oo. SIX

NADINE WOKE UP TO A THUMP ON HER CARPET, AND A BREEZE ON HER FACE. Now, the breeze shouldn't have been that weird, except she always slept with her window closed — as her Uncle Ray had insisted since she was little.

So, it was a little more than disconcerting, and she couldn't help the jump in her chest at the muffled footsteps she heard through her fuzzy brain.

After her initial panic, Nadine managed to peel her eyes open, and upon seeing the silhouette stood in her room, she felt the pull of an orange circle behind the figure, and tugged at it. In the dim room, she watched as a small candle flew across the room, hitting the person in the head.

"Ow! What was that—?" the figure spoke, bringing a hand to the back of their head... something about the voice was weirdly familiar, although the panting and pain present in their voice was enough to cover it up.

Nadine sat up sharply, hand out in front of her as she pulled the covers away from her legs.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" asked Nadine, her voice on the edge of complete panic as the figure's head flew up to face her, hands pausing in the air.

"Woah! It's okay!" the figure replied, and faster than she could blink, something shot towards her light switch, and bathed the room in a yellow glow. "I'm— I'm Spider-Man."

Nadine blinked, the light leaving dark imprints in her vision, and swallowed nervously at the image of the blue and red clad vigilante stood in her room. It took more than a few more blinks to notice the blood, and the shredded suit just barely hanging onto his chest.

"Oh my god— are you bleeding?" asked Nadine, eyes wide as she stood up from her bed, still keeping her distance, but relaxing from her defensive stance the slightest bit.

"Wh— yes, I'm bleeding, listen—" started Spider-Man, but Nadine interrupted by putting her hand up in a stop motion.

"We better make you... not do that." said Nadine, breathing through the panic she was feeling — a bleeding masked vigilante broke into her apartment, her room, and was telling her to listen? Was she still dreaming?

"Aren't you going to—" Spider-Man attempted, but Nadine just shushed him, opening her bedroom door.

"The first aid kit is in the bathroom, so be quiet, my mum's room is down the hall." said Nadine. Why she wasn't yelling for her mother, she didn't know. She still wasn't completely sure whether she was dreaming or not, but the pinch to her arm told her she wasn't.

Spider-Man said nothing else, seemingly lost for words.

When he'd arrived to Nadine's apartment, pulling her window open, the last thing he expected was for her to just... accept the masked vigilante's presence, and help him.

Honestly, if asked, he didn't know what he'd say to why he came to Nadine's apartment, of all places. It was almost subconscious, his journey from the tunnels to the apartment building was a complete blur, and he couldn't really remember much of it.

Similarly, Spider-Man didn't even realise when they'd arrived in Nadine's bathroom.

Apparently, it was long enough for Nadine to have unpacked the entire first aid kit on the bathroom counter, leaving enough space for him to sit on it.

"Sit there," Nadine told him, locking the bathroom door. "Do you have any idea what you're doing? Because I... do not."

Spider-Man had to stifle a laugh, and even doing that made the forgotten pain in his chest flare up, burning all the way up his neck in a flaming trail. He breathed deeply through it, keeping his pain to himself as best he could.

"We can just wing it, it'll be fine." said Spider-Man, a very fake New York accent coating his words, but at this point, it wasn't the strangest thing Nadine had to deal with.

She looked to the eyes of the mask, giving them a flat look, before cutting away at the suit he was wearing. All the strips of fabric covering the gashes along his chest were removed, and Nadine was sure she could throw up at the sight.

"That is not at all reassuring." replied Nadine, wetting a cloth and patting it against the gashes, cringing at Spider-Man's resulting groan of pain. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," he said, addressing her first remark, "I'll heal."

It did help, a bit, to hear that... but his panting breaths did not give her the most hope. Nor did the continuous winces.

"You sure about that?" said Nadine, glancing from the mask to the blood running down his chest. She dabbed at the blood, wiping up as much as she could. She ignored the abs he was sporting as well as she could, too.

Spider-Man scoffed a laugh at her remark, nodding his head, before leaning it back against the mirror on the wall.

"How'd you do that? Back there, with the candle." asked Spider-Man, breathing in deeply when she wiped the cloth across a deeper part of the gash.

