40 - TWO YOUNG HEARTS
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"—HAS BEEN HANDLED AND THOSE THAT WERE INVOLVED ARE OKAY AND ARE ALREADY ON THEIR WAY TO A FULL AND COMPLETE RECOVERY," a firm yet soft voice said on the that was placed TV across the room, a soft smile on the man's face as he cleared his throat and nodded. "The families involved would like to be left alone as well, so, give them the privacy they all deserve in this time. Thank you."
A few more reporters tried to get their questions out to Tony Stark, but the man took a step back and quickly waved to the group of reporters before joining Pepper Potts and interlocking their hands as they slipped out of the door and out of the press conference. The TV returned to the scheduled news program, a soft sigh escaping Alissa's lips as the TV was turned off and silence filled the room.
"Be honest with me, how was it?"
Alissa twisted around, kindly smiling at Tony Stark. "You did really great, Mr. Stark," she honestly told him. The man grinned in relief, his eyes briefly flickering to the glass door of the lab room Alissa was seated in at the one and only Avengers Tower, her own gaze following his to see Pepper walking past with Carter, offering them a kind smile and a wink as she passed by with the young boy beside her; the conference that told every citizen of New York that they could finally rest easy with the confirmed death of Electro, and that Spider-Man had been the one to save the day, making sure to leave out any actual names that were involved in the matter. "Thank you for not for not including my family and I in this whole mess, sir. I really appreciate it."
Tony softly smiled, his eyes peering at her as he leaned against a counter in front of the bed Alissa was sat on with her lazily legs dangling over the ledge. "Of course, Ms. Caverly. I'm just glad you're all okay. You're brother seemed like he was ready to explode when I arrived."
Alissa snorted out a laugh, glancing to her fiddling fingers. A few hours ago, Spider-Man (and Alissa and Carter) defeated Electro, resorting to jumping into an ice cold pool before they were injured anymore in the blast of Electro. Luckily, they didn't have any trouble getting out with Peter doing most of the work in pulling both Caverlys out within a minute. But when they were all out, their lungs began to burn and the deafening silence made them look up only to see that Carter's room had blown up in Electro's blast, and fire was beginning to eat the house inside and out.
Peter went to try and put it out, but Alissa's hand stopped him when seeing Iron Man flying over, putting the fire out with his hands before he dropped down in front of the three teens. A few others arrived on scene, the three having no idea who they were, but they were all thankful for it as they handed them each a blanket and led them to a van parked out front. A few familiar faces were around, but Alissa wasn't paying too much attention to them to realize. She was mainly focusing on trying to get her body temperature to rise again while her ears attempted to silence Carter's constant complaining of how his nether regions were freezing and he could no longer feel them or his legs. Having heard that, Peter made sure to step aside and out of Carter's sight as his suit warmer turned on, already making him feel better.
No later than ten minutes did Iron Man drop down in front of the three and outstepped Tony Stark. The man didn't speak too much as he requested Alissa and Carter to climb inside of his car, promising they would be met with answers once they arrived to the Avengers Tower. Alissa was hesitant to leave her home, worried her parents would come home and find a hole in their house and their kids missing. Peter reassured her, though, telling her that they were taken to the hospital just for a checkup, and that he was sure they were fine. Alissa thanked him and kissed his cheek as he'd changed out of his suit, but his false smile dropped the instant she and Carter climbed inside of the car, his heart sinking in his chest at yet another lie he told his girlfriend. And as he made his way to the hospital, he hoped that what he told her would be true.
Alissa looked back to the man, her fingers fiddling over the bandage on her arm. While she was mostly okay, she did end up with a few scrapes and cuts along her arms and neck, but they were quickly bandaged up and would heal within a few short days. "Have you heard from my mom or dad, Mr. Stark?" Alissa wondered, her voice fairly quiet. Tony could sense her worry, knowing it all too well. "T-They were at Oscorp when Electro attacked the building, and Peter said—"
"They're both at the hospital," Tony said, making Alissa's eyes widen in shock. "Your mother's fine. She has a few fractured ribs and a spranged wrist, but she'll be fine. Your father. . .he's alive, but, the last I heard. . .he wasn't doing too good."
Alissa hopped down from the bed, snatching Peter's jacket from beside her, ready to leave. "I-I have to go see them, Mr. Stark. If my dad is—"
Tony hurried after her, blocking the girl's path. He didn't want her doing anything reckless. "I understand, Alissa, trust me, I do, but—"
"But nothing," Alissa hastily interjected. "I have to go see him. Carter and I need to be there, and not even Iron Man is gonna stop us from seeing our father."
