#it could seriously jeopardize my chances of getting hired somewhere else

[lilacmoon83]

Clarity

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Clarity

Chapter 5: Revision

Emma watched David scour the woods in front of her with scrutiny. For a guy that used to seem so confused, he certainly seemed really put together now.

"Oh my God…" she heard him call, as she started running out of the woods and she hurried after him. That's when they saw her car in a ditch on the side of the rural road.

"Mary Margaret!" he cried, as he searched the car and all around it.

"She's not here…" he said, as his hopes were dashed.

"No...but there are footprints and none of them are hers. Look," Emma called, as she pointed to a set of tracks.

"You're right...those are too big to be hers, which means someone carried her off," he growled and it was an intensity she had never heard from him. They began to follow the set of tracks and a car passed them going the opposite direction, which they didn't think anything of at the moment. Until they came upon a large house on the rural road.

"Any idea who lives here?" Emma asked.

"No...but I know who will and whoever it is...they were probably in that car," he said.

"There is someone that will know," he said.

"Gold?" Emma asked.

"Trust me...he knows everything about this damn town," David replied, as they headed back to town.

~*~

He saw them coming before they did and normally, he would refuse to help. But now that Regina had made such a foolish move, things had drastically changed in his visions and helping was in his best interest. As he always did, when his vision changed, he made the necessary revision.

"Dammit Jefferson...this was not part of my plan," he growled, as he went to the picture on the wall and opened the wall safe behind it. Fortunately, he had planned for everything and though he loathed traveling beyond Storybrooke's borders, he knew the time would come when he needed to. It just wasn't supposed to be to retrieve Snow White. However, her absence in Storybrooke seriously jeopardized the curse being broken and that would sully everything he had worked for. He grabbed two bluish potions, just as David and Emma stormed into the pawn shop.

"Charming," Gold addressed the Prince. Emma didn't miss it and momentarily narrowed her gaze, before pushing that aside for the task at hand.

"Who lives in the mansion near the outskirts of town on Misthaven Road?" David questioned.

"His name is Jefferson and he is a former employee of mine," Gold revealed.

"We think he kidnapped Mary Margaret. Did you have anything to do with that?" Emma questioned.

"No...if he was working for me, I would have never given an order like that. I'd never want any harm to come to the fair Mary Margaret," he replied, as his eyes locked with David's.

"Then Regina did this...didn't she?" he asked.

"Most likely and Jefferson has left town," he revealed.

"How do you know that?" Emma asked.

"Because Regina doesn't want you two together and what better way than to take her somewhere where she thinks you cannot follow without consequences," Gold replied.

"Then I need your help. I'll make whatever deal you want, but I have to find her," David said.

"Agreed," Gold said.

"So what do we need to know about this Jefferson?" Emma asked.

"Well, he hates Regina for one thing," Gold replied.

"Then why the hell would he do anything for her?" David asked.

"The only way he would is if she promised him what he wants most," Gold replied.

"And what is that?" Emma asked.

"His daughter," Gold said. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"He has a daughter?" she asked.

"Yes...but she lives with her adopted family. It's complicated, but I know Jefferson well," he replied.

"If I offer him a better deal for the release of Mary Margaret, then he'll comply," Gold said.

"Fine...then we need to figure out where he went," David replied.

"New York," Gold replied.

"How the hell could you know that?" Emma asked. David's eyes locked with Gold's again.

"Because he just does," David answered for her. Emma opened her mouth to ask more questions, but Gold put up his hand.

"Miss Swan...time is of the essence and we must find the fair Mary Margaret, correct?" he asked. Emma closed her mouth.

"Fine...let's go," she said crossly.

"Oh, not so fast, dearie. You'll need me to come with you if you expect to barter a new deal with Jefferson," Gold said, as he limped out from behind the counter.

"Can you really get him to agree to a deal with you instead of the one he has with Regina?" Emma questioned. Gold smirked.

"Jefferson would betray Regina for a Klondike bar," he quipped.

"Trust me...if he thinks I can get him his daughter, he'll switch sides in a heartbeat," he said.

"Fine...your car is bigger than the bug, so you're driving," Emma said impatiently, as she walked out.

"Take this...we both will need it to get over the town line without losing our memories," Gold said.

"What's in this for you?" David asked, as they both drank the sour liquid.

"My son," he said.

"Your son?" David asked.

