Youth ➳ Peter Parker

[10] seeking closure

TWO DAYS HAD PASSED since... whatever happened had happened. No one really had a clue as to what had happened that night, and that was apparent by the news stories flashing loudly on the TV. It was a Sunday, and Maggie sat alone in a cafe near her apartment. She'd told her mom she needed space, and her mom had willingly given it to her. She'd told Maggie to take all the time she needed to process everything.

  Maggie wasn't really sure at the moment whether she'd ever process any of it. It all happened so fast, so suddenly, and Maggie had been thrown into the middle of it almost immediately. There were only two upsides to the tragedy that'd struck, and both of them were closely linked to one another, the first being Peter, and the second being the seceding of the voices. They weren't fully gone. They'd popped up once, in the middle of the night, yesterday. 

  Blaming Alex's death on Maggie. Saying it was Maggie's fault. And in retrospect, when it all came down to it, she wasn't sure whose fault it was. Everything was a bit of a blur. 

  That's why she'd- reluctantly- asked Rachel and Peter to meet her for breakfast. They all lived relatively near each other, so finding a place to meet wasn't hard. They'd made plans for 9:30, but Maggie had shown up thirty minutes early. She wanted to take a little time to think about what she would say to them. To obsess over what Rachel might say. 

  Peter and Maggie had explained half the situation to Rachel. They'd explained the side of it that they realistically could, especially over the phone. Spider-Man had been mentioned, but why Peter had been there before Alex and Maggie was inexplicable. That was one reason Rachel had agreed to meet the pair. She needed more of an explanation. She deserved the whole truth.

  She doesn't deserve you as a friend. You let her brother die. This is your fault. No one else's but yours. Peter could have saved Alex if he weren't so distracted by you. 

  9:25 AM. Five more minutes. 

  A cup of tea sat on the table in front of Maggie, steaming and filled to the brim. She'd ordered it over ten minutes ago, but couldn't take a sip of it. Not with what was playing on the television in front of her. 

  Over and over again. They show Alex's picture over and over. They say Spider-Man tried to save him. They're saying he did his best. They're saying the bad guy killed him. They're saying Spider-Man killed the bad guy. No- not killed. Peter didn't kill. The man was in the hospital, unconscious. A coma. He'd been identified as a 35 year old man named Quentin Beck. No family, no kids, no wife. He was alone.

  And he deserved to be.

  "Alex Sawyer... fifteen... found dead Friday night...couldn't save him... long gone." 

  Shut up shut up shut up. 

  Maggie stood up abruptly, pushing her chair back. The cup of tea rattled, threatening to spill over. Maggie walked slowly over to the front counter, but there was no one there. The lady who'd previously served her had her back turned, hunched over the cash register, counting bills. Maggie let out a long breath, bracing herself, and cleared her throat softly.

  The lady still didn't hear her. Maggie cleared her throat again, and this time she heard. The woman spun around, clearly startled. She came over to the counter, smiling tightly at Maggie. 

  "Hi, sweetheart. Is there something I can do for you?" Maggie saw the woman glance over her shoulder at Maggie's still-full cup of tea, and knew the woman was thinking Maggie had come over to complain.

  "I'm so sorry to ask, and you totally don't have to do it if you don't want to. I was wondering if you could maybe turn off the TV, or at least switch the channel from the news?" Maggie asked quietly, avoiding eye contact. Why was talking to strangers so hard? This was dumb.

  The woman hesitated. 

  "I... I knew the boy who died. I was friends with him. I was there that night." Maggie added hastily, hating the pitiful look she knew she'd get from the woman once she told her, but knowing it would help her case and make the woman more willing to change the channel. The woman sighed, reached for the remote behind the cash register, and changed it to BBC. No one would be talking about Spider-Man there.

  "Sorry, hon." The woman offered a sad smile, and Maggie shrugged, telling the lady thank you and turning back around. Maggie could feel the woman's eyes on her as she went back to her table and finally took a sip of the tea. 

  It was good tea. Maggie had never been one for coffee. But tea was soul-cleansing. It was calming.

  9:32 AM. 

Peter and Rachel walked in at the same time. Maggie still didn't know what she was planning to say to them. Especially Rachel. What was there to say? Sorry your brother died and it was basically my fault? 

Peter caught Maggie's eye and gave her a small smile, walking over to join her at the table. Rachel didn't acknowledge Maggie at all, instead walking up to the counter to order something. 

  "Is she avoiding me? Did you talk to her?" Maggie asked Peter as he sat down across from her. Peter shook his head. 

  "Not avoiding you. Just... like, collecting her thoughts, I guess." He responded, looking at her straight. He was the first person she knew who willingly would make eye contact with her. Everyone else in her family avoided her gaze. It bothered the hell out of her. 

  Maggie took a deep breath as Rachel walked over to join the two, the lady at the counter telling her her order would be ready in a few minutes.

  "Hi." Rachel said, her voice barely above a whisper. She wasn't wearing any makeup, had her hair up in a ponytail, her eyes were red and puffy, and she was breaking out all over her face. She looked horrible. Her appearance very much so matched that of Maggie's. The pair were practically matching, but this was a much bigger thing for Rachel than it would ever be for Maggie.

  "Okay. I'm ready. Tell me what happened." 

a/n: this is crazy. i almost have 50k reads and 2k votes. i never thought my story would get this far?? i think i have 3 more chapters left of this story. it was never meant to be long. esp since hoco just came out, i feel motivated to finish it now lmao. 

can you guys let me know if anyone would be down for a sequel? is that something anyone's interested in? i'd be willing to write a sequel set during spider-man: homecoming if anyone would read it