Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

94. She's Lying And She Knows It

"Those two love each other, Stephen." Tony grabs a drink from the fridge. The sorcerer's been particularly annoying about his comments the past hour. Tony can hardly imagine how messed up it would be if all the conversations he had with Peter about Daphne were based on addiction. And there's a part of him that feels guilty for enabling the kid in all of that. Giving him tips on how to woo Daphne, how to dance with her, what flowers to buy her. He feels partially responsible and he hates it. "I'll eat my shoe if they don't walk out of that elevator holding hands and smooching."

Ding!

Natasha walks back into the penthouse of Avengers tower. Her shoulders hang low and she sighs as all heads turn to her. Everyone in the room impatiently awaits what she's going to say, but when she makes eye contact with Tony, his expression falters.
"Oh, man-"
"Would you like your shoe boiled or fried, Stark?" Stephen presses his lips into a smile and Tony can't help but throw an orange his way. Stephen easily deflects it.
"Was it that bad?" Steve sits against the arm rest of the couch, rubbing his hands together, not really knowing what else to do.
"They're teens," Sam interrupts. "They'll get over it, right?"
"Sure, at some point, I guess," Natasha says with a shrug. "But this does sit a whole lot different. Peter won't have anything to get over. Daph's gonna have to do this all by herself. And I gotta admit, I've never seen a break-up like that before."
"Like what?" Tony cocks his head.
"I dunno." Natasha walks to the kitchen area to grab herself a glass of cranberry juice. "Seen many in my time in the field, but this one just... Stung differently. Peter was pretty heartless."

Tony stops in his tracks and holds the fridge door as Natasha opens it to put the orange juice back.
"Peter? Heartless? You're lying." Natasha rolls her eyes and coughs once.
"Wish I was." She forces the door out of Tony's hand and closes it before walking to everyone else at the sitting area. "He let her do all the talking and when she realized what was up, he let her run away after handing him back the dove pin."
"He... He didn't say a word?" Steve stares at Natasha in disbelief as she drops herself on the couch next to where he leans. She sips the cranberry juice.
"Didn't even greet her." Sam's face contorts.
"Rude."
"Maybe-" Tony pauses to emphasize the word in his hypothetical. He saunters towards the couch. "-he realized he's still angry with her for just leaving like that?"
"Doesn't excuse his behavior," Bucky scoffs.
"Didn't say that," Tony adds quickly. "He'll turn around, I'm sure. He'll get over it. Just give them some time."

...

"Daphne! Thank God, you're okay!" Sarah practically jumps on top of Daphne, who immediately tries to play it off. They're in the hallways of Midtown, which is now the official SASS school of New York. Both the science and  the art students go here starting today and it's the first day after winter break, which means everyone is still getting accustomed to it all.
"Yeah, Ye- I'm fine-" Daphne gently pushes her new old classmate off of her. Daphne wasn't as excited anymore for Art Class to come to Midtown Tech. It meant she was going to have to stay at the same school as Peter, which increased her chances of running into him. Reminding her of what she'd done to him. And how she still loved him, after everything.

Every part of Daphne had hoped Peter would've run after her to stop her from walking away when they were still in Central Park. But no. He let her walk away. And now she's going to have to accept that. Spending time with both him or his friends would only hurt her more, so she's staying away from anything and anyone connected to Peter.
"Where did the sorceress take you? Who was she? Why did she kidnap you?" Sarah starts shooting questions Daphne's way and more classmates gather around her. Daphne's breathing quickens and she doesn't now where to look. Sure, she knows the story Tony made of it, but all of this is somehow already too much for her to handle.
"I- I'd rather not talk about it," she says quickly. In a spark genius, the perfect excuse pops up in her head. "Besides, I'm not allowed to talk about it." She shrugs apologetically. "S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Man," Tyrone butts in. "Fuck S.H.I.E.L.D., that bitch looked like me." Daphne internally snorts at the comment. Loki really could be a bitch if he wanted to.
"Only for like, two minutes."
"Yet she convinced you she was me!" Tyrone crosses his arms. "Am I really that easy to impersonate?" This time Daphne bursts out laughing.
"I knew something was off, and that's that."
"What do you mean that's that?" Alice asks with her head cocked.
"That's that as in; that's all your getting. You can ask me what you want, I can't answer." Daphne shakes her head with a forced smile. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got eyes and ears everywhere. I don't wanna be thrown in jail." Daphne shuts her locker door. "Just know I'm f..."

Daphne can't manage to finish her sentence when she spots Peter on the other side of the hallway. chatting with MJ. Her stomach twists. He's laughing. Smiling. Like nothing happened. As if he's already forgotten about her. Daphne's breath hitches in her throat when he angles his head and makes eye contact with her. To her surprise, he sends her an apologetic look. She licks her lips and quickly turns away, not wanting another confrontation. She clutches her backpack to her chest and rushes off, away from the group of curious teenagers, until she can cut a corner, out of Peter's line of sight.

Sarah was right behind her. She followed the scene closely and her expression turns dark.
"Daph?" Her voice is low. Threatening. "What's up?" She places a gentle hand on Daphne's shoulder and squeezes softly. "You and Pe-"
"We're not together anymore," Daphne says quickly. Sarah frowns surprised, but doesn't question it.
"Do I fuck his ass up?"
"No, no- It's okay. He just..." Sarah's eyebrows raise up as far as they can and she urges Daphne to continue. "He didn't love me the way he thought he did." Vague, but true.
"So, he broke up with you?"
"We broke up," Daphne defends Peter quickly. This wasn't his fault. This was her fault. Sarah shakes her head rather violently.
"No- he broke you up." Sarah glances back and purses her lips, seeming to mull something over in her head. "And I'm still gonna fuck him up."
"Don't worry about it, Sarah, I'll-" Daphne takes a deep shaky breath. "I'll get over him." Daphne's face contorts. She's lying and she knows it.

...

Daphne couldn't help herself. She called in sick for ballet class that Tuesday. She's not sure if Peter's even still going, but just the idea that he might be there, scares her more than anything. He's all she can think about. Every second of every minute of every hour of- SHUT UP! She can't quiet down her brain. Everywhere she goes she sees his face and hears his voice, and she can still feel his fingers tangle in her hair. It used to be fine, thinking about him so much. Nice, even. It kind of felt like was watching over her, even if he wasn't there with her. But now that she'll never be able to hold him like she used to, it hurts.

God, she misses kissing him so much. His soft lips pressed against hers, his tongue dancing with her own. His strong hands would lift her off the floor with ease and she'd have her legs wrapped around his body as they made out. She'd whisper his name and the vibrations of his chuckles would go right through her. All her yearning for him immediately turns sour when she realizes how bad of an influence, she must've had on him. If all of that was not what he really thought, then was whatever he said even true? His endless, sweet praises, which never failed to make Daphne blush, now feel insincere. Even hurtful. He probably didn't think she was pretty at all. Or funny. Fuck, he probably hates her.

Daphne curls up in her bed, covering her face with the sheets. The pain in her chest is unbearable and she's run out of tears to cry. But she figures that's step one to the never-ending process of acceptance.

I'll get over him, she thinks as she lets out a dry sob. But she's lying and she knows it.