home. | p.p. x reader | book three.

ꜰᴏᴜʀ

For once, I woke up before my alarm. Hell, I woke up before the sun had even risen all the way above the skyscrapers that dotted the landscape outside of my window. The room was still bathed in orange when my eyes shot open, and without even pouring myself a cup, I already had two cups of coffee worth of energy.

This trip was something I had been looking forward to since they announced it. For 8 months, I had no break from real life to do something, always being bogged down by school or work or patrol. It was starting to take a mental and physical toll, with some nights being so bad I woke up the next morning temporarily blind from overexertion. I needed some time to recover, and a week in Europe with my best friends and boyfriend was certainly something to cherish and be excited about.

I had my bags packed a week before school ended. After writing out meticulous lists of what I needed to pack and where, what to wear on what day, and what I needed to buy before the trip, I finally felt like I had everything I needed. Although, I still felt the need to go through my suitcases and bags that morning to make absolutely sure it all was there.

I rolled out of bed with an extra bit of pep in my step,  running through my morning routine at a mind boggling speed. Shower was first-one of the rare showers I could take without having to avoid any cuts, bruises, or burns-followed by a warm breakfast of waffles and bacon that my dad had whipped up earlier in the morning. He'd decided he wanted to take the morning off to make sure I got to the airport okay, so it was one of the rare days I had the luxury of a hot meal. After eating as much as could fill my stomach, I went back into the bathroom to take care of my hair before getting dressed.

I'd picked out my clothes the night before to save time. Preferring comfort over style, I'd set out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, with one of the oversized zip-ups I'd stolen from Peter's closet. (Friends wear each other's clothes all time; it wouldn't be weird to the other classmates, right?) Pairing that with the beat up converse that never seemed to leave my feet and the nanotech necklace, I set off on the simple bit of makeup I usually wore and checked my bags.

The entire night before, I had been debating on whether or not to leave the necklace at home. As much as I wanted to to reinforce the fact that this was a vacation, a break from all the superhero responsibilities, it still held too much sentimental value to just be left behind. I just had to promise myself that I wouldn't use it no matter the circumstances.

My phone vibrating took my attention away from checking my bags. After reading the name that ran across the top of the screen, and hit the green answer button and clutched it in my right hand.

"Hey MJ. What's up?"
"Just wanted to see if you still wanted a ride to the airport."
"Yeah, sure. Your car is bigger than my dad's so maybe all my bags will actually fit in your trunk."
"Alright, cool, be there around 4."
"Kay, see you then."

I hung up the phone and finished taking stock of my stuff, luckily having a little extra time to chill out before I had to be to the airport. Being able to read for the first time in forever, I crawled out the window and onto the fire escape, sitting down in the small chair I had set out there months ago. I got so engulphed in the book that the only thing taking me out of it was the honking of MJ's car 10 stories below.

I yelled down a quick 'be there in a minute' and grabbed all of my stuff, lugging it down the stairs as best I could without tripping down the stairs. Once I was out the door, my feet hit the pavement harshly, bolting towards the trunk of MJ's car within a few seconds. I muttered a sorry after accidentally slamming the passenger side door and buckled in.

"Usually I'm the one with their nose buried in a book."
"Sorry, had some extra time and didn't want to waste it." I adjusted the jacket around my shoulders and looked at MJ, who was staring at me with narrowed eyes. "What?"
"Is that Peter's jacket?"
"What? N-No, no. It's uhm...my dad's! Yeah, it's my dad's."
"Oooookay. Let's just get this damn plane ride done and over with."