chapter sixty
three wishes (or like ... six)

SEPTEMBER PASSES on by and Nina supposed she was slowly getting used to New York's (and the world's) reaction to the Spider-Man/Mysterio controversy▬she was getting used to the cameras, the questions, the crowds and the tabloids. As the next month passed by, things settled down enough for Nina to feel like she wouldn't be heckled the moment she stepped out into the streets or tried to go to school. But they still existed. As the days went on, the split between supporters of Spider-Man and supporters of Mysterio grew. They started to attack each other, rather than attack Peter, Nina and their friends over the Internet. And even though she didn't like any of it, Nina started to feel a little bit better as she noticed that there were people in this city and this world that were on their side▬that defended her and hyped her up. Nina never expected to ever have a fan base in her life, and even though it was because she was Spider-Man's girlfriend, they didn't waste a moment before coming to her defence (or gushing over some photo of her and Peter some person took). Nina was starting to be stopped in the streets to be asked if she wanted to take a picture with somebody instead of being stopped to be shouted at.

She couldn't change what has happened, and so Nina was trying her best to live with it. Her dream and her life had been switched▬the rug had been thrown out from under her feet, but she was starting to regain her balance again. And Peter was a big help. After he came to her room and they both applied to N.Y.U that night, and Nina applied to M.I.T. and every other backup school he put his name down for, she realised that there was one thing that hasn't changed▬him. They haven't changed. And deep down, following him wherever he went had always been Nina's dream, too.

Nina and her friends were getting accustomed to a new normal. They made a pact to refuse to let what has happened to get to them. They went out as a group▬they had fun and explored the city. Nina, Peter, Cia and Michelle went on double dates (with Ned tagging along). MJ became Ian's favourite person in the world. Peter broke Ned's second lightsaber all over again. Nina got lost at Home Depot and Cia and MJ had to go to the front counter▬her name was called out over the announcements like she was their lost child. After that day Felicia and MJ officially decided that Nina was their child.

("But I thought we were married. I became your second wife." wondered Nina, frowning at Felicia.

"Well, I guess I'll be your Mommy, then," she had replied mischievously.)

Mid-September, Nina got asked by a clothing company if they could send her clothes in exchange for her modelling and reviewing them on her Instagram account. She hadn't been too sure about it, but Felicia encouraged her to do it▬and surprisingly, Nina actually liked it. She liked getting nice clothes and learning how to style them with Cia, then she went to crazy cool sights in New York (with the help of her Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man, of course) and took pictures. She got money from it when her posts blew up and instead of getting rude remarks about her looks, Nina was reading comments from fans that had nothing but compliments. She couldn't escape horrible things being said about her. But Nina had started to find things that she didn't mind about this scenario▬she started to learn to live in this new life that had been forced onto her. And she added her own little flair▬that with every post she made, Nina commented a random scientific fact in the caption, trying to inspire girls in STEM in her own little way.

Nina only had something small, too, for her eighteenth birthday on the twenty-fourth of September. She invited her friends for a small party at her parents' apartment with a sleepover (Ned and Peter, of course, had to sleep out in the sitting room with Nina's dad watching them like a hawk). She got a few things from her parents that were mostly to help her once she moved out for college. But they also got her a nice ring that they must have spent a fair amount of money on. MJ bought her a new book▬one that they were prepared to read together. Ned raided the nearest 7-Eleven and bought her a bunch of sweets like it was Halloween. Felicia got her a new mug for her collection▬Nina had a few of them for her many hot chocolates. This one was a Black Cat one, and she laughed, showing it to Peter with a smug grin.

She opened Peter's when the others decided to go out and have some snacks, and he was in a nervous fit beside her as she pulled away the ribbon off the box. Nina giggled at him. "Relax," she told him softly as set the ribbon down.

"Just open it," Peter said, sounding a little breathless.

"I am▬!" she chuckled and opened the lid. He had sticky-taped it to the sides and so it opened up almost like a shoebox. Nina's eyes widened at the pink paper glued to the inside of the box▬wrinkled in some places which told her he had done it himself.

Happy Birthday! The words were written on a piece of paper and printed out, stuck to the roof of the box. Nina smiled at the photos he had taken recently, pasted all around the lid. There was one they had taken in front of a mirror at Happy's condo. Another with Nina half asleep. Them making funny faces and hugging and sweet kisses▬some memories Nina didn't even realise he had taken. Some of just herself, being silly and stupid. But that wasn't the only thing. He had filled up the box with an assortment of things for her. He had put small pieces of paper underneath a few of them with little messages that said: 'Go get 'em, Tiger!' or 'Central Park 9/15', 'Kisses from Spidey ;)' with a love hearts and 'xoxo's.

She scowled at him, but it was light with a bright red face and a warm heart. "Peter."

He blushed and nudged her. "I ... Felicia saw this idea on Pinterest and sent it to me and Aunt May helped with printing out the stickers and photos, but I▬I did like everything else ... I wanted to get you something nice."

