mj watson says (youhitjackpot) wrote in rooms, @ 2014-03-31 00:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | !marvel comics, *log, mary jane watson, peter parker |
log: peter/mary jane
WHO MJ & Peter.
WHAT Spock is on the hunt for Gwen. MJ is obviously the best choice to figure that out.
WHEN Recently!
WHERE Midtown, NYC.
WARNING a little blood. ock being a dick. not much!
Spring was coming back to New York, and that brought audition season once again into the laps of throngs of wannabe actors who came to the city of blinding lights for a dream. And despite resigning herself to a life of personal assistance and routine destruction, Mary Jane Watson still, somehow underneath that all, had a dream. Maybe she had forgotten about it in the interim years of whatever the fuck. It wasn’t like people were there to encourage her, and the presence of a Vegas voice in her head left her a little less than motivated to do anything with her life. Maddie Kate was going to get her killed one day with her antics, with her abuse of drugs and alcohol, so what was the point of cultivating a life of her own, right? In that way, Mary Jane had become too much like MK without even realizing it. Stuck in a rut of doing a job she wasn’t particularly passionate about anymore, sleeping with Harry Osborn as he continued to break her heart, and withdrawing more and more from people who supposedly cared about her.
Self-fulfilling prophecy much?
Honestly, it wasn’t until the new, dickhead Peter had made those comments about bitterness and lonliness that she really pulled the mirror up on her life. That, of course, didn’t stop her from making mistakes, but she was trying to realize what was wrong in her life. The complacency was addressed first because that was the most infuriating of all. She wasn’t boring and vapid, was she? She would prove to him-- no, fuck that, she would prove to herself that she still could make herself into a woman she wanted. One that was more than just a personal assistant for Tony Stark.
It was an early spring afternoon, the weather was warmer than it had been in months, and MJ strolled out of Telsey’s midtown offices quite pleased with how her audition went. In fairly professional garb, she began to walk down the street, heels clicking on the dirty New York sidewalks. She sucked on an iced coffee -- extra light, skim milk -- and began tucking her folder full of headshots and resumes into her shoulder bag. Oblivious of those around her and lost in feeling good about something for the first time in a long time.
Oh, Ock was completely aware that Peter was back. Sure, he had his own fits of madness before, but never anything that would jeopardize his equipment or let a blonde something or other steal his stuff. How foolish he was thinking that he could trust Gwen Stacy. He thought there was honor between scientists, a trust between people who appreciated the art of exploration! Gwen wasn’t a scientist, she was a liar. A scared little girl who couldn’t see her pet Carnage torn apart to be built anew. Parker would be taken care of later. First he had to find Gwen Stacy and teach her a lesson.
When his spider-bots couldn’t detect Gwen anywhere, Parker decided to go to the next best thing: Mary Jane Watson. Surely Gwen told the red head where she was and enough scary robot bugs would certainly free up some information quickly. After sending his bots out to track the girl down, he found that she was pathetically trying out for some acting role. Well, it was better than being a servant girl to Tony Stark.
Parker waited for her outside, dressed in slacks and a button up shirt that made him look much older than he actually was. He crossed his arms, checking his watch as he leaned up against a wall and then watched her stroll out with a spring to her step. Parker followed behind, watching with loathing as she enjoyed a Starbucks and acted like every single woman who ever scorned him. Who ever turned their nose up at him because he was too ugly. Eventually he caught up with her, one hand reaching to grab her arm lightly.
“Mary Jane.” He hissed, siding next to her with a dark look in his eyes. “Tell me where Gwen Stacy is.”
Mary Jane barely stifled a shriek as she felt a hand close around her arm, and she skidded to a stop, wheeling around to see Peter Parker. Oh, she knew now that it wasn’t really Peter who controlled the body. The real Peter was banging around somewhere in the back of this imposter’s brain. It was like, a weird Inception sort of thing that MJ just took for face-value. She didn’t have the heart to doubt that there wasn’t a real Peter underneath it all. She had to believe it. She had to.
