TW: death, mentions of trauma

"So, six months, that's a big milestone." I smiled, MJ chuckling as we walked along the school hallway.

"I guess that it is. I don't know, Peter is my first boyfriend, so I'm not entirely sure what's a big milestone and what's not." She shrugged.

"Six months is big, MJ. What's Peter planning for it? He comes across as a romantic guy, I'm sure that he'll be planning something." I nodded.

"That's the thing, he won't tell me. His only instructions were to get on the school bus instead of walking home like I usually do. I guess that wherever he's taking me is on the bus route." She theorised as we walked out of the school doors and towards the bus.

"Urgh, I finally have a bus buddy. You and Peter walk home, Ned cycles, that leaves lonely old me sitting on the bus." I pouted, making MJ laugh as we climbed onto the yellow vehicle.

"Don't get too excited, dude, it's a one-day thing." She chuckled. I rolled my eyes playfully and smiled as we sat on a row, the bus moving shortly afterwards.

MJ and I sat on the bus as it drove across the Brooklyn Bridge, talking about her and Peter's plans as we moved.

"So, what did you get him for your anniversary?" I asked.

"You know how he and Ned built that Lego death star? I found out that you can get these super rare Lego characters for it, so I got him one of them." She nodded.

"Aw, MJ, he's going to love that." I chuckled, making her smile. Suddenly, the bus abruptly stopped, making us all scream and gasp as we lurched forward. I looked ahead and my eyes widened as a car in front of us was now on fire, blocking the road and stopping us in our tracks.

"Woah, what the fuck?" MJ scoffed as she looked out of the window by our seats.

"What's going on?" I gulped as we watched people desperately getting out of their cars and running away. Suddenly, the doors of the bus were broken, making us scream as two men in all black clothing walked into the bus with machine guns.

"Alright, fucking listen up, here's what's going to happen! We're going to take two people, anyone else will get shot if they try to intervene!" the main man yelled, making us all scream. I gulped, my heart thumping through my chest as MJ and I hid behind the seats, trying to remain hidden. It didn't work. The gunman spotted me, making my eyes widen as his lips curled into a sickening smirk and he walked towards me.

"No, please, let me go, please." I choked and winced as he harshly grabbed my arm and pulled me up.

"Your little friend can come too." He smirked at MJ. Her eyes widened as she was also grabbed and hauled up. I choked and looked at her, making her give me a small reassuring smile and a nod as she took my hand. I returned it, tightly holding onto her and trying to ignore the feeling of utter dread as the men forced us off of the bus.

"What do you want with us? We haven't done anything." I choked as the men harshly pushed us through what seemed to be abandoned underground tunnels. The main gunman groaned and firmly pulled my arm, making me yelp as he pulled me to the edge of a hole in the concrete. I gulped, my heart in my throat as I stared down into the seemingly never-ending black hole.

"You see that? That's a thirty-foot drop. If you don't shut your fucking mouth, you're going to get dropped down it, even if Spider-Man hasn't arrived yet." He spat. My eyes widened, as did MJ's.

"You took us because of Spider-Man?" MJ gulped.

"We needed bait, didn't we? Once he's here, we can finally kill the little fucker." He smirked. MJ choked and her eyes wavered, making me gulp as I was shoved back to her.

"You okay?" I asked quietly as I took her hand again. She looked at me.

"Y-yeah. Just hoping that Spider-Man doesn't show up." She mumbled. My eyes widened at her.

"MJ, if he doesn't show up, then we're dead-."

"And if he does, he's dead." She nodded. I looked at her as I tried to figure out why she so desperately wanted Spider-Man to live, but my mind couldn't find the answer.

"Come here." One of the thugs mumbled, making me gulp as he grabbed MJ and I and forced us to sit on the ground before starting to tie our hands behind our backs.

"Why are you tying us up? It's not like we can go anywhere." MJ scoffed, my eyes widening and my heart jumping in fear at how defiant she was being. That defiance could get us killed.

"Shut up, little bitch, or you'll be the first one to be thrown down the hole." He spat as he started to tie our hands up so that our backs were touching.

"MJ, please, I can't get through this without you." I choked. She sighed and looked at me as best as she could over her shoulder.

"You're not going to have to, it'll be okay. As much as I don't want him to, Spider-Man will come." She reassured. My eyebrows furrowed again.

"MJ, why are you so against Spider-Man coming to rescue us? He could be our only way out alive." I scoffed. She gulped and looked down.

"I have my reasons." She mumbled. I returned her sigh, my brain desperately trying to work out the reasons, but I couldn't find the answer. Suddenly, we heard a very soft thud next to us. Out of my peripheral vision, I could see the source, making my heart jump with hope. My eyes widened as a red and blue hand flew up and covered my mouth before I could gasp or scream at the fact that Spider-Man was now next to us. I looked at him over my shoulder and gulped again as he looked at MJ, her nodding to him. He returned it before looking at me and silently raising his finger to where his lips would be under the mask, telling me to be quiet. I nodded, making the masked hero return it again as he slowly lowered his hand away from my mouth. He looked up to make sure that he hadn't aroused the suspicions of the thugs as he cautiously started to untie our hands.