Tony let out a sigh, examining Alissa's angered, determined, and clearly worried expression. Maybe he couldn't stop her from leaving with her brother to go see their father, and maybe no one else who was at the Tower could. There was a fire burning bright in Alissa, and it was something Tony found himself admiring about the girl. Eventually, he reluctantly
nodded and tucked his hands in his pockets. "Okay, okay, but I will take you both. Is that okay?"
Alissa nodded, biting back her smile. "Yes, please, Mr. Stark," she said, hearing the man laugh.
"Call me Tony, kid."
° ° °
When Alissa and Carter arrived to the hospital, Brian was already there with their mother after he was picked up by someone Tony sent to retrieve the boy and bring him to his parents. Tony had even walked Alissa and Carter inside, ignoring the stares from some bystanders that were surprised to find the well known man walking inside a hospital of all places with two teenagers they had never seen with him before. It sent a wave of confusion through the peering eyes, but Tony did his best to hide his nerves, his brown eyes darting to down to the floor and thickly swallowing. Alissa glanced over, offering him a soft grin, and Tony managed to return a small one back at her.
In the hallway they were given directions to go towards, they found Brian seated by himself in one of the chairs, nervously biting on his thumbnail; a habit of Alissa's he seemed to of inherited. Alissa heavily sighed, watching as Brian lifted his head, eyes widening when seeing his brother and sister. He shot out of the chair, quickly scampering down the hall and into their opened arms. Tony took a small step back, softly smiling at the sweet family moment of the close siblings.
Someone was walking towards them, and it took Tony a moment to realize that it was Peter.
"How's dad?" Carter urgently asked Brian. "Did they have to do surgery to help or anything? What kind of surgery was—"
"Carter, let him speak first," Alissa gently touched his shoulder, eyes softened. Carter frowned, lips closing.
Brian sniffled, clearing his throat. Alissa latched onto Carter's without thinking, her heart beginning to race. She should've seen the tear stains on Brian's face sooner, or realized how he'd been trying to speak to them the entire time, but his lips were trembling and his voice was in his throat, unable to escape. Her heart sank all the way down in her chest, going to speak until their mother stepped out of the room.
The woman had tears still running down her cheeks, but she managed a faint smiled. "Your father's ready to see you," Kelli said, beckoning them forward. Alissa breathed out a sigh of relief, glancing down at Brian. While he cried when he was sad, he also cried when he was happy, and Alissa realized that they weren't sad tears, they were happy tears. He was only worried because he didn't know where Alissa or Carter were since they weren't answering their phones.
Alissa stole a look over her shoulder, brightening up when seeing Peter quietly talking to Tony. They turned, feeling her gaze on them. Tony sent her a nod, eyes briefly locking with Kelli who mouthed a thank you to him. He nodded again, waving before he was walking back down the hall. Peter let out a sigh, letting out a nervous laugh as he walked over to Alissa. He stumbled forward suddenly, feeling himself her be pulled toward her her as she threw her arms around his shoulders. His arms latched around her waist, locking his arms together as he embraced his girlfriend.
"Thank you, Pete," Alissa murmured in his neck, closing her eyes in relief. So much had happened in the past few weeks, and Alissa was relieved that it was all finally over and she could go back to her normal routine. Well, as much as she could with her boyfriend being the famous Spider-Man. "You saved the day, again."
Peter let go, softly laughing. "Actually, you and Carter did all the work. I just helped a little bit," he shrugged, making Alissa giggle. The girl turned her head, noticing her mother waiting for her.
Alissa looked back to Peter. "You wanna come see him, too?"
Peter cleared his throat, shaking his head. "No, uh, you go, be with your family," he said. "I'll just wait out here."
Alissa tilted her head, going to speak when her mothers voice cut her off. "Don't be silly, Peter," Kelli said, motioning them over to the opened door. Peter hesitated, eyes flicking to Alissa uncertainty. Kelli sweetly smiled, tilting her head. "You're family, too."
Alissa felt her lips lift upwards, glancing to Peter and holding her hand out towards him to take. He slid his fingers through her own, nodding to Kelli as he walked towards the door. The woman wasn't mad at him for what had happened at Oscorp. She was thankful for it, actually. If Peter didn't leave as soon as he did, her children most likely would've died at the hands of Electro, and that thought alone terrified the woman. But she didn't need to worry.
Her family was safe, and that was all she needed.
