THE THOMPSON RESIDENCE WAS NEARLY UNRECOGNIZABLE AFTER THE NEW YEAR. THE GLICK FAMILY HAD REALLY GOTTEN TO THEM THAT NIGHT. THE NIGHT WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED. Footballs were put in storage in exchange for textbooks borrowed from the library, notebooks and papers scattered all over the floors. Rosie was barely seen, working overtime to keep face and show dedication to both her children and her job. The house, despite the aforementioned school supplies strewn about, was spotless, always clean and organized.

It was terrifying to see just how willing the family was to change in an effort to keep Diana with them.

When she had returned that December night, the Glicks had already left. A bowl was broken and all three of them were crying. When she opened the door, Diana was bombarded by a hug from her godmother, begging her to never run out again.

Danny had given them an ultimatum. Prove that they were worthy of Diana or say goodbye forever. It had chilled the Thompsons to the bone, shocking them to the core. Evident by their change less than a month later.

A few days before school was to start up, Diana emerged from her room to grab some food. She nearly made it back to her room without getting caught when Flash opened his own door, looking shocked to see her.

"She lives," he joked faintly, leaning against his doorframe, "You wanna share those chips?"

She glanced down at the bag, before looking back up at him. "You wanna watch a romcom?"

"Ryan Gosling?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah. 13 Going On 30 with Jennifer Garner? It's good and a little uncomfortable, you'll like it. Let me grab my laptop, grab some drinks."

He nodded, smiling, and headed over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She stepped into her room and grabbed her laptop and charger, chips still in hand, walking back out and into Flash's room.

She stopped short, staring at his bed. They were filled with books and papers, there was barely room on the bed for him to sit, same went for the floor. His desk had most of the things that used to go on the floor, his chair covered with laundry he never put in his closet.

"It's vacation," she commented as she side stepped her, shoving things to one side of the room, carrying all the books from his bed and onto the floor in the corner

He nodded. "Perfect time to catch up, get ahead."

She shook her head, plugging in her laptop and sitting down. "You need this movie more than I do. Here, have some." She opened the bag and pulled up the movie.

"Jennifer Garner?" he asked, throwing a few chips into his mouth.

She nodded. "Yup. Mark Ruffalo, too. Remember the guy from those magician movies, Now You See Me?"

He nodded, eyes wide. "I remember him. Good actor, great guy. This a good movie?"

She nodded. "Yup. Now shush, it's starting."

º º º º º

Flash fell asleep twenty minutes before the movie ended, exhaustion finally overtaking him. Throughout the first part he had been making comments non-stop, moving around and, at one point, jumping on the bed. But, in the end, no one has that much energy.

Diana didn't leave. She just pulled up an episode of a crime show she liked and let it drone in the background; if he fell asleep to sound, Flash always woke up when it went away.

She looked down at her surrogate brother, pushing his hair away from his face. At school it was always gelled up, but at home it just went wherever it wanted.

He looked so sad when he slept. Most people look peaceful or happy when they slept, but not Flash. No, he had to keep a brave face while he was awake. While asleep, he could feel how he felt without judgement. Not that he might have wanted that.

She looked over at the textbooks and notebooks littering the floor. It didn't take her long to understand why. Flash only played football, he was too short for basketball, he didn't have a good relationship with baseball, and the school didn't offer track.

Because he didn't have anything else to take his attention, he could either relax or focus his attention on something else. Usually, he would just relax, but not this time. This time, he was going to throw himself into his school, his grades.

If he proved that he was more than just a good athlete, then maybe he could convince the Glicks and whomever they called to help that Diana could stay with them. Flash never liked to lose and now more than ever the stakes were high.

She felt him stir and pulled her hand away quickly, turning back to the computer screen. She glanced down as he lifted his head, resting it on her leg.

"Please tell me she ended up with him in the end," he said, turning to look at the computer screen, "Hey, I love this show."

She hummed. "Same. And you're gonna have to finish the movie yourself, I don't wanna tell."

He scoffed. "You're the worst. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have the syllabus for our classes, would you?"

She shook her head. "I did, but I left them in my locker. Do you not have yours?" She resisted the urge to ask why he wanted them for fear of him shutting her out.

He made a face. "I threw mine away the second we turned in the signatures that said we read 'em." At her disappointed look, he sighed. "I didn't think it was that important at the time. I bet they're online, I'll print them out."

She hummed. "Do it later, we're bonding. You seen this episode yet?" She pointed to the episode that followed the one they were watching, hoping that he hadn't.

He shook his head. "Nah, I just watch the show when it's on, I don't follow it. You wanna hand me the chips, it's the only way you're gonna get me to stay."

She handed him the back and rolled her eyes as he stuffed a handful into his mouth all at once. When he caught her look, he chewed them obnoxiously, opening and closing his mouth. She shoved his face back and he laughed, coughing.

When he stopped choking, he sighed and leaned back, looking up at her. "Do you, though? Want to go live with the devil and his angel parents and sister in London? I heard the old hag and her husband don't live with them, just close by."

