IN A STROKE OF MOVIE-LIKE COINCIDENCE, PETER SHOWED UP TO HER ROOM THE FOLLOWING NIGHT. She had been staring at the earrings that sat on her dresser, too afraid to put them on. Nicky was so afraid of something that he had built her a weapon. She didn't want to touch it. She also didn't want to wear those earrings because that would mean she would have to get settled into a completely different zone. She wouldn't just be a medic, she would be a fly on the wall.

Hero of heroes. The name didn't suit what she was doing.

She jumped when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

from: Peter (8:27 pm)
My leg won't stop bleeding
can I come over?

Her heart leapt into her throat. This was why she had to do it. Because if Nicky hadn't convinced Peter to call her for help, he would've just let his leg bleed out.

to: Peter (8:27 pm)
Yes get over here now

She jumped up and locked her door, knowing that Flash was already asleep; he had retired early whereas Diana stuck around to play cards with a familiarly chatty Jesse.

She glanced at the earrings, then over at the drawer where she had hidden the tracker. She just had to inject him.

Glancing at her window, she grabbed it out of its hiding place, pulling out the tubs of supplies and getting them ready. If anything, Peter would just assume it's something new Nicky told her to try to prevent infections that never seemed to appear. Very movie-esque if you asked her.

She needed to stop watching behind-the-scene clips with Jesse, they were getting in her head.

As she waited for Peter, she grabbed her phone off her desk, glancing at her messages. She had been texting with Daisy the past weeks, as well as Danny, as she had missed her cousins dearly ever since she left. She tried not to think or mention it to anyone else as she knew how touchy a subject London was for them.

from: Danny (5:13 pm)
How are you holding up?

She sighed as she stared at Danny's message, figuring out the best way to respond without him completely pouncing.

to: Danny (8:30 pm)
As well as could be expected

She expected the reply, not right away of course, but it didn't even suit. She rolled her eyes, despite the pang in her chest that longed to just agree.

from: Danny (8:31 pm)
You can come home

She fell back against her mattress, typing back.

to: Danny (8:32 pm)
Don't know. Maybe but I just
got back it'll get better

from: Danny (8:32 pm)
Will it really?

The two went back and forth for a few minutes, Danny trying to convince her to come home—or to at least admit that she wanted to—and Diana still trying to figure out if she actually did. At least back in London there was some semblance of routine—one she could live with, at least—and there wouldn't be any overly chatty freshman or mean bullies to deal with or teenage superheroes to patch up.

But maybe that was also why she wanted to stay.

She stared up at her ceiling, her phone discarded to the side as she decided to wait before replying again.

In London, she had been lonely, but she had the idea of her friends to go back to. Sure, they stopped talking to her, but there was the hope that when she returned things would be back to normal.

Now she was back and she was still lonely. Gwen and Harry were trying, sure, and they fit back easily enough, but the Thompsons and Peter, they were so different. Peter didn't care, Flash cared too much, Jesse was the same, but was barely there, Harrison was around, and Rosie barely spoke anymore.

She was starting to get overwhelmed and her chest was beginning to constrict.

There was a knock and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Nerves buzzing, she scrambled towards the window, pulling it open and helping Peter inside, eyes widening at the gash on his leg.

"You'd think with this suit, it wouldn't be able to tear," she whispered, helping him onto the bed.

"It fixes itself," he mumbled, settling on her mattress, "The last time had been a fluke, I was in the middle of taking it off, but I don't know how this happened."

"Maybe just a malfunction," she soothed, helping him out of the suit, frowning as he shivered.

"Sorry, I like it cold," she mumbled, picking up her supplies and getting to work.

"It's fine," he breathed, closing his eyes, "You were prepared this time."

Her breath hitched and she struggled to remain calm. "Y-yeah, I just...I was just worried, is all."

He smiled weakly? "About me? That's cute, Diana."

She rolled her eyes, placing the towel to the side and picking up the bandages. "It's painful, is what it is. People can die from worry."

"Well, here's to hoping neither of us dies," he said, eyes still closed.

She thought back to what Nicky said, frowning; her ability was to keep herself and Peter alive. Nothing more, nothing less.

"You okay?" he asked, opening an eye to look down at her.

She nodded quickly, realizing she had stopped wrapping his leg. "Sorry, got distracted. Um," she glanced over at the tracker, heart racing, "Nicky sent me this new thing to try out, supposed to help you...? He didn't explain much, but, I just have to inject you, is that cool?"

Peter took a deep breath. "I'm supposed to just let my ex-girlfriend stick a needle in me?"

