The room was dark around me, a cold breeze chilling my bones as I lay on the unforgivingly solid metal table. My muscles groaned and ached as I made a feeble attempt to move, eager to assess my surroundings properly. My eyes darted around the space, unable to discern any helpful details of my location, the shadows successfully concealing the edges of the room in an ominous shade. I wasn't sure how long I'd been there, but something about the situation felt familiar. That distinctly clean surgical smell of hospital rooms filled my senses, realisation coming to me in flashes as I began to decipher where I was being held. The room was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and my brain was working in overdrive to place how I knew it. It felt like a hospital... or a cell? My fears were confirmed with a shrill creak as the large metal doors across from me swung open, revealing the face that had haunted my dreams for months now. The doctor, a stranger I recognised as though I'd known him all my life. My heart began to race as he approached me, a sly smirk stretching maliciously across his face, prompting my tired muscles into life as I fought against my restraints.
"No, no, no, no…" my hoarse voice repeated the word as he came to a stop beside me, resting a cold hand against my arm as I blinked back tears, a lump forming in my throat.
"No this can't be real, you're not real, this isn't real," I attempted to calm myself with my unconvincing words, wincing as his low chuckle echoed off the shadowed walls.
"I can assure you my dear, this is very real," His tone was dark and mischievous, sending a chill through to my already shivering bones. "You'll never escape me child. Did you think you would win? Honestly, darling, why are you fighting against the cause that created you?" I shook my head at his words, squeezing my eyes shut tight as I attempted to block out his menacing laugh, which grew louder the more I struggled. I continued to plead in vain, my voice straining as I yelled for him to stop, screaming for help I knew would never come. I continued to scream as I felt a sharp pain in my arm, opening my eyes to see the syringe filled with a sinister dark liquid puncturing my skin. The world around me began to spin as his laughter grew louder, blocking out all other noise around me as I sunk into a darkness, my screams growing silent as my throat protested…
"Els! Els, Elizabeth…" A familiar voice called my name, a tight grip on my arms pinning me down as I struggled in their grasp. I had found my voice, my screams once again audible as I thrashed against my captor. My eyes flicked open, closing quickly as they struggled to accustom to the light. I blinked a few times, slowly adjusting to the bright room as I began to assess my surroundings. The large window to my left and the soft sheets that were thrown haphazardly across the floor told me that I was no longer in that dark and terrifying place.
"Els, it was a dream, you're okay it was just a dream…" The voice repeated this soothing mantra to me as my heart rate began to slow, my breath becoming even as I realised I was safe. A weak sob escaped my lips as I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, allowing my brother to envelop me into a warm embrace. I was safe, I had escaped and I was safe.
"It was the same as last time Tony, he had me, I was back there…" I continued to cry as I wrapped my arms tightly around my torso, scared that I might fall apart if it let go. I allowed myself to be soothed by the reassuring words whispered into my hair, the tension slowly leaving my body as I relaxed into his arms. I weakly obliged as he instructed me to lay back down, the stars and moon that filled the dark sky informing me it was still night time. Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I rested my head on the soft pillow as I felt my duvet being draped over my shivering body. The bed dipped as he climbed in beside me, pulling me into his chest and wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders.
"Don't worry kid, you're not going anywhere and neither am I," He mumbled as I curled up beside him, "It was just a dream, no one's gonna hurt you." I sighed as I rested my head on his chest, the steady beat of his heart lulling my exhausted mind back into a deep and thankfully dreamless sleep.
One week later...
The sunlight filtered softly through the tall windows, its early morning rays stretching throughout the room, dancing across the bed as the curtains swayed in the light breeze that blew through the space. I blinked a few times, attempting to adjust to the light upon waking, my eyes forced closed as a ray of light passed over them. I breathed a sigh as I relaxed back into my pillow and appreciated the quiet peacefulness I felt in that moment. My eyes had just flickered to a close again as my serenity was shattered by a shrill ringing that filled the air, my hands flying up to cover ears in a feeble attempt to protect them from the blaring alarm. Throwing my sheets aside with a groan, I dragged myself from the comfort of my bed and rammed my feet into my slippers before hurrying to the door, keen to discover the source of the noise. I reached the door to the kitchen quickly, the details of the situation becoming apparent immediately upon throwing the door open only to be greeted by a looming cloud of black smoke. I struggled to suppress a laugh at the scene before me, which consisted of my hapless brother, a dish cloth being flapped around frantically and a pan of cremated strips that I could only assume had once been bacon. I offered a sympathetic smile, which was probably more of a grimace, as I met his eye, a tired frown and the dark circles under his eyes betraying his exhaustion.