Nina pulled everything out to have a look at each and every single thing. There was an envelope filled with science pick up lines that she laughed at. Are you made of copper and tellurium? Because you're [Cu][Te]. Nina grinned when she saw a Spider-Man themed pen and key ring. He had stuck little Spider-Man stickers with the photos and randomly around the box and Nina rolled her eyes, knowing he was making fun of her. "You're so cheesy," she told him with a fluttering heart when she saw hot chocolate packets and lip balm and other sweets. There was a set of small bath bombs and finally, a few wall-stickers.

"Cute," Peter corrected with a cheeky smile, but he was bright red, too.

She found another envelope filled with more photos of them. At the back of the envelope, he had written: To put up on our wall in Boston/at N.Y.U. Nina spent a lot of time, just alone with him▬forgetting about their promise to quickly meet up with the others for snacks, just looking through all of them, reminicsing with the brightest smile on her face.

In October, their letters from their colleges started to arrive. Nina, Peter, Ned and MJ were all terribly anxious▬holding their breaths as each one arrived in the mail. Peter and Nina did not open any of theirs without being with each other▬in person or on the phone. Each time they opened one from their back up schools, each time they felt a breath of disappointment. Due to the recent controversies... They did not need to read anything more after that to know they hadn't been accepted.

One after the other, they came. They opened them at school, at Nina's work, huddled up in the streets of New York or at each other's homes. Over phone calls, FaceTime, even when spending helping out at the F.E.A.S.T. shelter May worked at.

And every single one said exactly the same thing.

But Peter refused to feel dejected. Their ones from N.Y.U. and M.I.T. were still yet to arrive, which meant that there still was hope. And if they had been pushed away from every other college they applied for, then that must mean they would have to be accepted into one that was left.

After Halloween, early November, the day had come. Nina receieved both her N.Y.U. and M.I.T. letters, and her heart was in her throat the entire day. It was a Saturday, and she was working▬so she and her friends all decided that they would meet up at her lunch break so they could open them all together. Even Felicia was going to tag along for moral support, knowing how much this meant to all of them.

Nina was barely able to keep her concrentration on work▬she nearly messed up orders and spilt coffees and tripped over her shoes. She was yet to take down the Halloween decorations, too busy fretting over what the letters will say. She tried to keep herself level. To keep herself calm. But her heart was racing. She felt sick to the stomach. Every other college had turned them away▬these two were the only ones left out of those she had applied for. Her only two options left.

Felicia arrived first with MJ following, which was helpful, because she was able to tell Nina to calm down and breathe as she ordered her coffee▬much kinder than her boss would be. As they waited for Ned, she and MJ sat down together, and Cia quietly spoke to Michelle▬just as reassuring as she was with Nina. She glanced over once while she was cleaning up and managed a small smile despite her nerves when she saw Felicia take MJ's hand and squeeze it, promising something under her breath.

Ned looked like he was going to be sick when he entered the cafe. He held up the envelope from M.I.T. and didn't say a word, anxiously sitting down at the counter. Nina decided to make him a coffee, hoping he wouldn't throw it right back up.

In the end, they were only waiting on Peter. It was a few minutes into Nina's lunch break when they noticed someone nearly swing straight into the chairs outside as he landed. Not even wearing his suit, Peter Parker rushed out a half-hearted apology to the person walking past before rushing into the cafe. He pulled open the door and Nina glanced up, her breath hitched as her nerves returned ten-fold.

Peter looked very much the same. Flushed from swining here all the way from Long Island, he held his envelopes up and met her gaze. Nina swallowed anxiously and held hers up, too. She followed him down along the counter to meet up with Ned, MJ and Felicia. Nina leant across the counter as Peter sat down opposite her. They all shared a deep breath filled with nerves.

Nina set her envelopes down on the counter and nodded to herself. "Okay," she murmured, her heart pounding. "We▬we all got them. This is it... This is it▬" she cleared her throat, taking another deep breath. She nodded at her friends. "Are we ready?"

"Hart."

Nina frowned and glanced back, meeting her boss's light scowl.

He sighed and pointed up at the hanging lights and flags. "I told you to take down the Halloween decorations."

She pursed her lips and held up a finger anxiously. "I▬well▬actually, I'm on my lunch break, so..."

"Enough attitude," her boss rolled his eyes and disappeared back behind the kitchen. "Just do it."

Nina jutted her chin in. She pursed her lips again and made a frustrated grimace. "Right..." she muttered to herself, bitter.

As she turned back to her friends, Ned spoke up for the first time since he arrived. "I feel like I'm gonna puke."

"Please don't," said Nina, pleading. "Because my boss will just make me clean it."

Ned held his letter in his trembling hands, taking a breath that was just as shaky. "This is our only shot," he told them. "It's here or nowhere."

"Hey▬" Peter was quick to keep their optimism, even though Nina could tell he was just as nervous. "Come on," he reassured Ned and his best friend managed a weak grimace.