"No time to explain, dearie, but Regina has nearly destroyed everything I have worked for by kidnapping Mary Margaret and sending her over the town line. She wins if we don't find her," Rumple replied.

"I still don't know what that has to do with your son, but you're right. Emma will never believe anything or stick around this town without Snow...Mary Margaret," he corrected himself. Gold smirked.

"Welcome back, Prince Charming," he said, as he hobbled out and David followed him, with determination lining his face.

"I'll find you, Snow...I will always find you," he promised.

~*~

She sniffed and took solace in his arms, as he held her.

"It shouldn't bother me. I mean, it would have bothered Mary Margaret, but I'm not her anymore. At least...I don't want to be. But it does," she confessed.

"Of course it does and I want to throttle whoever did that. And I'm going to fix it. I have some time on my hands, since no one will hire me. I'll scrub it off your car," he said.

"Thanks...but I'm more sad that you're punishing you too for all this. You're homeless and I can't stand it!" she lamented.

"Hey...it's okay. I'm okay out here. You know living in the woods is like second nature for us," he reminded her.

"That was a long time ago," she murmured.

"It was...but I remember it all. We lived in the woods and still took back an entire Kingdom. Our wedding night was in the woods...our first time was under the stars," he said and she smiled at the memory.

"Well…I guess when you put it like that," she purred, as their lips met passionately and she giggled, as he pulled her into the tent.

~*~

Snow's emerald eyes fluttered open and she looked around, finding herself in an unfamiliar bedroom. She shot up off the bed and immediately went for the door, but found it locked. She went to the window next and opened the blinds. She guessed it was some kind of apartment building and she saw a fire escape. She tried opening the window, but found that it wouldn't budge, even when she unlocked it. She looked around the room for something hard and grabbed the lamp off the bedside table.

"I wouldn't do that…" Jefferson warned, as he walked into the room and closed the door.

"Why are you doing this!?" she demanded to know.

"You know why...I do this and I get my daughter back," he answered.

"So I have to lose mine again?" Snow questioned.

"That's not my problem. Besides, none of this would be happening if your daughter would just believe and break the curse already!" he snapped and she recoiled slightly.

"Emma...she's had a hard life," Snow said, choking a little bit at that.

"Because of Regina," Jefferson replied.

"If you know that, then why would you help her!?" Snow snapped.

"I told you why, dammit!" he snapped in return.

"She'll betray you...I know her, better than most," Snow warned.

"It's a chance I have to take...for Grace," he argued.

"Grace…" she said, trying to place the girl.

"She's Paige under the curse…" he told her.

"Paige...she's in my class!" Snow recalled.

"She's with a good family," she added and he glared at her.

"She's my daughter!" he shouted.

"I know...but at least she's safe! My daughter wasn't! My daughter was alone and thought she was unwanted," Snow cried, as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"But nothing could be further from the truth...please, I have to get back to Emma and Charming. I just found them again...we'll help you get Grace back!" she pleaded.

"You don't have that kind of power. The whole town thinks you're a tramp and your husband is living in a tent by a bridge," he retorted.

"But we're awake now and we can fight Regina," she added.

"You've been awake for weeks and you've done nothing," he spat.

"Because we didn't have any other allies. But if you joined us...we could fight her," Snow argued. But he shook his head.

"I can't risk Grace. I'm sorry...truly. I don't know who Regina is sending to pick you up, but I'm sorry for whatever horror awaits you," he apologized.

"I'm sorry too…" Snow said.

"For what?" he asked, but his answer came with a lamp over the head. He growled and cried out in pain, as she kicked him down and ran to the apartment door. He gave chase and she ran down the hallway, looking to escape the building.

~*~

David looked out the window from the backseat, as Gold drove. They were about halfway to New York and he was, not quite for the first time, realizing that all of his memories of going anywhere outside Storybrooke were curse memories. He had never been anywhere else in this land, except Storybrooke and neither had Snow for that matter. He knew his wife was a strong, capable woman, but there was still a lot of evil out in this world too. He was deeply worried and incredibly anxious. He couldn't lose her again, not when he had finally found her and they were themselves again. He heard something beside him and his eyes widened, as part of the backseat unfolded from the trunk of the car and Henry climbed through.

"Henry…" he uttered, catching Emma's attention and she turned her head. The blonde's eyes widened in surprise and horror.

"Henry!?" she cried.

"Kid...what the hell?" she shouted in a panic.

"I followed my mom and saw what she did to Mary Margaret," he explained.