She frowned. "I'm not a crazy ex, Peter. Why does everyone think that? I don't care anymore." She honestly didn't and that both saddened and relieved her.

"Y-you don't?" he asked, shifting his position, "I-I mean, I know what you said, but still..."

She dropped her head onto her mattress, groaning. "I just want things back to the way they used to be, but I know that's not an option, so...do you want to be friends? Because I really do."

"I do too," he said quickly, "Yeah, I mean...friends."

She lifted her head, surprised to find that her heart no longer strained so much at thought of him. "Friends."

"Cool," he breathed, staring at her, "Um, yeah, you can stick the needle in me if you want, but can you finish with the bandage first?"

She glanced back down at her unfinished work, eyes widening; she really needed to focus. She continued bandaging up his wound, glancing up at him every few minutes to make sure he was awake.

"Do friends hug?" he asked suddenly as she finished, "Because Ned and I have handshakes, but I heard you and Harry hugged in Spanish."

She rolled her eyes; people loved to gossip about Harry and whatever potential girl he could be dating, despite having a boyfriend. "Yes, friends hug."

He nodded slowly, not looking at her. "C-cool, I'll keep that in mind."

She reached over and picked up the tracker, biting her lip. "I'm gonna, um, inject you now...I guess. Don't scream?" She had no idea what was going to happen and she very well didn't want Peter to catch on.

He grabbed the pillow and, before putting it in his mouth, said, "I trust you."

That was just insult to injury.

She pushed back the cover on the top of the rectangle to reveal a concave half circle that she was no doubt supposed to press against his flesh. She was reminded of a taser as she grabbed the back of his arm, getting it ready.

She took a deep breath and glanced at Peter just before pressing the button. He was looking at her with so much trust, looking at her as if he couldn't fathom her doing any wrong. He was too trusting for his own good, too believing.

She had to keep him safe.

She pressed the button as hard as she could, gripping his arm in place. He bit the pillow, eyes squeezing shut, but relaxed when she pulled away. He watched her place it to the side with all the others, his vision blurring.

"Sorry," he slurred, "my nerves kind of got..." he trailed off, his head hitting her pillow.

"Peter," she gasped, grabbing his shoulders, "Peter, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, m'fine," he mumbled, "I'm just gonna...rest for a bit, s'at okay wit' you?"

She nodded, watching as he closed his eyes, probably falling asleep. She bit her lip; she didn't another fiasco like last time, Aunt May would worry.

Pushing the thought out of her head, she pulled herself up onto her chair and sighed, nearly all the tension disappearing from her body. She did it. She did it and Peter was probably just tired from blood loss and nerves.

She texted Nicky just to be safe.

to: Nicky (8:59 pm)
Peter kinda passed out he got
all loopy after injected him is he
dying?

from: Nicky (9:00 pm)
No, that's just a side effect as
it settles in, you're fine, he's fine

to: Nicky (9:00 pm)
He wants to be friends

from: Nicky (9:00 pm)
That's good?

to: Nicky (9:01 pm)
Yeah

She tried to convince herself of that as she exited from the conversation and looked away from her phone, watching as Peter slept, his chest rising and falling evenly. She reached over and pushed back his hair from his forehead, smoothing it down. Her mother used to do that to Flash whenever he stayed over, saying that if he ever needed a hug, he could always come to anyone in the family because she knew that he didn't get hugged as often as he should.

She pushed away that thought before it could start to get bigger, turning back to her phone, surprised to find that Danny and Daisy were texting her again.

She texted them for the better part of an hour, Peter stirring ever so often, catching her attention. The conversation drifted from small talk to questions about life in the others' country, to asking when they would be able to see each other again.

from: Danny (9:49 pm)
How's Eugene?

Diana frowned at the question; she hated it when Danny talked about the Thompsons because that would mean he would say something awful and she really didn't need that at this time.

to: Danny (9:49 pm)
This isn't helping you get
me back

from: Danny (9:49 pm)
It's just a question

Daisy immediately interjected herself into the conversation.

from: Daisy (9:50 pm)
Wait Diana are you coming
back to live with us?

"You're going back to London?"

Diana jumped, whirling around to look at Peter who had practically screamed in her ear, his eyes wide and frantic. Her heart raced as she stared at him, trying to speak before he could continue or walk away the way he had last time.

"I-I–n-no, It's just—"

"Just what? Seriously, are you going to move back?"

She stared at him, feeling her breathing growing labored as she struggled with her answer, avoiding his gaze as she shrugged. "I don't know, nothing's set, but it's a good idea?"

He shook his head, stammering as he tried to come up with a response, finally settling on a desperate, "You can't leave!" He swallowed back a 'me' that Diana didn't catch.

