𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐃, 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐁𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏. He hadn't taken too long, and he later explained that, as soon as he saw the message, he had headed over, but it had been some time after Phoebe sent the message that he had actually read it, and she was far too tired to stay awake long after the nurse was finished checking up on her and asking the routine questions. Lying down had helped tremendously, and while there was still some pressure in her temples, it wasn't the same stabbing feeling that she had experienced back in Physics class.

When she awoke, Sonny had only been sitting for a few minutes, reading his emails on his phone. When he saw she was awake, he pocketed the device, giving her a smile. "Who knew education could be so lethal, Sunshine?"

Phoebe groaned, starting to sit up in the cot, but the man immediately rushed to her side, stopping her with his large hands. "Woah, careful there, Sunny. Are you okay?"

She paused for a moment, thinking over his question, glancing up towards the ceiling as she surveyed herself. The pain in her temples had completely disappeared, and she didn't feel any discomfort from the blanket still beneath her; nothing more than the kind she usually would have on any other day. It seemed that a nap was all she needed.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm honestly feeling perfect," she said, reaching her arms out towards him in a silent plea, grinning when he relented, standing up and bending over, carrying her in his arms, "But can I just go with you? I don't think I can last through the day."

"That's why I'm here, Sunny," he said, picking up her backpack and slinging it over his shoulder, resting the teenager on his hip, "The ladies at the office said it's lunchtime for you anyways, so we can just pick you up something to eat. I'm gonna be late anyways, so might as well skip it entirely."

Phoebe frowned, remembering what her father had mentioned that morning. "Wait, your story! No, it's okay, you should go do it."

"No, Sunny, I gotta get you back and home and situated. Maybe if I rush I can make it just before it starts, then I can just do a quick scan of the rest of the place for exposition before I leave. Now, what are you hungry for?" he asked, smiling over to the nurse as they headed out, Phoebe only then feeling self-conscious about being carried.

"Can't we eat after your thing?" she asked, tugging at his shirt collar the way Gabriel had tugged on hers, "Seriously, Sonny, I don't want you to miss it. Just take me with you, we can eat afterwards."

Sonny frowned, looking at her. "Sunny, the nurse said you screamed from the pain, that doesn't sound good."

"It was just a headache, that's all, come on, Sonny, I'm fine. Please, I won't do anything intense, I can just take a nap, even, I want you to go to your thing. I'm feeling better, but I'd feel a lot worse if I made you miss it," she reasoned, giving him her best puppy dog eyes, and whether or not they were good, something seemed to break him.

Sonny sighed, shaking his head. "Okay, Sunny, but the second you don't feel good, we're heading straight back. And you can't go on your phone, you just take a nap on our way there. 'Sides, there's gonna be some traffic."

She grinned, wrapping her arms around him, feeling rather exposed, her legs bare, her shorts only being able to be seen from the way Sonny was holding her, making sure that she wouldn't slip. "Where's your thing at, Sonny?"

The man laughed as they exited the building, heading towards the parking lot where his car waited. "It's a science presentation, Sunny," he explained, setting her down to open the door for her, finishing once he climbed into the driver's seat.

"It's in Queens."

º º º

The drive to Queens wasn't horrendous, but the traffic gave the two more than enough time to chat. Sonny hadn't been interested in talking at first, wanting Phoebe to sleep to make sure that she would be okay, but having just taken a nap, she was energized and unable to go back to sleep, only laughing when Sonny threatened to turn the car around despite their being caught in traffic.

"—so Uncle J said that I just have to let John be mad for a little bit, but he'll get over it soon."

Sonny nodded as Phoebe regaled to him the tale of how her older brother—or nephew, as Sonny knew it—had yelled at her over a Skype call they had a few days prior. It had been rather painful at the time, and she hadn't wanted to talk to him about it, especially since her father was always within general earshot—not to mention she was still afraid of getting Sonny in trouble again—but now in the safety of his rather messy car, all bets were off.

"I hear that space can make people pretty stir crazy," Sonny said, tapping his fingers against the wheel as the car inched forward in the traffic.