"So you decided to stowaway in the car!?" she questioned. He shrugged.

"What she did was wrong and I knew David was going to find her. I want to help," Henry said, as he got into the seat and put his seatbelt on.

"Welcome to the mission, kid," David said.

"David…" Emma hissed.

"He's not coming with us! We have to take him back!" Emma insisted.

"Emma...we can't go back now. Mary Margaret is in danger," David reminded her and she couldn't deny that.

"Regina is gonna kill me...and then all of you...and then me again," she complained. But Gold kept driving without a hiccup and a smirk on his face at the prospect of Regina getting a taste of her own medicine.

[imyourliquor-youremypoison]

A Girl’s Best Friend (Peter Parker x OC) - Part 9

Synopsis: Diamonds are man’s best friend- or dogs are girls’ best friends, wait… how does the saying go again?

Warnings: Family issues; Peter has a crush and it’s complicated; mention of assault; good dogs; College AU; aged up! characters; TONY STARK IS ALIVE AND WE ALL LIVE IN A HAPPY PLACE CALLED DENIAL

A/N: In this story, Peter has Tom’s dog, Tessa.The dogs in the story play a minor but key role.

Word count: 2.5k

Part 8 <<< >>> Part 10

MASTERLIST

Come Thursday, Emmeline walked into the library, reveling in the silent early hours when it was nearly empty except for Peter and her. This was even more true now because the Christmas holidays would start in two days, and most people had already gone back home to avoid the rush at the airports the weekend before Christmas.

                She looked forward to these study sessions, they became part of her life in that sneaky way that things you start doing on a regular basis do. Sometimes they didn’t even talk much, but it was nice and comforting to be with Peter. He had a good aura, one that drew her to him. Emmeline wondered if the feeling was reciprocated – she thought he liked her, but it was always hard to tell, he was a bit on the shy side. At least, he never gave her reason to think otherwise. He never cancelled their plans, never said no when she suggested something, he was always on time when they agreed to meet somewhere.

  Peter was always at the library before her, waiting at their usual table. Waiting or… sleeping.

                With a wicked smile, Emmeline approached, finding Peter fast asleep on his open notebook, snorting lightly. She couldn’t help it, she slammed her books on the table next to him, startling him awake.

“I’m awake! I’m awake!” he exclaimed, shooting up and looking around him, panicked eyes. Emmeline laughed. “Oh, hi, Em. I was just… resting my eyes.”

“Oh, is that what they call it these days?” she asked, sitting down and placing a coffee in front of Peter.

She had stopped at Starbucks on her way here, and she was right to do so. Instead of commenting Peter’s state of dishevelment and obvious exhaustion, she let him take a sip and took a mental note to keep an eye on him.

“’m sorry,” he mumbled, pushing back his hair with a sigh after setting down the cup. “Long days, short nights.”

“I brought the notes you asked for,” she told him, pulling a pile of papers out of her bag. She had printed them for him and changed the layout to make it easier to read. “We can go through them together if you're up to the task,” she said, eyeing him carefully. He looked a total mess.

He rubbed his face without looking at her, eyes focused on the papers already.

“Of course, I'm up to the task, that's why we're here.”

                Emmeline furrowed her brows but nodded nonetheless, thinking it was better not to argue. Peter made an admirable effort to stay awake and concentrated on their work, she gave him that, but there was no ignoring the way his head dipped and his eyelids fell a little as though they weighted a ton. But what pushed Emmeline to speak up was the bruise she saw on his arm, peeking out of his sleeve when he reached to grab the book to her right.

“Peter, what's this?” she worried, yanking back the sleeve to uncover the big purple bruise. It covered his entire forearm; it must hurt like a motherfucker. “How did you get this?”

He shook her hand off and pulled the sleeve down before she could take a good look at it, immediately denying that it hurt and stuttering out some lie about falling in the tub. She knew he didn't have a tub. The knot of worry forming at the back of her throat wasn’t new; she had spotted bruises before. She never said anything because Peter didn’t look in pain, and she knew some people just bruised easily – but this one was bad.

“We should take a break. You should go back to your room and get some more sleep; we can always meet up this afternoon.”

“No, I made you come here early, I can't ask you to come back tonight. And Tessa will be wide awake and think it's time for her walk.”

                That last part sounded like an excuse; they both knew Tessa was a huge couch potato.

“It's not your fault if you're tired, Peter. Anyway, I offered, you didn't have to ask. I can dogsit Tessa this morning. I don't have class until noon.”

