Trapped in the Shadows

Chapter 23 - Seeing Ghosts

(Peter's POV):
May convinced me to spend the next day with her ice skating in Rockefeller Center. It was absurdly crowded as it was the day following Christmas, but May thought it would be fun for us to do something that we had never done before.

I wasn't much for skating, the only other time I had even considered going was when (Y/N) suggested we go together. Now that I looked back on it, I wished that I had accepted her offer. I had just been afraid that I wasn't going to be any good at it and it was towards of the beginning of our relationship so I didn't want her to, for some reason, decide that I wasn't good enough for her. Now, I would give anything to spend the day ice skating with her, knowing that she was safe.

"Peter? You do realize that you've been skating away from the wall for about two minutes now?" May asked as she skated over to me. "Have you been out ice skating without me?"

"No, May, I promise," I assured her after realizing that she was right. "I just got lost in my thoughts and I suppose the distraction was enough to keep me from worrying about falling."

She gave me a sympathetic look, "you were thinking about her again, weren't you?"

"Is it ever anything else?" I asked rhetorically with a small sigh. "I'm sorry May, I know you brought me out here to get my mind off of her and actually have some fun, but I just can't stand not knowing. It's my fault she's gone and now I can't even bring her back."

"It wasn't your fault, Peter, she chose to try get involved with that staged robbery, she could have just as easily decided to stay up on the roof and finish lunch. But come on, I know just the thing to lift your spirits. How about you go get some hot chocolate?"

I smiled weakly, "thanks, May. I'd appreciate that."

We left the rink and began to walk down the street to a small cafe, which we had heard served some of the best hot chocolate in the city. As we walked, I felt someone looking at me, my spider senses tingling at the feel of their gaze. I glanced across the street, wary of whoever it was and ready to protect May at all costs.

But when my eyes befell the woman that I had spent the last three and a half years trying to find, my mind went completely blank. She was right there, mere feet away. All I had to do was cross the street and I could be with her again. She made eye contact with me and I noticed her lips moving, although I could not hear what she was saying over the noise of the city around me. But from the way her lips were moving she appeared to be telling me to let go.

"Peter, what's up? Do you not want hot chocolate anymore?" May asked, having realized that I had lagged behind.

Her voice brought my gaze to her and I quickly looked back at (Y/N), finding that she had disappeared into thin air. Still staring at the spot, I replied, "no, I-I'm fine. I-I'm sorry, I thought I just saw- never mind. Let's go, sorry for holding you up."

"You sure you're ok, you look as though you've seen a ghost," she worried, causing me to try to assure her with a smile.

"No, I'm fine, I'm really looking forward to a nice cup of hot chocolate to warm me up."

I took one last glance back at where I had seen (Y/N), just on the off chance that she had reappeared. I had felt as though she was with me every time I returned to the state, but this was different. This time she actually stood in front of me. But she couldn't have actually been there, it was impossible.

Perhaps I was going insane and honestly, it wouldn't have surprised me if I was. But perhaps it was a vision. Perhaps (Y/N) was truly gone and she knew how much I still held on to her. She had appeared before me to tell me that I needed to let go, that I needed to move on. It was the only explanation I had, if she was truly there than she would have rushed over to me.

Your POV:
"You have a mission in the real world today," Carson informed me as he interrupted my daily training.

"What is it that you wish me to do?" I replied obediently, thankful that I would finally be able to put my skills to good use.

"We just want you to identify a target. You are not going to be eliminating him, at least not yet. But we want you to see him in person so that when you do have the order to execute, you'll know that it is him."

"Very well, where will I find this man?"

"We've been keeping tabs on him, he's currently at Rockefeller center. Here, take these comms and we'll let you know if he moves. And Shadow, you best be very careful not to be seen. We don't want anyone knowing what you look like before your missions begin."

"Understood," I replied, placing the comms in my ear and teleporting out of the base. I arrived a block away from the target location, careful to keep an eye out for law enforcement and security cameras. Just in case I kept my head low and awaiting further instructions.

"Alright Shadow, he has left the skating rink and is headed your way on the opposite side of the street," I heard Carson's voice in my ear.

I lifted my head enough to see the people passing me on the opposite sidewalk and asked, "ok, who am I looking for?"

"He's a 21 year old male with light brown hair and brown eyes. He stands at about 5'8'' and he should be directly across from you now."

"I found him," I spoke as my gaze finally landed upon the man I was sent to find. "What do you want me to do now?"

"He's stopping, I want you to make eye contact with him and then let me know when you've completed your mission."

I did as I was requested, watching silently as he turned to face me. He looked shocked to see me there, making me wonder if I reminded him of anyone. As for me, I knew I had never seen him before, there was not a single feature that I recognized.

"Alright," I spoke into my comms. "Let's go."

"Wait for him to look away and then teleport back here," came my orders and I did exactly that the minute that he became distracted by a woman speaking to him.

-

(A/N): I have a call back for a choral ensemble that's really hard to get into tomorrow and I'm so nervous and on Monday then I have auditions for two shows (one that has only four roles) and I doubt I'll get in to them as I'm only a first year but god do I miss acting. Anyway, enough complaining from me, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!