InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I wanted to be a Jedi!"

Peter Parker (itsallspandex) wrote in wariscoming,
@ 2012-08-14 10:04:00

Entry tags:

ariel, peter parker/spider-man

Who: Peter Parker & Ariel
What: Peter's arrival in Lawrence
When: Monday evening [8-13-12]
Where: Streets downtown somewhere
Rating/Status: PG/Complete

Something wasn't right, he just wasn't sure what...
Peter was disoriented for a moment as he tried to get his bearings. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness surrounding him, he realized he wasn't quite sure where he was. Wherever it was, he knew it was most certainly not the roof of Gwyn Stacy's apartment and that in itself was a rather confusing predicament. That was where he'd just been, after all, trying to find a way to tell her that he was the vigilante her father and his police force were so vehemently searching for. But now...now he was here. Wherever here was, which he intended on finding out.

He pulled out his phone and dialed home to tell Aunt May he might be just a little late coming home tonight, but became confused when he was greeted with a standard message stating that the number he was attempting to dial was disconnected and no longer in service. Something wasn't right, but he wasn't sure what it was. Scooping up his backpack that had fallen to the ground during whatever had just happened, he slung the pack over his shoulder and began walking. The streets weren't familiar, but that seemed to be the least of his worries at this point. For now, all he had to do was find someone out at this hour and he's figure this thing out and make a plan to go home.

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onlythreedays
2012-08-14 03:26 am UTC (link)

Ariel was finally feeling better. She supposed she owed more to Mr. Solo than she could ever pay back for that...and to Jimmy, for taking care of her and never leaving her side. Still, as much as she loved him for staying with her the whole time, Ariel wanted to give Jimmy some space as much as she wanted to take some. It wasn't because she felt stifled, by any means. It was just that...well, Ariel hated being stuck indoors. Now that she was feeling better, she wanted to get out for a little bit. The sun had started to go down and the air was cooler, so she figured that was as good a time as any and Ariel wanted Starbucks. Badly.

It had taken a lot of convincing and many promises that she'd check in often if she stayed out a little while, but she'd gotten Jimmy to agree to let her go and part of her felt newly infatuated with him all over again for his pushback on the matter. Ariel hated the way she looked because she didn't feel like herself at all, but once she got outside into the fresh air, she found that she didn't really care. Mainly, because no one was with her to be looking at her and making her wonder whether they still saw her even though she was stuck in this older body that looked like someone else entirely. The walk to Starbucks was short, the line was even shorter, and in less than fifteen minutes, she'd acquired her favorite latte and was making her way back to Jimmy's.

It was starting to get dark quickly, so Ariel hastened her pace and, as she was texting Jimmy to let him know she was on her way back, she lost herself so much in her phone that she brushed harshly against someone as she went. Looking up quickly, Ariel looked a bit like a deer in headlights. She was glad for the mace Jimmy had insisted she take in her purse and fished a free hand in, in case she needed to use it, when she realized the person was a male. "Sorry," she said quickly, giving him an impish sort of grin. "Sorry, I didn't see you...I should've been watching where I was walking," she added.

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itsallspandex
2012-08-14 04:24 pm UTC (link)

Peter was lost, both figuratively and literally, and he needed to figure something out pretty quick. So lost in his own preoccupied thoughts, Peter had been apparently blind to the fact that there was anyone else walking the streets. He was quickly brought back to reality when someone bumped into him.

Peter was taken back a bit by the fear that crossed her features. He wasn't exactly the most threatening looking guy on the planet. Or at least Peter didn't think so, but the girl was clearly frightened for some reason. "No, don't worry about it, I wasn't really paying attention either..." he trailed off, glancing at the street sign to make some general mental note about his surroundings. "This might sound strange," he let out a slight scoff, "but, uh...do you...do you know where we are?" He felt ridiculous asking such a question. Most people didn't wake up and not remember where they were. This was not a situation he would like to ever repeat. "It's just, I'm not supposed to....I just mean...I-I'm lost and uh...can you help me?" the last few words rushed out of his mouth at a faster pace than the others. Peter felt like he must sound like an absolute fool to this woman and deemed it best to just shut his mouth before he started sounding like a whackjob that deserved to be in a psychiatric hospital.

