INVISIBLE | P. PARKER

TWENTY THREE

TWENTY-THREE;
I'M HERE

IT HAD BEEN RAINING ALL DAY, thunder roared in the sky and Cassie heard it even with the loud sound of the city as she made her way through the crowd of people in the streets. Her plan was to visit Peter, but it seemed like the universe was against her because, despite the pouring rain, the whole city decided to go out and take a walk.

She removed the hoodie from her almost wet hair and knocked the door three times before trying to get rid of the water dripping from her brown locks, part of her thanked Wanda for forcing her to take vitamins to not get sick easily. She exhaled deeply when she heard steps echoing and the door opening, revealing a very tired and Aunt May collecting her things to leave for work.

"Cassie! You're here!" She said, a smile appearing on her features. The woman hugged the teenager with strength and then stepped away to let her in. "What brings you here?"

"You know why I'm here, Mrs. Parker." The brunette exhaled, Aunt May did too. "How is he?"

"A little sad. I'm glad you're here."

"And how are you?" Cassie asked, looking at the woman with preoccupation.

"Oh, I'll be fine!" She smiled, taking her coat and an umbrella. "I have to go, though. Keep an eye on him, please?"

"I will." The brunette nodded and watched Aunt May walk out of the apartment.

Cassie dropped her backpack on the floor and wandered around the apartment trying to get dry from the rain. She exhaled deeply and walked to what looked like the door to Peter's bedroom.

"Pete? Are you there?" She quietly asked, knocking the door.

He didn't answer, and it broke her heart. The brunette pursed her lips together before stepping away and focusing her minds and thoughts on the door handle, with concentration she managed to unlock the door and step inside. She found Peter curled up in his covers and snoring lightly.

Cassie exhaled deeply and walked to his bed with silent movements, but because of his incredible senses, he was already awake and eyes wide open. She backed away as a quiet gasp left her lips and with a pounding heart, Peter sighed with relief when he saw the girl in his room.

"Sorry." She softly said, sitting at the edge of the bed.

"It's okay." He exhaled, looking at his hands and then back at her. "Oh, God. Cass, you're soaking wet!"

"I'm fine, Peter." She pursed her lips together. "I'm worried about you." Peter looked back at his hands and pursed his lips together as well.

"You shouldn't be worrying about me. I'm okay." He said in a low voice, Cassie scooted closer and held his hand. She searched for his chestnut eyes, and when she found them, they didn't have that special spark.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She whispered, looking straight into his eyes.

"Maybe later." He half-smiled and stood up from his bed. Cassie watched as he walked to his drawers and searched for something. "Here, put these on. I don't want you to get sick." The brunette blushed but took the clothes in his hands. "Then, I don't know, maybe we can cuddle a bit?" He shyly asked, making her blush again.

"If you want to, yeah." She nodded and walked to the bathroom. "Let me just get changed, okay?" Peter nodded and she smiled before closing the door behind her.

Cassie exhaled deeply as she looked at her reflection on the small mirror in front of her. She looked down at the clothes in her small hands and smiled dreamily before getting rid of her wet clothes and putting Peter's shirt on. A low chuckle left her lips when she saw how large the shirt looked in her small figure. Before walking out, she gazed at her bare legs and blushed lightly as she opened the door and letting the cold chills of Peter's room give her goosebumps.

Peter was reading a book on his bed when she walked out and jumped to his bed with a notorious blush in her cheeks. The boy frowned and looked down to meet her gaze, Cassie quickly covered herself with the covers and looked away to hide the blush from his sight.

"What's wrong?" He asked, leaving the book on his improvised nightstand.

"Let's just say your pizza shirt covers my body but not enough." She said under the covers, he laughed. The brunette removed the covers from her face to look at him and allowed a sweet grin to take over her features as her eyes scanned his face.

"Okay." He shifted on the bed to lay next to her. His chestnut eyes traveled over her beautiful face as he hesitantly leaned on to place a kiss in her lips, but she was quick enough to give him a peck on the lips and snuggled her head in the warmth of his chest. "Can–Can I?" He stuttered, shyly placing his arm around her.

"Yes, Pete." The brunette chuckled, he did it too and wrapped his arms around her. She shyly tangled her legs with his, and the room was soon filled with laughter as she pressed her cold feet against his skin, making him flinch. "Hey, uh." She whispered, tracing random shapes on his chest. Peter hummed in response. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know." He replied in a low voice, following her gaze to the window. "Why are you here, exactly?"

"You and I both know why I'm here." She said, searching for his eyes. "I know what day is today, every year, you get your guard down and lock yourself in your room. Today–"

"Today is Uncle Ben's death anniversary, yes. I know." Peter whispered, playing with Cassie's cold fingers and trying to make them warm. "It still hurts, you know? It still hurts because Aunt May mentions him everyday, and every time she does, the guilt comes back and–"

"But you didn't kill him, Peter." Cassie exhaled frustratedly.

"How do you know?" He snapped, but by the look in her face he instantly regretted it. "I'm practically the reason he died, Cass. I–"

"I know the story. And because I know it, I'm completely sure you are not the reason he died. He just... I guess he was in the wrong place at a very wrong moment." She looked up to meet his gaze, but exhaled deeply when she noticed the small tears on his cheek. "Hey, look at me." She cupped the side of his face with a hand. "Hey, I'm here, okay? I came here to help you get your mind off that and try to make you feel better."

Peter smiled, a sincere smile crept onto his features as he admired the girl snuggled close to him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned on to press a kiss in her lips, Cassie smiled and cleaned the tears left on his cheeks. Before doing anything else, she pressed her lips against his once more and rested her head on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat caused a smile to crept onto her features.

That moment, they both realised how much they loved each other.