look.

"Because your other one was taken," He explained and she nodded.

"Did you happen to grab my computer by my apartment?" She asked and he shook his head.

"Nope. Apparently the guys who took you had a field day with your place and torched everything," He said and Jessie shook her head.

"I really hate people," She muttered, but Tony had caught on.

"Apparently not all people. What happened on this mission, Jess? The whole love and heartbreak thing? Not really my forte, but I've got some sort of understanding of it," He said with a wave of his hand.

"I fell in love with the mission," She replied and his eyes widened.

"You fell in love...with Spiderling?" He said and let out a laugh.

"Shut up. It's Spiderman and his real name is Peter. He's super sweet, intelligent, and has a really good heart," She smiled to herself and Tony watched her as she informed him.

"Peter what?"

"Parker. He lives with his Aunt May because his parents died when he was young and he-"

"How did he break your heart?" He cut her off.

"What?" Her eyes shot to his and she held his gaze as he sighed tiredly.

"You said you experienced heartbreak. How?" He asked and she gulped nervously.

"I had to tell him we couldn't continue," She said and looked down at her bloody hands.

"What was the reason?"

"If you think I told him about the mission, you're wrong. I didn't give him a reason because we never got that far in the conversation. He'd turned away before I could," She said getting defensive over how badly he was judging her.

"Relax, Sadness. I get it," He said arrogantly, but Jessie knew better.

"I don't think you do. You're literally the reason this all happened. I fell in love with him because of you and I was ripped away from him because of you. This stupid mission was the third worst thing to ever happen to me," She said angrily and looked away from Tony so she didn't have to hear his thoughts.

"What's the two worst?" He asked and she gave him a hard look before he realized. "Oh, you mean Coulson and Pietro?" Jessie looked down. "Look, kid. I didn't ask you to fall in love with the spider....boy, but I also know you couldn't help it. Sometimes we can't choose the people we fall in love with; it just happens," He shrugged. "I mean look at me and Pepper. I was a playboy and she's this tall, beautiful, blonde, alluring-"

"Get to the point."

"Assistant. She came into my life and changed it for the better. Now I can't help but only think of her. I didn't choose to. It just happened," He explained and Jessie nodded. "So, what I'm trying to get you to see is, I don't blame you for it happening. Just don't let it happen again," He finished and went back to the arrogant, shallow Tony Stark. Jessie rolled her eyes.

"Wow. Thanks. I'll certainly try," She said sarcastically and he nodded with a fake smile spread across his features.