( TW: this chapter contains brutal violence and some gore, as well as implied threatened s*xual ass*ult; there's also descriptions of bodily harm towards the end of the chapter so proceed with caution )

Five Hours Later
June 19th, 2005
1:34 A.M.
Sidney's POV

"I'm gonna fucking kill him!" she whispered harshly as she buried her face in her hands, her fingertips tracing over the small bandage on her temple. "That rat bastard!"

"Sidney!" Mary Jane lightly scolded. "You know you can't do that... he would overpower you in a matter of moments. There's no point in trying that... he could kill you."

"And?" said Sidney as she stared at the redhead with raised eyebrows. "That wouldn't matter. He almost got Christina, and all that matters to me now is that he pays for that. I want to kill him, M.J... Don't you understand that?!"

"Yes, I do," the older woman responded with a deep sigh. "But, Sid... your mind is not in the right place at the moment. I understand how you feel but all this anger won't do any good. In fact... it might make things worse in the long run."

"I don't care," the brunette snarled at her, narrowing her eyes.

"I think you do..." said Mary Jane.

Sidney just shook her head as she balled her hands into fists, digging her teeth into her knuckles as she tried taking deep breaths. She closed her eyes and focused on the beating of her heart to make an attempt at staying calm, but she knew it wouldn't work too well no matter how hard she tried. She was becoming utterly fed up with all of this bullshit and to think this was all over Peter Parker being the photographer of Spider-Man, who did not fucking kill Norman Osborn, for crying out loud! And, because she and Christina were connected to Peter, Harry had to come and threaten their lives as a result.

Just wonderful, she sarcastically thought, pinching the bridge of her nose.

All she could remember from earlier was contacting the police to warn them of what was going on and then going back to where Christina was in the kitchen... only to feel a hand clamped over her mouth as she was dragged back into her bedroom, her muffled screams doing no good as a brief but searing pain in her head dipped her into unconsciousness.

Her head still ached despite not needing any stitches – it was just a tiny gash, after all; it seemed that Harry made an extra effort to not hurt her too badly – and she wanted to tear her hair out from how much it hurt. But that wasn't as important as the situation at hand.

The doctor had come out to tell her and Mary Jane that Christina would be absolutely fine and the injuries weren't as fatal as they had all thought. The stab wound in her ribcage had just barely missed her liver, only getting her stomach a little bit so it was just a moderate injury. In fact, she would be fine to go home in the next day or so, much to their relief. After all, it wasn't the worst the blonde woman had been through in terms of life-threatening injuries.

The elevator then made a dinging sound and a bunch of people came piling out into the hallway towards Sidney; Michael and Allyson were first, the former clutching Aidan in his arms as they practically sprinted for their daughter. Michael handed the toddler to Mary Jane for a moment as they enveloped the young girl in a desperate hug, the older man beginning to cry with relief that she was okay, albeit hurt a little bit.

"Oh, thank Christ..." he whispered as he held his baby girl, his eyes squeezed shut in anguish. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No, I'm okay except for my head," Sidney said as she let out a trembling sigh of exhaustion.

"What about Christina?" asked Michael.

"She's asleep right now, but she'll be okay..." Sidney mumbled almost silently. "We had quite the scare. She fought back like crazy."

"I bet..." said Allyson as she took Aidan into her arms, noticing that the young boy was staring at his older sister with worry in his eyes. "Sid... we shouldn't have let you go over there..."

"Mom, you didn't know what would happen," Sidney said with a shake of her head. "None of us did. So, don't do that to yourself..."

The girl then peered over Michael's shoulder and saw someone she absolutely needed to see in that moment. Tears welling up in her eyes, she made a mad dash for the shorter girl with those brown eyes she adored so much, throwing her arms around her.

"Belle..." she whispered in a broken voice, about to crumple in Arabella's arms.

"It's okay..." the girl murmured in her ear as she held her girlfriend, rubbing her back to comfort her as much as she could. "It's alright... I'm here, okay?"

Sidney nodded frantically as she began to break, hoarse sobs leaving her as she closed her eyes desperately; she felt her knees beginning to buckle as her energy seemed to completely wear itself down. She was all the more relieved when Arabella accommodated this by having them sit on the floor together so she wouldn't have to keep standing. She buried her face in her shoulder as she kept crying, almost unaware of when Arabella's sister (Amanda 'Mindy' Carpenter), mother (Wendy Carpenter), and cousin (Julia Carpenter) surrounded the two of them in a group hug.

_____

Thirty Minutes Later
2:06 A.M.
Christina's POV

As she stands in the kitchen, preparing a small cake with chocolate icing, the playful screams fill her ears and make her smile. She stares into the living room and sees her little sister and brother chasing each other around the apartment; she knows all too well that Sidney will catch Aidan in a matter of seconds, despite how fast the latter's little legs actually are.

"That's not fair!" Aidan shouts when Sidney taps him on the shoulder.

"Too bad, little man, you're it!" Sidney said tauntingly as the younger boy begins chasing her now.

"Alright, alright, kids," Christina says over all of the pandemonium. "Cake time, quit running around the apartment."

"Yay!!!" Aidan yells as he claps his little hands together while Christina helps him onto the chair in front of the dining table. He is unaware of how his happiness brings tears to the blonde's eyes, too young to ever be able to understand.

"I still think he should stay in the high chair," Sidney says with a sarcastic smirk, slicing a piece of cake with the knife provided to her.

"He's old enough now, Sid," says Christina with a roll of her eyes. "Isn't that right, kiddo?"

"Yeah!" Aidan cheers with a goofy grin on his face. It is then that Christina goes to slice a piece of cake for him as well, also smiling to herself, but more softly.

"Chris...?"

At the sound of the tiny boy speaking up again, the woman turns to face him with a caring expression. "Yes, sweetie...?"

"You're the best sister ever!" says Aidan with vibrant eyes that match hers.

"I thought I was," Sidney protests with her arms spread out, making Christina giggle as she

opened her eyes, groaning tiredly as she reached up to rub her forehead. "Damn..." she whispered, the recollection of the memory-dream fading just as quickly as it had arrived. She then went to sit up, but that was when a dull and throbbing pain flared in her upper stomach, making her hiss through her teeth as her prosthetic hand went to clutch where she had been stabbed. She took deep breaths through her nose and out through her mouth to tolerate the pain.

"Hurts like hell, doesn't it?" came a voice from in front of her, making her look up out of panic.

But it was just Michael, nobody else but him.