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onlythreedays
2012-08-15 02:51 am UTC (link)

Ariel relaxed slightly when the man said it was all right and asked where they were. Her expression fell into a sympathetic sort of smile and she nodded. "Did you just show up, just now? You're in Lawrence, Kansas," she told him gently. "It happened to lots of us; don't feel bad," she was quick to tack on.

Giving him a small smile, Ariel let go of the mace spray in her purse and removed her hand to hold it out to him. "I'm Ariel," she offered. "You're probably displaced like the majority of us. I'm not from here, either. You shouldn't be out on the streets though...not without one of these," she told him, untucking her amulet from the neckline of her shirt and showing him.

"It's dangerous here..." she added, knitting her brow as discomfort flashed across her featured and disappeared just as quickly. "What's your name?"

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itsallspandex
2012-08-15 03:47 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, I did," he nodded at her question about his arrival here. "How...how did you know that?" When she went on to explain that this happened a lot here, there was no hiding the confusion on his face. Despite it, he nodded and mumbled a quick, "Right."

"Oh, uh-" he put his hand out to grasp her own in a shake. "I'm Peter, Peter Parker." he nodded. His eyes followed to land on the amulet she pulled out. "What does it do, exactly? And why should I not be walking the streets without one?"

This girl was a little strange, but she was at least trying to be helpful, so Peter decided it would be best to continue talking with her so that maybe he could figure this whole thing out.

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onlythreedays
2012-08-15 04:07 am UTC (link)

Looking down, Ariel tucked her hair behind her ears and let out a soft sigh at Peter's question. "There's..." she started and shook her head, wrinkling her nose. "You'll think I'm crazy. It's complicated," she decided on, knowing that the welcoming wagon was not exactly her forte.

Ariel took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm sorry it wasn't under more...normal...circumstances," she said, giving him a sheepish grin. Ariel had been here so long that she almost didn't remember the fear that had come with waking up in the park, flagging down Kat because she had been the first person in Ariel's line of sight at the time. Kat had taught her how to use the computer...she wondered if Peter knew how. No better way than to ask.

But before she could, he asked about the amulet. "It's a protection...thing. Again, it sounds really crazy...you're just gonna have to trust me on this one. Someone will explain; someone who's better at it. I'll only mess it up and make things worse for you than they already are, believe me," she replied. And at that, she cleared her throat a little. "Do you know how to use a computer?"

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itsallspandex
2012-08-15 04:08 pm UTC (link)

"Okay..." he wasn't sure what that was all about. Why was she so wary of explaining what was going on? Maybe she was part of this...whatever this really was. Or maybe she just didn't explain things well. Either way, her decision against actually explaining it all made Peter a little uneasy.

"Protection. Okay, got it." He was still thoroughly confused, but he got his confirmation that, at the very least, Ariel felt she wasn't adequate enough at explaining whatever this situation really was and she felt she should leave it up to someone else.

Her question struck him as odd and garnered a small smile, "Yeah, of course. Why?" How was a computer going to help?

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onlythreedays
2012-08-16 04:29 am UTC (link)

Knitting her brow slightly, Ariel sighed. Now he probably thought she was crazy anyway... Chewing her bottom lip for a moment, Ariel considered how to simply and easily explain without freaking him out more than he probably already was or making herself sound ridiculous. "It's...um, a Biblical thing? Like...a Biblical Seal." Ariel paused and had the grace to look sheepish. "I'm really bad at this, I told you. I'm sorry..."

Though, he seemed to latch onto the amulet's lack of explanation much more readily and she smiled slightly. "It's really ugly, but it works," she told him, tucking it back under her shirt.

Blushing slightly, Ariel looked down and rolled her eyes at herself. "Sorry, it's just...not everybody who shows up here knows how to use one," she explained. "I was going to show you. Someone had to show me; I'd never seen one before I got here, but there's a network where you can talk to all the displaced people. They're better at explaining; they'll be able to tell you everything. I'm getting better at this, but I'm still learning and everything." Shrugging impishly, Ariel looked back up at him and laughed a little. "I'll get the hang of this world eventually, I'm sure, just like everybody else. I think I've done all right, so far, at least. ...except for right now, I think...sorry," she added sympathetically.

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itsallspandex
2012-08-16 07:06 am UTC (link)

"A Biblical seal..." he repeated, a curious tone inflecting his voice. He wasn't quite sure what that meant, but when she when she apologized, he shook his head, "No...no, it's okay, really." he offered a small smile.

