Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

28. Poetry

BEFORE YOU START THE CHAPTER: under the ______ there's mention of rape and other things that could be considered triggering. There are no important plot details under the _______, so you can read the chapter up until that point and skip the rest if it makes you uncomfortable.

...

"You did really well today!" Daphne smiles at an exhausted Peter. He's panting and sitting with his back against the mirrored wall. They're both drenched in sweat. They've been dancing for four and half hours to get Peter up to speed with the last things he needs to know. The pas de deux classes start next week.

Daphne admits to herself that they may have overdone it today. She hands him his bottle of water.
"Drink up, you're losing a lot of water. And make sure to stuff your face with chips when you get home." She nods once. "Y'know, for the salt."
"Thanks," Peter says as he gratefully takes the bottle and downs most of it in one go. He noticed Daphne was awfully distracted today. She did what she needed to do, but she was lost in thought a lot. And he doesn't think it was about the choreographies she prepped to practice.

"Do you think I'm ready?"
"About as ready as you can be with the limited training you've had so far." She rubs her chin and takes a sip of her own bottle. "Thanks for doing this for me, Pete."
"Anything for you," he says before he thinks. He turns his head away and hopes the redness flushing into his face can be excused through the tough exercises they did. She chuckles, but doesn't reply. When he looks back, he sees she's lost in thought again. "Are you okay?" She turns her face to look at him, slightly surprised by his question.
"Yeah?" The fact that she says it with a question mark makes it sound unbelievable, even to her. She bites the inside of her cheek. "I mean..."
"You can talk to me."
"I know, I know." She sits down next to him with her legs crossed.

"Spider-Man showed up at my window yesterday," she says suddenly. Peter perks up, trying be inconspicuous.
"Oh?"
"I think Mr. Stark asked him to check up on me," she scoffs.
"Why do you say it like that?"
"I don't get why Mr. Stark asked him. Or why Spider-Man even thought I was worth his time. They've got better things to do. I'm not that important. I'm only bothering everyone constan-" He stops her by putting a hand on her shoulder. He clenches his jaw and looks at her intensely.
"Shut up." She stares at him, doe-eyed.
"What?"
"Just shut up." He gets up. His hands have turned into fists and he sighs loudly. "You need to realize that you are not bothering anyone the way you think you are." Her mouth is half open and her jaw twitches. Peter looks down at her and breathes. "Alright, maybe that came out wrong."
"Maybe," she whispers.

Peter aggressively puts his water bottle on the table in the corner and turns back to her while cocking his head.
"You need to start talking to me," he begs. "About things that bother you. Regardless of whether or not they bother me." Her shoulders droop.
"I don't want to-"
"Don't you dare say it," he threatens, holding his hand out to her accusingly. "The only way you're bothering me is by not telling me what's bothering you." He pushes his hand through his hair. "You need to realize that David is no longer just your problem." She frowns at Peter. So, he continues. "He knows me. He follows me too, you know that?"
"What?!" She nearly jumps to her feet. "When was this? What did he do?!"
"He attacked me on Tuesday." He steps away from her when she tries to touch his arm. "And he said..." His face contorts and he looks away. The lump in his throat returns and he has to do everything he can not to burst into tears right then and there. "He called me orphan." He pushes out the last word, but his voice cracks. She stares at him wide-eyed. After a second her look turns dark and her jaw clenches.
"He did what?!" She's seething. Hurting her? Sure. Hurting Peter?

Hell. Fucking. No.

"I'm okay now, Daphne, don't worry about me," he tries. "I'm just so tired of you not talking to me." She stares at him, trying to control her breathing. Her lips are pressed on top of each other. She's never felt like this before. This isn't just anger anymore. This is rage. Hatred. She rushes to grab her stuff and throws on her boots. All Peter can do is look at her.
"I'm gonna talk to you about everything, but there's something I must do first." She aims for the door, but Peter stops her by harshly grabbing her arm. She turns her head to him and wants to yell at him, but the look on his face stops her in her tracks. It's dark. Determined.
"Whatever you're feeling right now..." He says the words slowly and carefully. His eyes are locked with hers. She doesn't dare to look away. "Don't act on it. Don't do anything you will regret."
"Don't worry," she whispers, matching her determination with his. "I should have done this a long time ago."