"Don't move your hands, okay? It'll be ten times easier to take these guys out if they think that you two are still tied up." He whispered. Both of us nodded as the tension around my wrists disappeared, telling me that Spider-Man had successfully untied us. Suddenly, he jumped up and disappeared again, making me start to panic.

"MJ-."

"He'll be back." She reassured. I sighed and gulped as I still wasn't sure. As if on cue, Spider-Man silently dropped down from another beam and landed behind the men before standing up.

"What, did my invite to this party get lost in the mail?" he sassed, making the men whip around.

"Course not, Spidey-boy. You're the guest of honour." One of the thugs smirked sickeningly as they raised their guns.

"Don't be rude, it's Spider-Man." The hero scolded before raising his foot and immediately kicking the gun out of the main thug's hands. He followed the kick with a punch to his face, making the thug groan as he fell to the ground. Whilst Spider-Man was fighting the main thug, the other one took the opportunity of the hero being distracted as he rushed to us, making my eyes widen as he grabbed me and pulled me up.

"Stop, where are you taking her?" MJ gulped as the man dragged me to the hole in the ground.

"Don't worry. She's just going for a little trip down the hole." The man smirked. My eyes widened as he gently pushed me, making my body tilt backwards.

"SPIDER-MAN, Y/N!" MJ yelled. The masked hero looked at me, his eyes widening as a scream left my lips and I disappeared over the edge of the hole.

"SHIT!" I heard him yell, though only just over the sounds of my own screams as I started to rapidly fall. I screamed again as I suddenly jolted to a stop, making me look at my waist and puff out in relief as one of Spider-Man's webs had attached to my torso. I looked up and gulped as Spider-Man held the other end of the web as he hung over the edge of the hole.

"I've got you, you're okay." He reassured. I gulped, my eyes widening as one of the thugs appeared behind him.

"Spider-Man, watch out!" I screamed. His eyes widened and he let out a yell as he was pulled back, making him let go of the web. More screams left my lips as I started to fall again, my heart dropping to my feet as I knew that Spider-Man being preoccupied with the thugs would probably mean that he wouldn't catch me again. But to my surprise, I suddenly jolted to a stop again, making me groan at the feeling of my body being thrown about so much.

"Y/N, how close are you to the ground?!" Spider-Man yelled down the hole. I gulped and looked down, sighing in relief as I turned out to only be hanging a few metres off of the concrete bottom. I reached my arm out, my fingers brushing the cold material confirming what I thought.

"Only a metre or two!" I shouted back up. The superhero nodded and looked down, his white eyes flicking about making it obvious that he was trying to think. He looked back at me.

"I'm going to drop you, okay? MJ needs my help and I still need to take these guys down, but I'll come and get you the second that they're arrested." He promised.

"Do it, save MJ!" I reassured. He nodded and let the web go, making me fall the small distance to the ground. I cried out as I still landed on my back, pain shooting down my spine as I rolled onto my front and forced myself to sit up. I looked up and gulped as I could hear yelling, fighting and the occasional scream or shout. I stood up on shaky feet and looked around, trying to find a way out from where I was currently. No way out. Because that would be too easy. I sighed as I took a step and cried out as I fell back to the ground immediately, the fall, albeit a short one, leaving me with no strength to stand or try to escape. I collapsed on the floor, my legs bent beside me and my hands in front of me as I panted heavily and tried to get my breath back. All I could do now was sit and wait.

"MJ! NO!" I looked up and my eyes widened as MJ fell rapidly towards me, screams leaving her lips as one of Spider-Man's webs rapidly chased after her. But it wasn't quick enough. I screamed, my hands whipping up to cover my mouth in shock as MJ's head snapped back, a sickening sound ringing out as her body remained suspended just above the ground by Spider-Man's webs. I choked and shook my head, my heart plummeting to my feet at what I'd just seen. Tears started to leave my eyes as I scrambled to my feet and rushed to her.

"MJ, please, be okay, fuck, please." I cried as I pulled the web off of her and gently lay her down on the ground. I put two fingers to her neck, a sick feeling taking over my stomach as I couldn't feel a heartbeat.

"Please, Michelle, please, please." I choked as I leant my head down to her chest. I squeezed my eyes shut, tears starting to leave them rapidly as I slowly sat up again, and looked at the body of my now dead best friend.

"No, no, no." I looked up and choked as Spider-Man landed a few metres away from us. He rushed to me and collapsed on his knees on the other side of MJ's body, his arms immediately pulling her into his lap as he did.

"Karen, please tell me that she's alive, please tell me that you can detect a heartbeat." The boy choked, his voice cracking with tears. I bit my lip and stared at him, the numb feeling starting to creep in and take over my heart as I already knew what he would hear. I couldn't hear his AI speaking, but from the way that he started crying and his back slouched over, I knew what she had said. MJ was gone.