"Faith, trust and pixie dust, Spider-Man." replied Nadine, refraining from rolling her eyes. She wasn't exactly fond of the idea of revealing her abilities — it's the main reason that even Margot didn't know the full details of Nadine's powers. Of course, they knew the gist, but nothing like the real thing.

Why would she tell it to a stranger?

Especially one who was quite literally wanted by the police, for what, Nadine couldn't tell you — even her Uncle agreed that the arrest warrant wasn't exactly the NYPD's brightest idea. After all, considering all of the eye witness reports from the bridge, there was something not human going around, attacking people.

Nadine wasn't sure what a little hand gun would do against something that could pick up cars and throw them over the edge of a bridge.

"That thing, from the bridge," started Nadine, slowing her actions to look up at the mask facing her. "That did this to you?"

"Yeah."

"And you're going to, what? Defeat that?" asked Nadine, unable to help the doubt that creeped into her voice. In her own defence, that thing had sent Spider-Man crawling through her window, bleeding and in pain.

"Hey, you should see him, right now." groaned Spider-Man, and he couldn't stop himself from grabbing the wrist holding onto the wet cloth, making Nadine pause her movements completely.

"You know, I think I'll pass." she replied, gently using her other hand to pry his fingers off of her wrist. She placed his hand back down on his leg, and figured it was probably a sign to move on from cleaning his wounds with a dampened cloth.

She wasn't really sure what else she could do to help, she wasn't exactly a doctor. At this point, she was just using the basic clean the wound method.

"Do you think you need stitches?" she asked, stepping back slightly to look at the gashes on his chest. Now that the blood was mainly cleared away, they looked slightly less deep, but Nadine was pretty sure they most likely should've been stitched up, possibly even a while ago.

No way in hell she was even attempting to stitch up a man's chest, anyway.

"No, no, I'll be fine." Spider-Man assured, sitting up slightly more, and removing his head from against the mirror. "I'll heal, remember?"

"Right, you heal. Which is why I have to wonder what you're doing in my apartment." Nadine said, eyes narrowed suspiciously at the reflective material where his eyes would be.

Spider-Man couldn't answer — he'd been asking himself the same thing. Why did he go to Nadine's apartment, when he easily could've done what she just did at his own home. Yes, there would've been risk of his aunt seeing him, but there pretty much always was.

What was so different?

"It was just the first unlocked window," Spider-Man lied, "I needed to get out of the open."

"Oh, I see." said Nadine, accepting, but not fully believing him. Something about him seemed familiar, and she couldn't help but find it weird that this was the first unlocked window he found after a clearly vicious fight, when Nadine hadn't heard a murmur.

But she walked him back to the window after cleaning up the bathroom, and as she watched him swing away, she realised that nextdoor's apartment window was already open.

oo

NADINE WALKED INTO SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY, EXHAUSTED. It was surprisingly hard to sleep after a stranger — and masked vigilante, but a stranger nonetheless — broke into your room, on the verge of possibly bleeding out.

But Nadine wasn't sure what she could do, or what she could say. Was she allowed to tell anybody? Tell Margot? Or would Spider-Man come back, angry?

It was a situation she wasn't sure many had been in, and she felt sick at the thought that there was nobody she could email for help or advice. It had always been her go-to when she was stuck, email someone and they can help... but apparently, not this time.

"Dude, are you okay?" asked Margot, concerned. It wasn't like Nadine to come into school looking like a zombie. She was pretty strict on getting at least her eight hours.

"Hm? Oh— yeah, I'm good." replied Nadine, although she was pretty sure she had almost worried herself into being sick.

"Okay..." Margot said suspiciously, eyes squinted at Nadine as if that would make her suddenly confess anything that was wrong. In their defence, it usually did make her confess what was going on with her. Not today though, clearly, which was just all the more concerning.

Margot looked up, and saw Gwen descending the stairs, catching their eyes with a smile. She looked almost like an angel, coming to save Margot from worrying about Nadine.

"Gwen! Hi, how are you?" greeted Margot, upon her arrival. The girl stopped right next to them, and hugged them so tight Nadine was pretty sure Margot's eyes would pop out like a cartoon.

"Hey," replied Gwen, sounding almost breathless as she let go of Margot, a beaming smile on her face. The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, still, and— were they holding hands?

