Chapter 7
The scene began to play out again.
Peter and Ned met eyes during band, grinning to each other before realising how difficult that was to do with an instrument in your mouth.
Peter was continually shown getting good grades as the marks steadily began covering the fridge.
Uncle Ben lay on the couch, sharing popcorn with the young Peter who was complaining about something on the TV.
More and more scenes passed, each one filling Johnny with a sense of helplessness. Peter had such a normal life before. He’d been so… happy.
Was all this taken away from him?
Johnny suddenly felt horrible for ever complaining about his life to Peter.
Peter had had so much…
How much had he lost?
Johnny risked another glance towards Peter. He suddenly saw the little boy in the images.
It hit Johnny. Hard.
Of course, he had realised that the boy being shown in these scenes was Peter, but it hadn’t actually clicked until that moment.
It was Peter.
This was his life they were all seeing.
Johnny felt immensely guilty.
He imagined for a moment what it would be like for him if it were his memories being played in front of everyone.
All of his mistakes displayed for everyone to see.
All of his private moments, the good and the bad.
Sure, maybe some of the memories he wouldn’t particularly mind other people seeing, but he would have to give them… permission first. To talk to them about it, to set boundaries to make it okay.
Peter didn’t have that.
It didn’t matter, Johnny realised, what these memories showed. It didn’t matter whether or not the Four judged Peter on them, whether they cared.
No.
What mattered was that this should have been Peter’s choice to make, but that choice had been taken away from him.
Johnny felt a deep hatred rise in him for the weird force that was making them watch this. Johnny looked up and yelled, probably a little bit louder than necessary, “Hey asshole ceiling guy! Stop it! Do you think this is funny? Because it really isn’t. Do you find this entertaining? I swear when this is over I will find you and I will burn you to a crisp. Do you understand me?”
“Johnny,” Sue’s voice was full of warning.
“What?” he looked down at himself, “Oh.”
Johnny had begun to flame on. There were tendrils of fire, dancing around in his open palms. His arms were covered in a fiery tinge, and judging from the red tint of his vision, there were flames circling his face too.
Johnny closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. As irritating and horrible as this whole situation was, setting himself and the room alight probably wasn’t the best solution.
Although, it would most likely shut the roof guy up…
“Johnny, I swear,” Sue gave him a pointed look. She didn’t finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear. Damn, she really should get and award for that. She is one terrifying human being.
“Fine,” he muttered, the flames finally dying down around him.
He happened to glance towards Peter, and saw a strange expression on his face, which quickly disappeared when he caught Johnny looking.
Was that disgust? Is he disgusted at how I can’t even control my own powers?
Peter swallowed hard.
Of course it is. Johnny thought bitterly. Of course he is disgusted. What else would it be? You fool Johnathan Storm. You absolute idiot.
Johnny tried to ignore Peter, instead he focused back on the scenes still playing out in front of him.
He’d clearly zoned out for a decent amount of time, for the Peter in this scene looked far older. While in the last scene Peter had looked about twelve, here he seemed to be nearly fourteen.
Peter was wandering around the halls of some sort of lab with the rest of his class. Was he on a field trip?
Ned was pointing something out to Peter, who was distracted, staring at another one of the students.
Why was he staring at her?
Johnny felt some strange, unfamiliar emotion bubble up inside of him.
Oh, who was he kidding? This wasn’t a new emotion. No, it was one he was all too familiar with, the one that flared up every time he saw Peter with yet another beautiful girl hanging off his arm, who he would be gazing at with the upmost affection and love. It was jealousy, plain and simple.
Johnny frowned at the scene, then blinked. What was that on Peter’s arm?
He concentrated, trying to make it out.
It almost looked like…
“A spider,” Reed breathed, “of course. So that’s how-”
“Reed sweetheart,” Sue cut in, “now is really not the time.”
Peter shot her a grateful look, which caused the jealousy to rise up again within Johnny.
C’mon! It’s your sister Johnny! It’s not like Peter has a crush on…
Oh no.
Johnny felt his heart drop. His brain flicked back to every instance where Peter had flirted with his sister, all the jokes about running off with her, every comment he had made about the ‘Storm Looks.’
Johnny cast his mind back to a particular incident, so long ago, where he had accidently been listening in, it wasn’t eavesdropping because Johnathan Storm didn’t eavesdrop on people, on a conversation Spidey had been having on the phone.
He had been ranting to this… MJ person.
“And then, it’s just… urgh. The blue eyes, the tanned skin. The freaking golden hair, god damn it! It’s unfair. No one should be allowed to be that attractive! It should be illegal.”
Peter had sensed Johnny’s presence then, and abruptly ending the phone call he had begun talking about something completely different before Johnny had time to ask what the call had been about.
Johnny had almost completely forgotten about it until now.
But then…
Oh god. Did Peter have a crush on his sister?
Johnny thought that he might just have to die if that was the case.
Sue smiled back towards Peter who slowly began to relax, a happier expression growing on his face.
Johnny suddenly wished he was dead. It all made so much sense now.
Peter Parker was in love with his sister.