She frowned. "It's not your decision."

He ran a hand through his hair, tugging at some of the strands. "But I need you!"

She sighed and glanced down at the medical supplies on the floor. "You'll find yourself another medic, go to Nicky, he'll be willing."

Peter groaned in frustration. "No, that's not what I—But, no, I—We're friends..." he trailed off, staring hard at her covers, his jaw set.

She licked her lips, trying to catch his eye. "You'll make new friends."

He reached out and grabbed her wrist, turning to look at her. "Most friends don't like it when their friends leave. Again."

She reached out and gently pried his fingers away. "Like I said, I don't know. It's just a maybe."

He huffed, but nodded. "Okay."

She glanced towards the window. "If you're feeling better, you should probably go before you end up sleeping here again. There's school tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled, pushing himself up and off the bed. He grabbed the suit and put it back on, pressing the button in the middle. "Thanks for the help."

"Sure," she whispered, watching as he grabbed his mask, "So, um, can we talk at school now? Because you're never around."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," he said, turning around her face her, "I'd like that. I'm just always busy because of, well," he motioned to himself, "But I'd like that. I don't think Flash would."

She sighed. "I'll talk to him. But until then, we can just talk when he's not around, right?"

"Yeah, of course, that's what friends do, right?" He glanced around, shrugging. "Friends."

She nodded slowly. "Friends."

"Okay, well," he began, opening her window, "Goodnight...friend."

"Get home safe."

She closed her window behind him, watching as he disappeared out into the night, hopefully heading straight home. He was her friend. That was good enough.

º º º º º

The next few days passed in a flurry of planning and listening. Johnny had easily agreed to let Harry bring his friends to the party for introductions, though he had already met Flash and Gwen, which meant that they were all worrying about what to wear, what to say, and if they were allowed to bring Jesse or not.

"Absolutely not," Flash said, crossing his arms and glaring down at his little sister who mimicked his pose, "This is not a party for you."

"You're only a year older than me!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot.

"Which means I'm still older," he finished, "And that means you're not going to the party. It's Johny Storm's party, who knows what could happen?"

"Then why does Diana get to go?" she demanded, gesturing over the blonde who seemed to be staring off into the middle distance, hands frozen idly in midair.

"Because she was invited by Harry," Flash replied, "And she doesn't go to parties. She needs to get out more."

"So do I!"

"No, you don't, you get invited to all the freshman parties, stay in your lane."

"Diana!"

The two Thompson siblings turned to look at the teenager who had tuned them both out. Unbeknownst to them, she was listening in on Peter who had left as soon as the bell rang, already out and about the city, searching for some crime to fight. It wasn't anything majorly interesting, but it was eye opening.

"Diana!"

She startled, glancing over the two who were staring at her with concern-laced annoyance. She smiled sheepishly and pretended to push her hair back, pressing an earring, the screen in front of her disappearing.

"Sorry, what?"

"Do you think I should be allowed to go to Johnny Storm's party?" Jesse asked, interrupting her brother from speaking first.

Diana chewed on her lip, glancing at Flash who furiously shook his head, then to Jesse who was silently pleading, eyes wide. She sighed and leaned against the locker, shrugging.

"Isn't it up to your mom?" she asked lamely, though she already knew the answer.

"Since when does she care?" Flash scoffed, "I check her emails and I'm the one who gets blamed when I miss something. If it isn't major, then it doesn't really matter, it's up to me."

Diana wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. Rosie was a good mother and she did try, but she had her flaws. Most of them directed towards her only son. She still believed her husband was a good person and that was something Diana just pretended not to know about her.

"Well..." she began slowly, "You'll be there. And I'll be there. And Gwen will be there. We can do the system where we check in every half hour, if someone doesn't reply, we immediately start searching, that sort of thing. I think she should come. Safety in numbers."

"You're joking, right?" Flash deadpanned, staring at her incredulously.

She shook her head. "I didn't go to any parties as a freshman, Jesse lives for them, we should let her come."

"But she goes to so many already—" he tried arguing, only to be cut off by his sister.

"You heard her, I'm coming!" she cheered, running down the hall.

Flash scowled. "Just because Diana says something doesn't automatically mean I agree!" He turned back to the blonde, frowning. "If something bad happens, you take the fall for it too, I'm not gonna be the one they burn for it."

She held his gaze. "I know and I will."

He nodded and jerked his head, gesturing for her to walk with him. "You're not going to therapy or whatever today?"

She shook her head. "No. He texted me, he's got some things he has to sort out and it's parent-teacher conference for his roommate."

Flash snorted. "So we're last resort, huh?"