After the initial jump of fear, she thwacked him lightly on the arm with the back of her hand. “Peter,” she breathed, pressing a hand to her chest like he scared the living daylights out of her. “Didn’t Aunt May teach you not to grab New York girls on the street? Most of us carry mace, and that would be not very good for your bug sight.” She didn’t jerk her arm out of his grip, and she told herself to calm down. MJ was an actress, after all, and this was all about making that imposter Parker think she didn’t have a clue. “Oh, I dunno. Work or something?” When did she become Gwen Stacy’s keeper, and why was he asking about her anyway? She repressed a sigh. It always went back to Gwen Stacy.
Parker let her arm go automatically as if some other force had pried his fingers from her skin and he dropped his hands down to his side as he loomed forward. “Don’t play games with me, young lady. She stole something very valuable to me and I know she would have at least told you where she ran off to.” He lifted one hand, pulling his phone out of his pocket and turned it to show a live feed of Gwen’s apartment. “Not a blonde imposter of a scientist to be found!” Parker lowered his hand slowly and the sound of clicking spider-bots suddenly came from above. If she looked up, she could see one or two spider-bots just waiting for their chance to jump on her.
“I’ll give you one more chance and if you don’t tell me where they are, my bots will make your apartment their home. All three thousand five hundred and seventy of them.” Parker’s usually sweet face curled into a maniacal grin. If she looked down, he was slowly rubbing his hands together at the prospect of making someone pay for what Stacy did. Making an example out of Mary Jane Watson wasn’t anything new, was it? And, as long as he didn’t physically hurt her, that idiot Peter wouldn’t come out of his webbed corner in the back of his mind, would he?
When he let go of her arm, she crossed both of them over her chest protectively, even as that smirk still curled up her mouth. “Peter, you don’t remember me really well if you’re trying to pull that. I don’t respond to bullying,” Mary Jane stated, teasing but still somehow saying cut the shit. Her face slacked a little when he showed her that feed, though. “You’re spying on her?” Her mouth curled up in a sneer this time. Sure, she knew that this wasn’t really Peter, but wouldn’t he have tried to hide a little better under the facade? And, Peter would never, ever spy on them. Right?
The clicking garnered a quick glance up, green eyes up to the sky and sneer even slacking now. Her mouth turned into a tight line, and she looked at him with measured gaze practiced over years of men scarier and bigger than him. Boys that wanted to intimidate her into pleasing them and a father who blamed her for all his misfortunes. Green eyes turned electric with anger and only the slightest flicker of fear around the edges. “I don’t know where she is.” MJ’s fingers curled into her forearm, other hand clutching her coffee cup as if anchoring herself there. She expected this from her father, from those bros who overestimated their prowess, even from Harry. But, not from Peter, even if it wasn’t Peter at all. To see his face morph into something so wrong made it almost grotesque.
“I don’t know what you remember,” she said sharply, “but Gwen and I don’t really keep tabs on each other. We aren’t BFFs, or anywhere close to that. She hates me. She wouldn’t tell me anything about where she’s going.”
One of the robot spiders clicked its way down the wall and gently scurried over her foot. A warning that she was playing with fire. That the Superior Spider-Man was not one to be fooled around with or lied to. And, Mary Jane was clearly lying. She likely had Gwen staying at some friend’s house or at Stark base by now that Parker would have a hard time finding or breaking into. The thought of the two working against him for no good reason boiled his blood. “Don’t you get it? She stole Carnage! Who knows what she’ll do with it!” He was shouting and now people on the street were actively avoiding them or staring. New York always had its share of eccentrics, but yelling at a woman in broad daylight was cause for concern no matter where you were.
He tried to calm himself down, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as if she had just gotten on his last nerve. “If you do not locate Gwen, I will make your life a living hell. I will destroy your name, your apartment. As much as I am sworn to protect you I will not-” The spider suddenly twitched and turned to scurry up Parker’s leg. He let out a confused, pathetic screech as it sank sharp metal arms legs into his thigh and then hastily grabbed it and threw it against the wall, making it shatter into pieces. His breathing turned wild and he gave a look up at the sky like he was trying to dig into something in his mind that was impossible to reach.
In a moment he swayed, took a stumbling step forward and then fell towards Mary Jane as if he had just fainted. The bump into her made him stagger back and then blink. His eyes that had once been filled with so much hate and anger now confused and unaware of where he is. “Didn’t I tell you to hit the snooze-” He started and then shook his head, his body wiggling a little as if he just got the jeepers scared out of him.
