Salve people! So…the seventh chapter is up. Yay! For the first time ever I don't really have anything to say in the author's note. So that's a good thing, I guess!
So Peter and Ava have started growing closer to each other, more than ever. But, then what will happen of a certain blonde? And there's new feminine shadow in the picture. But certainly not an ally. Is everything what it really seems?
SAUCOY!
Chapter 7: White Lies
The sound of laughter filled the silent night sky as Peter and Ava made their way towards the resort. Their previously locked hands had been loosened up as they'd been absorbed in a conversation. But they really didn't realize holding hands or letting go, which was a partly good thing.
The dark was starting to fall deeper as the night progressed slowly towards midnight. Most of the students were sleeping in their rooms, but there were still lights on in some of them. Some were probably reading and having a movie marathon, while others had 'different activities' going on. Yet, nothing stirred the serene stillness of the night. Everything was calm as hushes of the small waves crashed against the beach.
Peter and Ava had reached the back entrance of the resort as they had decided to sneak inside from the rear so as to avoid unnecessary misconceptions. Yep, High School was much horrifying for Peter than your average troublemakers. So whilst entering the hallway, Peter was telling her about the time Nightmare had taken over and he'd had a glimpse of biggest dreads of each of his team mates. Then, they were talking about what the other was scared of the most. Naturally, the conversation first turned towards Sam.
"…Sam's like exorcist level terrified of rabbits", Peter declared stifling through a laugh.
"What? For real? You've got to be kidding me!" she could barely get those words out because she was having a hard time suppressing her giggle.
He was happy to see her smiling. And more so because he was the cause of it. Although partial credit went to Sam for being…well himself.
"Seriously. And Luke has this absurd fear that he'd not be able to save us all and fail our trust." He added in a quieter tone.
She shaked her head, "He'd never fail us and I could never question his capabilities. He's like the glue that keeps the team together, else Sam and I could've killed each other a long time ago."
He smiled lopsidedly, "True that."
They had climbed up a couple of stories of stairs and were heading down a passageway towards Ava's bedroom, which happened to be Liz's as well. Talk about a coincidence…
"So, Ava are you really petrified of not graduating? Of all things?" He raised an eyebrow at here.
"Well, you do plan to eat after high school right? I mean, it's kind of weird but definitely more rational with whole of Sam's rabbit phobia!" She defended herself.
"Uhhh…the exact term would be leporiphobia-the fear of rabbits. No wonder I get better grades than you." He smirked as they made a turn to open up to a hallway of adjacent rooms. Ava's room was at the very end of it.
She rolled her eyes, "It was one time, Peter! I just lost it there." She rolled them again but smiled. Some moments passed in silence as she again spoke up, when they were almost at the door of her room.
"So you've been ramming about everyone else's fears. If you don't mind, Can I know what your biggest dread is?" She asked, with warmth lacing her voice.
A sharp pain pierced through his heart as he recollected what had happened initially to his parents. Secondly, Uncle Ben. Then, Gwen…he'd always blamed himself for their deaths. Once he'd been so distant that he was scared of letting anyone into his life, fearing their deaths too. He wasn't sure if he wanted to share it with Ava yet. But he just let it go, considering how much she'd trusted him.
A couple of seconds passed but Peter didn't answer. He was just readying himself to disclose it to her, but she thought he wasn't okay with it. So, she didn't push. She just lightly knocked on the door. There was no response from inside.
But then Peter cleared his throat, causing her to look at him. He lifted his ocean blue eyes to hers that were filled with a tinge of sadness. He offered a little smile before saying,
"What I fear more than death is watching people I love die. And I've seen it happen three times. And I'd do anything in my power to stop it from happening again." He confessed breathlessly.
Ava just kept staring into his orbs, she never really felt the way she was feeling right now. She actually wanted to comfort him, just like he'd done a while ago. But she didn't know how and didn't understand why. So she just nodded and smiled as a sign to convey him that she understood. And in that moment, both of them found themselves closer than they'd ever been to each other.