When did that development occur?

"Are you guys—?" asked Nadine, an eyebrow raised as she looked down at their intertwined hands, and back up to their matching smiles.

"Shut up, Dean." said Margot, immediately, not missing the grin it put on Gwen's face.

Nadine put her hands up in an act of surrender, but she couldn't hide the faint smirk on her face — she'd say I told you so later, but right now, that nauseous feeling hadn't gone away, and she felt really warm.

"Okay, okay! I'm gonna head to the toilet, I'll see you two later." said Nadine, waving as she walked away from the pair... or couple? It was kind of hard to breathe, and she was pretty sure she just had a cold, and mixed with the anxiety of last night, it was a lot worse than it usually would be.

Nadine turned the corner, avoiding the girl coming out of the toilets, and entering. She went into the very end stall, and sat on the toilet lid, head in her hands.

Away from all of the students in the hallway, the nausea eased off slightly, letting her breathe easier.

She thought about the events of the past week, and she couldn't help how she focused on last night. The police were labelling Spider-Man as the villain — and given how he broke into her apartment, that didn't exactly help his situation. But the claw marks across his chest? How would a villain get that?

Plus, he was friendly. Laughing and joking even when he was bleeding and in pain.

This didn't change the fact that he broke into her apartment, into her room, which was scary, but it did reassure Nadine that Spider-Man had no bad intentions. Margot had told her that he'd even saved a kid from a dangling car, on the bridge.

It had been a lizard to dangle the car, giant, and aggressive, and... what was that noise?

Nadine stood up, not even having to strain her ears to clearly hear what sounded like metal crunching, and the floor beneath her suddenly felt far too weak. There was the sound of a toilet seat rattling, before shards of something went flying through the air.

Everything was happening too fast. And before Nadine could even move, the walls of the stall were falling, almost crushing her. She crouched on the floor, the door to the stall having fallen off of its hinges at the impact.

Just as she was about to crawl out, she saw a giant body, covered in green scales stalk towards the door of the toilets — and oh god, it's that lizard Margot was talking about.

She hesitantly pulled herself out of the stall as the sound of the toilet creaking met her ears. Nadine turned back just in time to see the toilet shatter under the weight of the domino of stall walls. Her heart thudded against her ribcage as she watched them thump against the floor where she had just been.

Using the least damaged sink to pull herself up, Nadine looked around at the demolished bathroom, not really sure what had just happened.

The screams were what woke her up, although somehow, she knew in the back of her head that they'd been going on for a while.

Leaning over, Nadine looked down the hole where a toilet had once been, and saw a lab coat from OSCORP. Her heart almost stopped — what did that mean?

As Nadine looked at the coat, the Lizard was making its way down the hall, a specific target in mind.

"Go, go!" yelled Peter at Margot and Gwen, who were gripping each other's hands so tightly the bones might break under the force.

"Peter, it's Nadine!" shouted Margot as Gwen pulled them away, their eyes wide with panic as the lizard came from the direction of the bathrooms that Nadine had just gone to.

Peter's eyes widened, and he let them turn back to face the lizard as the rest of the school population fled the halls, some clumping together in groups outside of the school, whilst others ran past the gates, going far, far away.

He ran towards the creature, webbing its feet and sliding underneath it, knocking it down to the floor. He wanted so badly to go and search for Nadine, but Peter knew that if he did, he'd just put her in even more danger than she was already in.

His distraction of looking for Nadine left him open to the Lizard's grip, and he was flipped from its back onto the tiled floor. He was pushed against some lockers, the metal creaking and bending beneath him, before he was thrown through a trophy case and into the next classroom, groaning as the dust from the walls settled onto his clothes.

The Lizard crawled through after him, giant foot holding down his arm, whilst its hand tried to slash through his chest, deeper than before — with the intent to kill.

Peter webbed his bag, just managing to grab it as the Lizard — or Dr. Connors — sneered out some gargled words.

"Nowhere to hide, Peter." said the Lizard, teeth bared and claws poised to strike.

The creature threw Peter through another wall, the shattering of glass being heard as he landed. But he had his bag, and that's all he really needed.