"No, it definitely doesn't hurt, thanks for asking..." Christina deadpanned as she smiled at her father, not flinching away when he came over to sit on the bed next to her.

"Mary Jane called me and told me what happened," Michael said, gesturing outside the room. "Her husband's here now. John, right?"

"Right..." she replied before her eyes fell shut for a second. "Is Sidney okay...?"

Michael nodded with a solemn look in his dark blue eyes, sighing shakily. "Yeah, she is..." he said. "She has a small gash on her head but that's it. But she's... very scared. Arabella and her family are here and they're trying to calm her down. She's a mess... she thought she would lose you... again."

A single tear trickled down Christina's cheek but she wiped it away as fast as she could, not wanting to break in front of her dad. "Poor kid..." she whispered, gnawing her bottom lip. "I'm just glad she didn't get hurt more..."

"Me too..." said Michael before full-on staring her dead in the face. "Christina... I need you to tell me what all happened.... Who did this to you? I need to know who almost got you killed so I can press charges or something. Please tell me..."

Christina opened her mouth to say it but her heart paused for a second and she began to greatly hesitate now. A brand new wave of terror started to course through her veins as the thought of what would happen if she told Michael everything transpired in her mind. If she told her father that Harry had broken into her apartment to try and kill her to get to Peter, not only would that reveal Peter's alter ego to Michael straight away, but it would also put her entire family in danger of Osborn's wrath. If she said anything, her family was fucked and so was she. And there would be nothing she could do about that. And it would be all her fault....

Sidney had already been hurt thanks to her being connected to both Peter and Harry... she couldn't endanger her father and stepmother now and – God forbid – her baby brother....

He hurt Sidney, so he could hurt Aidan, too, she thought and become horribly frightened now.

"I can't tell you..." was all she could muster up the courage to say.

Michael raised an eyebrow as he leaned back in surprise. "I'm sorry...?" he replied in a baffled tone of voice.

"I can't tell you anything," she said. "If I tell you who did this to me... there will be consequences and not just for me. But for you, too."

"Christina..." Michael said again, his voice being more stern this time. "I promise that there will be no consequences. Now, tell me. Who hurt you? Was it Harry?"

"I promise that you don't want or need to know," she snapped at him, her eyes blazing with determination as her shoulders began shaking.

"It was him, wasn't it?"

"It's not your business..."

"You're my goddamn daughter!" Michael said as he raised his voice. "And you are my business. Your safety and well-being matters more to me than you think it does. Someone hurt you and I think it was that little prick, Harry Osborn, and I want to do something so that he won't hurt you again."

"IT WON'T DO ANY GOOD!!!!" Christina broke, screeching at him with scrunched eyebrows of frustration and annoyance; she did wince upon seeing how taken aback he was. "Dad... I'm sorry but nothing you do is going to help me now. I have to solve the problem myself.... So don't even think that you're going to help me because I won't let you. Not you or Allyson or Sidney or Mary Jane!"

"Chris, you're not going to make that choice for us," Michael whispered with tears in his eyes.

"And you're not going to tell me what to do!" Christina retorted with a roll of her eyes. "Look... I know you're worried about me and I appreciate it but you can't help me. Because, if you do... it'll be a death sentence for you... for all of us."

"What do you mean...?"

"You don't know how far he'll go..." the blonde murmured almost crazily, her eyes slightly wider now. "That family is fucking insane... His father went as far as to murder my mother because I happened to be friends with Spider-Man's photographer.... And now... he hurt Sidney. He could hurt you or Allyson... or Aidan...."

Michael's face then hardened as his jaw tightened, doing his best to not unleash further rage. He knew damn well who had hurt his daughter now and here she was, telling him that there was nothing he could do to help her. "Honey..." he muttered with a heavy sigh. "Are you sure about that? Did he tell you that he would do that...?"

"No, he didn't... but it's not hard to assume..." Christina murmured. "Look... I don't want to talk about it anymore, alright? Can you give me a few minutes alone...? I need to adjust to this bed."

"Of course," Michael replied before kissing his child's forehead, sadly looking at her before turning to leave the room.

The moment he was gone from view, Christina reached over and grabbed the telephone from the side table, struggling greatly thanks to the wounds in her body. Once her metal fingers grasped the receiver, she desperately dialed each number ingrained in her memory and she then held the phone to her left ear. The dial tone continued on and on for several moments, but a clicking sound on the other confirmed that her call was answered.

"Hello, Christina..." came Harry's voice from the other end.

Not wasting a second, Christina finally spoke up. "I'll do anything you want..." she murmured, another tear trickling down her cheek. This time, she didn't stop the flow. "I want this to be over, Harry. I want to be done with you and with all of this... What do you want me to do? Whatever it is, I'll do it... just don't come for my family, please.... That's all I want now."

Harry didn't say anything for a few seconds but Christina could then hear a smile in his voice as he began talking again. "Okay, here's my plan...."

_____

One Day Later
June 20th, 2005
3:45 P.M.
Peter's POV

Peter found it insanely difficult to focus on the last-minute editing he was doing on a random Spider-Man picture he had taken a week or two ago. The vibrant colors of red and blue popped out more than usual and it was so apparent that it was a wonder why he didn't go blind just from looking at them. But he needed to concentrate more since Jameson needed the picture in by tomorrow morning no matter how long it took for him to edit it.

He recalled how he had gone to the Daily Bugle the day before, and he was only intending on going to turn in some more pictures to Jameson. But, as he was walking down the street, feeling relaxed from the new suit he had been wearing under his button-up shirt, he had caught a glimpse of a newspaper stand. And what he had seen completely baffled him.

BUGLE SCOOPS AGAIN
THIEF
Spider-Man shows his true colors

The picture displayed in front of him was him in the black suit he had adorned from God knows what, only it was him stealing money from a bank. He had recognized said bank as being the one that he – Flint Marko – had robbed himself before he had gone after him in the underground train station.

But there was one thing that piqued Peter's interest straight away: did it look... photoshopped?

"Spider-Man used to make me feel safe," a nearby woman at the stand spoke up aloud, catching Peter's attention. "Now, I'm afraid to walk home from work."

"My son thought the world of this guy," an older man said with a disappointed shake of his head.

"I have a nine-year-old daughter who loved Spider-Man," someone else added in. "Who's she supposed to look up to now?"

"This is the guy they gave the Key to the City to?!"

And that was when Peter saw it. The photo had been published by the very last person he wanted to be doing this... Edward Brock Jr.

