Dianna's POV
Today felt like it was taking forever to go by. I just want to go home and cry, not be in class listening to all these lectures.
"Are you okay?" Skylar asked me during lunch, "you've been antsy all day."
I still didn't know if I can trust her. It's as if I was being read my Miranda rights. Anything I say could be used against me in the long run.
I faked a smile, "it's been a long day. I'm ready to go home."
"It was a long weekend. My dad was showing me this new software he's come up with so far and wants me to start learning how to use it."
New software?
"And what does said software do?" I asked, intrigued.
"It'll help tech geeks break down hard firewalls to troubleshoot problems people might be having with any and every device they own."
Break down hard firewalls? It's all starting to add up. She really is behind all of this.
"Sounds like it'll help a lot of people... Have you tested the program?"
"You're so intrigued aren't you? I can see the tech geek side of you jumping out."
I shrugged.
"We tested it out last night and it reached one program but it was heavily encrypted so we don't know what it hit. That program was probably the FBI database or something. It was intense. I don't know how you do it."
Point proven.
"I don't hack." I sat there uncomfortably. "I wonder who you guys managed to get to."
Peter's POV
Right when the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, I heard someone call my name from the opposite end of the hallway.
"PETER!" Dianna called.
"Are you hurt? Is everything okay?"
She pulled me aside and whispered, "I know who hacked into your suit."
"What?"
"It was Skylar and her dad. They ran this new software thing and she said it hit something but it was heavily encrypted. I think there's a bug in your suit. I need the suit."
"I thought you upgraded it."
"We don't know what we're going up against. Until I get more information, I need the suit."
"Breathe." I tried to calm her down.
"This is important. I'm trying to protect you."
"And I thank you for that but I need to go on my patrol first and then I'll drop the suit off."
"Can't you just wear your joggers and your jacket for the time being? You know... the old getup."
"You can't be serious."
"What if something happens to you again?" she backed away from me, "I can't just sit at home and wait to play nurse everyday."
"You can be out being Raava."
"I'm not doing this at school." she walked away.
"Trouble in paradise?" Flash laughed at me.
"Fuck off, Flash." I heard Dianna say.
I went swinging around the city for a while. I sat at the top of a building next to a mural of Mr. Stark.
"I don't know what to do, Mr. Stark. I know that she's just trying to help me but after our fight yesterday, I saw how much hurt I had caused her. I didn't mean to hurt her the way that I did. I may have had a fling with MJ during our relationship, but it didn't mean anything to me. If anything, it made me realize that I really only love her. I mean that doesn't change the fact that I still cheated but you know." I sighed, "I don't know how to fix this. I don't even know if I can fix this."
I stopped by Dianna's to give her the suit.
"I don't know what to do, Dad." her voice was trembly, "we can't fix things. There's nothing that we'll be able to do to get us to back to where we were before the blip. I still love him, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust him again. I don't want to feel the same hurt that he made me feel. How do I know whether or not he's going to cheat on me again?"
"You can always accept someone's apology, that doesn't mean you have to forgive them. More times than most, forgiveness is something someone earns."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you any of this before. I didn't want you to hate him and I didn't want Hulk to beat the pulp out of him."
"It's okay."
"After I found out he cheated," she took a long pause to compose herself, "I started feeling insecure. Thinking was I not enough? Did I do something? I felt worthless. I went from feeling like a prized possession to feeling like garbage. I always felt like I wasn't good enough for him. Here he is with all these amazing abilities and all I'm good at is building stuff and helping carry on Tony's legacy–which I am blissfully falling at."
"Don't forget you have powers, too. You can fly by having fire go through your fists and the bottom of your feet, you can form a ball of air and use it as a scooter, you can bend water out of trees. Don't even get me started on your chi-blocking, it's more of a skill but it's powerful nonetheless. You're just as special as he is."
"Yeah. I guess I am." she sniffled.
"Who broke the news to you?"
"One of his decathlon buddies told me about the fling, Happy told me about his Spider-Man duties."
I made her feel worthless. I made her feel insecure.
"A few days after Tony's funeral, I went to visit his grave. I promised him that I was going to look after his family. I was going to look after Peter for him and I would keep him safe. I can't be around him without being reminded of what we used to have. I can't be around him after the hurt that he caused me. I feel weak and I hate feeling this way."