It was obvious she was going to win because Peter clearly did not have the energy to argue. He relented after another minute of protesting. The dark circles under his eyes causing lines of worry to appear on Emmeline's forehead. Something was wrong. Something has been wrong for a while but she thought he would sort it out eventually.

“You seriously look like you’re going to pass out. I’m walking with you,” she told him, not accepting no for an answer.

She put his belongings into his backpack and wrapped a hand around his elbow, the way she usually did. She knew he liked it: he always sported this look of pride whenever she walked at his arm. She liked it too.

                They walked out of the building arm in arm.

“I feel so dumb for making you come here for nothing,” Peter grumbled, rubbing his eyes to stay awake.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind. With Bella still at the vet, there’s not much to do at my place. I’d rather hang out with you and do nothing than stay there all alone,” she confessed, offering him a heartfelt smile.

                Peter’s knees almost buckled.

“Why are you so tired though? Is something the matter?”

                A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes and he looked at his feet, but Emmeline’s grip on him didn’t waver and the steadfast support she provided prompted him to open up to her. It was only fair after all, he had been trying to get her to be more honest about her feelings for months, it would be hypocrite of him to not do the same.

“I have nightmares. I wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and can’t fall back asleep.”

                Not even Ned knew that. He wanted to be honest about why he had those nightmares, but she didn’t ask, probably having sensed that it was personal. Private people tended to not pry into other people’s lives, and that was a huge relief at the moment.

                Truth was, he didn’t really want to talk about the fact that this time of the year reminded him of his uncle Ben. He died shortly before Christmas when Peter was 16. It was always difficult for him, this time of year. It would always be. Coming back late from his missions didn’t help either.

                However, Emmeline was smart enough to figure it out on her own. He had told her about his dead parental figures and if she gave it a bit of thought, she would guess why he couldn’t sleep these days.

                They finished their walk in amicable silence, and Emmeline took Peter’s keys to open the door. Tessa was still asleep, not even waking up when they walked inside.

“Looks like you won't need my services after all,” Emmeline chuckled, watching Tessa sleep quietly. Bella tended to snore, which was why she didn’t sleep in Emmeline’s bedroom.

                When she turned around, Peter was already lying on his bed, arms spread open, sighing in content.

“I’m never getting up again,” he vowed, making her laugh.

                Feeling playful, Emmeline dropped her bag and kicked off her shoes before lying down next to him, her head resting on his arm.

“I admit it’s pretty comfy,” she hummed. “Is that how you lure girls into your room, Parker? I’m amazed it works!”

“Shut up!” Peter scoffed and wrapped his arm around her head, trying to cover her eyes. He only succeeded in making her giggle as she wriggled away. He dropped his head on the pillow again, thinking that he liked hearing her laugh. He wanted to make her laugh more. “It only works on the really gullible ones.”

                She snorted this time, and he felt her body rumble with laughter.

“Aren’t you going back?” he eventually asked, having stopped bothering her and let his arm rest on the bed again, allowing her to lie on it if she wanted.

“What for? I quite like it here,” she hummed, closing her eyes and making herself at home.

“I don’t know. Study? That’s why we meet up every week,” Peter mumbled, feeling himself slip into unconsciousness.

“Maybe I’m just using it as an excuse to spend time with you.”

Peter’s tired brain barely processed what she said before he dozed off. There were no more words exchanged between them, only peaceful silence, and the delicate touch of her fingertips on his open palm. Peter fought to stay awake just a while longer to enjoy this fleeting moment with her, but his eyelids were too heavy. He drifted off to sleep with Emmeline still lying beside him, wishing she were closer.

  *

                  Emmeline was happy to have Bella back, the reunion was an emotional one. It was now the last weekend before Christmas. Columbia was empty, the shopping streets were buzzing with people. This year she bought a tree. She didn’t really know why, she wasn’t much into celebrating Christmas, but this year she wanted to try something different.

                And maybe it did have something to do with Peter, maybe not.

                There were only two things tainting her mood. The first one was silly, really. She hadn’t seen Spider-Man in a little while although he hadn’t said anything about not visiting anymore. Then again, perhaps he was busy this time of year, like everyone else. Everyone else except for her, it seemed.

“Do you miss him?” She turned to Bella who lifted her head when she was being talked to. Sometimes Emmeline wondered if she understood what she said. “Yeah, me too.”

