"WAKE UP, DEVON!" Matt yelled. "You're gonna be late for school!"

"Jesus Christ! What the f - Matt get off!" Dev shoved her brother off of her bed angrily. He laughed as he hit the floor.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Brendan said, watching from the door and sipping a cup of coffee. "Matt's right though - you're gonna be late for school."

"Bloody hell, you two need to understand that I need my sleep..." Dev rubbed her head where Matt had swatted her hair.

"Too much sleep's not good," Matt shook his head, standing up.

"You sleep in till like 12 every Saturday, you little shite."

"I think she's getting more Irish from you, Mattias," Brendan rolled his eyes, walking back to the kitchen. "Be out in five mins! I'll drive you to school today."

"Da left to work already," Matt explained. Dev sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"I hate you guys."

"No! You love us! We're your brothers, Marie!"

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Ok! Jesus, I'm leaving!" Matt laughed again and went to the hallway. Dev sighed but smiled to herself. Having them back was good. Their da was able to better hours because he didn't have to look after Dev so much, so they had more income, and having company around the apartment was nice (sometimes). Plus, Dev hadn't realised how un-Irish she had gotten, so it was good to have Matt and Marc bring that back. She still missed Ireland and Europe in general, but over the year and a half of being in New York, America seemed pretty good.

"Get up, Devon Marie Jackson!" Brenden yelled.

"OKAY!! Jeez..." Dev rolled her eyes and checked her phone as she got ready for school.

N: dev r u coming to school today??

N: ur gonna be lateeee

P: she's prob just sleeping in or something

D: im coming jeez guys

D: dont get ur knickers in a twist

N: yayyyy

P: typical dev lol

She smiled and finally picked out a black sweatshirt to match her black jeans. Walking out into the kitchen, she saw Matt and Marc by the TV, watching some music videos on their phones, and Brendan finishing his coffee, while reading some papers.

"Grab something quick, we're leaving in five minutes," he said, not looking up.

"Thanks, big bro," she replied sarcastically. He gave her a look and then went back to reading. Dev snickered and got a piece of bread, taking out peanut butter and a teabag as well. Her quick breakfast of peanut butter toast and tea had become a usual, as she had started sleeping in later by accident on school days. Dev finished packing her breakfast to eat in the car, grabbed her backpack, and slipped on her Converse.

"Ready!" she called, sipping the Irish black tea from her Thermos. They had found the teabags in a local grocery market, and Dev loved it. Brendan walked over, coffee finished, and pulled on his fancy shoes, holding a brown briefcase. "You're going to work later?" He nodded.

"After I drop you off," he said. "You two better not burn the house down, alright?"

"Heard you loud and clear, capt'in!" Matt grinned. He winked at Dev, and she grinned back, giving him a quick finger gun. He pretended to be shot, and she laughed.

"Bye Marc!" she said behind her as they walked out of the door. He waved.

"Hurry, Marie," Brendan said, walking down the hallway quickly.

"Slow down, mate," Dev muttered. They reached their da's car in the parking garage (he must have take the subway earlier in the morning), and she got into the passenger seat. She started to eat her breakfast as they weaved through the crowded New York streets.

"So...how's school?" Brendan asked awkwardly after a few minutes of silence. He didn't like listening to Dev's 80's music, so she never got to use the aux cord when he drove.

"It's alright, I guess," she said. "I like."

"You made friends pretty fast, huh?"

"Yeah. They're nice."

"They're nerds, right?" he said.

"Um...that's rude, Brendan," she said quickly.

"Oh uh I mean, not like in a bad way," he said and bit his lip. "Didn't you say that? Like they bought you that Millennium Falcon wallet right?" Dev imagined the wallet that was in the bottom of her backpack and smiled at the memory of going to the mall with the boys.

"Oh yeah. I did say that." There was a pause.

"Hey Marie, I know like we never really get to talk, but," Brendan sighed, "I really do want to be here for you. As your big brother, you know? 'Cause our family needs to stay together. We're in this together." Dev looked up at her oldest brother, mid-chew. She had never heard him talk like this before.

"You ok, Brendan? Is something gonna happen? Why're you being all sentimental on me?" she said, slightly joking. He laughed shortly.

"No, I just feel bad for not really bein' there for you and Da in LA. I mean, I was so busy in school and jobs that I forgot about yous." The red bricks of Midtown Tech began to come into view as they turned. "And now that the whole family is here in New York, I just...I just want it to be ok." Brendan parked in the drop-off zone and looked at his little sister with a small smile. "You get me?" She nodded. He's been thinking of Mum. He doesn't want to be the one who leaves again.