"I'm gonna put some dirt in your eye..." he muttered to himself before speed walking towards the Bugle.

Peter then showed up at the building and had promptly gotten Eddie Brock fired from his new staff job on his very first day. It was the only time where he felt as though the black suit actually benefited anything he was doing; after he had swung home, however, he had instantly tossed it back into the chest in his closet, feeling completely tired and energy-drained. He knew he wouldn't be putting that suit on again anytime soon.

But now....

His right eye twitching slightly, Peter slowly turned his head over to the chest, feeling drawn to the presence of said suit again. He took only calm breaths and kept his composure intact, wanting to just go back to the work he was doing. For some reason, though, he couldn't help but have the desire to feel the texture of the suit against his skin again. The after effects of wearing it lasted for hours, the other day with Christina was more than enough to prove that, as his pleasure with her had been heightened drastically.

But I didn't need the suit to feel amazing with her, he protested in his mind, shaking his head absentmindedly. Just being with Christina was already good for him no matter what they were doing, whether that was making love or just joking around together. While the suit had made his physical feelings absolutely incredible, it didn't make him feel any better emotionally. It felt as though the ecstasy was nothing more than an illusion, since it was already wonderful without the suit.

He vowed to never put on that suit again when he was near Christina and, if he did and then went to see her without it, he would temper those emotions. He didn't need to be someone else around her, he could just be himself. She loved him most when he was just Peter Parker and that was all that mattered to the both of them, just how he loved her most when she was just Christina Johnson.

Christina... he thought with a somber smile. You sweet soul... You don't deserve what I'm becoming. You're too amazing for that.... You deserve the entire fucking world. Not me....

A knock suddenly came from his door and he perked up, his interest in the black suit entirely gone now. "Yeah?" he spoke up in a surprised tone.

The person on the other side had to struggle because the door was jammed, but one good smack against it got it to open and Peter raised his eyebrows at who it was.

"Hi, Pete," Ursula Ditkovich said in a shy tone, no smile on her face like there usually was whenever he was around. "There's a phone call...."

Peter was immediately brought back to the other day before he had gone to Christina for comfort... right after he had – presumably – murdered Flint Marko in cold blood. He had come back to his apartment with the new suit under his jacket and felt immensely irritated when his landlord, Mr. Ditkovich, had once again demanded that he pay the rent for the month. This time, however, Peter had refused and had turned to snap at the older man.

"You'll get your rent when you FIX THIS DAMN DOOR!" he had shrieked at him before storming into his room.

Now, Ursula's scared expression repeated itself in his mind and he felt nothing but remorse for having yelled at her and her father like that.

"Ursula, hey..." he murmured, sighing sadly. "Uh... listen, I really shouldn't have spoken –"

"Don't worry about it..." Ursula replied with a kind smile, her eyes seeming very sympathetic, much to Peter's relief. "You're a good boy. It's Christina, by the way."

Peter smiled back at her, incredibly grateful for her compassion; he always acknowledged how good of a heart Ursula had, much unlike her father. And he only hoped that the world would treat her well in the long run and that she would find happiness for herself. She was a very good person, and Peter felt like he didn't deserve her charity.

"Thanks," he said as he stood up, following her out into the hallway where the payphone was, seeing that Ursula had left the receiver on top of it for him, which he also thanked her for.

Once she was out of earshot, Peter grasped the phone and placed it against his ear. "Hey, sweet girl..." he murmured in a very cheerful greeting, grinning with happiness that she had called him.

"Hey..." his love replied on the other end; right away, he could tell that something was afoot by the tone of her voice. She seemed very... quiet. Almost detached... sad.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Christina. "I'm just kind of tired. Look, are you free by any chance?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Great, can you meet me in around an hour?"

Although Peter did light up at the opportunity to see her again, he couldn't help but notice how his heart had dropped at that question. He frowned deeply as he nodded. "Of course, where?"

"That bridge in Central Park. I'll be there before you."

"Alright, I'm on my way," said Peter as he forced himself to keep composed. When she didn't reply, he made sure she was still there. "Hey... I love you..."

There was a long moment of silence.

"I love you, too..." the blonde just barely whispered before the phone clicked and the call ended.

_____

One Hour Later
4:50 P.M.

As he ascended onto the marble bridge, clutching the bouquet of purple lilies in his right hand, Peter's eyes were instantly set on his love. She stood with both human hand and prosthetic hand resting on the railing, staring towards the beautiful view of the city. He saw how she wore a plain blue blouse and black jeans, and yet, she still looked angelic to him. But he right away noticed how tense she seemed and how her blonde hair was more so in front of the side of her face.

He stepped closer to her, not wanting to frighten her with his sudden presence. "Hey..." he muttered with a kind smile. "You look beautiful..."

"Thank you..." Christina replied in a near monotone voice, nodding her head lightly.

"Is everything okay....?"

"No..."

The blonde then cautiously turned her head to look at Peter with a sullen expression etched into her face. Her usually bright eyes seemed badly frightened as she stared up at him, her lips quivering as she did her best to hold back the tears of despair. "I... I have something to tell you... Something you need to know...."

Peter frowned worriedly as he stared at her. "What's the matter...?"

Christina hesitated for a very long span of time, taking in a shaky breath before she reached over to her metal arm. Using her fingernails, she managed to pluck a small piece of folded paper from a tiny crevice near the elbow. She unfolded said paper with trembling hands and carefully placed it down on the railing for Peter to see.

Harry remembers everything, I don't know how but he does. Something must have triggered his memory to come back to him. He remembers that you're Spider-Man and that you supposedly killed his father even though you didn't. He attacked Sidney and I the other night and hurt us. He's trying to get me to break up with you to hurt you more... but I'm not gonna do that. I'm just going to pretend to break up with you and I want you to play along. He's watching us....

Peter's eyes widened as he peered back up at Christina in utter shock, shaking his head in disbelief. "Where is he...?" he whispered way quieter than normal so he wouldn't be heard by anyone but her.

"By the benches behind us... across the lake..." she murmured back. "He might hear us when our voices are louder so you really need to sell it... Just know that I won't mean a word I'm about to say. Just pretend you're hurt... so he won't come for you... or for my family...."

Peter slowly nodded his head, noticing how she was clutching her stomach with her prosthetic and how her face was scrunched with what was clearly agony. As much as he wanted to just pull her to him and comfort her, he knew that couldn't happen. He believed her straight away and he had to suppress his pure rage; of course the son of a bitch had to come after her and Sidney... all because they were connected to him.

