Just A Kid

Just a kid . 

That’s what everyone said about you when you were fifteen and lost both your dad and your brother on the same day during your dad's big celebration. He was being appreciated as a hero during Mayor Osborne’s campaign for re-election. Your dad helped the Scarlet-Spider stop a demon attack in the city. 

They’d been happening a lot and it was all your friends could talk about at school and online. The demons. How they flowed and were cool or scary. You didn’t really have an opinion on them until you did. Your brother, Miles, was more into that sort of stuff than you were. He was into the heroes and villains. You just wanted your parents to get off your back about your suck ass grades. 

You were smart but not as smart as Miles, not that it ever bothered you much, you just preferred the finer things in life rather than sticking your nose in a book all day or being the first person to know an answer in class. 

It was just your way of life. What you were used to doing and feeling. You never really realized how precious all those moments were until your ears were ringing. And the sound of your mom crying and calling your name, sounding as if she were miles away. 

You didn’t talk too much after that. You weren’t a big talker before but now...you were just grateful that your mom didn’t try to force you to talk. But she did make you move, eat and be at least halfway human. You saw how your mom would always keep herself busy around the apartment. 

(You guys didn’t need that big townhouse anymore, plus it was too painful to live there without Miles and pops). 

But there were times when she would just...stop and she’d look so haunted. She never thought you were looking and you never let on that you were. You didn’t know what to do or how to do it. But sometimes around one or two in the morning, you’d get out of your own bed just to go across the hall to your moms. 

She didn’t sleep with the tv off so her room wasn’t so dark you couldn’t see where you were going. She’d be snoring, her glasses and a book laying next to her. She never even stirred when you climbed in next to her, not even when you bounced around to get more comfortable. 

But you always woke up cuddled close and safe. So warm and so safe. Loved. 

Just a kid. 

That’s what they all said when a child was aware that they were living in a world full of grief, and now your own grief was adding to it. You had friends, well at least you thought you did, but after the...after the bombing, things were different. They didn’t know how to deal with you and you simply didn’t want to deal with their pity.

School was more bland than normal and you...you couldn’t take the pity looks anymore. From students, the teachers...hell even the rats stopped bothering you. You stopped going, picking and choosing when school was your best bet for the day. 

Usually when it was raining or particularly cold. 

It took a phone call and two Fs before your mom was all over you. Fussing about everything and you felt shitty for it. She would’ve been better off if Miles had lived instead. He wouldn’t have stressed her out so much since he was the smart one. 

You told her so. 

You got sent to your room for the night. 

You had made your mom cry and it only solidified what you thought. She was better off with Miles. He was always the better of you both anyway. 

Your mom didn’t make you go to school the next day, and she didn’t go to work either. She told you to dress warm and you did and when you were both outside. You asked her if she was getting rid of you for what you said.

“Baby,” your mom sighed, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk not caring about the looks she received for it, and she placed her hands on your face, “I know that...things have been rough these past couple of months. And we sometimes say and do things that we regret, yes, but I will never stop loving you because of a rough night.”

“But I made you cry…”

“Yes,” your mom whispered, smiling softly, wiping away your warm tears with her thumbs, “You’re hurting mija, we are hurting. I know you miss your papa and your brother but we cannot stop living. We can’t do that.”

“I don’t wanna forget them, mom,” you cried, uncaring that you were outside and getting weird looks—all you saw was your mom in front of you being your mom.

“You will never forget them, baby.” She kissed your forehead, lingering for a few beats before she wrapped her arm around your shoulders and held you close as you both continued to walk. 

That day your mom took you to the local FEAST shelter in the area. Your mom introduced you to a woman named May Parker, she was around the same age as your mom and she was sweet, really pretty too.

Though as nice as she was, you weren’t too thrilled when you realized that your mom was forcing you to volunteer to help the bums of New York City (you didn’t really call them that outloud). But it wasn’t so bad after you met Peter, May’s nephew. 

He was a strange one, a bit on the awkward and shy side but days turned into weeks at the FEAST shelter and Peter quickly became your best friend. You were quick to realize how much of a nerd he was. He and Miles would’ve got along a lot with their obsessions for the Scarlet-Spider. 

It was like you couldn’t escape it. But you didn’t mind it. It was...familiar, and soothing in a way. And your mom noticed the change immediately. It was a good change. And your grades were better. Your mom liked that Peter and FEAST were having a good effect on you, all she wanted was for you to be happy. It was her fulfillment. 

Too bad good things never last forever. 

You had been on your way to FEAST when you were getting mugged in an alley. It was unbelievable but not surprising. It was part of the city's charm. You are about to give the two guys your ten dollars and half a stick of gum when they were webbed away and beaten to a pulp.