The Doctor-Lizard picked up some chemicals laying around, crushing a beaker full into another one, and as it fizzed and steamed, he threw it towards where he expected Peter Parker to be.

It exploded, sparks of orange falling through the air like fireflies, floating towards the ground in a final descent — the expectation for Peter to be dead, or at least dying was present. But when had Peter Parker ever given up?

"All these souls," said the Lizard, his words slurred through a mouthful of vicious teeth and reptilian tongue. "Lost and alone. I can save them, I can cure them! There's no need to stop me, Peter."

If the Lizard was going to say anything else, it was cut off by Peter's shoe flying through the air, hitting him square in the face. His words stopped, and he let out an animalistic roar, anger overtaking any human reasoning as Peter crawled out from the home in the wall, clad in his red and blue suit.

He webbed the lights, pulling them harshly so they hit the back of the Lizard's head, sparks flying as the wires were separated.

Peter, hugged against the ceiling, stayed behind the Lizard as it looked around the classroom for him, searching behind chairs and desks with his eyes.

Spider-Man jumped onto the Lizard's back, webbing him and the ceiling, using it to steer him as much as he could.

"You're not thinking straight, doc." Peter said, continuously trying to web his eyes and steer him away, frantically pulling at his webs as the Lizard exited the classroom, back into the hallway. "Stop this, it isn't you!"

Nadine heard a voice from down the hallway, and as much as she wanted to run as far away from it as she could, she couldn't move.

She didn't move as she heard yelling, or glass shattering, or even as she heard the sound of metal being ripped apart. The only time Nadine moved was when a clawed hand appeared from the doorway, and soon enough was reaching out for her.

With shaking hands, an orange shield was all that met the claws coming towards her. An intrigued look crossed the Lizard's face, but when footsteps approached the toilets, the Lizard snarled and crawled back down the hole it came from.

The orange sparks fell apart, breaking almost as soon as they were created, and Nadine was left in the school restroom, panting as her eyes stuck to the hole the creature disappeared to.

The last thing Spider-Man expected was to see a shaking Nadine Holt in the bathroom, the only place Dr. Connors could've gone to. There was dust settling in her hair, and clinging to her clothes, and her unblinking eyes were watering — whether it be from fear, or the dust, he couldn't be sure.

He sure could hazard a guess, though.

"Hey," he said, as quietly as he could manage whilst still letting her hear him. The last thing he wanted to do was startle her, but it seemed like that didn't exactly go to plan.

Nadine jumped, her heart pounding in her chest as she came face to face with Spider-Man, his eyes reflecting the fear in her expression. She swallowed, and moved away from the vigilante — she couldn't help but be distrusting.

"Get away, you— I don't know you!" said Nadine, hands out defensively, half scared out of her mind.

"No— Nadine, it's okay." said Spider-Man, his hands up in a sort of surrender expression, trying to mediate the situation as much as possible.

"How do you even know my name?" cried Nadine, confused and scared — who even was this guy? He shows up in her bedroom, bleeding, and then at school where he's most likely fighting that lizard and he knows her name?

Spider-Man sighed heavily, reaching his hands towards his mask — he really hoped he wouldn't regret this.

"Nadine, please," said Peter, hands at the bottom of his mask, and ever so slowly, he pulled it off.

It felt like time stopped for Nadine, as she took in the familiar curve of Peter Parker's jawline, the brown of his eyes, even the small moles on the side of his face. There was no doubt that this was the boy who tutored her in math... but he was wearing the vigilante Spider-Man's suit, and—

Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

And Spider-Man is Peter Parker.

So Peter Parker was the one who broke into her room last night, who stifled his laughs and groaned in pain, who was bleeding and hurt.

Nadine knew Peter Parker.

Which is why she felt okay enough to stumble over to him, and let him catch her as she all but fell into his arms. It's why she felt alright when he held her head against his chest, and squeezed her tight. It's why she felt safe as he held onto her.

"You're okay, you're fine," whispered Peter, resting his chin on her head, and holding her as close as he possibly could. "I got you."

oo

PETER HAD DROPPED HER AT THE SCHOOL DOORS, LEAVING HER WITH THE IMPRINT OF BOTH HIS HANDS ON HER CHEEKS. It wasn't familiar, but it was comforting — it was safe.

