ANTE BELLUM: XXIV - DON'T MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN'T KEEP

ANGEL'S CRIED FROM ABOVE, MOURNING THE LOSS OF CAPTAIN STACEY. Raindrops kissed the earth, raising a petrichor scent, and families and friends all gathered around George Stacey's grave. The Walker's were present at the funeral, Ivana stood by beside Helen as she comforted her. Ethan gripped little Simon's hand, the youngest of all four, fat tears streamed down his chubby cheeks, which broke his heart. Connor stood in between Philip and Howard, his hands resting on their shoulders as he showed them their support. And lastly, but not least, Gwen, was absolutely torn. Ramsey observed her carefully, her powers were suffocating her when she arrived at the cemetery, but weirdly enough she was able to control them with ease, like flipping a switch.

Ramsey gripped Gwen's hands as they stood beneath her umbrella, the blonde teenager had fallen into a trance, her eyes were aimless and somber. There was no emotion, just a reflection of how broken she was from the inside. The service went on without any interruptions, Ramsey was feeling great after what happened three nights ago. Things seemed better with her like she had just found a deeper connection to life, everywhere she went she could feel the surrounding energy, and she couldn't help but soak in it. Ever since her encounter with Finn or Hayek- Bloodline, whatever (they never really settled for a name), things had changed within Ramsey. What freaked her out is that they changed for the better, it's like they've been amped, and she could do way more than just feel people's emotions. She could do way more than that... she just didn't know yet.

After the funeral, Walker and Stacey separated, understanding that they needed time to heal as a family. Ramsey decided to walk all the way to Peter's home, the rain drizzled and despite just coming from a funeral, the Bianchi girl felt alive. She brought her hand up and stared at it, she moved her thin and long fingers, and she watched them dance while asking herself what had changed within her. There's this icky feeling in her chest, like an impulse, it wanted her to use that new energy on something... or someone.

"What did he do to me?" Ramsey mumbled. She took a deep breath and stuffed her hand inside her raincoat pockets, she pushed all thoughts related to that night aside and enjoyed the rest of the walk.

Furthermore, she arrived at Peter's home, closed her umbrella, and knocked on the door. She waited a few seconds before she saw him, her breathing seemed to slow down and suddenly the world and everything that was happening right in this instant didn't matter. Ramsey smiled at him, not brightly and not flirty, it was charged with emotion and Peter seemed to know exactly why. He didn't smile nor bother to hide his sorrow, he made his way to the door and opened it, and what Ramsey saw crushed her soul.

Peter's eyes were bloodshot, his look was somber much like Gwen's from earlier, without meaning to Ramsey found herself tapping into her empath powers. "How are you?"

The teenager could only shake his head, he was avoiding her gaze and instead fixated his eyes on his hands. Ramsey observed him with different eyes, the energies she was getting from him were all negative, and they pierced her heart, an overwhelming sensation to cry washed over her like rain. She was feeling the magnitude of Peter's emotions which so heavily weighed down on him, he was carrying the burden of being Spider-Man and the sad part was that he couldn't speak about it. He could only endure it, he had no other choice.

"I'm sorry," Ramsey spoke up, Peter still refused to meet her eyes, but seeing him nod his head told her he was listening. "I know how you feel." He kept nodding his head, but she felt his anxiety increasing, she took a daring step forward and cupped his head, and gently lifted his face. "I know. I truly do. I can feel your burden as vividly as if it were my own."

A single tear fell from his right eye, his Adam's apple bumped up and down as he swallowed thickly, and the lump in his throat turned painful. "I should've done better." He croaked out, he clenched his jaw and looked at her with regret. "I could've saved him. It's what I'm supposed to do."

"Oh, Pete." She sighed and brought him in for a hug, she held him tight and without realizing it she passed her positive energy to him. Peter hugged her as if his life depended on her, he breathed in her scent and felt his muscles relaxing, and his heart stops aching. "You're not omnipotent. You can't duplicate yourself and save everyone at the same time, the world is too big and too cruel for a single hero."

Aunt May stood by the threshold of the living room, she heard them speak. She didn't mean to intrude, but she knew her nephew more than anyone, and she knew he was going through something. Something a teenager shouldn't be going through on his own.