"What the hell are you doing Tony?" I grabbed a spare dish cloth to assist in flapping away the majority of the smoke. "Friday there is no fire turn the goddamn alarm off!"
"Immediately Miss Stark." The AI replied simply, the intrusive blaring of the alarm suddenly cutting out, leaving a quiet ringing in our ears.
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing Els? I'm making breakfast." He gestured dramatically to the oven, his dish cloth quickly thrown onto the counter as I moved to clear up the mess he'd made. I prodded at the the blackened strips which barely resembled bacon before grabbing the pan and scraping its contents into the bin.
"Uh.. of course, the breakfast looks… delicious." I didn't even need to look to know he was rolling his eyes at my back. "Have you slept…?" I queried, quietly concerned about how drained he'd looked when I'd entered the room.
"I've been busy, lots of work to do." I glanced over my shoulder to see him drop his head into his hands as he sat on one of the bar stools along the counter. I sighed, finishing clearing away the spoilt food and grabbing what I needed to start the breakfast again.
"Well… at least it looks like you managed to fit in a quick nap whilst cooking that bacon…" I muttered under my breath, unfortunately not quiet enough to avoid Tony's ears which I realised as his previously discarded cloth soared across the room and into the back of my head. My attempted frown was ruined by the smile that fought through my facade. "You know you're supposed to stop cooking food once it's black right?" I explained in my most patronising tone of voice.
"What I lack in common sense I make up for in sarcasm." I rolled my eyes, leaning my hip against the counter as the new batch of bacon began to sizzle.
"Really? I honestly hadn't noticed that." An obviously fake mask of surprise plastered my face, along with a hint of a smile as I crossed my arms across my chest and cocked my head to the side.
"Looks like you inherited that sarcasm trait too."
"Yes, but luckily for us I was also blessed with the common sense part." I laughed as he feigned hurt, clutching his hand to his chest with a gasp before releasing an honest and uninhibited laugh.
"I would make some kind of witty retort but I'd probably be dead without you so you win this time squirt." I smirked at his response, blowing a quick kiss across the room before turning my attention back to the pan. Silence fell between us leaving the quiet sizzling of the bacon as the only sound in the room.
"What about you… you been sleeping?" I tensed at the question, noticing the hesitance and concern behind his words, recalling the incident from the previous week. I considered lying for a moment, telling him I was fine and forgetting about it all. But that thought didn't last long as I remembered the details of the recurring bad dreams, wincing at the flashes of images still burned into my memory. I took my time plating up the breakfast and placing it in front of the seats on the counter, avoiding eye contact as I took the seat opposite.
"I had another dream last night…" I finally muttered, poking at the food on my plate before chancing a cautious glance at Tony, hoping to gauge his response. His face held a mixture of expressions, concern being at the forefront. This wasn't the first time I'd suffered a sleepless night, and both of us knew it. Tony had been trying and failing to hide his concerns since I started having the nightmares the very first time, around two months ago. I watched as he took a bite of his bacon, clearly attempting to formulate the correct response before opening his mouth.
"So… what happened? What did you see?" He spoke the one question I had been expecting, but wished he hadn't asked, anxious at the thought of replaying my dream again.
"Um… well it was just like, flashes… like it normally is. But it was different from the last one." I began, my food suddenly seeming extremely unappetising as I prepared to explain.
"Everything was very dark, there was a flash of silver… I think it was night time, but I'm not sure because there was only a tiny window" A lump caused my words to catch in my throat, the images of the dream flooding back into my mind, the familiar feeling of sadness and fear I'd felt during the dream returning to me. I met Tony's eyes as his attention was locked on me, eager to hear the events of my dream as he nodded in encouragement.
"I think I was trapped there, in this room on my own… but there was a man there that I couldn't see, but I knew he was there I could feel it. It was like he was a part of the darkness, like he was never really there. Then there was this sound..." I paused for a moment, a shiver running through my bones as the sound resonated in my head, a noise that felt both familiar and foreign at the same time. "I think… it was some kind of machinery. It was buzzing, and then there was a sound like metal tapping on metal. Then I woke up."
