TELEKINETIC │ p.p

Chapter Twenty Two

Peter watched a familiar car cruise into the school parking lot, grinning from ear to ear as he walked over to it.

"Can I hitch a ride?" he teases as he gazes over at Vanessa.

"I don't really accept hitch hikers," she responds, "but I'll let you slide." Peter slid into the vehicle and congratulated her as soon as he was buckled. "Thank you, kind sir."

"So I'm assuming you took my advice and kept her wheels off of people?" Peter chuckles as she pulls out of the parking lot.

"Who knew that you'd be so helpful?" she teases back, smiling wide, the wind that blew through her open window sweeping back her hair in a graceful manner. Peter admired the view for a bit before turning to small talk, all the way to his and May's apartment.

"Why don't you come in?" Peter asks after Vanessa parks the car.

"Are you sure? Your aunt won't mind?" Vanessa asks, the right side of her mouth turned up slightly.

"She loves you," Peter reassures. "And you're welcome anytime."

"Maybe I'll pop in for a minute or two," she responds, following Peter up the building.

- - - - -

Peter turned the corner, his smile dropping as he saw Vanessa stood in the hall, waiting for him to go into his room first. He remembered the mess his room was currently lost under and asked her to wait outside. She nodded solemnly and did as told. When Peter regrouped with her, she was frowning.

"Are you hiding something from me again?" she asked, her voice the opposite of aggressive.

"No, Vanessa, I-"

"I can't handle you shutting me out again, Peter," she sternly spoke.

"I'm not- Why do you say that?" Peter was dumbfounded. What raincloud was disturbing her happy, positive rays from earlier?

"You had to clean your room before I could enter?" she quizzes. "And ever since the note-"

"That damn note," Peter grumbled.

"-you've been distant," Vanessa finishes, ignoring his interruption. "Not as distant as before, but you're on that path."

"Vanessa, I'm not-"

"Tell me right now whether you're going to let me know anything about your life or not, again, because if not, I will leave and never come back." Peter stood still, unable to utter a word. "Okay. Fine." Vanessa spun around, but Peter snatched her wrist. She bit her lip, and looked back at him. "Let go, please."

"I'm not shutting you out again," he retorted. "I promise." Vanessa slowly turned, Peter releasing his grip. She held onto the spot he had grasped, clutching it loosely. "Did I hurt you?" He had forgot about his superhuman strength. Stupid idiot.

"I'm sorry for turning so... dark," Vanessa whispers, ignoring his question. "I just- there's something- I don't know."

"Tell me, Nessa," Peter responded, grabbing her hand gently.

"You've been a lot more angry since the note," she spoke quietly. "And I'm- You're not-" She couldn't say it. She couldn't bring herself to.

"Vanessa, come on," Peter urged, giving her hand a slight squeeze.

"You kinda scare me," she pushes out, finding her breath had been whisked away. Peter stood in front of her, taken aback. His mind reflected on how he had been behaving since the negative events that unfolded over the past weekend. "I'm sorry, I don't want you to feel guilty-"

"I'm glad you told me," Peter sputtered. He wasn't glad. He still felt that guilt she mentioned, no matter if she wanted him to soak in it or not. He felt it ping at his chest and slowly expand in size and increase in pain.

"You're not," she spoke, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at what she'd done to him by admitting that to him. "I know you're a good person and mean well, but you act like everyone around me is going to take me hostage, when they're not, and I just wish you would calm down and take deep breaths every once-" She was interrupted by a pair of lips sealed against hers. She kissed back, tasting a mix of his salty tears with her own.

When they pulled apart, she shook her head. She felt that familiar ringing in her ears, the sudden faintness of her head, her body floating off the ground as she transcended into pitch black.

- - - - -

She awoke, realizing she was laid in bed and had company. "Are you okay?" Peter whispered. The previous events fled back into her brain, causing a small headache to fester in the front and back of her head.

"I think so," she sighs. "I passed out, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Peter huffs.

"That happens when I'm overly stressed," she explains. "It's happened three other times before, all were during study hours the day before a big test." She felt her chest tighten as she thought of what she was going to say next. "The Super Heart can't handle it all sometimes and shuts down my body when it needs a small break."

"That's horrifying," Peter replies. "Have you told Mr. Stark?"

"I've tried," she responds. "But he's always busy when I attempt to mention it."

"Wait, why do you get that stressed before a big test?" Peter asks, knowing from his own experiences that his body almost never fails at stressful times.

"Because I'm not smart like you," Vanessa finally confesses, smiling the way a person who just spilled all of their dark, pressing secrets would. "Which is why Tony's transferring me."

"What?" Peter shouted, sitting up straighter.

"I'm failing my classes, Peter," Vanessa chuckles lightly.

"How come I haven't noticed that?" he questions.

"You're not as good of an analyzer as I thought," she teases, staring into his eyes as she was laid across his bed and he was sat beside her on the floor. "This is my last week at Midtown."

"Where are you going now?" he asks, unable to remove his eyes from her.

"A school that's about twenty minutes from my place," she huffs. "It's not really a choice." Peter was speechless, yet again. Vanessa saw his panic and wanted to reassure him that they'd stay the way they were. "We can still hang out - after school, on weekends."

"I could've tutored you," Peter offered.

"There's no way I'd be able to catch up and stay that way," she replies, "but thank you."

"This is a really bad day," Peter pouts, draping his arms around his knees.

"Besides the kiss, I agree." Peter snapped his eyes over to Vanessa, who held a smirk. "I've always wanted to be shut up by a kiss before, but that was something I never expected."

"You seemed a little panicked about the whole situation," Peter chuckles quietly. "I don't know what went through my mind to push me to actually do that."

"Well, whatever it was, thank it for me."