Chapter Text
"Thank you again... For helping me meet them again." The man said taking his hat and bowed to you.
Helping you?
You we're literally threatening me for weeks!
You even place a bad luck curse on me! I almost burn the whole house down, but sure yeah, I'll take that thanks.
"Of course Mr Grayson, I hope this will help you move on to the afterlife faster. It's a pleasure helping people in need," you smiled up at him as his body starts to dissapear from your view. Before you could walk away, he grabbed your hand making you turn to him in surprise.
Back up old man, don't drag me to the afterlife with you, I'm barely living here!
"I know I've caused you so much trouble in the past so here, I blessed you with love, born from the ashes of my past and destined to shield your future, ensuring your path crosses with the one who will share your destiny. I have breathed a spark of the afterlife into your days. It will be a light to your darkest hours. Run to it. You have the favour of the unseen world—"
"Umm... Sorry but uh, you kinda need to go. Please let go of my hand. I do not want to get suck into the afterlife again—"
This earned a smack onto your head as the old man curse at you.
"You youngsters—learn some respect!" He scolded you making you step back from him and waved your hand.
"Goodbye grandpa!" You taunted him as his figure disappear from your view.
You let out a sigh of relief and slumped down against the tree, holding your face in your hands.
Thank God people weren't around at this time, who knows what they would think seeing me talking to myself. They're going to think I'm crazy!
Not that I'm stable myself but hey, it's for the image.
There's no way in hell I'm helping another spirit.
This is it.
I'll generally lose myself if I help another one again. This last spirit hadn't just drained my energy, he scrapped the inside of my skull hallow! My bones felt like lead and my vision kept blurring at the edges. At this point, I might as well turn into a spirit. Fuck, I should keep it down low, pretend that I couldn't see them, pretend that I couldn't help them, pretend that I'm... Normal.
I'm going to look through them as if they're not even there. Like how I used to.
Wait. A cold sweat broke out across your neck. Didn’t Grayson mention he was divorced? Twice? And he just 'blessed' me with a love life born from the ashes of his past? Oh, god. He didn't bless me. He just slapped me with a generational curse. The man owned a mansion, five yachts, and five separate corporate empires, and he decided to gift me the single, solitary thing he was historically absolute garbage at.
Okay I'm overthinking this, I should get back to my dorm before my roommate reports I'm going AWOL.
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
Why do animals hate me?
"WOFF WOFF!" The tiny creature behind you barked as it chased you through the ends of the earth, not giving a second to breathe.
"Bad dog! Why are you even chasing me out of this many people?! I'm just trying to get to my dorm!" You shouted as if the dog would understand you.
You quickly turned your head around only to see that it had started to catch up with you and you could see his mouth lunging towards you.
You let out a scream as adrenaline kicked in and you started to gain more speed and distance from it. You were this close to losing the devil when suddenly....
"BAM!" You heard yourself hit a nearby poll as your head spin from the impact, almost seeing stars in broad daylight.
You looked around you only to see that you were alone in this street with no saviour, no hero in sight. Your foot was sprained so running, getting up would just leave you more pain.
Ah shit. This is going to be an embarrassing death. Even more embarrassing if I manage to survive, get bought to the hospital and was questioned on what exactly happen. You could imagine the looks of the medical staff there trying to hold in their laugh.
Oh MJ, Ned, I'm sorry, but I might have to skip on that party of yours. We'll meet soon in my funeral.
You closed your eyes the second the dog came for you, ready to jump at you when suddenly after a few minutes of waiting, preparing for the unbearable pain, it didn't came. So, you open your eyes, only to see a translucent lady in front you, grabbing the dog by it's collar to prevent it from lunging towards you.
You carefully stood up, leaning against the pole and brush your knees.
"Woah, thanks for the save lady. I owe it to you, that dog would've decapitated my head if it weren't for your intervention—"
Your eyes met hers.
Her face. You'd seen her picture on the news, or maybe a memorial somewhere like four years ago?
You remembered crying.
You remembered—
She looked at you in confusion as you finally registered the translucentness of her body.
"You can see me?" She asked you, as you quickly looked away from her. Your body turn 180° away from her.
Nope, not dealing with this again. Even if she saved me, I am not letting another spirit control me. I won't let anyone of them try to use me again.
Ignore her, she'll go away soon.
Once they're done poking around, it's only a matter of time they go around and choose another target.
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
True on your word, you didn't saw her again once you painfully sprinted far enough and safely go into the building.
Your foot was throbbing but you pushed through the bitterness and got yourself into the elevator.
When you finally got back to your dorm, your roommate was nowhere to be seen. Probably out partying again.
When you turn around to get to your bed you screamed and jump away.
"You really can see me!" She shouted at you making you look at her flabbergasted. You placed your hand on your chest to calm your racing heart while you think of ways to banish this spirit before your roommate comes in and report you to the nearest psych ward.
