### Peter POV

Peter didn’t want to admit it, but he had been really stupid to ignore the clues about her until now, dismissing it all as coincidence. Regret gnawed at him as he asked, "Do you sing?"

Billie looked at him, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "How do you know that? Are you a stalker?"

Peter's heart raced as he realized how dumb he sounded. He wanted to slap himself to reboot his brain, which seemed to be malfunctioning today with all the miscalculations.

"I mean, your voice is great, that's why I asked," he stammered, forcing a casual tone. She seemed to buy it, probably because it was a half-truth, and those were always easier to believe. The moment grew awkward as she turned her attention back to the kids, checking on them with a tenderness that made Peter feel like a third wheel. He could have made small talk, but old habits die hard. "I’m going then, bye," he muttered, turning to leave, but before he could get far, Billie called out, "Hey."

He turned back to see her softening expression. "Thank you," she said.

Peter felt warmth spread through him, and he smiled at her. "What if I wanted to meet you again?" he asked, his voice tinged with hope. Billie glanced at the kids, whispered something to them, and they answered in hushed tones. She looked back at Peter and said, "Same place every day at 10:30 AM or 12:30 PM. Otherwise, we'll probably be out stealing or at the building where you saw us practicing."

Peter nodded, feeling an inexplicable happiness bubbling up inside him as he left. Maybe it was because he had helped someone. Yeah, that was probably it.

When he got home, Aunt May was in the living room watching TV. She glanced at him as he walked in, a smile tugging at her lips. "Somebody's happy today. What happened?"

Peter sat down beside her and began to recount his day, careful to only tell half of the story. He mentioned finding a girl jumping between buildings and how he followed her, but he downplayed the danger by saying the buildings weren’t that far apart.

He was just getting into how he learned some parkour moves from them when Aunt May interrupted, "Peter, I love that you have a new hobby, but why do you always try these dangerous things?"

Peter put on his most innocent smile, the one that usually melted Aunt May’s heart. "There was no danger involved, Aunt May," he assured her. But before he could continue, the channel on the TV changed.

"Queens residents were in for a shock today when the sky decided to rain children. Five kids were seen swinging between buildings using a fire hose they took off a nearby building, tying it to a crane. This maverick behavior has sparked outrage among Queens' residents, who have issued a notice to the mayor in hopes of setting up a park for such activities to keep young minds busy. However, the mayor responded bluntly, and I quote, 'Don’t try to get me to make you a skate park, bitches—we don’t even know what happened to the last one.' While this sparked further outrage from skaters, the internet dubbed him a savage…"

Peter’s heart stopped as he watched the footage of him swinging between buildings play repeatedly on the screen. Luckily, none of their faces were visible, but the sight of Aunt May watching the video, her eyes flicking between the TV and Peter like a pendulum, sent a wave of dread washing over him.

Stolen novel; please report.

Finally, Aunt May turned to Peter one last time, her expression unreadable as she touched his clothes. Her eyes went back to the TV, where a paused frame showed his outfit clearly, even if his face wasn’t visible. "You are grounded," she said, her voice calm—too calm. The kind of calm that scared Peter more than if she had yelled.

"Go to your room," she ordered. Peter didn’t dare argue. He retreated to his room as quickly as possible.

### Ben POV

All Ben wanted after a long day was to come home to his happy wife and enjoy her delicious cooking, maybe even sneak in a little fun afterward. But walking into a house with an angry wife and a grounded son—or rather, nephew—was the worst. It meant he had to deal with both of them, and the thought made him sigh inwardly.

Ben hated these situations, where he had to pick sides. Scolding them both and being done with it would have been easier, but this was one of those times when he had to side with May. "I understand, May. It was definitely a wrong thing to do, but let’s at least hear why he did it."

May finally relented, though she wasn’t happy about it. "You call him and ask him yourself," she said, her tone clipped.

Ben walked up to Peter’s door and called him down. When Peter finally joined them, Ben sat beside May, who was pointedly ignoring both him and Peter. "So, what happened that made you do something so risky?" Ben asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

Peter’s response made Ben proud, even if he didn’t show it. "They were in danger, and I saved them," Peter said, his voice steady.

May, however, wasn’t about to let it slide. "And what danger could children possibly be in that warrants you jumping off a building?" Her tone was harsh, but Ben decided to let it go, watching as Peter faltered under her scrutiny.

"They were being chased by…" Peter hesitated, glancing at Ben for support.

"By who?" May pressed.

Peter swallowed hard. "…by some gang members in the area for stealing food."

Both Ben and May paused, exchanging glances before turning back to Peter. Ben wanted to ask a more measured question, but May couldn’t hold back. "You’re roaming around with thieves now?" she yelled.

Peter was quick to defend them, his outrage clear. "They were stealing food because they were hungry!"

Ben decided it was time to step in. "You could have called the police," he suggested.

Peter shook his head. "They would have been put in foster care."

Ben nodded slowly, understanding where Peter was coming from. He had a friend who had grown up in the system, and he knew how bad it could be.

"Whatever the case, what you did was dangerous, and you are grounded," May declared. Ben nodded in agreement, but he was surprised when Peter didn’t protest. It seemed that years of loneliness had taught him to be mature beyond his years.

Just as Ben was about to feel proud of Peter’s maturity, May decided to add a parting shot, and everything went to hell.

### Peter POV

Peter should have known that the world wasn’t done screwing him over. Now that he was grounded, he was ready to just accept it and deal with it. "And you are not going to meet those thieves again," May said, her tone final.

That crossed a line. Peter turned to her, struggling to keep his temper in check as he spoke through gritted teeth. "May, I’m saying this one last time—they are not thieves."

"And what else do I call people who steal and get involved with gangs?" she shot back, her voice laced with frustration.

Peter looked to Ben, hoping for some backup, but Ben just looked tired, too worn out to get involved. Realizing he was on his own, Peter decided he’d had enough. "You know what? I now know you didn’t listen to anything I said, so I’m going to leave for a second." He made a beeline for the door.

"Don’t forget that you’re grounded!" May yelled after him. Peter’s anger flared as he shouted back, "I’ll be grounded when I get back!" He slammed the door shut with too much force, hearing the wood splinter, but he ignored it and stormed off.

Peter climbed a nearby building, using the stairs this time to avoid suspicion. He reached the rooftop and tried to clear his mind, gazing up at the stars. He imagined what it would be like to be out there in space, away from all the drama, flying among the stars with no end in sight, no wind to freeze him, no moon to guide him—just him and the infinite universe.

But then reality hit him like a ton of bricks. He had gotten into an argument and stormed out, leaving Uncle Ben to search for him in the dead of night, in a neighborhood that was safe, but not safe enough. Peter’s heart sank as he realized how many red flags he had ignored. He needed to find Uncle Ben, and fast.