                The second stain on her lighthearted mood was the customary Christmas speech given by mister mayor himself, live on TV, and which required the presence of the entire family apparently. Emmeline loathed these occasions, where she had to play pretend, act like the perfect little daughter. Her parents even hired a stylist to make her look the part.

                Her skin crawled just thinking about it. One of these days she would have to rebel and not come. But not this year – her father was trying to her re-elected, and if she did anything, anything at all, to jeopardize his chances, there would be hell to pay. She still hated this masquerade, and she hated herself for playing along too. There was no solution that satisfied everyone in this scenario.

                She was saved from her own thoughts by her phone.

From Peter: I just finished my part of the assignment. Can I send it to you for proof reading?

                She smiled, already typing out an answer when she received a follow-up message.

From Peter: and to make sure I didn’t completely bullshit it. The chapter about boundary value problems is still a bit obscure to me.

To Peter: Gotcha. I’ll send you my part too so we can both give each other feedback.

                He sent her a gif of Jake Peralta saying ‘noice’ as an answer, and she shook her head, putting down her phone. Emmeline went to her room and opened her laptop to send him her work – it should be ready to send at this point, she had a fairly decent grasp of the subject and had proofread it a couple times already.

                She did not want Peter Parker to think her stupid and refused to leave a single silly mistake in her work, and that was the truth. Emmeline liked Peter, more than she anticipated and perhaps more than she would like to. Her life was complicated, and she was complicated, it didn’t feel right to drag him into it.

                Bella barked to get her attention then. When her eyes landed on her alarm clock, Emmeline realized it was already half past lunch time for Bella. She stood up to fill Bella’s bowl while her phone buzzed away on her bed.

From Peter: hey, what do you say we go out later? For coffee or whatever you’d like?

From Peter: Do I sound desperate? Be honest. I feel like I do. Please say yes though

                Another moment later, it buzzed once more.

From Peter: It’s a date btw

  *

  “What do you want me to say?” Ned asked Peter, sighing through the phone for what felt like the hundredth time since the beginning of their conversation. It wasn’t without reason either, Peter was quite the rambler when he was anxious. “I know you’ve been friends for a while now and she’s cool, but if she hasn’t answered by now, well… you’ve got your answer dude.”

                No, he refused to accept that explanation. As long as she hasn’t answered, there was still a chance, right?

“Maybe her phone died, and she didn’t see the messages,” Peter argued, full of hope and denial. He had been telling himself just that for three hours now, nearly convincing himself too.

“Get yourself together, man!” Ned shouted. “Have some pride! Chicks don’t want no sissy!”

                Peter held the phone away from his ear and looked at it with a perplexed frown before putting it back to his ear.

“Did I hear correctly? Is this the way you talk now?” Peter asked, frowning to himself, amused though confused.

“Trying something new.” Peter could practically hear his friend shrug.

“Stop then. It doesn’t work for you,” Peter told him. Better to be honest, Ned would thank him later.

“Noted. But I stand by my word, girls like confidence, be confident! You’re freakin’ Spider-Man, the chicks dig it! Girls have posters of you!”

“Still not working,” Peter groaned, rubbing his face with his free hand. “But I hear you and I’ll try.”

“I’ll get it right, you’ll see,” Ned laughed. “Alright, gotta go, Noobmaster69 is back online. Got ass to kick.”

                They both hung up and Peter slid his phone back into his pocket, shaking his head after this weird conversation.

“Noobmaster69?” he repeated, still a bit confused about… well, everything to be frank.

                He just spent the whole afternoon trying insanely hard not to look at his phone and focus on the work she had sent him for review. It was good. Like, it was solid, they won’t have to worry about passing this class, and no thanks to him. It was too late to take back what he had sent her though, and even if it were possible, he wouldn’t know how to make it better.

                If he had paid attention in class instead of alternating between sleeping and staring at her in awe, maybe he wouldn’t be in this position? He only had himself to blame. Then again, time spent looking at her wasn’t wasted in his opinion.

                The second his phone buzzed in his back pocket, Peter whipped it out so quickly he almost dropped it – and wouldn’t that just be his luck?

From M: Alright, it’s a date. Nothing comes to mind but I’m not difficult. Meet me at the fountain in Central Park at 6pm?

                In a bout of joy, Peter jumped to his ceiling, scaring Tessa in the process. He stayed upside down while typing his answer and wondered if it was the blood rush that made him dizzy or something else.

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