Dancing Around // peter parker

11

"That's probably Liz. Are you sure you don't want to go to the pool with us?" Cindy asked.

I turned off the tv. "I'm sure. I really do need to buy a toothbrush."

Cindy nodded her head. She opened our hotel door to reveal Liz in her bathing suit. "Are you guys ready?"

"Hold up, let me put on my swimsuit. It will only be a second. Come in."

Liz entered our hotel room before shutting the door behind her. "Okay, but hurry." Cindy hurried and grabbed something from her suitcase before going into the bathroom. Liz watched me as I put on my shoes and placed my backpack over my shoulders. I opened the door. "Woah, aren't you going to change first?"

"Oh, I'm not going," I said.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I have to buy a toothbrush."

Cindy came out of the bathroom with her swimsuit. "You should come after, though. Even if you aren't going to swim."

"Yeah, you should. Even Michelle is going, and she doesn't like to socialize," Liz added.

I looked between the two girls. I shrugged my shoulders. My first instinct was to say no, come back to my hotel room and watch more movies. I knew there was nothing wrong with that if that's what I truly wanted. That's not what I truly wanted though. "Okay," I said and then left for the store.

Lucky for me the store in the hotel had everything I needed. I picked a red toothbrush and a few other things. I even added a bag of candy to my purchase. Without a line to stall me, it only took a couple of minutes. I walked back towards my hotel room first, swinging my bag around. Peter was turning the same dark corner I was at the same time, with us being only a couple of movements away from running into each other, but he stopped walking as soon as he realized and placed his hands up to stop me.

I looked at his hands as he held them directly in front of my face. I stretched my neck out to look at him. "What are you doing?" I asked.

He took a step back, looking away from me. "What are you doing?"

"I asked you first." My eyes traveled to the backpack hanging from his shoulders. "Are you sneaking out? Woah, I can't believe it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Does Ms. May know this? Does she know her perfect studious nephew is crawling out at night, doing who knows what with his...backpack?"

"No, so please don't tell her."

I raised my hands. "I can't make any promises, Peter. You're the one that's lying here. Besides, it's not like you had my back when I needed it." I walked past him.

"What's your obsession with my aunt?" he asked over his shoulder.

I turned around. "Excuse me?"

He faced me. "Are you like...in love with her or something?"

"No, I'm not in love with your aunt."

"Are you sure? Because you seemed to care a lot about what she thinks."

"It's not like that."

"Then what's it like?"

"It's like...not really any of your business, is it?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess not." He placed his hands into the pocket of his jeans as he stood under the dim glow of the hotel's light. I could still see the brown in his eyes as he looked at me, so unafraid of my eyes. It made me kind of mad.

"I'm not in love with her," I declared.

"Okay."

"It's just...well, you said she cared about me. I don't understand why she would, I mean, a lot of the times it feels like my own parents don't care about me. I just don't want to do anything that might make her...stop caring, is all."

His face softened. "Like hooking up with some random dude?"

I kept quiet.

He had looked calm and collective before, but now he just looked guilty. "So, what? You think that just because I told her about Al that she won't care about you anymore?" I looked down at my shoes. "Marina, that's ridiculous."

"No, this conversation is. Just forget it." I turned around, hurrying back to my room. When I reached my door, I swiped my keycard to open it. I threw my bag into the darkness, holding the door open as I decided. I looked towards the pool, wondering if I should go. A feeling of anxiety burst inside me. I entered my hotel room and let the door close behind me.

Dear Reader,

Very short chapter, I know, I know. Just go on to the next. Enjoy yourself.

I'm not very good at opening up to people (IRL or online) so I came up with this idea. What if I ask questions to you (which you comment your answer) and I'll answer them too. Get to know each other and whatnot. (Is whatnot one word or two? Look it up, because I have no idea). I'm going to ask questions that I always wanted to answer and maybe if you start reading this before I finish the book, you can comment on questions too. I think it would be fun.

Okay, first question: what was your favorite childhood book series?

Mine was Just Grace.

Sincerely,

aloneeedra