Nina set out both enevlopes next to each other, not sure which one she wanted to open first. She didn't think she could▬suddenly, she forgot how to open a letter. Noticing, Peter reached over the counter and gently brushed his thumb over her knuckles before taking her hand.

MJ nodded to herself beside Felicia. "Okay," she decided courageously. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah▬" chorused the boys while Nina nodded, setting her jaw with determination.

"You guys can do it," Felicia gave them a thumbs up. "Just rip it off▬like a band aid."

Nina picked up her one from M.I.T., starting to feel sick all over again. Maybe it won't be Ned that puked▬maybe it would be here, which would be way worse. She let go of Peter's hand and their fingers all hovered over their envelope seals.

"On three," muttered Michelle. "One ... two ... three▬"

The group of friends all ripped open their M.I.T. envelopes and pulled out their letters. They all held their breaths as they read what each said, eyes bright and hopeful▬no, desperate▬

Nina slowly felt her heart begin to sink.

Her shoulders slumped as she kept reading what the letter said and she carefully glimpsed over the brim of it to watch Peter's reaction. The fall of the hope in his eyes hurt more than reading her own letter.

Nina set her jaw and threw her letter aside, quickly reaching for her one from N.Y.U. She ripped it open, too, starting to get angry. She refused to think that every college they applied to would refuse them. Not after everything they've been through. Nina tried to hold hope▬especially when Peter's own disappeared right before her eyes. If M.I.T. wasn't it for them, then N.Y.U must be the...

Her eyes scanned quickly over the words, searching for the point it would give her answer. Her breath hitched, thinking that for a moment because it was longer, she had actually been accepted which meant that Peter might've been accepted, too ...

Unfortunately, due to recent controversies, we are unable to consider your application at this time.

Nina's hitched breath fell away, cascading out of her lips with a sigh of utter disbelief. Around her, Ned, MJ and Peter all carefully set their M.I.T. letters down onto the counter, defeated.

"No," Nina read and reread her letter, hoping that she had just imagined what they had said. Maybe she misread it. Maybe...

She felt tears burn at her eyes, and she blinked them away. She refused to cry, not when Peter sat right in front of her. Nina set her letter down, too and glanced up, meeting his gaze to see he had opened his from N.Y.U., too, and every light Peter Parker had▬every glint of optimism▬was gone.

That was it. That was the last of the colleges they had applied to.

None wanted them.

N.Y.U. didn't want her.

The college Nina has dreamt about going to since she was a little girl had just turned her away.

She set her jaw and shook her head, admitting softly: "I didn't get in..."

Peter watched her sadly. Then, he hung his head, too. "Neither... You?" he glanced at MJ and Ned.

MJ shook her head. Ned continued to read his letter and murmured: "'In light of recent controversy, we are unable to consider your application at this time'."

Felicia slumped forward and rested her head in her hands, she dragged her it down the side of her face. "Pieces of shit," she cursed the colleges.

Peter met their gazes, lingering on Nina. "This is so not fair," he told them. He then threw his letter down and raised his voice: "I mean, this is so not fair! I didn't even do anything wrong▬You guys definitely didn't do anything wrong! I▬I mean, Nina, you've▬" he couldn't even finish his sentence, realising what his actions with Mysterio have done for her ... for her childhood dream.

Nina didn't say anything at first. She frowned at the ripped envelope from N.Y.U. After a short silence, finally, she muttered: "Expect disappointment and ... you will never be disappointed..."

It seemed stupid to say. Maybe she was trying to remind herself▬tell herself that it didn't matter. That she had predicted this. But she was disappointed.

Nina was devestated.

And Peter could tell.

That was when the cafe door bell rang. Someone had burst inside and shouted: "No sleep 'till▬!" Flash threw his arms up in his deep red M.I.T. jumper and started dancing to a tune he created off the tip of his tongue. He grinned at them and thrusted his hips forward at the last beat with a shout of: "BOSTON!"

Felicia's stare went flat.

Flash's grin started to fall away when he noticed they didn't share his excitement. "Wait ..." He frowned. "You guys didn't get in?"

"Yeah," said Ned with unusual malice, "because we're actually friends with Spider-Man."

Flash didn't know what to say. He swallowed back his excitement and actually looked disappointed for them▬upset, even. He took a breath, as if to give them some reassurement, but he knew it was useless. Awkwardly, he glanced down at his watch and cleared his throat. "Uh▬Yeah. I▬I better get going. There's a mixer for new admissions and▬" he chewed on the inside of his cheek, hesitant. "I▬I'm sorry, guys."

He left and deep down, Nina couldn't blame him for any of it.

In fact, she gritted her teeth and grabbed both letters. "You know what?" she grumbled, to herself, to the others, but also to the world. Nina has been thrown so much shit, but now, she wasn't going to let it ruin her whole life. They were just dreams. Dreams change. She gripped them the letters in her fingers and ripped them into two. And then fours and once again. She tossed them and the envelopes into her work bin. Then, Nina set her gaze onto Peter. "I wouldn't change a thing I did."