Kelli waited until Alissa and Peter were inside before closing the door, noticing the way her daughter slowed to a stop. Peter tightened his hand around her own, reassuring her with a soft smile when her head turned to him. Kelli moved around, sitting in the empty chair besides the bed, wincing a bit at the own pain in her chest. Carter and Brian were comfortingly seated on the gray couch, having not so quietly or carefully pulled it over to be by the bed. Scott was awake, faintly waving to his daughter when his eyes fell on her.
IV's were hooked up to his arms, a steady sound of a heartbeat beeping in the stale smelling room. His hair was flattened against his head, hands and arms bandaged up with a few on his cheek. Peter sucked in a breath at the sight of the man, hearing the heartbeat louder in his ears.
Scott could tell they were both still worried about him and a bit unsettled by his appearance, but he was feeling rather fine. "C'mon," Scott weakly waved his hand, gently moving his leg over enough for one of them to sit down, "Sit. I don't bite. That's only the spiders."
Peter's eyes flicked to Brian, the boy frowning. Alissa shook her head, not knowing her parents knew her boyfriend was Spider-Man. She quickly sat down on the bed, seeing Peter join her brothers on the couch, nervously smiling at Carter when their legs briefly touched. Rather than commenting on the random mention of spiders, Alissa took her father's hand in her own, making him smile.
She traced her thumb over his hand, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat, "How're feelin'?" She wondered, the question lingering in the air for a few seconds. Kelli patted Scott's arm, resting her head on the ledge of the bed that kept Scott from falling off.
"I'm okay," Scott said, nodding only to wince. Alissa shifted, but Scott shook his head, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm just a little sore. But that's not anything to worry about. Just a few scrapes and bruises s'all. It's nothing I haven't handled before."
"Yeah, you're the toughest guy I know," Carter piped up, capturing everyone's attention. Scott managed to let out a small laugh, Kelli doing the same. Carter grinned, a lopsided smile on his face. "Just. . .don't tell anyone I said that."
Scott closed his eyes momentarily as he nodded. "Don't worry, your big ego is still untouched," Scott playfully teased. Carter scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. Scott's eyes moved toward Peter, the boy being more quiet than usual.
Alissa followed his gaze, noticing the tiredness on Peter's face. His hair was pushed back, but a few curls were fluffed outwards. His bottom lip was almost out in a pout, and Alissa had to do her best not to smile at how adorable he looked. "Hey, Pete?" Scott's voice made the boy perk up, gaining his full attention. He sat up slightly, focusing on the man in front of him. "Thank you."
Peter nodded, folding his hands together in his lap, briefly meeting Alissa's eye. "Yeah, yeah, of course," Peter said, trying to dismiss the topic quickly. Nearly everyone in the room knew of his secret identity, but Brian didn't. "I-I did what anyone else would've done."
Brian rested his head on the bed, facing Peter, "Well duh, of course you did," he said, rolling his eyes. "You're Spider-Man."
Alissa gasped, gaping at Brian. Scott and Kelli quickly shared a look. Carter, Alissa, and Peter all exchanged silent words, unsure of how Brian figured it out. They made sure no one knew, Peter most of all. He still didn't know how Scott and Kelli put the pieces of the puzzle together, but now, the entire Caverly family knew. And honestly, Peter wasn't too upset; he was mostly shocked, and a little concerned.
"How do you know?" Carter demanded to know, wondering if Brian was just trying to pull some kind of prank. "Have you even see Peter? He's a twig. Even the wind could blow him over."
Peter offensively gaped. "Hey!"
Carter shot Peter a pointed glare. "What? You are a twig."
Peter pursed his lips together, shaking his head before returning to the current topic and facing Brian. "How'd you figure it out, B?"
Brian leaned back, resting his back again the armrest. "I didn't realize it until this morning, but that day you saved me, you called me B," Brian answered. "And there are only a few people who call me that, and you're the only one who could of been him since I know these dumb dumbs can't do it."
Carter and Alissa glowered, but didn't have a chance to respond as Peter did.
Peter snickered. "Are you disappointed?"
"I know I was," Carter disappointedly grumbled. Alissa gave him a warning glare, wiping his amused smile from his face.
Brian ignored his brother, sweetly smiling at Peter. "Actually, no. I was surprised at first since you are kind of a twig"—Peter gaped at him and even turned to Alissa for help, but she scrunched up her face, agreeing with her brothers—"But I think it's cool. How many people can say they know Spider-Man?"
'Too many,' Peter thought.
