The Long Road Home

Chapter 8:

My nails tap impatiently against the desk. The Bell seems like it's taking forever. Then just before it rings I see a boy leap over the giant gate. I roll my eyes knowing it's Peter. That boy is going to get caught, I swear. The second the bell rings I bolt from my seat, trying to catch Peter's scent before the other smells become too overpowering. Bingo I got him.

As fast as I can I follow him. He stops at Delmar's like we normally did after school, before the battle I mean. After that he starts jogging to the alleyway in which I was hiding. Quickly I hide behind the dumpster and listen to the sound of his feet hitting the gravel. Once he enters the alley I feel my nerves start to kick in. I peek around the dumpster and see that he has started taking his clothes off. I start to blush at the sight. What am I supposed to do? Out of nowhere I stand up.

"You're going to get yourself killed you know." "AHHHHH! Riley?! What are you doing here?!" "Trying to keep you from getting killed." He just stairs at me almost like he was trying to read me. "You should put some clothes on." He looks at me with a slightly annoyed but I just ignore it and turn around. "You can look now." He says as he grabs my shoulder. The suit just clings to his body perfectly and I can't help but bite my lip. "It's about time."I say with a smile. Gently he punches my arm and we are off.

Everything seems calm at first but then Peter spots a guy stealing a bike. Not a huge crime but it's a nice warm up. I sit on top of the building just watching Peter swing around to catch the guy. It was very entertaining to watch Peter struggle with finding the bikes owner. He struggles, I laugh.

After a while of stopping bike thieves and helping old ladies find their way, we sit on a fire escape. "So this is what you have started doing everyday after school?" "Crime never takes a day off."he says between bites of sandwich. "I can see that, especially when that old lady bought you a churro." "Oh shut up."he says with a laugh. "Well I'm going to head home."I say as I move my gaze from the view to Peter. "Stay safe Parker."

I give him a hug goodbye and start to make my way home. As I'm walking past this building with ATM's inside I notice something strange. There are these men using these weird weapons to break into the machines. Carefully I sneak in the door. "What's up guys? Forget your PIN number?" Damn it Peter. "Woah you're The Avengers. Hulk, Thor nice to finally meet you. Thought you would be more handsome." "Peter less talking more fighting please!"

All I hear is him starting to laugh. I roll my eyes as we both continue to fight, that is until this huge beam of purple light seems to cut through the buildings. Including the one across the street. Oh my god it's Delmars. I stopped dead in my tracks and look to Peter. "Peter, Delmars!"I scream through our mind link. He looks to me with pure fear and then across the way.

We both sprint from the building to the deli. "Me.Delmar are you in here?! Hello?! Hey anybody in here?!" Peter's voice is filled with panic. "Peter over here!" He runs to me and tries to help Mr.Delmar to his feet. "Here put him on my back, and fast we don't have much time before the smoke because even more toxic!" He does as I tell him and then he grabs Murf, the cat. The two of us run from the building as the flames grow higher.

Mr.Delmar slides himself off my back with Peter's help and props himself against a poll. We run back towards the alley, not looking back. Once we get there Peter tries to call Happy but only gets a few words in before Happy just hangs up. "Want to come up?"he asks. "Sure but give me a minute, not all of us can climb walls."

      He smiles at me and gives me this funny look. I turn back to normal and just look at him. "What?"I question.

        "Come here, I have an idea." I walk over I him cautiously. "Wrap you arms around my neck." Once again I listen to the boy. "Hold on tight." Suddenly we are off the ground and climbing the side of the building. A small shriek escapes my lips as I cling to him. Peter laughs at me while I wrap my legs around his hips. "Don't worry I got you. I'm not going to let you fall." I believe him yet I cling to him tighter.

     Eventually we make it to his window. Slowly he lowers it and climbs on his ceiling. Once we make it to the door he slowly closes it and lowers us down. "See that wasn't so bad." "For you maybe."I say as I punch his chest. Then we hear this loud crash. The both of us turn and see Ned sitting on Peter's bed. No one moves as we all stand frozen in place. "What was that?"shouts May. "Uh nothing, nothing!" "You're the Spider-Man...from YouTube." "I'm not, I'm not! Ned what are you doing in my room?!" "Peter May is come..." "woah that turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster. Thai? Riley, Ned Thai?"

Peter just looks at me then back to her. "They can't."he says. "Okay, maybe put some clothes on."she says. With that she leaves making sure to close the door. That's when I realize I'm blushing again. Damn that boy. "I'm umm going to head out Peter. Text you later." "Yeah okay, stay safe." "I'm only going down a floor Parker."I sat with a slight chuckle. He smiles but his eyes are telling me something different, something I can't seem to understand. "Night Ned, goodnight Peter." Whit that I walk out, say goodnight to May and head home.