TELEKINETIC │ p.p

Chapter Twenty Nine

Vanessa stood in her closet, zoned in on the vibrant colors. She noticed how they blended as soon as her focus was adverted to what was currently on her mind. And it just so happened to be the second most traumatic thing that occurred in her life - the kidnapping.

Since she was so entranced she didn't notice Peter calling for her. He had stepped into the closet, wondering where she was at that she couldn't respond, stopping instantly. He wanted to look away, not wanting to stare past her bra to her bare back where there was the faint scar of a spider. Spider-Man's logo, to be exact.

His eyes trailed along each detail, his throat closing the longer he stared. His chest began to tighten, causing him to step back and look anywhere else but at her back. "Hey, V."

Vanessa whipped around, smiling as soon as her eyes caught the boy. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into her trap. She pressed their lips together, melting under his gentle touch. Peter unintentionally placed his hands on her back, feeling the goosebumps that poked out of her flesh due to the contact, realizing his mistake as soon as his fingers hit a line that seemed to pop out of her skin. He instantly retracted his fingers and placed them along her jaw instead.

Vanessa pulled back, her eyebrows knitted together. Peter held onto her jaw, his stare kind of dazed as his eyes locked with hers. She felt how quick he was to place his hands elsewhere. "You can touch my back, Peter."

"I can't," he whispers.

"I can put a shirt on-"

"That's not the problem," Peter sighs. He removes himself from Vanessa's proximity, sitting on her bed. Vanessa follows, sitting beside him. Upon seeing his stressed out and upset facial expressions, she placed a gentle hand on his knee. "Your skin is so delicate... I sometimes forget that you're not like me, or that I'm not like you."

"Peter, what's wrong?" she questions softly. The boy looked over at her, tears welling in his eyes. "Peter?"

"Are you still shaken up from...." His sentence trailed off but Vanessa found his lost words instantly. She gulps harshly, looking to the ground as an escape.

"N- no," she lied quietly. Peter didn't buy it. He couldn't.

"Nessa, you can always talk about it-"

"I don't want to," she sternly responds.

"So much has happened to you under my watch," Peter mumbles. "And I'm so sorry for that."

"Stop," Vanessa whimpers. "Don't apologize for what you can't control. Please."

"You can't just push this away-"

"Stop talking, Peter!" Vanessa shouts. She hadn't noticed how tightly she'd squeezed her eyes shut, opening them slowly. She took a few deep breaths before apologizing to Peter for raising her voice while waiting for the large black dots in her vision to disappear, finding deep markings inside her palms as her fists released.

"I just don't want this to come back and haunt you," he sighs. "I don't want you hurting anymore. You don't deserve it."

"It only hurts to remember. Which is hard to do otherwise when you keep bringing it up," she retorts.

"You're right," Peter huffs. "I'm sorry."

"I know you want to make sure I'm okay," Vanessa begins, "but I will let you know when I'm not, okay?"

"Okay," Peter deadpans. He didn't like this. She couldn't just shut out what happened to her.

"Is Tony home?" Vanessa questions.

"No," Peter responds quietly. Vanessa lays back on her bed, Peter only taking notice once her feet pushed on the side of his thigh. She gave a smile, beckoning for him to come closer. "This isn't a good time, Nessa." She huffs, sitting up.

"I just want to cuddle," she remarks. "But you should get me a shirt before you join me." Peter couldn't hold back his warm smile, standing to grab Vanessa a clean shirt before jumping on top of her. She giggled, wrapping her arms around him as soon as he stopped shuffling on top of her. She brought her hands up to his hair, running them softly through it. "We're a beautiful mess, Peter Parker."

"I wouldn't want it any other way," he teases, lifting his head to give her a passionate kiss.