Nothing Without You - Peter Parker [2]

8: the opera

"Hey ladies!" Betty suddenly greeted, breaking the tense silence that had overtaken the hallway. "Ready to get your party on?"

Kassidy tore her eyes away from MJ's piercing stare, and sent a smile towards Betty, glad to be saved.

"Hell yeah, I am!" she exclaimed, falling into step with the girl.

She glanced over her shoulder again, realizing that MJ was still standing in the same spot as before, watching the girl with a suspicious expression on her face.

Eventually, Kassidy entered the lobby of the hotel, where the rest of the class was waiting for their night of fun to begin, glow sticks and other bright objects accessorizing their bodies.

Peter was sitting in one of the arm chairs, his backpack sitting in his lap. When he noticed Kassidy had made her way over, he stood up immediately.

"You can sit, Kass." he offered, his cheeks red.

"Oh- no, it's fine, Peter." she denied, shaking her head.

"No, really, I insist." Peter continued, gesturing towards the seat.

A smile tugged at Kassidy's lips and she looked at Peter for a second longer before accepting defeat and sitting down in the armchair. A few seconds later, Peter sat down on the armrest.

"Good news." Mr Harrington said, addressing the group of students. "We're going to the opera!"

A chorus of groans and complaints erupted from the teens, and Kassidy and Peter looked at each other nervously. Ned looked back at Peter, raising his eyebrows questionably. Peter widened his eyes and nodded his head, causing Ned to nod along in understanding.

"Come on! The tour company just gave us these tickets." Mr. Harrington explained, a wide smile on his face. "For free! Do you have any idea how much opera tickets cost?"

"No, because none of us have ever wanted to go to the opera, ever." Flash remarked, his face wrinkled in disappointment.

"Uh, well, I think this is gonna be culturally enriching for us." Ned spoke up, glancing at Peter supportively.

"Thank you, Ned." Mr. Harrington pointed. "Everyone, this is gonna be, maybe, the best four hours of our whole trip."

Another round of complaints ensued, causing Mr. Harrington to look over at Mr. Dell for some kind of support, which was not received.

"Guys, I think this is gonna be really fun, seriously!" Ned exclaimed, receiving dirty looks from his classmates.

After a bit more complaining, Mr. Harrington convinced the class to head back up to their rooms so they could change into nicer clothes. This included Kassidy and Peter, although they wouldn't actually be attending the opera.

Kassidy dug through her bag, quickly pulling out a ruffled floral dress that went down to her knees. She remembered buying it with Pepper before the trip. She put on a zip-up hoodie with it, and threw her converse back on.

Mr. Harrington could be heard in the hallway, rushing his students from their rooms so they could begin the journey to the opera. Kassidy stuffed her phone into the pocket of her hoodie before rushing out the door, running straight into Peter.

"Woah!" Peter exclaimed, his hands landing on Kassidy's arms to stabilize her.

"Whoops." Kasssidy said, blowing a piece of hair from her face. "My bad."

Peter shook his head, a lopsided grin on his face. "No... no, you're fine." he stammered. "You're good."

Kassidy licked her lips nervously, before glancing down at Peters hands, which were still on her arms. When Peter noticed this, he immediately withdrew them.