The Tragedy of Mary Jane Stark

Strange Dream

"I don't want to go back to sleep. At least not tonight." Mj shakily told Peter. "What are you reading?"

"Speak. You told me to read it a while ago. I just found it like half an hour ago. It's a good book, the main character is very cynical." Peter said showing her the book.

"Read to me?" She said nuzzling her head on his shoulder.

"Okay. Want me to start from the beginning or where I left off?" He said gently moving to grab the book, not wanting to move Mj from him.

"Where you left off. I've read this so many times I can catch up." Mj said watching as his very alive hands delicately turned the pages of her very warn book.

"We are studying fruit in biology. Ms. Keen has spend a week teaching us the finer points of stamens and pistils, seed pods and flowers. The earth has frozen, it's snows lightly at night but Ms Keen is determined to keep spring alive in her classroom." Peter began.

Mj was relishing his voice. God she missed his voice. Realistically it had only been three hours but it felt like weeks. She had never had such a vivid and painful dream.

As Peter continued to read out loud, she didn't pay much attention to the words he spoke anymore. She was just focusing on how his chest lifted and fell as he breathed. He was breathing. He was okay.

She watched as his eyes danced across the book's page. How his milk chocolate brown eyes looked more of a dark chocolate in the moonlight. How potent his freckles looked on his slightly sun kissed face. How alive his lips looked as he spoke

He was shaking the book. His hands were still shaking slightly. A single loose curl fell on his forehead. He was concentrating on reading.

"Can I read a page?" Mj ask. Peter gently handed her the book. "It would take more than a row full of overheated hypo- uh hypotha?? How do you pronounce this word?" She pointed to the page.

"Hypothalamuses. It's like the nervous system that controls things in your body like thirst and temperature." Peter explained.

"Oh. Thank you." She began to read on. She could feel that he wasn't staring at the book though, he was staring at her. She finished the page and looked up at him. "What?"

"Y-you just look really pretty when your focused. Not that your not always really pretty! I just- was staring." He said sheepishly knowing he'd been caught.

"Your really pretty when your focused too." She smirked.

They just stared at each-other smiling for a moment. Mj grabbed his hand.

"What are you thinking about?" Peter asked as she played with his hand.

"Your hands were cold. When you died. I told you mine were cold too. I told you it would be your fault they would be cold forever." Mj said quietly.

"Bit rude to tell a dead person that." Peter said trying to make light of it. And he succeeded making Mj giggle.

"I told you I had forgiven you." Mj said. "But Peter your funeral was so hard. I just want you to know I love you so much. I'll love you forever and ever. And that your never allowed to die on me. I have to be the one that dies of old age first." Mj said getting worked up again.

"Hey it's okay." He said slowly.

"But your not allowed to die right now your just not." She was breathing hard again. Peter could see panic in her face.

"Mj please." He rubbed her back. "I'm not dying. I'm here see? I'm okay, your okay. I promise you I'm not dying."

"Peter it felt so real. It felt so so real. What if this is a dream and you actually died." Tears stung her eyes.