But somehow, Nadine realised that she'd probably feel even safer outside of the building where some Lizard had decided to practice demolishing things.

The guns that pointed at her as soon as she ran out of the doors dropped quickly enough, and multiple officers were at her side in a second. They helped her move past the barricades, and a fire fighter wrapped her in a blanket.

"Nadine!" yelled a deep voice, and she quickly registered the panic it contained.

Her head snapped up, looking for the source of the voice she knew so well. Her eyes roamed the crowds, taking everything in for the first time, as her vision came into focus.

"Uncle Ray!" shouted Nadine, her voice scratchy and raw against her throat, but she had found him, and he was making his way towards her. She stood up, clutching the silver blanket wrapped around her, and ran towards Lieutenant Holt.

She knew how much the man despised acts of affection, but she couldn't help herself, and immediately threw herself into his arms. He held her in the tightest hug she thinks she'd ever received, and in that moment, as she thought of the Lizard and Peter and everything that happened, she couldn't help the tears that sliced through dust on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry." said Raymond Holt, and for the first time, his emotions were evident in his voice, easy for almost everyone to hear.

"I'm okay," said Nadine, although she definitely wasn't — not yet, anyway. "Where's Margot? And Gwen?"

"Come with me, they're over here." said Uncle Ray, and Nadine pulled from the hug, following her uncle through the crowds of students, paramedics, and other law enforcement.

Margot saw Nadine before she saw them, and it was very clear by the yell they let out just before they ran, full speed, towards Nadine, almost knocking her over as she caught them.

"You're okay," sighed Margot, and Nadine couldn't tell if it was reassurance or just relief. Their voice was thick, and she could easily tell that they'd been holding back tears. Even without the lump in their throat, the redness of their eyes gave it away.

"I'm okay," Nadine reiterated, nodding her head as Margot buried their face in her neck. "I'm okay."

"Did you see Peter?" asked Margot, keeping their arms wrapped tightly around Nadine's shoulders, deciding then and there that they were never going to let go.

Never before had Margot wished to have some kind of superpower — the fact that they had to leave their best friend behind, unable to do anything to protect her, or even themself, was horrific. And even if they had tried, they could've just put her in more danger.

For one of the first times, ever, Margot was grateful for Peter Parker.

Even if they couldn't protect Nadine, at least there was someone who could — and who could save her when it mattered. Peter Parker was Nadine's hero in more ways than one, and similarly, he also held a place in Margot's heart. Even if it was a small spot, it existed.

And that small spot's existence meant that their concern for him was also very real, and very strong.

"Yeah, yeah I saw him. He— he left." replied Nadine, almost breathless at the reminder of Peter Parker. Or should she say Spider-Man? She really wasn't sure.

"Nadine," called Uncle Ray, drawing her attention away from Margot briefly, "I'm going to go speak to the superiors on site, and then I'm taking you home. Stay here."

Without giving her a second to say anything, Raymond Holt power walked over to a group of police officers, leaving no room to question him.

Margot pulled away from the hug, even though it clearly pained them to do so, and pulled out their phone.

"Who are you calling?" asked Nadine, an eyebrow raised.

"Peter." Margot replied, tapping their nails against the back of their phone as it rang, once, twice, before Nadine just barely heard Peter Parker's voice on the other end of the call — when had Margot and Peter gotten that close?

"Where are you?" Margot asked him, voice harsh, harsher than Nadine had heard it since that time she fell down two flights of stairs because of a dare.

"I'm tracking him," said Peter, with Nadine only just making out what he was saying. "in the sewers. I've gotta stop him before anyone gets hurt."

"Looking at Nadine, I'm not sure you exactly succeeded in that." muttered Margot.

"But we need an antidote," Peter continued, electing to ignore Margot's quip, "Do you know how to run a serum?"

"Not perfectly, but Gwen does."

"Okay, great. I need you to go to OSCORP, access the cross-species file, it's a blue serum. File 12389."

"We're going, now." said Margot, before hanging up the phone. "Okay, we're going to—"

"Nadine's apartment? Yes, I think that's a good idea." interrupted Uncle Ray, cutting Margot off before they could finish their sentence. He looked between the three of them, before leading them towards his car.

Margot and Nadine shared a look — there was no getting out of this.