INVISIBLE | P. PARKER

FIFTY THREE

FIFTY-THREE;
CASSANDRA STARK

NO MATTER HOW MUCH SHE ARGUED, Tony somehow managed to put her back in school without a problem. Cassie hated the fact of going back without Peter but he was still recovering from what happened, and he needed time to not only get better in the physical aspect but also in the emotional part. She knew he was strong enough to handle it, but even superheroes get emotionally tired.

Charlie had offered to drive her to school and pick her up to spend time with his sister, and even if the jealous sensation in the pit of Tony's stomach urged him to say no, he knew Cassie was looking forward to spend time with her brother, therefore it was extremely hard to say no to her. After all, she was about to become his daughter and the thought ignited a feeling of pure joy.

"Charlie's waiting for me at the lobby." The brunette yelled as she scattered her things to shove them inside her backpack. "See you later!" She waved at everyone eating breakfast before jumping inside the elevator.

A happy sigh left her lips as she nervously shifted on her feet, she stared at the buttons in the elevator and then at the doors that could open any moment. She fixed the straps of her backpack as she waited to get to the first floor, it suddenly felt too heavy for her. Or maybe it was the nervous sensation in her stomach? But why would she be nervous? It's just Charlie!

As soon as the doors opened, she jumped out of the elevator and ran to the doors and exited the building, not before waving Happy before hopping into Charlie's car.

"Hey!" She smiled at him as soon as she closed the door. "You shaved!"

"Yeah, well, I wanted a new look." Charlie shrugged. "Seat belt." He pointed and the brunette laughing. "I'm serious."

"I'm on it!" Cassie chuckled. "Woah, I forgot how bossy you are."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The young man nodded, tapping the steering wheel. "How's Peter?"

"Better. He's going to take a few days to recover, but he's home now."

Charlie nodded, the girl frowned because, for some reason, she felt awkward around him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his alter ego tried to kill her, or maybe because they haven't seen each other for months. Whatever the case, she didn't like the awkwardness between them.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"About what?"

"Uh..." Cassie hesitated, looking outside the window. "I want to know if you're okay with, you know, me getting adopted? I feel like we haven't properly talked about it."

Charlie exhaled deeply. He didn't even glance at her as he drove silently for a couple of minutes. As soon as she noticed how close they were getting to Midtown High, her nervousness quickly transformed into confusion.

"Listen," He parked in front of the entrance and turned to meet her gaze. "It's fine. I mean it, I know it doesn't look like I'm okay with it. It's just," Cassie frowned. "It's hard to believe, you know? It's what you've always dreamed of and it's happening!"

Cassie smiled. "Yeah, I know. I was kind of nervous, but, you know, we've been living together for years and I don't want to leave you alone at the apartment and I don't know, Tony was great when you were, uh..." The young man nodded.