He and Brian shared a small smile, Scott and Kelli watching as the kids chatted back at forth, divulging into the world of Spider-Man and his heroics and how he could do what he did. Alissa was still seated by her father's feet, but her body was jumping off and scurrying to the opposite side when the doctor walked in.
The woman sent them all a widespread smile, tucking a clipboard under her arm as she stood a few feet away.
"I see you're family is happy to join you, Mr. Caverly," she said, her voice kind and sweet. "How are you feeling?" Scott just groaned, making his family and Peter share a quick laugh. "I know, I know, it's the one thing everyone asks, isn't it?" Scott nodded. The doctor grabbed the clipboard, her smile still on her face. "I still have a few more questions for you, and I want to run just a few more tests, maybe even a cat-scan, just to make sure that there isn't any internal damage that we don't know about. And afterwards, it would be best that you get some rest," she faced the family, sadly pursing her lips. "I'm very sorry. But you'll be able to visit tomorrow."
The kids all shared a groan at the woman's statement, Peter's the one most apparent. Alissa raised a brow, and Peter simply pretended he hadn't seen it. Kelli yawned afterwards, understandingly nodding. She carefully pushed herself up, running her hand through Scott's hair, leaning down and kissing his forehead. Alissa tenderly grinned, happy to actually see her parents in love.
Not every couple was still happy together or were in love anymore, but Scott and Kelli were. It showed Alissa that no matter what a couple could go through in their lifetime, they could still remain happy and continue to fall more in love every single day.
"Bye Dad," Alissa kissed his cheek, pursing her lips at that feeling of his stubble against her skin. She leaned down, whispering in his ear, "Maybe once the nurses are done giving you your sponge bath they can shave your face, too."
Scott snorted out a laugh, eyes twinkling when he looked into Alissa's. "I sure hope so."
Alissa kissed his cheek one more time, a hand grabbing hers as she waved, "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, Al," he grinned. Alissa faced forward, exiting the room with Peter and her brothers.
Kelli poked her head out of the room, catching them before they left. "Why don't you kids go and get some hot chocolate somewhere?" She held out a wad of cash, seeing Brian's eyes light up. Kelli grinned, handing it over to Carter. "Invite some of your friends, too, if you'd like," she added, "It's not everyday that you can celebrate the defeat of a villain with the hero."
"Thanks Mom," Carter said. "I love you."
Kelli grinned. "I love you all, too. Now, scram. And don't stay out too late!" She hollered, making Carter laugh. "The hotel we'll be staying at night not have a curfew, but you three still do."
"No promises!" Carter replied, cheekily beaming back at their mother. Alissa let out a laugh, resting her head on Peter's shoulder as they left the hospital.
A few patients and nurses peered up from what they were doing when hearing the sound of footsteps, one receptionist titling her head at Peter and Alissa who'd fallen a few steps behind Brian and Carter. Giant grins were plastered on their bright faces, a laugh echoing from Peter at something Alissa said.
The receptionist leaned back in her chair, a smile working onto her lips as she watched the teens laugh and giggle, listening to them tease and bicker with one another. A fond expression lingered on her face as she turned to her fellow co-worker, nudging her head towards the couple. "Look how cute those two are," she quietly said, watching Alissa and Peter slip past the doors and into the darkness of the cold, winter night.
"Think they'll actually last?" The co worked asked, not holding the same admiration the receptionist did.
The receptionist nodded without any hesitation. "I do," she honestly said, twirling her rolling chair, her cardigan swinging back and forth airily.
The coworker paused, finally sparing a moment of file searching to give the other woman her full attention, "And if it does tear them apart? Then what?"
The receptionist snorted out a laugh, brightly smiling. "That won't stand in their way. I can feel it."
° ° °
And here is the last chapter of Two Young Hearts! I'm so excited, and sad, that this book is basically at its end, but there's still an epilogue and that should be up very soon!
How many of you thought I was actually gonna kill Scott off? I was tempted to do it, but I really hate killing off characters in my own books, so I decided not to. Plus, my Magic 8 Ball told me not to.
I'm sorry if you wanted to actually read the moments right after they jumped, but I kind of liked this instead! I did my best to recap what happened so I didn't leave y'all hanging either! And of course Tony came to "save the day" and help. He's a good man, and I wanted him to be in this!
Please leave some feedback! I'd love to hear what you all thought of this chapter!
(And feel free to watch the vid at the top of the epilogue! It's really not the best, but I hope y'all will enjoy it!)
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
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