[Piper Parker's POV]
Cold water drips down my face as I stare at my reflection in the mirror, trying to make sense of the mess I've become. My dorm bathroom feels like the only safe place to think right now. I splash another handful of water against my cheeks, hoping it might wash away the memory of Shane's hands on my body.
It doesn't work. Nothing does.
I've tried everything, brutal patrols, extra lab hours, even helping Brynn settle in with Uncle May. But no matter what I do, my mind keeps circling back to that rooftop. To Shane. To the way his body felt against mine, inside mine.
"Get it together, Parker," I mutter, gripping the edges of the sink.
When Uncle May collapsed, Shane was the first person I called. Not Harriet, not Mario, not any of the other heroes I've known for years. Shane. The same guy who's currently tangled up with one of the most dangerous people I've ever fought.
I dry my face with a rough paper towel, wincing at the harsh texture against my skin. My phone buzzes on the counter, another message from Brynn asking if I'm coming to dinner at Uncle May's tonight. I should be focused on this miracle, on having both my uncle back and this unexpected sister in my life.
Instead, I'm obsessing over a guy who barely knows me, who's with someone else, who makes me feel things I haven't allowed myself to feel since...
"Since Gwyn," I whisper to my reflection, the name still painful after all these years.
No... this is different. What I felt for Gwyn was wholesome, gentle. A calm lake compared to this raging sea. With Shane, it's a constant throb in my chest that radiates outward until my whole body feels like one raw nerve. It's pure, unbridled lust that floods my system whenever I think of him.
I want him. Not just emotionally, but physically, with an intensity that frightens me. I want to be near him, breathe him in, feel his skin against mine. I want to take him inside me again, to feel him come apart in my hands, my mouth. I want to pin him down and make him mine.
I sigh, pressing my forehead against the cool bathroom mirror. It's awful. This feeling follows me everywhere, like a ringing in my ears that never fully disappears, no matter how loud everything else gets. Even when I'm swinging between skyscrapers or fighting criminals, it's there, a constant, insistent hum beneath everything else.
Brynn is still suspicious of him, of course. I can see it in the way she watches him whenever he's around. And honestly, I don't buy his story about having prophetic visions either. It's too convenient, too perfect an explanation for how he knew about her before anyone else did.
But despite my doubts, I'm confident there's nothing nefarious behind his knowledge. Maybe he's enhanced in ways he doesn't fully understand yet. Maybe he's just incredibly observant or lucky with his guesses. I mean he knows all my deep lore. Whatever the truth is, my spider-sense has never once tingled when I'm alone with him, and that counts for something.
My phone buzzes again, drawing my attention away from my troubled reflection. I expect another message from Brynn, but instead I see Mario's name flash across the screen.
'Hey, haven't talked in a while. I'd love to catch up if you're around.'
I stare at Mario's text for a long moment, my finger hovering over the screen. Once upon a time, I would have jumped at the chance to meet up with him, to fall back into our comfortable pattern of flirtation and casual dates that never quite became something real.
But now? After meeting Shane?
The thought of spending an evening with Mario suddenly feels as appealing as grading freshman lab reports. What once seemed exciting now feels predictable, safe... boring. Our whole dynamic. The will-they-won't-they dance we've been doing for a few years suddenly seems so superficial compared to the raw, electric connection I felt with Shane.
I close Mario's message without responding. Maybe that's cruel, but I just can't muster the energy to pretend I'm interested anymore.
Instead, I open Brynn's text and type back quickly:
'On my way. Just need to grab my jacket.'