The Weight of Us ｡ Peter Parker [3]

19 - Rising Waters

Hotel DeMatteis was not a slice of Italian heaven we had been promised after a long flight. If anything, it was a rundown hole in the wall, which was filled to the brim with strange looking tourists and a stray cat which did a horrible job at hunting down the water rats that littered the place.

"This place is sinking!" Flash Thompson snickered, eyes pinned to his phone which was filming everything for his Flashmob livestream.

Mr. Harrington clapped his hands together, trying to inspire confidence among the group. We were all tired, drained and wanted warm showers. "More like charming," he chuckled, folding up his map and jumping over a puddle of water that had risen from the Venice canals below. "Stay put everyone while I sort out the rooming situation." 

Dropping into a rickety fold-up chair in the common area, I wrung out my shirt, which was soaked from my efforts to help drag Doreen Green into the gondola after she had fallen into the waters on our trip to the hotel. Currently, she perched beside me, emptying out her backpack to see which items were worth drying out. 

"Can anything be saved?" I questioned quietly, eyes running the length of the place; battered from weather, falling apart from the inside out. I almost wished Harry Osborn had tagged along and offered to spring for a classy hotel with actual warm water. 

Doreen pouted, holding up her iPad, which was dripping with water. "Not really." She fished out her bag of hard candy, offering me one with a hesitant smile. "Thankfully, candy always survives."

"I'll take one, thanks." Michelle Jones folded her long legs upon the table, which swayed a little bit with her weight, but she barely noticed, simply dropped the candy onto her tongue and waved at the cat sitting on the broken windowsill. "This place is great."

Behind us, Mr. Dell, our second chaperone, started assigning rooms and reminded all of us we needed to meet at the de Vinci museum at three o'clock. My eyes found Peter near the stairs, staring down at his phone with a conflicted frown. 

Michelle jerked her chin towards him. "Still can't remember lover boy?"

"It's complicated..." I stared down at my hands. 

Michelle nodded sadly. "Ah, young love."

Doreen tucked some hair behind her ear, eyes glued to somebody across the room. "At least the person you like knows you exist." My gaze, along with Michelle's swung to where Doreen was looking and found Brad Davis chatting loudly with Ned Leeds, who had exchanged his hat for a different one. 

"You like Brad Davis?" Michelle's nose scrunched with the notion. 

Doreen's cheeks flushed with colour, making her freckles stand out. "Brad? No."

I cocked my head to the left, trying to hide my smile. "You like Ned?" 

"He's—" Doreen thought about it, a dreamy look shining in her eyes. "Nice."

Michelle shifted a laugh. "He's also very approachable."  

"You know, he'd probably faint if you spoke to him," I offered slowly, wondering how I could play matchmaker with Doreen Green and Ned Leeds. Harry's words hummed in my head. They'll be playing Parent Trap, or some version of it, to set you guys back up. "Just talk to him, Doreen." 

Doreen shook her head firmly, scoffing at the very idea. "I can't do that. Absolutely not."

Michelle leaned forward, curls falling to cover her face. "He'd fall in love with you, with a single bat of your eyelashes. Boys like that are easy prey. You should just go for it."

"You know," I smiled, gesturing towards Michelle. "We could set you guys up."

Doreen watched us closely. "You'd do that?"