Peter Parker takes a deep calming breath as he stares at the Allan family door, it had only been a couple days since their first date. Harry had said he should wait but God was he too excited to listen.
He really liked Liz, she was beautiful, friendly, feigned interest when he talked about his science.
Did he mention beautiful, because wow was she beautiful.
Peter raises his hand to knock but pauses when he hears what he assumes is Liz's father and mother talking to each other.
"She's too young." A man says firmly, "She's a baby, mi amor."
"Ei! She's fourteen Wilson, she's turning into a woman. You do this every time she brings a boy over, if you keep doing this she'll stop telling us things!"
"It's too late anyway, Papá! He's going to be here any second, so don't scare him off." Liz pleads with the man, "I really like him, he's sweet and charming, he's so smart and–"
Peter giggles to himself, pleased with what he's hearing.
"I didn't know being smart was a requirement now. When did that happen?" Another voice asked.
'Must be her older brother, Mark.'
"¡Cállate!" She commands, "Sure I don't usually go for smart guys but Petey's different, he doesn't make being smart his whole personality!"
"like you make being a cheerleader your whole personality?" Mark retorts, Peter can hear the smugness in his voice.
"Mark!" Liz exclaims angrily, "I swear, if you embarrass me in front of him, I'll tell Mary Jane you pick your nose and eat what comes out!"
"Wha– I do not!"
Peter tunes the rest of the exchange out as Mary Jane's name reverberates through his mind, 'Gwen's friend?'
He can't remember the last time he thought about the girl. She was really pretty if he recalls, had an amazing voice, and was nice to him, like Gwen was, for a while at least.
He wonders if she ever started that band?
The boy hopes she did and he hopes Gwen managed to work up the courage to tell Mary Jane she played drums.
They would sound great together.
What was she going to call the band again…
Pot something?
It had to do with winning something, didn't it?
…Jackpot! Right, Peter remembers, Mary Jane wanted to call her band Jackpot!
Shaking his head he refocuses.
"He's late."
Peter winces as he hears Liz's dad grit his teeth together.
"By a couple minutes." The mother sounds exasperated, "He probably got lost or something."
"Exactly, Petey wouldn't stand me up." Liz says with complete confidence.
'Who would stand her up? They would have to be a moron.'
Peter kocks on the door and holds out a bouquet of flowers with what he knows is an awkward smile.
"See! Told you!~"
The apartment door swings open and reveals his date, Elizabeth Allan, along with her family standing behind her.
The boy couldn't help the blush spreading across his cheeks.
She wore a periwinkle sundress that ended right above her knees and a pale blue cardigan. Her lips were a glossy pink while the area surrounding eyes were a rich bronze that blended well with her skin.
"You're really pretty."
Liz beams in response, "You don't look so bad, yourself."
Peter sighs in relief as she takes the flowers out of his hands and smells them.
He had wanted to dress smart, to try and impress her and her family but Teresa had talked him out of it. Said that Liz was expecting a teenager not an old man.
He wore a thick cotton lavender long sleeve shirt with dark blue skinny jeans and black sneaker boots.
"Aww!" Liz's mother cooes, "Aren't you two the cutest."
She's early middle aged and stands only a few inches taller than Liz with the same skin and hair tone as her daughter while her eyes were a siren brown.
The woman looked like an older version of Liz.
His date's father, Wilson, is a tall bald man, standing at six foot-two, and seems to be a good few years older than his wife with an almond complexion. He has a strong build, as if he worked out regularly though with a noticeable beer belly.
The man has a thick black curly beard that Peter one day hopes he'll grow one day but what really stood out about him is his eyes; a dark brown, almost black that seemed to pierce his soul.
Mark is about the same age as Harry and stands a couple inches shorter than his father sharing his eyes and hair color though had his mom's and sister's coloring.
He was a handsome guy, Mary Jane and him would make a cute couple.
The girl blushes in embarrassment, "Mamá!"
"¿Qué? ¡Ustedes dos son lindos juntos!"
"Gracies, es un placer conocerla, Señora. Allen." Peter smiles gratefully.
The woman blinks along with her daughter.
"suck up." Mark mutters, so quietly that it would be impossible for any normal person to hear him.
Wilson standing behind his wife rolls his eyes, unimpressed.
"You speak Spanish, Petey?! Why didn't you tell me?"
The genius shrugs, "It didn't really come up."
The cheerleader pouts before narrowing her eyes, "Do you speak any other languages?"