Just like someone else had almost three years ago... And he was taken back to the night that he had fought the very man that had taken his girlfriend's mother away from her and

brought his heavy boot down onto his wrist, painfully preventing his webs from being fired out anymore. He cried out in pain as he squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that his wrist bone was cracked at the very least, if not entirely shattered.

"You've spun your last web, Spider-Man..." the Green Goblin spoke up in a gravelly voice, directing Peter's weakened gaze up to him. It was heavily difficult to see out of his right eye that wasn't already partially covered with the broken lenses of his mask since it was clearly bloodshot thanks to the pumpkin bomb that had blown up in his face.

Nearly every inch of his face was covered with bruises and blood was slowly trickling out of his mouth. He was hurting from head to toe from all of the punches and kicks he had endured and he was ready to give up.

"Had you not been so selfish, your little girlfriend's death would have been quick and painless along with your bestie's..." the Goblin continued on. "Little Chrissie could have gone to the other side quickly and reunited with her mommy in peace... but now that you've really pissed me off... I'm gonna finish her off... nice and slow..."

Peter felt something rising in his chest and he had no idea if it was worry or if it was unadulterated indignation for the monster in front of him. "What... What are you gonna do to her...?" he rasped out.

"It's safe to say that I've found one thing about Christina that isn't annoying..." retorted the Goblin. "She's quite the pretty lady, isn't she? It's a shame you'll miss out on one experience with her... because I think I'll... have some fun with her before she dies."

Peter snapped his head up at his enemy, the realization instantly kicking in for him of what would happen to Christina... sweet, innocent, loving Christina.... Surely, he wouldn't do that to her, right?! There was no way in the darkest pits of hell's fury that he would ever r-

But this was the Green Goblin. If he had taken Margaret away from Christina, then he would definitely rip her purity from her as well.

And the last thing Peter Parker ever wanted was for Christina to have her innocence ripped away from her caring soul.

Peter's eyes tightened at the memory as he looked at Christina again, realizing that Harry, while not having done what his father had threatened, had still hurt her badly.

I'm gonna fucking kill him... he thought as his jaw tightened.

The five minutes following that consisted of Peter and Christina making up lines to try and argue with each other, and there were even moments where they were screaming in each other's faces in anger. But, of course, they didn't mean anything by what they said, such as "It's over" and "You've changed and I don't like what you are now" and "I fucking hate you."

Eventually, Christina couldn't do it anymore and just burst into tears, lowering her head as she began sobbing to herself. Her forehead met the cold marble railing as her heart wrenched in her chest, threatening to explode from the pain she felt in her soul.

"Chris... please..." Peter whispered weakly as he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look at me, please, baby... Don't do this."

The blonde could tell that was only translation for: "Don't break down because it's going to hurt me."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she screeched at him, her hands balled up into fists as she stared at him with tears streaming down her face, her eyes almost insane. "IT'S OVER!!!"

She then walked around Peter and stomped away from him, being careful to hide her limp from him, but not before sparing a sneaky glance in his direction to remind him to keep playing his role. He listened to her silent demand and stood in his spot for several more seconds before finally walking in the direction she had walked away in. He made sure to keep at a leisurely pace, noticing out of the corner of his eye a figure standing next to a tree... and he was watching his every move.

A minute later, he reached where she was and saw her leaning against a hedge and he stepped up to her with tears still in his eyes. He carefully reached out and held both of her hands in his as he stared at her.

"Harry... he..." Christina tried to whisper, her voice cracking. "He's not... He's not going to stop until you're dead... He's going to keep going and he'll never stop. I just want it to be over...."

Peter moved his hands to where he cupped her face and tenderly wiped her tears away, looking deeply into her eyes. "It's going to be okay, baby..." he murmured soothingly, his voice doing wonders for the blonde woman. "I promise... it'll all be okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you...."

He then saw her face shift a little bit as her eyes looked down at the ground, and he could see her hesitancy to speak again.

"What about you....?" she replied as she glanced back up at him, her lips trembling again as she sniffed.

"You don't need to worry about me, okay, sweet girl?" Peter mumbled as he rested his forehead against hers. "Really... I swear to you... I'll fix this."

And then they were kissing.

Unlike their other kisses that were steamy and almost neverending, this one was desperate and nothing else but emotional. They could both feel their hearts shattering with every chaste peck and every movement they made; it was as if a new wave of terror for each other's safety was washing through their souls and they were horrified that this could be the last kiss they would ever share. The only thing they wanted with each other now was peace and hope, but it seemed that all of that was gone.

Just that thought was enough for Peter to pull Christina impossibly close, being careful for any injuries she could have had.

But the blonde pulled away seconds later with a quivering breath and turned away from him before leaving without another word, and Peter knew that it was due to her being scared that Harry would see them. Instead of saying anything, he acted completely natural as he left in the opposite direction, knowing he had a job to do.

_____

Christina's POV

The moment she knew Peter was far enough away, she calmly wiped her tears away and kept a blank resolve. She was just praying that her face would give nothing away to Harry if she ended up having to walk past him, which seemed like a great possibility to her. After all, her acting skills had gotten much better over time and she was ready to keep that straight face. If Harry didn't believe it, then she would just have to be more convincing next time...

...if there was a next time.

Gritting her teeth behind her lips, she carefully limped forward and fought the pain coursing up and down her entire body. She suppressed groans of said agony and she remained steady.

And then she saw him, refused to look at him again, bottled up her fury.

"Bravo..." he said in a proud tone.

The only thing Christina did in response was stick up her middle finger at him, not even glancing at him for a second.

And that was when an inhumanly tight grasp closed around her arm and she grunted more out of startlement than anything. She finally turned to meet his gaze, glaring up at him as she waited for his next move.

"Don't think I forgot what you made me do to you..." Harry hissed at her. "I didn't want to have it come to that."

"I'm sure you didn't..." the blonde retorted before yanking her arm out of his hand, but she didn't even get to step away before his hand was gripping her chin even more tightly, his thumb pressed hard into her cheek. At that, she seethed at him. "You didn't force me to do this, Harry. I chose this to protect my family because it's my family over Peter any day. But... you'll regret this one way or another, I promise you."

"We'll see about that, Chrissie..."

In response, Christina jerked her jaw out of his hand and used her metal hand to deliver a sharp and brutal slap to the right side of Harry's face. Unbeknownst to either of them, if she had hit him with just a tiny bit more force, his jaw would have either been fractured or completely broken. But it was one hundred percent cracked and there would be a definite bruise.

