Wilted (Peter Parker x Reader)

48

Narrator

Your irises felt like you washed them with chlorine, burning as you stared intensely at the ceiling. Gravity felt stronger at the base of your eyelids as you processed another night of no sleep. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon but even that tiny amount of light was enough to ache your eyes.

You rolled onto your side, your body pulsing as it quickly ran out of strength, and reached out for a bottle of water on your nightstand. As you grabbed the bottle, you let out a large groan and mustered everything in you to sit up.

A breath of relief came from your lips as you leaned your back against the headrest, your tired muscles relaxing. Your (dominant) hand gripped the water bottle still as your other weakly twisted off the cap.

As soon as the top was off, you moved the bottle between hands and flipped it to your lips, chugging wildly in an attempt to wake up. You managed to slam the entire bottle down and gasped in a breath of air as you crumpled the plastic in your hand.

Unfortunately, the exhaustion wouldn't disappear so easily. Your eyes felt like they were made out of metal, holding you down as you continued to fight the sleep your mind and body were craving.

A light knock on your door caused a slight panic in your chest; Peter would definitely ask about your sleep, and you had no idea what you could say to him.

"Y/n?" He asked gently through the closed door. You furrowed your eyebrows as you remembered how early the sky showed it to be. You kicked your feet over the bed, deciding it would help you wake up a bit to walk to the door yourself. Every fiber and cell that made up your body throbbed as you pushed yourself up. Your functioning hand found its way to your face, scrubbing your eyes as if you were cleaning dishes.

"Wake up." You growled to yourself as you took a few steps forward. You shook your head aggressively before finishing the walk over. You were slightly more alert but your body felt like slowly hardening cement.

Your hand felt numb as you reached for the handle but you were able to twist it and open the door. Peter's face was soft and tired as he stood on the other side, dressed in a similar pair of sweatpants and tshirt, twiddling his fingers nervously.

"Peter?" Your voice was hoarse from not speaking for hours. "It's so early."

"I know, I'm sorry." He looked down.

"Are you okay?" You furrowed your eyebrows at the difference in his behavior.

"Yeah I just..." He hesitated. "I had a nightmare. I don't really want to be alone right now." You watched him sulk for a few seconds, bewildered that he had come to you for this. Sympathy quickly overcame anything else you had felt, and you stepped aside for him to enter your room.

He granted a thin lipped smile before walking in, heading right for your bed. You closed the door gently as you watched him make himself comfortable against your pillows, feeling weird about what was happening.

"Do you want to talk about it?" You asked and walked over to him. You had no idea how to help him, as you didn't want to be helped yourself.

"It was about you." He started and tapped the spot next to him. You stayed in place and frowned, thinking about yesterday's argument about him falling asleep. "I won't fall asleep. I never want to sleep again as of right now." He reassured you.

You stepped unsurely over to the bed and took a seat, making sure to leave enough space between both of your exposed arms. You could barely listen to him speak, too focused on the closeness of your skin.

"We were sitting at the lake and some guy, I couldn't tell who, walked right out of the water and grabbed you." He stared at his hands as he spoke of his dream. "He was just a shadow. I tried to move, I tried to stop him, but I was frozen. I could feel my heart beating. I could hear you screaming as he walked away with you. But I was stuck. I couldn't stop him."