"Yeah, I get it."

"Thanks, Marie," he smiled more. "Ok go off to school now. Don't want your brain being stagnant, right?" She laughed and tucked her tupperware and thermos into the glove compartment.

"Whatever you say, big bro," she said. She got out of the car and waved as he drove away. Brendan's smile was contagious, and she shook her head, smiling. As she walked up the steps per usual, Dev thought about what Brendan had been saying.

It was true - having the family back really reminded her of Ireland, before Brendan had gone to UCLA, when the three siblings became extremely close. It also reminded her of when they had all become separated and how much she had relied on their calls and messages when she first moved to New York. It had been almost a year and a half of living in New York and being stuck in a school full of weirdos, a school that she enrolled in by accident. Her shoulders twitched at the thought of the other school, run by a certain X named person. She had almost forgotten about it in the chaos of high school life. Maybe next summer, I can start researching again...

School went by slowly again. English was filled with discussions about Oedipus, Physics was filled with Flash's mistakes and classmates' laughter. PE sucked as usual, and her free period with the aca deca team was uneventful, with the exception of Mr. Harrington tripping over a desk and causing a flurry of papers to fly into the air. Dev spent most of the day doodling birds on her papers, half-listening to her teachers droning on and on, and thinking about her brothers with a smile on her face.

After her sixth period (Honours precalc), she found Ned and Michelle by their lockers. Peter always seemed to be leaving extra early. He would always leave as soon as the bell had rung at 2:45 sharp. Dev wondered what he was up to, but he always just vaguely answered that it was Stark Industry intern stuff. While walking up to her friends, her phone buzzed.

M: r u comin home soon devvvvv

D: yessss

D: why

D: r u gonna prank me or something

D: should i be worried

D: ANSWER ME DAMMIT

M: LOL

M: calm down devon

M: i just miss ur face

D: weirdo

M: T-T

D: shut ur bloody facehole

M: LOLL

M: that's a good one

"Dev! Have you seen Peter?" Ned asked. She slid her phone into her pocket and shook her head.

"He always leaves our math class like really early," she shrugged.

"Suspicious," Michelle said. "That Stark Internship really is a lot."

"I'm sure he's not up to anything bad," Dev laughed. "It's just Peter after all."

"Do you wanna come over to Aunt May's later to help me build the Death Star, Dev?" Ned said, holding up a minifigure of Han Solo. "I asked MJ, but she said no."

"Yup," Michelle nodded, reaffirming her decision. Dev laughed again.

"I would love to, Ned, but I got a science project tonight that I should finish - sorry," Dev apologized. Ned nodded.

"It's ok! I am SO excited to build it - I'll send you guys pictures later!" He waved as he walked out of the school's front doors.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Dev," Michelle said, blowing a curl out of her face. "I'm gonna find a leaf to draw for my art class." Dev waved, and her friend walked the opposite direction towards the school's garden. Dev was about to put in her earbuds to call Matt when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned and tried not to have a heart attack when she saw Harry Osborn. He smiled awkwardly.

"Um...hi."

"Hi."

"Could I uh walk you down the steps?" he asked. Dev bit her lip and hesitantly rolled up her headphones.

"Sure..." They started to walk towards the front steps together, quiet.

This is so bloody awkward, holy shite, Dev groaned internally, her inner Irish coming out as she became more irritated.

"So how are you?" Harry said. He was holding a purple notebook and wearing his usual gray backpack over a plain blue button-up and jeans. She noticed his new shiny watch and a silver ring around his pinky.

"I'm fine. What do you want, Harry?" She stopped in the middle of the steps, forcing him to stop as well. He scratched the back of his neck, and Dev had to stop herself from imagining herself hugging him tightly.

"Look, I'm really sorry for the way things ended between us, Dev," he apologized. "I-I thought I could deal with it in like a good way, but I kept seeing you around school and like...I just feel bad for dumping you so suddenly. And I wanted to say sorry. Even if you hate me, which I get." She sighed.

"Harry, I don't hate you, okay? It just didn't work out, and that's fine. I'm over it. Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Oh...uh yeah. Kinda. Yeah, that's it." They stood in silence for another moment, both not wanting to leave.

"Are you and Gwen..."

"No," Harry shook his head. "No, we're not dating or anything. It's just STEM Club leadership positions and all, you know."

"Yeah, ok," said Dev. She checked her phone. "Well...I need to get home, but it was nice talking. I'll see you around."