MJ nodded and she chose to follow. She scrunched up her letter with vicious intent. "Never looked back once," she added. "Never will look back."

"Me neither," finished Ned. He ripped his letter up as well and Peter gave them weak smiles filled with gratitude.

Ned let his ripped pieces scatter on the table. Then he backtracked. "I▬oh▬um▬" He started to pick them up piece by piece, blushing. "Although, I do need to show this letter to my Lola..."

He slung his bag over one shoulder and left with a sad smile and a clasp of Peter's shoulder. Felicia finished her coffee and pursed her lips, hesitant. Then, she said. "Peter▬" he met her gaze. "You're smart. All of you are smart. Incredibly smart. You're gonna get somewhere. Just not this way."

Peter nodded at her. A respect had settled between them that might've turned into a friendship▬at last. "Thanks," he said softly.

Cia shrugged. "Anytime, Spider. Come on, girl▬" she rubbed MJ's back and coaxed her to stand up and away from the counter. Soon enough, the only ones left were Nina and Peter.

Nina watched him stare at his M.I.T. letter with a weight in her chest. "Hey," she said and her boyfriend glanced up as the door closed. MJ and Cia walked down the street, holding hands. "We'll figure something out▬" Nina promised Peter. "There's still time. Now let me just take these Halloween decorations down and then hopefully I'll still have some of my lunch break left..."

Peter watched her, not saying a word as his girlfriend turned away and started to take down the hanging lights above the counter. The wizard heads flickered as she touched them and just like that, Peter's stomach twisted with an idea.

A crazy idea.

(They still had time ...).

Peter Parker swung his legs off the stool. "Hey▬" he gestured Nina to turn around and lean over. He quickly pecked her cheek before she could say a word, grabbing his letter and stepping away. "I'll see you around. I▬I gotta do something. I▬I'll talk to you later▬!"

He raced out of the cafe and Nina watched him go, bewildered. "I ... Bye?" she said after the door had swung closed.

*ೃ༄

PETER PARKER swung for the life of him, speeding even for himself as he zipped through the streets and over the top of buildings. He desperately tried to follow the Google Map directions on his phone without going splat on the side of buildings and billboards ... except there wasn't an option for swinging travel▬Peter didn't want to admit the amount of times he had to back-track because his phone kept getting lost in the bad connection amongst the skyscrapers and the fact that he was in walk mode. (He wasn't exactly walking).

But at last, after nearly swinging straight into a truck (and having to take a short-cut that wasn't exactly a short-cut because he had to quickly stop a pesky robbery▬and get smacked with some old lady's bag), Peter Parker arrived at his desitation.

He landed down on the pavement at 177a Bleecker Street in Greenwhich. Peter Parker took a deep breath, staring across the road at the tall red-brick and stone corner building hugged by yellowing trees. The columns and brickwork made the building look like any other in Greenwhich, except for the deep green-blue tiled arch roof and the caged glass globe right in its centre▬reflecting the bright fall sun above, casting a glow of many different colours.

He chewed at his lip and fiddled with his phone in his fingers, turning it off. Peter nodded to himself, reassuring himself for the hundreth time that this was going to work▬it had to work.

With that in mind, Spider-Man crossed the street and headed straight towards the mysterious Sanctum Sanctorum.

The double door entrance was a deep, rich blue with faded brass handles. Peter tried to peer through the fogged glass inside, but all he was met with was a sight of what he thought was just dirty windows▬until the fogged glass shifted and with a hitched breath, he realised he was staring at clouds ... or some sort of magic concealment that kept him from looking inside.

He wondered what he was supposed to do. There was no doorbell nor was there a buzzer. Peter Parker guessed he had no choice but to knock on the door. He raised his fist and went to tap his knuckles on the wood▬

Until the doors opened wide and a sudden cold blast of wind nearly made Peter fall back down the front steps.

He held a hand up, and once the gust of wind settled, Peter gaped.

Inside it looked as though an entire snowstorm had rained hell. The floor was covered with ankle-high snow, the grand staircase looked like Peter Parker was standing in front of Elsa's ice castle and he really hoped he wasn't about to be met with a gigantic snow monster. The entrance hall was lit with dim lights from antqiue lamps and lanterns, the curtains were frosted with ice and every piece of furniture looked like a complete white wonderland▬every inch covered in white frost and snow.

Peter took a brave step inside, squinting at the sunlight from the window at the top of the grand staircase. It glared down and reflected off the ice. He did his best not to look at it and glanced around the vast entrance hall. He heard a sound to his left and looked over. There, he saw only two people. Both were covered head to toe in winter gear and were shovelling away at the snow. It was a bit of a ridiculous sight, since they were trying to shovel a whole room of snow into two small metal buckets.

Spider-Man stood there awkwardly for a moment, waiting for them to notice him. When they just kept shovelling, he cleared his throat.

They did not look over.

Peter pursed his lips and raised a hesitant hand. "Uh▬um ... Hi!" He waved with a small smile.

The two people in parkas glanced over and stared at him like he was a walking ghost. They didn't say anything. The boy's snow fell off his shovel right back down to where he had picked it up in the first place.

