The Weight of Us ｡ Peter Parker [3]

18 - Europe!

Summer break came in a flurry of a storm; arguments about the itinerary with my parents, mumbled worry from Matthew Murdock, who had pressed a butterfly knife into my palm with a sneaky grin, and quick goodbyes with the friends that would not be flying across international waters for a science trip with me. Everything had happened so quickly, too quickly, that it seemed crazy that I was leaving the country tomorrow morning. 

"Prague sounds interesting," Mary Jane pondered, folding a pair of jeans and tucking them into my suitcase. She had been too busy with the musical this week, so today was our goodbye for a little bit of time. "We wanted to travel Europe together." Her voice sounded wishful, like she was remembering a soft memory about three girls dreaming about a Europe vacation before college started. "Do you remember?"

I shuffled through the memories sitting in the deepest parts of my brain. Many memories were about my childhood; filled with smiling faces of Mary Jane and Gwen and odd conversations about dreams and boys and girls and pizza toppings. All very innocent. "Kind of," I replied, passing her a graphic shirt to find a place for. "We wanted to eat crepes in Paris. Gwen wanted to fall in love under the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower." 

Mary Jane's cheeks lifted with a pained smile, but she covered it with a scoop of her red hair behind her ear and started to organise my clothing by colour. Reds, Blues, Whites. "Yeah, she would have loved that." She moved the conversation like she had pressed next on a playlist. "Maybe you'll get to fall in love again under the lights."

"Maybe," I passed her my bag of toiletries. "I wish you were coming with me." 

A dreamy look blinked in her eyes. "Don't do that," she smiled, jabbing a finger in my direction. "If Harry even hears an inkling of that idea, he'll book a private jet and meet you in Venice with a fancy boat and an entire hotel booked out for everyone. Any excuse to spend some money, you know him."

"Honestly, that sounds like a great idea." 

Mary Jane giggled, but grew serious as she found Gwen Stacy's ring in a pouch for my limited jewellery. She wiggled the ring onto her finger, admiring it. "You need do this alone," Mary Jane noted sadly. "I know you're annoyingly independent, you always have been, but I get that you feel alone right now. That's just because you can't remember everything yet. But you don't need your past holding you back." 

"You make it sound like you're a burden," I frowned, watching her. 

Mary Jane tucked the ring away. "It's not just me," She took a seat at the foot of my bed, eyes dropped to her lap. "It's all of us. It's Gwen, it's Harry, it's Colton. We're your past, and we both know you've always held onto that too tightly. Maybe it's time to let go."

I plopped down beside her, my hand finding her own. "I thought I was the blunt one," Mary Jane coughed out a little laugh, tears shining in her eyes. "But you're right. I don't even remember half of my life, not all the bad stuff, but closure sounds nice."

"It definitely sounds nice," Mary Jane nodded. "Which is why I called somebody."

My eyebrows knitted together. "What are you planning?"

Above our heads, my ceiling light started to rattle like an earthquake was rocking through New York City. Panic grew in the pit of my stomach as a swirling mess of colours painted my roof, and then suddenly, with a loud bop, a portal cracked open and somebody fell through. A scattered scream was lodged in the back of my throat and I scattered to the corner of my room, but Mary Jane just sat there, calm and collected. 

Colton Parsons stood tall, pushing a hood away from his head with an easy smile. His gaze rested on Mary Jane first. "Thanks for the call, Watson." She shrugged, her eyes batting slowly at him like it was something the two of them did often. Colton swung his gaze back to me. "Hey, you."