Light & Dark // Spider-Man: No Way Home [Book 5]

chapter eleven {Arya's POV}

I woke up with a gasp. I pushed myself up from Peter's chest and sat down on the armrest of the couch. The image of Thanos snapping his fingers was still burned into my corneas and it took a few minutes before it disappeared. My shirt stuck to my sweaty torso and my hair was a tangled mess. I glanced at the clock and saw it was four in the morning but the nightmare I'd just experienced didn't really make me feel like going back to sleep. I'd have to get up for school in two hours. 

I took a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around myself before heading to the balcony of Happy's condo. The chilly night air instantly cooled me down and I exhaled deeply. I sat down on the wooden bench and pulled my legs up to my chest, wrapping the blanket around them.

The past few months had been a whirlwind. After Thanos and Mysterio, I couldn't imagine ever going back to feeling like a normal teenager, but here I was, stressed out over college applications. Stanford and the University of Texas had already turned us down, so we had two chances left. I kept reminding myself that I only needed one approved application but with each rejection, I felt less and less optimistic. 

Before everything with Thanos went down, I thought I had the world at my feet. I was a Stark, meaning I was already one step ahead of everyone. It probably sounded arrogant, but I knew that with my father's reputation at MIT, there was no doubt they'd accept me as well. I had my whole life ahead of me and I knew exactly where I was going to go in life. I would follow in my dad's footsteps and everything would be fine. 

But he was gone, now. And my plan for the future was in jeopardy with every mail delivery.

"Hey," Peter's voice sounded and I looked up, finding him standing in the doorway. 

"Hey, sorry, did I wake you?" I asked, lowering my feet to the ground. 

He rubbed his tired eyes. "No, you didn't. I had to pee and you were gone."

I chuckled weakly. "Nightmare." 

"Oh, sorry. Are you okay?" he asked as he sat down next to me. 

I rested my head on his shoulder and he put an arm around me. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You can go back to the couch."

"No, it's okay. If you want to stay out here, I'll stay too," he replied. 

I smiled even though he couldn't see it. I nestled my head into the crook of his neck, drawing my legs up onto the bench again. 

We sat in silence for the next two hours until we decided to head inside again. Happy was still asleep, so while Peter headed to the bathroom, I went to the kitchen to prepare two bowls of cereal. When Peter returned, we took the cereal to the balcony again where we ate our breakfast while chatting about our upcoming day. 

A bit later, we heard May and Happy inside, talking hushedly as they each started their day. When I picked up the sound of the front door opening and closing, my stomach wound into tight knots and I instantly lost my appetite. The sound of the front door meant that May had gone downstairs to the lobby of the apartment building where she would pick up the mail. If there was another rejection in that pile of mail, I'd be one step closer to losing my entire future. I had no idea what I was going to do if-

"Guys, two more letters! It's Berkeley!" May's voice sounded from inside and I shot up, nearly spilling the rest of my cereal all over the bench. 

Peter and I rushed inside and with shaking hands, I took the envelope with my name on it. I sank down into one of the kitchen chairs and May gave my shoulder a soft squeeze as I ripped open the envelope. I could barely make out the words because the edges of my vision had gone a little blurry.