"Yeah, that's why astronauts have to be nerds, or else they'll take everything too seriously and go insane," she said, ignoring Sonny's bark of laughter, "And I get that it sucks, being stuck in space while your best friend goes down to get married while you pretend that you're not in love with them, but I don't see why he has to take it out on me. He's not usually like that."

"I'm sorry, Sunny, that sucks, and him being hurt isn't any excuse to lash out at you, but try to cut him some slack, he's heartbroken right now. He's hurting, but he's got no one to talk to or, at least, hug him. You've got your uncle—his dad—and me if you're sad and need to cry, but all he's got is space and a bunch of people he can't tell about his crush 'cause he's afraid they'll tell, just like you said," the reporter reasoned, and Phoebe knew he was right, and she did feel terribly for John, but the memory of his yelling still hurt.

"Yeah. I mean, it's gotta be hard not having his dad around, especially since he grew up with just his dad for most of his life," she agreed, feeling all the more sympathetic as she thought about John staring out into the expanse of space with no one but himself to hug.

"And he doesn't have a me," Sonny added, poking her cheek, "It's gotta suck, you know? Everyone else have to find new people in their lives to hug them. But you? You're always gonna have a Sonny."

Phoebe smiled, tilting her head as she looked at him. "Always?"

He took his eyes off the road for a moment, still stuck in traffic, and caught her eye, nodding sincerely. "Always."

Phoebe tried not to squeal, her heart fluttering and stomach churning, and she couldn't seem to stop grinning, but it could easily pass as joy that the traffic was clearing up and they were starting to move, which was why Sonny was cheering next to her.

They fell into a brief silence, unsure of how to continue on after their little moment, but Phoebe was able to find a new topic to talk about as she glanced over at the phone he was using as a GPS, seeing that they were getting closer to their destination.

"What's the presentation about?" she asked, looking around, in case they would have an issue finding a parking space.

Sonny sighed heavily, as if it pained him to have to explain, and Phoebe furrowed her brow, tilting her head as she waited for him, too focused to notice the school bus parked that the entrance of the lot. Sonny avoided her gaze, just searching for a parking space, but when she didn't waver, he relented.

"It's a sponsored presentation about the safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste," he explained, pulling into an open space, groaning as he rested his forehead against his steering wheel, "Don't try to apologize, Sunny, it's not your fault."

Phoebe shook her head, feeling utterly awful as she stared at him. "Yeah it is, Sonny, I'll talk to my uncle once I get home, that's not fair! This is the most boring thing ever, this is what they give the new reporters, not you."

Sonny shook his head, moving to sit back in his seat. "Your uncle made it clear, Sonny, this was what I was gonna get no matter what, not until I get full clearance from my doctor, so it's not as if this is because of the gummy worms. Seriously, don't feel bad about it."

"I'm gonna feel bad about it, 'cause he said that you're benched even after you get full clearance, and this is actually the worst thing ever. You used to do the cool crime stories, Sonny, what is this?" she demanded, trying to point in the general direction of the building, but only succeeding in hitting her hand against the window.

"It's the New York Hall of Science," Sonny replied, reading out the sign at the top of the building, and she glowered at him.

When it was clear that she wasn't finding any of it funny, Sonny unbuckled, turning to face her, holding out his hands, and she relented, placing hers in his, something they always did when he saw she was upset.

She avoided eye contact, just staring at his hands. They were always softer than she expected, her hands more calloused than his, and he always commented that he'd be happy to switch with her, but while Phoebe had no interest, she still loved trying to fit her whole hand in his palm, Sonny laughing when they would measure the difference, bending his fingers over her own.

"You can't blame yourself for something like this, Phoebe, it'll kill you," he said, and his lips twitched into the ghost of a smile when she looked up, startled at the use of her real name, "You can't take responsibility for things you can't control. Feel however you need to, but you gotta move on. Yeah, we got in trouble, but that was both of us, and you apologized and made up for it. That's all you can do. No one wants you to kill yourself over a mistake. People get better, they change, that's kind of the whole gig. You can't take on the whole world, then hate yourself for being one person."

