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

Chapter Twelve - Another Hotel

The coach pulled up outside the Carlo IV Hotel and the students streamed off and headed into the grand building. "Wow. This place is so classy." Betty commented, looking up at the high ceilings and extravagant paintings.

"Yeah, so why are we here?" Another student asked. Clara looked around the lobby, the one room alone bigger than any hotel she had stayed in before. The white and magnolia walls were spotless, the gold detailing in the trimming and the somewhat pretentious paintings interrupting the gentle colours. Green plants were placed meticulously around the room, placed in the specific positions, as per the architects and decorators' designs, and white flowers bloomed over them.

The 'oh's' and 'ah's' of the group of students were interrupted by Flash as he gave Betty a impudent retort. "Speak for yourself. I'm home."

"What can I say? The squeaky wheel gets the upgrade grease." Mr Harrington told them. "Everyone, get settled in, rest up. Because tonight, big surprise, is Prague's annual... Carnival of Lights!" He held his hands out dramatically, gesturing to a board held up on an easel.

Peter walked away from the group, raising his phone to his ear. "Hello?" Clara heard him ask. When the class fell into a casual conversation, some discussing what they would wear that night, she peeled away from the party, approaching Peter. "Uh, yes Ma'am." Peter said and a second later he pulled the phone from his ear.

"That was a quick conversation." She observed, watching him push the small device back into his pocket. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine." Clara heard his voice go up a few octaves.

"You sure?" Before Peter could reply, Ned appeared beside Clara.

"Hey, man. Look, I am so sorry if I seem like I'm preoccupied with my relationship." He apologied. "You know I'm still your guy in the chair."

"No, no. It's all good." Peter reassured him. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, great. Great." Ned smiled.

"It's fine."

"So, what's the status on the Elemental thing? Where's it gonna happen?" Ned bombarded him with questions, getting to the topic he really wanted to know about.

Peter winced at the thought of it. "Uh, here... in the city."

Ned's mouth fell agape, and Clara did her best to hide a horrified expression. "Peter, we're here."

"I know. I know." Peter shrunk away slightly. "It's not good - I'm figuring it out."

"You have to do something, Peter. Please." Ned implored him. "We're all counting on you."

"Ned!" Betty called out, waving her boyfriend over.

"Yeah, Babe." Ned replied, starting towards her instantly.

"No pressure." Clara said, rolling her eyes as the boy walked away. "Don't worry, Peter. That Beck guy's going to be there and by the sound of it he's got a lot of experience with the..." She trailed of, seeing Peter frowning at her. "What?"

"How did you know about him?" He questioned her with suspicion in his tone.

"Uh, you told me." Clara said, scolding herself for slipping up and swallowing nervously as Peter narrowed his eyes.

"No... I'm pretty sure I never even spoke to you about him." He uttered reflectively. "I told you what they called the Elementals, but I don't think I even told you I had met Mysterio, let alone told you his real name."

Clara laughed nervously. "Yeah, you did. I'm sure you did. How else would I have known his name?"

"Yeah... No, you're right." Peter said, trying to convince himself that he was just being paranoid. "I must've just forgotten."

Shaking his head gently, trying to knock the distrust from his mind, he tugged his bag in front of him, digging through it for the earpiece Maria Hill had mentioned on the phone call. "What's that?" Clara asked, watching him pull out the small cream-coloured device.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." He told her, pushing it in place and hearing the rustle of static as it activated, automatically switching to the correct frequency.

Clara pouted; just like that, the trust she had built had dropped away, the friendship shattering into a million tiny pieces.

~

Clara paced around her room, feeling the need to do something. After half an hour of pacing, there was a knock on the door. She rushed to it, stopping before opening it to calm her breathing and collect herself. Lifting her chin and straightening her back slightly, she pulled the door open with an attempt at a casual smile.

She had hoped to see Peter standing behind it, wanting to tell her everything that had happened. He had disappeared after their conversation in the hotel lobby and Clara really thought she might have ruined everything with her slip up. She kept asking herself that maybe, because she knew his secret, she should tell him hers along with how she knew about Quentin Beck.

Clara had managed to talk herself out of it though; her life would become even more unpredictable then it already was and, not only that, but it wasn't just her secret to tell – it was her parents' too. Obviously, she could simply leave out the fact her parents were superheroes, but Peter was smart enough to work it out on his own. Afterall, her powers were hereditary; all it would take for him to work it out was her struggling to find a lie to the question of how she had obtained her abilities.

Over the last few days, Peter was really the only person in the class whose company she actually enjoyed, so with him to be upset or suspicious towards her – which he clearly was – she was struggling to be alone with her thoughts.

The smile dropped and instead, her face held unimpressed, blank expression as she opened the door. A bellboy stood next to a gold framed luggage cart. She pointed out her small bag and noticed another navy-blue bag underneath it, three metal initials pressed into the leather trim. "And that one." She said, aiming a finger at Peter Parker's old and battered suitcase.

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