Gone // Spider-Man: Far From Home [Book 4]

three {Third Person POV}

"What class do we have?" Peter asked Arya as she was taking her books from her locker. 

"Art," she answered plainly as she shoved a thick book into her bag.

He huffed, leaning against the locker next to hers. "What style did you get for your project?" he then asked. 

"Minimalism. You?" she questioned, closing her locker and taking his hand as they went on their way to the art room that was located at the back of the school. Both of them were tormented by exhaustion but that didn't stop them from trying to keep their lives on track.

"Futurism. And I hate it," Peter confessed. 

A giggle escaped Arya's lips. "Why?"

"It's so much. It feels like the Wikipedia page is endless," he sighed. 

The door to the classroom was already open so the pair walked straight in, but upon seeing the artwork that was displayed on the wall, both of them stopped dead in their tracks. The entire wall was covered in drawings and paintings of Iron Man. Arya's hand slipped out of Peter's as memories flooded her brain, making her eyes water.

The vague sound of footsteps behind them caught Peter's attention and he quickly blinked, clearing his throat as he turned around. The class' art teacher stood behind them, guilt written all over her face. 

"Arya, are you okay? I'm so sorry. The Freshmen did a project here yesterday but I completely forgot about it. If you want, you can work in the hallway or in the library," she rambled frantically.

Arya nodded, swallowing visibly. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea." She offered the teacher a weak smile before turning to her boyfriend. "Are you gonna be okay?" 

"I'll be fine. I'll see you after class," he assured her. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before departing out of the classroom. She held a rushed pace as she tried to control her breathing. Just outside the library, she stopped and sat down next to the door. She pressed her fist against her forehead as she felt the electricity spark right under her skin. 

"Hey, are you okay?" she heard an unfamiliar voice say and she shot up. A dark-haired boy stood in front of her. 

"Sorry, yeah. I'm okay," she said, sniffing slightly. 

"You're Arya, right?"

She hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yeah." 

"I'm Brad. Brad Davis," the boy said, holding out his hand. Arya looked at it and took it in her own, allowing him to pull her off the floor. She cleared her under eyes. 

"Sorry you had to see that. I'm just kind of a mess at the moment." She awkwardly chuckled, wrapping her arms around herself. 

"No, it's okay. I totally understand," he said with a smile, digging his hands in his pockets. He motioned to the door beside her. "Were you headed to the library?" 

"Yeah," she confirmed, thanking him in her mind for changing the subject. 

"Me too. I have to work on this art project but I just can't focus in class," he admitted.

"You're taking art too? Are you in Miss Sanders' class?"

"No, Mr Chapman's," he answered. A moment of silence followed that was broken by Brad's question. "Do you maybe want to work on it together? Take your mind off of things?" 

She smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah. That'd be great." 

Back in the art room, Peter Parker was busy with his own project. Not the one he had to do for his art class, though. "Okay, I have a plan," Peter said as he sat back down in his seat after handing in the first part of his project. He wasn't sure if it was any good because his mind was completely set on something else. 

Ned Leeds looked up from his work and frowned at his best friend. "For what?"

"Making sure Arya's okay and actually enjoys her vacation," Peter elaborated. "So the plan. First, I gotta make sure I sit next to her on the plane. Second, when we get to Venice- Venice is super famous for making stuff out of glass, right?" Ned nodded in affirmation. "So I'm gonna get her an Arc Reactor necklace. You know, for her dad. Third, we go to Paris. Fourth, I'll take her to the top of the Eiffel tower because that's on her bucket list. Fifth, I give her the necklace and just tell her how much she means to me." 

Ned stared at Peter for a solid five seconds. "You forgot step six," he stated and Peter took out a pen, ready to jot down whatever his friend had to say. "Don't do any of that." 

"Why?" Peter asked with a sigh. 

"It's cheesy, Peter. She already knows how much she means to you because you tell her literally every second of the day. Plus, I'm gonna be a bachelor in Europe, and I'm gonna need your help," Ned answered. 

"Why do you need my help?" 

"Because, as you know, Europeans love Americans," Ned stated. 

"Really?" Peter questioned, narrowing his eyes. 

"And more than half of them are women." 

"Okay," Peter agreed. "Sure. But I really wanna go through with this plan because I think it'll really cheer her up. I mean, I didn't just come up with it to-"

"Whaddup, dorks?" MJ spoke up as she popped up beside them. "Excited about the science trip?"

"Oh, hey, MJ," Peter greeted her. "We were just talking about the trip."

"Yeah, and Peter's plan," Ned added with a smile. 

"What plan?" MJ asked with a slight frown. 

"It's nothing, just this thing I came up with to cheer Arya up a bit." 

"Oh, that's nice. Is she okay? I thought she was in this class too," she questioned, looking around the room. 

"Yeah, she is. She is working from the library because of..." Peter said vaguely, motioning over his shoulder at the wall behind him. 

"Ah." MJ nodded. "Anyway, quick travel tip. You should probably download a VPN on your phone so the government can't track us while we're abroad." 

"Smart," Peter said. "Will do." 

With a small smile, MJ walked off to put away her artwork. The sound of the school bell ringing let them know their school day was over and that they were free to head out. Peter and Ned quickly packed their stuff before leaving the classroom. 

Just outside, Peter found his girlfriend talking to a dark-haired guy that he had never seen before. He frowned slightly before walking over. "Hey," he smiled at Arya. 

"Hi. How was class?" she asked. 

"Boring without you," he muttered, wrapping an arm around her. He glanced at the boy in front of them. "Who's your friend?" 

"Oh, Peter, this is Brad. Brad, this is Peter, my boyfriend," Arya introduced the two. 

"Hi." Peter smiled awkwardly. 

"'Sup," Brad said before turning to Arya. "Okay, so I'll see you tomorrow?" 

"Of course." Arya smiled and he walked off. 

"What was that about?" Peter asked as soon as Brad was far enough. 

"What do you mean?" Arya questioned in return. 

"Since when are you friends with that guy?" 

"Since he started talking to me in the library. He's nice," she told him. 

"And you're seeing him tomorrow?" Peter continued to ask. 

"Yeah, we're gonna work on the art project some more. We both have Minimalism," Arya confirmed as she went on her way to the exit of the building, knowing Peter would follow. "Oh, and he's coming on the trip with us."