(Fem.) Percy meets Spidey

25

"This place is a mess," Peter said as our large group walked along the shore. Somehow, and I really think Dad had something to do with it, May convinced Mom to let me go on a before we're shoved into another hellish school year trip to the beach. Which was, contradictingly enough, led by teachers.

"Good observation, Peter!" Mr Harrington grinned. "Now why might this place be like-"

"Illegal dumping," I said. "I would say that the currents carry trash here, but that's likely not the case considering the positioning of the waste." Plus the fact that I've listened to more reports on water pollution in two days than I would ever want to hear in three lifetimes. Seriously, how did Dad not go insane?

"What have you been teaching this kid, Blofis?" Mr Harrington looked at Paul with an eyebrow raised. 

"She came like that."

"How did you know that, Percy?" Peter asked. "That seems more like MJ's kinda thing."

"Most of my dad's family likes the water. All of my step-aunts do stuff with it, so do my brother and sister. At this point I'm pretty sure it's genetic." I smiled. "Though between you and me, I'm pretty sure it's actually because I've had to sit through more meetings than I'd ever want to deal with."

He snorted. "Like how Mr Stark has me listen to Ms Potts talk about running a business?"

"Pretty much."

We wandered the beach for some time, stopping and making notes on the different types of sea creatures. I squatted at the edge of the waves, just outside of their reach. Thankfully for me, fish were very, very helpful when it came to identifying what they were. A simple question and I had their species. I'm not questioning why they knew what humans called them, it was helpful and I'm not looking a non-wooden gift horse in the mouth.

"Okay everyone, gather round," Mr Harrington called. The entire group formed a loose semicircle, staring at him. "Let's break for lunch and meet up here in an hour. Buddy up, and please don't lose anyone." Near instantly people separated. Flash and Nancy and the other goons split off, and then a group of what I'm guessing were cheerleaders, and those were followed by a few more groups and duos. I sighed. Once again, I'm not picked.

Seconds after that thought, MJ turned to look at me. "Percy, do you want to come with us?" she asked. "We were thinking of getting some pizza and sitting in the cemetery."

"It was your idea, MJ," Ned said.

"Shut up, loser." She grinned over her shoulder before looking back at me. "What do you say?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh, actually I was going to see if I could clean some of this up after I ate. Thanks for the offer, uh, maybe next time?"

The small smile that was on MJ's face fell and she nodded. She walked over to Peter and Ned, whispered something to them, and they laughed. Even though I was the one to not go with them, it still hurt. There was no reason it should've. I knew Peter, and I knew he wouldn't laugh at my expense. Or would he?

Watching them until everyone except Paul and mr Harrington were out of view did nothing to settle my turbulent emotions. I sighed and turned. Might as well get started on- My eyes widened and I jogged across the beach.

"Hey, Dad." I grinned. Dad stiffened. A quick glance over his shoulder  and he relaxed, rising to his feet. Sand fell as he dusted off his pants. A simple wave and the pile of trash he was collecting vanished.

"Hi, seahorse." He placed a hand on my head. I hummed and leaned into the touch. Dad's hand fell to my back, pulling me close to him in a tight hug. A whine fought its way from my throat and I stood there. I didn't hug back. Pulling away, Dad stared at me. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, can- can you not touch me today?" I asked. "Please?"

Dad squeezed my shoulder before releasing me. "Okay." I blinked and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. Did he really-? "I don't know why you're looking at me like that. You asked me to not touch you, so I'm not going to."

"Mom doesn't usually..." I trailed off. Dad frowned, an expression which looked far too foreign coupled with the dark look in his eyes.

"Do I need to talk to her about that?" 

"No!" I waved my hands. "No! It's fine!" Panic seeped into my voice. Mom can't know. She can't. It would be one more thing for her to worry about, if she even cared. And oh, how that would be worse. For Mom to be expressly told and to still do it. How many times had she hugged me and continued to hug me after I told her to stop?

Dad sat down and patted the space beside him. "I don't want her to accidentally trigger a flashback or something."

"It's not a PTSD issue," I mumbled, sitting down, and drawing my legs towards my chest. "It's- It's from my ADHD or something." I pressed my nails into my arms. "It's stupid. She's never done anything to hurt me." 

"Seahorse, can you let go of your arms for me?"

"Sorry."

He shook his head and stood up. He lightly patted my head. "It's okay, just remember what you promised me. Tell your mother I said hi and, if you need to, call me and I can talk to her if you ever want me to, okay?"

Before I could get a word in, he vanished.

Here's a chapter. If you have any idea's throw them at me

See yah