"Yeah! See you around. You too," Harry said, smiling. Goddamn, that perfect goddamn smile, you bloody bastard, you...

"Bye!" She waved and walked off toward the subway station, her heart pounding. Too much emotion for one day - time to go back home.

//

A few hours later, Ned was up in Peter's room building his thousand-piece Death Star. Well, honestly, it was mostly Ned trying not to lose pieces while attempting to build the gigantic set. He texted Dev and Peter updates when he took occasional breaks. Aunt May had let him in and came in occasionally to give snacks or offer assistance. She was really sweet, and always was looking out for Peter and his friends. Ned was glad that they were friends with someone who was Aunt May's nephew.

N: im like 75% done!

D: where's peter?? isnt he supposed to be helping u?

N: idk lolllll im just trying to finish this

N: woot woot star warssss

D: lmao mkay well have fun

D: it looks great dude

His phone dinged again, but Ned had frozen at the sight of someone on the ceiling. His gaze followed the Spider-Man and saw him hop down delicately in front of him to close the door quietly. The superhero turned...and that was when Ned dropped the Death Star. It landed with a magnificent crash, and pieces scattered everywhere across the floor.

"What was that?" Aunt May called.

"Uh nothing!" Peter said, still dressed in the Spider-Man outfit. "It was nothing!"

"Y-you're Spider-Man," Ned whispered, completely shocked. "From Youtube!" Peter's eyes widened, and he shook his head frantically.

"No! No, I'm not!" He pressed the spider emblem on the chest of the suit, and it became baggy on his body.

"You were on the ceiling, Peter!" Ned said. "On the ceiling!" He pointed up at the ceiling, but Peter continued to shake his head.

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes, you were!" Ned exclaimed.

"No! And what are you doing in my room?!" said Peter, obviously panicking.

"May let me in - you said we were gonna finish the Death Star today!" Ned answered.

"You can't just come into my room like that!" Peter started to take off the suit, but Ned was too startled to react to anything happening in front of him.

It was at this moment that May decided to come in, and the smell of smoke filled the room. Ned and Peter both looked up at her, panicked.

"The turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster!" she declared. "Let's go to dinner. Thai? Ned, you want Thai?"

"Yes," Ned said, frozen in shock still.

"No!" Peter interrupted. "He has uh something to do after."

"Yeah...a thing...to do after," Ned nodded. May looked at the situation happening in the room: Ned's wide eyes, Peter in his boxers, and the broken Legos on the floor.

"Okay..." She raised an eyebrow. "Maybe put some clothes on, Peter. Good thing Dev isn't here." May walked back towards the kitchen with a cloth and tried to take out more of the smoke. Peter pulled on a baggy shirt and closed the door.

"She doesn't know?!" Ned said, shifting his gaze back to his best friend.

"Nobody knows," Peter said. "Well, I mean Mr. Stark knows. He made me this suit."

"Tony Stark made you that?! Are you an Avenger?!" exclaimed Ned. Peter made a so-so motion.

"Yeah, basically yeah."

"Woah..." Ned was, as the kids say, shook.

"You CAN'T tell anyone!" Peter said frantically.

"What?!"

"You know what she's like," Peter sighed. "If May finds out people try and kill me every single night, she's not going to let me do this anymore. Come on, please." Ned hesitantly nodded.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. I'll level with you," Ned said. "But I don't think I can keep this a secret. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, Peter!"

"Ned! May cannot know! I cannot do that to her right now, you know?" Peter said. "I mean, everything that's happened with her...I...please?" Ned sighed.

"Okay okay."

"You have to swear it!"

"I swear!" Ned said, hands up. Peter sighed, emotionally and physically tired. "Can I try the suit on?!" Ned asked excitedly. The shock had seemed to wear off.

"No!"

"How does it work? Is it magnets? How do you shoot the strings-"

"I'll tell you tomorrow at school, ok?" Peter said.

"Great. Okay, well," Ned paused, "wait, then how do you do this and the Stark internship?"

"This is the Stark Internship," Peter said, looking down at the floor.

"Ohhhhh..."

"Just get out of here!" Peter pushed his friend out of the door and sat back down on his bed wearily. Great... 

a/n

YAYYY SPIDERMANNNN YEET

ok so basically 

i was rereading some of my old chapters and like WOW they were so good, so im going to try to channel that writer's energy again and hopefully the quality of chapters goes up :) 

how are you guys liking it?? i know that i lost a bunch of my readers during my hiatus rip but right now, im just writing for the sake of writing HAHA 

also go read my WW3 preview if you haven't yet!! 

thanks yall + love you guyssss