As Harry instinctively reached for his face, Christina spared a subtle glance behind him and spotted Peter watching the interaction behind a tree. When she saw his small smile of approval, she made sure to look back at Harry to sell the act further.

"Fuck you!" she snarled at him before turning on her heel and leaving Central Park, the tears streaming out of her eyes real ones of physical pain now as she kept her head down to hide the bruises on her face from everyone.

_____

Fifteen Minutes Later
5:10 P.M.
Sidney's POV

A frantic knock came from the front door of the apartment, breaking Sidney's concentration on the boarded up doors that had been shattered to bits. Her head turned to where the knocking was coming from and she sedately walked towards the door, shakily unlocking it and opening it. She was fully prepared to fight off Harry Osborn if it was him in front of her.

But it was none other than the complete opposite of Harry, the man that she was eternally grateful for helping her and Christina through the darkest of times, Peter Parker.

"Hey..." Peter muttered as he looked down at the younger girl, sighing heavily.

"Hey..." Sidney replied almost inaudibly as she avoided his gaze.

"Um... may I come in, please?"

"Yeah."

With that, Sidney stepped back to give Peter room to enter the apartment but not before noticing the bouquets of purple lilies and sunflowers in his hand. She followed him over to the sofa in the living room, her shoes crunching on the few specks of glass that had been missed by the broom.

When she sat down next to Peter, that was when he placed the bouquets on the spare space of the couch. "The sunflowers are for you..." he whispered. "I heard about what happened. Wanted to get you something to cheer you up."

Feeling touched, Sidney reached out and caressed the petals of one of the flowers almost graciously as a bittersweet smile touched her lips. "Thanks..." was all she said. And then, "But that won't do much... to stop me, at least."

Peter glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, seeming completely confused at this statement. "And what do you mean by that, exactly?" he asked.

"I mean that no amount of comfort will prevent me from going after him..." she snapped, glaring back at him before lowering her head in instant shame.

Peter thought about each word Sidney had said for a very long moment, trying his best to decipher the meaning behind them. It didn't take him very long to figure it out, and he was instantly shaking his head in disapproval. "Sid... you'll get yourself killed," he warned her.

"Yeah, what's your point?" backfired Sidney, raising her own eyebrows.

"You have no comprehensible idea of what you would be walking into," he said. "You don't even know for certain that he would be waiting for you to make that move. And if he was, God knows what he'd do to you."

"So he gets to get away with what he did to her?!" she exclaimed.

"That's not what I'm saying."

"That's exactly what you're saying!"

"Sidney, this isn't some walk in the park we're talking about!" he sternly spoke up, his eyebrows scrunched together in irritation. "You walk into that penthouse, it will be a death sentence for you, and all because of me being Spider-Man's photographer. Who knows how much he prepared to attack Chris –"

"But he needs to get what's coming to him!" Sidney said, beginning to raise her voice. "We tried going to the police but they said that there was no proof because Harry was wearing gloves. So, there were no fingerprints!"

"If there's anyone that needs to handle Harry, it should be me," Peter retorted. "You're only twelve years old and I just want to keep you and Chris safe."

"Yeah, and what the fuck have you been doing for that to happen?!" Sidney finally screamed at him, standing to her feet and staring at him with wide eyes.

Peter flinched at that, his heart contorting in his chest from what she had yelled at him. But he wasn't angry at the girl. In fact, she was entirely right in what she said. After all, it had been him who had been chosen to be bitten by that radioactive spider when he was eighteen and he had chosen to become Spider-Man but to also make time to be in a romance with Christina. If that had simply never happened.... If he hadn't been bitten, none of this would have occurred and Christina and Sidney would not have been hurt.

On the other hand, he was also indirectly responsible for Christina and Sidney meeting in the first place. Him being Spider-Man had led to Margaret Johnson's tragic demise but it had also caused Michael to re-enter his girlfriend's life and introduce her little sister to her. And their relationship had repaired itself over time as Michael had proven himself to be a better father to his children.

He didn't know what to currently make of the situation, though.

Sidney seemed to catch how she had hurt Peter with those words and she also winced, immediately backing down. "I... I-I..." she stammered. "I didn't mean –"

"It's okay, kiddo," Peter consoled her as he stood up, taking a deep breath. "Look.... Let me handle Harry. Let me talk to him, at least. He'll get what's coming to him, I promise."

"And if it doesn't work?"

"Then, I'll figure something out," he said before stepping up to her, trying to get her to fully meet his gaze. "Let me talk to him... please, Sid."

Sidney sighed quietly. "Fine."

Peter then opened his arms and Sidney didn't hesitate to welcome his hug, fully embracing him for the first time in their whole friendship. Being in the arms of someone she had come to trust over the past two and a half years made tears well in her eyes and she even sniffed, to which Peter responded by patting her back to comfort her.

"It'll be alright, kid," he whispered and she nodded, believing him.

And he then let go, saying his goodbyes and leaving her alone in the apartment.

_____

One Hour Later
6:15 P.M.
Peter's POV

As he sat on his bed in his apartment, staring at the wall with a composed expression, all Peter could think about was the look in Christina's saddened eyes as she had looked up at him and told him that Harry wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. Those eyes were enough to make even the meanest of souls crumble with heartbreak and it had taken everything for him not to shatter upon seeing how she looked at him.

He knew the very reason she had constructed the fake breakup between them: it was to protect him and her family from any further harm.

Even through her torture, she still put those she loved first. That, at least, had been something that Harry could never take away from her. And Peter was eternally grateful for that.

And then the image of Sidney being utterly enraged from what had happened to her and Christina entered his mind. The girl was still just a kid, no matter how tough she attempted to be when things went sideways. And she had been through way too much for a child of her age.

During Peter's relationship with Christina, he had grown to see her family as his second family over time. Despite his hatred for the man at the time, he now fully respected Michael and saw him as an acceptable father for his love; also, he had formed a friendship with Allyson after learning of her innocence of that whole situation in the nineties, seeing that she was a kind albeit stern and sometimes foreboding older woman. And, of course, he had grown to adore Sidney and Aidan, even treating them like his own siblings at times. They were equally as important – if not more so – as Christina was.

So, seeing how trauma-stricken Sidney had become over having to see Christina almost succumb to the hands of death again.... It was all too much for Peter to handle.

To do that to anyone, let alone a fucking child... he thought to himself with a frown.

Well, that was straight up unforgivable.

It didn't matter that Harry had only done the bare minimum to Sidney to get her out of the way, he had still hurt her.

