FALLING {Peter Parker}

Chapter 4

Later in the party, Peter is nowhere to be found.

"Ned, where's Peter?" I ask.

"Uhh, he left." Ned answers.

"Where'd he go?" I ask, Ned's answer leaving me skeptical about Peter's whereabouts. He just shrugs and I can tell he is lying to me.

Did he leave because I kissed him?

I decide not to think about it and head out of the party, not trusting that Peter would keep himself out of trouble.

I'm walking through the neighborhood for about ten minutes when I see a white van speed past me. I turn around when I hear movement behind me and I let out a scream as a huge bird-like man grabs me, Peter already in his arms.

My mind is too preoccupied by the fact that I'm being carried higher and higher into the air to wonder why Peter/Spider-man is also in this bird's grip. I finally glance at the ground below us and I nearly pass out when I see a huge lake.

"Spider-man... I can't swim!" I scream, feeling the bird's grip on me loosen.

I scream as the Vulture releases his grip on us and we begin to free fall.

"I got you!" Peter shouts, grabbing onto me and holding me close while deploying his parachute. Unfortunately, on the way down he manages to get us tangled up in it, rendering the parachute useless as we crash into the water.

I could feel us sinking as Peter did his best to rip open the parachute and I weakly kicked my legs trying to get untangled until everything went black. 

When I wake up, I'm laying on the ground of a playground.

I groggily get to my feet, my soaked clothes clinging to my body and my eyes widen when I see Iron Man talking to Peter, who is sitting on top of a jungle gym.

"You're lucky she's okay." Tony says angrily to Peter as I sit next to him on the jungle gym.

"I had that, we were fine. You-you didn't need to come all the way out here." Peter lies.

"Oh. I'm not here." Tony's voice says, the face of his mask unfolding to show that the suit is unoccupied.

"You never are." I mutter under my breath, disappointment sinking in. Why would I think Tony would actually show up and come to our rescue?

"Look, forget the flying guy." Tony tells Peter.

"Why?!" Peter argues.

"Because I said so!" Tony argues back.

"But I'm ready for more than that." Peter says.

"NO. You're not. That is exactly why Mia is at Midtown. She's just not doing her job very well." Tony tells Peter and his eyes immediately land on Mia, wondering if his words are true.

"-and Mia, you are doing a shit job at keeping him out of trouble." I let out a small gasp, not expecting Tony to expose me like that in front of Peter.

"Mr. Stark is no longer connected." The suit says as it flies away.

Shit. How am I going to explain this to Peter?

"Peter." I say, touching his arm. He stares at his lap, refusing to look at me.

"I knew it was too good to be true. God, I'm so stupid." Peter mumbles to himself, pulling away from me.

"Peter, stop." I plead. "T-this is real. This friendship. That kiss. It's all real." I say, desperately grabbing his hands. He pulls them away from me and I can tell that what he is going to say next is going to hurt me.

"No, it wasn't real Mia. I was a job. I was just a project to you, w-wasn't I?" He asks, the hurt evident in his voice.

"Peter" I beg as tears begin to fall, "It's not that like that at all. I promise." I plead.

"I-I'm gonna go." He says quietly, before getting off the jungle gym and swinging away.

I watch him, hoping he will turn around, until he disappears into the darkness. I had no idea how to explain to him that I wasn't just Tony's little minion. If I hadn't wanted to be friends with him, I wouldn't have been. If I hadn't wanted to kiss him, I wouldn't have. I genuinely cared about him and I let the tears fall, knowing I messed up the one good thing I had going in my life.

I make my way back to an empty home, the way it normally is with Tony's constant travelling and cry myself to sleep. 

Little did I know, Peter stumbled across a piece of alien technology on his way home.