tuesday 1st of march 2016

Peter was incredibly irritable at school the next day. He hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night and had forgotten about his physics homework and ended up having to do it in the library during recess. J.D stayed in there to help him, but she wasn't actually that good at physics. She sat with him, procrastinating instead of doing her history assignment due at the end of the day, picking at her nails. 

Peter let out a loud groan and let his head fall onto the table. "I hate everything." 

"I feel you, brother." She muttered, her eyes closed as she reclined in her chair. Peter turned his head and sent her a look before sighing heavily. J.D opened one eye and looked over at him. "Chill, Pete. You've only got two questions left."

"I know, but then we've got this stupid Health assignment due soon and an English essay due next Monday," Peter stressed, "how can you expect me to chill?!"

"Wow, I haven't even thought to start my essay." J.D replied, closing her eyes again. "I usually just leave everything as late as I can until I regret it and tell myself not to do it again."

"But you still do it." Peter stated, and J.D grinned. 

"Absolutely." She responded and placed her hands behind her head. "The bell's gonna ring soon, I'd finish that if I were you."

Peter rolled his eyes and picked up his pencil again, beginning to scribble down numbers and letters. 

+++

Come doused in mud, soaked in bleach -- As I want you to be--

"Hello?" J.D answered without looking at her Caller I.D. She was walking down the street dressed in a pretty black skirt and white mesh shirt, a pair of high top burgundy DMs on her feet. She wasn't headed anywhere in particular, she just felt like getting out of the apartment. 

"J.D, thank god." Ben Parker rushed out, and J.D stopped in the middle of the pavement when she heard his stressed tone.

"Ben?" She asked, her voice laced with concern. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "Have you seen Peter or heard from him?"

"Not since I left this afternoon." She responded and furrowed her eyebrows. "What's happened?"

"We got into an argument and he stormed out." Ben said, sounding strained. "He hasn't come back and I can't find him. He won't answer my calls, and I thought maybe he'd have called you."

"Sorry Ben, he hasn't." She replied. "Do you want me to help look for him?"

"I'd really appreciate that." He muttered. "May's at home just in case he goes there. I'm just around the corner from Crocheron Park."

"Oh, I'm only five minutes away from there." J.D said before she began walking again, her pace quick and her face concentrated. "I'll try and call Pete and I'll see you in a few."

"Thank you so much, J.D." The older man said, clearly exasperated. 

J.D hung up and dialled Peter as she dashed down the street. She waited impatiently as it rang, and cursed when it went straight to voicemail. "Hey, this is Peter. I'm currently unavailable at the moment so please leave a message after the beep. Thanks."

"Answer our calls, you little shit." She snapped before hanging up and shoving her phone in her pocket. 

She wouldn't admit it, but she was scared. For all she knew, Peter could have been taken off the street like she was the previous year. She could only imagine how many times everyone tried to reach her when she was kidnapped, and she couldn't help but think of the worst for her friend. 

"Ben!" She called as she jogged up to him. His face was slightly pink and had the slightest bit of sweat covering it. She embraced him when she reached him, knowing that he needed a hug. She felt him sigh and she patted his shoulder as she pulled away. "We'll find him, don't worry."

"He didn't pick up when you called him?" He asked nervously, and she shook her head. "Okay, I guess we'll start by heading towards St. James, and we'll look in cinemas and corner stores and anywhere he could be."

"Gotcha." J.D nodded her head and the pair took off down the street. They looked in every alleyway they passed, every park, every store, attraction and any other place a teenager would be angsty in. 

They had collectively covered almost a third of Queens in the six hours they were looking. It had grown dark and cold, but that didn't stop either of them. J.D had called Mason, Herb, Michelle and Gwen, who were also keeping an eye out, but no one had seen him. 

"J.D, I think it's best if you go home." Ben said as they neared the twenty-seventh corner store in the past couple of hours. 

"I'm not stopping until we find him, Ben." She replied boldly. "There's no way I'm letting you look for him by yourself."

Ben sighed and fished out a five dollar note from his pocket. "Fine. Go buy yourself a juice or something. We've been looking for ages."

J.D nodded and took it wordlessly, walking into the store and pulling out an apple juice. Her heart was still pumping and she felt extremely on edge. She hadn't been so scared in months. What if something happened to Peter? She couldn't lose him.

"Three dollars." The cashier said, and J.D handed him the note.

"Keep the change." She muttered and stepped out to see Ben talking to May on the phone.

"I love you too." He said before hanging up and placing the phone in his pocket. "Okay, let's keep looking."

J.D nodded and took a sip from her drink, ready to begin searching again. 

