A Kid From Queens

Chapter 13: That's Dr. Stark to You

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My breath caught in my throat as I jolted upright with a gasp. My eyes scanned the room as I realized I was awake and it was just a dream. A nightmare. Inhaling a few deep breaths, I attempted to control my breathing. Dropping my head into my hands and rubbing my eyes, as if to try and erase the images I saw.

I felt the bed shift beside me, and a quiet sweet voice rang through the silence.

"Adelaide," Two gentle hands found my body, wrapping comfortingly around me, "Are you ok?"

I simply nodded in response. I hadn't looked at him yet. I was terrified that if I did I would just see flashes of what had woken me up only moments ago. It looked so real, it felt so real. But it wasn't true, Peter was here, he was ok.

"Nightmare?" He asked quietly. A nod was all I could muster. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I raised my head finally, my eyes finding his in the dark. Reaching a hand out to cup his face and stroke his cheek, a sad smile donned my face that was meant to reassure Peter.

"Not really." I whispered back with a shake of my head.

"That's ok. Come here." He beckoned me back into his arms.

We laid in silence with my head on his chest, listening to the smooth, melodic beating of his heart. Something was weighing heavily on my mind, Peter knew that much.

I propped my head up against his chest so that our eyes met.

"It's just so unfair, for the universe to bring into my life the perfect guy at the most imperfect time." I spoke suddenly.

"Maybe life's not so cut and dry like that. Maybe there will never be a perfect time. Maybe we just have to make due with the time that we're given." Peter suggested.

I didn't answer, I was lost in my own mind. Replaying the events of the last few weeks.

"What are you thinking about?" Peter asked, moving his fingers into my hair, finding my weakness.

"How none of this would have happened if it weren't for that article." I spoke with a guilty tone.

"You can't know that, and now we can't change that." Peter tried to comfort me, since when did he get so mature?

"But I don't want to-" My voice broke as tears began to well up in my eyes.

"Don't want to what?" Peter asked, scanning my face in concern.

"Say goodbye to you. I just want to stay right here in this bed like this forever." A stray tear slipped through the barricade and slid down my face.

"But you can't. You can't stop living just because of one slip up." Peter tried to reassure me, swiping his thumb across my cheek to catch the tear.

"I just want to be with you, I wish it could just be as simple as that." More tears began to spill now.

"Our lives will never be simple. I shoot webs and fight bad guys. You make technology that literally kills aliens. This isn't simple, but it also doesn't have to be. We can be perfectly complicated." Peter smiled, trying to cheer me up, trying to give me hope.

"What if perfectly complicated means we have to wait for this press frenzy to blow over before we can be perfectly complicated together again?" I asked with a frown.

"If you think that's what's best, you know I'd wait however long for you." Peter smiled a sweet, naive, hopeful smile. I sighed in response.

"That's what I'm worried about! I don't want you to press pause on your life for me. And what if it happens again? One picture, that's all it takes, and we have to start this all over again." I argued.