Her smile seemed to light up everything for once. Her smile was just so beautiful, just like everything else about her was. He found his lips' corners turn too. Something here just felt so right that he just didn't want the moment to end. Maybe he was being a jerk, but he just wanted her to stay there.
Was he falling in…?
"Ava, I…" He searched for words to say but was interrupted when the knob of the door turned open and a certain blonde emerged into the light. Her emerald eyes were a little puffy but Ava thought they were probably because she'd been waken up from a deep sleep. Her hair were a lightly tangled as she straightened her red tank top. Despite the tired look on her face she did look a little scolded.
"Ava…do you even know what time it is?" She said folding her arms.
"I'm really sorry, Liz. I just had to figure somethings out. It's all my fault, sorry." She said, with an apologizing look on her face.
Liz sighed, then smiled, "Never mind. Just please be sure to inform your roommates if you're gonna go out solo…wait you weren't alone after all." Her gaze shifted towards Peter.
Was she supposed to be embarrassed at this? She was alone out on the beach, in the middle of the night, with Peter. Did that hint something? She hoped not. She took a deep breath and was about to answer when Peter spoke for her.
"Oh, this one's on me. I asked if she wanted to go star-gazing with me and as you know, no girl can resist the Parker-charm." Peter said proudly, his eyes shining brightly.
Both Liz and Ava rolled their eyes and let out a small chuckle, while Liz's being accompanied by a slight blush. Ava lightly nudged him in the arm.
"As if, Peter. Anyway it's getting really late. I'm gonna have to be up early. Goodnight, Peter, Liz." She smiled.
He returned her smile and replied, "Night, Ava."
"Goodnight!" Liz answered as Ava waved before disappearing behind the door, letting a small yawn afterwards.
When she was gone, Liz turned towards Peter with a twinkling in her eyes, "So?" She asked.
Peter arched an eyebrow, "So…what?" He questioned back.
She narrowed her eyes before clearing herself, "You said that you were going to talk to Ava, right? So how did it go? She seems really relaxed now."
"Oh yeah, that!" He suddenly exclaimed. "Seriously though, you're a genius. I mean, I couldn't have ever thought of talking to her after that incident."
She smiled broadly, "Oh well, what can I say? I give the world's finest advices."
"Oh, I'm sure you do. It was good to see her smile again. All thanks to you and a little to the old parker charm." He winked.
Her heart skipped a beat at that. Did he have to be so…sexy? She shaked her head and said, "Oh my god, is that even a real thing?"
"Oh it really is. And I'd be damned if it hadn't affected her...or you." He smirked.
Her eyes went wide and heart was about to explode. She tried to hide her nervousness behind her laughter.
Was he just hitting on me…?
"Whatever…I don't believe it." She said, anxiously.
He smiled and said, "Relax, I'm just messing with you." That's when a slight feminine moan was heard next door.
Peter smirked and said, "Whoa, looks like someone's having a good time in there."
She rolled her eyes and rubbed her nose whilst saying, "Midtown High Teenagers. Beach-side resort. Full-moon night. What else can you expect?" And they both chuckled and he noticed something. Something that kinda hit him hard.
Her blonde, long hair. Those big, emerald eyes. That flawless light-olive complexion. Her tall, perfect figure. The way the corners of her eyes crinkled when she laughed. And most significantly, the way she rubbed her nose.
Too much alike. Just too much…
Then like a cold blast, his face scrunched to a slight frown and he scratched the back of his neck and out of discomfort he said, "Uhhh…yeah so I think I've hit my curfew. Catch ya around. Night." He gave her a half smile and turned his back to walk towards his room.
She returned his smile but didn't say anything. Did she hurt him in some way? And he was out with Ava, in the middle of the night…But no that didn't mean anything. And wasn't he just kinda flirting back then? What did all of this conclude? As she closed the door behind herself, she was more confused than ever.