It was silent between us once again as I finished talking, a tense atmosphere weighing down the air around us. I had my theories about what it was, about what it meant, but I wasn't ready to voice that to Tony yet. Not until I knew for sure myself. The dream had sent a feeling of dread through me, yet at the same time, there was this intense need I felt pulling me deeper, I needed to know the truth.
"They're just dreams Els, you've got nothing to worry about." Tony smiled warily, obviously eager to put my worries, and also his own, at ease. But they didn't feel like dreams, and the rational part of my brain was telling me that they were, in fact, memories. "Now eat your bacon, it's delicious."
"That's because I cooked it," I smiled, taking a small bite of the meat and chewing slowly, forcing it down with a gulp of orange juice. "How's the work going…?"
"The work is great, and top secret." I rolled my eyes at his resistance to tell me what he was working on. Despite my attempts, I was yet to discover what he had been toiling away on in the workshop for the last few weeks, the passcode having been changed and proving very difficult to break.
"You better be making me my own suit and not telling me because you want it to be a surprise…" I smirked, secretly hopeful. Unfortunately I was met with a shaking head and loud laugh.
"You will get one of those suits over my dead body kid, give up on your dreams."
"Never! Someday Tony, I'll be taking one of those bad boys for a test flight." I shot him a wink, feeling much more lighthearted than our previous conversation had made me.
"I feel as though that would be more of a crash test than a test flight…"
"Honestly, you're probably right…" We shared a laugh as I scooped up both our plates and dropped them into the sink, deciding to clean them up later. I skipped back over to Tony, throwing my arms around his shoulders from behind as he sipped his coffee. I rested my chin on his head for a moment as I squeezed my arms around him.
"Love you Tony," I mumbled, "thanks for being the best big brother." He seemed caught off guard by my admission, placing his coffee down and swivelling on the chair before pulling me onto his lap in a warm and comforting hug.
"Love you too Els," he replied quietly, "and don't worry about your dreams, you're safe here." I nodded softly, reassured by his words. "Now can we stop being soppy and emotional, I have work to do and I'm sure you should be doing something with your life."
I laughed as I hopped off his lap, reaching the door in a few quick strides before turning back.
"You better get back to work on my suit," I added with a wink before slipping out of the door, allowing it to swing closed slowly behind me.
"When hell freezes over!" Tony's voice called out from the kitchen, eliciting a laugh as I continued down the hallway.
It had been a few hours since breakfast, and I'd found myself becoming more and more restless as the minutes ticked by. Madelyn was busy today, and honestly I could use the time away from her incessant need to ask about my life. It had become one part of my life in particular, and it had begun to drive me crazy. There were only so many times I could listen to her tell me I was a soppy idiot before I snapped and brutally murdered her, so avoiding her was probably in both our best interests right now.
Speaking of which, I'd managed to successfully avoid Peter since getting back from Paris, coming up with excuse after excuse to cancel or rearrange plans. At first he had been fine with it, if slightly disappointed. He wasted no time telling me how heartbroken he was that he would have to suffer even more days without seeing me, with the week in Paris being bad enough.
I felt awful, to say the least, and I wanted nothing more than to call him right now and tell him to come round. But I couldn't. Because that meant I'd have to work out what to say to him, and I could barely get through a simple text conversation without having a mental breakdown right now. Not that he was aware of that.
I tapped the toe of my slipper against the carpet, fingers hovering above my laptop keyboard where they had previously been writing up some findings and calculations for the satellite project, which had also been waylaid due to my pathetic emotional instability. My mind had wandered from my work a while ago, and if I didn't reign it in asap I worried I might just ring Peter and declare my feelings just to get it over with.
But I couldn't do that. Because I couldn't lose my best friend, and that's what would happen if I admitted to feelings that he could never reciprocate. Things would get awkward, we would both start avoiding each other and eventually we would go our separate ways. I couldn't let that happen. Pushing my chair away from the desk I stood up, closing my laptop and heading for the bedroom door. If nothing else could distract me from my own mind, then Tony would have to do.
I paused at the lounge door, leaning my ear towards the gap where it sat slightly ajar, just about able to hear my brother's lone voice. I peered through the gap quickly, noting that he was on the phone before I returned to my eavesdropping. I didn't know who he was talking to, but that was probably the least important thing on my mind as I heard his response to the caller.
"But she's been having the dreams way more frequently... yeah... almost every night now." Well he was definitely talking about me, and I couldn't miss the anxious edge to his voice as he spoke.