Peter looked up, surprised. “Mary Jane!” His voice lost all that threatening overtones. Now it was surprised and happy to see her like they caught the same train together on accident. “What are you doing here? Heck. What am I doing here?”
Mary Jane let out the tiniest yelp and tried to shake the bot off of her foot, dropping her coffee in a spectacular splash in the process. She could sense the eyes staring, the people hovering, the tourists curiously peering at a real-life New York fight, and she bit back a yell, hands finding their ways to her hips instead, fingers digging into bone. Still trying to shake the scuttling spider. She almost told him that she didn’t care about some stupid symbiote, and she barely understood what was going on, but she held back. “Y’know, I’m pretty damn sure she’ll do something better with it than you,” she said through gritted teeth.
She watched a little dumbfounded as Peter had a literal rage stroke, stumbling back as he bumped into her. Some passersby skidded to a stop, worried that he might be attacking the poor, pretty young redhead, but MJ wasn’t very focused on that. Despite herself, she grabbed his forearms to steady him and cursed a little in a mixture of panic and anger at herself for falling for it again. “Pete--,” she started, but before she could voice concern, he jerked out of the stupor and looked at her in shock. A couple seconds passed where she stared at him in disbelief before she rocked back on her heels. One step, then two.
“Whatever twisted game you’re playing, I’m not having it.” But, Mary Jane saw that look of confusion devoid of that malice, and she took her turn at confusion. “Peter?” she asked like an idiot, eyes narrowed as if she could see right through him.
Peter looked at his feet. Well, first things first: he was bleeding out of his thigh. “I wish I could say this was the first time I woke up after being stabbed.” He told his pants remorsefully and then covered the wound with his hand and pushed pressure so that it would heal faster. Next on the docket: Mary freakin Jane was standing right there in front of him. Peter looked up and hobbled over to the wall he had thrown the spider bot at and leaned against it. “We can totally agree Ock is a big creepster, but did you really have to stab him? This is my body, too.” Peter smiled at her, pulling his hand away to see blood and then regretfully wiped it across the side of his shirt. Ock wore stupid clothes, anyway.
With significant joshing around accomplished, Peter tried to figure out what actually happened. The smashed spider bot at his feet told more than enough. “Did he try and threaten you?” That made him mad and the angry face Peter made was so much different than the one Ock did. It was more like a kid who saw his friend on the playground get her pigtails pulled by a bully and wanted to do something about it. The expression dropped for a half a second. “Also, hi.” The angry was back. Grr Doctor Octopus.
She hadn’t even registered the blood at first, too overwhelmed by the imposter Peter, the spider bot, then the real Peter, but once he pulled back blood on his hand, she cursed again. Lip twitching just a little at his quipping. “I didn’t stab you!” she defended as she tried so hard not to be amused, arms flapping in frustration now and momentarily losing the warm feeling in her stomach that Peter was standing in front of her. She waved to the smashed spider bot on the floor just as he noticed it, and when his face got angry (but still in a strangely, adorably Peter way that made her heart skip a beat), she sighed and strode over to him in quick, clicking steps.
“Yeah, he did.” She didn’t sound surprised. Like she was used to men like him in her life, and didn’t Peter know all about that in her life? Oh, wait. He probably didn’t. Mary Jane had to actively remind herself as she fished into her back for a napkin (every New York girl’s bag was a Mary Poppins bag) that this wasn’t her Peter. Despite how he looked like him, despite how that crooked look of confusion looked just like the way Peter’s head used to tilt when she said something scandalous, this wasn’t the Peter she grew up with. The one she fell for.
Finding the napkin, she turned back to him and smiled. “Hi,” she said quickly. “C’mere you shmuck.” She rolled her eyes before stooping down to press the napkin to the spot on his pants currently pooling blood. It seemed like she’d done it a thousand times before, patch him up when he came back littered with wounds, but she hadn’t. Only once, when she’d crawled into bed with her Peter and held him in his exhaustion, did she even really have to recognize the toll Spider-Man took on him. But, it was innate that immediate caution and amused frustration in a way that surprised even her. She kept firm pressure on the wound. “He’s looking for Gwen apparently,” she informed him, voice betraying how tired she was of playing second fiddle (in her mind) to the blonde. “Saying something about the symbiote.”
