Bongo Cha Cha Cha — Caterina Valence

The air was warm and unbelievably humid, Peter thought, but at least the boat they were sat upon was going fast enough to provide a pleasant breeze. There weren't many seats available on the boat, so a couple of students, Peter included, sat on the edges. It was ultimately preferable, as the views were unobstructed, and he got to see the city of Venice emerge from the humid air around him.

Venice was much larger than pictures could do justice. The Grand Canal was wide and had sailboats, speedboats, and gondolas all sharing the space without fear of running into each other. To their left, an opulent basilica sat dominantly over every other building surrounding it. And yet the other buildings were still interesting in their own respect: flowers bloomed in window sills, contrasting the unique colors of the buildings themselves, which were pinks and tans and reds and greens, all of which were highlighted by the blue water they were next to. Peter was told that the water in Venice was muggy and dirty, which wasn't untrue. But it wasn't the Hudson or the East River, Peter could still see the bluish-green hue of the canals, and thought it was beautiful to behold.

Another sight Peter had that wasn't impeded upon was Lila, who sat next to MJ on the edge of the boat. From where Peter was sitting, the sun shone down on her skin, and she appeared to be almost glowing. Lila had a sunhat clutched in one hand while the other grabbed onto the boat for balance. Her sunglasses were tangled in her honey-colored hair at the top of her head, despite the bright day upon them. Peter didn't mind, he thought the crinkles around her eyes as she squinted in the sunlight were really cute, and it gave him a better chance to see her eyes properly, the lively green that they were.

Her lips were turned slightly upwards as Michelle said something to her. Nodding in what could only be agreement, Lila gazed around at the buildings that the boat was slowly cruising past. Quicker than he thought, her stare turned back to face him, and before Lila could notice Peter's staring, he turned and looked out to his left, pretending he was interested in the towering basilica that sat on the bank as it drew nearer. Had he looked a little longer, he would've seen Lila raise an inquisitorial eyebrow, and a blush settle on her cheeks. When he looked back at her, she was fumbling through the small bag on her shoulder and pulled out her camera.

She looked back up at Peter and smiled, raising the camera slightly in question. He realized she was asking to take a picture of him, and he hastily nodded. Lila quickly placed the camera up to her eye and waited for Peter to smile. Hoping that his nerves didn't reflect in his features, Peter waited for Lila to lower her camera before he moved again. Given that her smile was larger after taking the picture, Peter assumed it must have been a somewhat decent shot. She turned away from him and took a few photos of Michelle, who laughed at a joke Lila said. Afterward, Brad took the camera from Lila and snapped a few photos of Lila and MJ, much to Peter's dismay. But soon enough, Lila took the camera back and put it away, content with watching her surroundings while Peter was content with watching her.

A few turns down canals later, and the boat slowed in front of a building with scaffolding covering the front. The only thing particularly visible was the word "Hotel" on the front, and Mr. Harrington cheerfully called out, "Looks like we're here. They're doing some renovations to this place, you guys are getting some upgrades." He seemed deaf to the murmurings of the group, who were all but enthused to step foot inside the building.

Their teacher taking the lead, everyone got off the boat, leaving their luggage with the people working out front. Two steps inside and Peter noticed that Mr. Harrington got shorter. When he walked into the lobby, he saw why. A single plank of wood stretched over the floor, guiding people over the puddle of water that sat underneath it. The hotel clerk sat in a corner, flipping through an Italian magazine uninterestedly while the rest of the group gathered in the dryer part of the lobby.

"This place is sinking," Flash said, interrupting his own Instagram stream to distastefully note the obvious.

"I think you mean charming," Mr. Harrington replied, a note of forced cheerfulness to his voice.

"Okay, everybody," Mr. Dell interrupted, "Drop your bags off, we're gonna meet at the da Vinci museum at three. Let's go!"

"¡Vamanos!" Mr. Harrington yelled, shepherding the kids up to their rooms.

"It's andiamo," Michelle corrected, which Mr. Harrington repeated without losing his stride. Everyone excitedly found their roommates and placed their stuff down, checking the clock. They had two hours before they had to meet back together, which meant two hours to explore on their own. Peter had unloaded his things faster than Ned and decided to wait in the lobby. When he arrived, he saw Lila standing by herself, digging around in her bag.

Smiling, Peter walked up to her. "Hey, Lila."

She looked up, green eyes finding brown and she smiled back. She tucked a hair behind her ear as she said back, "Hey, Peter, h-how was your flight?"

"Oh, um, you know, it was fine. Mr. Harrington kept me company."

"Right," Lila said teasingly, "Gotta make sure your perfume allergy doesn't act up."