Peter hums, "I speak and write in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Yiddish."
"Wow… why so many?"
"Well they offered most of them as A.P courses and I'm jewish, I… well, I also had nothing better to do."
"You, you had nothing better to do than learn seven languages?" The brother questions with disbelief.
"I was still in elementary school around the time and it was very boring." He huffs in amusement.
"I'm sure." The man interrupts, "Why don't you come in, I would like to know the kind of boy my princess is going out with."
"Papí!" Liz whines.
"Of course, sir." Peter steps inside.
"Here honey, let me put that in some water." The mother takes the flowers from her daughter and walks to the kitchen.
Liz huffs and takes Peter's hand and guides over to the sofa, the Allen men follow along before sitting opposite of them on the love couch.
"So, Peter was it?" The father asks, getting a nod from the boy.
"Yes sir, may I ask for your name?"
"Just call me Mr. Allen." He says stoically.
Peter clears his throat and gives another nod in understanding.
"Peter, I heard you're in college, is that right?"
"Yes, Mr. Allen. I go to NYU."
"Studying chemistry?"
"Biochemistry." He corrects.
"What exactly will you be doing after you graduate? I can't really imagine any respectable company would want to babysit a preteen."
Mark laughs while Liz tightens her hold on his hand, glaring at her father.
Peter just smiles, "I have a few job prospects; NYU has offered me a teaching and research position after my dissertation defense, though since my blog has been taking off I've considered becoming an independent researcher to expand on a recent study I completed on what I coined as Neogentics. I also applied to several pharmaceutical and genetics labs though I haven't heard back, yet."
Mr. Allen blinks, "That's… good." He shifts in his seat.
Mark huffs, "So Peter, what are your intentions with my–"
"Nope!" Liz stands up and drags Peter up, "We're going to be late for the movie! Love you guys." She pulls the boy towards the door.
"Have a good time, you two and Liz make sure you're home by eight!" The mother calls out from the kitchen.
"Si, Mamá! ¡No te preocupes!"
The girl throws open the door and rushes out.
"It was lovely meeting you all!" Peter shouts out before closing the door behind him.
Liz doesn't stop dragging him until they reach the elevator, huffing irritably. As they wait for the doors to slide open, he can't help but give her hand a squeeze which gets a cute squeak out of the girl.
She tries to pull away but his grip is firm.
"I think they like me." He says brightly.
The cheerleader snorts, "My mom does at least."
"What can I say, I'm a hit with older women." He jokes, "I blame Days of Our Lives, when they hear I'm going to be a doctor it just does something to them."
The girl laughs and slaps his shoulder, "My mom loves that show!"
"So does my aunt!"
The elevator doors open and the two walk in, still smiling at each other.
When the lift reaches the ground floor and the doors slide open, the two stroll out. Exiting the lobby of the apartment building they find themselves making small talk.
"So, favorite color?" Liz asks.
"Red or maybe blue, it can go either way. I also like purple, you?"
"I'm starting to really like yellow." She says smirking up at the boy who blushes.
"Okay, that was smooth."
The cheerleader giggles, "Thanks."
"Okay my turn; favorite movie?"
"Hmm?" She taps her bottom lip, "I gotta say… The Proposal."
"Oh, what is it about?"
Liz explains the plot easily enough with the boy nodding along.
"Sounds fun. We should watch it sometime."
"Hm, let's see how this date goes." She winks up at him, "So what's your favorite movie?"
"The Theory of Everything." Peter answers.
Liz eyebrows scrunch up, "Isn't that about that guy in a wheelchair?"
"Oof, you're breaking my heart Liz, like literally shattering it." He grabs his chest in mock pain.
She pushes his shoulder and he fakes a stumble, laughing as he does.
The two go back and forth until they reach the movie theater. They enter and quickly get in line to buy tickets before buying snacks.
The two enter the auditorium and Peter tries to walk to the middle rows but Liz pulls him towards the back, "Uh, Liz…"
"Come on Petey, we're going to need some privacy." She whispers, a tint of excitement covering her words.
The genius swallows thickly and nods.
They sit in the corner and quickly notice that a few couples had followed their example, spreading out in the top three rows, leaving a lot of space between everyone.
When the light turns low the boy tries to desperately focus on the movie but he could feel the skin of her forefinger lightly grazing the back of his hand. The grooves sliding against his tiny unnoticeable hairs that make him shiver.