"Listen... no, no I don't care, I just need to know if she's safe. Hey... is she safe?" I stopped listening after that, a ringing in my ears drowning out the sound of his voice as he pressed the caller for an answer. It was a good question... was I safe? With my complete lack of knowledge on about 99% of things in my life, I would say no. I didn't feel safe anyway, not when I heard the worry in my brother's voice or the fact he was keeping secrets. As well as that, he sounded scared, and desperate. It felt like he didn't know what to do, like this was a situation he had never prepared himself for and that terrified me. Because he was my big brother, he protected me and he was always prepared for the worst so that I would be ok. But I didn't have that reassurance this time.
I sucked in a breath, reasoning that this wasn't why I had come to find him. I'd come to him looking for restbite from my worries, not more to add to the pile, which is the thought that pulled me back together. I swung the door open, forcing my lips into a small smile as he turned towards me.
"Hey Tony."
"Hey Kiddo, what's up?" I shrugged, slipping under his arm and wrapping mine around his waist.
"I'm bored, and I'm getting restless. Can we go do something? I know you're probably super busy but I ju-" He cut me off, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me closer to his chest.
"Nope, my schedule's free for you El, what do you wanna do?" I knew it was probably just because he was currently worried about me, but I appreciated his complete lack of hesitance when deciding whether or not we could hang out. I pondered the question for a minute or two, considering what there actually was to do.
"How about the zoo?" He moved his hands to my shoulders, increasing the space between us and holding me at arms length.
"You wanna go to the zoo, we'll go to the zoo."
"Hey Tony," He hummed in response and I smiled a him over my shoulder, "Can I have a pet giraffe?"
"Yeah sure, we'll just house it in the workshop, I'll cut a hole in the ceiling to accommodate its neck." Despite his words dripping with sarcasm, I laughed, thanking him for his permission to purchase a wild animal. As always, I was treated to one of his famous eye rolls and a middle finger, followed by having my hair ruffled in a way that made me prone to hitting him.
"Come on you weirdo lets go get some food, I'm hungry." I agreed without hesitation as he breezed past me, taking a running jump onto his back and forcing him to carry me towards the Zoo's cafe.
We didn't waste time picking out our lunch, both of our stomach's rumbling now that it was almost 3pm and neither of us had eaten since breakfast early this morning. I'd just taken a bite of my sandwich when my phone buzzed on the table beside my plate. I sighed, ignoring the buzz and continuing to eat instead. Unfortunately, it looked as though I wouldnt be able to ignore the messages much longer, as it buzzed again. And again, and again.
"Okay, what's going on?" I glanced up from my food innocently, giving my brother a questioning look, despite knowing exactly what he was referring to.
"Don't give me that look. I know exactly who that is texting you and I also know that you've been ignoring his messages all day." I opened my mouth to reply but didn't get a chance as he continued. "Actually... Come to think of it I haven't seen that kid in days, weeks even. What did he do?"
I narrowed my eyes, placing my sandwich back on the plate and folding my arms over my chest defensively.
"I don't have to hang out with him every single day Tony. I don't even hang out with Maddie every single day." He grabbed a potato chip and launched it at me, frowning at my response.
"Don't have that attitude with me Elizabeth, and I am aware that you don't have to hang out with him every day. However, you've never hung out with Maddie daily, whereas Peter used to be lurking around our house every time I turned a corner. That is until Paris." Dammit Tony, why couldn't you just leave well enough alone for once. "Before Paris you were together constantly, but since you've got back I haven't seen him once."
"I thought you didn't want us hanging out anyway. Surely this is exactly what you wanted?" I couldn't help how defensive I was feeling right now, and I think it was justified. Only a month or so ago Tony was telling Peter to stay away from me, that we couldn't be friends. Now here he was, arguing the polar opposite.
"Yeah well maybe I changed my mind." I could see this conversation moving towards becoming a confrontation, Tony's voice slightly raised in defence of my comments.
"Why?" I wasn't necessarily angry, just frustrated, but my jaw was clenched as I waited for his response.
"Because I can see how happy he makes you." I released a breath, instantly regretting my annoyance as he shook his head at me.
"He's a good kid Els, and I don't know what he's done to deserve your ghosting but I'm sure it's fixable. Don't pretend you don't love spending time with him because I've seen the two of you together and I've never seen you happier. Whatever grudge you're holding, let it go, because it's not worth losing what you two have."