And that came with a consequence.

As if by pure instinct, he slowly turned his head to where the entrance of his closet was, feeling a somewhat fiery sensation crawling up his ribcage. He seemed to ignore the pictures of his loved ones sitting next to the police scanner on his nightstand, staring straight at where his laundry was hanging over the dark chest next to the dead end of said closet.

He then stood up and walked past his bed to where he could fully see the chest in his line of sight, taking deep but haggard breaths. It didn't matter how many times he had attempted to resist the pull of that box over the past few days, vowing to never open it again and see what was inside. It didn't matter that what was in it was akin to a deadly poison to his soul. He needed it and he needed it now.

It was the only way.

Sedately stepping up to it, Peter knelt down and carefully flipped the locks on the chest, slowly lifting the lid and looking at what awaited him.

The black suit that he had chosen to abandon after murdering Flint Marko in cold blood met his gaze and he could have sworn that some of the addicting fabric was moving up and down. Almost as if it were... breathing.

But Peter didn't care.

The whispers hit his eardrums as the faces of Christina and her family swam through his mind, making the urge to put the suit on even greater. And, ever so steadily, the plan was set for him and a smile made its way onto his face. A smile of pride, of anger, of anticipation.

He had a job to do.

_____

As the sun finished the process of setting behind the horizon of the city, Harry Osborn peacefully concocted a glass of vodka that he would drink to celebrate his victory. He didn't care that the bitch had damn near broken his jaw, since it was healed again and he could just ignore that for now. He had won and that was all that mattered to him now.

But there was only one flaw that he had caught straight away with how his plan had been executed. The fight Christina had picked with Peter seemed too... fake. Almost as if she had sneakily told him the truth and had hoped that she wouldn't be noticed.

Poor Christina thought she was such a good liar, but Harry had seen through her scheme right away. But he chose not to punish her for it, since this was all to get to Peter anyway. He had abandoned his mission to kill her after what had happened last time, and he wouldn't risk it again. He was going to leave her alone now, and he just hoped she wouldn't get in his way again.

As Harry topped his glass of vodka, he suddenly felt a presence behind him and he could swear he sensed eyes drilling holes into his back. Instead of reacting angrily, he chose to smile almost proudly.

"I should have known she would go behind my back," he said with a tut as he shook his head. "Well, would you like a drink?"

No answer. And then it hit him.

"I'm sorry," he added sarcastically, turning to look at his ex-best friend and walking towards him. "What was I thinking? Bad for the public image, right, Mr. Key-to-the-City?"

"She told me what happened," this new Peter said darkly, sneering at Harry as he suppressed the urge to rip him apart right there. "But she was too scared to give me the details. So, what the hell did you do to her and Sidney?"

Harry, noticing how Peter's bangs were in his eyes and that his 'superhero' suit was now black instead of the normal red and blue but ignoring it, took a sip of his drink and swallowed it. "I just had a little chat with her, that's all," was all he answered with. "I warned her that if I caught her with you again, she would pay the price along with you. I just brushed Sidney to the side, she wasn't involved."

"Cut the bullshit, Harry," Peter retorted as he narrowed his eyes. "You and I both know that's not what you did. You really think she wouldn't tell me? She tells me everything. You should have seen how scared she was. How scared they both were."

"And you think that matters to me how?" Harry asked with a tilt of his head. "I'll give you and her credit, that was quite the performance you two delivered today. But it wasn't as lovely to watch as it was when I nearly killed Christina."

Peter's left eye twitched as he stared at Harry incredulously. Not only had he hurt Christina, but he had nearly murdered her, too?! "What?" he muttered with gritted teeth.

"You heard me. I mean, she wanted to die that badly last year, so I might as well have granted her wish. And when I stabbed her... those three times... that's when I knew the cunt got what was coming to her. Her screams of pain were like amazing music to my ears...."

Peter had heard enough.

He lunged at Harry, driving his fist into the left side of his face and catapulting him backwards; the effects of the suit he was wearing under his jacket were only adding fuel to the fire and that's what kept him going. He punched Harry repeatedly like he had pictured doing that night at the planetarium, when his and Christina's friendship was destroyed in front of him.

After around the fifth punch, Peter suddenly felt a painful but brief jab right above his left hip and his eyes went wide from the feeling of it. He peered down, only to see the dagger that Harry had nearly killed him with the year prior right before finding out his identity as Spider-Man. And it was now lodged into his stomach, right near where his gut was.

He groaned in agony as he yanked the knife out of him and knocked it out of Harry's hands, and that was when he was met with the sight of the three jagged blades that had sliced him open mere days ago. This time, when they swung at him, he dodged them just in time and punched the bastard again, sending him stumbling into the wall and knocking out the power of a nearby lamp.

But Harry was back for another go, swinging at Peter several more times with the blades and Peter moved out of the way until he was nearly struck in the face with them. He blocked them with his hands but the tip of one of them nearly sliced his right eye apart as they were centimeters away. He finally thought of shoving him away and trying to duck but he was shoved towards one of the columns of the penthouse's living room.

Harry then made his fatal error, trying to stab Peter in the head when he was recollecting himself. Peter finally ducked down and the blades struck the column, becoming stuck. He then fixed that problem by completely snapping them in half, not having to worry about them ever again.

Peter raised his arm to strike Harry in the face again, but he was caught at the last second and kicked across the room. He slid over the round coffee table and tumbled to the floor, Harry's bottle of whiskey flying into the fireplace, sending flames ablaze.

"How'd you like that, Spidey?" Harry taunted with a sinister smirk.

But Peter got right back up, the kick not even phasing him as he also smirked at Harry, his arms spread right open. "That all you got?!" he challenged, shrugging his shoulders.

Despite receiving a punch to his own face, Peter ignored that as he sent Harry flying out of the glass doors and onto his balcony. He grinned in satisfaction upon noticing that the asshole's bottom lip was cut open by a shard of the glass, but he stayed alert, ready for another lunge from the maniac.

"Stings, doesn't it?" he called to him.

"I protected you in high school. Now, I'm gonna kick your little ass!" Harry snarled furiously.

Peter made a gesture like he was saying "Oh no, I'm so scared!" but he wasn't frightened of that threat whatsoever. In fact, he found it rather pathetic.

Harry was back on his feet and he sprinted at Peter but he was grabbed and shoved against the other glass door. Although he dodged the next oncoming punches, he was then thrown towards the interior balcony and his head struck the wood above him, potentially cutting his head open. That was confirmed when a trickle of blood made its way down his right temple, but all he could do was chuckle because of how impressed he was at Spider-Man's level of violence.