You’d never seen the man in person, barely looked at his photos, but the Scarlet-Spider dropped down in front of you and he was asking if you were alright. 

But all you could do was stare at him. Peter would’ve been so jealous. And Miles...Miles would’ve just lost his mind. Geeked out. But you? You just stared at him, mouth set. 

“Why couldn’t you save my dad? Or my brother?”

It wasn’t fair. 

It wasn’t his fault. 

That’s what they said. 

It’s what you knew.

But feelings were always so overwhelming for you. You didn’t want an answer from him, anyway, you didn’t want anything from him. You saved him the trouble and walked away, snatching up your backpack on the way. 

Now it was Scarlet-Spider staring after you. But beneath his mask, he was troubled. 

When you got to FEAST, May spotted you immediately and called you over with a bright smile. 

“(Y/n)! This is Ben Reilly, Ben this is Peter's friend I was telling you about.”

“Oh!” You said, eyes widening slightly, “Your Pete’s science bro he won’t shut up about.”

Ben had blonde hair, and he was a bit scruffy but he seemed okay. Ben was funny, and he was quick, he gave back whatever you threw at him. By the time you two finished the chores May set out for you and Ben, you had a new friend. 

Maybe your mom was right. Maybe FEAST was good for you. These New York bums weren’t really so bad after a while either—even if they did smell like butt. 

You had just set the last box down in the basement of the FEAST building and as you were correcting the other boxes, something bit you and you flinched back, examining the two little pricks on the back of your hand. 

You thought you felt your hand throbbing but Ben was calling you from the top of the stairs and you raced to go join him. You’d have your mom look at that bite later. 

Later that night when you got home, you weren’t feeling so good. The subway ride home was more nauseating than usual and you were having a difficult time holding everything in your stomach. The moment you walked through the door, you almost groaned in discomfort. Your mom was cooking dinner and it smelled as if she were making one of your favorite dishes and it made you feel even worse that you won’t even be able to eat it. 

You dropped your bag by the door (mentally vowing to pick it up later before your mom saw it) and nearly tripped over the stupid thing in your haste to get to your bathroom. It was a full ten minutes before you emerged from the bathroom, weak in the knees and half dead. Your mom, hearing the commotion you made upon entering the apartment, came to investigate. The moment she laid eyes on you, she was fussing over you but you barely heard or felt a thing. 

You were suddenly out of your street clothes and tucked tightly into your bed, with your mom trying to drown you with medicine and whispering softly in Spanish. 

It was the most miserable night of your life, you thought you were going to die. You were practically dead and your mom ended up sleeping next to you that night. Though your mom spent a lot of that night checking your temperature and making sure you weren’t gonna vomit and choke in your sleep. 

You didn’t like worrying her but you couldn’t do anything but lay there in misery, praying for the sickness to go away.

You were both relieved when the sun began to peek through the blinds in your room. You’d made it through the night without incident and you were finally getting the sleep that you needed. Your mom couldn’t really afford to take another day off but you assured her that you were fine. Totally fine. But she promised to call and check up on you a lot. Though by the time she left, you were out cold. 

Whether it was from whatever concoction she made and forced you to drink or your own exhaustion—you didn’t know or care. 

You woke a few hours later, kinda, your wrists were really itchy and in your groggy state; instead of investigating you blindly scratched at the irritation. 

The moment your nails came in contact with the source, you were jumping into a sitting position with a loud pain filled hiss. White hot pain seared up your arm and you quickly pressed down on your skin to try and smother the uncomfortable sensation away. 

“Ow!” You groaned, a tear falling from the corner of your eye. It was like scratching a pimple or something. When you were done being a crybaby you slowly peeled away your hand, wincing when you saw a silky white substance following your hand. 

“Ew what the fu—” your words trailed off when your eyes landed on your wrists and you saw...what was that??! It was the size of a bean and milky white. “I-I...mom! Mom!” You screamed, scooting away from your own wrist until your back hit the headboard. You started shaking your arm to get it off!

“Mom!”

You scrambled out of bed, nearly killing yourself with the sheets and you caught sight of another white bean on your other wrist. 

You almost  literally flew across the hallway to your moms room, nearly taking the door off the hinges. 

“Mom!?”

You looked around her empty room, and it suddenly hit you. Duh. Your mom was at work and you were supposed to be sick...not...growing beans from your body! You were about to leave your mom's room but you caught sight of yourself in the full body mirror on the back of her closet door and your jaw dropped. 

Who the heck is that? Because that totally isn’t you! You had grown a couple of inches, about four (wasn’t much but seeing as you were only five feet even before—it was a lot. You were still a kid, okay?!). You moved closer to the mirror and nearly tripped over one of your moms ridiculously high heels but you caught yourself with surprising reflexes. 

