It takes me a few days to pack. I don't get home until the night before school starts.

Mama greets me in the entryway. She embraces me in a tight hug and strokes my hair. I would tell her that I don't need her coddling since I've been on my own for a few months now, but she would never have it. After all, I am her little querida and everything.

"It's good to have you home," she whispers in my ear. Her hands cradle my face before she finally pulls away to help me bring my suitcases upstairs.

Dantae is helping us as well since he came and picked me up. Fortunately (or unfortunately, it's hard to tell), Sergio couldn't make it. Apparently, he's working a double at the bodega.

"Where's Damien?" I ask, peering around.

"At a friend's," she answers.

At least he's out of my hair for now.

When I make it up to my bedroom, it's immaculate. All of the things that I had previously thrown about have been moved into a corner. Right, Anthony has been sleeping in here for the past few months. I had forgotten.

This space no longer feels mine. As I unpack, I create a mess with me. My clothes are strewn about, I unmake my bed, I knock over the lamp on my desk so that it is propped diagonally. The room feels more like it belongs to me now.

However, there is one thing I don't bring back. I dig through the pile, tossing away my notes investigating Spider-man. I hide the lone shoe I have, the other still with Peter. Using my Mama's fabric scissors, I cut up my vigilante mask. Any trace of that investigation, I erase. Now, it's like none of it ever happened. I was never the girl on the rooftop. I never had feelings for Peter. He never lied to me. It's done.

There is a knock on the door, and I turn around.

Anthony stands there, facing me. We stare at each other, unmoving. I don't know what I expect from him, since I can hardly figure out why he is here, but I know what he expects from me.

He believes that I am going to wait for him to talk, but he doesn't know what to say.

Like Dantae, he looks different since the last time I saw him. He's growing scruff on his chin. His jaw is slightly tighter, and he's wearing casual clothes. Like, a beanie and a flannel. Sure it's the weekend, but even he is rarely this casual.

"Hey," I manage, looking him up and down.

He steps into the room. "Can I close the door?"

When I nod, he shuts us in the room. Each hinge on the door creaks so loudly. We aren't supposed to have the door closed if he's in my room, but I don't care. I want to give him the space to speak.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you," Anthony whispers, taking a step closer to me. He tucks his hands behind his back. I can see him fiddling with them. He taps his foot up and down, and I doubt he even notices. "You know, about your brother and me."

"It's okay," I admit. "I keep secrets from you too."

He raises an eyebrow but doesn't continue.

"I just, I was upset that you called him a would-be gangbanger, just as much as I was upset that you kept it secret," I admit. "It's not really fair of me to be upset about the secrets, but I think I can hurt when you've insulted my brother."

Anthony nods. "I don't really have an excuse. I'm sorry."

He does though. I know that reading his mind is inappropriate, but I'm done with secrets. There are things that he doesn't want to admit. The most prominent being that he has fallen in love with Dantae. He couldn't bear to watch Dantae spiral down into alcoholism, so he lashed out. I guess I can't really blame him for that.

Since, you know, it only took Dantae, Anthony, and Peter keeping secrets from me for me to move out of town.

"Are you going back to Midtown tomorrow?" Anthony asks.

"Unfortunately," I tell him. "I'm not ready to face Peter."

Anthony frowns. He wipes his chin, and the frown fades away. "What exactly happened between the two of you?"

"I couldn't tell you if I wanted to," I say because I don't want to tell him. I've read minds, but that is a line I could never cross. "It's not my story."

He cocks an eyebrow, but ultimately, doesn't challenge me. "Welp, that's pretty much it. I'm glad we are on the same page."

"Brunch on Saturday?" I ask, hopeful.

He bursts out into a grin. "Yeah. Sounds good to me."

When he leaves, I collapse on my bed. Still in my clothes, I'm exhausted. I begin to doze off.

In the morning, I take the bus into school with Anthony. He tells me all about his summer, which included many hours at the bodega, dates with my brother, and two weeks of a chemistry lab at a college in town. It impresses me because basically, all I did was tutor. He wants to hear all about my cousins though, which is nice. He actually seems genuinely interested.

I remember why he is my best friend. God, I have missed him so much.

When we get inside the school, I realize my homeroom is practically the same as last year. Peter, Ned, MJ, Anthony, and I are all in English together. I sit down next to MJ, at the back of the class. She offers me the smallest of smiles, one that barely reaches her lips.

"Done your nervous breakdown?" she asks, her face straight.

I furrow my brow. "Is that, like, the rumour going around?"

She smirks, turning back to the page before her. "It's not really a rumour. Just a reality."

I feel like I sink lower into my chair.

During the class, I find myself staring at the back of Peter's head. I resist the urge to read his thoughts, because it wouldn't do me any good to know how much he is distraught by my behaviour. I'm not good at reading emotions, that's Dantae's thing, but occasionally he looks back at me, and his eyes seem both soft and cold. Is that even possible?

When the bell rings to move on to the next class, he darts out of the room.

"Did you, like, cast a spell on him?" MJ asks me.

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't get why he's mad at me. I'm supposed to be mad at him."

MJ laughs. I think I've only heard her do it a handful of times before, and the sound is so jarring that I hope she doesn't do it again.

"Seriously," I say as we duck into the hallway. I scan around for Peter, and then remember that I'm supposed to be furious with him. It's hard though, seeing his soft face and remembering the accusations and the secrets and the lies.

Then again, he just looks like a puppy that I've kicked.

The rest of the day blurs by, and then the rest of the week. Peter doesn't say a word to me. He doesn't text me, doesn't invite me to robotics club or the decathlon. It's like he's a ghost that I'm haunting.

"I could maybe help you if you told me what was going on," Anthony suggests.

The only response I have is shrugging my shoulders. "I'll tell you when you're old enough."

Everywhere I go, I can't pin him down. Not the library, not anywhere. I have half a mind to go to his locker or to his house, or somewhere that I know he has to go eventually.

The rest of the time, I'm hearing rumours spread about him like wildfire. Apparently, Mr. Peter Parker is Mr. Mysterious. He is all anyone talks about (or maybe he's all that I listen for). Now, he's got this new apprenticeship with Stark enterprises. That explains the new suit Spider-man has been wearing. Also, apparently, he has the highest GPA in our grade. Also, apparently, he is the best member of the decathlon. Also, apparently, he quit robotics for this mysterious internship.

With every passing rumour, I just wish he had been the one to tell me, and not a stranger.

~~~~~

I'm actually really proud of this chapter. It makes me happy, even if it isn't very happy itself. Oh well. I hope you all enjoy, and I'll write for this again soon!