A New Hero - Peter Parker (BOOK 1) | Spider-Man: Far From Home

Chapter Four - The Hotel

After a few minutes of everyone uncomfortably staring at Clara in the old, battered water taxi, the students turned their attention to the sight of Venetian buildings. Blue water threaded through the streets, the beige buildings sitting in contrast to the colourful boats and the locals' clothing and as they moved deeper into the wide canals of the city.

Extravagant architecture stood tall and proud above the surrounding houses and apartment buildings, bridges arching over the flooded streets. When they began moving past the nicer areas and into the more neglected neighbourhoods, Clara and a few other students looked around dubiously. "Looks like we're here." Mr Harrington commented. "They're doing some renovations to the place – Getting some upgrades. That must be the concierge."

Mr Harrington climbed off the boat, Mr Dell following and leaving the students to get themselves off the boat. They helped each other, Ned clambering over the side and helping Betty, Betty helping a few more students as Ned held her bag for her. Peter hopped off with ease, adjusting his stature as he stepped on a loose plank of wood, the flooring giving way under his weight. The boy picked his foot from the ground as a wooden plank slipped from its position, splashing into the water beneath them.

He looked dubiously at the ground, hoping that was the only one like that before looking up to see MJ and Clara laughing on the boat. For a brief moment, Peter worried she had told MJ about his plan, but then quickly shook the idea from his head, not letting his paranoia get the best of him.

As Clara turned to face the platform he stood on, Peter held a hand out for her and practically lifted her out of the boat as she took it, setting her on stable ground a second later. "Thanks." Clara brushed herself off, dust and chips of paint from the boat dotted across her outfit.

MJ stepped of the water taxi, either not noticing or ignoring the hand Peter outstretched for her. His expression morphing from a hopeful smile to a dejected mope. "Chin up, Choochie." Clara smiled, patting Peter on the back with enough force to knock him forward a step.

"What?" He frowned, turning to look at her while wondering what an Earth that meant. She shrugged, walking past and sticking her head through the hotel entrance way, lurching back out as soon as she did, raising a hand to cover her mouth and nose.

"Oh, my God, that stinks." Clara spat.

Peter moved forward, doing the same. "It's not that bad."

"Are you joking?" She asked, scrunching her nose as she stepped all the way in. She looked over the room, a rotting wood interior with a shamble of strange decorations. The only splash of colour in the room was the bright ginger cat sitting atop a table, giving its arsehole a thorough cleansing.

"Tell me we aren't staying here." Betty groaned as Mr Harrington stepped into a pool of water just in front of the door.

"This place is sinking." Champagne boy said, the hotel a polar opposite when compared to his usual lavish and luxurious dwellings.

"I think you mean 'charming'." Mr Dell corrected him. "Okay, everybody. Drop your bags off, we're gonna meet at the Da Vinci museum at three. Let's go! Vamonos!"

"It's andiamo." Betty corrected.

"Andiamo! When in Rome, we do as the Romans do. We here in Venice, the socks get wet." Mr Dell continued, pulling Carla to the side once the other students had passed. "So... We don't actually have enough rooms for you."

"Right." Clara narrowed her eyes. "So... You've found somewhere else for me to stay?"

"Well, not exactly." Mr Dell said, shrinking away from Clara's slowly growing glare. "You'll have to share with a couple other people."