"HOW MUCH DID YOU HEAR?" were the first words that left Kaelyn's mouth as she panicked. He was never supposed to find out. In her rage against Tony, the thought of her brother completely abandoned her mind. How could she have been so stupid?

Caden gawked at her, "Enough to know that your boyfriend is Spider-Man. Kaelyn, how long have you known this?"

"It's the reason we met," she admitted, "I caught him one night, up on the roof. He took his mask off and I filmed him. None of this shit was ever supposed to happen. I was gonna blackmail him and pass math. That's literally it. I was never supposed to-"

"To be falling in love with him?" Caden sighed, "Take it from me, Kaelyn. Superheroes, that world they live in, it is only ever going to mean trouble for people like us. People like Peter are the reason mom and dad are dead."

"What are you talking about?" Kaelyn furrowed her brow as she stepped closer to her brother. "Are you really gonna tell me that my boyfriend has something to do with their death? Because that's a new low, even for you."

Caden looked down, avoiding his sister's eyes. "Ouch. Listen, you may not be old enough to remember many details, but I do. They were investigators. They wanted to unmask the vigilantes everyone praised. One of the people they wanted to know the identity of was the Vulture. He surfaced after the battle of New York seven years ago."

She made the connection in her mind, "They- they were killed seven years ago."

"When this Vulture guy found them on his trail he had them killed. No one ever found out who the Vulture was. If our parents never got in over their heads with the superhero world, they'd still be here. Kae, you're not going to like what I have to say next, but if Peter is Spider-Man, I don't want you seeing him anymore. Superheroes are the reason our parents were killed and I don't want you to meet the same fate. I can't watch that happen to you like I watched it happen to them," the man said with a heavy sigh. His shoulders were tense as he awaited his sister's likely unruly reaction.

"Are you kidding me? Peter has nothing to do with the death of our parents. You have the nerve to call me a conspiracy theorist for actually caring about what happened to them and then you go and tell me that being with my boyfriend is going to get me killed? You're barely even home, I haven't spoken to you in anything more than brief passing in weeks and you're going to pull the concerned brother card right when I've actually found someone who cares about me? You know what, it doesn't even matter because I managed to fuck things up on my own without you telling me to break it off so congratulations, you got your wish, Caden. You got your fucking wish."

She began to walk towards the front door, but as she opened it, Caden slammed it shut. "Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here. Anywhere I don't feel like I'm suffocating," Kaelyn shoved her brother out of the way and ran out of the apartment. She despised the number of times this seemed to happen lately. The part she hated the most was that she didn't have Peter to save her this time. The crushing loneliness was the worst part.

As soon as she made it up to the rooftop, everything came crashing down. Every single tough facade she put up came falling to the ground as she leaned against the edge. The memory of her finding Peter here the very first night they met flashed in her mind. The memory of their first kiss brought tears to her eyes. She may not be in love with him yet, but she was falling too fast. The only problem with that being that she completely ruined it in the span of barely a month. It was pathetic, truly, how many disasters she managed to leave in her wake.

All of a sudden, a chill ran down her spine. She wasn't alone.

"Who's there?" she asked the shadows, trying to hide the breaks in her voice.

"It's just me," came Peter's voice as he stepped into her view. He was wearing the Spider-Man suit without the mask, just like he had been the first night they spent on the rooftop. Oh, how the memories brought so much pain. "Can I, can I ask what's wrong?"

"Everything is wrong, Peter, just, everything. I ruined everything we had, I ruined my relationship with Caden, I totally ditched Beth in D.C. Trouble just follows me at this point and it's all just my fault and I'm sick of it," she sobbed, losing control of her overwhelming emotions, "I'm not trying to throw a pity party, I'm sorry. I'm in control of my own actions and decisions, I just make bad decisions and that's on me. Please don't feel sorry for me."

Peter squatted in front of her, clearly scared of getting too close. After a moment, he placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly, "I can't promise that everything is going to be okay. I have to learn to trust you again, but that does not make me want to be with you any less. Troubles aside, I'm falling for you, Kae, and nothing is going to change that. Trust me, I am not worth crying over, I'm nothing special." The little bit of laughter that followed his statement was calming. Her tears slowed as she appreciated Peter's presence. She just hated being alone. The hand on her shoulder moved to cup her cheek and wipe her tears.

"Peter, I think I'm falling for you too," was all she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. "That scares me so much because people I get close to have a habit of getting hurt and the last thing I want is for you get hurt."

"Kae, I don't know how to put this nicely, but stop talking," he chuckled as he leaned in and kissed her, catching her by surprise. She hadn't expected Peter to even be able to tolerate the sight of her much less do this. She felt so safe with him, a safety she had never been lucky enough to feel before. Part of her had almost forgotten what this felt like. She never wanted to stop caring for Peter, she didn't want to forget this feeling.

When they pulled apart, she giggled softly, "I probably look like such a mess."

"You're always beautiful to me," Peter reaffirmed, smiling at her softly as he ran his fingers through her hair. He moved so he was sitting down with his legs crossed, facing her. "I'm starting to think this rooftop is magical, you know."

"I wouldn't be surprised, I feel like half of our relationship has happened because of this place," she laughed, just enjoying Peter's presence. For once, she felt like things weren't completely hopeless.

Peter simply laughed and kissed her again. She was home.

hey look i remembered that they have dead parents and a murder to solve crazy right? also dont get me wrong, peter is still upset but he also still has lots of feelings for kaelyn and cares about her so dont get mad at me for including this scene because it's important to the realism of their relationship thank you. also i know them falling in love might be a little early but take it from a bitch who confessed her love after two months and hasnt burned out it's possible