The way she said it made Peter relax and laugh with her. "Right, right, I have no idea why Ned said it was a perfume allergy."

"Speaking of Ned, did you see him and Betty?"

"Okay, right? What is up with that?"

Lila laughed in disbelief. "I have no clue, I heard her telling MJ it happened on the flight. I g-guess your perfume allergy was good for some people."

Peter sighed, wishing it had been good for him, like he planned it. "Yeah, I guess."

Lila fiddled with the strap of her bag as the pair fell into a semi-awkward silence. She bit her lip before continuing to say, "W-Well, I hope on the flight home you get to sit closer."

"Really?" Peter looked at her with a small, hopeful smile. He loved the way color found her cheeks so easily, it constantly changed how she looked. Peter was so wrapped up in it that he almost missed her response.

"Y-Yeah. You know, the flight was kind of boring, not getting to talk to you."

It was the sentence that played over and over in his head as the rest of their group entered the lobby. Ned (whose eyes were focused on Betty), Betty (proudly holding onto Ned's arm) and MJ (staring at Peter in suspicion) came over to Peter and Lila, all of them agreeing to start exploring Saint Mark's Square before branching out.

Lila and MJ walked ahead, Lila handing over sunscreen to Michelle as she pulled a map out of her shoulder bag. Her sunglasses and hat were on her head, and with her nose buried in the map, she looked like a cliché tourist. MJ was putting on sunscreen and glanced back at Betty, who had a phrasebook in her hands and was rifling through it. Trading the sunscreen for the phrasebook, MJ found comfort in looking through it as Lila led them all to a massive square. Once they arrived, Lila put her map away and took out her camera.

Betty pulled Ned away to a man sketching caricatures on the side, while MJ ducked out to get a closer look at the bell tower, saying she'd catch up with Lila in a bit. Peter's stomach did a loop-de-loop, and for a moment he was alone with Lila in Venice. She smiled at him shyly, asking him if he wanted to get a closer look at the basilica, which held some mosaic art near the entrance. Nodding, Peter walked a little faster to catch up to her and the pair set off for the giant church.

Not a lot was circling through his brain as the two walked together, for Peter was trying his best to slip into the comfort of being on vacation, walking next to the girl he really liked. It wasn't until he looked over at her, seeing the frown on her face that he thought something might be wrong. Lila was looking to the left of Peter, closer to the edge of the square, and when Peter followed her gaze, his heart sank. Taking pictures with tourists was a man dressed in a court jester costume, his exaggerated features and medieval clothing shining in the hot sun. The orange shades in the costume were a little too reminiscent of Macendale.

No sooner had he thought that than another jester appeared directly in front of them, and had Peter not pulled Lila behind him quickly, she'd have run right into them. It didn't go unnoticed, her surprised squeak, nor did the feeling of her hand slipping into his and squeezing tightly. The jester spoke in broken English, asking if they wanted to take a picture for two Euro. Their voice boomed, and Peter felt like it carried over the square. Quickly, in just as broken Italian, Peter said no, and the jester walked over to another group of tourists.

Peter hastily turned around to see Lila, who'd gone rather pale. Her breathing was ragged, and goosebumps had formed on her arms despite the warm weather. Peter thought she suddenly looked miserable. Squinting to look past her sunglasses, he noticed Lila had a far off look in her eyes. He then grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her gently, and Lila focused her stare back on him.

"Hey, hey, look at me. He can't hurt you anymore," Peter assured her, moving his hand back over hers and holding it tightly. "He's in Calvary Cemetery, not Venice. He can't hurt you, Lila, not again." He watched as Lila nodded slowly, but surely. And, with meaning dripping in every word, Peter said, "I won't let anything happen to you, okay?"

A shaky, unsure smile crept onto Lila's face, and she squeezed his hand tightly. "It's stupid, isn't it? To still be scared. I mean, y-you've gone to-" she lowered her voice as a group of tourists passed them, "- to space, and - and you're so calm about it. And here I am freaking out about a dead guy."

Peter shook his head so fast he felt his neck pop. "I still freak out about going to space," he admitted, and Lila looked at him in earnest. Peter was relieved that some of the color was returning to her skin. "I don't think it's stupid at all, Lila. Actually, I-I think you're really brave for coming on this trip."

Heat flooded Lila's cheeks, and her grin made Peter's stomach swirl. "I'm not - I'm not as brave as you." Peter let out a mixture of a laugh and scoff, feeling a blush creep up his neck. Before he could protest, Lila beat him to it. "Seriously, Peter, you're like the b-bravest person I've ever met."