She frowned. "Flash, don't be like that." She hadn't actually seen much of him the past few weeks, his anger getting to be too much at times. He was always so angry.

"Dad's been talking about his job again," he said, instead, "Wants to invite his boss over for dinner sometime."

"Well, that's good, right? He's, um, getting back on his feet?" She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to him. Jesse, while wary, wanted to believe that her father had changed for the better. Rosie had always been faithful. Flash was forever the pessimist.

"He's moved back in," was all he said. That was all he needed to say.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. He didn't reply.

The two met with Jesse on the stairs and they made their way to the train heading home. They were forced to stand, as usual, and Diana figured that it'd be a good time to check in on Peter again, as she had been doing more and more frequently.

Looking down at the floor, she reached up and pressed one of her earrings, watching as the screen flickered to life in front of her. Despite what Nicky had told her, she still pulled up his vitals. She just liked the way he had designed the graphics and found it relaxing to watch them move around. However, because of the movement of the train, she quickly shut it off and just listened.

"Dude, how do you steal a scooter?"

She refrained from snorting, listening to the sound of the person yelping as Peter no doubt webbed them up. He began shouting for someone to claim the scooter, groaning as someone accused him of stealing it himself.

"You're welcome! Thanks a lot, kid, that'll bruise."

It went on like that for sometime and Diana was just content to listen. She tried to imagine where Peter could be, what he was seeing; there was only so much she could obtain from audio. She did have the option of pulling up the map, but that was a little too much, even for her. Though, Nicky did say he was going to write an algorithm, giving her the ability to hack into security cameras in case of emergencies.

It seemed as though the hypothetical emergencies were being less and less hypothetical with every passing hour.

º º º º º

"So, Diana, how was school?"

The girl looked up, surprised. She looked over at her godmother who had barely spoken a word to her that entire day. "It was good. Not much happened, though I did have a quiz. How was yours?"

"Mine was good as well," Rosie replied, "I just slept in all day. Now I have to run to my night shift, but I'm refreshed."

"That's good," Diana and Jesse chorused, smiling at their happy accident.

"I'll watch over the kids, don't worry," Harrison said, smiling at his wife who smiled back, thanking him softly.

Diana glanced over at Flash who seemed to be biting his tongue if the way he was grimacing was any indication. He glanced over at her and sighed, picking up his plate and taking it to the sink.

"I'm gonna finish my homework," he announced, retreating into his room.

"Yeah, me too," Diana said hurriedly, not wanting to the be the focus of conversation anymore than she already was; Harrison had a habit of asking unnecessary questions.

"Keep the door open," he called out as she went.

"I'm going to my own room," she shot back, unable to hide the venom in her voice. Flash hadn't slept in her bed all week.

She closed the door behind her, leaving it unlocked for him, and sat down. Before she could stop herself, her head reached up and lightly tapped an earring, pulling up just the audio.

"How's Diana?" a quieter voice asked, "You never talk about her anymore. What happened?"

A pause. Then a soft, "We, uh...we broke up a while ago, May. Back during the summer."

"What?" the quieter voice—Aunt May—gasped. There was the sound of metal against porcelain, probably a fork against a plate. "What happened, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to bother you," he mumbled, "And it doesn't matter, she wants to be friends now, so we're just friends. It's fine, it doesn't matter, she doesn't care and I don't either."

"Oh, Peter," his aunt cooed, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, we're friends. I like someone else anyways, have for a while."

Diana's heart dropped into her stomach. She didn't care anymore, but that hurt.

"Really?" she asked, in a hushed, excited whisper, "Who?"

"I'm not sayin—"

Diana grabbed both earrings, gripping them tightly. It took all of her power not to rip them out and throw them across the room. He had liked someone for a while, probably when they were dating. Maybe that's why he broke up with her, he realized he could do better.

She pushed away her thoughts, groaning. She didn't care anymore, she shouldn't. She wasn't about to let her thoughts or his affect her, it wasn't fair.

She stared up at the ceiling, eyes starting to droop. As far as she was concerned, the only thing she had to worry about was Johnny Storm's party the following night.

She would really have to worry about that.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 07.29.17 )

There are literally so many arcs in this story, I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting a few. But we are just about to enter Homecoming, just finish Johnny's party and then we're there and it's about two-ish weeks of nonstop action and pain (I did the math). A lot can happen in two weeks, it seems.

I don't have much to say other than Rosie in the comics (and I don't really know the context so I can't be sure) says something pretty awful to Flash at one point and if that doesn't make the boy resent himself and his mother just a tad bit, I don't know what does.

That's all I have to say so...thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!