Before the bite it would have been uncomfortable but now it was close to painful but stills himself. He knows she is doing it to show interest, to grab his attention and he knows pulling away will show the opposite of what he wants.
He looks at her and takes a shaky breath at her gaze, her eyes practically begging him to kiss her.
Or at least that's what he's hoping they're telling him because it'll be super embrassessing if he's misreading her.
Slowly he leans in, "Can I…?" He whispers and he thanks God that she nods with half lidded eyes before closing them completely. The boy tilts his head a little making sure their noses don't hit each other as their lips meet.
Liz's lips are soft and smooth, like the skin of ripe plums.
Just before he pulls back, she places her hands against his cheeks and deepens the kiss, her fingers moving along his head to curl around his hair.
His hold on the bucket of popcorn loosens and it spills across the ground.
Eventually she pulls back and opens her eyes, smiling, "How was that for a first kiss?"
Peter breathes out a shaky breath, "Spine tingling."
She giggles and turns back towards the movie, resting her head on his shoulder.
When the movie finished the two exited the auditorium and then the movie theater. Peter quickly pulls out his phone to check the time and turns to his date, "We have about two more hours, want to get something to eat?"
"I would love to." The girl wraps her left arm around his right and holds it close.
They find themselves in a small diner sitting in a booth that looks out the panel window, it was quiet with only the waitress and cook being the only staff.
It must be pretty close to closing but neither had said anything when the couple walked in, so it was probably okay.
They grabbed a menu and began looking it over.
"So, what are you thinking about getting?" Liz asks.
"I'm thinking about a double bacon cheeseburger with a side of french fries and onion rings." Peter hums in further thought, "And a strawberry cheesecake milkshake."
The girl blinks, "That's a lot of calories."
"Maybe but I am a growing boy." He jokes getting an eye roll from his date.
"Yeah and if you eat like that all the time you'll be a really big boy."
The boy huffs out a laugh, "What about you? What do you want?"
"I'm thinking about… a caesar salad?"
"Boo!" He gives the girl a thumbs down.
Liz sticks out her tongue before setting her menu down, "Anyway, you have any siblings."
His eyes brighten, "I have a younger sister; Teresa. She's a bit of a brat."
"Aren't all siblings?"
Peter hums, "I bet they say the same thing about us."
The girl snorts, "I know they do, Mark can't go two seconds without making a dig at me."
"That's just how they show their love." He tells her.
She sighs, "Maybe."
"Definitely." The genius reassures her.
Liz smiles and reaches over to take his hand, he rubs his thumb across her knuckles and returns the expression.
Soon the waitress walks over and takes their orders. When the food comes the two dig in.
And somehow it's Peter that finishes first.
"I'm not sure if I should be disgusted or impressed." Liz tells the boy, "No wait, I'm disgusted."
Peter laughs, "Sorry." He wipes his mouth. "I guess I was more hungry than I thought I was."
The cheerleader gives her date a look, "Well… you did drop all that popcorn, so I guess I can let it slide."
"I only dropped the popcorn because of you." He reminds her.
She smirks, "Because I gave you a spine tingling kiss?"
The preteen blushes and looks away which makes the girl titter.
"You know, you're really cute when your face gets all red."
Peter closes his eyes and tries desperately to keep his face from getting any redder.
When Liz finishes her meal the two stand up, walking over to the register and the boy pays their bill.
As they walk out of the diner, hand in hand, Peter feels a dull pinch in the back of his head. He moves to the side and avoids a shoulder bump from a man walking in.
A strange feeling of foreboding runs across his body.
The man is tall, around six foot-one with a wiry frame. Somewhat young, maybe late twenties to early thirties with a natural skin tone, crows feet around his eyes and folds around his mouth that spoke of a lot of laughing, curly copper red hair and pea green eyes.
As the couple walks out he watches as the man reaches into his coat pocket and hears it wrap around something cocking it back, almost like a… a hammer of a gun cocks.
Peter snaps his head back and static enters his ears as his breath catches in his throat, 'Is he…' He swallows and focuses his hearing.
"Miss me, grougeous?" The man greets, the glee in his voice clear.
"Oh god, not you..." The woman mutters, "I, you already came for this month's protection money, Carnage."
"I've decided it wasn't enough. So are you going to give me what I'm owed or-"
Peter hears the metal of the barrel scraping against his pocket as if he's pulling it out.
