Free Fall [PETER PARKER]

TWELVE: ONE LOSS, ONE GAIN

chapter twelve

Ana's nerves hit her once again as she was making the trip back home. She was for sure going to see Peter and she was going to get the happy reunion she had imagined in her head, or at least something along the lines of it. It didn't have to be exactly alike, that was a bit far fetched if Ana was going to be honest. She was going to be happy with any way the situation turned out because it couldn't go bad. She knew Peter and she knew he would understand why she couldn't contact him. Or at least he would understand the lie she was going to tell him on why she couldn't, which was far from the truth. Michelle and Ned had believed it, so he probably would, too. Right?

She went through in her head how she should play things when she arrived at his door. As a starter, she'd return his hoodie, she could use it as an excuse to come over and make it a subject to talk about. They'd greet each other, maybe even hug because long time no see. He might invite her into his apartment, she realized she's never been inside before, what is it like? They'll catch up and get lost in conversation, she'll try not to talk about her time away too much, she wanted to keep the lies she told to a minimum.

Before she knew it, she was standing outside of his door and hitting her knuckles against the wood surface. It was better for her to do it right away before she could hesitate. She would think too much about it and bail. Ana could not bail.

It felt like what was really seconds, were hours before the door finally opened. Ana was greeted by May Parker, who welcomed her with a warm smile on her face. It was refreshing to see a Parker in the flesh. The family emitted warm energy. You felt safe and welcome no matter what when you were around them.

"Ana!" She exclaimed, "Good to see you're finally back from your trip! Come on in, I'm guessing you're here for Peter, he just got back from a trip himself last night so he stayed home today."

"Yeah, I heard about that. I just wanted to drop in and see him today, I don't think I could wait until tomorrow." Ana admitted as she stepped inside the Parker home with her hands clasped in front of her. Her cheeks flushed pink as she realized how that must've sounded. She didn't intend to make it so obvious that she was eager to see Peter; apparently there were some things she just wasn't too good at hiding. "You know, to tell him congratulations on the internship."

May chuckled and close the door after her, then she leaned over to Ana and whispered behind her hand, "No need to worry. Don't tell him I told you this, but I think he's just as excited to see you as you are him. He's missed you a lot, been all mopey and broody since the day you left." She rolled her eyes playfully while Ana laughed. It gave her a warm feeling in her chest to hear that from May. Almost like it was reassurance that everything was going to be okay once she saw Peter. Pointing at the door at the end of the hallway, May told her, "He's in his room."