Rift (Spider-Man fanfic)

Chapter 9: Arguments

    "But... but what if I don't want to be friends?" He emphasizes the word friends, and I can't believe my ears. Literally. I think I'm hearing things.

    "What? What do you mean?"

    "Diana. I think you know what I mean." He says, his voice shaking. I don't think I've ever seen him this... confident. Even though he still doesn't seem 100% confident. He steps closer to me, our faces only inches apart. When I don't flinch or pull back, he leans in even more, resting our foreheads against each other. He releases one of my hands and places it on the back of my neck, and my heart nearly leaps out of my chest. I place my hand on his shoulder and our noses brush against each other.

    "Peter." I whisper. Both of our eyes are closed. His lips softly graze mine before pulling back slightly, and a thought pops into my head that makes me regret this. "Peter, stop." He leans back and looks into my eyes. I know I like him. I know he likes me. The conversation I had with Pepper tries to convince me to close the thin gap between us, but the thought of my mom and dad talking to the police about their daughter that went missing after a robbery makes it impossible. 

    "I'm so sorry." I say. He hold me in place for only a second longer, and I savor the moment. I know this hurt him, and I hated it, but I can't develop relationships and a life here if I ever want to go back.

    He lets go of me. "No, I am. I'm sorry I put you in this position Diana. I just thought that you liked me." I do, I wanted to say. But I know that if I am going to be strong enough to get through this, I can't say that and continue to lead him on. I'm going to have to go home at some point, hopefully soon, and it would be so much harder on both of us for me to leave if we do this. I hug him, hoping that what just happened wouldn't damage our friendship, but he doesn't hug back. It's going to take a while for our relationship to ever be the same, and that's if it even does before I go back home. I don't let go. I hug him even tighter thinking that he might hug back. But he doesn't. "I just don't understand. When you do things like this, it made me think you liked me back."

    I reluctantly let go and second guess myself. Is the hurt right now worth avoiding the hurt of leaving if we got together? Even if it isn't, it doesn't matter anymore. I've made my choice, even if it's not the one I'd be happier with. "I do." I whisper to myself, not intending for him to hear me. 

    "What? You do?"

    My eyes widen. "Uh, I..."

    "Then why would say no? Why can't we be happy together?" He starts to sound like a mix of sadness and a bit of anger, but is trying to contain it.

    "Because I don't belong here!" He's smart, he won't take a lie from me unless it's a really, really good one. Maybe if I tell him the truth he'll understand. "I miss my family. A lot. And it's what Doctor Strange said. The longer I'm here, the more dangerous you're world becomes. So not only do I want to go back for my family, I have to if you ever want to live a decent life. And if we were together it would just make everything so much harder for me." A tear slips down my cheek.

    "All I'm hearing is that you're scared I'll make you happy. That you will actually start to care for someone." His tone is bitter, and he isn't acting like himself at all. The Peter I've gotten to know would never get angry about something like this.

    "I don't think you're hearing my side of things--" I start to get angry back.

    "And I don't think you're hearing my side! All I want is to show you that I care for you and all you want to do is go home to you're parents who have probably forgotten about you by now!" He shouts, and he doesn't seem to realize that he struck a chord. I do the same wanting him to feel what I feel.