chapter thirty-nine:

After all the build up to him finally watching Jaws, Caelum thought the movies were. . . okay. The characters were silly, but the CGI was good for it's time, and the plot definitely had a few holes that could use improving. It was okay. Granted, numbers two through four didn't exactly improve on the plot much, but he had to give credit to the director with making due with what he had.

Peter loved them, and grinned at the silliness of it all all throughout the movie. Caelum could've spent the afternoon sitting there, watching him, and still be fine.  

Eventually, a nurse came to check on him, and realized that that he wasn't unconscious anymore. The nurse, Mateo, according to his name tag, frowned at Peter. “You were supposed to tell us where he woke up."

“I forgot!" Peter lied. He just didn't want their time together interrupted. Caelum smiled, and the nurse rolled his eyes, looking at Caelum.

“You lost a lot of blood coming here. Make sure you eat a lot of solids and drink orange juice. I'll call the doctor in here to check on your face, and then you should get back to resting.” He gave a clear glare at Peter, who shrugged helplessly.

"Sir, what about my eye?” He asked hesitantly.

Mateo sighed, “It would be a miracle if you regained sight in it at all. We can give you medicine to keep it from irritating, but. . . the third degree burns on your face will definitely leave scarring. There is a procedure we can take if it shows signs of infection or inflammation. We'll use skin from alternative places on your body, for example, your back, and use it there. You wouldn't even notice the scarring.”

"Like plastic surgery?" He asked and the nurse gave a half nod.

“Almost. . . I'll call the doctor in here and we can discuss it there.” Caelum nodded and the man left.

Peter turned back on the movie. Ten minutes later the doctor came in just as one of the more handsome lifeguards were getting eaten alive.

“Hello, I'm Doctor Johnson,” the man smiled. He had curly brown hair and dark eyes with bags under them and stress lines on his face. He was at least older than thirty, maybe forty. “How are you feeling?"

Caelum frowned, glancing at Peter, "My face hurts," he admitted. He didn't want to say anything because of the movie, but his head was throbbing and it hurt whenever he even twitched a muscle in his face. Despite this, whenever his skin brushed against the pillow, he couldn't feel anything.

Doctor Johnson nodded, “We can get you painkillers for now, but I'll have to take a look at your face though, and your eye. I'm sure Mateo explained that you may not gain sight in that eye again.”

Caelum nodded and the doctor came to his side. He tried not to flinch when the man’s cold, gloved hands touched him. He untied the bandages, and pulled them off his face. He hissed as they peeled, the blood making them stick to his skin.

Caelum blinked his eyes, looking around and adjusting them to the light. The doctor stared at him, shocked and confused. “What's wrong? What's going on?"

“This is. . . I've never seen anything like this. . .!”

"What is it?” Caelum demanded, confused and a bit scared. Despite the doctor's warnings, his eyesight felt fine. He tried it, winking in one eye and then the other, but there was no difference.

Finally, Peter spoke. “Your eye ― well, your eye’s iris ― it's white!”

Caelum froze, “White?” He repeated. “That doesn't make any sense."

Peter pulled out his phone, tapping at it for a few seconds, before handing it to him. Caelum took it tentatively, frowning down at the front facing camera.

Half of his burned face was blistered and red, the sound peeling and black in several places. There were markings on his face where the metal had branded itself into his skin. Caelum inhaled when he looked a it, but tried to focused on his eye. His eye was a bit red from irritation, but Peter had been right. His usual dark brown eye colour had been changed, and was now greyish-white.

Caelum switched back, looking at both of then side by side. “How. . . this doesn't make any sense. . .!”

"I'll have to do more tests later,” Doctor Mendel said, standing straight. "But, for now, you should rest. I'll call an optometrist and get this situated.”

"Al–Alright sir,” Caelum said, still looking at his face. He had three stitches on his left cheek, but bruising had went down. “Thank you."

“My pleasure," he smiled, stepping back. “I suggest you get something to eat, if you can handle it, and then go to sleep.”

Caelum frowned, he was hungry, but he didn't want to move his face at all, much less eat something. Yet, he still nodded, “Yes sir."

The man gave a small smile, and went to the door, stopping for a minute, "That means no more Jaws.” Peter blushed and Caelum chuckled, as the man left.

Mateo spread some disinfectant on his face, then rewrapped his face with new bandaged. When he finished, he got his order of what he wanted to eat. Caelum explained he was a vegetarian, so he would be eating a salad with lots of tomatoes in it.

Caelum leaned back on the bed, exhausted. Peter was beside him, holding his hand. Caelum kept thinking about the camera and his face, how. . . disfigured he was now. It was a nightmare. He might never be able to change that, and even if he did, he would still feel the scars. The way his father held his neck with a vicelike grip, pushing his head into the lit stove top. His screaming, sobbing, and begging, and the tears that left him. He was so scared, scared enough to kill his father.

He thought back to the camera, and he scowled, looking away. “Hey, Peter. . .”

"Yeah, what's up, Cael?” Peter asked, he had been leaning against the side of his bed. Peter managed to lie the bar down flat so he could rest his head there.

“Do. . . do you still like me?" He asked softly, "Even though I look like this?"

Peter sat up, "What do you mean?”

"I. . . I let my dad do this to me, I. . . I didn't stop him, he could've killed you, and. . . I don't know, I just. . . I figured I looked so different that maybe you wouldn't want to be with me anyone.” Caelum gave a little shrug, hoping his heightened senses would pick up on his pounding heart. "I–I would understand too, I just. . . I wanted to know because―”

Peter took his hand he was holding and pressed his lips to the back of it. Then, he stood, climbing over the bed, straddling him with his legs and kissed him again. Caelum brought a hand to his face, wanting to hold onto him longer, never wanting to let go.