You gazed at yourself in the mirror with wide eyes, your skin was clear. Of any old acne traces and new ones alike, and your eyesight was clear as ever. Not that you were blind before but it’s never been this picture perfect. 

“I have muscles too?” You flexed in the mirror, and raised your shirt and gasped with what you saw. “Yeah. I have muscles now.”

You quickly went back to your room and slammed the door shut behind you, and slid down onto the floor holding your wrist and gently touching the white bean with the pad of your thumb. 

You rotated your wrist and nearly had a heart attack when the same silky white goo shot out of the bean on your wrist. The goo moved fast but you were able to track it as it took out of your lamps by your bed and hit the wall. Staying there. 

“Freaky.”

You didn’t tell anyone about it. And you lied to your mom about what happened to your lamp. But it wasn’t really a lie, was it? You technically did knock it down. It was the how you did it part that was a lie. Either way, the blame was still going to you so you didn’t feel too bad about it. 

Your mom was just happy that you weren’t sick anymore, and truthfully so were you because you hated making your mom worry after you. For some reason, it always made you feel guilty or weird about it sometimes. 

For the next few weeks you were distracted, spending much of your time holed up in your room or on the roof of your building. You weren’t trying to jump or anything, you weren’t insane, but you wanted privacy and those were the only two places you could think of. 

Your beans were sensitive to everything. You tried to wear those little wristbands and bracelets your mom liked to randomly buy you that had those quotes. They were too rough and nearly had you crying, so you had to use scissors to get them off. 

You tried everything, but it only served to further irritate your beans. You opted for long sleeves instead and cut holes in the cuffs to slip your thumbs through to prevent the sleeves from rolling up. Your hoodies too. 

Your mom was keeping a closer eye on you, your newfound interest in long sleeves and running off every chance you got had her on high alert, unbeknownst to you. But you were a teenager with weird ass superpowers, you weren’t very observant at the moment. 

Except that you were . 

You could hear and see everything a heck of a lot better than you did before and it took some time for you to get used to. Hence the fact that you were wearing Miles’ old beat headset around your neck when things got a little too loud. They canceled the noise just enough but not completely 

You took his old pair. Not the new ones. You wouldn’t dare risk those. He worked really hard in school for those last year for Christmas. 

Currently you are on the rooftop of your apartment building sitting on the edge watching the sunset behind the city skyline. Your arms were aching something serious from all of the white goo you were playing with. It reminded you of the Scarlet Spider webs but yours were thicker; silkier…and far more sticky. 

The skin around bean one (left hand) was redder than the other but you were also left handed so you were shooting them out more with that wrist. You’d have to practice keeping that even. 

Your phone vibrated in your pocket startling you out of your thoughts and saw that your mom was texting you for dinner. Right on cue your stomach growled and it sent you running, sore arms long forgotten—you haven’t eaten in almost five hours! 

“Mija.” Your mom greeted you warmly when you came into her kitchen, cleaned up and ready to chow down, but she frowned when she saw the hoodie, “honey, you’re making me hot just by looking at you in that damn thing, take it off before you sit at the table.”

Oh,no. You fidgeted with the edges of your sleeves briefly, eyes wide with panic which you were trying, and failing miserably, to hide. Your mother set the plate she was holding down on the counter, holding your stare.

“Okay. Spill it, what’s going on?”

“I um…I can’t.”

“You can’t? And why not?”

“Because I’m cold.”

She raised an eyebrow, “I was born at night but not last night, try again, what are you hiding under there?”

“Nothing! Mama, jeez, is it a crime to wear a hoodie?”

“It is now.” Your mom crossed her arms, not letting up and you knew that you were about to enter the fight of your life. Were you being dramatic? Rightfully so. “I won’t ask again.”

You sighed, “I’m not hiding anything.”

“Look me in the eye and say that again.”

“You’re creating a very bad core memory, you know that right?” She wasn’t having it and you knew it but you were also fucking panicking, what were you gonna do? Or say? How were you gonna explain your beans?!

You glanced at your mother, wincing when you saw that was still watching you like a hawk but you also saw that she was more worried than she was upset and you sighed defeatedly. Haven’t you both lost so much and did enough worrying for once? 

“I have beans…”

Whatever she was expecting you to say…it damn sure wasn’t that. You weren’t looking at her but your mother was staring at your fifteen year old self, mouth slightly agape with confusion written all over her face. 

“Frijoles??” (Beans??), your mom sighed, “(Y/n)—”

Before she could even get started, you tore off your hoodie and dropped it to the floor and held out your arms wrist facing upwards and it took your mom less than a second to zero in on the white glands residing perfectly on your wrists. 

