Episode One: Extended Family

Brushing her pale hair away from her eyes, Carrie White, a beautiful yet timid girl, sat in the center of her bed. It was a dark a stormy night in Chamberlain, and while the sound of strong rain drops pattering against Carries windows was somewhat pleasant, she always hated lightening. She jumped in freight every time those flashes of light would appear outside her windows and her heart would jolt, eventually causing her chest to start aching.

A large amount of books were stacked in a pile beside her legs, all seemingly having to do with the same subjects, Periods, and Telekinesis. Carrie again brushed her stray hair away from her eyes, as she tried her best to concentrate on moving her old desk chair across the room. She raised her arm into the air beginning to feel the strain on her mind. The chair finally lifted into the air a shy smile crept onto Carries face.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP

Carrie instinctively dropped the chair to the ground at the first sign of her mother's presents. "Mo-momma…is that you?" Carrie listened out for her mother's reply, but didn't get one. "MOMMA" Carrie hesitantly called out, half of her not really wanting to know what exactly it is Margret is doing.

THUMP, THUMP

Carrie took one deep breathe before deciding to investigate. She cautiously opened her bedroom door and headed out towards her mother's room, the storm still raging outside.

"Oh Lord, what she done...what has she…" THUMP, THUMP

Carrie opened her mother's bedroom, afraid of what she might see. Margret had been beating herself senseless with the hard bedroom wall, and tears streaming down her face. "Momma what are you doing?" Carrie quickly rushed towards her mother as she continued to slam her head against the hard blood stained wall. "MOMMA" Carrie shouted in an almost authoritative way. "…What has she done to us Carrie?" Margret asked with tears in her eyes. "What momma, who…who done something to us" "…Little bastard…wants my daughter…" Carrie was visibly startled by that last comment. "Who momma, who-Wha-what are talking about momma?" Carrie asked, trying her best to comfort her sick mother.

"…Where goanna have visitors tomorrow little girl…" Margret stated in a whisper. "What?" "…Aunt May…." Margret mumbled just load enough for Carrie to hear it. "Aunt May, Aunt May is coming over momma, that's wonderful news momma that's great…" Carrie said sincerely with a smile across her face. She always loved spending time with her Aunt May when she was little, she has nothing but found memories of her from when she was younger, she would always cry when she left and a part of Carrie even wishes that she lived with her loving Aunt rather than her Mother when she was beaten or thrown into her closet. However, ever since she was about six years old, Margret had never allowed her to visit Aunt May in New York ever again, and to this day she has no idea why.

"…You little bastard, try to touch my daughter…" Margret again mumbled to herself. "Wha-what are you talking about Momma?" Carrie again asked starting to feel a little nervous, "…Peter Parker…" Margret replied before quickly getting back to her feet, still feeling a little dizzy. "Wait Momma who, who's Peter Parker?" Carrie followed her mother back down stairs as Margret did her best to avoid the question. "…Your cousin little girl…he's coming to stay with us for a while…" Margret said with vicious tone "Little Bastard" She added mumbling.

"I, I have a cousin?" Carrie said surprised "Yes little girl, and May has forced her own hand, how could say no to big sister?" Margret whispered to herself. "Momma I-is he, my age?" Carrie said sounding very nervous. Margret didn't reply, but from the look on her face and her sudden lack communication, Carrie could already tell that he was. "And…and he's coming to stay here?" Carrie continued starting to blush. "Please be cute" she thought to herself smiling. "…Is-is he a, nice boy?" Carrie asked nervously "That boy is an insect Carrie…a slobbering dog" Margret said staring harshly at her daughter. "But why, what did he ever do to you?" "It's not what he's done, it's what he's goanna do little girl…you'll see." Carrie's heart sank, she didn't know what to think about this cousin, she was very nervous, but also excited, maybe he will be good to her, he is family after all. "I think that…it'll be nice to meet Peter Momma, he-he'll be good to me, you'll see Momma, it'll all be okay Momma…everything's goanna be okay" Carrie said reassuring herself with smile.

The Following Day

Carrie stood out on the porch for hours eagerly awaiting the arrival of her beloved Aunt May, Margret had left for work early not seeming like she wanted anything to do with her own sister. But that was perfectly fine with Carrie, the last thing she wanted was to have listen to her mother's crazy ramblings today of all days. Eventually Carrie saw an unfamiliar car begin pull up in her drive way and honked its horn twice, At first it was a little strange for Carrie to see a car pull up that didn't belong to Margret, but never the less it brought a permanent smile to her face.

