#midsbest

“   shouldn’t   you   be   in   school?   ”    @midsbest​.

🕷 ⸻ ❝ rough night . . . ❞ peter clings tightly to gwen from behind , using her shoulder as a rest for his forehead . all the better to hide the dark bags that have grown beneath his eyes . in all honesty ? he'd prefer getting his butt kicked by filthy muggers to nightmares & restless nights .

𝘿𝘼𝙍𝙆𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙄𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙏𝙎 .

🕷 ⸻ sharp words slice through his & halts peter's rambling . his excuses . shame glaring , he stares gwen dead in the face . she's right & he knows it . hates it . dinner plans are made & he leaves her waiting with cold appetizers to fight off a mugger ; they opt for a serene night in & smack in the middle of a movie , he promises to return after stopping the tenth drug deal that week . ❝ alright . alright , o - okay , you're right . i know you're right . ❞ he sniffs , ducks his head , blinks back tears he hasn't the right to shed . ❝ i - i can't be in two places at once 'n even though i'm trying to make the right choice i - i - i always end up hurting you , gwen . and you don't deserve that . you just don't . ❞

               no matter how many times he heard those same words,    the reality of them did not get any easier to bear.     it was always the same tune.    choices had to be made and subsequently lived with.     choices that defined not only his path in life,    but also the very fabric of who he was.     inaction was as much of a choice as action and the same old story about choosing to take action because it was the right thing to do.    people really ought to sing a new refrain. 

“    we all make choices because we’re prepared to live with the consequences,    right?    “     his voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke.    it was hard to look up and chance gazing into gwen’s eyes.    by the conviction in her voice,     there was only one thing he could find in there.     the truth that she had already made her choice and there was nothing peter could say to sway her.    though,     what kind of person would he be if he didn’t still try?     

“    how can you be sure you know all the possible consequences?    would you forgive yourself if you knew    -    “     a thought so terrible it felt as though his entire body was instinctually fighting against even speaking it into existence.    “    -    that you could leave everyone you’ve ever loved and who ever loved you behind?     where they couldn’t follow you?    “      his eyes squeezed shut in hope of dispelling the mental image that the mere suggestion conjured.    when peter opened his eyes again,     he finally looked up and fixed her gaze with his.    let conviction meet conviction then,     until one of them ceded.     he knew he had as much of it as she did.    

“  i love you! i am so proud of you!  “        —     @midsbest

            without a moment of hesitation,    he lifted his index finger and brought his hand up to his ear.    in a mock expression,    his brow furrowed to reveal a little divot of concern between his eyebrows at the same time as his lips puckered to denote his feigned confusion.     as if he struggled to hear her.    it was as though the universe halted for just about a moment to watch gwen’s love confession and the subsequent split-second upturn of peter’s lips.     was it the universe?     or did hearing those words from her lips always have that effect on peter?     like everything was frozen in time for however long it took him to recover from the sincerity of her admission.