Phoebe frowned, looking back down at their hands, shaking her head. "But if you can do something about it, you should."

"You should try," Sonny corrected, squeezing her hands, "And you should try your best, if you can, and if you fail, it's okay. You can't beat yourself up if you fail. And you're right that you should try if you can do something about it, but never blame yourself for something that you can't control."

"But if I can—" she started, and he interrupted her, holding both of her hands in one of his, the other lightly touching her chin, lifting her gaze up to hold his own.

"Phoebe," he said, his tone firm, but kind, "You can try your best, but things don't always turn out the way you want. You can do all you can, but people will still die, and maybe it is on you. Maybe you could've done more. Maybe if you had just done something different. But you can't. All you can do is try to make up for it and move on living. You can care, you should care, but there's a fine line between caring and carrying. You care for the situation, you don't carry the burden. If you let it consume you, then you miss the whole point. Promise me, okay, you find the balance."

Sonny had never spoken like this. Phoebe didn't know much of his childhood, nothing more than what he had told her, but the desperation in his eyes made her wonder what he had gone through to have these words prepared.

Despite her questions, she let the words sink in, her mind supplying memories and thoughts that the message could stick to, softening the feelings of guilt and helplessness and remorse; it didn't fix anything, but it helped her move on; as much as she could in the moment, which wasn't much, but it was a start.

Sonny must have seen a shift, as he smiled, relaxing slightly as he moved to hold her hands in both of his again, squeezing once more before pulling away, clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair, giving her a weak smile with more heart than energy.

Phoebe glanced towards the building, then over to Sonny, tilting her head and giving him the special smile that she generally reserved for her father. "Should we go inside now?"

Sonny smiled, glancing towards the clock in the car, humming. "We've actually got a few minutes before it starts. Come on, Sunny, I gotta get set up."

The two climbed out of the car, Sonny locking it as he walked, Phoebe rushing to keep up with him, the man taking far longer strides than he typically did when he was with her, too focused on his job to remember that he was taller than the average person.

"We're probably gonna need to hang around the place just so I can get some kind of overview, but the important part is the presentation, and no one's going to read this so my word count is minuscule," the man explained, and Phoebe nodded, only partly paying attention, focusing more on whether or not she was going to have to acclimate to the noise.

"Oh wow, there's a school," Sonny said, the two entering the building, already finding the area where the presentation was going to be held.

Along the far wall was a stage with items hidden underneath tarps with General Techtronics Laboratories East printed along the front. There were people gathered around the front of the stage, and Phoebe recognized some of her freshman year teachers rounding up a few teenagers rushing back into the main room, clutching their backpacks tightly.

"It's my school," Phoebe added, her eyes wide, and she felt her stomach turn for reasons that she couldn't quite place, "I really don't want to be seen here."

Sonny placed a hand on her shoulder, leading her towards the group, glancing around. "Well, we're gonna have to hang back here anyways, I can't really shove my way through a bunch of kids for this. But if you want, you can also sit over on the bench, but either way, no one's gonna see you, Sunny."

As if on cue, the universe decided that Phoebe wasn't going to have the easy afternoon she had hoped for.

"Phoebe?"

The two turned around to find Perry-Paul Parker standing right next to her, clutching his backpack straps nervously, trying to give her a smile. His hair had been neatly gelled that morning, but was now out of place, most likely from running his hands through his hair, and behind his slipping glasses were bright eyes that seemed to dart around the whole room before landing back on her.

"Hey," she greeted, not wanting to seem rude in front of Sonny whom she looked towards for help, "I didn't know there was a field trip today."

"Yeah, it's for the freshman class," he explained, looking towards the crowd, standing on his tiptoes in an attempt to see, "It's really cool, you know, they're a private company, but they're trying to help with better clean-up and waste disposal when it comes to collateral damage when it comes to superheroes, which could really help with taxes and environment and relocating people and stuff..."

He trailed off, as if realizing that he was rambling, and he tapped his fingers against the strap of his backpack before shoving one hand into his pocket, fiddling with something inside that Phoebe couldn't see.

