She knew she loved him when 'home' went from being a place to being a person ~ E. Leventhal
"I can't believe this is happening," I sigh and stare out the window. The window seat on a plane is always mine, especially since the person I'm travelling with is always desperate to accommodate my every need.
He mimics my sigh before pulling out his headphones and swiping through the selections of movies they have to offer. A goofy grin spreads on his face as he does so, "well you best believe it, because it is happening."
"Peter Parker, you are impossible."
36 hours earlier
A bright light enters the room from the single, small window here. It is so bright, so strong, that each and every single particle of dust can be seen through the stream that the sun brings us. The scent of something delicious and fresh tingles my nose and excites my empty stomach. Cam is still asleep, mom laying on the chair beside him, hands entwined together. Despite this being a hospital room and the heart monitor's noises irritating me for the past day, the room almost has a serene feel to it.
A couple more hours and we can get out of this place.
"I can't believe you stayed the night," my voice is hush, partly because there are still two sleeping beauties who are still asleep and partly because my voice is always croaky when I wake up and I refuse to expose Peter to that.
Peter wanders towards me, a tray filled with coffee and fresh muffins held in his hands. This is what I envision heaven to look like. Hospital food always grosses me out, but since he brought it, it'll taste much better than normal.
"I didn't want to go home. May is on a business trip for a week and she left me with a babysitter," he whispers but so as not to sound self-conceited, quickly adds, "besides, I wanted to stay with you."
My eyes glace over at my family who are still soundly asleep, making gentle snores. Even if we talk quietly, the reoccurring worry of being the reason of their waking concerns me. I turn back to Peter and nod back towards the door, insisting we go and eat outside. He nods, understanding without the need for me to tell him. I open the door, the handle cool to the touch, and wait for him outside. My heart fills with warmth as he takes two muffins, a cup of coffee and presumably a cup of hot chocolate and places it on the table beside the bed.
An angel. Not even an angel can compare to him.
After everything being solved with my mom and Cam being discharged from the hospital today, the doctor recommending some therapy but deeming him well, all that's been on my mind is this thing with dad's will. What else could he have possibly left behind for me? Money, perhaps. God knows that we need it. And he left stuff behind for Cam too. Should we or should we not go? The pros outweigh the cons, but there's still a force driving me back from it.
"What's on your mind?" Peter asks, interrupting my train of thought.
His hair sticks out at all angles, kudos to the plastic hospital chairs, yet he still looks like a million bucks. Ever since the fight, I've felt closer to him than ever, as if there is an impenetrable bond between the two of us... and it's clear that he feels the same.
I set the coffee down on the table and lick my lips, feeling the cold returning to my fingertips almost immediately. My mouth forms a straight line before I softly tell him, "a lot. I mean, the past week has been crazy."
The smile on his face turns into a frown, not a disappointed one, but more of a curious one. "It's not just that though. There's something else. What is it?"
He knows me so well. I don't know how, but he knows me better than anyone has ever known me- and that includes Cassie who I was best friends with for years. This is only more evidence to our strong bond.
I shake my head and wrap my hands around the cup again, yearning for the warmth, "my dad's lawyer is coming in two days to Miami to announce his will. A... a friend called me to invite me. But I--"
"--you can't leave?" he finishes my sentence with a tilt of the head. I look away from him and nod sternly, swishing the drink around and around in circles. Before I can even process it, his hand swiftly reaches over the minuscule table and tilts my head up, forcing my eyes to look into his... not that I'm complaining. "You should go. You need to go. This is important. Mary is shaken up and needs time to recover so it's not as if she's going to be attacking anytime soon. Your mom and Cam can go with you, if that's what you're worried about," he reassures me.
Peter Parker is once again right. No matter how stubborn I am, no sound escapes my lips. He is so, so right. Something flashes across his eyes, a realization. A glint sparkles in his eyes and his mouth forms a grin that show off his pearly white teeth. Despite how cute he looks, something unsettling sits at the bottom of my stomach. Why is this--
"I am going with you!" he declares.
My eyes pop out of their sockets and I almost spit out the coffee in my mouth. Is he... is he being serious? He wants to go with me to Miami which is in Florida .
"Peter. This isn't something you just announce. You really need to think about this and--"
He cuts me off enthusiastically, "--Raven, it's perfect timing! This is like fate. MJ and I are on a break and that makes me stressed out here. Besides, May isn't even here. I've always wanted to go to California!"
No matter how hard I try, I can't find the right words to tell him. "P-Peter," I stammer. "You can't just decide this. Do you actually realize what you're actually saying?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
I sigh and unintentionally lean over the table and grab his hands in mine. By the time I realize what I've done, I loosen my grip on them, prepared to pull them straight back, but he doesn't budge. It's as if he's used to it, it's routine. I don't mind. That makes me feel comfort.
