Becoming Mary Jane

Chapter 15

 The next morning, I pack my bags and get dressed; stressed as can be. Lily told me the plan last night. It could work, but it requires the help from someone. And that someone is a leader. Coulson.

 After I'm ready to go, Lily and I eat a quick breakfast in the cafeteria and we head to Phil's office. As we're walking, I whisper, "Are you sure he'll help us?"

 "Not one hundred percent sure, but almost positive," Lily whispers back in reply. "He may be second in command after Fury, but that doesn't mean he agrees with everything he does." 

 Her response makes me feel a little better, but I don't totally feel at ease. I mean it could go either way. For all we know, he could report our scheme to Nick!

 Once we're in front of his office, Lily knocks on the door. He welcomes us in, so she opens the door as we enter, shutting it gently behind her.

 "Hello ladies!" Phil greets us. "What brings you here?"

 I turn to Lily as she begins to speak. "Well I'm sure you know Gwen is leaving for London today. But here's the thing, she doesn't want to go."

 "Really?" he asks shocked, turning to face me. "I thought it's your dream to study at Oxford!"

 "Well it's no longer a dream if Peter's not there," I say trying to sound polite. 

 "Yes, it's not," Lily chimes back in. "You see, the deal was that they were supposed to move to England together. Now that she's going on her own, it doesn't mean anything to her."

 "Oh, well weren't you planning on going to Oxford by yourself originally?" Phil asks me.

 "Yes, she was, but that was because her and Peter were broken up at the time," Lily answers for me. "She didn't want to sit around waiting for some guy to get back together with her. She wanted to actually do something with her life. But that didn't mean she stopped loving him! But once Peter told her he loved her for the first time, when they got back together for a short period of time, she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him; which they were going to. All because of the stupid accident, they're apart from each other once again. Look, I know Peter made a promise, but you can't break them apart. They're in love. Doesn't that matter?"

 "Please, Phil," I plead. "You have to help me. Don't you understand? I've been kept away from Peter, my family, and everyone I love for a year. You know how hard it was for me? To go through each day, knowing that everyone thinks I'm dead, knowing how miserable they all feel because of a lie they've been told, feeling lonely, and knowing the fact that I'll probably never see any of them again; it was torture! Now that I'm going to London, I'll be even further away from them; away in another country. I can't do this. Please help me!" I feel my eyes tearing up as I finish speaking, but I hold them in so that he won't see them fall down my cheeks. I hate crying in front of people I don't know well.

 After a short moment of hesitation, Phil speaks up, "What do you want me to do?"

 "We just want you to convince Nick to cancel the flight," Lily tells him. "We're not asking you to tell him to let her be free. I mean if you could do that, that would be great, but it's most likely impossible to get anywhere by doing that. Although, asking him for Gwen to stay in New York may work. You could just say that she can attend a college here, and assure him that she'll stay inside the headquarters at all times while Spiderman is in action. Then maybe as time goes by, you can try to persuade Nick for her to return to her family. Anyways, can you please just try this?"

 "Well, for sure it will be impossible to convince Nick to let you return home as of right now," Phil starts turning to me again. "Now, persuading him to let you stay in New York is possible, but it requires more time than we have right now before your flight leaves, which is thirty minutes. The only solution to this is to mess up the plane, which I can totally do. I've done it before by accident, so why can't I do it on purpose? That way, while Nick tries to fix the plane, I can convince him to let you stay. How does that sound?"

 "Phil, you're the best!" I exclaim. "Thank you so much!"

 "Of course," he says. "You can't go against true love. Well what are we waiting for? We've got a flight schedule to mess up!"