INVISIBLE | P. PARKER

FORTY THREE

FORTY-THREE;
NEW JERSEY

CASSIE DIDN'T KNOW THE MESS SHE HAD until she anxiously grabbed random clothes from her drawers and floor and threw them inside a suitcase. Her hand shakily brushed away the hair from her forehead as she pressed her lips together. Finally, she sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the almost empty room around her. A few knocks on the door made her snap her head up, only to find Peter resting half of his body on the door frame.

"Hey." He half-smiled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey." The brunette replied with a low voice. "Come in." She sighed and watched as the boy closed the door behind him and walked to the bed.

"Are you okay?" He whispered as soon as he sat next to her. Their fingers instantly found in the dim lights of the room and their eyes met. Cassie looked down and sighed. "Hey, hey." Peter cupped the side of her face in his hand, making her find his gaze again. "Don't let this bring you down."

"I just–It's not fair, don't you think?"

"I know it's not fair." He sighed as he wrapped an arm around her body. "But we will try to bring you back, alright?" Cassie nodded hesitantly.

"Can you just–just hold me please." She pleaded, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

With Peter's help, the brunette managed to lay comfortable on the bed as his arms gave her the protection and love she needed. His fingers traveled over her uncovered arm as he waited for her to fall asleep.

"I'm scared." Cassie whispered, burying her face deeper into his chest. "I don't want to leave."

"I know you don't. I don't want you to leave either, but like Mr. Stark said, it's the law and we have to follow it." Peter sighed, placing a sweet kiss on her temple. "But I promise you that everything will turn out right. You will be back in a blink of an eye and this will be only a bittersweet memory."

"What am I going to do without you? And the others?" She asked, lifting her chin up to have a better look of the boy.

"You need to hold onto the thought that we will see each other again. That's what is going to help you." The boy mumbled, tracing random shapes in her arm. "And never forget that I will always love you, no matter what happens. Alright?"

Cassie smiled, a big smile that illuminated the whole room. Her face changed drastically as her brown eyes admired every inch of Peter's face and took in how beautiful he was without even trying. Her hand flew to his cheek as she caressed it and smiled brighter; she knew it was going to be hard for Peter as well.

They were each other's rocks.

"I will always love you too."

+++

Tony barged into Cassie's room at 7am sharp announcing that Stella was outside to pick her up and take her to the group home. The man seemed incredibly sad, and the brunette had to swallow the lump in her throat at the sight of him, he was just as sad as her, if not more.

She didn't try to spend time choosing her clothes for the ride, she simply picked the first items that she could find. The thought of using her invisibility to run away was very tempting, but that would mean scaring the others and that's the least she needed.

"Bonita, are you ready?" Pietro asked as he rested the side of his body against the doorframe.

"No." The girl shook her head as she studied her now empty room. "I'm going to miss this place."

"And we will miss you. The compound will feel lonely without our little ray of sunshine." The silver haired boy half-smiled.

"I hope I don't find a gym here when I come back." She joked, trying to ease the sadness and tension. Pietro laughed.

"You won't. Don't worry."

Cassie smiled up at him and followed him out of the room, and through the halls to find the others in the living room. The tension in the air was palpable, everyone felt down as they watched the brunette say goodbye to each one of them.

"Promise me that you will behave." Steve said to her as he embraced the small girl in a hug.

"I promise." The girl said as she cleaned the tear in her cheek.

When she turned to Tony, she felt her heart sinking to the floor. The man stared down at her with an expression that she couldn't quite understand, her arm wrapped around him in a tight half-hug that, for everyone's surprise, he returned as tight as her.

"Try to get better, kid." He whispered. "So you can get back here in no time."

"I will." She smiled sadly. and raised her bump to him. "Love you."

"Love you too, kid." He bumped her fist and chuckled sadly.

As soon as Cassie turned around, she knew it was the moment she was dreading the most. Her watery eyes met with a pair of chestnut, sad ones. Her sane arm instantly wrapped around Peter's neck, his arms embraced her in a tight hug that made everyone's heart sink.

"I don't want to leave you." She whispered as she felt tears cascade down her cheeks.

"I know you don't, but it's for the best." He whispered as one of his hands rubbed her back softly. "We will be waiting for you. There's nothing to worry about."

"I love you, Peter."

"I love you too, Cassie." He sighed, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Cassie, we have to go. We have a two hours drive and we should get going." Stella stepped in, making them back away from each other.

"Two hours drive?" Cassie repeated, frowning.

"You didn't know?" The young woman said, her eyes flickered from the brunette in front of her to the others. "You're going back to your old group home in New Jersey."