Wings || Peter Parker

40: Break-in

At precisely eleven PM, the tiny beeping alarm went off on my watch. It took four minutes to disable because I'm dumb and so are these tiny watches. 

I pulled my covers off and adjusted my hoodie to cover the most of my back as I could. I waved Mr. Pigeon goodbye and pulled the doorstop out of the utility door, the small compact box the watch had come in. 

I eased the door open, crawling inside and down the short staircase to the food court. I pushed open the back door, and immediately, the automatic lights came on, flickering in the darkness with their harsh LEDs.

I slipped inside the empty area, making my way to the donut stand. They had a large bag of donuts that hadn't sold that day, so I treated myself to a maple-glazed donut before continuing on my mission.

There were small chip bags at almost all the counters, so I walked behind the doors into the utility halls, and just grabbed two boxes from the store room, before delivering them back up to the staircase by the roof door.

I next went to the side of the court, finding the pizza shop and scanning the shelves. Sometimes they still had pizza leftovers from the day, and the workers didn't care to try and clean them up. They just reheated them and sold them the next day. Thank god there were almost three pizzas left, two cheese and one sausage and pepperoni. I made up three boxes, sliding the pizzas in and putting them on top of the chips by the door outside.

I decided to bring the food out then, so I wouldn't have to cart so much stuff around. Then, I went back downstairs and found the map in the food court to refresh my memory.

The bed bath and beyond was one floor down, then a Barnes and Noble, then assorted home living, then the clothing brands on the bottom two floors.

I went to bed bath and beyond first, pulling another comforter off the shelf. It was king size, but it had those ribbon things they wrap around blankets, so I slid it around my arm, cutting off my circulation in the process. 

I continued browsing the back shelves, glancing at all the inventory in front of me. There were a ton of blankets, and another full box sitting on the floor filled with assorted fleece blankets. I reached for a knit blanket, an off-white afghan, but the yarn was horribly scratchy, so I shoved it back on the shelf. 

There was a big sign in the back, reading All feather down blankets, 30% off until October 1st. The date had already passed, so there was just a bin of blankets that would probably never be sold. They were quilts, I think. I wasn't very aware of blanket names.

I grabbed two and carted them back up the stopped elevators to the door.

I had three new blankets, food, and now I needed clothes and hopefully books. I decided to go down to the first floor, where there was a target, kohls, and h&m. I would make my way up the next three floors and hope I found some kind of bag.

There were elevators on all floors, though they were stopped since the mall was closed. However, that didn't mean the stripes of metal in between weren't perfect slides after the malls closed. 

I jumped over the barrier, gently placing my wings behind me, and slid down the first part. I was now in Barnes and noble. The lights clicked on. I repeated that two more times, landing at the entrance to the mall. In front of me was a fountain, and three department stores. 

I headed to target first, which still had their back-to-school displays up, and had a large variety of backpacks to choose from. Unfortunately, I can't exactly wear a backpack over a very large set of fucking wings, so I walked past the shelves and found the food section. 

I stole so many boxes of cookies. There were three stuffed in my pocket, and another one in my hood so I didn't have to bother carrying it. 

I finally came up with the willpower to ignore the food aisles, and enter the clothing section. I leaned towards the male section because there were more oversized clothes, specifically hoodies, that I could cut to fit over my wings. Everything in the women's section was cropped, and that wasn't very useful, especially in the winter.

I found a rack of hoodies easily. They were thick ones too, the kind with college names monogrammed on the front, and not the cheap thin ones you can get from some stores. I took four, Colombia University, Harvard, Michigan State, and Princeton. There were enough to bulk up around my waist, like a lot. The fourth was a XXL, and could barely fit around my waist.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Max, why would you buy a XXL men's hoodie? Well, reader, they are warm, and my wings don't fit through anything smaller. 

I also grabbed two pairs of black sweatpants and two pairs of leggings from the women's section. Then I found the tote bags.

It was life-changing, not having to carry around armfuls of stuff. Now I could carry around armfuls of stuff but in bags.

I crammed all my stuff in two bags, then took another three and slung them over my shoulder. 

Since I had bags, I decided to 'splurge' myself on other things, that weren't nearly as necessary. I was drawn to the suit collections near the fitting rooms. There was one, in particular, a three-piece navy and darker navy pinstriped suit that looked like it was taken from the 30s. It came with a hat and everything. 

Yes, I stole a two hundred dollar suit because I felt like it. I'm sure I'll find a use for it.

I even found a trench coat in another store, one that reached to my knees. It was black and matched the suit, so I took it. Who knows, maybe I'll need a trench coat.

I finally left, forcing myself to ignore the other stores, and go up to Barnes and Noble. This mall, in particular, had five tiers, six if you count the roof. The amazing thing about this one is that there is a huge skylight at the top(nowhere near where I stay), and the five tiers all have cutouts, leaving a huge hole in the middle of the building. 

I flew up. 

It's so simple. All malls with multiple tiers should have openings for winged folks.

I landed right on the Barnes and Noble railing, hopping down once I caught my balance. I left my bags there, except for the two I had left, and took my time to begin browsing the shelves. I knew I told myself to pick from the books in the back, but to my surprise, there isn't a back room full of books. Oh no, I guess I'd just have more options.

I picked six books. They both die at the end, The fault in our stars, The hate you give, The perks of being a wallflower, The greatest adventures of sherlock holmes, and THE ENTIRE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY IN ONE BOOK. Well, technically that would make the book count eight, but six, physical books.

I also snagged a pen from the cashier's desk, pocketing it before finding my other bags again. I flew up to the food court, climbed the small staircase to the roof, and set everything down, sighing. I opened the door, using the bag of books as a doorstop. I set the blankets(2 quilts, on comforter) on my bed, then went back for the clothes and books. I returned the spiderman watch box back between the door, letting it close softly on the cardboard box.

I turned back to my bed, staring at my shelter. I pulled everything under the metal, placing the chips on one side, and the pizza boxes on top of it. I opened the comforter, folding it in half on top of my other one, which just lay open on the ground. The folded one was cleaner, and the triple-stacked blanket made it feel almost like I wasn't sleeping on a concrete rooftop.

I turned the empty chip box into a tiny bookshelf, pulling the tarp over it to make sure any bad weather couldn't get to it. 

Authors note.

So, hi again. I wrote this. I'm tired. goodbye