Ramsey held him tightly, they held each other tightly, sharing the burden. She was healing his internal wound, whatever (let's just call him Finn) Finn awoke inside her was bigger than her, and she was barely beginning to get a taste of it.

"The people still need Spider-Man." She whispered at him, her hot breath tickling his neck, and in response, Peter only hugged her a bit tighter. Still careful not to harm her. "You're a beacon and no matter what happens or how many people think they have a saying on how you should act, at the end of the day, we will always need you."

Taking in a deep breath, she pulled away a little to be able to see his face, she gave him a sad smile as she caressed his face. She wiped a few tears off his tear-stained cheeks. "Captain Stacey knew the risk of his job. He knew them, he always knew every day could be his last, but he pulled through that fear because it was his job. Because people required protection. And he died doing just that. He died with honor."

Peter allowed her words to sink in, Ramsey had shone a light on his darkness, he failed to actually see who Captain Stacey was. He wasn't a civilian looking to be a hero, no, he was the hero, long before Peter even became one. He nodded at Ramsey's words, feeling a lot better. "Thank you. I needed this."

Ramsey smiled, this time brightly at him. "With pleasure. I'll always be around to knock some sense into you."

"Always?" Peter gave her a cheeky smile, tilting his head to the side as his eyes darted from her eyes to her lips and back to her eyes.

Ramsey saw it but pretended like she didn't. "Always."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Ramsey leaned in, and their lips met halfway. The kiss was tender, raw with passion, and sweet, Ramsey felt her emotions going haywire, like fireworks. She felt this warmth trickling down her body, and the feeling of safety Peter always seemed to carry around with him was what finished capturing her. Ramsey had always been pretty straightforward and the type that always used her head more than her heart despite being an empath, but being with Peter brought something out of her that she thought was long gone. The ability to be emotionally available, after her parent's death and growing up with so much anger, Ramsey shut off her emotions for good. It didn't make it any easier having empath powers, but it wasn't impossible, she always found a way.

She got herself busy, whether it was with track training, homework, or working at Holy Tacos, Ramsey forced herself to be present. But there were nights when eventually suppressed feelings crept in on her, then came the anxiety and the fear of never getting out of this phase. Never coming to terms that the past was in the past.

But Peter changed that, his kindness, his awkwardness, he was just an adorable human being that warmed Ramsey's heart and soul. She never had any idea how strongly she felt about him, she knew she liked him, but she was starting to think that her emotions told her it was far more than just a crush.

"Wow..." A voice coming from behind Ramsey alerted them of a new presence, they both flew away from each other and turned to find Gwen standing on Peter's porch. He didn't even feel her coming. "I just buried my dad, and you didn't even bother to show up. And here I was thinking that maybe you felt guilty- or something, for what happened, which is why you didn't show up."

Peter scratched the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable. He tried taking a step forward but stopped once he saw her look. "Gwen-"

"No. I don't want your excuses." She shook her head, Ramsey could only stare at her best friend. "I'm gonna go," her eyes darted between the couple, "I'll let you get back to what you were doing. It seems, sucking Ramsey's face-"

Ramsey frowned, "Hey..."

"- Is way better than paying your respects for what happened to my dad." Gwen turned to leave but stopped, Ramsey observed her and focused on what she was feeling.

Sadness. Betrayal. Anger. Resentment. Fear. Guilt.

With all sorts of emotions that root in grief, Ramsey inhaled deeply and focused on relaxing without even twitching an eye, just using her mind. She saw Gwen's tense shoulders relax, and she let out a long sigh, she blinked and slowly turned to Peter who was staring at her with guilt and anticipation.

"I'm sorry." The words tumbled off her lips, she glanced at her friend as tears welled up in her big blue eyes, Ramsey's face softened, and she walked up to her. "I didn't mean to be rude. I just..." She glanced at Peter and asked him in a soft, broken voice. "Where were you? Why didn't you show up? You know, Flash- yeah, Thompson." She gave him a stare. "Even the school bully showed up. Two of my teachers showed up— people who don't even matter in my life showed up. Why didn't you?"

Ramsey came to a halt beside her, she placed a hand on her shoulder but didn't say anything. "I-... I couldn't." He shook his head, clenching his jaw once again, and his eyes turned glassy.

Gwen inhaled sharply, she clenched her jaw and remained silent for a moment. Ramsey wanted to figure out what was going on with her but refrained from doing so, it was not her place, so she turned off her empath powers and just stood between them.