"I don't think worthless Christina would approve of what you're doing," he teased with a furious grin.

"She'd be ecstatic!" Peter fired back before tackling him through the mirror built into the wall, causing it to shatter upon impact and leaving the both of them stunned for a brief moment.

After they recovered, Peter contemplated his next move while keeping a close eye on Harry, instantly noticing him dashing for his Goblin equipment. He sprinted after him in a desperate attempt to cut him off before the items were reached. But he saw one of the electronic swords being grabbed and he dived out of the way several times to avoid the strikes, ever so slowly becoming frightened of what these blades could do.

Is he seriously this goddamn desperate to kill me?! he exclaimed in his mind. And for fucking what?!

The blade then struck a laptop Harry used to control the equipment left to him by his father, and then his glider went out of control. It spun haphazardly across the room and both Harry and Peter had to keep their heads lowered out of fear that they would be decapitated by the metal. But Harry was still fucking going, trying to slice Peter's head clean off with the sword but he ducked again. He then went for his legs but the man with the advantage over him dived under him and threw him upward.

Harry only had a split millisecond to realize what was about to happen when his glider collided with his forehead and his back struck the glass shelves of pumpkin bombs. Glass exploded and he was then on the floor, bleeding profusely from each individual speck of glass that had penetrated his skin.

Peter, breathing heavily from exhaustion but prideful in what he had done, stepped up to Harry to finish the job.

"You gonna kill me like you killed my father?" Harry said haggardly, his eyes drooping from the definite concussion he had now.

"Hypocritical coming from you after what he did to Chris's mother," Peter said in return, shaking his head in disappointment. "The fucker had it coming after that. Besides, I'm done trying to convince you."

"You took him from me..." Harry said, still being delusional. Classic Harry Osborn. "He loved me...."

"No," Peter corrected. "He despised you. You were an embarrassment to him."

Seeing the look of utter betrayal and depression written in Harry's eyes after hearing those words made Peter chuckle in ecstasy. He had done what he had intended, and that was to break Harry's mental state for what he had done to his girl. As he had said about Norman, the fucker had it coming.

"Oh... look at Little Goblin Junior. Gonna cry?"

And Harry did cry, though it was more a battle cry than anything else. He went to annihilate Peter but he was thrown back into the wall in seconds, his skull hitting the bricks and finally putting him down.

Peter felt as if his job was finished and Harry had fully gotten what he deserved. After all, if you hurt his sweet girl, then you pretty much signed your death certificate. He sighed in relief that this was done and he turned his back on the son of a bitch that used to be his best friend, beginning to walk away.

Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end and his shoulders tensed up. He quickly moved out of the way and shot a web out, yanking the pumpkin bomb back towards Harry after it had been thrown.

As the bomb began to explode and destroy half of the room, Harry letting out a strangled cry in the process when the flames scalded his skin so badly he may as well have looked worse than Christina did when her arm was melted off, Peter didn't even look back at him.

In fact, he even smiled at what he had done....

_____

Three Hours Later
10:04 P.M.
Christina's POV

Christina winced from the agony of even moving as she limped toward her bed, reading to turn in for the night after having hummed to Sidney to comfort her enough to fall asleep. She had noticed upon returning home that the young girl was still badly shaken up from what had happened the previous night and she knew it would take a lot of time to move past it. To offer more tranquility, Christina had brought Aidan over to spend the night with them and he was currently asleep in his sister's room with her.

And now the blonde was alone again and she sighed tiredly. She reached over for her bottle of Tylenol and took two pills to relieve the pain while she slept.

She then turned to look at her bedroom, examining the bullet holes in the wood that she would need to fix in the upcoming future. She didn't know when she would do so, but she knew she would be forced to.

Yawning a little, she weakly lifted her legs to put them under her blanket and she was about to lay on the heating pad to help with her back pains. But a knock at her window interrupted that.

She sleepily turned her gaze to said window and smiled a little with relief that it was just Peter on the other side, clinging to the brick wall. She stumbled out of bed and limped over to where he was, lifting the window to get a clearer look at him. "Hey..." she whispered in greeting.

"Hey, baby..." Peter replied as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes, fully acknowledging her blush at the nickname and his eyes brightening at that.

Christina was about to say something else but she noticed Peter's bleeding knuckles and her eyebrows scrunched together in worry. She thought for a moment that he had just gotten into a daily shenanigan with a robber or something in the city, but then she came to the dreadful conclusion. She wasn't a fucking idiot.

"How badly did he get you?" she asked with a deadpan expression.

"Not too badly," Peter answered with a shrug. "Just a few scratches on my hands and stuff."

Christina raised an eyebrow at the obvious lie. "Yeah, let me look," she said, unzipping his jacket to examine him better. It didn't take her too long to see the stab wound in his ribcage (Peter had abandoned his suit again) and, although she cringed upon seeing it, she actually smirked out of amusement at him. "Just a few scratches, huh?"

Peter chuckled in return as he shook his head, knowing he shouldn't have lied like a dumbass. "Well, you should see the other guy," he said confidently.

She rolled her eyes at him as she smiled again. "I didn't ask for you to go after him, but I can't say I'm mad at you," she replied. "Come in."

Peter climbed into the bedroom as Christina turned on her lamp, noticing that she had removed her prosthetic arm for the night. He knew to sit down on her bed as she retrieved the first aid kit so she could stitch his stab wound up and disinfect it with the tools needed. And, although it hurt somewhat when she threaded the needle through his skin, he chose to not bring that topic to light.

"So, what exactly did you do to him?" she asked him out of curiosity as she finished stitching him up.

"Long story short, I threw one of his bombs in his face," Peter said simply, not beating around the bush any longer.

A huff of laughter escaped Christina at this as she closed her eyes. "Well... he had it coming," she said. "Alright, all done." She then went to stand up to put the kit away, but a sharp flare of pain erupted in the still-healing stab wound in her inner thigh, which made her lose her footing. Peter immediately got up and caught her, holding her waist gently to keep her stable.

"Are you alright?" he asked out of deep concern for her, frowning with worry.

Christina grit her teeth from all of the pain she was going through but she still nodded her head. "Mhm, I'm fine," she lied. "Just hurts a little, that's all." She then moved away from Peter and put the kit in the top drawer of her nightstand next to her gun, doing her best to ignore his eyes staring at the back of her head.

