Mind Full of Roses // Peter Parker

2.17: Not All Press is Good Press

I lay in bed, my shoulder aching from yesterday and the beginnings of a headache pricking the back of my eyes.

Yelena left early in the morning, waking me up when she dropped a couple pans in the kitchen followed by a string of Russian curses. Though before went, she must've left some painkillers on my bedside table for my shoulder and I quickly swallow them, downing the full glass of water before getting up to go to the bathroom, the bed frame groaning as I swing my feet out of bed.

The floorboards creak under my weight and the sudden noise alerts Cheddar. He comes bounding out of the kitchen and jumps up at my legs, yapping for attention. Once he gets tired of me, he retires back to his bed and lets me proceed with my earlier plans. I check the small clock on the wall as I pass and see that school started almost three hours ago, meaning Peter would have no idea if I'm still alive or not.

Peter. My recent realisation hits me like a bullet in the back and the thought of my head being in his lap only a day ago makes my face burn. I scrunch up my eyes, dispelling the thoughts of Peter or anything like that from my mind; it's too much of a distraction and distractions can get you hurt. It's better to just try and suppress this feeling. It'll probably just go on its own soon anyway.

I've only ever had one crush before, back in the Red Room, when I had only been in there for about a year. It lasted for a month before I recklessly tried to act upon it, getting both of us hurt in the end. After that, romance has never been anywhere near the top of my list and I don't plan on it moving up anytime soon.

Yet, I can't help but feel a twinge of melancholy when the thought of homecoming suddenly crosses my thoughts. Peter will probably ask Liz so before I can get my hopes up just for me to fall back down, I'll ask MJ to go with me instead. It'll be a good thing to get my mind from all of this superhero stuff and be able to act like a teenager for once.

Once I've checked on my injuries in the bathroom mirror, I walk back to the kitchen and make a bowl of cereal, sitting down in front of my laptop and pulling up a film.

•𑁍•

The day seemed to drag on, ticking as it managed to elongate every minute into hours. It seemed like I've been living in the same day for years when I hear a faint knock on the door. I put Cheddar's toy down, pick up my bag of popcorn and go over to it. I stand on tiptoe, peering through the peephole to see who it is.

Peter stands at the other side, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he looks around the corridor restlessly. My palms start to sweat against my will and I quickly wipe them on my jumper before reaching out and turning the handle.

The door swings open and Peter walks in, oblivious to the fact that I'm only wearing an oversized jumper with shorts and my hair is piled on top of my head, closely resembling a birds nest.

"I've just had the greatest idea known to man." Peter plucks the packet of popcorn from my hand and shoves a fistful into his mouth. "Well, I thought of it in maths but I couldn't tell you for ages since you weren't there and I got detention, but-"

"Detention!?" I interrupt him, shocked to my core that the Peter Parker got into so much trouble that he had to stay at school with a detention.

He waves a dismissive hand in the air and goes to see Cheddar, stroking the sleeping dog's head tentatively before quickly getting up and throwing his rucksack on the dining table.

I lean against the breakfast bar and watch on in amusement at his unusual behaviour.

"Anyway, as I was saying before: I got this idea in maths. You know about Karen, right? Yeah, well-" Peter pulls out his mask and holds it up in the air, shaking it slightly as he speaks. "- I was wondering if it can help us remember anything about those dudes under the bridge that one time."