Allies & Enemies // Spider-Man [Book 2]

thirty-seven {Arya's POV}

"Skye and Luke were really good. They should sing together more often," I told Peter as our intertwined hands swung between us. We had left the Formal about thirty minutes ago but we had let Skye and Luke take Tony's car so they could go to an after-party of one of Luke's friends. Happy would pick it up tomorrow. 

But that meant that Peter and I were left to walk home. He had tried calling May but considering that it was 3 in the morning, she was probably asleep. I didn't mind, honestly. I wasn't cold, thanks to Peter's jacket that was resting on my shoulders, and I had swapped my heels for the sneakers that I had stuffed into my locker earlier today, knowing that my feet were going to hurt. 

"Yeah, totally," Peter agreed. 

We continued our walk in silence and I enjoyed the sounds of New York at night. Distant car alarms, police sirens, and shouts of people. I enjoyed being a teenager for a change as opposed to a superhero who had to look over her shoulder for threats every second of the day. 

"I had a lot of fun at the Formal, Pete. Thank you," I said softly. 

"No, thank you. I never would've gone to such a thing if I didn't have you," he said, sending me a smile. 

I chuckled, gently squeezing his hand. 

A man walked in our direction and Peter's hand tightened around my own. "It's fine. Just walk past him," I said in a hushed voice but I knew better and allowed the electricity to flow to my fingers, but I stopped it from revealing itself just yet.

The man's identity was cloaked by the darkness of the night and when he passed us, he bumped into Peter's shoulder. He quickly apologised before he walked on, and so did we. 

"That was weird," I muttered but when Peter suddenly stopped and turned around, I asked, "What? What's wrong?" 

"I'll meet you at home," he told me before he sprinted after the man. 

"Peter!" I shouted but he ignored me. I let out a huff before taking out my phone. It was three in the morning and I was alone in Queens. "Great," I said to myself before continuing to walk to Peter's apartment. I was lucky it was only a few more blocks.

When I arrived at the building, I looked over my shoulder to see if Peter was behind me, but when he wasn't, I went inside and climbed up the stairs to the seventh floor where I let myself into the apartment using the spare key Peter had given me a few weeks ago. 

I was as silent as I possibly could as I went into his room where I wiggled myself out of my dress and into a large T-shirt that Peter sometimes slept in. I tried to remove my makeup as best as I could and took most of the bobby pins from my hair, but I was too tired to put much effort into it. 

I crashed into Peter's bed and covered myself with the blanket. I tried to fall asleep but every time I closed my eyes, I started to worry about my boyfriend who was on his own, chasing someone who I did not know. 

My thoughts were put to a stop as I heard the door creak open. I sat up and found Peter in the doorway. I sat up. "Hey, what the hell happened? Why did you run off like that?" I asked him quietly. He held a finger to his lips as he closed the door and changed into his pyjamas. When he discovered I was wearing his shirt, I sent him a quick grin, to which he replied with a roll of his eyes. 

He crawled into bed with me after changing into his pyjamas. "It was Graham. I managed to stop him and I discovered something," he whispered and I frowned. 

"Graham? What did he have to say?" I asked. 

"There is this massive sale tomorrow night. The new Vulture will be there along with most of his buyers. The Vulture realised he was on our radar and now he wants to get rid of everything so we won't be able to find him. Lucky for us that we have Graham who helped us out," he told me and when he ended his sentence, I needed a second or two to take everything in.