"I CAN'T BELIEVE THE DAY IS FINALY HERE," Beth looked almost teary-eyed as her and Kaelyn looked in the full-length mirror. She had just finished zipping up the red dress, matching not only Kae's hair but her fiery personality. This was it. After every crazy thing that happened in the last month or so, they finally got to something that could just be purely normal. Her first Homecoming. She regretted not going freshman year, but now for once, she had something that made her want to go. She had her best friend by her side and a boyfriend coming over in just a moment. All she wanted was a normal high school experience and this was just a glimpse of that.

"You make it sound like I'm getting married, Beth," Kaelyn scoffed, tossing her curled hair over her shoulders as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her dress was bright red, falling just past her knees with a straight neckline and simple straps. It was simple but felt so right. She already knew Peter had a tie to match and she couldn't be happier. Something about tonight felt so perfect. All she wanted was a perfect, normal night. She just hoped she was going to be lucky enough to get that.

Beth laughed heartily, hugging her from behind and placing her head on her shoulder gently, "Look at us go. From cheerleaders to superheroes to lookin' like princesses about to go jam on a dance floor of sweaty teens."

"Oh, wow, Beth," Kaelyn giggled, making eye contact with the girl through their reflections, "You make it sound like so much fun. Do you think we're ready?"

"Oh, we are more than ready. We're really out here looking like queens they are not ready for us!" the dark-haired girl let go of Kaelyn and struck a joking model pose in the mirror. This was the first moment in so long that she felt like things were truly to be okay in her life. After so much tragedy and mystery in her life, she just needed a breath of something that any teenage girl could experience. She needs this.

With one final glance in the mirror, they left her room. Caden had been just in the kitchen prepping for whatever meal he was making himself while they were going to be gone that night. His eyes met his sister's before glancing over her outfit for the night. He stopped dead in his tracks as he smiled at her.

"You look beautiful, Kae," was all he said and for just a moment Kaelyn thought he was going to start tearing up. "As do you, Beth. Just remember to be safe, please, don't do anything I wouldn't do. What time is Peter's aunt coming to pick you guys up?"

"Thank you, Cade and she's on her way right now. Trust me, we'll be safe, we just want to dance and listen to bad music, okay? I'll be smart. I usually am."

Beth snorted, "Keyword: usually."

Playfully, Kaelyn slapped her on the arm and rolled her eyes. Walking over to the door, she grabbed the pair of heels she was planning on wearing that night and began to put them on. Part of her still couldn't believe this night was here. She flashed back to the night with her and Peter planning to rebel against Tony Stark while they were eating spaghetti and on a whim, he asked her to Homecoming even though it was in a week and they had no time to prepare. Now, here they were, just a few minutes away.

After a moment, the other girl settled down on the couch next to her, whispering in her ear, "Hey, you okay?"

"Not sure," Kaelyn shrugged, avoiding her best friend's eyes as she stared blankly ahead. "This just feels kind of surreal. I mean, I know it's just a dance, but it feels like after all the crime fighting and shit I never thought a day like this would come. I'm really, really glad it has, though. I think I just needed this."

Beth nodded, "I think we all did. It's been rough and I can't imagine what it's been like for you and I'm sorry. You know I'm going to be by your side for all of it. Thick and thin, me and you. Whether it's a superhero spy mission or a school dance, I got you, always, Kae."

"That means more than you'll ever understand, Beth, thank you."

"You two better not be whispering shit on me over there," Caden joked just as the doorbell rang, "Oh, that must be the man of the hour, I'll get it!"

"Caden, do not give him too much shit," the redhead laughed as she finished putting on her shoes while her brother raced to open the door. It was moments like these that made her feel nothing but warm inside. Maybe one day, things could be like this all the time.

Peter looked surprised as soon as the door opened and it was a redhead but not the one he was expecting. "Oh, you're not Kaelyn. Um, is she ready yet? I hope she is or else this is going to be super awkward. Uh, how you doing, tough guy?"

"I'm doing just fine, thank you, Peter, yes, Kaelyn and Beth are both ready to go, right, girls?" Caden answered with a deadpan expression before turning to look at the girls who were just sitting there giggling while Peter fumbled his words in front of her brother.

"Hey, Peter, lookin' sharp," Beth stood up and greeted the boy as she pushed Caden out of the way. "Are you ready for this? Are you ready for how fucking gorgeous your girlfriend is? Get ready for this, I don't think you're ready."

"Um, okay? Can I just see her now?" Peter asked meekly, trying to look through the two people blocking the doorway.