"Hey! Someone catch him! He's just robbed my store!" The owner from before yelled, running out of the corner store. J.D's eyes widened and she took off in the direction the man pointed in.

"J.D, be careful!" Ben yelled, taking off after her. J.D quickly caught up to the robber and tackled him to the ground. She was thrown off and Ben ran to her aid. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She muttered and jumped back up again. Ben kicked the robber to the ground again and pulled the stolen money bag away from him. 

The thief pulled out a revolver, and Ben's eyes widened as it was pointed in his direction. The shine of the silver metal was bright in J.D's sight, but that didn't stop her. 

Just as the shot sounded, she leapt in front of Ben, and felt the instant pain skim across her waist. Her breathing was cut short and time seemed to freeze for a moment. She hit the ground with a thud, and her head became fuzzy, as did her eyesight. She heard the sound of someone hitting the ground next to her, followed by footsteps and car tires squealing. 

"Ben!" She heard someone yell faintly. It seemed so distant, so weak. "J.D!"

Her breathing was quick and heavy, and she could feel herself slowly losing consciousness. She felt a hand press to her stomach, and she gasped out in pain. 

After what felt like hours, she could hear an indistinct wailing. Her head finally lolled to the side and she let her eyes close. 

Peter saw it all happen. He was at the end of the street, having left the corner store only a few minutes before he saw his uncle and best friend walking past. He watched from a distance, feeling his anger overpower the guilt. He clutched his stolen chocolate milk in one hand, and money in the other. He knew it was wrong, but there was a man inside the store that said it was fine, that he'd cover for him. Whatever that meant. 

"Hey! Someone catch him! He's just robbed my store!" He turned around when he heard the rude store owner yell, and he rose an eyebrow when he saw the same man running out with a paper bag in hand. Oh well, serves him right. 

He heard his Uncle yell out to J.D, who was running after the criminal, and had tackled him to the ground. His eyes followed each movement that followed. How she was thrown off, how Ben took the money back, and how the revolver was pulled out of the thief's pocket. 

This was when Peter's eyes widened, and he began running forward. He saw J.D instantly jump in front of his Uncle without a second thought, and that was when he froze. He stopped and could only watch helplessly as the bullet pierced through the weak muscle of J.D's waist, and into Ben's gut. 

It felt like his breath had been snatched from his throat. Tears brimmed at his eyes as he stumbled forward just as they both fell to the ground. He fell to his knees when he reached them. "Ben! J.D!"

He placed his fingers to Ben's neck, and let out a choked sob when he found no pulse. 

"No. No no no no!" He screamed as he looked upon his fallen Uncle, tears rushing down his face. He did the same to J.D and between his heavy breathing, he gasped when he felt a faint heartbeat. He looked down and saw a pool of blood surrounding her and he lowered his hand to where a large red circle stain adorned her body. A hole now resided in her flesh, and her white mesh top was now in tatters in the bottom right corner. Her skin was almost blue, but he could hear her loud, uneven breathing over his cries. 

He put pressure on her wound and felt his shoulders shaking as he wept. He barely heard the shop owner waddle over, his phone in hand. "I've called the ambulance."

Peter didn't reply, he only continued to bawl. It felt as if his heart had split in two. It was his fault. His fault that his Uncle was lifeless and the girl he had known for as long as could remember was almost defunct. If he hadn't made such a big deal or stormed out, none of this would've happened. It was his fault.

The ambulance lights were blurry in his vision as it arrived. Even as he was pushed away from their bodies, he fought back. He had to be with them. He jumped into the back of the ambulance and could only watch as they tried to resuscitate Ben and placed an oxygen mask on J.D. He could only stare as J.D was strapped down to the stretcher for emergency surgery preparation. 

"Explain the situation to me." The paramedic rushed out as she tried to save J.D's life while the others were still attempting to bring Ben back. 

Peter began vomiting words out, and he felt lightheaded and nauseous. His tears hadn't stop, and his grey hoodie looked like it had been caught in the rain. "It's all my fault."

"I need you to calm down, honey." She said softly as she placed a bandage around J.D side. "Peter, calm down."

Peter's breathing was quickening and he felt his chest tighten and his throat close up. The back of the ambulance seemed to be shrinking around him and all the lights suddenly seemed too bright. He felt as if he couldn't get any oxygen and he felt dizzy.

"Peter." The paramedic called out to him, but he couldn't seem to find her over the buzzing in his ears. "Peter, can you hear me?"

That was when Peter fainted. 