“Beans.”

It was another pause before she snatched your wrists for a closer look, and thankfully despite her rushed movements she was still gentle with you and didn’t actually touch them.

“(Y/n) ¡¿Qué diablos has estado haciendo?!” (What in the hell have you been doing?!)

Okay…okay here goes nothing then, “Do you remember that night I came home really really really sick mama?”

“Sí.”

“I got bit by a spider at FEAST earlier and then after…these were on my wrists when I woke up the next morning…I…I lied about the lamp too! I didn’t knock it over, I mean, I did! But not how I said, it was the beans—”

“Shh shh,” your mom shook her head as she shushed you, you didn’t realize that your nerves barreled right into word vomit. You bit your bottom lip and did you best not to bounce in place. You desperately wanted to run away to your room but your mom was still holding you, still gentle but her eyes were back on the white glands on your wrist. “ oh dios mío…” ( oh my god… )

Slowly she ran her thumb over one and nearly jumped out of her skin when she found it to be softer than it looked—firm but…soft, squishy, but the redness around it on your skin kept her from applying a little more pressure. 

Finally, a look of determination settled over her features, masking her fear before you could see it. She didn’t know what the hell kind of spider bit her baby, but she was not going to lose another child.

“I’m calling your doctor in the morning!”

“What?! But, wait, no mom, I'm fine!”

“No! You are not fine! (Y/n)!? Baby, that’s not normal! Spider bites were a common thing for your…for your father, and I just know what they look like. Or are you forgetting that I was once a nurse?”

“Mom, I swear I feel fine! Great even! We don’t need a doctor!” 

This was not going as planned and you knew that things would only get worse if you went to the doctors. You didn’t know what they would do to you, but you watched enough tv to know it wasn’t going to be good.

“This is not up for discussion, (Y/n).” By her tone you could tell that she wasn’t in the mood and was growing frustrated with your continued stubbornness, “I just want to make sure that you’re really okay and oh dios mío!!!!”

She shrieked, her back thumping hard against the refrigerator as you shot off one of your beans across the kitchen and it went splat against the wall and some old frames. But you caught the other end before it got away (practice makes perfect sometimes) and your mother was having trouble processing just what the hell she was looking at in the middle of her kitchen. 

She knew what she was looking at—it was all over the news sometimes and her late son was obsessed but her brain was having difficulty connecting the dots between her baby girl and the thick spider web splitting her kitchen in half. 

Did you break your mom?

Almost. 

But did you go to the doctors the next day? Nope. In fact, you had a new set of rules—and a new curfew. It almost made you regret telling your mom anything and that you should’ve just gone to the stupid doctors. But a bigger part of you was relieved that she knew…your parents always had the best advice, honest and unbiased. Usually . 

Your mom told you that they were web glands, very similar to spiders, but you’d already gotten used to calling them your beans. Your mighty beans. You weren’t allowed to tell anyone else about them (you told Miles) and she bought you some real black leather cuffs so that you didn’t have to wear long sleeves all of the time, or the hoodies. 

You expected the adjustable cuffs to be a failure just like the bracelets and stuff but…but they weren’t. There was some pressure but it wasn’t uncomfortable, it was comforting. Like a caress. The cool leather felt good on your warm flesh too, plus they went with every article of clothing you had. 

And every single day like clockwork right before bed your mom was checking your wrist beans and she would always hum to herself before writing something down. But she would never really tell you what she was doing but…whatever. 

At least she started letting you go back to FEAST again. May and Peter were happy to see you well again after two weeks of being “sick”. Your mom had some really good alibis that you probably would’ve never thought of—why did she even have them? None of your business. That’s exactly what she would’ve told you too. 

Peter and May commented on how much taller you seemed, and stronger, but still the same ol (Y/n). There was no sign of Ben, Peter said he was busy with work and stuff, and that was cool. Being an adult seemed like it sucked anyway. And thankfully you didn’t have any run-ins with the Scarlet Spider again. 

That only lasted for two days. You were getting mugged again on your way to FEAST, and—this time there were more of them, older kids. Not quite adults but borderline pushing it. Freakin’ creeps.

But there were too many of them to outrun and they’d formed a semi-circle around you. Honestly you were scared this time around because they looked prone to violence regardless of whether you cooperated or not. You forgot you had superpowers too, but that wasn’t the point. 

The point was that Scarlet Spider was back again and the creeps had run off, still had your ten bucks your mom gave you too, and some old Pokémon card from some years ago. 

But you and Scarlet Spider were too busy staring each other down than worrying about the runaway wannabe thugs. There was something different this meeting…you had sensed him before he made himself known. You weren’t sure how to describe how you knew you just did. 