She sighed; she knew the answer was coming. She turned away from him. "I don't know. I want to just say no, you know? Because I love staying with you guys and Danny and his grandmother are awful, but...like you said, his parents are sweet and...she looks just like my mom. I truly think she's sorry about not being there. And besides, I'd be out of your hair and you won't have to worry about feeding and clothing another person and—"

"Hey," he said, sitting up, "If you're going to make a choice, don't base it around our financial situation. We're kind of set, you being here doesn't hinder anything. Seriously, Diana."

She shrugged. "If I don't factor that in, then...yeah, I want to stay with you guys. I mean, there's always that other side that wants me to learn more about my aunt, but Rosie's my aunt too."

He smiled. "Good." He looked over at his books and sighed. "Then we'll fight like hell to keep you around."

º º º º º

The bell rang, signaling the end of the first day back to school. Everyone rushed out of the classroom, wanting to either catch up more with their friends or get out of there as soon as possible. It was the first day back and everyone was both distraught and excited.

"Peter!" Diana called out, catching sight of the boy as he followed the crowd. He turned around, surprised. She motioned over to her things. "Wanna help me with my books? I hurt my arm yesterday."

He nodded, glancing over to the teacher who stepped out of the room without a second glance. Instead of picking up her books, he placed his palms flat across the black metal surface, leaning forward.

"I didn't have any infections and there wasn't any swelling, so I didn't think I had any reason to come see you," he said quickly, "I'm sorry, I should've dropped by, but I didn't want to bother you."

"It's alright," she said, taken aback by how guilty he looked, "I'm not upset or anything, if that's what you're getting at."

He sighed, gripping his chest. "Thank God. Uh, wait, did you really need help with your books?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Really, I just wanted to talk to you. How's everything been, in and out of the suit?"

He ducked his head, smiling. "Uh, it's good. New Years was insane. May wanted us to spend the whole night together which sucked because there was so much stuff I had to stop, but I couldn't. I got them all the day after, but..."

"Hey," she said, gripping his sweater arms, "Peter, c'mon. Look, you can't save everyone."

He raised his head to look at her. The same big brown doe eyes that had looked at her after he ripped off his mask, begging for her not to tell. He was just a kid. Granted, a kid with superpowers, but he was still the same Peter Parker that had come to school dressed as Green Lantern when Flash went as the Flash. The same Peter Parker that had a crush on Sally Avril in middle school. The same Peter Parker who lost his uncle a few months before.

"It's still hard," he said, his voice choked.

"I know," she whispered, "But you can only do so much."

He smiled, blinking back tears. "Thanks, Diana." He pointed towards the door. "We should probably get going before your friends start to worry."

She nodded and put on her backpack. "Hey," she said, stopping him before he opened the door. He turned, tilting his head. "They're your friends too. They care about you, you know?"

He nodded, smiling. "Yeah. Harry told me the same thing, we were texting all vacation. It's just...hard to get sometimes, you know?"

She hummed, walking over to link his arm with her own. "Believe me, Peter, I know. You want them to be your friends and you think they might be, but you're scared it's just one-sided."

"Pretty much," he said, looking down, "You always this...touchy?"

She shook her head. "Nope. But ever since after Christmas, I'd like to hold onto all the friends I've got for as long as I've got."

He smiled, nodding. "Well. Hold on, I guess. As you know, I'm kind of a handful."

She laughed, remembering how he tried to convince her to buy herself a puppy when they were on the way back to her apartment that night after Christmas. "Oh, yeah. Remind me to never go out with you late at night."

He snickered. "Noted. Ned's probably waiting for me outside, so I should go, but thank you, Diana. For...I dunno, for talking? It helped."

She smiled. "Of course, Peter. And hey," he stopped walking away. He bent down as she whispered into his ear. "If you ever need to get patched up again, anything like that, drop by. Please, I don't like the idea of you going out alone."

He nodded, shrugging. "Thanks, but, I don't need help. I can do things on my own, I'm fine. Thank you, though."

She sighed, frowning. "Peter..."

He shook his head, already disappearing into the hallway crowd. "I'm fine, Diana. Don't worry about me, worry about you and your family. That's what I do."

Her shoulders slumped as she watched him fade into the crowd. "That's what you said got your uncle killed."

º º º º º

It was midnight when Diana heard the knock on her window. Coming from the fire escape.

Frowning, she grabbed her baseball bat, slowly making her way to the window. She pushed back the curtains, but she couldn't see through the frost. Pushing it open, she gasped.

Sitting on her fire escape was a tired, bleeding Peter Parker. He looked up at her, mask in hand, smiling mirthlessly.

"Hey. Uh, I could use some help."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

WRITTEN: JUNE 6, 2017/PUBLISHED: JUNE 13, 2017

Do you like my reference to Mark Ruffalo, actor for Bruce Banner? Yeah, I thought it'd be funny to pull a weird.

Remember, Danny's the one that's pulling all the threats to the family, not his parents.

I was going to include a P.E. scene, but I felt as though it would drag on, so I just made this short. This is slightly filler, up until the end, I just wanted to have her have a nice simple scene with both Flash and Peter.

This isn't my best chapter, but I like it it's simple. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!