( CHAPTER TWENTY ! )

( QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS )

°

Most people asked questions because they wanted to answer them.

It sounded super egotistical when it was put like that but it was the truth. What is your favorite movie? Oh, mine is... It always went like that. People liked talking about themselves which was not inherently a bad thing. If there was an argument going on, instead of listening to the others, people tended to think about what they were going to say next. It was what it was.

Surely Colin did those things sometimes but in a larger scale, he differed from ordinary people when it came down to basic small talk. Colin did not enjoy sharing facts about himself and when there was a person he was not entirely comfortable with, he became awfully quiet. He usually asked questions to take the spot light off of himself, he enjoyed listening more than speaking as well.

He felt exposed when he spoke too much. He constantly wondered, are they actually intesrested? There was always doubt as well, the fact that any knowledge can be used against him. Since he was quiet and mostly gloomy, people tended to talk behind his back anyway. He did not bother to change their minds.

That was before, though. Midtown High had proved itself to be different.

For the first time in a long time, Colin had proper friends other than his little brother. He went out sometimes, he had Sam and Flash. He had Gwen. He even had Michelle, to some extent. And of course, there was Peter- who may or may not be something more than friends, at least in Colin's eyes.

Before Queens, if Colin had a bad day, he would just walk around with a blank face and he wouldn't talk. He would stay in his room, Cory would try to check in but would leave him alone eventually.

Now, he wasn't able to do that.

Its been awhile since he had locked himself in his room. Since they had moved here, he was either too busy or he was in a good mood. Cory picked up on his distress in no time and trying to talk Cory about their sister might have been the hardest conversation Colin ever had to have.

The worse part was that Cory was happy that Cassie was back. It sucked that he was not able to share the enthusiasm and he was not able to bring himself to ruin Cory's happiness with the reality of the situation either. His anger was right under his skin, ready to tear him apart but he had to hold it together for Cory.

He felt abandoned and betrayed, he felt remorseful and he felt angry. He felt all of those things for the sister he had missed and resented so much for years.

It was natural that he had a lot to process after meeting with Cassie with Cory in tow. He had spent all of his weekend in his room after that, only coming down to eat and check up on Cory to disappear again. After isolating himself for too long, even staying away from his phone to only watch old episodes of Doctor Who to keep himself entertained, he got an immediate headache when Cory stepped into his room with a sheepish smile.

"Don't be mad."

That was a starter for a disaster, you see why he got a headache, right?

"What did you do?"

"I just added him on instagram," Cory started, Colin tried to sit up in his bed and held on to his blanket as if it would shield him from whats to come. "The rest came naturally. Long in short, I invited Peter over and he is waiting your permission to come up-"

"Cory! I was already going to-"

"Peter, you can come up! Bring the chocolate as well," Cory yelled vaguely towards the stairs, shrugging a little. "Sorry, I love you."

Seriously, when did his little brother became a manipulative mastermind?

In all honesty, he was not even mad, its been days since he had been pitying himself in his bed with his laptop glued to his lap. Maybe he did need an intervention but still, he would've preferred to do this on his own terms.

First he saw very familiar curls and than, Peter was peaking inside the room, looking unsure with a bar of chocolate in hand. "Ugh, so, Cory let me in."

"I'm awere," Colin said dryly, and kept on clinging on to his blanket. "I was actually going to call you-"

"I'm sorry for coming unannounced-"

They both stopped midsentece once their words overlapped, Peter chuckled a little at that as he stepped inside and took a few hesistant steps towards his bed.

"We do this a lot. Speak over each other," Peter said and Colin moved a little in bed to give Peter room to sit comfortably on the bed.

He hummed in agreement at Peter's words. That was the first time Colin had noticed that they tended to do that a lot. Usually, Colin never had that kind of a problem since he was usually the listening part in a conversation but with Peter, even basic conversation was something else.

"You make me talkative for some reason," he blurred out, cheeks heating up slightly. It was the truth and see- the case in point, Colin was more likely to speak his mind around the boy which was unnerving to say the very least.

Thankfully, Peter did not question it further and only scratched the back of his head, shifting slightly on the bed. "Um. Flash approached me today and spoke to me like a normal person. Thats a first. He asked me about you and all, maybe you should call him back."

It was not like him to miss the school after all. It was simply about the fact that the weekend hadn't been long enough and he had just needed an extra day to lay low.

Alright, maybe he should've just checked his phone earlier. "Thats interesting and I will call him."

The tension was weighting on his shoulders, pressing him down on his bed that he hadn't been able to properly leave for days anyway. He fingers dug into his blanket and he watched Peter who were watching his hands to avoid starting a conversation.

Although Colin was more likely to tlak and blurt out what's on mind, he still didn't know how to say the things he wanted to say.

I want to tell you all.

Or,

I couldn't sleep well and thought about you.

Or,

I don't know how to deal with my feelings.

The list went on but the words did not come out, his fears were gripping him tight by the throat- so he settled down for letting his actions speak for himself.

He moved slightly to the right to give Peter more room on the bed, pulling the covers up on the empty to side to welcome Peter in. A wave of confusion appeared on Peter's face and his eyes went back on forth between Colin and the empty space on the bed but he didn't say anything.

Smart boy.

