Hold On Hope

Chapter 8~ Peter's POV

I call Gwen to come over. I feel kind of bad for her; her family isn't as broken up as mine, but there's clearly something missing. Me and Aunt May feel like a family, but Gwen's house isn't a home.

She drives here five minutes later, and kisses me before hugging Aunt May. 'Are you okay, honey?' May asks; she genuinely cares about Gwen. Gwen smiles- not like she does at home, but real and showing all her slightly wonky teeth- my favourite kind of smile. 'I'm great thanks, how are you?' 'I'm doing very well, thank you,' replies Aunt May. 'I'm making some chicken pies, if that sounds okay.' Gwen says it sounds delicious, and we go inside.

We spend an hour helping Aunt May finish cooking, and it's one of those rare hours that mean so much more than a thousand other hours put together. No one really does any cooking, we just laugh and sing and throw cut up bits of carrot at each other. Gwen's the centre of attention, which she loves; not many people notice her at school, and her brothers and dead dad take centre stage at home. It's times like this that she really lights up. She treats us to her rendition of Wannabe by the Spice Girls, which basically entails her yelling in a scary high-pitched voice and waving her arms in the air. It's way sexier than it sounds. Aunt May stands laughing, probably missing Uncle Ben. Not the heart-breaking kind of missing, more of a bittersweet and slightly comforting kind of missing. I dance round the kitchen with Gwen, throwing cut up bits of Aunt May's vegetable at her mouth. 'Stop, guys, stop, I need the loo!' Gwen yells, almost crying with laughter and clearly about to wet her pants too. Me and Aunt May hide behind the door and jump out at her when she comes back in, and she screams and laughs even harder. It all sounds really childish, but the thing about Gwen is that she can pull of childish.

We play Truth Or Dare while we're eating (Gwen's idea). She asks the weirdest questions, like, literally the weirdest; she asks me what my favourite mode of public transport is and then laughs so hard she chokes on her orange juice. Then she dares me to take my clothes off as a joke, which Aunt May takes VERY seriously, like, 'go on Peter, I will if you do' seriously.

At ten thirty, Gwen says she'd better go. Aunt May and I carry on playing Truth Or Dare after she leaves, asking serious questions. I learn surprisingly much about her and Uncle Ben, and I guess she learns a lot about how I feel about Gwen. I tell her I'm going to propose; I only realize I'm going to as I say it. I'm almost scared by myself, but as it hits me I wonder why I'd never thought of it before.