Black as Night | P. Parker

Chapter Fourteen

A month and a half passed and Onyx no longer sat with Hannah at lunch. She sat with Peter, and Gwen, Harry, and Mary-Jane. Every Saturday morning, Onyx was able to slip out of the house and meet Hannah at the PO box, where they checked if they had any contracts, and if they did, they completed it and went their separate ways once again.

In a matter of seven weeks, Onyx and Hannah had gone from partners in crime, the closest of friends and confidantes, to barely speaking to each other at all.

Hannah's attitude towards Onyx continued to deteriorate. When speaking to her former friend, Hannah's words were cold and detached, cruel and harsh. And Onyx treated Hannah in much the same way.

Spending a month and a half more with the Parker's let Onyx gain some insight into their lives and such. The first week that Onyx was with them, she didn't notice Peter's comings and goings enough to recognize a pattern. But after a month and a half, she did.

Peter had a job, it seemed. And not one like Onyx had, where the pay out was immediate. For several hours during the week, Peter left the house and made his way down to the headquarters for the Daily Bugle, a newspaper. Onyx could infer here that Peter wanted to be a journalist. And it wasn't the best job either, according to how Peter vented to his friends (and Onyx) about his horrible boss, J. Jonah Jameson.

During this month and a half made Onyx realize that May and Peter weren't the most well off family. This made the girl question why they signed up to be foster parents if they didn't have a lot of money as it was.

It was this realization that made the gift that May presented her with all the more surprising.

"What is it?" Onyx asked as she pulled the top off the box.

"It's a cell phone," May told her, who was sitting next to her on the couch in the living room. "It's not fancy by any means, and the plan isn't the best either, but it seems that you're going to be here a while so I thought you would need one."

"I don't-" Onyx started, holding the small device in her hand.

"Peter can help you figure out how to use it. My number, his number, all your friend's numbers are in there already. This way, you can communicate with us better. Not that you have a problem communicating, but with a cell phone, it's easier," May explained.

"Uh, thanks, then," Onyx said, forcing a smile.

May smiled too, and squeezed the girl's arm before she pushed herself up from the couch and went into the kitchen to start looking for something for dinner.

For a while, Onyx sat on the couch and stared at the new device in her hand. The more these people did for her, the more she was in their debt. She hated being indebted to someone and the Parker's were the worst of them all. Because they were doing all this because they were genuinely good people. They didn't have an ulterior motive.

Onyx used her new cell phone to text Hannah's number, let her know they had a new means of communication. Like in person, a curt and cold response came.

Another Friday came, and Onyx was once more stuck on a bus and in a school with Peter, Mary-Jane, Harry, Gwen, and Hannah. She was slowly starting to adjust to the schoolwork and the level she was supposed to be working at. Lots of people kept saying it, and Onyx was really starting to believe that she was naturally gifted in the maths department. Having one thing she was good at was making things easier.

After their fight, Onyx and Hannah never made up. So Onyx was still sitting with Peter and his friends at lunches. Things hadn't really changed, but everyone seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with the arrangement. Onyx learned a lot about the people she sat with.

Gwen Stacy was a very brilliant student, and almost impossibly kind. She aspired to work in the sciences, creating new drugs and vaccines to cure and treat diseases and ailments. Above all else, she wanted to help people.

Mary-Jane Watson was outgoing and charismatic. She could talk to a perfect stranger like she had known them all her life. Her passion was acting. She was in almost all of the school plays and aspired to work in Hollywood movies.

Harry Osborn was outgoing, but not as charismatic as Mary-Jane. He was supposed to take up a position in his father's company and eventually his father's position itself, but that wasn't what he wanted to do with his life. He didn't know what he wanted to do yet.

Peter Parker wanted to be a journalist at the Daily Bugle. He wanted to write breaking news and bring awareness of issues that people needed to know about through the newspaper that had millions of readers.

And then there was Onyx.

Onyx was living day-to-day. The only plan for her future was killing Spider-Man and going back to the streets where she belonged. If she could raise enough money, going far the hell away from New York. She couldn't be more different.

Bright and early Saturday morning, Onyx slipped out of the apartment and headed to the PO box. Hannah wasn't there when she arrived, so she checked to see if they had any contracts, found the box empty and locked it back up again.

PO box empty. Heading home.

She sent the text to Hannah and retraced her steps till she was sneaking back into the apartment before anyone could even know she was gone. Just as she was climbing back in her bedroom window, she received a response from Hannah.

You could have at least waited for me.

Rolling her eyes, Onyx didn't even bother to send a reply back, dropping her phone on her bed side table and laying back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what she was going to do with her day now.

Peter poked his head inside at around noon to tell Onyx that he was leaving for work, but Onyx didn't spare him a second glance. Minutes later, she heard the door closing and she was alone in the apartment. May had left for work not long after Onyx returned.

It was at around three thirty that Onyx started receiving the texts from Peter at work. Apparently the boy needed to vent and he was hoping that Onyx would be a person for him to vent to. The girl agreed.

The boy was being worked to the bone for nothing, according to him. His boss was always mean and always critical, never having a nice thing to say about the work that Peter turned in. Onyx had to agree that his boss seemed like a Grade-A asshole.

Reading what was happening to Peter, Onyx was able to visualize him in her head. The droop of his shoulders, tired eyes, that signature smile wiped from his face. Something stirred in Onyx's stomach and she knew that she had to do something to make him feel better.

Then an idea struck her, and a smirk pulled on her lips. She grabbed her phone and dialled a number she didn't think would ever dial, and waited for her to pick up.

"Onyx?" Mary-Jane asked in surprise when she answered the phone, "what's going on?"

"I think I need your help."