"Chris..." he murmured as he cautiously stepped up to her. "Harry told me that he... that he stabbed you... Is that true?"

The blonde woman sighed shakily as her lips pressed together, her shoulders slumping before she turned around carefully. Although she hesitated, she knew she couldn't hide the truth from Peter any longer. If she did, he would notice just how badly she was hurting at some point... eventually. So, inhaling a deep breath, she looked directly into his eyes. "Yes..." she said quickly before immediately lowering her gaze, feeling ashamed.

Peter noticed and gently cradled her bruised face in his hands, his heart shattering at the memory of seeing how roughly Harry had grabbed her by the face. His fingerprints had left those bruises and that completely broke him. "Where did he stab you?" he asked delicately, his eyes filling with unshed tears. "You can tell me, it's okay...."

Her bottom lip trembling, Christina chose to answer him. "He... He stabbed me here... here... a-and here..." she said, pointing to her shoulder, her stomach, and inner thigh. "He... Huh-He..."

"Hey... look at me, sweet girl..." Peter whispered, and she did. "Can you show me? Can I see what he did?"

Although insecurity clawed up her chest, she slowly nodded and sat down on her mattress, trembling all over. She instinctively raised her arm and stump up, and Peter gingerly grabbed the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. And she then removed her pajama pants, feeling incredibly self-conscious.

Peter's eyes widened at just how badly the extent of her damage from Harry was; her vulnerability and nakedness were the last things on his mind for the time being, as all he could see were the jagged but healing wounds above her left collarbone and right next to where her liver would be. He then stepped around her and saw that nearly every inch of her back was littered with bruises in varying colors, and he covered his mouth in horror.

"C-Chris..." he stammered in complete shock. "Honey..."

Christina instantly went to cover herself up with her blanket as a tear trickled down her left cheek. "Peter..." she weakly whispered. "He... He-He tried to kill me.... I-I..."

But she couldn't say no more, breaking entirely as quiet sobs left her.

Peter climbed onto the bed behind her and gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders, closing his eyes as he kissed the shell of her ear, making her whimper sadly.

"I didn't want to lose you..." was the only thing Christina could say after that as she leaned into his embrace, no longer feeling insecure and letting the blanket fall away.

"I know..." Peter murmured in her ear, nodding slowly. "It's okay, sweet girl..." He placed a loving kiss against the nape of her neck to further solidify this.

_____

Two Years Ago
December 3rd, 2002

Christina broke her gaze away from the tombstone as the anger from having seen her father again began wearing off. She wiped the rest of her tears away as she sighed, standing to her feet. She noticed that Harry had long since left both funerals and now Peter was nowhere to be found. The only people she saw were Aunt May and Mary Jane talking to one another.

Taking a deep breath, she spared one last glance towards her mother's tombstone before walking away.

MARGARET CATHERINE JOHNSON
DEC. 24, 1948 — NOV. 28, 2002
Loving Daughter, Sister, and Mother

For a little while, Christina walked throughout the cemetery and scanned the numerous gravestones surrounding her, some of which dated back to the seventeen hundreds and so on. A sad little smile touched her lips as she saw how far they went back and how much they had aged since being planted in the ground. Unfortunately, that's all these stones would be, just a reminder of who once lived in this world and who was now buried six feet below where she stood now.

Just like with Mom, she thought but she rid herself of that immediately.

Why did her father have to show up and make her life even more of a living hell than it already was?! After the stunt he had pulled – despite introducing her to Sidney – Christina partly wished that it were him that had gotten killed by the Green Goblin instead of Margaret.

No. That was inhumane of her to imagine, despite her utter hatred for Michael. She couldn't think things like that no matter how much she was losing at once.

She finally peered up and spotted a figure staring down at another tombstone and her heart wrenched painfully in her chest.

It was Peter.

She timidly stepped up to where he was, almost ignoring how he had turned his head to see that she was heading his way. She stopped directly next to him and tenderly took his left hand into her right one, staring down at the grave.

BEN PARKER
Beloved Husband and Uncle

"You must miss him so much..." she whispered almost inaudibly, and she barely saw Peter nodding out of the corner of her eye.

"It's been so hard without him," he replied dejectedly and she squeezed his hand with whatever comfort she had remaining in her heart.

"I know how you really feel now..." was all she could say in return as she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as another tear fell down her cheek.

"I promised you, Chris... I'll do whatever I can to help you..." Peter said as he leaned his head against her, knowing that was all she needed to stay calm.

"I know."

Peter turned to look at her and saw that she was slowly breaking down into tears again, and his heart shattered for her all over again. "I mean it, really..." he muttered. "I will." He then leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Christina's cheek to bring her more peace to the situation and he saw how her face ever so slightly turned pink at the contact.

Feeling completely torn from what he truly wanted, which was to be in a happy and wonderful relationship with the girl of his dreams and to help her heal that way, and being what he needed to be to protect her, he squeezed her hand a final time in his own particular way and walked away from her, leaving the cemetery.

But Christina instantly noticed the peculiar way he had squeezed her hand and she was brought back to a particular night... a night around four months ago. When she had kissed...

She spun to face a leaving Peter, recalling how Spider-Man had held her arm as she had kissed him in that rainy alleyway.

Was... Was that Peter?!

But no! It couldn't be!

Could it?

A/N: well, that was a hell of a long chapter! the longest chapter of this book by far, actually!

ANYWAYS, thoughts on this chapter? did you enjoy it?

did you like the depiction of sidney's rage over what harry did to her and christina? what about when mary jane was being logical with her?

what about the bittersweet moment with arabella showing up at the hospital to comfort sidney along with her family?

what about christina's tiny moment of almost insanity thanks to her trauma?

did you like how the addiction metaphor for the symbiote was described for peter? what about me fixing his character arc so he's not as much of a dickhead this go around?

did you like the version of peter apologizing to ursula that was in the editor's cut of the film? i much prefer this version over the theatrical version.

what about the pretend breakup? bet you guys were expecting it to go the same way as the film, were ya?😝

oh and what about that flashback with the goblin? bet you hate him even more now.

what about christina's face off with harry and how she slapped him?

thoughts on when peter comforted sidney? their friendship is the most underrated aspect of this book by far!

what about the editor's cut version of peter putting on the black suit again?

and, the moment we (even myself) were all waiting for, peter vs. harry! thoughts?

what did you think of the scene where peter tended to christina upon seeing the full extent of her physical pain?

and the final flashback scene to the end of part one?

predictions for the next chapter?

be looking forward to the next chapter... i guess...

-denbroughswife