A/N: This is completely optional and just a suggestion, but you can listen to Heart by Sleeping At Last while you read this. It's what I was listening too as I was writing this chapter :)
Peter and Nylah's relationship drastically changed after the moment he saved her life. The awkward tension that was once there had now ceased to exist; as if nothing had ever happened. Peter had even gone to the effort of helping the Asgardian pack her bags once he was finished, despite the scolds he had received from Mr. Harrington for staying back at the hotel when they needed him. Every few minutes as they packed Nylah's suitcase, their knuckles would gently brush against one another's. Nylah swore to herself that she felt something the moment her soft skin touched his; and little did she know, Peter had felt the same thing. A blush rose to his cheeks and he tried to get rid of it, meanwhile, Nylah was yet to notice his blush. She was so caught up in trying to figure out what that funny feeling was in her heart. She had never felt anything like it before.
When it was time to climb on to the bus, the pair sat together in comfortable silence. Whilst the rest of the members in the team quietly spoke to their teammates about the incident that unfolded just yesterday, Ned had been on his phone texting both Peter. As Nylah's blue eyes turned to Peter, she found herself staring in awe.
The evening sun was streaming through the bus window and onto Peter's smooth skin. His skin glowed and so did his brown eyes; it was a beautiful sight the became stunning the moment a smile curved its way onto his red lips. His fingers gently tapped against his phone, typing words into sentences for Ned to read the moment his thumb would press 'enter'. Although the technology in Peter's hands still confused the Asgardian more than ever, her eyes remained on the boy beside her.
Peter's smile faded the moment he noticed that Nylah's eyes were on him. His brown eyes were still filled with happiness, and his happiness was just as contagious as his laugh.
"Is everything okay?" He asked her, his concern for her wellbeing taking over his happiness for only a short moment.
"Yes." Nylah replied simply, a small smile forming on her lips.
"Are you sure? You look tired." Peter's brows furrowed together in concern and Nylah was not sure if she liked someone being concerned for her. Wasn't she the one that was supposed to be concerned for everyone? Besides, she couldn't tell him that she was scared to fall asleep every night. He would view her differently.
"I am okay, Peter." Nylah insisted, her eyes moving to watch the sun slowly moving downwards as the blue sky slowly turned orange.
With the sky now dark and decorated with bright stars, the bus was just a block away from the school. Nylah was fast asleep beside Peter, her head gently resting against his shoulder as his fingers continued to tap against his phone. As soon as Nylah's sleepy head fell against his shoulder, his phone was out of his pocket and sending messages to Ned. He had to distract himself from the beautiful blonde that slept beside him, otherwise, his face would become so red people would assume his skin had been sunburnt.
Peter: We're almost at the school. Should I wake her?
Ned: Well, uh, YEAH!
Also, can you ask her if that have a Burger King in Asgard? Or do they just eat fruits? I really want to know.
As Peter's eyes scanned Ned's text with a small smile forming, he began to feel Nylah shaking lightly against him. At first, he assumed the bus has caused for her to shake. Perhaps the bus ran over something small, but not big enough to make everyone else shake. However, he knew that was stupid. Especially when he accidentally brushed his hand against her arm and felt her clammy and hot skin.
He shoved his phone into the pocket of his hoodie as fast as he could before his hand hesitantly reached up to Nylah's cheek to see if it had felt as hot and clammy as her arm did. He found that now only was her skin hot and clammy, but he could feel something warm fall against the tip of his thumb. His concern only grew when her hands began to claw at his hoodie, mumbling words he couldn't understand under her breath as her hands began to clutch onto the material of the hoodie.
Nightmare. That had to be it.
He looked over at Ned who sat in the seat across from them, Peter's eyes begging for help. Ned stared back at him hopelessly – he was clueless, he didn't know what to do besides to wake her up. Wouldn't that be the obvious thing to do?
Peter moved his hand away from her cheek and he pressed his hand against Nylah's shoulder.
"Nylah, wake up, it's just a bad dream..." Peter pressed his lips as close to her ear as he could get and gently shook her awake. "Shh, you're okay, I've got you."
Her eyes snapped open and she tore herself away from Peter in a quick motion. His eyebrows furrowed together again and he felt nothing but concern for the Asgardian beside him. He had twisted his body into an uncomfortable position to face her, and she had done the same. Her hands rested against the side of the chair as her eyes stared into Peter's.