The same way you sensed danger from those group of idiots. 

“(Y/n)?”

That brought you up short and you tried to step back completely forgetting that you were pressed against the brick wall already.

“Are you following me now? Isn’t it against the law to be a creep??” You hated how much your voice quivered. 

He quickly raised his hands and halted his approach, hearing the fear in your voice. He seemed to be hesitant for a moment, and even behind his mask you could tell he was probably thinking about something. 

Adults were weird as heck sometimes, right? 

Scarlet Spider looked around a few times, and even up, prompting you to look up but that was all the opening he needed. Next thing you knew, you were in the air though you never got a chance to scream because your feet were back on the ground in a second. 

You pushed him away and put distance between you both but you were on a roof and there was nowhere for you to go. You could. But you weren’t brave enough for that yet. If ever. 

“Hey!? What’s the big idea—BEN?!?!”

He smiled sheepishly and awkwardly waved, gripping his mask in his other hand, “Hey.”

Just a kid. 

That’s what the Scarlet Spider, er, Ben, said after you finished telling him how you…how you got your spider powers. Apparently. And you got a new mentor because apparently, your growth spurt would be coming with new abilities in the near future. You didn’t want a mentor, particularly him, but you knew that you needed help. 

Your parents always taught you and Miles that it was always okay to accept help. That there was nothing wrong with your pride if you did. 

You knew your mom would feel better knowing that you had a mentor to help…but that would only go so far. 

She wasn’t a big fan of superheroes either. 

So for six months, you never told her about Ben or the lessons and homework he was giving you. Not once has he asked you to suit up or join him in the streets. It was your decision and yours alone. He didn’t have that choice though. 

He wasn’t a bad guy, a little weird and irresponsible, but Ben was a good dude. Peter joked that you were trying to steal his science bro. 

Bro had no idea. 

Ben also didn’t know that you told your mom either. How could you tell him when he gave you this whole spiel about not letting everyone know because of how dangerous it could be. Welp . 

On your sixteenth birthday though. Your mom found out everything . 

It was kind of lame that you didn’t exactly have any close friends from school that you wanted to invite to your home for your birthday. After your dad and your brother died—no one…it just wasn’t giving. And now with your new spider abilities? You had zero friends at your school. Zilch. Nada. Numero negativo uno.

Peter didn’t count though. You two didn’t go to the same school.

So you invited your friends from FEAST. No. Not the bums. May, Peter and…and freakin’ Ben. Your mom cooked a nice meal, there was soda (for you specifically) and there was wine (not for you).

You, Ben and Peter were playing uno in the living room on the coffee table while Peter’s aunt and your mom drank wine in the kitchen. 

After another round of kicking their butts you grabbed your empty soda can, “Be right back losers.”

Ben scoffed, shuffling the deck, “No way, next round is my time to shine.”

“Ooooh, (Y/n)! Can you bring me another one too? Please? And a bag of chips?”

“You got it, Parker. Ben?”

“I’m good, kid, thanks.”

There was a lot of giggling coming from the kitchen and when you got there you saw that your mom and May were standing closely side by side, both red in face and they both looked guilty as heck when you walked in. Well May did, your mom just looked concerned, as always and you saw her eyes drop down to your leather bound wrists but you just shook your head with a small smile. 

“Snack run.”

“How’s uno?” May asked, her brown eyes still dancing with laughter at whatever joke your mom probably told her.

“I’m kicking their butts, so it’s going great! Do you guys wanna play?” You opened the refrigerator to grab two soda cans. May said something behind you but you didn’t hear her because as soon as you reached in, the light bulb made a soft buzzing noise before a small spark of orange light shot from your hand to the bulb and shorted it out. 

Startled, you yelled out and rocked the entire refrigerator as you tried to snatch your hand out of it. You heard footsteps approaching the kitchen in a hurry. 

“Honey?!” Your mom was by your side in an instant, trapping you in the corner and blocking your body from view and she quickly took your wrists in her hands, thumbs pressing where she naturally knew where your beans were. It was a comfort gesture as well as a silent wellness check in case she couldn’t ask out loud—like now. 

“I-I…” you don’t even know what the heck happened, but you needed to think fast, so the partial truth it is: “The light bulb went out and startled me, mom, I’m okay.”

“You’re sure?”

“Mhm.” You nodded quickly, glancing to your left and saw that May was able to see a bit around your mom and that her eyes were on your wrists now, and you quickly pulled away. “Sorry for scaring everyone.”

When your mom moved away, an easy smile back on her face, you caught Ben’s eye over Peter’s head. His expression was calm and curious but his eyes held a worry that made you almost roll your eyes. He wanted to talk later. He must’ve sensed it happen or something. 

