INVISIBLE | P. PARKER

THIRTY NINE

THIRTY-NINE;
TALK TO ME

AFTER TEN MINUTES, Tony and May had managed to convince Peter to finally go to school. He reluctantly accepted and followed his aunt out of the tower, not before kissing Cassie's forehead and promising he would be back right after school finished.

The moment he stepped a foot into the classroom, he felt an unwelcoming feeling of loneliness inside. He glanced back at her usual desk and sighed deeply at the empty seat next to him. His brown eyes flickered from his trembling hands over the cold desk, to the seat next to the massive window. He felt lonely without Cassie, and he hoped that it was only a few weeks of torture. He hoped that it wouldn't become part of his routine.

When the bell rang, he exhaled deeply and stared blankly at the board full of equations and numbers as the students slowly walked out of the classroom. Unconsciously, he turned his head to the side, only to find an empty seat and the disappointment quickly adorned his features.

Peter pursed his lips together as he quietly shoved his stuff into his backpack and walked out of the classroom in silence. He walked to his locker and opened it with quick movements, he stopped dead in his tracks when he caught the sight of the deck of cards in very the back of his locker. A sigh left his lips and slammed the door shut before heading to the cafeteria.

As he grabbed his food, he tried to push back the sick feeling of people staring at him with sympathy. His eyes flickered through the room and stopped in an empty table at the back of the room, he pushed himself forward and sat on the cold bench. He looked down at his food and searched for his phone before eating, he anxiously stared at the screen with the hope of getting a call from Mr. Stark, but nothing happened.

Suddenly, Peter felt like his appetite had disappeared as he pushed his food away and exhaled frustratedly. He pressed his lips together as he searched for his book and attempted to read it, but his eyes kept flickering from the book to his phone.

"Hm, Peter?" He snapped his head up at the sound of his name. He frowned at the sight of Harry and Michelle looking at him with sympathy. "Hi."

"Hi." He coldly replied, taking his phone to unlock it.

"We only stopped by to tell you that we are truly sorry about what happened with Cassie." The boy furrowed his eyebrows together and looked up at his old friends. "We know it must be horrible to have a suicidal girlfriend–"

"Cassie's not suicidal." Peter angrily snapped. "She only tried to save her life, alright?" He closed his book and shoved it inside the backpack. "That's what everyone is saying?"

"Well–" Michelle started, awkwardly rubbing her forearm. "Since she jumped off a building, we thought she was and word spread–"

"Why are you doing this? For revenge?" He angrily said, standing up and taking his backpack on the way. "Cassie didn't want to kill herself, and you should probably stop sticking your nose in other people's business–" His phone ringing interrupted him.

Mr. Stark
come to the tower. cassie woke up.

+++

Peter felt like the universe was against him as he anxiously shifted in his position inside the small elevator. He stared at his reflection on the glossy, metallic wall of the elevator and fixed the straps of his backpack on his shoulder. His chestnut eyes looked down at the small bouquet of flowers he bought on the way to the tower from school.