Peter had to remind himself that this wasn’t his Mary Jane and he wasn’t her Peter. It was hard enough with Gwen, alive and breathing and calling him bug-boy even though he hadn’t seen her for what felt like a lifetime. Mary Jane was different. She was wrapped up in his complicated past and even though they had stopped dating, there was always a spark. A spark he felt when she pressed the napkin to his cut without thinking twice. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. Peter frowned, but fixed it into a smile by the time she looked up to him. “So he went after you.” He got the full picture now and nodded along. “I must have somehow triggered his spider to attack him. I’ve been trying to hide out lately. He knows I’m around.”
The wound started to clot and he took the napkin from him and dabbed away some remaining blood. “I asked Gwen to steal Carnage.” Peter confessed, crumpling up the bloody napkin in his hand. “Cause, you know, I just love putting her in harms way if I can help it.” He gave a mirthless laugh and tried to shrug. “And, you too. Man, I’m such an idiot. I didn’t think he’d go after you to track her down. You two aren’t even friends, right?” The bug boy gave her a look that said even if she did know where Gwen was to not say anything and then walked over to a trash can to toss the napkin.
His hand hovered over the trash can after dropping the blood soaked napkin and then he turned to look at MJ. “This is going to sound super weird and stuff, but I haven’t had a normal conversation since like forever.” Peter could hear Spock trying to gain his mind back, but he wasn’t getting it for a little while. Talking to Mary Jane on the forums was one thing, but actually seeing her in person made him kind of happy. And, it was obvious Peter Parker hadn’t been happy in a long time. “Can I- can we hug and talk about stuff that isn’t spider or goop related for a little and then I’ll leave before he can start talking like a creepy theater major at a sorority girl party? Yowzer.”
Mary Jane could feel that stupid little flip of her stomach when she looked up at him, but she kept a steady smile, too. It was easier to deny the feelings than be rejected, wasn’t it? And she had just let Harry take her on her couch, lost in a love that wasn’t very much like love at all. Flash was right, all those months ago; MJ had too much of it. Too many feelings, too much brightness and darkness and everything in between. But, that didn’t discount the distinct ache of her heart when she looked at this man and saw Peter Parker. She refused to believe in destiny and that bullshit about their comics, even the ones she read via the cupid. Destiny said they had no choice in the matter, and MJ wanted a choice. And, hadn’t Peter fallen for Gwen first? She knew he needed to end up with her.
But, seriously. That quick catch of heart in her throat needed to stop.
When he took the napkin, she stood up again, swallowing away those stupid feelings of confusion. This wasn’t her Peter. This wasn’t her Peter. “Peter,” she said in exasperation, as he turned to toss the bloody napkin away. “You don’t get to blame yourself. Not when I’m just getting to see your handsome face for the first time in ages.” She sounded warm, and wasn’t it so goddamn easy to fall into this with him? But, she frowned when the subject went back to Gwen. “We should be,” she said, as if that explained why Doc Ock would have assumed MJ would know where Gwen was. It wasn’t a good explanation, and she shrugged. “Frenemies at best?” she offered in concession, and she wanted to tell him that wasn’t for lack of trying on her part. It was all old jealousy and bitterness, and okay, maybe she didn’t make it easy sometimes. She shot him a look that told him exactly what he wanted, that she wouldn’t tell even if she knew, and how dumb it was to even question that.
“Seriously?” Her red eyebrow quirked up in amusement, and she had to fight the smile that twitched at the corners of her lips. The request made her take pause, still amused and rocking a little on her heels. “Well, since you asked so nicely, how am I supposed to say no?” It was too, too easy, and while she reviled herself for slipping into this, she couldn’t really be surprised, could she? The same thing happened with Harry. The same thing happened with Flash at times. It would always happen, and she was a weak person for it.
The stride was confidence, slow and deliberate, and the second she reached Peter, she pulled him into a tight embrace. Onlookers might have thought the scene a little suspect, but no one questioned when the two seemed to “make up” after their fight. MJ lingered for longer than she should have, eyes closing briefly and savoring the pretend of Peter actually being Peter. “C’mon, I know a park down the block we can sit in for a little bit?”