All Lila could see was the smile that plastered itself on Peter's face before Brad called out her name. Turning around, the pair of them saw MJ holding out some seeds in her hands, and several pigeons were perched on her arms. Her face was twisted between someone who was deeply uncomfortable and someone who was angry. Looking at a chuckling Brad, Lila and Peter got the gist.

Lila looked back at Peter, a sheepish smile on her face, "I better see what that's all about."

"Yeah," Peter agreed, nodding, "I think I saw a souvenir May would really like, so, uh - catch you later?"

"Definitely," Lila agreed, still grinning.

And the pair parted, Lila headed for Michelle and Brad, Peter headed off on his own, hoping to find something not for May, but for Lila. He chanced one last look at her, seeing how she was laughing as even more birds appeared on Michelle's shoulders. Their conversation was still fresh in his mind, and a giant grin crept its way onto his face as he headed down the street into a glass shop.

Seriously, Peter, you're the bravest person I've ever met.

Still smiling, Peter watched as the cashier placed his gift into a metal tin, and gently put it in a bag along with a receipt. Peter stammered his thanks in Italian, and the owner of the shop graciously bowed him out. Looking in the bag, Peter couldn't help but think that maybe his plan might go well after all. The bracelet he picked out had lemons all over it as well as deep green leaves. Lila's blossoming lemon tree had been all the rage to her lately, and since yellow was her favorite color, Peter thought it might be perfect for her.

He was still staring at it, not watching where he was going, when he heard a familiar voice call his name. He glanced up and nearly ran right into Lila and Michelle. Hastily, he put the bag behind his back and smiled sheepishly at the two girls in front of him. "Lila, MJ, hey." He glanced at the latter and nodded. "It looks like the birds flew away."

Lila chuckled while MJ looked as though she were containing an eye roll, and pursed her lips tightly in lieu of saying something rude. Instead, she simply nodded in agreement, eyeing the tourists who walked around them. Lila followed her gaze, right up to the magnificent bridge that was right behind the three of them and sighed. "Ah, right. I'll be right back, guys."

"Where are you going?" Peter asked her, watching her walk away and feeling slightly deflated that she was gone so soon.

"Sophie wants as many cheesy souvenirs as she can get," Lila answered, turning back with a smile. "Judging by how busy the stalls on the Rialto are, I'd say I c-could find one there. MJ," Lila looked to her friend, still smiling, "Tell Peter about that word you taught me." She then hustled up the busy stairs and vanished in a crowd of tourists.

Peter turned back to look at MJ, who shrugged and started walking up the steps of the walkway opposite the Rialto Bridge. Peter followed behind her and asked what Lila meant. "Boh," MJ answered.

He tilted his head in confusion, "What?"

"Boh," Michelle repeated, smiling to herself satisfactorily. "It's the most perfect word in the world. Italians created it, and I just discovered it."

"What does it mean?" Peter winced as a tourist checked his shoulder roughly, not even bothering to throw a sorry his way.

"That's the thing," MJ continued rapidly, unperturbed by the crowd. She was lucky, she was tall and thin, and could easily weave her way through a group of people. "It can mean a million things: 'I don't know', 'get out of my face', or 'I don't know and get out of my face'. It's the best thing Italy has created, except maybe for espresso." She laughed at the end of her sentence, and it suddenly explained why she spoke so quickly.

"Oh, so you've been drinking espresso," Peter stated and saw Michelle nod out of the corner of his eyes.

"Yeah, only don't tell Lila. She can't have caffeine any more, and I don't want her to feel left out." Looking over at Peter's thoughtful expression, MJ elaborated, "You know her anxiety goes through the roof when she has it. Not to mention her anxiety already seems worse than usual." She regarded Peter as he took in the news. He knew about how Lila's anxiety was bad, but he felt guilty that MJ noticed, and that Lila couldn't tell her about it. "You wouldn't happen to know why, would you?"

Saved from coming up with a response, Peter was now faced with an Italian man holding a rose in between him and Michelle. "German?" He asked, his accent thick and his eyes beady. "American? A rose for you."

"Boh," Michelle answered, and the sly grin that was on the vendor's face disappeared immediately. Defeated, he walked away from the two of them and attempted to sell flowers elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Peter looked at MJ, impressed. "Woah."

"Boh is my new superpower, it's like the anti-aloha. I was born to say this word." She gloated and peered down at the bag in Peter's hands. "So, what's in the bag?"

"Oh," Peter said and shrugged. "Uh - boh."

Michelle hummed in approval. "Mm, nice. Come on, we better wait out of the way for Lila." And the pair moved down the stairs and off to the side. Almost immediately, MJ noticed a line of crabs crawling out of the water in a single-file line. She bent down to take a picture, and it was then Peter noticed the water that had been on the sidewalk suddenly drained at a pace faster than possible.