After a moment of a judgemental stare from Beth, she and Caden moved out of the way to reveal Kaelyn. He gawked as soon as he saw her, his jaw-dropping practically to the floor as soon he saw her. "Wow. You look beautiful, Kae."

Her face turned as red as her dress as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Grabbing her clutch, she tried to rush out of there as quickly as possible, "Can we just go? I don't need everyone fawning over me, I just wanna get to this dance."

"Whatever you want, princess," Beth linked arms with Kaelyn and ushered her out of the apartment while Peter followed behind, still in awe of his girlfriend in front of her. "Let's get this party on the road, bitches!"

The energy from Beth calmed slightly once they were in the car with Peter's aunt, which lead to some awkward silence as she tried to make them hype. After a very awkward drive, she finally dropped them off at Liz Allan's house. Beth clutched the corsage she got nervously in her hands as they all walked up to the front door, but still letting Beth take the lead while they stood behind her. She raised her hand to knock on the door and in a moment, it opened. Kaelyn froze when she saw the man who opened the door. Of course, since nothing could ever go right for Kaelyn, the man her and Peter had been hunting, the leader of all of this. It was the Vulture, Adrian Toomes. Kaelyn had been wondering where she recognized the villain from when they were fighting him and now she knew. Of course, her perfect night had to come to a crashing end.

"You must be the girl my Liz has told me so much about, come on in all of you," Adrian opened the door, his gaze lingering on Peter and Kaelyn much longer than he should have. Nothing was going to ever go easy for her, were they? "Why do you kids look so tense? Loosen up, you're going to a dance. Liz is almost ready, she'll be down in a moment."

They all waited awkwardly in the kitchen while Liz's mom made an awkward conversation with an increasingly nervous Beth. Kaelyn remembered feeling that nervous around Peter and meeting the parents before anything was even official was rough.

Kaelyn gave her best friend her moment with the girl she had a crush on while she and Peter stood off to the side. She wanted her best friend to have this moment. If she couldn't have this perfect night, she hoped at least Beth could.

"You kids ready to go?" Adrian jingled his keys while all the kids looked in his direction. They nodded and all tried to usher themselves out of the house.

The redhead didn't know if she had it in her to deal with another awkward car ride. It was twenty minutes of pure silence. Kaelyn pulled her phone out of her clutch and began texting Peter, hoping for some comfort. Can you tell me this isn't happening? That everything is gonna be okay?

Peter saw her text and pulled out his phone as well, I already texted Tony and am trying to get in contact so we can have our night. This is happening, but we are going to be okay.

I really do not want this to be happening, Peter, please.

He looked over at her softly, offering her a small, but nervous smile before texting her back, Everything will be okay.

Once they arrived at the school, Kaelyn breathed a sigh of relief. Liz and Beth began to exit the car, but once the other couple attempted to leave he stopped them.

Toomes turned around, his expression intimidating, "Does she know?"

"Know what?" Peter asked, sparing nervous glances over at Kaelyn who looked equally shaken.

The man's expression darkened and it caused a dark, creeping feeling to seep into Kaelyn's bones. Sternly, he spoke, "Peter, Kaelyn, nothing is more important than family. You saved my daughter's life. I could never forget something like that. So I'm gonna give you one chance. Are you ready? You walk through those doors, you forget any of this happened. And don't you ever, ever interfere with my business again. Because if you do, I'll kill you and everybody you love. I'll kill you dead. That's what I'll do to protect my family. Do you understand?"

"Sir, I don't understand what I have to do with this, I have no idea what you're talking about," Kaleyn attempted, mustering as much confused shakiness as she could into her voice in order to play the part of a scared teen. To be fair, she was already a scared teen so that really lent itself to the role.

"Don't play dumb, Kaelyn, I saw you tailing us just like the kid was. Recognize a bright red ponytail anywhere, especially one that's been on the cheer team with my daughter since they were six." Kaelyn gulped at his words. "I'm giving you one chance. No games. Walk out of here, stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours. What do you say?" Both kids nodded and Toomes smiled sickeningly, "Hey, I just saved your life. What are you gonna say?"

Both of them look at each other, then up at Toomes. "Thank you," Peter says with an anxious swallow.

"You're welcome. Now go in there and have a good time, okay? Just not too good."

Both kids practically fell out of the car in their attempts to get out of there as fast as they possibly could. As soon as they were out and in the cool New York air, Peter pulled Kaelyn into a hug. He was almost suffocating with how tightly he was holding her, but she was holding back just as tight.

