CANT BUY ME LOVE, PETER PARKER

sixteen. torn hearts

CANT BUY ME LOVE
chapter sixteen

THE BUS RIDE home was quiet. Not a single person spoke, not even Flash who under normal circumstances couldn't keep his mouth shut. Cindy sat near Liz and Phoebe in the front, the farthest she could be from Peter. She really didn't understand herself why she was so mad at the boy but her heart clenched every time she thought about yesterday and the fact that he wasn't there.

Ned had his eyes pointed out the window as Peter fumbles with his own fingers. Trying his best not to allow his mind to wander to the dark haired girl and how far away she was from him.

Cindy had left the hotel early that same morning to say goodbye to her sister, Phoebe coming with her. Phoebe had been hurt about being lied to but immediately forgave when she put the reasons into perspective.

Cindy promised to call her sister and keep a tight lip about the entire meeting from her mother, at least for a little while. The two sisters shared a long hug before Carly drove the pair back to the hotel.

             The dark haired girl was back at her school before she realized, grabbing her things and piling them into her car. Phoebe doing the same. Cindy could see Peter approaching her car from the corner of her eye but avoided it and slid into the drivers seat. In her rear view she saw the boy visible deflate and she felt her heart clench at the thought of being the reason he was upset, but she was more upset. She let the feeling pass as she drove Phoebe home.

        Cindy returned home with a headache and a heavy heart, her apartment cluttered with take out boxes and crumpled magazines. If it hadn't already been evident, Cindy's own mother couldnt last a day on her own. Luckily she was at work and couldn't hear groaning and complaints that came from Cindy as she cleaned the apartment that looked like it'd been neglected for months.

          The girl had been busy stuffing a pizza box into the trash can when a knock came from her door. She yelled for whoever to come in, thinking it was Phoebe who had a key to her home, but it wasn't Phoebe. A timid apology was heard from the other side and Cindy abandoned the pizza box to pull open the door, Ned staring back at her.

          Cindy knew his business for being here and she appreciated the gesture but she wasn't in the mood to talk about anything, "Ned, I really don't want to—"

          "No listen," He interrupted, in the most respectful way possible, "Peters my best friend, I know him better than I know myself and I can tell he's beating himself up right now. Even if he doesn't know what he's done. But Cindy I can tell he likes you a lot and he's going to kill me for telling you that but if it were up to him you'd never know."

           "Ned..." Cindy trailed off, she wasn't ready to hear any of this right now.

             "And...And I know Peter and I know that even though he saved your life today he—"

             Cindy stopped the rambling boy, "Ned wait." The short boy was oblivious to the words that came from his mouth and even more oblivious to why he'd been stopped, until he gave himself a minute to remember. Then the fear settled in his stomach and he cringed as he tried to cover his mistake. But Cindy was a smart girl, she placed the pieces together.

            "He saved me today? How? I mean he wasn't even...." Cindy fumbled with her finger s as Ned begged her to forget whatever he said but she couldn't, "Unless he was...but that would be crazy."

             "It would be. I'm gonna go ... yeah. I think it's time for me to leave. Please forget what I—" But Cindy wasn't paying attention to any of Neds words, she was already at her television. She knew there had to be some new report about the red masked hero that paraded around New York City, the one that coincidentally happened to be in Washington. And just as she's hoped, a headline covering the superhero. Cindy's heart dropped and suddenly she hoped Ned was right, that he was crazy and she should forget what he said. She watched the masked boy struggle to hold together a ripped boat, people screaming and rushing to either side. She could barely watch the scene unfold any longer. The remote in her hand dropped as she bounded for her door, calling a taxi down to the water that happened to be a couple blocks away.

          Somehow Ned had managed to make his way into the taxi, nervously seated beside Cindy, "Peter's going to kill me."

          Normally Cindy would have responded but she couldn't, not with her brain in a jumbled mess. The taxi came to a halt at the water and Cindy handed the driver a wad of cash as she bounded out of the door. Her feet carried her to the railings edge watching as the boy was able to release his grip on the boat, small metal pieces flying to each side. Ned noticed the iron hero on the other side pushing it together, "Shit."

            Cindy didn't know what the curse was meant for, she could only keep her focus on the boy.

            Ned had been called home but Cindy sat at the waters edge as the sun began to set, the boat having been brought back to port and the hero's having disappeared; she was left alone with her own thoughts.

             The entirety of their 'relationship' pieces itself together, the suspicious way he would randomly disappear, the way he worked himself up when he couldn't bring Spider-Man to that party. The entire story brought itself together and Cindy felt like whatever she knew couldn't be trusted. Her heart felt heavy and sank to her stomach as she brought her knees to her chest.

          A door slamming nearby brought her attention to the source, her eyes locking with a sad boy who looked as though he'd had everything taken away. Despite the hurt shes felt moments before she pushed it aside as she raced towards the boy who could barely find enough energy to hug her back.

          "I-I came to watch the sunset from the roof." Cindy realized he was trying to cover up for why he'd be leaving through the side door of a bank building, in pajamas. Cindy shook her head and dropped her hands to her sides.

           "Ned told me," Peter's head snapped upwards and something flashed in his eyes, a million different emotions and realizations at once, "He didn't mean to. I kind of figured most of it out. I saw you...well, Spider-Man on the news and I came down here and, I don't know why but i've been sitting here ever since."

          Cindy realized how lame she sounded, her eyes dropping to the ground. Peter's cracked voice broke through the thick silence, "He took my suit."

          Cindy didn't know exactly who he was talking about but she figured it had something to do with the iron suit that had placed the bot back together. She didn't know what to say, but there really was nothing that could fix either of their broken hearts. So she brought the boy into a hug.

           She wasn't sure how long they'd be out there or where her mother thought she was but her heart had Peter in its grip and she couldn't pull herself away. She was in deep shit.