The idea of someone in this day and age not knowing ho to use a computer and needing someone to show them how, it kind of blew Peter's mind a bit. Everyone was so technologically inclined these days, it just didn't make sense that any significant number of people wouldn't know about them. "Okay, good, I'll get on and somebody can help me figure this out then, right?" He bit his lip and glanced around again, "Do you know...where a hotel is or something? I kind of need a place to crash, at least for tonight...til I figure this out..."

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onlythreedays
2012-08-19 06:30 pm UTC (link)

"I don't know if you're, you know, religious at all. I'm not; I had no idea what it meant for a very long time, but then I did some research. I learned about Wikipedia and I read a lot — I like to read — and it's still confusing, but I sort of understand. I guess, um, there's some huge number of Biblical Seals and when a certain number of them are broken, Lucifer — the Devil, you know? — comes to Earth and the Apocalypse begins," Ariel rambled. She paused, then, and looked down. "I...'m sorry, that was a lot all at once, huh...?" she asked sheepishly. The smile that he offered to her when she kept apologizing made Ariel feel a bit better, though.

Peter seemed to let her statement about not knowing computers go. That was good, because usually people who knew had picked at her and teased her; made her feel stupid when itw asn't her fault that she didn't know. Peter didn't. She was immediately endeared to him for that. "Yes, definitely," she said quickly. "People are really nice, too, they're really helpful," she was quick to add. When Peter asked for a hotel, Ariel almost laughed. "No hotels, then you'd have to spend money. I can give you directions to the complex and walk you part of the way, though, if you like.

"Some of the displaced people here have a lot of money and they make it so there's always food in the kitchen and the complex is just for displaced people, rent free. You can stay in my room, if you want, for the night; I'm staying at my boyfriend's place right now. And then after you settle in a little bit, you can see if there are any more open rooms, so that you can have your own..." she offered.

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itsallspandex
2012-08-19 10:13 pm UTC (link)

Peter's eyes widened slightly at her explanation. "A-apocalypse? Are you serious?" His tone was more incredulous than he'd intended, but honestly, that sounded completely insane. "I...uh, that's.... I don't even know what that is."

"That's good, then," he nodded at her comment about people being helpful.

He was a bit surprised at her explanation of a place with free room and bord. That wasn't really something he had heard of, pretty much ever. But he had also never been more thankful to hear something, considering he wasn't sure he even had enough money to stay in a hotel. "Really? Wow. That's amazing." An appreciative smile spread across his face at her offer, "That would be great, I mean...if it's not out of your way or anything. If it is, I'm sure I could make it okay just with the directions. I don't want to put you out or something."

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onlythreedays
2012-08-23 01:40 am UTC (link)

Having the grace to look sheepish about it, Ariel shrugged slightly. "Yes...?" she asked more than stated, although she was, unfortunately, very much serious. "Oh! The Apocalypse? It's, um, like the end of the world sort of, I think? It's like a war...good versus evil, angels and demons, all that stuff," she explained, misunderstanding Peter and thinking he was unaware of what the word Apocalypse actually meant. For all he knew, he came from a world where the word didn't exist; she had, after all.

"Yeah, like I said, people here are really helpful and nice. It's sort of out of my way," she explained, "I'm headed in that direction, but you'll have to go further than I will," she clarified. Ariel tucked her hair behind her ears and arched her eyebrows slightly. "Do you...still want me to show you what I can, first...? Or just give you the directions? You're not putting me out," she insisted.

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itsallspandex
2012-08-23 03:39 pm UTC (link)

"End of the world..." he let out a nervous sort of scoff. This place was nuts. This had to be a dream or something. There was no way what Ariel was saying could be real...right? "City looks pretty good considering." he let out a soft chuckle.

"Uh, yeah, if I'm not putting you out, it'd be good if you could take me part of the way," he nodded. "Thanks," he offered a small smile of gratitude at that.

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onlythreedays
2012-08-24 06:38 pm UTC (link)

At Peter's response, Ariel looked down and gave a small smile before looking back up at him. "Things aren't always what they seem," she said, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about her new appearance all over again. She wondered how long she would be stuck with it. Hopefully, she thought, not very. She really hoped the Solos could help her, because the thought of staying like this; having to miss school...was crushing.

"No, that's fine, come on, then. It's getting sort of late...I should get back before Jimmy worries too much," she told him and started to lead the way.

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