Loving Marianna

Chapter Three

"Well that's because I know them!" Peter almost yells. He looks around sheepishly.

"You.. know them? Like all of them?" I question over enunciating the all.

"Yup! They're gonna want to meet you as soon as possible! But maybe we could spend some time together first?"

"But how do you know them all?" I question. That's a lot of people to just know who has the same soul mark as you.

"Weelll, I shouldn't really talk about it here- I-I mean in public not that there's something wrong with your bakery it's a great bakery that I'm sure holds lots of secrets- not that this is a secret- but oh my God please make me stop talking." He says in one breath rubbing his forehead looking down.

"It's okay, I'll just have to wait." I'm genuinely afraid he would combust if I ask him more so I decide it's best just to leave it.

"Thanks." He breathes out with relief.

"So do you think you'd want to spend some time with me?" He asks nervously.

Of course I want to spend time with him. But I can't ditch Elise, a girls gotta work. But I don't want him to think I don't want to be with him. I grab his hand, "of course I want to spend time with you but it wouldn't be right of me to leave Elise to do all the work by herself." Trying to convey how much I want to be with him but Peter still looks down clearly upset.

Elise cuts in, "I mean I'll be fine until Derek gets here at noon. All the pastries are baked for the morning and the bread is almost finished. Me or Derek can start the Smith order and the other can handle the customers. These are your soulmates Marianna! You have to go!" And just like that Peters head shoots back up and he looks at me with renewed hope and pleading puppy dog eyes.

"If you're absolutely sure you're okay with this Elise because it's oka-"

"Please! You're here all of the time! I'm more than okay with this. You deserve this." She smiles at me.

How did I get so lucky? I jump on her hugging her with all my might. "You are the bestest friend a bitch could ask for."

She laughs, "Oh,I know!"

"She's humble too! Would you look at that!" I joke. I tell her some last minute things about the day for the bakery and remind her to lock up. Hugging her and grabbing my things Peter and I leave the bakery hand in hand.

There's a silence between us for the first few minutes of our walk. It isn't awkward and neither of us have a particular destination. We're just soaking in each other's presence. Until finally I break the silence and question him, "don't you have anything you need to do today?"

"Nothing is more important than this." He immediately responds.

"But yes, I have class today, I'm studying biophysics." He states proudly.

"Damn, so you're like smart smart."

"I-I mean, I guess there's definitely smarter but-" I interrupt him.

"It wasn't a question. It was a statement. You've gotta be brilliant to study something like that." I say matter of factly not wanting to hear my mate talk less of himself.

He squeezes my hand and smiles at me.

"So are you sure you should be missing class? I definitely don't want to be a bad influence and have you miss something important at school." I question concerned.

"Like I said nothing is more important than this, and I do pretty well in all my classes so missing one day won't hurt me." He smiles.

"Okay if you're sure."

Both of us begin talking about our lives and I find out he lived with his aunt May until he was 18 and decided to move out. I showed him his soulmark and had a very in depth conversation about our favorite Star Wars characters, he practically squealed when I told him his soulmark glows in the dark. He told me he loves the color Blue and aunt Mays cherry pie. I tell him M.A.Y are my initials so it's funny that his aunts name is May, and that I lived with my mom until I was 19, I tell him about my cat Verity, and that my favorite color is Yellow or Gold. I tell him my love for eating French Fries and Lasagna. And we walked around together for about 2 hours before he said he was going to call one of my other mates and tell him we would be coming there, wherever there is.

I grow instantly nervous. Peter senses this and puts his arm around me. "Don't worry, they're going to love you and if it becomes too much I'll swoop in and save you, you just say the word." He beams.

I relax under his touch and nod to him. He takes out his phone and after a couple rings someone picks up. He steps away out of earshot. Peter looks slightly distressed but comes back over with a smile on his face.

"Sorry they're not very happy I didn't tell them right away." Peter says looking embarrassed.

"I know I would be upset if I were them but I couldn't help myself."

"Hey it's okay, I'm sure they'll understand. You just wanted some time alone before things get crazy." I reassure him.

"Exactly! They would've done the same if they had the privilege of meeting you first." He perks up.

"But let's not keep them waiting any longer! They might kill me haha." Peter says half joking.

"Okay! Where are we going?" I ask.

"Oh you'll see." Peter grabs my hand and starts walking. If this was anyone else I would've broken their arm and left. I don't make a habit of going home with random people, but I trust Peter already. I can feel the kindness radiating off of him, he won't ever hurt me.

Peter and I continue to talk the whole way to our destination. I can tell he's walking slower than before trying to get every last minute alone with me. I smile to myself not minding one bit.

But before long the two of us start approaching Stark Tower.

"What the hell are we doing here?"