+++

May rushed into the hospital, her hands shaking and her make up staining her face. She ran towards the ICU and saw Peter waiting outside with his head in his hands. A bucket was on the seat beside him, and he was incredibly pale. He didn't see May approaching, as he leaned over and emptied what was left in his stomach out. The air surrounding him was rank and awful, but May didn't spare any thought as she sat on the other side of him. "Peter."

"May?" He asked, his voice incredibly hoarse. He pulled his head up from the bucket and wiped it on one of the paper towels he had been given. He looked up at her, his eyes red and watery. His face was sticky and splotchy, and he looked like he could be dead himself. He burst into tears again at the sight of her and she pulled him into her chest. "May, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"Shhh, honey." She whispered into his dark hair. "Where is he?"

"They w-wanted to t-take the bullet out." He sobbed into her coat. "He's in there with her."

"Is she okay?" May asked carefully, her voice tremulous. 

"I don't know." Peter choked out. "T-They won't tell me."

May sat holding her trembling nephew as she too, felt warm tears falling down her cheeks. 

+++

"Where's my sister?" Mason ran down the halls, his phone in hand and Herb in pursuit. He was wearing pyjama pants and a white shirt, but he hadn't given any thought to it once he got the phone call. He was forced to wait for his uncle to pick him up and drive him to the hospital, and when they arrived he had been pointed in the direction of the ICU, where his sister was being kept. 

He came to a stop when he saw May staring at the wall with a blank expression. Peter was curled up in a ball in his seat, but when he heard Mason's voice, he leapt up and pulled him into an embrace. "Mason, I'm so sorry."

"Is she okay?" Mason demanded when he pulled back, and Peter's bottom lip shook. 

"We don't know yet." He whispered and Mason ran a hand through his hair. Herb placed a hand on his shoulder and led him to the seats opposite the Parkers', where they all sat in silence, waiting for any news to arrive.

After that, it was like everything happened in slow motion. Two separate doctors exited the SICU, one heading towards the Parkers', one towards the Purnells'. 

The Parkers' doctor gave them unfortunate news. He said that Ben Parker died on the scene and they were unable to resuscitate him, but they managed to get the bullet out that had ruptured his heart. They said that one Jessica-Diana made a brave attempt to save his life, but he was standing too close and wearing only a thin shirt to slow down the blow. He was confirmed dead at ten fifty-five that night. 

The Purnells' doctor gave them fortunate news. She said that Jessica-Diana Purnell was incredibly weak when she arrived, and the bullet had been blasted right through her. It only just missed her stomach, but she lost a lot of blood and would be in hospital until she had recovered. She was operated on and stitched up, but was still unconscious and would wake up by the morning. She was saved. 

Both families thanked the doctors, and they all pulled out their phones to contact loved ones. 

When J.D awoke, she found herself with heavy eyelids and a pain in her side. She had been moved out of the ICU earlier in the morning and into a regular room for herself. She was told that she was shot trying to save someone who ended up dying, and had lost a lot of blood as a result. Though she was already making a speedy recovering due to her fast healing, she was still too weak. 

Mason was in the room when she woke up. He had grabbed her hand and pressed the nurse's button. He had started to cry, because he thought he was going to lose her again.

Herb had entered, but he had scolded her for giving him a right scare. She only smiled, as he didn't like showing that he had emotions. 

May and Peter came in together and had shared their gladness that she was alive, and how grateful they were for her attempt to save Ben. She was a hero in their eyes. 

Over the week, people from school came to visit her. Michelle came with an Amazon gift card and Monopoly. They talked about Doctor Who and watched the Batman trilogy together on her laptop. Gwen came with flowers and chocolates and distracted J.D with talk about the latest school gossip; Harry Osborn visited also, and even though J.D wasn't that close with Peter's best friend, she more than enjoyed being in his hilarious and friendly company. Even Flash Thompson made an appearance, bearing chocolate chip cookies and the new 'The 1975' album. She was slightly touched that he cared about her, as were Mason and Peter, who watched cautiously from the doorway. 

May and Peter had planned the funeral for when J.D left hospital so she could attend, and she was ever so grateful. When she heard the Ben had died, she didn't speak to anyone for a couple of days. Every night she stared up at the ceiling wishing he was alive instead of her. He had a family to take care of who loved him, and he deserved a life. He was an incredibly good man, whose existence was ripped from him unfairly. 

She felt so disappointed in herself also. Pietro once told her that she was destined to be a hero. 

How could she be a hero if she couldn't even save someone's life?

aw sad chapter

i'm also v sorry about how poorly written this is i'm not very good with writing about death or sadness and whatnot

anyway

bye now