He and Peter went back to the living room leaving you three in the kitchen again but your mom excused herself to go find another bulb. 

Mays eyes were trained on you and that made you nervous. She looked…suspicious, like she knew something was up. You had no idea how you came to that conclusion but you just did. 

“How does it feel to be sixteen now?”

“Well, I still have to go to school tomorrow so not that great.”

May snorted, “You sound like Peter. How is school? Are you still having a tough time?”

“No, not anymore…it still sucks, y’know ? But…” the sensation of something crawling up your spine gave you pause, but it went away just as quick as it went. 

“But what?” May prompted, still watching you closely. 

“But—”

It was back and stronger, this time it hurt a little more and it wasn’t just in your back anymore. You felt it on your finger tips, up your arms, in your chest… everywhere .

The kitchen lights above you flickered slightly but Mays eyes never strayed from you, they narrowed slightly but your vision was sharp and you noticed. Quickly with shaky hands you put the soda cans on the counter behind you and quickly excused yourself to go find your mom.

Ben's eyes were immediately on you the minute you left the kitchen, he knew something was up with you but it wasn’t like he could ask outright at the moment. 

Your mom looked startled when you practically ran into the washroom and closed the door behind you, trapping you both inside. 

“Mija, what’s wro—”

The lights above her flickered and the dryer’s buzzer went off—the same dryer she literally just reset because the clothes weren’t dry yet. Your mom's eyes immediately fell back to you, wide and worried—not scared, worried and that was a relief. Because you both couldn’t be freakin’ scared! 

She noticed orange lightning trails buzzing around your body randomly, like you were short circuiting and she just couldn’t process this. She knew puberty would be hard on you but not this hard. 

“Let me see your wrists.”

You quickly took them off and turned them over, you both gasped at the sight. Your beans grew! Well…not grew but they spread out a little bit, flattening themselves on your wrists. Your mom ran her thumb over one and got a bit of a shock.

“Oh my god mom I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to do that!”

“It’s okay, honey, it didn’t hurt,” a little white lie but she wasn’t going to be honest with you about that, she wanted those tears gone—it was your special day after all. “I’m sorry baby, but we’re going to have to cut your party short, okay?”

You nodded, trying not to frown at the news because you knew that she was right. You knew that it was a risk, Ben said so…and your mom did as well. It just…it just sucked. Why did you have to be such a freak?

Not bothering to grab your wrist cuffs, you sulked out of the laundry room and right to your room, locking the door behind you. You didn’t mean to be rude to your guests but you couldn’t exactly talk to anyone while you were crying. You walked into your closet and closed the door, sitting in the dark with your knees brought up to your chest, hugging them tightly as you sobbed into your arms. Doing your best to muffle them so your mom didn’t have to worry so much again. 

She would’ve been better off with Miles. 

Or any other kid at this point. 

“I’m sorry mama” you sniffled, knowing that no one but you and your poorly hung clothes could hear you. 

Someone knocked on your bedroom door, “(Y/n)?” It was Peter, soft and shy like always—he deserved a better friend, “Hey, your mom said you weren’t feeling good. Umm, I hope you feel better and I hope you like your gift!” 

You could only imagine how awkward he must’ve looked talking through the door and it kinda of made you smile, freakin’ Peter. It was quiet after a while and you heard the front door opening and some voices chattering about. 

Tap tap tap… someone was knocking on your window and you knew who it was. And you really really didn’t want to talk to him tonight. It…wasn’t his fault but you could only handle so much. You ignored those bird taps and grabbed a hoodie from above you and laid down on the floor, back to the door. 

Now in the empty apartment, your mother was sitting in the living room staring down at the half finished card game on the coffee table. She knocked on your door a few times and tried the knob but decided to give you space rather than picking the lock out of parental rights during panic-mode. 

Her own eyes were brimmed with unshed tears, her mind solely on you. How to help you but she didn’t know how—google really wasn’t much help.

‘How to raise a spider’ didn’t get her very far, but she did get some luck on how to raise a mutant but it was shit she already knew. She loved her daughter, that was her baby…her last baby, of course she loved you. You could’ve turned blue and green an extra head and she would still love you. But even she knew that you were going to need a lot more than love and acceptance from her. 

If she wasn’t aware of that before, tonight would’ve been a wake up call. Therapy was too risky, and useless. You’ve both tried that already after you both lost half your family. 

(Y/m/n) jumped when she felt you cuddle up to her on the couch, she didn’t hear your room door open or even you coming down the hallway. She quickly wrapped her arms around you and let herself sink into the sofa cushions under your combined weight. With your ear pressed to her, you sat there listening to the comfort of her heart beat and even breaths.