His eyes are eager, thousands of assumptions as to what I'll say swarming through his mind. "You just took a break with your girlfriend. You're not in the right state of mind. Besides do you really think your sitter will let you leave? May will let you leave?" I insist. It's not as if I don't want him to come, but for once, my morals have kicked in. This is not the time for my selfishness.
"It won't fall on you, it will fall on me."
"I know that."
"Then you have nothing to worry about."
"It isn't me that I'm worried about."
"You need to worry less."
"And you shouldn't be so spontaneous!"
"Spontaneity is good. Live your life."
"Are you going to give up? Ever?"
He tilts his head, his cocky smirk forms butterflies in my stomach. "Miss Garcia, you know me and therefore, you should know my answer."
Present
And now here we are. No matter how much I protested, Peter Parker was on the first flight to Florida with me. Mom and Cam also insisted on coming. When Cam heard that something was left behind for him, all of his injuries seem to heal instantly. Mom had nothing better to do back in Queens and there should be a "responsible adult coming on this trip" with us.
"Impossible is my middle name," he replies, finally deciding to watch 'E.T.'
The lab, my lab, stands proud and tall in front of me. 'Stark' is written in large, bold letters at the top, showing that despite having minimal to no contact with his parents or even Tony, dad was still proud to have the family name. It proves that the Starks do not base their entire lives around money and can build from the ground up.
"Is this..." mom is speechless, in complete and utter awe, "this is what he was working so hard for?"
I nod my head slowly, unable to prevent the smile that reaches ear to ear on my face. It's not that I haven't been here before. In fact, this is where I became 'The Butterfly'. But now that dad's gone, all of his hard work is finally hitting me.
He did this.
He built this from the ground up with nothing.
Now feels like the perfect time to legally change my last name to Stark and follow in his footsteps.
"Dad did this?" Cam asks, his reaction the exact same as mom's.
"Raven, this is awesome!" Peter marvels. "Your dad was awesome!"
"Yeah. He was," I whisper. Cam takes mom by the hand and drags her inside, eager to explore the inside.
But not me.
I wait outside and take deep, shaky breaths, letting the view sink in.
The arm that snakes its way around my shoulder seems to make it seem even sweeter than it is.
My three guests stare through a glass window to inspect a twos scorpions, all three facial expressions differing from one another. Mom, for one, is absolutely disgusted and flinches with every movement from the arachnids. Cam is excited, coming up with different words to describe it faster than a dictionary could. Saving the best for last, Peter is in a trance, examining them thoroughly. His face is stern, almost as if in a trance by scorpions.
The male and female begin to lock claws, performing a waltz of sort.
Years ago, when I came here to visit, this exact same thing had happened with two other scorpions. Pauly and Paula dad had named them. Seeing two bugs dance together was a weird sight, especially for a teenage girl who was obsessed with One Direction and didn't care for a strange ritual. Being the typical, cheesy father, dad began to play one of his favorite songs of all time, 'Dancing Queen' and forcing me to dance with him. I didn't make an effort at all. It was embarrassing that all of the girls my age have permission to go out alone and I'm being forced to partake in a cringe dance with my dad.
Now when I look back, I should've indulged in the dance more. It was cheesy and it was cliche and we definitely weren't the best dancers, but he was my dad and life isn't long, as it has been proven.
Right now, I want to play the same song and dance the same dance. If only the person I so badly want to do it with wasn't dead. In second place, however... no. That's wrong. He's in a relationship and he's having complications. There's no need to complicate things further.
"Raven!" someone squeals from behind me, making my heart jump out of my chest.
I don't mind though because the familiar voice is so relieving and so homey.
"Rory," my voice is merely a whisper, from shock and anticipation.
This has evidently been hard on her, but that doesn't stop the healthy golden glow that she radiates. Her hair cascades down her shoulders in bold curls and her smile is as bright as the sun. It's almost as if she isn't real, a hologram of an angel.
And being in her arms seems like that too, as if I'm in a utopia. But a utopia isn't heaven. A utopia is home- Miami. Miami is my home even if I live in Queens not for the environment and for its surroundings, but for the people. I love my mother, but we haven't had the most stable relationship in comparison to the one I shared with dad and the bond Rory and I have. Cam is an exception. And now I'm here, with my entire family, excluding a special someone, and the boy I like... Peter... if something is home, then Queens would also be home. For Peter. He made life there more durable. Could I... but I would never... no.
"It's been so long," Rory mumbles into my shoulder.
"I know," I reply, but my eyes remain on Peter.
Is it possible that... I love Peter?