Peter lowered his hand, taken aback. "Hi?"

The boy and girl kept staring at him. He went back to fiddling with his phone. "Um ..." Spider-Man cleared his throat again and said. "I▬I'm▬"

The cold air split and to the right, bright yellow sparks started to form. They swirled and twisted together until they opened up into a wide circle. Through them, Peter could see a dark room with rich wooden floors and bookshelves. A man stepped through it, his parka hood thrown over his face. He carried two old suitcases and set them down in the snow.

"The most famous person in the world," grumbled the man. "I know."

He stood back up and threw back his hood and Peter held his hand up to wave once again. "Um, hi▬" he greeted softly.

"Wong," the man introduced himself. He fixed his winter jacket over a sturdy build and picked snow out of his short black hair. "Try not to slip," Wong told Peter. "We don't have liability insurance."

And then he stepped back through the portal like this was a daily occurance without another word.

Peter slipped his phone into his flannel and rubbed his hands together to bring some warmth. He really wished he had his own winter jacket, too. It was freezing cold in here as if he had stepped through a portal to the North Pole.

A little hesitant, Spider-Man took a few more steps forward into the entrance lobby▬and nearly slipped over. "Is all this for a holiday party?"

"No," Wong stepped back into the room and his portal closed behind him in a firey whirlwind. "One of the rotunda gateways connects to Siberia. A blizzard blasted through."

Peter glanced around, eyes wide at the ice-covered walls with a breath of awe. "Whoa..." was all he could say. He didn't know what a rotunda gateway was. "Cool..."

There was a echoing thud from above. He turned around and sighed with relief to see someone hover down the icy steps. He was carried by a cloak of velvet red▬magically flying towards them in sweat pants, slippers, jumper, a snow jacket and a mug of coffee in his hands: Dr. Stephen Strange.

"Because," Dr. Strange announced his presence with a grumbling tone, "someone forgot to cast a monthly maintenance spell to keep the seals tight▬" he slipped as he landed beside Wong and desperately tried to keep his coffee from spilling as he regained his balance.

"That's right," muttered Wong in reply, narrowing his eyes at the superhero, "he did, because he forgot I now have higher duties."

"Higher duties?"

Wong nodded, and he looked a little bit smug. "The Sorcerer Surpeme has higher duties, yes," he told Dr. Strange.

Peter frowned. He raised a hand like he was in class. "Um▬I▬" he pointed at Dr. Strange. "I thought you were the Sorcerer Supreme?"

Dr. Stephen Strange grumbled into his coffee. He had ice stuck to the bottom of his black beard and it matched the greying hairs above his ears. "No, he got it on a technicality 'cause I blipped for five years."

Peter didn't know what to say to that. "O▬oh..." He turned to Wong. "Uh, well▬Congragulations."

"If I'd been here, then, I▬"

Wong cut off Dr. Strange and marched over to the boy and girl who had stopped to listen, "▬You'd burn the place down. You two, no one said stop shovelling..."

Once the Sorcerer Supreme had left, Dr. Strange turned to Peter with an exasperated sigh, like even breathing was something disrupting to him. "So, Peter, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

He started to walk around the side of the grand staircase and Peter rushed to follow, nearly slipping over again. "Right▬um▬I'm really sorry to bother you, sir, but▬"

"Please," with a wave of his hand, Dr. Strange lit up a nearby fire and stood by its warmth. "We saved half the universe together I think we're beyond you calling me 'sir'."

Peter wrung his hands, nervous. "Okay," he muttered, shuffling to a stop by the fire, too. "Uh ... Stephen." He made a face after he said it.

Dr. Strange pursed his lips. "That feels weird, but I'll allow it."

Spider-Man nodded. He took a breath and moved on. "Uh ..." he continued to twist and wring his hands, not exactly sure how to ask his request. "W▬When, um ..." he huffed a breath and started over. "When Mysterio revealed my identity, m▬my entire life got screwed up and I was wondering▬I mean I don't know if this would actually work, but I was wondering if ... Maybe you could go back in time and make it so he never did?"

Dr. Strange tilted his head and Spider-Man didn't know whether the gaze he held was calculating, concerned or sympathetic. "Peter," he said finally, "we tampered with the stability of space-time to resurrect countless lives. You wanna do it again now just 'cause yours got messy?"

"This isn't▬it's not about me," Peter quickly said. "I mean▬This is really hurting a lot of people. My▬uh▬my Aunt May, Happy, my best friends, my girlfriend▬their futures are ruined just because they know me and they've done nothing wrong."

Peter did see a breath of sympathy in Dr. Strange's eyes this time. The red cloak on his back shifted as if sensing the sudden tense air, and was nervous, too. "I am so sorry, but ..." said Stephen Strange, "... even if I wanted to, I don't have the Time Stone anymore."

