Nothing.

I felt nothing as my eyes closed and my breath was released. For a a few seconds that's all there was. Nothing. Darkness surrounded me like one of those bad dreams when you're trapped in a dark hallway. Except, in this hallway was a large movie projector type thing. I blankly stared at it as my life seemed to flash before me. So I guess your life does flash before your eyes when you die.

I heard someone call my name and my chest started to hurt. Slowly, the darkness began to fade away, the movie of my life, rewinding. I made a face like grumpy cat and looked around confused. What the heck was happening? I heard my name again and more pain shooting through my chest, but this time it reached my heart. My heart...

I flinched and squeezed my eyes closed. The next time I opened them, everything was still dark. But it was different. I could feel myself and I was breathing. My back was hurting again. My head throbbing with a headache. My chest was stinging and my nose was tingling. My arm felt numb and my lungs hurt with every breath I took. There was a ringing in my ears, so I didn't quite hear the heart monitor sitting next to me. I had to look to my side to see the steady red lines rising up and down. It was mesmerizing, so I turned a little bit on my bed and stared at it. I watched the red line beep up, then down, then up again. For a moment I thought it stopped, but it couldn't have. Because I had this sense the monitor was attached to me. If it stopped, than that meant I died for a split second. Maybe I was already dead and I didn't know it? I heard rapid footsteps, like a lot of them, running down the hallway. I didn't look away from the monitor, even when the door flew open. I sat indian style on the mattress, my chin resting on my hands, my elbows resting on my knees.

"Peter?" A familiar voice said, I little shaken.

"Yeah, Mr. Stark?" I said in a whisper. The light was flipped on and I winced. "Dude! Give me a warning at least. You're as bad as some teachers at school." He ran to me, three people following him. Then I was attacked. With a group hug. I looked around to see May, MJ, and Ned piled on top of me. All of them babbling about someone dying. That's when it hit me... "Holy sh!t!" I suddenly exclaimed. I looked up at Tony, who was standing a few feet away from me with his arms crossed. "Did I fu- freaking die?!" With one swift nod he answered my question. "Oh my word! So that's what that was... I was trying to figure out why I was watching my life on a TV screen..."

"Say what again?" Tony raised an eye at me and leaned forward.

"Nothing. I'll tell you later. Wow! That must have been terrifying for you guys." I looked to my right to see May sobbing.

"Baby! Don't ever do that to me again! I thought you weren't going to come back! I thought I was going home alone! Peter Benjamin Parker! Promise me you'll be more careful for now on!" I cleared my throat and turned towards her.

"Sure. Yeah, yeah... I'll be carful. So, wait... how long was I dead?" I looked back at Ned. He was crying as well. Before anyone responded, MJ punched me really hard in the shoulder. "I think I deserved that... but could you at least wait until I'm recovered?" I scoffed.

"You might die again and I couldn't punch a dead man." She said bluntly, her voice obviously shaking with fear. "But for real Parker," she walked in front of me and hugged me tightly. "Don't you ever die again. You hear me? If you die, I'll kill you." She let go and took a step back. "You alright?" I half smiled and nodded.

"I feel fine. Thanks for the threat upon my dead self." We both chuckled before I was brought down by a heavyweight. Ned was hugging me from behind, putting his full force on me. "Bro!" I managed to choke out before falling on my back. He was practically laying down on top of me. His arms resting on my chest, his chin resting on my forehead. His stomach laying on the bed and his toes supporting him up so he could stand.

"Peter! I thought you were done for! Your heart stopped! Your everything stopped! How did it feel? Did you meet Jesus? Is God real? Did you go to hell? Or was it like floating above your body, watching everything that was happening? Never mind... it's probably hard to talk about. But seriously, did you see anything? Are you going to be okay? Will you ever-"

"Wow! Ned! Take a deep breath and get off of me!" He raised up, rubbing his arm a little.

"Sorry man..." I sat up, using my forearms for support and leaning my head back, smiling at him.

"It's cool dude." I slightly turned on my side so we could do our secret handshake. Well... it wasn't really a secret since we do it in front of everyone. Once we were finished I flung my body over to lay down. It was a huge mistake. I grunted loudly and let out a choking laughter. For some reason the situation was making me laugh.

"You alright, kid?" Tony said, taking a step forward.

"I feel like I just got hit by a train, Mr. Stark." I wheezed out. I closed my eyes in a sleepy manner but threw them open instantly, afraid I wouldn't wake up again.

"Why don't we let Pete rest? I'll send a nurse in here to watch him." May looked up, hesitating to speak up. I could tell she didn't want to leave me. She didn't want to move. And to be honest, I didn't want her to go either. But I could tell Tony had to speak with me about a more pressing matter. I smiled at May and nodded towards the door.

"I do need to talk with Mr. Stark... then can you come back? I don't want to be alone." Tears filled her eyes again as she stood up. She took three steps to me and leaned over kissing my forehead. "Love you."

"I love you more." She said smiling, waiting for me to finish the Tangled quote.

"I love you most!" She chuckled slightly and pulled her feet towards the door, dragging them with each step. She grabbed the handle and turned back to look at me one last time. "I promise I'm not going anywhere." She swallowed the lump in her throat and swung open the door for MJ and Ned. They both looked back at me many times with empathy and concern. Once the door was closed, Tony covered me up with the blanket, raised my bed so I wasn't totally laying down, and sat down in the chair again. "Now don't start that again..." I said with a small laugh. Tony was not laughing. "What?"

