The Butterfly Effect: a Peter Parker Fan Fic

Part 1: Queens

Your perspective on life comes from the cage you were held captive in~ Shannon L. Alder

As I step through the doors of the airport, I pull the head over the top of my head. I want to avoid any possible eye contact with my mom or with Ph—too late.

My mom's pristine blue eyes meet with mine and I sigh as she runs over to me. The echoing of her heels slapping against the marble floor stands out amongst the all the other hubbub of the airport. She's gone all out, holding a welcome home sign on a bright, pink poster paper.

She wraps me in a hug and nuzzles her head into my neck, "my beautiful girl! How was your summer?"

I don't hug her back and huff my response, "fine."

She pulls and looks at the floor, gut-wrenched. I don't like hurting my mom, but I feel obliged to considering what she did. Phil notices her fallen face from a distance and walks over with my younger brother, Cam.

Cam has always been on my mom's side. He's been momma's boy from the moment he was born. He's hated my father basically his whole life. I mean, I don't blame him considering he was very young when dad neglected him in order to plan the lab. But he doesn't understand that what mom had done was wrong. But despite our divided opinions on our parents, Cam and I have an undeniable bond and we're too close for words to describe.

"Hi Raven," Phil greets me with a smile the size of the sun plastered on his face.

I ignore him and turn to Cam, "hey bud."

"Hey," he replies, his eyes glued to the phone he holds in his hands. That's new. I'm betting Phil brought it for him.

Mom exchanges a worried glance with Phil but he shoots it down with a warm glance that says, she'll come around.

Well the joke is on you, Phil because I am not coming around!

I pull my bag behind me and Phil proceeds to try and carry it for me but I turn and walk faster so he can't. It's not like he's a bad guy, it's just that he's too... much of a good guy. I don't approve of it and he's too go-lucky for me to hang around. I'm the complete opposite to him and even just the pure thought mother re-marrying horrifies me.

Phil catches up and walks in front of me, Cam and mom trailing behind us. A car beeps as it unlocks and I frown at the appearance. It's a family sedan. It's a family car! It's a shame we'll never be a family... ever.

I slide into the back seat with ease and Cam slides in next to me. He smiles at me, his brown hair falling over his eyes. He looks so much like mom with his sharp blue eyes and little button nose. It's no wonder why he loves her most. The car has black leather seats and the aroma of mom's iconic perfume wafts around. So this must be her new car. Fantastic.

A harsh rap song blasts through my earphones and into my ears. The louder the song, the better. Phil's hand finds its way to mom's thigh reassuringly and I practically barf. When you see an older couple flirting, you always tend to get goosebumps.

I look outside the window and get lost in my thoughts. The streets of Queens start to get more and more familiar. We pass a laboratory and my gut sinks. I don't just want to go back, I crave going back. I need to go back. Queens is my literal home, but I always feel out of place and it feels more like a house than a home no matter how cliché that sounds. The world never seems to act fairly. Anyone I know who is roughly my age has a loving family that are whole and spend their evenings watching the repeat episodes of Full House on TV and eat their dinner together around the fire. But me, I'm stuck with my mom who cheated on my father with his brother and caused him to go into a depressive state all because he wanted to chase after his dreams. Now, I can't even see him except for the summer because my good school is conveniently right near mom's house in Queens.