Spider-Man had a terrible flash of memory of a blinding light, and Tony Stark lying there, dying on the battlefield of what used to be Avengers Compound ... and Peter Parker's chest sunk with a bitter weight. "That's right," he muttered. All of his disappointment and all of his desperate grasps at home mingled together with that sadness and Peter was left with a sour defeat churning in the pit of his stomach. He felt stupid. He felt lost. He didn't know what to do.

He swallowed back a lump in his throat. "I▬" he scoffed it down and shook his head, both flustered and upset. "I'm sorry▬" he glanced at Dr. Strange, "▬I'm really sorry if I wasted your time, just▬"

Dr. Strange's eyes widened. In seeing the sheer hurt on Peter Parker's face, he quickly shook his head. "No, you didn't▬"

"▬Just forget about it," Peter started to turn away, his voice cracking, "please..."

"Oh, he will▬" Wong broke into the conversation behind them, lugging his suitcases through the ankle-deep snow. "He's very good at forgetting things."

This seemed to make something switch in Dr. Strange's mind. Peter saw his eyes wander off, suddenly quite stiff▬and then he snapped his fingers together and pointed at the Sorcerer Supreme. "Wong▬you've actually generated a good idea."

Wong stared at them. "What?"

Dr. Strange sent Peter a mischevious glance. "The Runes of Kof-Kol," he stated simply.

Spider-Man's eyes widened and his breath hitched. "The Runes of Kof-Kol?" he echoed wistfully. Then he frowned, dubious. "Am I supposed to know about those, or...?"

"Oh▬" Strange waved off his question dismissively, "▬It's just a standard spell of forgetting." He smiled, but there was a smugness to it. "Won't turn back time, but at least people will forget you were ever Spider-Man."

Peter's heart leapt with hope. "Seriously?"

"No, not seriously!" snapped Wong. He sounded very disapproving of Dr. Strange's idea. "That spell travels the dark borders between known and unknown reality. It's too dangerous!"

Strange sighed, his gaze lifting up to the ceiling with a frustrated breath▬almost like a teenager scoffing at his mother's fretful warning. "We've used it for a lot less. Do you remember the full moon party at Kamar-Taj?"

Wong furrowed his brows. "... No," he murmured with a new breath of suspicion.

"Exactly."

The Sorcerer Supreme kept his narrowed stare on Dr. Strange for a moment before glancing at Peter. Spider-Man hunched up▬not even his spider sense could give him warning towards Wong's accusing scowl.

Strange rolled his eyes. "Come on, Wong▬" he urged. He nodded at Peter. "Hasn't he been through enough?"

Peter started to feel like those words weren't just about his identity being revealed. Spider-Man swallowed that lump back down in his throat, looking at his feet.

Seeing this, eventually Wong reletented. He took a sharp breath through his nose and another portal appeared behind him. There stood a wonderful courtyard with archways and pointed red-brick roofs. "Just leave me out of this▬" he whispered before dragging his luggage through the portal. It spun closed with a slight whoosh! And the Sorcerer Supreme was gone.

As the last of the portal sparks fell at their feet, Dr. Strange glanced at Peter with that mischevious glint back in his gaze. Spider-Man wasn't entirely sure what to make of that smirk. Then he nodded his head behind them. "Follow me."

*ೃ༄

PETER FOLLOWED Dr. Strange down a long, steep and dark stairwell that smelt worse than the boys school gym lockers. Peter held a very omnious feeling, his senses alight with every creak, draught and breath▬each footstep made echoed like he was in a bell tower as they descended lower and lower beneath the Sanctum Sanctorum. Eventually, they emerged out into the depths of an underground room. Peter followed Strange into the ruins, stepping over fallen rubble and stone. He glanced up, craning his neck as he took in stone archways and crumbling pillars.

They stepped down into the centre of the room, his shoes scuffing on fractured cobblestone. He made sure to step over each crack. It was a superstition that stepping on cracks gave bad luck, but since Peter was in the same room as a literal sorcerer, he wasn't taking any chances.

At the very centre of the room where they stopped, hovered what looked like a small stone basin. It seemed very anti-climactic in such a vast and eerie room.

"So," Peter spoke up awkwardly. His voice echoed. "What is this place?"

"The Sanctum's built at the intersection of cosmic energy currents," explained Dr. Strange, standing right before the small stone basin. Peter arched a brow, curious, watching him start to sprinkle something down into the floating basin. It glowed the same colour as the portals they made. "We weren't the first to seek them out. Some of these walls are thousands of years old."

The basin lit up with a glowing orange▬the dust morphed together and spun around, forming patterns in the dark. "And they shot an episode of The Equalizer her in the eighties."

Peter's eyes widened. He's never seen The Equalizer. "Well, I ... I really appreciate you doing this for me, sir."

"Don't mention it," Dr. Strange continued to prep his spell. Peter watched him with a frown, something inside him crawling up his chest▬as if trying to warn him that something wasn't right. He forced it down. He had no choice. This was the last chance he and his friends had at a normal life▬he wasn't going to lose it. Dr. Strange poured something out of a vial into the basin and a long string of liquid spilt into the glowing circle. "And don't call me 'sir'."