Peter mind was all kinds of hurricanes right now. Why did he just get a glimpse of Gwen staring at Liz? Why was he even thinking this way, he barely knew her? And what about Ava? He was almost on the verge of saying something stupid to her. Why did he feel the way he did about her?
The two girls were definitely the webhead's biggest mysteries till date.
Ava was prepping her bed for a well-deserved sleep. Her another roommate, Taylor Browning, one of Liz's besties was lying on a bed next to hers and closer to the balcony. It was huge hotel room with enough space for 3 beds with a washroom and changing room too. Ava smiled as she looked over to Taylor who was mumbling random sentences whilst snuggling with her blanket. That's when she felt a tap on her shoulders and when she turned around, Liz came into her circle of vision.
"Hey…" Liz said awkwardly. She wanted to talk desperately about their night. She knew it was wrong, but the desire was just too intimidating.
Ava smiled, "Hey Liz. What's up?" She tried hard to blink back the yawn that was forming at the end of her throat.
"I know that you're really tired right now but I…I wanted to talk about something. So if you're okay with it…" She asked, not wanting to meet her eyes.
Ava blinked confusingly, "Of course Liz, It's alright. What is it?"
"Better if we sit it down." She tried to sound casual as she led her to the couple of lounge chairs in the gallery and as they both sat down, her expression changed to a serious one.
"Ava, are you okay? How are you feeling right now?" She asked, her voice laced with warmth.
Ava was a little taken aback. They didn't knew each other that well. And by that well I mean she knew nothing about Liz, other than that she was the sweetheart of the school and had a HUGE crush on Peter.
She had a tingly suspicion that Peter had told her something, but it was quickly dismissed.
"Me? I'm great. Thanks. If you ignore all of the time that Peter spent telling me the names of some stupid constellations. Always the smart guy." She smiled and it signified something.
Liz chuckled, "I'm sure it must've been amusing. But as per my knowledge, you and Peter had a fight kind of thing right? I don't mean to intervene but as we're becoming friends, can I ask you why? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
Ava's mind drifted back to a couple of weeks back when the stupid 'Francias Mania' had happened. She wasn't sure if she was ready to disclose the real reason to Liz. I mean, how could she tell her that she was mad because Peter had annoyed her at the very day of her Dad's death anniversary? That would be very depressing for a cheery girl like Liz. She didn't want yet another person to be sad because of her. So instead she decided to play it safe and mix up some lies in the truth.
"It's nothing really. I'm kind of short tempered and that day was a special one to me. Peter just had to ruin it. But then again when I went home, I thought over it but then again gave it up. So today Peter decided to make up for it and honestly you might as well know that it's hard to remain mad at Peter Parker for long. So yeah…that's all really." She gave away a half
Liz definitely knew that. She wouldn't remain mad at him for even a single moment at him. He was just too sweet…and kind…and funny…and hot…and…
Stop it Liz! Focus.
Right. So that snapped her back to reality. She nodded, "Yeah. That's good. I wanted you to know that if you need someone to talk to, just remember that you got a new friend."
Ava smiled broadly, "I couldn't very well forget that, can I?" She was actually kinda starting to like this girl.
And this was sensed by Liz. So she processed on how to actually ask what she wanted to without making it too awkward or mean. She just wanted to know about Ava's relationship with Peter. Was that wrong? She knew there wasn't anything between them, but still her conscience just wanted to make sure of it.
So she began subtly, "So…you and Peter know each other for a long time now?"
Ava understood what Liz was trying to do here, but then she just decided to play along. So she nodded and replied, "Well, Yeah and Nah. It really depends on your definition of 'long'. I first met him 2 years ago. So you could say that. How 'bout you?"