"-i'm I going to have to get physical, sweetie? And I just gotta say I hope you pick B because I-"
He does something with his mouth, like he's licking his lips.
"-haven't had a good meal in a long while."
The genius freezes forcing the girl to stop beside him, she gives him a concerned look, 'Meal as in…' What should he do? What can he do?
Maybe if he–
"Petey?" Liz places a hand against his cheek, "You alright?"
Peter gives a strained smile, "Ye…ah." His voice cracks. "I'm just… just thinking about the great time we had, I just can't wait to do this again."
"Ah." The cheerleader grins, "I get it, worried I might say no to a third date."
He nods shakily.
"Well don't worry, we'll definitely do this again and soon." She kisses the underside of his jaw before pulling him along.
Peter closes his eyes and refocuses but all he can hear is a shutter of breathing and whimpers of fear. He couldn't hear the man at all and only two hearts entered his ears, so they're okay.
Everything is okay.
Right?
~Spider-Man Evolution~
"So Sally." Harry Osborn begins as they stand on the balcony of his pent mansion, Peter's drone hovering in between them.
The device is about the size of a sheet of paper and as thick as a brick. To Harry's own amusement it was kinda shaped like a spider with eight rotating rotor blades.
"How are you feeling? Excited? Scared?"
Sally Avril smiles nervously, "Can I say both? I mean I've seen the videos of Spider-Man swinging around, it looks amazing! I can hardly wait to fly through the air but… um well… when I think of myself falling hundreds of feet I can't help but shake, ya know?"
Harry nods, "I get it."
"So do I."
Both teens jump in surprise and look up and see Spider-Man cling to the wall above them like his name sake, their head pointed down.
Sally couldn't help but flinch, he looked so… unnatural. His voice also sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't place it.
"Hey, Spidey." Harry gives a wave, "Looking like a real creepy crawly."
"I think the adjective you're looking for is," He pushes himself off the wall and rolls in the air several times before landing next to the teen, "Amazing."
The rich boy rolls his eyes, "I think we both know you're spectacular."
The figure chuckles.
Sally shifts her feet awkwardly.
Spider-Man turns to her and walks up, offering his hand, "You're Sally right, Peter and Harry told me you wanted to take a swing around the neighborhood."
The girl nods, "Ye…yeah!" She can't help but look the guy up and down and immediately notice something off, "Um… where are your… web-shooters?"
The superhuman raises his left arm and pulls the sleeve down with his other hand, showing off a silver bracelet.
"Are those…"
"Yep! My web-shooters; new and improved." He brags, "They–"
"Alright, no one wants to hear a science lecture. We get that enough from Peter." The boy states.
"Hey! Don't compare me to the kid, I might like to tinker but he's on a whole different level." He shivers, "You should have seen him when I gave him a blood sample, he was practically drooling."
Harry snorts, "Sounds like him."
Spider-Man looks around, "Where is he anyway? This was his idea!"
"I know right! " Sally huffs, crossing her arms.
Her boyfriend shrugs, "He's going over his dissertation, his defense is in a week."
"Oh! Good for him." The other dismisses, he turns towards the girl, "Anyway, ready?"
The cheerleader gulps but nods.
"Great." Walking over, he stands in front of the girl before turning his back to her, "Hold on tight."
Sally blushes as she wraps her arms around the figure, he raises his right hand and makes his signature gesture, a small web-like net shoots out and sticks her to him.
"Oh!" Sally whines, "That's cold!"
Spider-Man laughs, "Sorry but I can't have you falling off."
"Ugh bu–"
He doesn't wait for her complaint, the marvel leaps high in the air.
"Ohmygod!ohmygod!" She screams, she squeezes her arms tightly and closes her eyes, "I made a mistake! Imadeamistake!"
"Haha! Come on Sally! You're going to miss the best part!"
"Ughhhh!"
Spider-Man aims for a corner of a building and spins a thin webline, "WHoO!" He swings in a large arc, his feet sticking straight out.
The feeling of vertigo hits the girl on his back, "I think I'm going to throw up."
"Please don't."
Sally's eyes flutter open and feels astonished by the sight. She's never seen New York quite like this, building stretching out for miles, the people like ants, so small, "It's beautiful…"
"Isn't it?" Spider-Man spins another web and swings further out, "Want me to do a flip."
The girl glares at the side of the other's, "Do it and I'll hit you."
"With what hands?" He jokes.
The cheerleader huffs, "You seemed a lot more charming in the videos."