All was still and quiet for a brief second before a colossal figure emerged from the water. Seemingly made of the water itself, it thrashed its large limbs around, jostling several boats, including a gondola that sat Betty and Ned. Their boat headed straight for Peter and MJ, and the two split to allow for the gondola to land on the sidewalk.

Peter hastily grabbed onto Betty, pulling her out of the boat, and Ned followed right behind her. MJ crawled over the boat and started ushering their friends up the stairs with the rest of the tourists running for their lives. Ned was the only one who stayed behind with Peter.

"What is that?" Ned demanded.

Voice slightly higher than normal, Peter said, "I don't know."

"What are you gonna do?"

Peter grabbed Ned's shoulders, "I left my suit in the hotel room."

"What, why?!"

"Because I'm on vacation, Ned!" Peter grit his teeth and quickly spat out, "Everyone will see my face, just get them out of here, go!" And with a nudge, Ned ran up the stairs Peter and MJ had just come from and disappeared with the rest of their friends.

Peter was just helping the last of the people near him race up the stairs when the water monster appeared right next to the bank where he stood. His arms flailed, and uttered a panicked, "Oh, my God!" as Peter dove around the corner of one of the buildings to avoid the giant, watery fist racing for him. Ducking just in time, the rubble from the impact went flying over his head, and only a light mist met his back.

With the destruction the monster was causing still happening, Peter had no choice but to act. Everyone seeing his face be damned, Peter tapped the metal bracelet he hoped would only be an accessory with his other wrist, and out sprung his web-shooters, which wrapped around both of his wrists. Panting heavily, Peter braced himself for what was to come and rounded the corner.

His first instinct was to fire a web at it and try to grab hold, but his effort failed miserably. Peter watched with a sinking feeling as the web merely passed right through the enormous creature. Instead of the web catching its attention, the monster's head turned and stared at its next target. The sudden screams that came from behind Peter sent his head swiveling, and he saw the rush of tourists racing down either side of the Rialto Bridge. The same bridge where Peter last saw Lila.

"Oh, no, you don't," Peter stated, rushing forward to the now broken staircase. Heaving himself up the stairs, Peter leaped forward onto the posts where the gondolas would normally dock. Moving his feet faster than his mind could keep up, Peter jumped from post to post, finally landing on the flat roof of a small speedboat that hadn't capsized. He seized an oar out of a nearby gondola driver's hand and raced forward. Then, like an Olympic athlete, Peter used the top end of the oar to vault his body up onto the Rialto Bridge.

Immediately, his sights were set on the last set of stragglers trying to escape from the now quickly approaching monster. Peter glanced around, helping one man to his feet, and spotted a girl in a button up shirt and shorts, her hat suddenly flying off of her head.

"Lila!" Peter yelled, and the girl in question whirled around, eyes wide in confusion and panic. She saw Peter, and changed direction, heading for him, but he knew she wouldn't make it in time. As the creature drew back its fist, Peter grabbed a hold of Lila with his webbing and pulled her into him. He spun her around, catching most of the blow that landed on the bridge, and sent both of them to the ground.

Their momentum was so strong that they were sent sprawling backward, and they didn't stop moving until Peter's side collided painfully with the opposite side of the bridge. Coupled with the brute force, Peter was submerged entirely in water, a large portion sliding into his mouth. The only thing he was sure of in that split-second was his hold on Lila, and he didn't open his eyes until the water subsided and she started moving. When Peter looked over at her, he saw that she was drenched from head to toe, just like him. Her legs, which were draped over his, had several scrapes littering them, but none as bad as the slice across her arm. Finally, his eyes traveled to her face, where the last of the water was spilling out of her mouth, and she blinked rapidly to get it out of her eyes.

"You okay?" He asked, still breathing heavily from both the hit and his hustle over to the bridge.

Lila nodded, hands quickly reaching his face and inspecting him for any injuries himself. "I'm okay, I'm okay. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Peter answered, placing his hands under her legs and around her waist. He picked her up with ease and placed her back on her feet. Grasping her hand firmly, Peter searched desperately for a place to hide. Unfortunately, there were very few, and the good ones were too far away not to be noticed.

Suddenly, Lila let out a little gasp, "Peter, look!"

Thinking the monster was back again, Peter quickly faced it once more, only to see an invisible figure project green lasers that finally caught the monster's attention. The sound like a jet was heard behind him, and Peter looked in time to see a figure appear out of nowhere, surrounded by a hazy green mist. The closer it flew overhead the more detail the pair could see. A maroon cape flew back behind the figure, who wore a gold and glowing suit of armor, with a glass bowl not unlike a fishbowl covering the figure's head, and shrouding them in a gray mist.