"We're okay, Kae, we're okay," Peter whispered in her ear. Neither of them wanted to let go, so Kaelyn allowed herself to take it all in. They were off scot-free. Nothing was going to ruin this night any further and she could breathe again. That was all that mattered.

As they entered the dance, Kaelyn could almost forget about the previous events. She had to remind herself of Peter's text: Everything will be okay. And it will. They were able to meet back up with Beth and Liz, who both looked concerned.

"What was that about?" Liz asked innocently, her brows furrowed with confusion and a trace of worry. "What would he want to say to both of you?"

Kaelyn was already coming up with some lie in her mind to tell her friends, her first thought was to claim that Liz's dad just wanted them to make sure she stayed out of trouble, but Peter next to her had his own plan and she wasn't sure she liked it.

He looked sorrowfully at Kaelyn before saying, "I gotta go, I'm sorry. Kaelyn, you don't deserve this."

Without another word, he runs out of the gym, leaving a confused and hurt Kaelyn behind along with her friends.

"What the hell was that about?" Beth asked, craning her neck in order to see what that was all about. Kaelyn looked at her friends and then the direction Peter ran off in, looking desperate and lost. "It's okay, Kae, just go. Call me if you need anything and I'll be there in a heartbeat. Go, I love you."

Kaelyn looked from her best friend to Liz, and back to Beth, "Thank you. I love you, too." Before running off in the direction Peter went.

She's already too late when she gets to the parking lot and Peter is already engaged in battle with one of Toomes' cronies. Ned is there waiting, attempting to get what looks like a web shooter to Peter. She looks and he is wearing his old suit, or at least, that's what she thinks it is even though it looks much more along the lines of pajamas, but times were tough.

"Kaelyn!" Ned exclaims as he launches the web shooter, almost getting distracted and missing his shot.

"Uh, my name's Peter, not Kaelyn," Peter exclaims as he uses a web blast to keep his attacker stuck to a school bus, "but nice shot! Ned, the guy with the wings is Liz's dad. I gotta tell Mr. Stark. Call Happy Hogan. He's Mr. Stark's head of security. And uh, get a computer to track my phone for me."

"Peter!" Kaelyn shouts, walking out into the parking lot still in her dress and heels with a slight tear starting to fall down her face, "You couldn't give me just one night?"

The boy stopped suddenly, meeting eyes with her. His attacker subdued, he was able to walk up to her and take a moment to say, "I'm sorry, Kaelyn, you deserve a night where you can dance and have fun with your friends. Please, go back inside and have that night, I can take care of this. Have your night, you deserve that. What you don't deserve is me ruining things for you so please just go back inside and this whole thing will be over tomorrow. Then it's just back to friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, I promise. This will all be over."

Kaelyn drew in a deep breath, tucking a piece of hair covering her eye behind her ear. She huffed and crossed her arms, wanting to scream so many different things, but instead, she looked at Peter in the eyes and cupped his face with one hand. "You are such a colossal dumbass if you think there is any way I am letting you do this alone."

"Kae-" he began, but whatever he was going to say drifted off as soon as he looked into her eyes. Some part of him had to know there was no way she was going to give this up. She would never give anything up if it meant putting Peter's life at risk. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed and caved, "Hurry up, we gotta catch him before he leaves town."

I kind of wanted to include the entire ending in one long ass chapter and then have an after the fact part in the next and final chapter, but with almost 3000 words this seemed like a good place to end it where I wasn't cramming you guys with way too much information and scene changes in one chapter so instead I'm splitting it into two chapters and the last chapter will just be pretty long as well! ngl this is probably the longest chapter I've written for this story which is crazy to think that I originally had 5-6 chapters left of this story but I ultimately decided that it wouldn't be good because it would just be like four filler chapters where I would be struggling to reach 1000 words so I just thought it would be best to shorten it and then give you guys long, quality chapters! also, if you're worried about Peter and Kaelyn's story ending, it's not! I have a sequel planned that will be posted the day the final chapter of this book goes up! Their story will have three books as well as spin-offs for Liz, Ned, and other spiderverse characters that will eventually lend itself to a whole Marvel series I have planned so I've got big things for these two coming up! sorry for the super long author's note I've got lots of info for you guys! One last thing: if you want updates on my stories, extra info about my characters, writing livestreams, and me ranting about wattpad never functioning, check out my wattpad insta! it's @/cieopatras.wp! Okay okay, I'm done for real! If you read all of this, go you!