Peter Parker's Arc

Chapter 4 of 7

Peter stayed still on the rooftop. Callie waited, the broken pendant tight in her fist, the old sweatshirt loose on her shoulders. She had demanded the truth, and now she watched him behind the mask. He knew he could give her words. Words hadn't been enough at the coffee shop. She needed something her body could hold. "I can tell you facts all night," Peter said. "You won't feel them. You'll just hear a stranger talk." Callie's jaw tightened. "Then make me feel it." "You don't want to hear about us," he said. "You want to remember us." She stepped closer. The rusted table stood between them until she moved past it. "Yes." One word, flat, like it cost her. "I'm tired of the shape of a person with no face. I want the person." Peter's hand went to the edge of his mask. Tony's warning burned in his head. Restoring her memory could hurt her. But she wasn't asking him to break a spell. She was asking him to be real. He rolled the mask up past his mouth. Cold air hit his chin. He stopped there, face half bare, and let her see him breathe. "This is where I kissed you the first time," he said. "Right here. You were wearing that." He nodded at the sweatshirt. Callie looked down at the worn cloth on her arms. Her fingers opened. The broken pendant sat in her palm, petals torn, stem snapped. "Show me," she said. Peter closed the space between them. He waited one second, giving her time to pull back. She didn't. He kissed her. Callie went stiff. Then her free hand grabbed the front of his suit and held on. She made a small sound against his mouth. When she broke away her eyes were wet and wide. "I know this," she whispered. "I've stood here. It was raining. You laughed at something and I hit your shoulder." Her breath shook. "There was rain on this roof. There was—" She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth. "Oh. Oh, no." "Callie." "I remember rain." Tears ran down. "I remember your shoulder. I don't remember your name." She backed into the table. Her hand knocked it. "Why can I feel it and not hold it? What's wrong with me?" "Nothing," Peter said. "Someone took it. To keep you safe." "Took it." Her voice went hard and small. "Who?" Peter didn't answer fast enough. Callie's face changed. The soft, opened look shut. "You know who did this." She pointed at him with the hand holding the pendant. "You've known the whole time." She backed toward the ledge. "I felt it. I felt all of it, and it's real, and you let me think I was broken." "Wait," Peter said. She dropped over the edge into the dark. This time she wasn't running from a stranger. She was running toward an answer, and it led straight to her father.