You took a deep breath.
"Yeah, I can see you alright—"
"And you can hear me!" She told you making you feel even more dumb.
"Look, I don't want to get caught up in whatever is holding you back from crossing over alright. I'm leaving here to go to New York to meet up some friends there, I can't cancel on them again." You said to her trying to get her to understand.
For a moment, a spark of recognition flash on your eyes before quickly it was shut out from your mind.
Geez, why do I always get the weird ones?
"I get it, it's alright, I know you kids have a lot on your plates but let's bargain," she hold her hand out to you.
"You lost something important and I can help you get it back." She tried to negotiate with you. "But in return, help me find nephew." She added.
"No. Not that." She stepped closer. The temperature in the room plummeted. "You’ve had dreams lately, haven't you? Vivid, terrifying dreams of scenes that feel entirely too real. Faces you can't quite see. Voices calling your name. Memories in your mind that... aren't yours anymore."
A sudden, sharp pain flared behind your eyes, so intense that you flinched. It felt like a phantom limb, an aching void in your brain where a massive piece of your life used to be. Your breath hitched.
"Have you been stalking me? Because that’s highly concerning."
"I'm just offering a trade, Y/N," she said gently.
You swallowed the lump of panic in your throat. If she could help stop the agonizing, hollow feeling in your chest, you had to at least try.
You reached out, your fingers closing through the icy, tingling feeling of her hand. "Deal. But you hold up your end."
You took a breath, trying to ground myself. "Let's start over. I'm Y/N L/N."
"May Parker," she smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Y/N." She added
Parker. The name echoed in your head, triggering another violent wave of déjà vu. You quickly pulled out your small notebook, clicking your pen to hide your shaking hands.
"Okay, May. I fly to New York in three days so we better make it quick or else we'll have to postened until next month. Who is your nephew? Is he rich? Does he have a lot of connections? What does he look like?"
She opened her mouth to answer only to close it before anything could come out.
"I... Don't remember."
This is going to be harder than I thought.
"I'm sorry, I should've—I spent years alone, trying to find my nephew, trying to find someone to help me actually—I'm sorry for wasting your time, I'll figure something out," she panicked, circling around your dorm, smacking her head repeatedly to get her to remember.
"Hey, hey, it's alright, at least we have two clues in our hands now. Well, first thing is, your nephew is a boy obviously, and there's a 50% chance his last name is Parker," you reassured her, trying to calm her down.
"Last question, when you first became a spirit, where did you end up in? What city or country?" You questioned her hoping that she has an answer to narrow down on where her nephew might be.
"New York City, yea, I remember that," she nodded her head hoping she was useful to you.
"Okay, great! My next flight there is in 3 days, thank goodness, I thought I might have to take in 3 part time jobs to afford another ticket to God knows where," you wipe the sweat on your forehead.
You sat down on the floor looking up at her. You suddenly find the courage to ask her. "You... Have we met before? I'm getting this weird sense of deja vu whenever I look at you. Partly one of the reasons why I moved here. I used to live in Queens with—" you stopped yourself.
"Alone, sorry I tend to get my words twisted," you laughed it off trying to brush the topic away.
She smiled at you, that look of hers made your heart ache.
"Don't worry too much about that, you'll find out soon enough." She told you leaving you with more questions.
I'll know soon enough?
I think I'd die before that even happens.
"So, what happens after you meet your nephew?" You asked her inviting her to sit down across you.
"I don't know, but I hope when I meet him again, he's... Happy."
You caught a glimpse of her smiling to herself before she caught you staring at her.
"What?"
"You should smile more often, it looks good on you, you've been so serious it kind makes you look like—"
Just then you were smack by a pillow straight in the face.
« « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » »
"You're going to a party?"
May followed out the door as you struggled to put on your sock while doing so.
"Yeah, how else am I going to find your nephew? And from what you describe last night, I'd guess he's around my age. Besides, there's a lot of connection in there, I just need to find the right people and pinpoint on where he might be!" You said going out of the elevator, quickly brushing past a few people on the streets.
"Also, my friends invited me, I can't just not go there—MJ would hunt me down!" You emphasize getting into the cab while May just goes through it and sits next to you.
You opened your phone and bought it to your ear, imitating that you were calling someone.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, we'll find him eventually, I mean it's only been like what, four—five days? I'd give us around two weeks, that's usually how it works with me, the people just gravitate—"
"Okay, I get it Y/N, thanks for the comfort," she ruffled your hair making look at her in disbelief.
"Hey! It took me almost an hour to do my hair!" You complained, groaning in displeasure while the driver in front of you just sigh like it's a normal Tuesday.
I wonder what her nephew looks like?
How should I approach him?
"Hey um, so your aunt May can't cross the afterlife because she still has uhh, you know, stuff to do and it involves you—"
"What the fuck are you on man, you crazy? How do you know about my aunt? Are you stalking me?! "
Then here comes the slap or the slam of the door.
