The Girl and the Superhero{Peter Parker}

Part 24(Peter's POV)

          A single tear ran down May's cheek as she pulled my graduation robe onto my shoulders.

          "Hey, May," I said softly, pulling her into a hug. "Don't cry, it's okay."

          May groaned in response. "Ugh. I hate crying. But you're growing up so fast. I can still remember your last day of elementary school. Soon, you'll be off to college, out of the house, and then you'll be married and-"

          I shook her shoulders gently, forcing her to look at me. "You don't know when that's going to happen, or even if that's going to happen. My future isn't set in stone, but there's no way that it's not going to include you, okay? Plus, I'm just seventeen. Well, almost eighteen."

          May laughed softly, wiping her nose with her hand. "I'm not so sure about that anymore," she muttered tenderly, tugging a little bit more on my royal blue robe and cap. She pulled my cap to the left until it was slightly tilted on my head. "You can't have it straight up on your head. You've got to have it to the side. It makes you look professional."

          I started to chuckle as the sound of the bathroom door opened.

           Turning around, I felt my breath catch in my throat. "Speaking of your future, here she comes now." May smiled widely. I thwacked her lightly on the elbow in retaliation, but I wasn't angry.

          A simple thought popped in my head, filling me with hope. Maybe.

           Kenzie walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a simple, flowy grey dress underneath her graduation robe. Her deep brown hair was done in a loose curl. To an extent, she looked like the ocean- breathtakingly beautiful, re-assuring, and humbling, but with a hidden power and strength just beneath the surface.

          Kenzie shied away a little bit when she saw me and May looking at her. "Thanks so much for letting me come here and hang out for a little bit. And May, thanks so much for curling my hair and talking to me. I've never really had a mom to do that kind of thing with before." Kenzie laughed, but there was a hollow sadness behind the sound. A pang of unwarranted guilt ran through my heart.

          May walked tenderly towards Kenzie, and gave her a hug. It was slow and gentle, as if every individual movement it took for May to wrap her arms around Kenzie carried a message. "Not all family comes through blood, you know." May whispered softly.

          I saw Kenzie's arms tighten and release around my aunt for a second before May let go of her. "I know." Kenzie smiled. She then chose that precise moment to look at me, at which point I was fidgeting around with my cap, which happened to fall off. Quickly, I bent down and picked it up, and then pushed it back onto my head, doing my best to restore it to it's off-center position. I grinned awkwardly at her, unsure of what to do with myself. Very smooth, Peter, I thought to myself bitterly.

          Kenzie smiled widely as if she were trying not to laugh, and suddenly, I didn't feel so bad anymore.

          May said something so quietly to Kenzie that I couldn't hear it. Kenzie's face softened and a slightly embarrassed smile lit up her face.

          While I was straining to figure out what they were both saying, May turned around so quickly that I jumped. And my cap fell off again.

          May beat me to it, picking it up off of the ground and placing it back in its rightful spot. Again. My cheeks burned with heat. May gave my left cheek a quick kiss, then looked at me seriously. "Just don't do that when you're accepting your diploma, okay?"

          "Yeah, of course." I said quickly.

          "Let's go head to the car! You guys are supposed to be there in twenty minutes at the latest." May grabbed the car keys from the drawer in the kitchen and walked out the door, leaving it ajar behind her.