s p i d e y c h e l l e | one shots

t h e d a r k

"shh, michael, it's okay. the dark can't hurt you. it won't hurt you..."

michelle consoled her brother who was crying because of his fear. she grazed her thumb across his cheek, holding him close hoping for him to calm down and go to sleep. she hated seeing him upset. 

to be completely honest with you, michelle is also afraid of the dark. deathly afraid. you wouldn't expect such an irrational fear from a such a mature teenage girl like her. but she was and she wished she wasn't.

it really would make her life easier if she wasn't, she spends every night comforting her little brother for the exact same reason. but it was understandable for him. he was a nine year-old boy, little kids believed monsters live under your bed, in the closet, or in the shadowy corners of your bedroom. michelle knew there wasn't a monster hiding in the shadows, not anymore.

nobody knows of her fear. not michael. definitely not her mom. nobody knows and she plans to keep it that way.

it makes sense, really. the dark has only ever caused her pain. when michael was just a few years old, she would cry herself to sleep as her parents fought. on the rare occasion they weren't busy arguing about her father's awful drinking or his absence, she hid in the corner of her room hoping her father and his belt didn't find her. but they always did.

for her, the darkness equals pain. and although that had been a very long time ago, the pain is still there. and she convinced herself it always will be.

once he falls into a deep and comfortable sleep, she slowly and quietly exits his room. making sure to keep his lamp on. if he did happen to wake up in the middle of the night, he would definitely not be able to get back to sleeps.

as she tip-toed back to her room, she turns on the hallway light, for michael.

after she closed her door, she turned on her bed-side lamp, desk lamp, overhead light, and closet light. she climbed into bed, grabbing her mom's old laptop, trying to finish some homework. as she looked at the clock, she realized it was now after 1 am. her mom should be home by now. but, she wasn't. so she wasn't coming home that night.

she set her laptop on the bed side table and hid under her covers. she hoped exhaustion would force her into sleep, but it didn't. 

after she was fed up with waiting, she sat back up against her headboard grabbing her cell phone. she dialed the familiar number, hoping the one on the other side would pick up.

"please, you know i wouldn't call unless i needed you."

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as peter climbed through the window, she sat back in her bed praying this was a dream and she was actually asleep. how embarrassing of her to actually have a fear. and of something so minuscule and silly.

"don't say anything," she said as he opened his mouth. "just come here."

he did as he was told, kicking off his shoes and taking off his jacket. she lifted up the comforter and he climbed in beside her. "don't you want me to turn off the light?"

she hesitated a long moment before nodding. he got up and started to turn off all the lights, starting with the closet and finishing with the lamp on her bed-side table. he climbed in beside her, clearly confused on what he was supposed to do. she decided to be real ballsy and just went for it.

as he was maneuvering himself, shifting uncomfortably, she grabbed his shoulder opposite of her body, pulling him down to her. he was now laying flat on his back and she was laying her head on his chest. she reached her hand to wrap it around her torso, causing him to grip her waist. she then shifted her body laying both her leg and arm across his body. 

when they were both comfortable, she whispered, "thank you, for this."

"why," he started, finally speaking, "am i doing this?"

"because i couldn't sleep. and i trusted you would come, you're a good guy, peter." she sighed, deciding to tell him, "i'm afraid of the dark. and before you say anything, do not tell anyone. i know your secret, now you know mine."

"what secret?"

"that you're spider-man."

"wha-"

"oh, be quiet. i know you are. so, don't even try and convince me otherwise."

"okay," he sighed "why are you afraid of the dark?"

"we aren't there yet, parker."

"okay, well, you can call me anytime, mj. if it's because of the dark or anything. you can call me."

she nodded, closing her eyes, finally getting some sleep.

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it took me a little longer to get this one out. i worked on another one and that one didn't really work out. anyway, what do you thing of this one?

791 words