Honestly you would rather he'd react like this rather than grabbing your shirt and... Beat you up. Like what Mr Grayson's grandson did.
But hey, at least he gave you $1000 dollars as compensation and forgave you for punching his face back.
"We're here ma'am." The driver stopped the car as the music outside pulled you out of trance.
"Right, here's the money, thank you!" You opened the car door and went through the crowd of people as May followed behind you.
♫I'm a loser, babe (babe)
Do you wanna tear my heart out?
I'm a tragedy
Tryna figure this whole mess out♬
"Urgh, is this song describing me?" You thought to yourself as you tried to navigate through the crowd.
"Okay May, just stay behind me and—and she's gone. Great, so much for teamwork."
Your eyes scanned for any familiar figure and your brows perk up seeing her.
"Oh, MJ!" You raised your hand up waving her over as she look over you and walk towards you.
"Y/N! Oh my God, it's been so long! How was ______? We have a lot to catch up on, do you have anyplace to stay at? " She asked you, taking you in a hug.
"Yeah, I found somewhere reasonable to stay for a bit. And I have soo much to tell you, so first of all—"
"Wait stop, we need to get you to Ned, or else he's going to think I'm keeping you to myself," she smirked, taking your hands and leading you to presumably Ned's room.
"Are we interrupting something?" MJ asked as the two of peak through the room seeing Ned with a stranger.
"Y/N! Where have you been? Have you gotten my package yet?" Ned asked you, his eyes light up as you tried to avoid his gaze and rub your neck.
Oh shoot.
"Uh, umm... " you glanced quickly around the room trying to find a distraction until your eyes fell on a man with flowers on his hands. His eyes were on you making you sweat at the attention.
✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
For once in 4 years, Peter gave out a genuine smile, amused watching you sweat on the situation.
A lot had changed in four years. The world had grown darker, colder, and heavier. But you? You were exactly the same beautiful chaos. For a fleeting second, his hand twitched. He wanted to reach out. He wanted to touch your shoulder and whisper your name.
Then, the memory of that coffee shop hit him like ice water.
The reason why he didn't reach out to you like he had promised. It was like he was back four years ago, when he entered that coffee shop MJ worked at.
He remembered standing by the door, clutching a crumpled piece of paper with a speech he’d practiced a thousand times. He had watched you laugh with Ned. He watched the light in your eyes—a light that wasn't weighed down by the constant terror of Spider-Man's enemies.
You were safe.
You were whole.
That was the straw.
That was when he realise that he didn't want you to go through all that again. To get yourself hurt because of him, to watch you cry because of him.
Now he had a choice in front of him.
As Spider-Man, he needs to make a choice between loving you and leaving you. Like all heroes, Spider-Man has to do the hard thing, even if it means breaking Peter Parker's heart.
Even if it means letting go of the only person he trust his heart with.
And so, that day, Peter left the cafe without telling you the truth. That that, Peter left but his heart stayed with you for years, forever yours to break, to keep and to love.
✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
"Oh! Who's this?" You pointed towards the him getting everyone's attention towards Peter.
He knew exactly what you were playing but he played along, missing every bit of chaos you bring into his life.
"Uh, this is.... What's your name again?" Ned asked him, leaning slightly towards.
"It's uhh... It's Maynard, I'm your new neighbor, here," he smiled and unconsciously handed you the flowers instead of the owners of the apartment.
"A house warming gift." He added as if waiting for a praise. Gosh, he felt pathetic.
"Thanks, people here usually gives us alcohol, nice to see a change in view and," MJ said and nudged you. You stammered on your words as he tried to hold in a laugh.
"Oh, uh, I don't live here...." you smiled and handed MJ the flowers. "Nice to meet you Maynard," you gave him a tiny wave before your attention shifted towards the board.
"You a fan of Spider-Man too?" You questioned, secretly side eyeing Ned who went to talk with MJ.
"Oh, uh, yes! Love that guy," Peter tried to sound enthusiastic, but his voice cracked. He saw your eyebrows twitch. You knew he was lying. You always knew.
"Do you know anyone name Parker? "
Your question caught him off guard, threw him out of balance.
For a second he forgot how to breathe until he saw you slipping away from him trying to look for someone. "Sorry, I need to go—I think someone's calling for me. Forget what I ask, see you around Maynard," you quickly waved him off and blended in with the crowd outside.
Peter didn't think.
He followed you.
Because for some strange reason, a part of him still cling to you, a part of him still believes that you could remember him.
You can remember Peter Parker.
Whether it's heartbreak or heartwarming reunion, he didn't care anymore. All he needed was closure, all he needed was you.
♪I don't know why I didn't fight it
I probably tried and magnified it
I cannot lie, I feel defeated
Take it as a sign, you're badly needed
You're badly needed
Badly wanted♪