Cool Kids [p. parker] || SLOW UPDATES

FORTY-THREE

They stayed like that for a little bit, up until the doctors informed them all that they could go see Ryan anytime they wanted, but only a couple of people at a time. Jasmine Tyson and Valley went first, the little girl hesitant to leave Nick but did anyway when realizing she was going to go see her dad. Nick leaned forward and rested an elbow on his knee, his hand holding up his head and he looked around the waiting room some more. Seconds later, he watched as the Parkers, all three of them, walk passed one of the windows and into the waiting room, May Parker holding two things of meatloaf – both loaves were clearly store bought, though. Peter and Nick made eye contact instantly, and Nick stood up.

"Hey, Dad, can I have some money? I want a snack from the vending machine," Nick said as he walked up to his dad, avoiding eye contact with his mom who sat right beside the man but giving May a small smile. It was weird to look at his parents side by side knowing they were probably getting a divorce.

Dan looked at him and paused before nodding, having to think about what Nick had asked before responding. He quickly pulled out his wallet and gave him a few dollar bills. "Want me to text you when Jas and Val get back?" Dan asked.

Nick shrugged. "Sure." He took the money as Dan handed it to him, glancing over to his mom who was glancing between him and Peter. Sharon stopped looking back and forth between the two, reaching out for his hand. He took a quick step back and pulled his arm close to himself. A hurt look flashed across Sharon's face and if it weren't for the situation they were in or the fact that May was right there, Nick would have said something about it, but didn't. Instead, he took a few more steps back and walked out of the waiting room, motioning for Peter to follow him.

Peter sighed and followed, both boys ignoring Shawn's intense look. "Nick," Peter called out, easily keeping up with Nick who was speed walking to the nearest vending machine. "Nick, hey, slow down, where are you going?"

"To the vending machine."

"That's the other way."

Nick stopped in his tracks and huffed, looking to Peter for a quick second before turning around to walk in the other direction.

"Wai- wait, hold on," Peter quickly said and grabbed onto Nick's wrist for the second time that day, pulling him back. "Let's talk. Please."

Nick stared for a moment. He didn't know if he wanted to talk to Peter, if he was being honest. Nick just wanted to do nothing, to get out of the same room as his mom and see for himself that his uncle was okay. "About what?" He eventually asked.

Peter shrugged. "Anything you want. I know what I want to talk to you about, but we can save that for later."

Slowly, the biracial boy nodded, thinking. He wondered what Peter wanted to talk to him about, and he knew that he wanted to know what had happened at the crime scene more than his want to not do anything. "Okay... Can we talk outside, though? I don't like hospitals."

"Yeah, sure, of course," Peter said, hand finally dropping Nick's wrist.

Nick nearly reached out to grab Peter's hand but stopped, instead he put his hands in his pockets and started walking again with Peter. They made a short stop at the vending machine. Nick got a chocolate bar while Peter just got a bag of chip, and then they were heading outside the hospital. The two boys found a bench to sit on, and for a few moments it was completely silent between them both, neither making an effort to be the first one to speak.

"What happened?" Nick asked after a few minutes, breaking the silence.

Peter tossed a chip in his mouth. "Short version or long version?" He asked.