Peter managed a little smile. "Right. Sorry."

"You ready?"

Spider-Man took a deep breath and nodded. He sighed it out. "Yeah. I'm ready."

Dr. Strange crossed his arms over his chest, his pointers and thumbs pressed together. He met Peter Parker's gaze. "Nice knowing you, Spider-Man."

Peter frowned. Wait▬what?

Strange's hands jerked forward in a specific motion and from his fingers, emitted the same golden and firey power that glowed from the basin. Peter's heart skipped a beat and he surged forward. "Wait, excuse me?"

A rune encased in a bright orange circle formed between the sorcerer's hands and out from it, he drew a single string and with it he started to drag it around him in a long, tense circle▬like he was drawing with ink. "The entire world's about to forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Including me."

Peter's stomach twisted. "E▬Everyone?" He sprung forward again, ducking lower under the circle of writings that began to hover over their heads. "Uh▬Can't some people still know?"

Dr. Strange set his jaw as he focused, contuing to draw out his line of runes around and around. "That's not how the spell works. And it's very difficult and dangerous to change it mid-casting."

A horrible realisation sank in Peter's chest. "So my girlfriend's just gonna forget about everything we've been through?" He thought about all the pain and frustration▬the aching hurt Peter felt when he and Nina struggled when she didn't know he was Spider-Man. He couldn't bare to go through that again. "I▬I mean is she even gonna be my girlfriend?"

The circle around them trembled slightly as Dr. Strange spoke: "That depends was she your girlfriend just 'cause you were Spider-Man, or▬?!"

Peter started to stress at the thought. "I▬well▬No. I▬I mean▬" he grew flustered, "▬I don't know. I really hope not▬"

"All right, fine!" Strange swiped his hand and the circle spun downwards before dimming. The sorcerer drew out a new glowing line from his palm and started the circle once again. "Everyone in the world's gonna forget you're Spider-Man except your girlfriend."

Spider-Man slumped with relief. "Thank you so much▬" another thought hit him. "Oh, my God, Ned. Ned and MJ▬Ned and MJ!▬" two runes snapped away from the spiral and back into Dr. Strange's hand.

"What is a Ned and MJ?" he frowned at them before tossing them into the basin.

"They're my best friends," Peter quickly explained, rushing out his words "so it's really important to me that Ned and MJ know▬oh, wait, no, Felicia! Felicia▬wait, Felicia needs to know. She's MJ's girlfriend and Nina's best friend▬Nina's my girlfriend and they really went through some rough stuff recently and it's just best if▬"

The circle above their heads quivered dangerously as Dr. Strange flung it around and it lowered down to hover, dim in colour with the one below it. Peter breathed heavily as he watched the circles duplicate, the runes buzzing and trembling with an angry rage▬as if upset he disrupted their spell.

Around them, the room started to grow cold▬a blue mist lifted up from the basin and hung over their heads like fog clouds. For a moment, Peter thought he heard whispers, and it terrified him. He glanced down and noticed that the first rune▬Nina's rune▬seemed to glow with a brighter anger than the rest. He frowned, troubled.

"Okay," said Dr. Strange as he drew one more line, "let's not change the parameters of this spell any more while I'm casting it."

Peter nodded. He twisted his hands again, breathing heavily. "O▬Okay, I'm done. I'm swear I'm done. I'm done. I▬I▬" His eyes widened. Then he remembered someone else and he winced. "Ah▬But my Aunt May should really know..."

"Peter..." Dr. Strange's hand started to shake with his angry runes, "... stop tampering with the spell▬" the whole group of circles spiralled as the sorcerer restarted the spell▬once again.

"When she found out I was Spider-Man," rambled Peter Parker, "it was▬it was really messy. I▬I don't think I could go through with that again..." he watched Dr. Strange expectantly. "So ... So my Aunt May?"

"Yes."

"Oh! Thank you, thank you ..." Peter hitched his breath. "Happy." He realised.

"No!" snapped Dr. Strange. "I'm annoyed!"

Peter did not notice that the rings were now furious with an energy that Dr. Strange was having trouble containing.

"N▬No, it's a nickname. Harold 'Happy' Hogan. He used to work with Tony Stark, but then he was kinda dating my aunt▬"

"▬Would you just stop talking▬?!"

And just like that, the spell exploded. Peter yelled out, flinching when the circles of runes erupted into firey sparks. He heard Dr. Strange shout in alarm▬he was flung backwards, his spell spiralling in every direction. The room broke apart; the stone split and crumbled. Peter yelped when he saw his feet lift off the ground beneath him. He watched, horrified as the stone split away and beneath, there was a gaping, endless pit of ... Peter did not know what it was. It was like a sea▬an ocean of blues, purples and pinks, twisting and manifesting together like waves but they did not flow like normal waves. They lifted and spun in all directions. Up, down, left, right, diagonal and inside-out.