At least, she expected not to see it, but when she followed his movements down to his pocket, she was shocked to find that she could see through the fabric of his jeans, catching sight of the cube he fiddled with, his thumb pressing against buttons.

But her vision blurred as quickly as it had cleared, and she was back to only seeing his jeans, but she startled back, falling into Sonny who was watching them with a bemused expression, his eyes darting between the two of them, though he immediately caught her, shocked back to reality.

"Phoebe, are you okay?" Perry-Paul asked, the cube falling out of his pocket as he shot both arms out, as if to catch her, only to pull away when he saw Sonny's hands, as if just acknowledging him for the first time.

Phoebe nodded, blinking furiously as she reached down to pick up his cube, handing it over quickly, running her thumb over the buttons that Perry-Paul had been pressing when she saw through his jeans. She couldn't help but stare at it for a moment, not responding to Sonny who was trying to get her attention.

It had been so long since she had been able to see through things. She had forgotten how. She hadn't been in able to, not since she realized she had to leave. There was no way that she could've done it just then.

"Phoebe."

Finally, she startled back to reality, handing the cube back to the freshman without another glance, blinking as she tried to find her voice. "I'm good, sorry, I just..."

She trailed off, unsure of what else to say, but then a water bottle was being held out to her, Perry-Paul's brows furrowed in concern. "You should probably drink some water. You can just hold onto that, I can get it back from you at the end of the presentation if you're still here..." he trailed off, glancing over at Sonny, then rushed to add, "Or I can just get it back from you in class. Or you can just keep it, uh, whatever you want, really."

Sonny laughed at that, Perry-Paul turning pink as he rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head. "I'll make sure she gives it back to you before you get back on the bus, kid. Uh...wait, what's your name again?"

"P-Peter. Peter Parker?" he stammered, sounding unsure, and Phoebe nearly spit out the water she was trying to swallow.

"I'm Sonny," the man introduced, holding his hand out towards the younger boy, "Thanks for your help, Peter Parker."

"Yeah, sure," Peter said, ducking his head again before looking at Phoebe who raised her eyebrows in silent thanks, still drinking her water.

He looked over towards the large crowd, standing on his tiptoes, sighing when he failed to see the stage. "Shoot, I think my friend Ned is up front. It's supposed to be short people in the front, and I mean, I'm almost there, but I don't think I can get to him now."

"I got you covered there, Pete. C'mon, I'll be your bodyguard," Sonny said, squeezing Phoebe's shoulder in silent question as he moved towards the startled looking young man who seemed to cower as the man drew closer to him.

"I can survive without you," Phoebe said, waving Sonny off, wondering if she truly could, "Thanks for the water, Per—Peter."

"N-no problem, Phoebe. I'll see you later," he said, waving at her, glancing up towards Sonny who started leading him into the crowd, the giant of a man calling for people to make room, smiling as he explained that it was short people in the front and that, once he got this kid up front, he'd make his way to the back of the room, which earned a few laughs.

Phoebe sighed softly, holding the water bottle in her hand. She wasn't interested in the presentation and, after what had happened, she felt it would be best to tell Gabriel; there wasn't much he could do, but having someone else aware would make her feel better.

Walking towards the edge of the room, she kept her eyes trained on the benches that were pressed against the cream colored walls, and just as she was about to lie down—no one else was there, so she felt comfortable spreading out—the wall became translucent, showing part of what was on the other side, the exhibit and people appearing right before her eyes.

Phoebe stumbled, falling onto the bench, hitting the wall as she lied down, and the solid cream color returned, filling her vision as she gasped for breath, trying to see past it again, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing happened.

She wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved.

Setting the water bottle on the ground, she pulled out her phone, frowning as she began to type, texting Gabriel about what was happening, the pads of her fingers feeling strange as she typed against the glass, catching on the part of her screen protector that was cracked, giving her the faint feeling of minute cuts that became unbearable in ways that it typically wouldn't have ever been.

The fingers holding her phone above her head started to feel as uncomfortable as they did when feeling manila envelopes, the texture of her silicone phone case rubbing and catching the way bars of soap made her hands feel, and she soon gave up trying to explain to him what happened, dropping her phone and rubbing her fingers against her sports shorts, pulling at the sides of her button-up.