He was right and I knew it. I'd always known it but I'd just pushed it down further and further until it couldn't bother me anymore. It was ridiculous honestly, in realising that I had feelings for him I'd pushed him away, the complete opposite of what I really wanted. I'd always known that I'd have to deal with it sooner or later, and now it looked as though it was going to be sooner.
I dropped my head into my hands, combing my fingers through my hair before glancing back up at my brother, who had continued to watch me with curiosity as I digested his words. Sighing, I grabbed my phone and scraped my chair backwards before standing.
"I'll be right back... I gotta make a call." Tony nodded in response, waving me away and returning to his lunch as I slipped out of the door, rounding the building to a quiet spot away from the crowds.
I paused momentarily as my finger hovered over the call button, attempting to formulate what I was going to say before I called. Unfortunately, my mind had come up blank, and so I was going in blind. I pressed call, raising the phone to my ear and listening to the repetitive ringing, which felt as though it was getting louder with each ring. Despite the fact I was only doing something that I'd done a million times before, my heart was racing, and my stomach felt sick. Though if I had needed time to address those nauseous feelings, tough luck, because the ringing had stopped.
"Hey, Els?" I released a breath I had been holding as soon as I heard his voice, because it was the same. Nothing had changed despite the fact I'd convinced myself it had. He was still Peter and I was still Elizabeth.
"Hey Peter." I paused in order to think of what to say next, but quickly continued before he could say anything more. "Will you come round to mine tonight?"
"Yeah, of course... but is everything ok?" I closed my eyes, pressing my palm against my temple and biting my lip. Everything should be ok, there was no reason for it not to be, but unfortunately I was a complete mess and so everything was very much the opposite of ok. My words didn't convey that message.
"Yeah, everything's fine... I just owe you a movie night, right?" I heard his hum of sceptical agreement through the phone. "Can't a girl miss her best friend?"
"Not when she's been avoiding him..." His voice sounded quieter than before, as though he wasn't sure whether he should say what he just did. I hadn't expected him to point it out, but he had and I deserved it. He was right.
"I have so many apologies to make to you Pete. Please just come over tonight, I'll order us food and we can talk."
"I'll be there at 6?"
"Six is perfect."
"See you later El-Bell." I closed my eyes with a sigh at the affectionate nickname. Affection that I really didn't deserve. Although his voice didn't hold the same care it once had as he said it, which I probably (definitely) did deserve.
"Cya Pete." He hung up the phone before I could, only moments after I said goodbye. I suppose I deserved that too, but at least this had been a wake-up call. I wasn't going to lose him, even if it meant pulling myself together and admitting the truth. I had to tell him the truth and I would.
I tapped my foot anxiously, my slipper bouncing further towards my toes with every tap, forcing me to control my anxious tick and reign it in. I'd tried to sit, or stand, or lay down, or anything that didn't involve pacing or tapping, but I hadn't been able to. I'd glanced at my phone at least 12 times in the last few minutes, constantly checking the time, or looking for messages, anything to try to distract my brain.
Tony had decided to remove himself from the equation entirely tonight, still not knowing what had happened between Pete and I and clearly deciding he'd rather stay out of it. The moment Pepper had stepped through the door at 5pm he'd linked his arm through hers and dragged her back out, announcing that they were going out for dinner tonight. Whilst I was thankful I wouldn't have prying eyes watching what would probably end up in a catastrophe of an evening, it also meant I didn't have anyone to cause a distraction should I need to escape via parachute off the balcony.
I'd just managed to park myself on one of the kitchen bar stools, opening up instagram and aimlessly scrolling when the door opened and I was no longer alone. Peter nodded at me silently, his hands buried in his jean pockets as we regarded each other - somewhat awkwardly - from across the room. I returned the nod, my lip captured between my teeth as I chewed at the skin anxiously. Eventually, after far too long of awkward silence, Peter sighed.
"Elizabeth what is going on? Like seriously, have I done something to upset you? You haven't spoken to me in over a week and I have no clue why. Just talk to me." I released a sad sigh, hopping down off the bar stool and taking a few steps towards him, my fingers occupied anxiously playing with the sleeve of my jumper. I stopped in front of him, not meeting his eye as I focused on my hands. I'd never been great at confrontation with people I cared about. Strangers posed no worries for me, but the people I loved... I'd never found it easy. My fidgeting was halted as his hands reached out for my own, slipping his fingers between mine and holding them tight.