“Thanks for the party,” you mumbled into her chest, making her laugh softly, “sorry for ruining it.”

“You didn’t, honey. Besides…more cake for us, hm? What do you say, wanna cut a big piece?”

“Can we watch a movie for a bit first…I don’t wanna move yet,”

She chuckled again, “You might have to, baby, the remote is all the way over there.”

With a grunt you freed one of your hands and quickly webbed all three remotes to you and caught them easily, ignoring your mothers grumbles of your being lazy. 

However, outside of the peace of your small two bedroom apartment; Ben sat a few rooftops over watching the whole thing with his jaw dropped. Your mom knew?! 

He stuck around because he was concerned and needed to talk to you so he was prepared to wait all night. He just wanted to help you get through this new power he was ninety-five percent sure you just gained. But what he wasn’t expecting was this. 

Ben finally shook himself out of his shock and quietly took his leave. You and him were going to have a very long chat but it seemed that tonight, you were in the best care you could be in. 

It was a few days before you saw Ben again. It was a little awkward at first, both of you skirting around the topic of what went down with you at your birthday party. Though you didn’t know that Ben had more than that on his mind. But of course, he’d spring the question on you while you were mid-swing. You nearly almost missed a swing and fell ungracefully on a roof that used rocks as its surface. 

“You were stalking me?!” You pulled a pebble off your cheek and threw it at him, “Dude, that’s twilight level creepy.”

“No, I wasn’t…it’s not,” Ben groaned and shook his head before putting his hands on his hips looking like a total mom, “I was worried about you! You clearly had something going on? So?”

“So what?”

“What was it?!”

“Seriously?!”

“What!?”

You threw more rocks at him before getting back to your feet and walking towards the edge of the building looking down at the people walking with your arms crossed.

“Okay,” Ben sighed behind you, closer now, “I’m sorry for the weird stalking. I really was just worried, kiddo.”

“Yeah.”

He cleared his throat, “um…does your mom know about me too?”

“Nope.”

“Oh.” He was oddly disappointed by that, just a smidge, “um…”

“Lightning.”

“Huh?”

You brought up your hand and showed him the orange little sparks dancing between your fingers. You still weren’t very good at controlling it besides doing little tricks like this. Ben gasped next to you, his eyes widening along with his grin, stuffing his hands in the front pocket of his blue hoodie.

“That’s pretty damn cool, (Y/n). Does it hurt?”

“Stings a little bit,” you smirked, folding your arm again, “for the other guy. I just need more practice.”

Ben laughed, patting you on the back. “Well, there’s no time like the present. Here…” he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to you without looking at you, almost like he was embarrassed, “found it in my old chest…old designs and stuff. You don’t have to…”

“Cool.” 

You said it partly to get him to stop rambling and partly because it was true. It was a spider cowl, similar to the Scarlet Spiders own mask but yours was black with red webbing. The material was firm but adjustable and you were quick to pull it on. You weren’t sure what you were expecting but as soon as it came down over your ears—everything became quieter, and you were able to hear yourself think a little more. You could still hear the city around you but with the volume more tolerable. You fixed the mask so that you could see better, able to focus better on what was in front of you and not every damn thing that caught your attention. 

You’ve missed a couple of swings because you were distracted. 

“See,” Ben said, now looking at you and smiling proudly, “No more swinging around with the hoodie up.”

You shrugged, “Doesn’t matter anyway, right? This is just the warehouse district.”

“Yeah, well, today’s gonna be a little different. We’re going to Brooklyn tonight.”

“We…we’re what?” You looked up at him, excitement written all over your face not that he could see it, “Are you sure? I mean, what if—”

“Nothing happens in Brooklyn and relax, we’re just going to patrol. It’s time you swung a little higher. The sun is setting so no one should get a good look at ya.”

“If you say so, Ben.” You had your doubts but he was the older spider here and you trusted him this long. 

“Yep, we’ll be totally fine. Time to introduce New York to…to…huh.” He looked at what you were wearing with your mask; a blue parka with a red hoodie, fingerless dark gray gloves and black tights and basketball shorts plus red and black high top sneakers.

“Spider-kid?”

He didn’t need to see your face to feel the glare you were giving him and he snickered, slipping on his own mask, “I gave it a shot. We’re kinda like that one show you like, with that Skywalker guy and the orange kid? C’mon, let’s think on the way.”

He stepped off the ledge and swung away and you exhaled heavily, shaking your arms before taking a running leap off the ledge and following your mentor. 

You both swung between buildings quietly, enjoying the sunset and the cool breeze. You noticed that the higher you both went the faster things began to move and it was fun! You cut the corner of a building and twisted around into a front flip before casting another web.