Peter Parker gulped and looked at Dr. Strange as they were lifted off the ground. "Basically, everyone that knew I was Spider-Man before should still know!" he shouted and his words echoed out into the abyss, reaching ends he did not even know.

Dr. Strange did not hear him. His eyes were up, gazing at the strange sea around them as the rings of his spell destroyed the chamber around them until they were on an island of rubble in an atmosphere that was not there own.

Peter glanced around, too, and for a second, he thought he saw shapes in the waves. Shapes of▬of strange creatures. Creatures with tails, with multiple arms, with vicious teeth and slithering tongues. Peter gasped, only just realising the danger they might be in.

He saw figures of people▬figures hunched over, figures fighting these shapes in the waves, figures ... figures slumped over another silhouette, clutching onto a shape of a girl in a dress ... Peter stared, feeling a bile rise up in his throat as he noticed the shape of the girl did not move.

Dr. Strange was yelling▬desperate and in pain as he tried to bring the rings back down, but Peter Parker was transfixed. He stared at the two figures, because for a second he thought he heard a cry. A cry that sent his heart shattering amongst horrified confusion. It almost went unoticed amongst Strange's yells, but Peter heard it▬Heard the heartbroken sob:

"Nina, please▬!"

And then the circles flung back together. The stone returned to the ground and Peter collapsed to his knees, shaking from what he just saw.

The vicious quake had stopped. Dr. Strange had contained it all into one, solid amber casing. Inside it, his spell bounced back and forth off the walls like an furious hive, desperate to be freed.

Peter held his breath. He struggled back to his feet, still trembling. He could not get the voice out of his head. The sobbing cry of Nina's name▬of the figures ... of the girl that lied there, rigid and still. Peter Parker glanced up at Dr. Strange and croaked. "Did it work?"

Dr. Strange met his gaze with a livid anger. "No," he seethed. "You changed my spell seven times!"

Peter hunched up. He couldn't help but blurt out: "Six times▬"

"You changed my spell!" Strange cut him off, pointing a furious finger at him. "You don't do that! I told you and that is why▬!" he moved his finger down to the energy rocketing back and forth inside its amber cage. "That spell was completely out of control. And if I hadn't shut it down, something catastrophic could have happened!"

Realising what he had done, Peter Parker hitched back a pained lump▬he didn't like it when he made people angry. "S▬Stephen, listen, I am so▬"

"Call me 'sir'!" snapped the sorcerer.

Peter pursed his lips and looked down, his face burning with shame. "S▬Sorry, sir..."

Dr. Strange sighed. He rubbed his forehead, and some of his anger fell away when he said: "After everything we've been through, somehow I always forget you're ... you're just a kid. Look, Parker, the problem is not Mysterio. It's you trying to live two different lives. And the longer you do that, the more dangerous it becomes. Believe me."

Peter swallowed hard. He stared at the raging spell in its containment, and wondered whether he should stay quiet, but he couldn't help but ask. "Sir?"

"What?" The annoyance still clipped in the sorcerer's words.

"What ... what was that place?" Spider-Man murmured, some fear creeping back in as he heard that sobbing voice▬over and over and over again. "Those ... those figures ... I heard someone say my girlfriend's name: Nina Hart."

Peter saw a hesitation in Dr. Strange's eyes. His frown deepened, that troubling fear festing deep within his chest that almost made it hard to breathe. Because that look▬Strange knew something. Something about that voice ... about Nina ... and he wasn't telling him.

But what could Nina have anything to do with Dr. Strange? With that voice▬with any of this?

Stephen Strange took another careful breath, and instead of explaining, he just murmured. "I'm sorry, kid." And the weight of those words had a deeper meaning that Peter Parker could not decipher. But he did not like the sound of it▬at all. "I'm so sorry▬" his tone quickly switched, and Peter knew that a secret was withheld in the air, "▬about you and your friends not getting into college, but if they rejected you and you tried to convince them to reconsider, there's nothing else you can do."

Peter stepped back. He pursed his lips and a sudden sheepish feeling rose up in him that replaced everything else. "Um ..." he shuffled on his feet. "W▬when you say 'convince them' ... you mean, I could have called them?"

"Yeah."

"I can do that?"

Dr. Strange stared at him. "You ... You haven't called the▬?"

Peter hunched up, growing flustered all over again. "W▬Well, I mean, I got their letter. I assumed that was▬"

"I'm sorry▬" Strange moved the basin out of the way as he marched up to Peter, a fresh fury on his face. "Are you telling me that you didn't even think to plead your case with them first before you asked me to brainwash the entire world?!"

Peter pursed his lips.

He took a breath.

"I▬I mean when you put it like that, then..."

*ೃ༄

a/n: and from here on we dive into the nwh plot guys!!!

*screams in both excitement and fear*.

and y'all don't even think peter parker wouldn't be like that with his gifs he literally traded stuff to get enough money to buy nina a necklace. he loves photography. he definitely would have put together something cute like that because aunt may raised him right.

(i don't know how i feel to know the next events basically all happen in like one/two days...).

guys i'm not ready..

(minimal editing)