Carrie jumped off the porch and ran as fast as she could run straight towards her beautiful Aunt. "AUNT MAY" She shrieked in joy practically jumping into the much older women's warm and loving arms. "Hey Care, oh look at you, your all grown up aren't you." May said in a very welcoming tone, she kissed the top of Carries head while her very young niece practically squeezed the life out of her. "…I missed you so much…" Carrie admitted with almost tears running down her face. "…Whe-where's…Uncle Ben?" Carrie asked while cuddling into Aunt May's protective arms. "…He ah…died sweet heart, a year ago now…" "…What?" Carrie asked looking up into Aunt May's sad eyes. "…He was um, murdered, sweetie…" Aunt May admitted noticing Carrie eyes flood with tears, "Bu, he-he can't die he…." Carrie couldn't handle the sudden bomb drop into her lap and quickly began to break down inside May's arms. "AUNT MAY…I GOT-I GOT MY STUFF OUT THE CAR, BUT AH HAVE YOU SEEN MY CAMER…" Carrie jumped at the sound of his voice; she quickly wiped her eyes and pulled away from Aunt May in order to look presentable. She nervously looked down at her feet with her heart once again pounding in her chest and her lip was quivering uncontrollably as she tried holding warm tears at bay.

"How could he be dead, he can't be dead."

"Oh Sweetie this is your cousin…Peter" Aunt May introduced wiping her eyes clean of tears. "Peter this is Carrie" Carrie finally looked up from her shell to try and greet her cousin. Carrie was a little surprised at what she saw, Peter was a slim and averagely size young man, well dressed and clean shaven. And regardless of him being her cousin, legally speaking, Carrie couldn't help but grin at how handsome Peter turned out to be. "…ahh-hi…" Carrie greeted him in a smitten tone. "Hey" Peter replied noticing her tears. He looked back at Aunt May with a glare of sadness on his face; Carrie tried her best hold back her tears before Peter slowly reached out in an attempt to embrace his cousin. Carrie was startled at first as she felt his hands touch her shoulders and moved towards her back. The much taller boy hesitantly held her close resting her head on his torso. Uncle Ben's death had torn Carrie apart, and no one could understand that feeling of loss more than Peter. A look of shock appeared on Carrie's face as this boy who she barely knew suddenly began to protect her, and love her, more than Margret ever did in her whole life. Aunt May smiled proudly as Carrie slowly wrapped her arms around her cousin's waist, closing her eyes and smiling into Peters geeky T-shirt, beginning to feel safe and loved in her cousin slim but muscular arms.

Later That Day

Aunt May unfortunately had to leave early in order to beat the traffic back to New York, leaving Carrie and Peter alone while Margret is at work. Peter had managed to unpack into the spare room in record time with the help of his cousin. It was 2:35 PM when they finished unpacking, and so Carrie had insisted on taking Peter out to the center of town in order to show him around a little before school tomorrow.

"So ah, how long are you here for?" Carrie asked her cousin trying to sound as confident as she can. "One semester, Aunt May signed me up for the Ewen High exchange, totally unknown to me, but she thought it be like a chance for me to get to know my extended family and get away from the big city…yeah ah, by the time I found out it was, too late to turn back but ah, I'm liking it so far." Peter explained with a slight sarcastic tone that continued to win over Carrie's heart.

"So how is it, you and I had never meet each other before, what with you being so close and all to Aunt May and Uncle Ben when you were little." Peter asked noticing Carries disappointed look appear across her face. "Oh uh, Momma, doesn't, I-I don't know…" Carrie confessed not really wanting to think too much about it. "…Do you, like to read?" Carrie asked stopping Peter outside the local library. "Yeah, mostly comics though." "IS THAT CARRIE WHITE?" Peter looked down the path they just came to see three girls walking together in unison. Carrie clenched her eyes shut; she knew that voice, she that voice all too well. Chris, Tina, and Heather cornered the two kids outside the library with smug smiles wrapped around their faces. Carrie looked down in shame and humiliation while she slowly hides behind her new friend, and squeezing his hand for reassurance.

"Who are you?" Chris asked dumbfounded by seeing Carrie White with a boy like Peter. "I'm Peter Parker, Carrie's cousin." Peter said not really sure of what to think about this girl, "Oh yeah see that makes sense." Chris replied "Hey I'm Chris, Carrie's girlfriend." She continued making her real girlfriends chuckle a little. "…She…she's lying to you Peter…" Carrie whispered in a whimpering tone. "What's that girl, hey why didn't you come hang with us today?"

