The Long Road Home

Chapter 19:

      Her cries and screams fill my ears as I try my hardest to hold this ship together. Suddenly the ship starts coming back together. "Hi Spider-Man." I look over and see Mr.Stark pushing the ship into place. "Band practice was it?" Oh shit. I drop to the deck and cradle a whimpering Riley in my arms.  I watch as Mr.Stark starts to fly around the ship. "I'll be right back." She nods her head and lays back down, her eyes fluttering shut.

        "Uh Mr.Stark?" He ignores me as he continues to fly around. "Mr.Stark what should I do?" "I think you have done enough." With that I just remain silent. I don't move from my spot the whole ride back. Riley eventually makes her way to where I'm sitting and shares the silence with me. The only thing she does is wrap her arms around me as we make our way to shore.

      "Previously on Peter screws the pooch I tell you to stay away from this instead you hack a multimillion dollar suit so you can sneak around behind my back doing the one thing I told you not to do." "Is everyone okay?"I ask with a shaky voice. "No thanks to you." I turn around and look at him, anger starting to make my blood boil. "No thanks to me?! Those weapons were out there and I tried to tell you about them, but you didn't listen. None of this would have happened if you just would have listened to me!" "Peter."Riley says as she presses her hands into my chest.

       "If you even cared you'd actually be here." Suddenly the suit opens and there he is. "I did listen kid. Who do you think called the FBI? Did you know I was the only one who believed in you, everyone else said I was crazy to recruit a 14 year old kid." I feel Riley's nails start digging into my skin. "I'm 15." "This is where you zip it! The adult is talking!" "Watch it Stark."snaps Riley. "You better put a chain on your mutt Parker."

        "You son of a..." I grab her small wrist and tug her behind me, making sure she doesn't loose it. "What if somebody would have died tonight? Your little girlfriend there would have, that would have been on you. And if you died then I feel like that's on me." God if I lost Riley I couldn't handle it. I wouldn't make it. "I'm sorry." "You see sorry doesn't really cut it."he says sternly. "I understand, I... I just wanted to be like you." "And I wanted you to be better."

         There is a moment of silence between every single one of us. "Okay it's not working out, I'm gonna need the suit back."says Mr.Stark. The feeling I have right now...I can't even describe it. All I can tell you is I felt it consume me entirely. "For how long?" "Forever." "No,no,no please I'm nothing without this suit!" "If you're nothing with out this suit you shouldn't have it." I give up and quit trying to fight him.

       Riley and I walk home in complete and total silence. I just try to keep from breaking in front of her the whole time. It's when we are in the alley way to our apartments she finally breaks the silence. "Peter there is something I have to tell you." She stops and grabs both of my hands as she makes her way in front of me. "I can feel your pain Peter, that's why I was screaming on the boat. I can sense when you're nervous, scared, upset, everything. On that boat it felt as if you were being torn apart." "How is that even possible?"

      "Some how I think some of your blood got into my wound when we were both hurt and it got into my system." "Well turn it off, make it stop or something."I snap. She is definitely taken back and releases my hands. "Peter you know I can't just flip a switch and turn it off, it's apart of me now like it or not." I just stair at her, wanting this conversation to be over with. "Well now you won't have to worry about feeling my pain anymore. I'm done being Spider-Man." With that I push past her and start walking away.

      "So that's it?" I stop dead in my tracks and turn to her. "You're going to walk away just like that?" "What choice do I have Riley?! I am nothing with out that suit." "That's where you are wrong Parker." She takes a step closer to me. "You don't need some damn suit to be someone! The Peter I know would know that. Who cares what Stark said? He is nothing with out his suit, you are already better then him. You are somebody with out him!" I just roll my eyes. "Don't lie Riley, I'm nobody."

      I see the anger and sadness consume her green eyes. "That is where you are wrong Peter. To me you are somebody. To me you have always been somebody and you never needed to prove it like your trying to do with everyone else. I'm going through shit too but I'm still with you because you are home to me." "I'm not home Riley, I'm nothing, no good to anyone."

     A sudden stinging sensation burns through my cheek. I look down into her eyes as the tears slip from their corners.

      "You want to know why you're my home Peter? Because after all of these years of knowing you and seeing who you have become, I have fallen in love with you. I know you're hurting but I'm hurting too Peter. I'm hurting because every time I think I remotely have a chance you go ahead and choose someone who hasn't paid a god damn millisecond of attention towards you. I was right here in front of you the whole time. In the end I lost it go because you want her and I want you happy. I hurt because I love you, if I didn't hurt then I never loved you at all."

     "Then stop loving me."I say as calmly as possible, and I start to walk away. "If you take one more step then everything we ever have been through will just become a memory and our friendship will be done Peter." I hear her voice crack and I can practically feel her pulling me back to her even though I know she hasn't moved at all. I don't say a word, I don't look back, I just take another step.