The figure snorts, "I didn't hear a no."
"Pleas–"
Spider-Man pulls at the web and kip flips in the air, raising himself higher and does a one-eighty twirl before catching himself.
The girl closes her eyes tightly and wraps her legs around his torso as she lets out a whine of fear.
The guy laughs.
The girl opens one eyes and groans, "I should have never agreed to this!"
"Come on! You're having fun, admit it."
She rests her chin on her arm and listlessly stares out, "I admit nothing."
He blows a raspberry, "I guess you want me to head back?"
"I didn't say that." The cheerleader hums out.
Spider-Man chuckles, "I knew it."
~Spider-Man Evolution~
Ben Parker tries to keep himself calm as he, his wife, and his niece all wait outside the conference room with Harry, his girlfriend Sally, and Peter's girlfriend, which still brought a smile to his face, Liz, sat across from them for the genius to finish the last of his dissertation defense.
He can remember feeling the same type of nervous energy at Richard's defense, wondering if all his work would be for naught. Thinking up ways to comfort his brother if he had failed, wondering if he could or if it would even be appreciated.
The man closes his eyes and rubs the corners of them with his forefinger and thumb.
It's been close to an hour since Peter has been in there and he can't help to think that's bad. Richard was only questioned for half an hour, if that.
"What's taking so long?" He hears Sally whine silently in the shoulder as his boy's best friend, "I thought you said he would in and out."
The teen rolls his eyes, "So maybe I exaggerated."
"How do you think Petey's doing in there, it's been a while?" Liz asks with a worried frown.
The athlete huffs, "He's doing fine." He says aggressively. "Have a little faith, Liz."
"I have faith!" She tries to whisper but it comes out as a half yell, she cringes and catches Ben's eyes. The girl waves awkwardly causing him to smile in amusement.
Sally slaps his arm, "Don't yell at Liz, she's just worried about the little guy."
Harry snorts, "Little guy? Babe, he's taller than you."
"Yeah but he's way younger which makes him little." She explains.
"I'm sure he'll love that nickname."
Rolling her eyes she slumps back, "You don't think he's going to fail or whatever, do you?"
The older boy scoffs, "Fu–" He stops himself and looks towards Teresa who is scrolling on her phone.
Ben appreciates the thought but he's heard a lot of foul things coming from both his kid's mouth that he knows it's a lose cause.
"No." He says resolutely, "Peter is the smartest guy I know. They'd be dumb to fail him."
Liz nods in agreement.
"I guess." The teen's girlfriend mutters, "What are we doing after anyway? You said something about a party?"
Harry hums, "Yeah, after he passes all of us are going to eat and after the four of us are going to my place for a surprise party, I already talked it over with his uncle and aunt and they're going to make sure Peter doesn't blow me off."
Liz giggles, "Blow you off? Petey worships the ground you walk on, I'm pretty sure he's a little bit in love with you."
Sally huffs in amusement, "Trust me, this guy-" She points a thumb at the boy who sighs in exacerbation. "-Is way worse. Get him started on Peter and he'll talk your ear off for ten straight minutes, I'm positive if one of them was a girl you and I would be left in the dust."
And that's Ben's cue to tune the teens out.
Eventually the double doors open and Peter strides out with a large smile across his face.
"Peter!" Ben pushes himself up and May follows suit, "I'm guessing that you passed."
"I did!" He laughs and hugs the two.
Harry walks over with a smile of his own, the two girls standing on either side of him, "Dr. Parker, 'bout damn time."
The boy giggles, "I can't believe I get to be called Dr. Parker."
"You deserve it, Petey." Liz says as she hugs the boy, kissing his cheek.
He blushes, "I hope so."
"Now all that's left is your commencement." May covers her mouth as tears gather at her eyes, "My Peter, a doctor."
"Your father would be so proud, soldier." Ben grins.
Peter gives the man a soft look full of meaning, "I know he is."
The man blinks back his tears and hugs his boy again.
As he pulls back his sister, Teresa Parker, wraps her arms around his waist, "I'm so happy for you, Peter!"
"Thanks Te." He hugs the girl back, "Now," He looks at the group. "Who's ready to celebrate!"
Sally raises her hand, "I'm ready to get out of here!"
The group had left the building with bright smiles, Peter walked beside Harry who elbows him jokingly, "Man, my best friend is a doctor."
"I know right! I'm just like my father."