Even though it was dark in the bus and Peter could barely see anything, he could feel her. He could feel her fear and her sadness and all he wanted to do was heal her the same way she healed people. It seemed to him that despite that Nylah could heal everyone around her, she was the one that really needed to be healed.
When the bus came to a stop and the students began to pile off the bus, Nylah got up as quickly as she could. Peter was quick to get up and follow her – all he wanted to do was make sure that she was okay. She had not even given him a second look as she desperately (and gently) pushed her way through the crowd to get off the bus. Peter watched her blonde head grab her suitcase and run into the arms of another blonde – the woman Mr. Stark loves, Pepper Potts.
"Is she okay?" Ned asked as he stood up with his backpack around his shoulders.
Peter slowly shook his head with his eyes still strained on her, watching as she placed her suitcase into the trunk of a fancy car before proceeding to jump into the front seat. "I don't think so."
"Peter, is everything okay?" The voice of his Aunt May snapped him back into reality and out of his thoughts. Ever since Nylah practically ran away from him, Peter couldn't get her out of his head. He could still feel her shaking body and her hot, clammy skin. He could still see the way her big blue eyes were not filled with the happiness she always feels, and Peter began to wonder if she had every been happy at all.
"Yeah, yeah, of course." Peter stuttered as his hands reached for another slice of pizza. Aunt May insisted on the two to try her new recipe, but as usual, it didn't work out as planned. The chicken had turned to charcoal and the only thing that survived were the peas, so pizza was plan b.
"You know, I've been worried about you all day." Aunt May began as she placed her half-eaten slice of pizza in the box. She shifted her body on the couch to properly face her nephew, her eyebrows furrowed together in concern. "And I've known you your whole life. I know when something's on your mind, and now I'm worried about you again."
Peter managed to keep being Spider-Man a secret from her for two years now. He managed to hide the fact that he fought with Iron Man against Captain America, and he has kept more secrets about his secret identity for these two years. However, there was one thing that he couldn't keep from his aunt. Girl trouble.
Maybe Nylah's nightmare wasn't considered as 'girl trouble', and maybe Peter was just hurt that Nylah didn't confide in him when he would have if he were in her position. Peter felt deeply for the Asgardian, and despite that he has kept many secrets from many people in his life, he didn't like it when the girl he likes was keeping something from him. Perhaps it was a sixth sense – but he knew something was wrong with Nylah even if she seemed desperate to keep it from him. He has had his fair share of nightmares during his nightmares, but the way her body felt and the way she was clawing at Peter's chest made it seem like it wasn't just a nightmare. Something else had to be going on.
Nylah was hurting.
He just didn't know how he could fix her.
"May," Peter spoke in a soft tone as he quickly shoved the rest of his pizza slice in his mouth. "Can I ask you an important question?"
"Of course." May nodded her head as her eyebrows raised, her body relaxing slightly into the couch.
"What do you do when the person who fixes everybody is the one that actually needs fixing?" Peter hesitantly looked up at May before his eyes flickered down at his fingers. He picked at his already short fingernails nervously. "I just... She heal- she helps everyone. And right now, I know she's going through a hard time and I want to help her but I don't know how I can do that, you know?"
For a minute, May was taken back. Peter couldn't read her thoughts and he had no idea what she could be thinking; so, he stuck to staring down at his fingers. He assumed that maybe she was shocked that Peter was talking about a girl, or maybe she was working out how to answer his difficult question. Peter was an independent boy for his age, and it was very rare for him to seek serious advice from May.
"Oh!" Peter frowned at her excited look whilst May fixtured her posture with a wide smile upon her lips. "Are we talking about that the girl with the cute accent?"
Flustered, Peter struggled to answer. "Yeah..."
May chewed on her bottom lip to hold her excitement in and breathed in deep to relax herself, not wanting to embarrass Peter. "Well... I think you should give her some space. Just for tonight, let her think some things over. And tomorrow, when you go back to school, take her to some place quiet and away from everyone else and let her know that you're here for her. Don't try to push for her to tell you what's wrong, because Peter, she will tell you when she's ready. Oh! By the way, I totally ship it."
Peter stared at his Aunt May with confusion. "Aren't you supposed to be old and not understand what the term 'ship' means?"
"Peter!" She scolded with a chuckle, shaking her head lightly. "I'm not old."
"Besides..." Peter sighed to himself. "We're just friends."