"That's not good enough," Gwen told him, voice toneless. "Peter, I know what happened at the tower wasn't your fault, my dad is... was a police captain. Every day could've been his last, we all knew it. He knew it."

Peter took a step forward, a tear slid down his cheek. "I could've stopped that." He pointed a finger at himself, Gwen looked at him expectantly with tears streaming down her face, and Ramsey took a step back. "It was my fault. If I hadn't been so desperate to find out what really happened to my dad, I would've never given him the formula and none of this would've happened."

"Oh, please, stop living in the past, Peter." Gwen snapped. "You can't change the past, but you can change the future. How'd you think I felt, knowing I didn't have your support when I needed it the most? I risked my life to help you, so did Ramsey, and so did my dad, and you can't even move past your guilt and show up and say to my face 'I'm sorry for your loss?'"

Peter blew a raspberry. "That would be so hypocritical on my part."

"No, it wouldn't! God." Gwen ran a hand over her face, she took in a sharp breath. "You didn't kill him, Peter. Dr. Connor did. You would only be supporting me, as the friend that you are supposed to be—"

"I made a promise, okay!" Peter suddenly blurted out, both Gwen and Ramsey shot him a confused look.

"What are you-? What promise?" Ramsey asked him.

Peter let out a long sigh, he glanced over at the street where the rain still fell, and he gathered his thoughts. "Before your dad passed, he said something to me." He glanced at her. "He made me promise him that I would leave you out of this. And I did."

It took a moment for Gwen to figure out what she was going to say, she glanced at Ramsey who looked just as shocked before averting his eyes back at him. "And so you're just gonna cut me off, just like that." She shrugged. "Like I don't mean a goddamn thing."

"I agree with Gwen," Ramsey added, Peter and Gwen turned to her. "I understand where your loyalty is coming from, but it's not fair. You can't do that to her. She's your friend, Peter, you can't just drop her like that."

"I can't." Peter shook his head and turned to Gwen, the blonde girl sucked in a deep breath and opened her umbrella. "I'm sorry."

"Your apology means Jack to me." She mumbled and turned around to leave. "I've heard enough."

Peter didn't try to stop her, instead, he looked away at the ground and allowed her to walk away. Ramsey was speechless at his indifference. Gwen climbed down the front porch stairs and walked down the sidewalk, Ramsey snapped out of her trance and made her way after Gwen.

"Rams?" Peter's voice stopped her, she froze and half turned towards him and saw the same broken look from earlier.

She gave him a somber look. "This isn't you, Pete. You can't just drop people out of your life like they mean shit to you." Peter looked down in shame. "But I guess you can. If you do this to your friends, I don't want to imagine what awaits me then. And I won't stick around long enough to find out, I'm not fucking dispensable."

"Ramsey." Peter croaked out in disbelief, but before he had the time to reach out for her, she was already gone.

Peter stood on the front porch stunned, his chocolate brown eyes stared at his special girl walking away from him and after her friend. At that moment he learned where her loyalty lay, and it taught him something. Being Spider-Man was not a one-man's job, even superheroes needed a safety net, and they were his.

But was he willing to let Captain Stacey down? Was he willing to break the promise? Even when he looked him in the eye as he wasted his last breath to beg him to leave his daughter out of his life. Peter needed his friends, he needed Ramsey, but he felt bad, guilt ate him up.

So what's it gonna be? He wondered to himself.

Commit to being Spider-Man forever and risk being alone, or will he be a better Spider-Man and protect those close to him?

Time was ticking, and a new enemy had risen from the ashes, seeking revenge on those who wronged her and her people in the past. Peter had a decision to make, and he needed to make it fast because the battle he was about to face wasn't one he could take on his own.

🅷🅾🅻🅰

END OF ACT ONE!
Wow, okay, I know act one
wasn't as eventful, Ramsey
was just a normal girl with
empath powers. BUT act two
will be another level, we're
getting Hayek's story in a gist
and also the introduction of
a new character! SO EXCITED!

TASM2 will circle around Ramsey
and Hayek, the plot of Spider-Man
will be included, but I'll be altering
a few things for the sake of Ramsey's
plot.

I hope you guys enjoyed Act one and
I hope you like what I have prepared
for you on Act two! :)

Stay safe amores 🤍🎄