The teen grunts in acknowledgment, "What did your dad study anyway? I know he was a geneticist but…" He lets the sentence hang.
"My dad studied Biochemistry and Molecular biology at John Hopkins."
"Whoa, impressive."
The genius nods, "Yeah, he was actually studying cross-species genetics. He pushed the theory that animal D.N.A when spliced with human D.N.A could be used as a means to cure the world of all its aliments. Dr. Curt Conners is actually continuing his research at Empire State University using lizard D.N.A as his focal point to regrow lost limbs."
Harry blinks, "Huh, can… can you regenerate lost limbs? Like can't spiders regrow their legs or something, maybe he should be focusing on spider D.N.A."
Peter hums hesitantly, "I'm not sure. I know I have an enhanced healing factor but my X-Gene made my mutations adaptive to my human D.N.A which limits the scale of my abilities, so probably not." He turns towards his friend with a smirk. "But I like where your head's at, I prove my father's theory, maybe I should continue it."
The rich kid smirks and wraps his arm around the other's shoulders, "Well that's why I'm here."
~Spider-Man Evolution~
Ben enters his home with a large grin, his wife, and niece following behind him, "Richard and Mary would be so proud of the boy, the youngest person to ever receive their Phd."
May nods as she heads towards the kitchen, "He worked so hard, spent so many days studying that I'm honestly surprised his vision didn't grow worse."
Teresa giggles, "At least he's been getting better." She follows her aunt into the kitchen and the two sit down quickly followed by Ben. "Harry has really loosen him up."
The retired marine nods, "He has and along with that Liz, I don't think I ever seen him so happy or embrassed before."
The woman sighs, "You're not wrong it's just, isn't she a little too old for him?"
"May," The man laughs, "Our Peter just got his Phd, created a very successful business, performs incredibly advanced experiments in our basement, and he just got published in that Science magazine for his discoveries! If anything I'm more worried about Liz, compared to her Peter is practically an adult!"
His wife huffs, "I suppose but doesn't it feel like he's growing up too fast? I mean look at Teresa." She gestures to the girl whose eyes widen. "She's just three years younger but she's still our baby." The woman reaches over and pinches her cheek.
"May!~" The girl whines.
"Of course but that's just because she's ordinary."
Both Parker women's eyes widen at the man's words.
"Ben!" The woman snaps in shock, "How could… how could you say that?!"
Ben waves the younger adult off, "Come on Belle, there's nothing wrong with ordinary; I'm ordinary, you're ordinary, most people are but Peter's special. He has great power, his mind is a gift and that's made him greater than other people."
Teresa looks down feeling tears gather at her eyes, "I… you don't think I'm special uncle Ben?"
The man looks softly towards the girl as his wife glares harshly at him, "Oh honey, I love you and I think if you choose to you'll do great things but your brother, he doesn't really have a choice. Just by being himself he'll change the world."
May closes her eyes as Teresa stands up, "I'm… I'm going to Anya's." She runs out of the kitchen and towards the door of her home.
"Te–" He stands up to follow.
"No." The woman says, stopping the man, "Let her go."
The girl swings the door open and slams it behind her.
Ben sighs and sits down, he notices the hard look of May and closes his eyes, "I wasn't going to lie to the girl, May."
"Benjamin I fell in love with your honesty, your sense of honor, and responsibility but sometimes..." She sighs, "Sometimes you just take it all too far."
"You can never take honesty too far. I love Teresa, you know I do, and I see a lot of myself in her. Just like her I had a brother whose brilliance outshined me at every turn, I resented him for a long time because of that and I had to learn to let that go, to see past my own ego and support him, to… to understand that I just didn't have his gifts but that didn't reflect badly on me." The retired marine takes a deep fortifying breath, "Teresa is young but if she's ever going to have a long lasting positive relationship with her brother then we can't sugar coat it because the world sure won't. She needs to know that Peter is special but that doesn't mean that she can't still be amazing, in her own way."
May shakes her head, "Everyone is special Benny, just because Peter's is more obvious doesn't mean Teresa is any less incredible."
"Oh Belle, you just don't understand. You never had to face your own inadequacies every single day, to know that no matter how hard you try you'll always be second best. I had to work thrice as hard as Richard to get anywhere and so will Teresa. Trust me I wish someone sat me down and just told me the truth, it would have saved me a lot of heartache."