Peter was exhausted and relieved in one second that she said yes and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her like a prisoner who hadn’t hugged his family in years. This wasn’t his Mary Jane and the rising voice of Ock kept reminding him of that. But, he could close his eyes. He could rest his head on her shoulder. He could pretend. When Peter pulled back he smiled at her shyly. “Th-thanks.” Was all he could sputter out. “Asking for hugs. What’s next? Begging people to like me on facebook?” Peter sighed with a nervous smile and tried not to look at her. He wondered if he looked anything like her Peter or all she saw was Ock with occasional sparks of a guy she knew once. And, he tried not to believe that feeling in his gut when she stared back at him. “At least I’m not a guy at a comic book convention wearing a free hugs sign, right?” Another joke. They were so effortless once he could breathe in air with his own lungs.
“A park sounds awesome.” He confirmed and followed her. “So, what were you doing before a supervillain in Peter Parker’s body threatened you?” Peter looked behind him as if it would give him a clue. Ock was so good at erasing time like it was nothing. And, it wasn’t fair. Peter finally had his friends back and Ock was wasting it on trying to prove he was something that he wasn’t.
The head on her shoulder was an anchor, and she bit back a sigh or a whimper or anything to indicate how much she was losing herself in the fantasy of it all. She buried away that doubt whispering in the back of her brain, that tease that it wasn’t her Peter and it never would be. Here, right now, it didn’t matter. That shy smile brought her back to Forest Hills, to home, to sitting on her porch and looking over at his on a spring afternoon. “Anytime, tiger.” She smiled at him in amusement before stepping back and taking him in for real. He did look just like her Peter, and when he relaxed and quipped and turned into a dork, it was so very, very easy to forget all about Doc Ock. “I’d say you need new material, but it’s better than Mr. Grump and Growl.” Clearly, MJ wasn’t a fan of Doc Ock either.
She fell into step with him, a slow amble instead of the usual city-slicker speed, and she turned over to look at him with a smile. “An audition.” She shrugged, pointing out the park at the end of the block. There were basketball courts at the far rear, swings and slides and a jungle gym for a playground, and a small alcove of benches surrounding sprinklers that hadn’t been turned on yet. “I haven’t gone on one in a while, but it felt good, y’know?”
Peter walked like someone who had been sitting in a chair in front of a desk all day. A little stiff and unsure how feet work. He was always something of a klutz (which was usually corrected by Spidey powers), but now it just seemed like he hadn’t found his land legs yet. “An audition?” Peter asked with a smile that flipped when she admitted she hadn’t gone in a long time. “Why haven’t you gone in a while? You’re so talented. I mean- uh well I remember- you were talented- you are talented.” He stumbled over his words and teetered before sitting down on the bench next to her.
“Something about working for Tony Stark, right?” Peter scratched his head, trying his very best to get through the muddled mess of his shared brain with Ock and that other guy. “You’re too good for that noise. Plus, I don’t really trust Stark around red heads. It’s just a rule. Me, Wolvie, Stark, Cy- crap. Don’t trust any dudes in tights around red heads.”
MJ watched as he teetered around on his feet, wondering how it felt to find yourself back in your own body. The younger redhead had her life taken over by the Vegas-side, but it was still different from battling someone in your own brain for your own body. Her face flickered with concern before he flopped down to sit next to her, and she seemed to relax for a fraction of a second. Settled in her skin before he started asking more questions. A second of tension that surely bug boys could read, and then she told herself to relax.
“Just wrapped up in other stuff.” MJ shrugged, then waved a hand in the air. “It’s not noise, Peter. That’s Tony Stark.” She smirked despite herself and looked at him through the corner of her eyes. She didn’t ask about Wolvie, even if she didn’t know who that was. She’d heard from MK once that redheads were a thing in the comic world. Why not embrace it? “I dunno, tiger. I wouldn’t go that far. Maybe I like the attention.” She tapped her finger against his thigh once before winking, so readily and easily flirting with him like she did with everyone else. But, Peter Parker wasn’t everyone else. He was more.
Peter gave an awkward smile and a shrug. Sure, MJ usually loved attention, but he wondered if she was lacking in that department lately. Gwen wasn’t her friend and he had no idea how things were between her and Harry (though he could take a wild guess). All the friends that they had made over the years weren’t there anymore and the uneasy spider was stuck facing old ghosts and demons as if he had to start his life over again. “I wish I could be around more.” He said in response, leaning forward to press his palms on the bench seat between his legs as if he were leaning over a tall building.