He took his shoes off and got under the blanket, practically sitting on the bed with his back against the wall. Colin edged closer to Peter and got rid of the space Peter had left between them, it felt nice to feel Peter right by his side and he relaxed a little, letting the tension out and resting his head against Peter's shoulder.

He didn't feel the tight grip on his throat anymore, it didn't have to be so complicated all he time, right? He could just let go with him. "Its actually nice to have you here."

"Yeah?" The surprise in Peter's voice made him smile.

"Yeah. I'm really tired and my father won't be home until late. He is constantly away lately anyway," Colin stated, pausing before continuing with a lower tone. "You can stay or whatever."

Peter shifted after that, forcing Colin to look up since his head on Peter' s shoulder had also moved, narrowing his eyes at Peter's smile.

"Are you saying what I think you are saying? Colin Archer and a proper sleepover? Woah."

Colin chuckled and rolled his eyes at Peter who was grinning like a shark. "Shut up."

"You know I cannot do that, being silent  is not my striking personality trade. I'm more of an awkwardly rambling guy."

It was easy to do this with Peter, playful banter and easy laughs, lazy afternoons with blankets, hot chocolate and cookies- sweet and comfortable. Sometimes he forgot that he was suppose to let go og things and have fun like any other teenager and sure-Peter was not thw ordinary example of a fifteen years old with his alter ego but still, he reminded Colin to live a little.

Colin planned on staying up all night discussing Spider-Man related problems (according to the Gellers, there was a crooked cop for sure, maybe several) and surprisingly, finding the words to talk about his sister. It was such a cathartic experience after keeping it to himself for years but as he spoke about his childhood, only good memories with his sister came up. Even that was enough for the day as they Colin talked about the fact that Cassie was suppose to get married at the end of the summer and how much she was willing to reconnect with her siblings.

Colin was not able to share everything because simply, he hadn't processed it all. In no way he was ready to welcome his sister with open arms but he was at a point where he could acknowledge the fact that she was barely eighteen when she left. She had left to take the matters in her own hand and build life on her own, without their father. It was something he could symphatize with, only he could never leave Cory behind.

Their conversation mostly stayed on topics related to Spider-Man, brainstorming on possible solutions to include Colin without putting him in danger.

Colin had planned to stay up all night to make most of it, yet, that had failed. He didn't even remember when he fell asleep but surely it wasn't that late. Nevertheless, he was not disappointed (okay, only a little) that he had fallen asleep on his guest, he needed a good night sleep and he slept peacefully, having Peter by his side.

.

That week, Cory and Colin met with Cassie for a couple of times, since she had to go back to take her finals, she had limited time.

It was akward on Colin's part and it didn't get easier, he got angry and snappy when she talked about how well she was doing or how much she loved his boyfriend. At the same time, he felt good when she got all sisterly like she used to, it was good to be at the receiving end of parenting and care for a change.

At least Cory was having a good time getting to know his sister, since he shared less memories with Cassie compared to Colin, he was more enthusiastic about the whole situation.

Spending time with Cassie made his interactions with his father noticeably tenser though. Casey had never spoken her name ever since she left for college with a bang, turning her back on his shouts that she could never come back.

Their dad had been too embarrased by the fact that his own daughter couldn't stand him that they had changed towns. It had been rocky times for the Archer house hold but after that, their dad had became more distant and obssesed with his job- which had been nice, really.

Cory felt the tension in the house and stayed close to Colin most of the time. That day was not an exception as they came back from saying goodbye to Cassie for the time being.

Colin was not too worried for coming home late since his father was constantly out lately, he was actually reading Peter's texts and smiling while Cory was struggling with the keys to open the door.

parker: stopped a robbery again, i'm getting cooler

Don't get cocky on me. Your ego is already big.

parker:  that's a LIE

also, there is indeed a bad cop, i found a badge on the scene

do you think i can pull of being a fake cop or...?

There was not a single day where Colin was baffled by the fact that Peter was out there doing heroic things where he was a literal child.

Maybe he tripped over himself as he entered the door because he was tok buay texting and maybe he missed the knowing smirk on Cory's face. There was no way he would admit to those things so he was fine.

The only thing that broke his trance with his phone was his father's voice coming from the kitchen and alarms started ringing in his ears.

"Go upstairs. I'll talk to him," he stated with a clenched jaw and Cory went without any objections.

Colin lingered around the entrance, trying to feel the mood his dad was in by his voice. It was hushed and he was talking fast so Colin didn't get much, he moved closer to the kitchen door to hear better.

As he got closer, his father's voice got louder as well, words coming out with fire and dripping venom.

"The badge won't be a problem, okay? And I will deal with Spider-Man, just let me handle it."

Colin felt like the world was spinning faster as he lost the sense of a centre.

Technically, Colin knew his father had his moments where he was not the ideal person, sometimes he was a bit too cruel and rude, sometimes he raised his voice too much and became controlling. But no one wanted to admit that their parents where capable of awful things.

Colin did not want to admit to himself that his father was capable of being that crooked cop they had been looking for. His hands shook and his knees felt like giving out, millions of little clues right in front of his eyes flashed in his mind and there was no doubt in his mind.

He needed to talk to Peter.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

for some reason this was so hard to write. i feel a bit uninspired for this story but the next chapter won't take long (and it may or may not include irondad)

i'm seriously grateful for all the reads and votes but i can use some feedback (since its lacking esp compared to reads & votes). let me know what you think :)