"MJ, please wake up, please, I'm begging you, don't leave me, please!" Spider-Man cried, his arms further pulling her body into his lap. I gulped, tears still silently leaving my eyes as I leant my trembling hand out and rested it on the superhero's spandex-covered arm. He looked at me, making me bite my lip harshly as I tried not to cry even more than I already was.

"She's gone, Spider-Man. I'm sorry." I choked and shook my head. He returned the choke and nodded, both of us crying and him continuing to hold MJ's body as he looked down at her.

"Last night, Midtown High school student Michelle Jones was killed after the high school's bus was hijacked by two gunmen and she was taken as a hostage, alongside best friend and fellow student, Y/N Y/L/N, who survived the attack. Jones and Y/L/N were taken underground by the gunmen, where Spider-Man intervened with the attack. However, sources suggest that Spider-Man's actions led to the death of Miss Jones, as it has been suggested that the gunmen were angered by the interference from the masked superhero, which ultimately cost the sixteen-year-old Queens resident her life." The radio blared. I looked at my feet, everything feeling numb as the words coursed through my brain without actually being listened to. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what to think, and that hadn't changed since yesterday. My best friend was gone, for good, and I had no fucking clue what to do.

"Sweetheart." I snapped back as I felt a hand on my shoulder, and heard my mom's voice sounding. I gulped and looked up at her slowly, making her look back at me with worry in her eyes.

"Honey, are you sure that you want to go to school today? Your best friend died yesterday, no one is going to blame you if you take the day off." She shook her head. I gulped again and returned the shake as I stood up and grabbed my backpack.

"I'm going in, mom. MJ wouldn't want us to be mourning her death alone, she'd be wanting us to do it with other people who loved her, and she'd be wanting us to carry on with our education. Anyway, Peter is going to school today too. I need to be there for him." I nodded. She sighed and gave me a small smile as she kissed my head.

"Try to have an okay day. And the moment that it gets too much or you want to come home, do it. Your dad and I are completely fine if you need to come home at any point, and so is the principle." She reassured. I nodded and gave her another forced smile before opening the front door and walking out.

My feet slid along the marble flooring of the school corridor, my head too numb to tell my body what to do, and so it had gone into auto-pilot. I stared straight ahead as I walked through the building, not taking notice of the fact that all noise sounded like it was miles away and not all around me. I looked up and a tear left my eye. Through all of the chaos that was school and all of the memorial posters that were already up for MJ, my eyes still somehow cut straight to Peter. I gulped, my eyes wavering as I saw the boy. He was standing at his open locker, staring at a photo of him and MJ as tears ran silently down his face. Before I knew what was happening, my feet were leading me to his locker, them taking me to within metres of him before I realised where I was.

"Hey." I spoke, but my voice came out more like a choke. The boy looked at me, and the red rims around his eyes told me that he hadn't stopped crying since he'd been told about MJ.

"Hey." He nodded, his voice also cracking.

"How are you doing?" I asked. His eyes wavered and he looked around.

"Not here." He shook his head. My eyebrows furrowed as he took my hand and pulled me towards the door to one of the classes. He opened it and checked that it was empty before pulling me in and shutting the door. He turned around and immediately wrapped his arms around my waist, making me instantly return the hug. I closed my eyes and let tears roll down my cheeks as Peter buried his face into my neck, my skin muffling the sound of his crying.

"I'm so sorry, Pete. I'm so sorry." I choked. He shook his head.

"It's my fault that she's dead. I told her to get on that bus, she was only on it because of me. I could have stopped it!" He cried. I shook my head and gently lifted his from my neck so that he was forced to look at me. He choked and sniffed as he stared at me with red-rimmed and heartbroken eyes.

"You couldn't have done anything. The only person who could have was Spider-Man, and he did his best to save her. It's no one's fault except for the gunmen, Pete. It's not your fault." I shook my head. Peter sniffed again and nodded as he looked into my eyes.

"Are you okay? I know that you got taken too." He mumbled with another nod. I sighed and shrugged as I tried to push back the tears. I had to be strong for Peter, I had to be.

"The most traumatic part was MJ dying. I'm fine apart from that. But I keep thinking that I wish that it was me." I admitted. Peter looked at me.

"Y/N, don't say that. Just because MJ didn't deserve to die doesn't mean that you did. I'm heartbroken that she's gone, but I'm glad that you're okay." He nodded. I gulped and looked at him, giving him a small smile as I took my bag off of my back and opened it. Peter followed my actions with his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing as I dug out the small Lego figure that MJ had bought for Peter. I held it up so that he could see it.

"She bought you this for your six-month anniversary. She, um, she was really excited to give it to you, so I knew that she would want you to have it." I nodded. Peter's eyes wavered, fresh tears rolling down his face as he gently took the figure from me and held it in between his fingers.

"How am I going to live without her, Y/N?" he cried as he looked at me. I bit my lip and shook my head.

"The same way that I'm going to live without her. We're going to do it together." I choked. He returned it and nodded as he pulled me back into his arms. I returned the hug immediately, letting Peter rest his head on my shoulder and letting him cry on me as we stood there, just holding each other, and coming to terms with the fact that we had lost our best friend.