He kicked his heels against the ground, looking over to her when she tapped his thigh and nodded with a smile. “How’s Harry doing?” Peter tried not to look sick to his stomach when he asked. Harry rested in the same guilt camp as Gwen. Something he once thought was ruined, laying brand new in front of him like nothing ever went wrong. And, he had a feeling that Harry was different now from when he knew him all those years ago. That made him feel a little sick, too.
It was something that the other Peter, the imposter one who smirked like he was up to no good, said that made MJ realize how lonely she really felt lately. She wouldn’t admit it to herself usually, too stubborn and unwilling to acknowledge that something could be off in her life. If she didn’t recognize it, maybe it would go away, right? But, it didn’t, and she was sorely lacking in attention lately. And, she didn’t really have a viable excuse to ignore it anymore, did she? MK was gone, as far as she could tell, because she’d received a new phone and hadn’t gotten booted from the door in days. Not that it could help matters. Gwen was never a friend, her relationship with Harry was toxic, and Peter...well, he wasn’t Peter very often. “We’ll fix it all soon. Promise.” This time she brushed her hand on his thigh in gentle assurance before pulling it back into her lap.
She tried her hardest to look neutral about Harry, not sure how well this Peter was able to read her. “He seems fine,” she offered, voice not as clipped as it could be. “His dad wasn’t around for a while, so he was head of Oscorp, but now Norman’s back. Harry claims he’s fine, but I think he’s full of it.” MJ recognized the guilt in Peter’s eyes, and she softened immediately. “Nope. You don’t get to do that around me, tiger. I’m not allowing it.”
Peter grimaced as if she caught him cheating on his science homework and shook his head. “You don’t get it. I royally screwed up their lives. Goblin never would have gone after Gwen if it wasn’t for me and I could have-” He shook his head and then tried to smile at her. “I said no talk about spidey stuff and here I am breaking my own rule.” The guilt would never really leave Peter Parker. Not for all the years he had been Spider-Man. It fueled him, told him to work harder so that people wouldn’t get hurt. And, even with a super villain pushing for his brain back, Peter’s will was as strong as it had ever been.
“Do you think he’ll forgive me? I mean for all the dumb stuff Ock said. Do you think he’ll believe me when I get my head back?” Peter needed a yes, even if this Harry wasn’t interested in being his friend anymore. A yes would keep him moving forward.
“No,” Mary Jane insisted, suddenly taking one of those hands pressed into the bench and lacing her fingers with his. Her palm felt warm against his, and she pulled their entwined fingers into her other hand to be cradled. It was a comforting gesture for him, she told herself, even if she felt her own ache assuaged just a little to feel his hand in hers. “Not around me, Peter. Not now.” She squeezed his hand lightly. She could never fully understand or know the guilt he carried, but she didn’t want him to dwell on those things right now. “We’re here now. It’s okay. We’re all okay.” Or as relative as okay could be.
She smiled slightly at him. “He will. Harry’s not very good at holding grudges, and none of that was your fault.” Another squeeze of his fingers as if she hoped it could be the salve for his guilt, even for just a second. “He can’t blame you for what that jackass said.”
Peter couldn’t remember the last time Mary Jane held his hand. Honestly, he couldn’t remember a lot of the details, most of them lost in Ock’s attempt to mind waste him. He still knew it had been a long time, though and once he got past the uncomfortableness of it, he squeezed back and let the warmth make him smile. He felt silly getting gooey over a girl holding his hand and he knew it was only a matter of time before Ock took advantage of it. “Yeah, we’re okay.” He nodded and decided it was best not to dwell on stuff he couldn’t change. MJ and Gwen and Harry would write their own, new stories, right? And, the most he could do was try to not mess it up.
Ock’s voice in the back of his head grew louder and Pete’s hand suddenly gripped MJ’s tight before letting go. Peter’s eyes went wide as he searched through his mind for a way to stay at the surface, but Ock kept pulling him down farther and farther. “Uh, okay I- I got to go before,” Pete looked to MJ and she could tell he was fading. That sweet boy from next door giving into a cold, angry darkness that wasn’t him at all. “Be safe. Say your prayers and take your vitamins!” He squeezed her hand again and stood up on the bench before hopping off and running in the other direction like he was late for class.