Peter Parker & Tom Holland Imagines

a siren's sorrow pt. 2

I tuck my legs beneath me as I flip the page to another borrowed novel. It's my greatest escape. Because the longer I live, the more I forget. Day by day, the memories of childhood fade, and years blur together in the monotony of days since the curse.

My phone vibrates next to me with my alarm reminding me to start packing up. Ben or Lila will be coming to walk me home soon. I close the book, placing it back on the shelf with the countless other copies and take one last glance into the cafe.

He didn't show up today, which is odd. I've never seen him miss a Monday at the shop, and it makes me wonder if something could have happened to the brown eyed boy. Lila and Ben always tell me I worry to much, but I can't help it.

Peter Parker is different. I can't explain how, except that he was nice to me. Even from the very first time he came into the shop, I had my phone with the programed voice responses. It was another long shift, and I wasn't in the greatest mood.

Lila and I had fought the night before about a hundred different things and spent nearly an hour throwing tantrums and fits at each other. I was exhausted, bags under my eyes, and barely managing a smile. Then I looked up and there he was-- the brown eyed boy with the most beautiful smile I had seen in my whole life.

The best part was when I tapped the buttons and the monotone voice spilled out of the speaker, he didn't flinch. Instead, he smiled wider and looked at me like I was a marvel to behold. It made my heart patter in my chest in a way that it only does when I dance. After that, I watched for the rest of the week for that mess of curls.

Week after week, he would come in, order the same thing, and sit in the same seat while he studied. It became a highlight for me. Something to break up the days and add a little something extra to the long shifts.

My phone buzzes again in my pocket, this time a text from Lila. "Sorry, sis. I'm gonna be late today. Boss needed me to stay and help out again." A pause and then a second message. "Wait for me at the cafe, get yourself something (on me), and under no circumstances leave before I get there."

I sigh and roll my eyes. Of course, she's running late. Lila usually operates outside of the normal constraints of time. I purchase the novel and head into my coffee shop. My coworkers smile at me as they prep my usual order. I slide into a seat, novel propped open, and soon enough a coffee in hand.

My coffee dwindles, and I get so wrapped up into the story that I nearly miss someone sliding into the seat across from me. All I see at first is fidgeting hands a top a blue notebook.

I initially assume it's Ben, here to walk me in home in Lila's delayed absence. But instead, I find an oversize blue sweatshirt and a familiar--slightly nervous--smile beneath my favorite brown eyes.

A smile makes its way across my face before I can even think about it. Right in front of me, unsure of himself and shifting in his seat, is Peter Parker. He returns the smile and nervously lifts his hands in a wave before forming his hands into familiar shapes.

"Hi, I'm Peter." He signs and speaks the words aloud as he struggles to form each sign.

There's a rush of blood to my cheeks as I watch him, this boy that I've admired for the past couple months working so hard to communicate with me in my language. "Hi, Peter. I'm Y/N. It's nice to finally meet you." I reply slowly and watch him to make sure there's no confusion.

"Y/N" He whispers as if to test the sound of it on his lips. "It's nice to finally know your name. I've been working up the nerve to talk to you and to learn how to sign. I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable." Peter signs painstakingly slow as he speaks the words, and I nudge his hand down with my own.