The girl stood at the doorstep of the apartment, securing her jacket over her shoulders before politely knocking on the wood. She waited patiently as she heard hurried footsteps approaching and slipped on an easy smile as the door swung open to reveal a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties.
"Hi! It's so good to see you.." The woman stepped forward without hesitation to embrace the young teen who awkwardly reciprocated the hug exchanging her own greetings. "Thank you so much for coming on such short notice - I just didn't know who to call".
"Of course, May, anytime.....how is he?".
May sighed in exasperation before glancing at the closed door down the hallway. "He says he's fine but he's got these bruises he won't tell me anything about except some guy named Steve id like to have a strong chat to, and ever since he's gotten back he's always holed up in his room 'working on a project or something....I just, you know he used to talk to me more but now....".
The girl smiled sympathetically and reassured may, "I'm sure he appreciates everything you're trying to do for him may, really. But..you know teenage boys, they're not the best at communicating sometimes but you've just gotta..give him some time. He'll come around, you'll see.".
"I really hope so...but, he's always listened to you so I just though maybe you'd be better suited for the job".
"Ill give it my best try May".
The older woman smiled gratefully down at the brunette and wondered how such a sweet young girl could exist. They drifted down the hallway after ending their hushed conversation and parted ways in front of the door of which distant tinkering could be heard coming from behind it. She hovered her raised fist over the door after tucking her fallen hair behind her ears once again.
As the three knocks resounded, a boys voice called "No, I don't want to eat anything May I'm fine!".
Awkwardly deciding how to respond the girl simply knocked once more in which a frustrated grunt could be heard as well as the shuffling of feet and papers. The door swung open abruptly, catching the girl off guard.
"May! I told you-". He stopped abruptly at the sight of the familiar girl, blinking in surprise.
"Hey Peter..." she smiled awkwardly before noticing the angry-looking purple bruise on the side of his head, her smile slipping into a look of concern. "Can I come in?".
Once the teens were seated facing each other cross legged on the soft blue bed sheets after closing the door and waiting for Peter to hurriedly attempt to clean up the mess of tools and papers full of scribbles, they finally began to speak. Clearing his throat he began, "so, uhh what are you- w-what's up?". The girl sat in silence, instead choosing to scrutinize his boyish face. Apart from the main bruise on his face and some traces of under-eye bags, he looked fine, happy even. But as he shifted to sit more comfortably she noticed how he winced and held his torso up carefully as though he was injured.
After a few moments, she finally spoke softly. "Are you okay?".
"Me? Yeah, yeah I'm good- great actually, uhh how about you? You and your sister alright?". Peter cringed at his own awkwardness internally, hoping she hadn't noticed. "Yeah..yeah we're doing good. I mean she's pretty busy taking up more shifts at the hospital but..yeah". She took a deep breath before continuing. "Okay, truthfully I came over because..Mays worried about you Peter. And it's not just her, I mean Ned and I haven't heard from you in over a week!". The boy hung his head as he shrunk into himself slightly in guilt.
Not noticing his behavior the girl continued with furrowed eyebrows as she stared down at her hands while her fingers twisted around each other from her anxiousness. The girl had an infamous aversion to confrontation, the only thing she hated more than it was being lied to, especially by people close to her.
"A-and at first we just thought that you were busy with the Stark internship which is totally fair because I mean- its Tony Stark, so obviously we assumed you were still in Germany but then...we hear from May that the Stark grant- project- whatever thing ended three days ago?". Her brown eyes finally lifted up to meet his down turned ones hesitantly. "Its not like you to miss school Pete, or to ignore your friends" she paused and scanned his form once more.
"....or to get injured so badly and then lie about it to your aunt". His eyes flickered up in surprise as she smiled knowingly.
"Please don't tell her. Please. I just- I don't want her to worry any more than she already does" he pleaded softly. "I don't want any of you to worry about me.". She sighed but nodded nonetheless, knowing how important May was to him. Peters entire body relaxed and he sent a thankful and relieved smile her way.
"Just come back to school soon okay? We can only survive so long without our personal chemistry tutor to help us. Seriously, homework is getting brutal and Ned may have some scarily specific death threats for you when you come back, so I wish you luck with that". The two teenagers chuckled softly, soft pink tinting their cheeks with happiness once again.
The girl realized that she probably wasn't going to get much more information out of him anymore despite the hundreds of questions she had. She also knew how much Peter liked boundaries, so to respect his personal space she let the conversation drift to more comfortable familiar topics of homework, rude teachers and Star Wars. Outside the small window, the sky began to darken into soft pinks and purples blended together as the sun slipped behind the silhouettes of the tall buildings. Noticing the change outside, the girl checked her phone for the time, standing up once she noticed how quickly time had flown and how quickly her curfew was approaching. Peter lifted his head curiously, watching as she began to pack up her things into her small side satchel. "Sorry Pete, I didn't realize how long I stayed. If I dont get back by five-thirty ___ gonna kill me..".
"Oh..well you could just stay over if you wanted? Just like we used to?" He suggested hopefully. A smile graced her lips at the happy memories of their many old sleepovers. "I wish I could but I promised __ id have dinner and watch a movie with her tonight. She's had so many night shifts lately that we've hardly gotten the time any more.".
He nodded understandably, his short curls bouncing softly, "oh well, maybe next time with Ned as well? Star Wars marathon?".
"That sounds great!".
They both stood up for a moment before she quickly dove in for a quick embrace, his face pressed against her soft hair and hers squished against his midtown science sweater.
"Hey, Peter?"
"Mhm?"
"Dont ever even think about ignoring us and going M.I.A ever again, got it? Or I'll break into your room and steal all your limited edition Star Wars figures" she threatened jokingly against his shirt.
Peter laughed softly before replying with fake terror, "oh no! Not Han Solo! I promise I'll never do it again, just dont hurt my action figures!".
They pulled apart with bright smiles as she headed towards the door. "Bye Pete, and hey, talk to May. Okay? Or I'll come for your comics next". He rolled his eyes and pushed her towards the door while replying, "Yeah yeah, I will".
As she stepped out and moved to close the door behind her she stopped and turned to him once more. "Um, when do you think you'll be back at school again?". He smiled.
"I'll see you tomorrow Lyn".
Satisfied, the door clicked shut behind her, the teens on both sides of the door feeling much lighter and happier than a few hours ago.