Biting her lip, she pinches the bridge of her nose, "Don't push your own complexes onto Teresa, that does neither of you any favors." Standing up, she walks towards the door, "I'm going to Anna's."
"Ma–"
She opens and closes the door behind her, leaving the man alone.
Ben huffs and slumps in his chair, "Well alright." He stands and heads to the living room, he sits on the couch before leaning to grab the remote control. Turning the t.v on, he tosses the device to the side and watches.
The hours silently tick by, afternoon turning into night. Over the following hours the man had tried calling both May and Teresa but neither picked up the phone.
"Knock! Knock!"
Ben looks over to the door and stands up, walking over he opens the entrance revealing a youngish man a bit taller than with wild copper red hair and a dangerous smile.
"Hey there!" He gives a wave, "I was just walking by and I saw your car and just got to say, it's a beaut."
"Uh.." Ben blinks at the other's words, "Thank you."
"So, how much?"
The retired marine laughs, "Sorry, it's not for sale."
The stranger's smile widens, "Come on, everything's for sale. So give me a price."
The older man frowns, "Listen sir, I won't sell my car, I don't care what you offer." He tries to close the door but the other puts his hand out, stopping it from slamming.
"Then I guess I'll be getting it for free." They slam his foot against the entrance and knocks' Ben onto his ass, walking in he slams the door close behind himself.
Before the older man could get his bearings the other drops on his chest and wraps their hands around his throat.
"URK! ArK!" Choking, Ben grabs his attacker's head from under their arms and smashes their faces together.
"Ah!"
When the hold around his neck loosens he pushes his foot against the deranged man's chest and kicks out.
"Oof!"
The military man struggles to his feet and rubs his neck. Raising his arms up into a boxers guard and waits'.
The attacker stands up with a scowl, he pulls out a six chamber revolver but before he can get a shot out his would-be victim rushes the other, lowering his stance as he does.
"BAnG!"
The first shot misses and the ex-marine wraps his arms around the other's legs pulling them out from under them, dropping them harshly against the floor. He then grabs their arm holding it closing to his chest and wraps his left leg around their neck and pushes.
"AGH!" "CRacK!" The man screams as Ben breaks his arm, dropping the gun.
The oldest Parker lets the arm go and kicks the other against the side of his jaw, knocking them out. He then rolls to his feet, breathing deeply.
As Ben fully stands up; he grabs the gun, examines it briefly before emptying the chamber and pocketing the pistol.
He turns away from the would-be killer and walks over to the kitchen, he grabs the landline before dialing 9-1-1.
It takes only a few moments before they answer.
"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"
"I've been attacked, I defended myself and knocked the perpetrator out. He has a broken right arm, a possible fractured jaw, and most likely a concussion. My address is 20 Ingram street and my name is Benjamin Park–"
"SLICK!"
"AgHH!" Ben screams as he feels something pierce his back, right in his kidney.
"Sir? Sir!"
The retired marine falls to his knees and onto his belly, dropping the phone as he does.
The criminal slams his foot against the device, shattering it, Crouching down, they look deep into his victims eyes, "You got me good." He says with a sickening smile as he licks the blood off his carving knife. "But not good enough!" Pushing the man onto his back they slice his shirt down the middle before sinking the tip between his collarbone and pulls' it down.
"AuGH!" Ben roars in pain, blood pouring from the wound. The knife sticks deep into his stomach and continues down, "Pl…ple…ase."
"HAHAHA! Sorry but I haven't had a good meal in a while and you pissed me off!" The killer screams as he tosses the knife to the side and pushes his hand through the open wound below the rib cage.
"AGhHH!~" Ben cries, he feels the man inside him, his knuckles grazing his lungs and grabbing his beating heart, "a..h..gh.."
"Whoo!" The maniac pulls the organ out and stares in fascination at the bloody thing, he looks to his victim as they stare uncomprehendingly ahead, he opens his mouth wide and takes a bite. Chewing, he hums in delight and after swallowing he takes another mouthful, uncaring of the mess he's making.
Ben stares blankly ahead, his body completely still.
Finishing his meal he stands up and walks over to the far wall and writes a message in his meal's blood.
Let There Be Carnage!
Nodding, they quickly find the key rack beside the door, grabbing the one that has to be for the cool car.
Opening the door he walks out, closing it behind him. He sees multiple people staring in concern before fleeing at the sight of him.
Laughing, he unlocks the classic firebird and yanks the door open, entering the car he closes it and starts the engine before driving away.