She grinned widely, "Me? Well I've practically lived all of my life over here. I went to Midtown Elementary School, then Middle School and now here I am a junior in Midtown High. Same goes for Peter too. We didn't talk really much till Middle school. He was always the shy, nerdy kid. Actually I've never really moved out of New York City. I spent some early years in the Queens, then moved to Manhattan. You can't really take the girl out of the city." She chuckled, and Ava joined.
Ava was actually a bit surprised at how much Liz was sharing about herself in their first real conversation. So she thought it would be inappropriate to not do the same. So she decided to tell about herself just enough without revealing much.
"Well, that's true. But growing up in a small town in Puerto Rico is poles apart than here in New York. There it was always sunny and warm and almost everybody in the town used to know each other. It was almost like we all were this giant family. Good ol' days. But when I was 9, I moved to Brooklyn with my Uncle due to…well an incident. It wasn't easy but wasn't impossible either. Slowly 7 years flew away, and before I knew it I had become a New Yorker."
Liz felt herself beaming with admiration for the dark-haired girl before her, "Well, that's beautiful Ava. I understand it must've been difficult for you to leave everything back home and come to a new place. Especially a place as crazy as NYC. I really appreciate it. And given the fact that you're from Puerto Rico -Como estas, Hermana? I hope I said it right." She smiled sheepishly.
Ava rolled her eyes, "Yeah, almost. But it's been a long time since I've spoken in Spanish. I barely even knew English when I first came here. Now look at me, this city has a way of changing people. But that doesn't mean that I can't sing and understand Despacito in a single attempt. And hey, I've still got an accent to make up for it, right?"
Liz smirked, "I definitely can't argue that." They both laughed and then grew silent. Liz tried to look her best and hide her discomfort but Ava quickly guessed that there was something she was itching to talk about. So she asked,
"What is it, Liz? Do you want to talk about something with me?"
Liz straightened. This was it. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to disclose everything to Ava. She began in a low voice,
"I know this might seem kinda inappropriate to you but I just have to get this out. Please try to understand because this is disturbing me since a couple of weeks. So…I've been noticing a few weeks that you and Peter…well have been closer than before. I mean, I can clearly see the way he looks at you. With so much trust and sincerity and…care. There have been rumors around the school about you guys being together, not that I give a shit about them in the least. But still…if you both do feel that way I just want to back off in time, before… hurting myself."
Sadness evidently reflected her avocado orbs. As for Ava, she was in a complete state of daze as wheels began turning in her mind.
No, of course not. Peter!? Of all people? Definitely not.
Or maybe…
Okay, so I'd like to apologize for the huge wait. I suck, alright? Hehe. So yeah I know this is not exactly a chapter to make up for it but hold on, I've got a surprise coming up for you. But I'm not sure when I'll bring it out though :P. So when Ava is confronted with this awkward question, what will she answer? Are Liz's assumptions correct? And is Peter still not over Gwen? But wait is there something else lurking in the shadows? Find out soon!
As always, all of my Awesomesauce reviewers, y'all are the best. Also please vote at the poll that I posted and lemme know what y'all think:
Man285: Aww, you're just too sweet. Thanks for your continued support. And also I don't know Georgian, it's just a courtesy of Google Translate, hehe. I'd certainly like to read it though. And yeah I just had to add a moment between or else I'd go crazy, lol!
Death Fury: Thanks buddy! You're the best!
The Story's Shadow: Yeah well, it can be. I mean I admit it wasn't like exorcist level dark, just darker than the stuff I usually write. Yeah, Kraven is a complete douche. I could've ripped him with a hundred of the swear words (that is if I knew that much, hehe). Anyway, thanks for your token of appreciation
Mistico15: Thank you. Really that means a lot. I believe I've already covered up your doubts but I'm truly happy that you decided to give my story a shot.
Aferus: Oh, Afe. I know that you'd not be around to read any more of the chapters, but still if you do decide to come back, I don't want to feel left out. So yeah thanks for reading my work. And also D.A.M.N. is that a review! I'm really flattered by whatever you said. Thanks again. I'm hoping to see you again.
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