"Well ah sorry ladies but ah, there's a sack of comic books in there with my name on them." Peter explained resting his hands on Carries tense shoulders, following behind her through the large library entrance. "So what are you two exactly, kissing cousin or is that just Carrie's wet dream, ha ya little freak." Tina taunted Carrie with a smug grin on her face giggling at her own joke. Peter and Carrie disappeared into the library, completely out of fight from the girls, who seemed to show in interest in stepping foot into this particular building. "OKAY CARRIE; SEE YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIEND AT SCHOOL TOMORROW." Heather finished causing the girls to burst out laughing as they continued down the sidewalk, with bags in hands and large amounts of make up on their faces.

Peter tried his best to comfort his cousin once they had settled into the library. They rested on a bean bag chair and Peter had decided to let Carrie ball her eyes out once again into his geeky shirt and hoodie. "You we better be careful, at this rate Pac-Man's gonna drown." Peter joked causing a little laughter to escape Carrie's lips. "…Well, we wouldn't want that would we…" Carrie said wiping her eyes and trying to take her mind off of what just happened. "You okay?" Peter asked looking concerned, "…Yeah, I'm okay…" Carrie replied rubbing her hand up and down Peter's torso.

Carrie felt something strange under his shirt however; it was like a second skin, or some kind of body armor rubbing against the inside of his shirt. "Carrie what's wrong?" Peter asked confused "Are…you wearing something else underneath this?" Carrie asked trying to pull up his shirt to peak at what was underneath. "CA-Carrie the, there's nothing their but my stomach." Peter assured her with a nervous smile.

"So ah Carrie do, do want to get something to eat or?" Peter asked trying to change the conversation. "I-I, don't have any money…" Carrie admitted shyly. "Well I do, Aunt May gave me some money, so…come on let's eat." Peter said jumping to his feet. Carrie rubbed her stomach, feeling a little empty inside as she had not really eaten since breakfast. "Ah…I am, a little hungry, but I-I don't want you to spend your money on me…" Carrie replied following her cousin back out to the street. "Oh come on Carrie, of course I will, it's my treat." Peter said smiling, "…Why are you being so nice to me?" Carrie asked blushing red. "Because you're my cousin Carrie, ha, is it really that hard for you to believe that I'm, just trying to be a good friend?" Peter asked noticing Carrie's sudden change in expression.

"…My Friend?" Carrie repeated looking at her shaking hands with a grin on her face. "Yeah, hey uh, you want to listen to some music?" Peter asked removing his headphones from his ears and pulling out his new cell phone. "I got-I got like, a gazillion songs on this thing." Peter joked putting his phone in Carrie's nervous hands. Peter held them steady and tried to make her feel more comfortable with his charming smile that warmed her heart. "…You're…you're very handsome…" She admitted with a slight nervous chuckle, as she again started smitten with Peter.

"Oh wow, thanks, I actually think I have that I'm sexy and I know it song on phone, you might like that song." Peter continued to joke hold Carries hands steady. "…So…what are we having for lunch?" Carrie finally asked breaking the awkward silence. Peter smiled again while holding out his arm for Carrie to take. "Well let's go find out Miss White" "Well I…guess we will….Mr Parker…" Carrie hesitantly replied accepting her cousin's arm. "No, but seriously, check out those songs, I think you might like them?" Peter continued feeling more comfortable around Carrie. "And hey ah, I can't wait to meet Aunt Margret too." Peter said rubbing the back of his cousin's head, messy up her long blonde hair. "Um…yeah…" Carrie replied shyly brushing her now crazy hair away from her eyes and back behind her ears.

"Oh, please don't embarrass me Momma, please…"

Later that day, dread filled Carrie's heart, the two kids headed back home around 5:45 PM, Margret was due home at 6:00 PM, and Carrie was underwhelmed with excitement. She had decided to listen to some of Peter's music on his phone, helping a lot with her nerves and taking her mind off of her mother. They arrived back home and headed up to Carrie's room together, Carrie gave Peter back his phone and smiled at him in appreciation, "I…like your music…" She complimented her cousin; feeling a little blushed about having a boy in her room.

"CARRIE!" "CARRIE!" Carrie rolled her eyes and banged the back of her head against her wall lightly at realization of her mother's early arrival back home. "Is that your mom?" Peter asked starting to hear footsteps coming closer and closer towards Carries room. A look of fear swept over Carrie's face, squeezing her hands into tight fists. "No-no you-you can't be in here if-if Momma see's you in here…" Carrie jumped and gasped in panic as Margret quickly slammed open her door. Carrie turned around to protect Peter from her mother with her lip quivering in fear. "I…I…I'm sorry Momma…" Carrie whimpered looking down at the floor with tears in her eyes, preparing herself to feel pain, and lots of it. "For what little girl…what have you done Carrie?" Margret whispered while giving Carrie cold stare. Carrie was confused, she turned back to face her cousin with embarrassment and shame on her face, but to her amazement, Peter had just, disappeared, completely out of sight, without making a single noise.

