The Masks we Hide Behind || Peter Parker [1]

thirteen: avalanche [part two]

My eyes flicker open, and once I realize what had previously happened, I shoot up to my feet with a gasp. I then wince and stumble onto my knees, the pounding in my head returning.

"Whoa, whoa...it's okay." I hear somebody say. I turn around, and the Spider-Man is right there. I look around again, and I notice we're on the roof of some building on the same street Avalanche and I were on. I see police cars surrounding the crash. The memories come flooding back.

"Why are you here?" I ask, my voice cracking.

"Well...I saw you laying there, and, you looked hurt, so..."

Dad.

"How long was I out?"

"Like an hour."

My dad is dead.

There's a bit of silence, and the sound of police sirens and chatter fills our ears.

"What happened?" He asks. I narrow my eyes and sit back with a grunt of pain. I squeeze my eyes shut and press my gloved hand to my head, slipping the hood down but leaving the mask on.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Fine," I mumble, bringing my knees to my chest. As I do so, he reaches over and slips my glove off. My hand is all torn up and bloody.

"How did you-"

"I thought it was just your knees." He mutters, unzipping his backpack, in which I just noticed was on his back. My eyes shift to my knees. The white suit is stained with blood, and I realize that they don't burn anymore.

"Did you...?" I ask.

"It took me awhile to roll the legs up. That thing is tight." He says, fishing through his backpack.

"Yeah..." I say. "Thank you, by the way."

"Yeah." He says, pulling out a tube of ointment and band aids.

"You carry those in your backpack?" I ask.

"No. I got them once I laid you here."

"Like you bought them?" I ask. He nods.

"At the shop down the street. The guy was very nice." He says.

"Wait, so you went in your suit?"

"Yeah, I do it all the time." He says.

Why am I letting him do this?!

"Look, I got it." I say, sitting up and reaching for the bottle in his hands. I wince as my head pounds harder. I must have really hit my head hard.

"No, sit back down." He says.

"I'm fine." I reply. My voice cracks. He rests his hand in mine, his masked face looking straight at me.

"Please."

I don't reply, I just slowly sit back down. He pours water on my hand slowly, and I bite my lip as it stings slightly. Tears start to cloud my vision, and I️ try to hold them back.

"So..." He starts. "What happened?"

I burst into tears. I can't help it. I start sobbing and before I know it, I'm crying so hard that I can barely breathe.

"Hey, hey...it's okay..." He soothes, setting a warm gloved hand on my shoulder. The fabric under my eyes is soon soaked, and I reach up and roll the mask up so it's covering everything but my mouth, so I can actually breathe.

I eventually stop sobbing, but the tears don't stop pouring. The Spider-Man's hands rest softly on my shoulders.

"Somebody died because of me," I finally say, my voice cracking again. I couldn't just tell him that it was my dad.