She closed her eyes, just trying to breathe, but the white noise of the entire room soon came back into focus just as microphone feedback reverberated through the speakers, Phoebe stifling a scream as she felt her entire body shake, her teeth throbbing long after the feedback subsided and the presentation continued.

She shuddered, curling in on herself as she tried to discern whether she felt hot or cold, shivering as she turned to lie on her side, the lights far too bright for her to handle whether or not her eyes were open. She pressed her palms against her eyes, her eyelashes scratching against her skin, and she could count the individual lashes if she focused hard enough, though she stopped herself before she could actually start.

The noise of the room started to grow louder and she fought to keep breathing as it grew to the point where she couldn't decipher between the various whispers and conversations that milled amongst the expansive room, and she could feel the throbbing in her temples and chest, not just her teeth, and the sounds coming from the presenter shook her entire body to the point where she couldn't breathe without struggling.

She didn't know how long it continued on like that, growing lightheaded due to lack of oxygen, her teeth throbbing and feeling as though she was being stabbed in her temples, the noise overpowering to the point where she could hardly hear because her ears were ringing, and she didn't know what was happening, but there was no way she could find anyone to help her now.

It was sometime throughout the noise that her ears popped, and she didn't know what happened, but she missed out on the two voices crying out in pain, Peter Parker's water bottle being stolen from right under her, and the presentation ending with only the school still being forced to pay attention, everyone far too disinterested to stay for long, save for Sonny who was recording it to save having to take notes.

She missed the way Sonny started calling her name, walking with Peter Parker to get his water bottle, and the way the man started screaming when he saw her motionless body on the bench, eyes open and unresponsive, blood pouring from her ears, nose, and mouth. Missed the way Peter Parker immediately called an ambulance while running over to help, using his jacket sleeves to help stop the bleeding, hands shaking as he tried to talk to the operator, only to shove it into a shouting Sonny's hands, unable to focus enough to speak.

She didn't register the light being shined in her eyes from the doctor who had been in the building, or the sound of the ambulance approaching, or Sonny calling her father to explain what was happening, climbing into his car to follow after Peter Parker promised to stay with her, ignoring the calls from his teachers to get back on the bus, the freshman clutching the straps of his backpack as he walked alongside paramedics, Sonny tripping over his feet to get into his car and follow right behind.

She didn't come to until she was being loaded into the back, the lights bright, but different, and the muffled, as if underwater, her vision being filled by the silhouette of someone peering over her, crying out in words that didn't make any sense, but were as human as they could get.

"—responsive," she heard a woman call, but that was all she understood, fading in and out of focus, and she didn't even know that her eyes had been open the whole time, but she couldn't, for the life of her, close them all the way.

She tried to speak, but found that her mouth was filled with blood, and she started to cough, choking and spluttering, and the paramedic in the back helped her spit and blow her nose, Phoebe struggling to breathe.

She faded back to nothing before she could ask where Sonny was, or call her father, or notice the way Peter Parker was staring at her with wide, terrified eyes, as he tried to unstick his arm from the wall of the ambulance, feeling just as sick as she did.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄

( 07.11.17 ; 07.29.19 )

R.I.P. Perry-Paul Parker ( 07.15.19 - 07.29.19 )

I thought we were off to a really good start, though I'm not quite sure about the end of the chapter, but I really do like how I'm writing Sonny and Phoebe's relationship, there's a lot more depth to it, I think, and I wanted to showcase more of his three-dimensional personality since he's a really important person in Phoebe's life and her story.

I'm also really happy with the way I wrote the last sentence, because Peter did just get bitten, so he really shouldn't be with her, but instead be realizing his Spidey powers, but he's a good soul and he would've ridden with her, so I decided to find a clever way to have him figure it all out, especially since they're in Queens and he'll be able to get home faster than if he was all the way back in Manhattan, and so it's all gonna work out, it's fine, I may or may not explain it, you'll see.

Anyways, that's really all I have to say, I'm having a really fun time rewriting this and I really hope that we see it through to the finish line this time around.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!