"Where's your cousin?" Margret asked sounding slightly angry. "Waiting outside Momma…" Carrie quickly said as Margret didn't waste time to begin storm back out the front porch. "Momma, Momma wait, wait Momma please wait…" Margret and Carrie stepped out to the front porch to investigate, and yet to Carrie confusion and astonishment, there he was, Peter was waiting at the bottom of the steps with his arms behind his back and a cheesy smile on his face. "Hey Aunt Margret it's nice to meet you."

Margret had spent a few hours silently preparing enough supper to feed a large family; Carrie sat in the living room watching her mother intently, making sure that Margret didn't try to neglect Peter. The three of them sat down at the small diner table inside the kitchen in more awkward silence, Carrie and Peter were sat closer together while Margret was more far apart. Carrie was more nervous than she had ever been in her whole life. Her heart jumped a beat every time Margret would glance over towards Peter with her cold and enraged eyes. "…Momma, I, like Peter…he-he's a very nice, boy…he's been really good to me, I-I told you Momma…" "CARRIE!" Margret shrieked, startling Carrie. Margret stared out her scared daughter while clenching onto a very sharp steak knife with her fist turning red. Carrie pushed her chair further across to her cousin, squeezing his arm under the table. Peter quickly decided to speak up beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, "Ah Aunt Margret, everything tastes really great um thank you…" Peter said preparing to take his plate over to the kitchen sink.

"Momma, please I'm begging you stop…" Carrie said quickly follow Peter. The two kids headed upstairs, and Carrie thought it would be better if she went with Peter into the spare room. "I-I'm sorry, Momma can be, a little protective." Carrie said rubbing her eyes. "It's okay; believe it or not I've been in, way more tense situations than that." Peter replied shrugging it off. Carrie tried to take her mind off of her mother and attempted to get to know her cousin a little more, it was the only thing that seemed to really make her happy today. "Sorry, that are visit to the library didn't go so well Peter…" "Oh that alright, I now school bullies when I see them" Peter stated smiling, "Were…you bullied, back home?" Carrie asked hesitantly "Ah yeah, its sucks you know…" Peter said with heavy heart. "…May I ask what, happened to Uncle Ben?" Carrie asked with a shaky voice, "…He…it's ah a long story…" Carrie sat down on Peter's bed brushing her hair behind her ear with a shy smile on her face, "…Please tell me…" Peter sat beside her on his bed, taking a deep breathe, "Uh…it's my fault…that he died…" Peter said rubbing at his chest. "What do you, mean?" "LITTLE GIRL, WHERE ARE YOU CARRIE?" Carrie jumped to her feet, hearing Margret making her way up the stairs. "COMING MOMMA" Carrie replied racing out of Peter's room.

Carrie quickly beat to her mother to the top of the stairs, "What-what's wrong Momma?" Carrie asked before feeling her mother's stinging hand slap her to the ground. "…What was that for…" Carrie asked rubbing her cheek "You have lust filled thoughts for that boy, how dare you, in my house…" Margret snapped graving Carrie by the hair. "PETER, PETER HELP ME" Carrie shrieked forcing Margret to release her. "What's going on?" Peter opened his bedroom seeing Carrie on the ground and Margret standing over her.

"…I-I fell" Carrie didn't like having to lie to Peter, but if he knew what Margret did to her, the police might try and take her away from Carrie. "Mo-Momma can, you help me back up…" Carrie asked as Margret began to slowly walk back down stairs completely ignoring her daughter's request. "Did she hurt you?" "NO-NO she, she didn't do anything to me I swear-I swear Peter." Carrie said dragging herself back up clutching at Peter shirt.

"Um...I think I'll, just go to bed..." Carrie declared trying hold back warm tears and trying to keep her voice steady. She headed back to her room, slamming the door behind her, leaving her cousin confused and alone in the hallway. Peter scratch his head with a nervous smile on his face. He never meet Aunt Margret or Carrie before, and was starting to understand why, he went back to his room, trying to laugh off what had just happened. He opened his bedroom window and stuck his head out with mind blowing at his long brown hair. "Welcome to Chamberlain Mr Parker." He announced to himself, realizing that this would have to be his life for one semester of school, away from the big city. He took one deep breath and listened out for the branches of nearby trees shaking and rattling in this calm weather. Glancing over to make sure that his door was locked he climbed out his bedroom window and dived out into the dark star lit sky. Peter had a secret like no other, and he knew it was going to be way harder to keep, now that he was living with his cousin.

"Well, this is, gonna be interesting..."

To Be Continued