"Um - d-did Doctor Strange make an u-upgrade?" Lila asked behind him, and Peter shook his head. The figure had just started fighting the monster, and Peter knew what came next.

"That's not Doctor Strange," Peter answered, turning to Lila. "Look, Lila, I'm gonna go help him, okay? Get off the bridge, try to find Ned and MJ. I'll meet you when I can."

Lila didn't argue, instead, she nodded fervently and threw her arms around him. The hug was tight but brief. Peter watched her start to run off before placing his attention back on the monster. "Peter!" He heard Lila call and looked over to see her toss him something. He caught it and held the masquerade mask in his hand questioningly. Looking up, Lila's expression was resolute, and her eyes blazed. "Come back in one piece, Spider-Man." And she disappeared down the bridge.

The figure, who had been thrown into the water previously, emerged and was on the offense. They spewed green lasers at the water creature, and oddly enough, it seemed to be working. Peter, feeling rather silly in the Carnival mask, crawled up to the roof of the Rialto and yelled at the figure to get their attention as they flew by.

"Excuse me, sir!" Peter hoped they were a sir, but got his attention, regardless. "I can help, let me help! I'm really strong and — and I'm sticky!"

There wasn't even time to question the choice of the word sticky. The figure yelled back, "I need to lead it away from the canals!" Without another word, he lured the creature away from the Grand Canal, and left Peter in his wake.

Thinking quickly, Peter realized that his webs would be useless against pure water. The only thing he could do was minimize the path of destruction until it was led away from the canals. So he swung behind the monster, webbing up entire sides of buildings and snatching people out of harm's way. Finally, it seemed the plan to lure the monster out of the water worked, as it headed towards a less populated square with a pink bell tower to the side. Peter hopped from rooftop to rooftop until he had a clear vantage point of the scene.

The monster slammed into the bell tower, sending cracks up the entire side of it. Glancing at the base around the corner from where it just struck, Peter saw Brad Davis leading his classmates out of the way. Peter sighed, rolling his eyes, "Oh, come on."

He leapt into action, wrapping the bell tower up in webbing several times before perching beside the bell to await his next move. The plan was working, the monster was rapidly dwindling in size, and the mysterious figure hurled laser after laser at its shrinking form. But the monster had a few more tricks to play out, one of which was a massive fist, missing its opponent entirely and instead slamming into the base of the already compromised bell tower.

Peter lurched forward and recovered quickly. The bell tower started to slowly topple over, and he looked around desperately for something to grab onto. Spotting his targets, Peter shot a web out to the roof next to the tower, and another rooftop on the other side, leaving him in the middle pulling with all his might. Briefly, he thought of the Staten Island Ferry, and how some things seemed to never change.

Right as he thought that, however, another bout of water slammed into the tower and propelled Peter headfirst into the bell. It rang around his skull, and he slipped onto his back, groaning in pain. Miraculously, he still managed to hold onto his webs, but not before the gravity of the falling tower pulled him upright and face-first into the underside of the same bell. That time, he did let go of the webs, and the tower began to fall in earnest.

Peter shot webs out again, walking up along one of the columns as the tower went perpendicular to the ground. He realized it was merely a matter of slowing the tower's fall, and with one final burst of water, the building collapsed onto the ground. Peter hadn't even realized the fight was over until he heard the sounds of cheering. For a brief moment, he panicked thinking about how he wasn't wearing a mask. But the panic was short lived: people weren't even looking at the bell tower. They were instead focused on the mysterious figure standing alone in the square.

Peter's panic spiked, thinking about the small bag sitting at the top of his now soaked backpack. He quickly reached around and found the container he'd just purchased. Opening it slowly, the lemon bracelet sat atop the cushion, perfectly intact. He sighed in relief, and allowed himself to catch his breath. With one last wave to the crowd, the figure flew away, and Peter thought it finally safe to rejoin the other students and the now absolutely panicked Mr. Harrington.

The other guy clearly had it handled better than Peter did. He stopped the monster single-handedly, and Peter was glad to give him credit. Which was why he had no trouble appearing as confused and worried as the rest of the other students, only feeling relief when he once again found his friends. Tiredly, he had no trouble being shepherded back to the hotel, Lila close by his side.

"You okay?" Lila whispered over to him, eying him up and down, looking for any trace of injury.

Peter shrugged, and gingerly rubbed his head when he said, "I'm okay. Got my bell rung, but I'll live."

So I do have an entire 8-hour flight ahead, who knows? I'm having so so much fun you don't even know