Walking the Wire | PETER PARKER [1]

| 35 |

The three friends pass a store with colorful lights in the window. An evergreen tree with spherical ornaments is in the middle of the window display, a bright star on the top.

Ned glances at the store window and hums. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas," he sings quietly.

"Oh!" Eloise says, remembering Lucy's Friendsmas invitation. "My friend Lucy is throwing a party-thing called Friendsmas on Christmas Eve. She said I could invite you guys if you wanted to go."

Peter tugs on the straps of the bag on his back. He looks at Ned, then at Eloise. "Yeah, sure. I can go."

Ned doesn't answer as quickly. He thinks for a moment before speaking. "What time on Christmas Eve? I'm going over to my grandma's house for supper."

"It's at noon," Eloise informs, then fills the boys in on where Lucy's house is and how to get there. She wasn't so sure if they'd want to come or not at first, but they genuinely seem like they want to go, even though they don't know her friends that well. They also offer to bring some Christmas-themed snacks.

Their willingness to hang out with Eloise and her other friends warms her heart for some reason. They're very different than Lucy, Cliff, Elena, Luis, and Alev; they're geniuses, book-smart, geeky, and grew up in stable homes, whereas the others have more unstable homes, less money, and grew up in bad neighborhoods. Somehow, despite their differences, Eloise knows that they'll all get along just fine.

🕸

Eloise wakes up with a start, crying out as the images of her nightmare flash before her eyes before fading into oblivion. She immediately loses all memory of her dream, but the terror isn't effaced. Chest heaving and a cold sweat sticking to her sheets, Eloise clamps her hair in her hands and rocks back and forth with her knees pressed against her chest.

I'm okay, she tells herself. I'm okay, everyone's okay.

Unable to stop the fear running through her veins and unable to think straight, Eloise peels herself from her bed and lets her feet lead her to the bedroom window. She doesn't even process what she's doing until she's outside Peter's window on the fire escape in the freezing cold, knocking on the glass. Her teeth chatter as she hugs herself for warmth.

Eloise shifts her weight from foot to foot as the wind nips at her nose and ears, blowing her hair in her face as she waits patiently for Peter to wake up.

A few second pass. Eloise knocks again.

She sees movement and peers at his bed. Eloise doesn't see anything until Peter walks into view. His hair is disheveled, he's wearing sweatpants and a wrinkled gray t-shirt, and he rubs his eyes with a yawn. When he blinks and looks up at Eloise, his eyes widen in alarm. He quickly opens the window.

"Jeez, what are you doing outside? It's freezing!" He exclaims, holding out a hand to assist Eloise as she climbs in. Once both of her bare feet are set on the soft carpet, he closes the window. Peter looks down at Eloise and his warm hand squeezes her cold one. "Shit, you're frozen." He grabs her other hand and, with both of his, he envelopes them. His bigger hands completely cover hers as he squeezes them, the numbness slowly fading.

Eloise's pulse quickens when he lets go of her hands and wraps the blanket from his bed around her body, hugging Eloise. The fire that burns inside from his actions is enough to thaw her frozen body.