“Having fun?” He called over the high winds, doing a backflip of his own.

“Haha yeah! Woo !”

“Follow me! I wanna show you a cool spot!”

That cool spot turned out to be a nice little bird's nest spot on the Brooklyn bridge, giving you a view of practically everything and you swung your legs back and forth over the edge carefree. 

The night started off easy but it turned into a complete disaster when an explosion turned out to be bank robbery with a group full of armed men and a giant Rhino type villain. 

Ben immediately went for the Rhino leaving you to handle the squad of armed thugs as if your life wasn’t hard enough! You and Ben practiced the basics of close combat but you found yourself using your heightened senses on the offense the entire time to avoid getting shot!

You stuck a few of them to the wall and got creative with your technique and you were doing a good job at keeping yourself in one piece but there were just so many of them. They were starting to flank you and you felt yourself starting to panic. 

You had no idea where it was coming from but you felt it surge before it expelled and targeted everything around you. The men dropped to the ground, either dead or unconscious, you didn’t know and were too scared to confirm. A loud crash behind you had you moving and right on time too because Ben was tossed across the parking lot into another building by the big man in the Rhino suit. 

You stood there off to the side frozen unsure of what it is that you were expected to do against that. You were fifteen! And you didn’t even have a superhero name yet?! But Ben wasn’t moving, and the rhino dude was getting closer to him. 

You shook out your arms, hearing the sirens getting closer and you exhaled shakily. Got this, got this, got this. Ben was starting to move around a bit but it was still too slow. 

“H-hey!” You squeaked, then roughly cleared your throat, “HEY! HEY UGLY!”

You webbed a trash can and swung it towards him, nailing him right on the back of his fathead, finally gaining his attention. He growled at you and your stomach dropped. 

Just a kid!

That’s what was headlining the news as the warehouse camera clip of you zig zagging all over the parking lot and chipping away at Rhino’s armor with rapid shots of webs, some of them laced with a bit of an aftershock. There were times where Rhino would charge at you and you rolled away at the last second and actually climbed on the massive villain!

You had kept that up until Ben joined back in the fight and started doing the heavy lifting. John Jameson had even called you a Junior Menace. Not the coolest name but still. 

When you got home that night though, you were face to face with the most upset mother in the whole city. Your mother. And boy did she have a lot to say to you that night and not all of it could be translated for English. 

But even as she yelled at you, she fussed too, checking every inch of you for any injuries, then hugging you tightly. 

Two nights later, and there was someone knocking on your apartment door in the middle of dinner with your mom. She was still cross with you for breaking her number one rule but you were just glad that she didn’t ground you for life. Even Ben was worried and she didn’t even know that it was his butt she was threatening to kick.

Your mom was the one to get up to answer the door while you stayed at the table but you were eavesdropping even though you knew that it was rude to do so and that you were breaking another house rule. No using your powers to snoop, (Y/n).

You didn’t really need super hearing though to hear what was being said. 

“May? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“I’m sorry, (Y/m/n), um…can we come in to talk?”

We? Now that really has your interest. Was Peter here too? What was…who the heck was that?? You recognized Peter’s Aunt May, but not the tall brunette behind her. She was wearing a suit and so was Aunt May. You’ve never seen Aunt May in a suit before.

You slowly set down your fork and looked at your mom who followed in after them with a slight frown but she tried to put on a brave face for you but it was too late. 

“Uh, mom? What’s going on?”

Just a kid…

When you found out that spies were real and that there was a secret spy raft hovering above the city. That night you got to meet Aunt May, the real Aunt May and her boss, superspy Deputy Director Maria Hill. Your mom tried to deflect and deny but you made a rookie mistake, and Aunt May was able to confirm what she never asked. 

Your shoes gave you away and she recognized them plus her suspicions from your birthday party. You knew that she might have seen something and now you know. SHIELD, the super secret spy weirdos, wanted to recruit you into their ranks under special circumstances. You’d get lifetime benefits, an education and best of all; proper training. 

Your mom flat out refused despite your protests, but Maria was very quick to throw you under the bus by stating that you were already doing it. You’d be better off doing that under their guidance. You didn’t totally buy into that and neither did your mom—not until Aunt May stated that she was going to be your handler.

Just a kid…

When you joined SHIELD. You still spun your webs around the city with the Scarlet Spider but for the first time since your dad and your big bro passed—you felt on track. You felt like you were going to be okay.

And you were just a kid…

When Maria Hill called your SHIELD phone, sounding way too awake for a three AM phone call, “Suit up, Webs. We’re going to Brazil.”

Yeah. You weren’t just a kid anymore.