To Be A Hero | Peter Parker

08: "you're right. you're not losing me"

Chapter song: 3:15 by Bazzi

Silence was deafening.

At least that's what I told myself when I realized I could hear my blood pumping through my ears. My head pounded with the beat of my heart and I broke into a cold sweat. I shivered and wiped the sweat off my forehead while Peter still tried to pry the vault doors open. I knew what was happening and yet I couldn't stop it. This wasn't happening.

I clutched my stomach and slowly crouched until I was sitting on the ground, trying but failing not to look at the walls because they made me feel so trapped. I tried to call his name, to get his attention, but I couldn't find my voice and a small grunt escaped my lips. Giving in seemed like the best option, so I brought my knees to my face and buried my head in my lap. It was better than looking at the concrete walls that surrounded me. 

Peter kicked the wall one last time before calling it quits, only to turn around and find me in the fetal position, resting my back against the shipping container we were trapped in. I could feel his eyes on me and heard the sound of his footsteps heading towards me, frantic and quick. 

"Hey, hey, hey," he crouched down in front of me and yanked the mask off his head, his eyebrows pinched in concern when he heard my breaths, shallow and quick. He pulled down my hood and gently slid my mask off my face, eyes widening when the trails of tears running down my face were now visible. He waited for me to look up at him before he spoke again. "Listen to me, okay? We're both in here, together. We do this, together. It's you and me," Peter motioned between the both of us with one hand and continued. "So if you freak out, I freak out. If you fail, I fail. We are a team. You are my partner. It's always going to be you and me, and I say that we are going to get out of here. I promise you." 

I blinked profusely in an attempt to stop the tears that were uncontrollably falling. His calm demeanor and the steady conviction of his voice and what he had said slowly started to calm me. He was right about one thing: If he's okay, I can be okay. Lips pinched in a straight line, and nodded vigorously, and Peter took that as his cue to envelop me in the biggest bear hug I thought possible. He really did have a certain aura to him, something bigger than a hero, and if I believed in fate, I'd say the spider that bit him must've known he picked the right person to uphold the responsibility. 

After what felt like an eternity, I pulled away in an attempt to collect myself and wipe my face free of tears. Peter smiled softly at me, no trace of pity on his face, and I had wanted for so long someone to see me for who I really was without feeling sorry for me. I guess I finally got that. 

"Ugh, so what's our game plan?" I asked, trying to distract myself from over analyzing the moment we just had. 

"Suit Lady said that the doors will automatically open in the morning. There's not much to do other than wait," Peter absentmindedly played with the settings on his web shooters, seemingly deciding on a selection he liked. I watched him jog over to a section of the vault that had two rows of shipping containers stacked two high. He shot between the two highest containers and the string of web attached itself to both sides of the container, unfolding into what looked like a makeshift hammock. He climbed to the top and flung himself into the hammock, pleased with himself for being so innovative. 

"So where's mine?" I walked over to his makeshift camp and stood under him, looking straight up. 

Peter leaned over the edge of the hammock to look at me. "Hmmm. I'm not sure. You can't make your own?" From what I could see, he had a smirk on his face that I didn't appreciate one bit. He leaned back and propped his arms behind his head, clearly done with the conversation.