"If something's up you can tell me... It's me El-bell, you can tell me anything." He was right, I could, and I should. I needed to tell him the truth and it was so simple. All I needed to say was Peter, I like you, as more than a friend. It was that easy, it would only take a few seconds and it would be done. I sucked in a breath, finally meeting his eye.
"I've been having these nightmares... for a few months now." He furrowed his brow, clearly not expecting that to be what I said. I hadn't exactly expected it either.
"Nightmares? About what?"
"I don't really know, they're weird, like they're in pieces and I can't quite put it together." His hands remained entwined with mine as he moved towards the sofas, pulling me along with him and dropping onto the chair. I fell into the seat beside him, one hand still gripping his tight as I pulled my legs up underneath me.
"But they feel so real, you know? Like they're not dreams they're memories... or like I'm actually there and they get a little bit clearer every time." He remained silent, focusing on listening to me intently rather that interjecting at this point, which only served to prolong my rant.
"Then this morning, I overheard Tony on the phone to someone, I don't know who... but he was telling them about my dreams and he was asking them if I was safe. Like what does that even mean? Why wouldn't I be safe? And why wouldn't he tell me if he thought I was in danger rather than adding yet another thing to the list of lies he's always telling."
"Woah okay just breathe." His hands reached out, brushing my hair behind my ears and coming to rest either side of my face. "Just, stop panicking and breathe properly, you haven't had a panic attack in so long lets keep it that way."
I nodded as best as I could with his hands clamped against my cheeks, my own hands coming to rest on his forearms as I followed along with his breathing. Somehow he'd always known how to deal with my panic attacks in the right way, since the very first time I'd sprung one on him. Even then he'd remained calm, helping me remember how to breathe and bringing me back faster than anyone ever had.
"That's better, keep breathing like that." He removed his hands from my face, scooting closer and draping an arm over my shoulder, his free hand stroking soothing patterns in my hair.
"I'm really scared Peter. I'm never scared but this time I am, because I could be in danger and I'm completely in the dark."
His eyes held just as much worry as mine did in that moment, and I knew it was because he was lying to me too, only serving to increase my problems. While this revelation hadn't been the truth I'd planned on blurting out tonight, it was true, every word. I hadn't realised it until I said it out loud now but I was scared. I was terrified and I felt completely hopeless to fix it.
"I just don't understand why you've been avoiding me because of this." That was a good point, how did I go about justifying that, considering it was definitely not the reason I had been avoiding him.
"I'm so sorry I've been avoiding you I didn't mean to. I've just been really anxious and stressed and I'm trying to work out what all of this means and it's just had me so distracted. I didn't mean for you to suffer because of that." I was surprised to hear his quiet laugh, arms pulling me into a tight hug.
"And you thought you could do all of that on your own? I'm not the one who's suffering here, I just wish you'd told me this sooner rather than letting it drag you down like this."
Well, at least it looked as though I was a great liar, even if I was a bad person. I hadn't been lying to him per se, it was just that I hadn't told him the actual truth. I knew that I should, and sitting here with him now, wrapped in his arms as he whispered comforting words, I felt like it was insane not to tell him the truth. But my mouth just couldn't formulate the words. It was more prevelant now than ever that I didn't deserve him. He deserved the truth and he deserved someone brave enough to always give him that. That wasn't me.
"Look at me," He increased the space between us slightly, though not much, our faces close as he spoke. "We're gonna work this out, you and me together, ok? Because it's always going to be you and me, together. You got that?"
I nodded in silent awe at his sincerity. God I did not deserve this boy and I never would, but here I was, blessed to be beside him as he promised his loyalty to me. I didn't need proof to know he was telling the truth when he said we were going to work it out together. His words were all I needed.
"Good," He smiled, placing a kiss on my forehead and squeezing me in one last quick hug, "Now I'm starving, how about we order takeout and stuff our faces while freaking ourselves out watching a horror movie."
I grinned, loving the way he always knew exactly what I needed.
"Peter Parker I think you might be my soulmate." He fanned his face with his hand, joking about how I was making him blush before dramatically asking if I would take his hand in marriage, if he was truly my soulmate.
I suddenly felt stupid for ever worrying about us. Even if I did tell him the truth and he didn't feel the same way, he would love me no less either way. That didn't mean I was going to honestly declare my feelings for him right now. But maybe I would soon. Perhaps.