secrets - peter parker

t w e n t y o n e

May smiled, as if a smile of relief when she opened the door.

"Yes, yeah he's just in his room, go ahead."

I was just going to go in, get the photos and come back out. Noting's going to get messy or complicated and then we just go back to acting like we don't know each other.

So after I knocked, a faint "Come in." Sounded from the other side.

Making my way in, I saw Peter lying on his bed, his hands closed behind his head. His eyes were peacefully shut with soft music pouring from his ear buds.

He looked so innocent, so peaceful, until his eyes widened at the sight of me when I closed the door behind me. But before I had given him the chance to react, I spoke first.

"Why haven't you replied to my texts?" I shoved my hands into my sweater pockets, trying to avoid his eyes.

"Honestly, I have no idea where my phone is." He effortlessly glanced around his room, figuring it was probably under a pile of clothes somewhere. He seemed to have had a disregard for his cleanliness this past week.

I was desperately curious to know how he was feeling, what he had been doing all week – but I don't want him to think he'd had that effect on me.

"I need the photos for the school paper, from the basketball game."

"Oh, yeah um, I forgot to give you those." He pulled out his earbuds and swung his legs off his bed, moving over to his computer.

There soon followed an uncomfortable silence as he started the computer. I hated seeing him like this. He had no energy in his movements, no stupid cute grin on his face, and no intention to wrap his arms around me just because he felt like it. It hurt, a lot.

So to rid myself from the awkwardness I peered over to his bookshelf, looking at the numerous titles of science books he had stacked up.

My orbs landed on the bottom shelf. Only a few books occupied it, but the other half was taken up by a small frame with my picture in it. It was the picture Peter had taken of me during the football game at school.

I envied how happy I looked. It was taken mid laugh as I was holding my hands out toward the camera. Nevertheless, it tinged my heart to know that he still had it sitting here on his shelf, despite us no longer being together.

"Shall I just give you them all and you can choose the ones you want?" Peter's voice brought me back into the small confined space that was his bedroom.

"Yeah, thanks." I quickly moved away from the shelf, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

He pulled the flash drive from the monitor and gave it to me. I grasped it and turned to pull the door open, but his hand reached over my shoulder pressed against the door and pushed it closed again.

"Vi," His warm breath hit my neck as he towered over me. "please talk to me."

I turned to find him standing inches from me, sandwiching me between the door and him.

"I haven't spoke to you all week and it's killing me." His voice was velvety soft, drawing me in.

"There's nothing to talk about." I looked down, knowing that if I looked into those big brown eyes I'd give in straight away.

"You need to know how sorry I am."

"Why did you let it go on for so long?" We were talking like we kids under the bed sheets at night, trying not to get caught by their parents.

"I guess, part of me found it easier to talk to you under the mask. But, I also knew that if I told you, I'd be putting you in immediate danger."

"That's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard." I rolled my eyes.

"Think about it, Violet, not everyone likes the idea of a kid in tights doing the police's job. I've been okay so far, but I know I'll make enemies along the way."

With his face so close to mine, it was inevitable that I took in every movement and feature of his face. I watched his lips when he spoke, I saw his expression in his eyes and heard his every emotion in his tone.

He continued, "I know how these guys work. If they can't get to me, they'll go for the people closest to me,"

He closed his eyes as if the thought of it pained him, "the minute I would have told you, you would have become a target...and I couldn't do that to someone I love."

And then my eyes met his. He looked back at me with defiance. I had expected him to counter his words somehow, but instead his stood firm like he regretted none of the words that escaped his lips.

"I've gotta go." This time, before he had the chance to stop me, I swiftly pulled the door open and hurried back into my apartment, breathing heavily.

This was real life; he'd really just said that. I didn't know whether to smile or cry so instead in sat on my bed with my head in my hands. Confusion was the word I'd used. Confused about whether I forgave him, confused about his intentions. All I knew was that I was not prepared for his words and I don't think I ever could be.

Did he say he loved me? Or was I just looking into it too much. Either way those words played over and over in my head.

-

The weekend felt much longer than it actually was. I love my own company, but there's only so long I can go without talking to someone other than my mom. But one thing helped, and that was the training. I had been every night so far without fail and it felt so refreshing to get all the thoughts out of my head.

I figured that it would be foolish of me to forgive him over one thing he said. And maybe he didn't even mean it, it was probably just a spur of the moment thing and the words slipped out. Nevertheless, I wasn't ready to look past all the lies and the pain he'd caused me. I didn't trust him at all.

Not only was it a great stress relief, but with my training, I began to develop my mutation. I found out I could shoot the blasts out in a machine gun manner, I could create larger ray beams or even laser beams, and I learned to control the intensity of my blasts, like whether I wanted them to be lethal or just leave a bruise.

So Sunday evening I shoved on my backpack, tied my ponytail and set off down the street.

I started off on the punching bag, trying out various combinations and punches. With each thought of him, I punched even harder. I wasn't necessarily a loud person, one that could express their emotions verbally, but physically I had no problem.

That was until I heard a a noise from the corner of the gym.