"This isn't funny, Parker." Tony stared directly into my eyes, forcing my anxiety to kick in. "That was waaayyy to close... way, way to close." I looked down, staring into my lap. "Do you want to know how hard it was to pull a sobbing woman out of a room where her nephew, practically her son, lays dead on a bed?! Where doctors are all standing around him trying to get your heart to start again?! Where your two best friends stand panicking and going into shock because they just watched you die. When I was the one who gave you that suit and sent you out there to protect the city? If they didn't get your heart back working... if that would've actually been your final breath... that's on me. I don't need that! I don't need to be planning and paying for my students funeral. Nope! Can't have that." He stood up, shoving the chair back. It slammed on the floor and I jumped a little. Tears were stinging my eyes. I tried to hold them back, but they began to silently fall down my face. "Hey... I didn't mean to knock the chair over. Don't start crying and making me feel bad..." I nodded and wiped my tears away. Tony let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose like I've seen him do so many times before. He picked up the chair and gently sat it up again, returning to his sitting position. "Look... Underoos, I'm... not going to yell at you any more. It's not your fault you almost died. I'm just glad you're okay." I looked over at him and nodded.

"I-I understand Mr-Mr. Stark..." I said through small sniffles. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! That must have been horrible for you. I will never die again. I promise!" Tony looked hard at me for a moment before I saw his muscles relax. He nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Can I ask you something?" He raised an eyebrow at me and gestures for me to continue. "How-how long was I actually dead?" I whispered.

"About a minute. Maybe more, maybe less. Why does it matter?" Peter clamped his mouth shut and stared at his hands. I bit the inside of my cheek, allowing my mouth to fill up with saliva. My mind lost in thought. I was dead. Dead like my parents. Dead like Ben. What if I stayed dead? What if the doctors couldn't get me to come back and May was alone? Would Tony take care of her for me? Would Tony help her pay for my funeral? Would Tony just drop her like a dead fly after I was six feet under? How would May go on without any family left? How would she cope without me? "Pete?" I snapped my head up and swallowed hard. "Hey, kid... don't freak out like that. It's fine."

"No, Mr. Stark! It's not fine! I-I could have been gone forever! I could have been six feet under! How would May pay for everything? I have so many school fees and funerals are so expensive. She would be so alone! Mr. Stark! Promise me something, promise me that if I die before you, please take care of May!" Tony's eyebrows knitted themselves together and he frowned.

"First of all... you're not going to die any more. Second of all, I can't promise you that. Third of all, don't worry about your aunt kid. There's a rule in law force that says take care of you before others. You want to live to see the next day? Take care of your life and be careful. Worry about May after you know for sure you're safe." I sat back, puzzled at what he just said. But I knew he was right. I couldn't expect him to take care of May. Not when he was so busy and engaged. Why would I even ask him that?

"You're right. I'm sorry..." I rolled my head over to look at him. "Thank you. Without you I'd be dead."

"Save that for when I'm finished scolding you, kid." I sank down in my bed, waiting for more harsh words. Tony sighed and stood up. He sat on the end of my bed, staring into my eyes. "Peter. Why didn't you just tell me you were hurt?" I thought about it for a moment.

"Because when you freak out, I freak out and then it's a mess of you and me freaking out..." Tony snorted at my remark. It was pretty silly. "I didn't think I was that hurt."

"Why don't you let a doctor decide that next time." I nodded before looking out the window. There was a little fat sparrow sitting on the window seal. I smiled at it but quickly let my smile fade when I realized Tony Stark was watching me smile at a bird. I glanced back to see Tony smiling at me. "You want a pet bird for your birthday?" I rolled my eyes at him. "Chirp chirp, Parker. That means get some rest in Sparrow." I grabbed my pillow and slammed it in his direction." He stood up and backed up, laughing while doing it. "Okay... okay. I'll stop now. I'll go get your aunt. You're still not off the hook though." He opened the door and Ned practically fell inside.

"I told you not to stand so close!" Mj yelled.

"Well... to bad." Ned huffed back. The three of them walked back inside, May standing next to me, Ned in the chair, and MJ on the edge of my bed. I watched as Tony shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly walked out of the room. I could tell what happened really messed him up. He ran his fingers through his hair and turned to look at me one last time. He caught me staring at him. Just my luck. I thought he would roll his eyes or something, but instead he smiled and winked at me. I smiled back at him as he grabbed the door and began to close it shut.

"Mr. Stark!" He pushed the door opened a little to see me. "Thanks again." He nodded at me and closed the door shut. I turned back to the others. Ned was rambling about something. But I didn't really hear him. All I could think about was how I was alive. I was alive because Tony didn't give up on me. Because May, Ned, and MJ didn't give up on me. And I wasn't going to give up on myself.

"Peter! Are you listening to me?" Ned yelled. I looked over at him.

"No. Repeat what you just said..." He groaned and everyone laughed. Thank God for super healing... "Actually, I would like to sleep."

"Alright..." Ned and MJ stood up, but I reached out to May. I scooted over for her to sit down right next to me. Instead she laid down. I didn't protest as I closed my eyes, May running her fingers through my hair.

Nothing.

That's what I saw. Pitch darkness. A black hole engulfing my vision as I drifted off into a deep sleep.