Peter pulled away first and breathed against his lips, “I'm never going to leave you," he murmured.

"Do you promise?” Caelum asked softly. Everyone always left. His mom, his dad, the ghost. They all left him at some point and he just wanted to be held and talked to and loved.

“I swear," Peter kissed him again. "I love you, alright?"

Caelum sniffed, tears welling in his eyes. "I love you too."

° · ° · ° · °

The next day, the boys came to visit, along with Sarah and Dorri. Peter had to leave, he skipped enough school days to risk summer school and his GPA dropping below a 3.5. Caelum didn't mind, they spent enough time together that he didn't have to worry about whether or not he would come back ― Caelum knew he would. They needed each other, and it wouldn't feel right without it.

The boys were near ecstatic when they came to visit. Castor dragged Pollux along, who was very easily gaining the weight he lost. Although Castor was much more energetic, Pollux didn't miss a beat of it. He was still recovering, but in due time, he would get better and be running around right alongside Castor.

They launched themselves at his bed, “Caelum! Caelum!" They cried, and he laughed, hugging both of them. It was too easy to remember them tied up in the abandoned building, just barely clinging to life. Now, they were recovering and safe and alive.

That was all that mattered.

He played games with them, opened the birthday gifts Sarah and Dorri got him ― they were French novels, the same ones his mother had on the shelf at their apartment. Their copies had been worn down and dusty where as this one was brand new and had beautiful colours detailing the front.

“We saw them at your apartment when we were cleaning up, and thought you'd like a fresh copy!” Sarah grinned.

Caelum was stunned, he kept fingering the front, tracing the detailing, hearing his mother in his head. “A good book is an adventure in itself, mon chéri (my darling).”

Caelum smiled down on the cover, blinking back tears, and thanked the woman. They both smiled, eager to be of service. For hours, they played games, told stories, and laughed together. Eventually, Caelum's face was getting sore from so much talking and laughing and the painkillers he took for them were beginning to kick in.

Sarah and Dorri said their goodbyes, leaving him alone. Caelum didn't mind. He busied himself with starting up his new freaking Stark phone, and reading The Count of Monte Cristo.

After getting all his settings regulated, he checked the contacts and was surprised to see Sarah, Dorri, Peter, May, and someone else's number already programmed in.

Then, he got a text from the mystery number.

Unknown Number: glad you see you're liking the new phone.

Caelum frowned, texting them back.

Caelum F: I'm sorry, who is this?

Unknown Number: well, you referred to me as Tony freaking Stark.

Caelum's eye widened and he nearly dropped the phone.

Unknown Number: im sure our webbed friend explained the situation to you. dont worry about any of the expenses ill take care of it.

Caelum F: What do you want from me?

Unknown Number: other than to keep the kid happy? nothing. enjoy the phone, kid.

Caelum stared at the screen under him, his head a mix of shock and happiness. He wanted to call Peter right now and tell him everything, but at the same time knew it wasn't so much of a good idea. He was in school and Caelum didn't want to ruin his grade worse than it already was.

Caelum continued to read for hours, until his eyes felt heavy and he fell asleep.

He continued this pattern for a long time. Sometimes, he would stare at the ceiling for hours, wondering what was next for him and his brother's. When he knew nobody was watching, he'd cry for the loss of his mother, father, and his brother's innocence. Despite Peter's claims, this mess was his fault. It had been a wild year so far, and Caelum had no clue how he was going to make up for it, but he knew he'd be able to do it eventually.

Caelum, for one, knew he was going back to school. After a lot of internal debating, he decided he would go back to Midtown, mainly because the administration decided to let him finish his year there for free. It was probably so that he wouldn't sue the school, but Caelum didn't mind. He would be with Peter everyday again. He would probably have to make up a lot of the work for his tenth grade year during the summer, but Caelum didn't mind.

His main issue was. . . well, fear. He was scared to go back, after everything that happened. Despite Principal Davis being stripped of his title, he was scared to roam the halls again. What would the kids there think of him? What would the teachers think of him? Would the new Principal be like Principal Davis, or would he treat him like a baby?

Caelum was scared, but it wasn't the kind of fear he had when he was staring at his father after he kicked down his door. It was the fear of the unknown. He didn't know how people would react to him coming back after being gone for a year. He didn't want to get hurt again.

He shook his head, sighing, he was being silly, and thinking like that was ridiculous. If Caelum didn't go, he would risk being put in the same situation as before, struggling over tuition and fees. The school offered it to him for free, he would be a total idiot not to accept it.

And, he didn't care about the other kids anyway. They could talk all they wanted, but they weren't in charge of his future ― he was.

Caelum survived his father, Principal Davis, and a psychopathic mind controller. He wasn't going to let anyone put him or the people he cared about, in danger again.

° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · ° · °

One more chapter!

I just wanted to give a quick thank you to everyone who read this, and stuck with this story. It's been a rollercoaster writing it and seeing you guys' reactions from it. You guys really are the best. Thank you to everyone for your support and tears. There aren't enough words in the English dictionary to express how I feel about it. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

In other words, remember that survey I mentioned a while back? It's done! Here is the link: https://goo.gl/forms/mDt7nNZMnsIwI30J2

If this didn't work for you, don't worry. On Wattpad, it will be put in my website section, along with in my bio. On fanfiction.net, I'll put it in my bio to copy and paste, along with AO3.

That's it, y'all. We have one more chapter, which will be epilogue, and then book one will be done. Thank you so much for reading, and thank you for four great years of writing.

I'll see y'all on October 10th, and remember...

Don't melt~!
- Happyritas <OOO