Arachnophobia ⇒ Peter Parker

thirty one: lion's den

     Peeling walls, the riffles in an old used cloth, quick breaths. It felt as though everything was an inconsistency or a glitch in a world that I had become so foreign to. I was one small kink in the population, making the human race rougher. And there was a cold metal pressing against my skin. The Avengers had left a microphone on me to record everything I said. How had I gotten here?

    Thinking back to an hour ago, it was evident that something was just about to happen. It was as though fate had something on the tip of its tongue, just yearning to be released. I was alone in my apartment. The Avengers advised me to occupy myself so as not to look suspicious. But, my hands were shaking uncontrollably and my foot tapped against the hardwood floors. I held a book in my hands but my eyes were skimming over the text over and over again. Nothing was processing. The black letters on the page meant nothing to me. My phone was on the next desk over. It played music, the only thing familiar to me in this situation.

     I started to panic. My breaths grew faster and I searched for air that I could not find. I breathed out, "I can't do this Tony. I can't face him again."

     "Rose, I'm going to remind you one more time: act angry, not too angry, but remember that he just took your boyfriend and he's expecting your reaction. Also, don't further agitate him. It'll all work out soon enough. You're so strong. Be the Rose we all know." Tony's voice rang through a nanotechnological earpiece that he had implanted. This way, we could openly communicate without Isaac's knowledge.

    I didn't want to let Isaac into my room. I couldn't look at him. I simply had to become an actor for the moment. I had to live another's life. Whenever I questioned what I was about to do, I thought of Peter. It was my fault that he was there. I had to let go of my petty emotions and I had to serve a greater cause. Without Peter, the Avengers would be at a loss. There would be a ripple in the superheroes, Tony would be accused of his death, and no one would trust a group that flippantly let a fifteen-year-old die.

     I took a heavy breath and my hands stopped shaking. Three booming knocks came from the apartment door. I found my hand hesitating to turn the knob. I finally forced myself to swing it open. The second I saw his face, my heart stopped. He had a glint in his eyes that made him appear as if he had never been younger. His scar ran thickly past his eye and his lip was curved upward. He entered flippantly and went over to my couch. He dropped down.

     "Midnight Confessions, the Grass Roots. Your taste in music isn't awful." He grabbed my phone to turn down the volume. I watched him stationarily. He continued, "What? Little girl lost her prince charming?"

     "Don't say that."

     He walked forward and grabbed a strand of my hair before continuing, "Hopeless without your knight in shining armor? Desperate without someone to guide your every move? Useless without--"

    "First of all, I can fend for myself. Second of all, bastard, I don't submit to men. I'm independent. In case you forgot what that means, Isaac, it means that you don't have to depend on other people to do your dirty work. You might want to try it sometime."

     I realized my mistake in saying that once the words left my mouth. Don't agitate him, Stark had said. It was a shame that Stark had overlooked how angry sexism made me. It was too late. Isaac grabbed me and pinned me down to the counter. In a second, my hands were bound by handcuffs. This was exactly what Tony had advised me against. I mentally ran through a string of curse words.

     I had to think quickly. I said calmly, with a fake, but believable, teasing nature to my tone, "Isaac, you don't have to put me in chains. C'mon Isaac. You know I can't do any harm. You know me. I didn't just do all that for you just so you could handcuff me."

     I turned around and looked him in the eye. I raised one half of my lip flirtatiously. I made sure to lock my bright green eyes with his. I saw his tension ease. He reached forward and undid my handcuffs.

     Reaching forward and placing a hand of his toned chest, I whispered, "Thank you." Every muscle in my body resisted me, but I knew that what I was doing was bigger than me. I took his hand and led him out of the room, assuming we were going over to his car.

     "God, Rose. You're quick on your feet," Tony said, clearly impressed. He spoke to someone else and commented on his surprise before returning back to me, "Ever have any interest in joining the team? We could use you. I mean, you'd be a great asset. Consider it. I could make a suit and everything. Rogers, I am focused. Listen. You're going to have to keep Isaac in the honeymoon phase for a minute. We need you to get in and analyse the situation. Best case scenario, he lets you walk free while he occupies himself with Peter. Worst case scenario, he doesn't. Whatever happens, keep a quick head. If you see Peter, he'll be furious with you. It's understandable. Let him be angry. Eventually he'll realize that it isn't a time to be angry."

     I sucked in a deep breath and sat in Isaac's car. I was sitting shotgun with this super villain next to me. He turned on the radio and made sure I was okay with the station. Hell, he even had one of those pine tree scents hanging from his front mirror. The situation was repulsive. It seemed like everything that happened was awkwardly lingering in the new car air, and here I was taking a nice drive.

     "No blindfold? I'm assuming you roofied me then; trying to harken to old times?" I ask inquisitively. Why wasn't he making sure that I wasn't able to detect the location? Was he willing to spin classified information now that I was flirting with him?

     "Sometimes you act like a child. Rose, there's a reason why I'm not keeping secret from you anymore. There's no need to..."

     I was still unable to connect the dots. I glanced at him with a puzzled stare as he shook his head and laughed. He seemed surprised, almost. I felt like a middle schooler trying to pry the newest gossip from a friend. I felt like a child. Maybe he was right.

     "For the first time, I've got the one thing you love. Don't pretend like you're surprised, because I know you'll try to. That's all you ever do, pretend. You pretend to care, to be the hero. You're insane, Rose. You're actually insane. You pretend to be this wholesome girl who mopes around, has no tears left, and cares for her family. I'll ask you this, do you ever really cry? You may feel numb, sure. You're always numb. You may laugh and cry and scream, but you only do it when you have to. The first time I noticed it was when we first met. You laugh when you think you have to laugh and you do the same with everything else. I'm the perfect excuse. 'The big macho villain comes in and blackmails my family so now I have to act like I give a damn.' You love the adventure. You're living your dream. Now I imagine that you'll deny it and curse me out. You'll just prove my point. Don't tell me that it's bullshit, because its not. And when you fell in love with Peter it was like watching a robot feel emotion for the first time. You didn't understand what was happening to you. Now I have you both. And the best part about it, you love it. It's just you and me, Rose."

     It wasn't just him and I, it was also the most powerful group of people in the whole world. It was Tony and Peter and this whole thing and--

     I burst out laughing. I couldn't help myself. He had spoken the truth. He had tried to tell me this all along and I had ignored him. Now, it was like hearing myself think - really think. I just laughed and he laughed too. We just laughed for a solid moment and the weight of the world was lifted off our shoulders. For a split second, we were just two friends having a good chuckle. However, our laughter eventually faded.

     "You mind going back to stoic, family-threatening Isaac?" I said confidently. From that moment on, even if we switched back to our roles, our relationship would never be the same. I wasn't sure what we were. He seemed more abusive than anything to me, but I couldn't help but see past everything. We understood each other, and sometimes, even if people must preconceive to their expectations, it's nice to know that there's someone in the universe that ticks the same way you do.

     I heard someone clear their voice over the microphone. Tony said, "I don't know what the hell that whole encounter was, but I just wanted to let you know that you're approaching Isaac's headquarters."