Hanging by a Thread 🕷 Peter Parker

twenty three

Alexandra

When she first hit the water, all she felt was numbness, and then the cold. It was like a thousand tiny knives digging into her body, and the current wasn't helping her, either.

Alexandra tried to pull herself to the surface, but she wasn't strong enough. Just like she hadn't been strong enough to keep herself away from Doc Ock. She should have listened to Peter, he had been right all along. 

Being deprived of oxygen was seriously starting to take its toll, Alexandra began to see black dots dancing in her vision. She kicked her legs harder and tried to pull herself to the surface again. After what felt like an eternity, her head broke the surface, but only for a few precious seconds.

She gasped for air and, unfortunately, only got to enjoy this for mere seconds before she found herself being pulled beneath the surface once again. This wasn't how she wanted to go out, in fact, she didn't want to go out at all.

Mustering all of her strength, Alexandra kicked again, but she wasn't getting anywhere. She felt like she wasn't and, after what felt like hours, she stopped. There wasn't any way that she was going to be able to break the surface again, and even if she did, she would only be delaying what appeared to be inevitable at this point.

What would her parents say? Papa would sob hold one of her old things in his arms in a tight hug, praying that it was all some sort of nightmare, that much she was sure of. And Dad? Her dad would be angry, he wouldn't cry, not in front of Papa anyway. He would be strong for her Papa, and he would probably try to find someway to be the prosecuting attorney at Dr. Octavius's trial.

Of course, they would never let him, they'd claim he was too close to the case. And of course, he would be. But that wouldn't stop her dad from appealing to the judge, to the judicial system... anyone. Or, maybe he'd try to take the fight directly to Doc Ock. Alexandra hoped that he wouldn't, it would just get him into trouble. Her Papa would need him and getting into trouble wouldn't be good.

What about her friends? What would they do?

Kai would probably drown herself in other things, like her school work or song writing. She'd probably try to, at least. But then someone would force her to open up (most like MJ) and she'd break down. Alexandra hated the thought of her friend being so upset. She hated the thought of her friend being sad at all. She didn't want to be the cause of any of Kai's pain.

Michelle would pretend like she was okay, she'd try to help the others and put their own needs before her own. Alexandra wished she wouldn't, but she knew Michelle and that's exactly how she would react. Then she'd probably end up confiding in Kai when trying to get her to open up and Kai would make a deal with her: if Michelle opened up, then so would Kai. And that's exactly what would happen, too.

Ned. Ned would probably cry. What could Alexandra say? Ned was a pretty sensitive guy. He hated being sad and he hated seeing other people sad. He'd probably try to cheer everyone up, a lot like Kai. Maybe he'd spend a few days locked in his room, building the newest Lego Star Wars set, and when he finished it, he would feel happy again. Thinking of Ned being happy made Alexandra feel happy, too.

She couldn't stand to see her friends sad.

And then there was Peter.

God, Peter. His reaction would be the worst of all. As much as Alexandra didn't want him to, she knew he would blame himself for it. He would tell Ned and MJ and Kai that he could've saved her, that if he'd just been more careful, if he'd just done more... it was completely ridiculous, none of this was his fault. But Alexandra couldn't tell him that, and he wouldn't listen to anyone.

It made her heart hurt to think of Peter's eyes red and puffy from crying, him locking himself away in his bedroom for days on end. It happened when his Uncle Ben died—she hoped that he wouldn't hurt too badly.

She became more and more light headed as she felt herself sinking further into the river. Was this it? She didn't want for it to be 'it.' She was scared, and she didn't want to be alone. She wanted to be with her family, her friends—she wanted to be with Peter. What she wouldn't give to hug him one last time, to make fun of the curls that she secretly adored, to tell him what she'd been too afraid to tell him before...

Dammit! Alexandra should've told him when she had the chance—she should have told him—

That's when she felt someone's hand wrap around her waist and pull her up.

🕷

Sooo a lot of stuff happened in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it, even though it isn't very long! The next one will probably be longer, haha.

Happy 2018, guys! I'm publishing this chapter at 12:00 midnight my time! 🎉