Crazier ⢠Pt. 3
pairing: mcu!peter parker x reader
a/n: ITS FINALLY HERE omg I loved writing this series so much it had a blast. thank you for everyone who was asking me about part 3 because it felt amazing knowing you enjoyed it as much as međđđ it hope you enjoy !! (beware, she is long)
warnings: some angst thrown in here and there, fluff (later), mentions of breakups, mentions of cheating, very very brief mention of suicide ( someone mentions and old author who offed themselves), me not knowing anything about theater (I apologize in advance), glitter
read part 1 here & part 2
"And when we got the chair, Brad made me sit in it and he pushed me around the whole school!" You were telling Spider-Man about your day, and as always, he listened politely, only chiming every now and then.Â
"Wow, you and this Brad guy sure did a lot together today, huh?" He said, and even with the voice changer, you could tell he sounded a bit off. "I mean yeah! He's a great guy, way cooler than I originally thought.â You told him, making him grind his teeth hard, not that you saw that.Â
"Actually I'm a little upset that the play is about to come to an end." Your voice gets a little softer as you confess what's been on your mind today. "The rehearsals have been a blast, and the people are amazing and it's been such a good distraction from everything. I'm really sad to see it go," you looked down at your hands.Â
Peter took one look at your expression and knew there was something else you weren't telling him. "Well what kinds of things do you need a distraction from?" he asked carefully.
"Um," you looked anywhere but at him, "well, my parents have been fighting a lot lately and it's just been really hard to be around the house, everything's so tense."
His lips parted but nothing came out. He knew about your parents, of course, whenever things got bad you'd always run over to his place to hang out. But now you couldn't do that anymore, so you were just looking for any way to avoid coming home for as long as you could.Â
"And of course, there's that whole breakup." you continued. "But I've been pretty good at ignoring that so far, and I think that's just the way I'll keep going." You drummed your fingers on your thigh as you stared into nothing.
"Do you really think that's the best way to go about it?" He asked hesitantly. "Maybe you shouldn't just completely ignore something like that."
You gave him a questioning look, "And why wouldn't I want to forget about it? Isn't that what you're supposed to do eventually after a breakup?"
"Yeah, eventually," he repeated, "but wasn't that relationship a big part of you? Ignoring everything isn't gonna make all your feelings go away. You have to face your emotions, embrace them, and go through the motions before moving on."
He hated that you seemed to be fine all of a sudden. That you were getting so close with this Brad guy all of a sudden. It might've been selfish, but Peter didn't wanna see you moving on just yet, he still had a tiny hope in the back of his brain that you might take him back if he waited till just the right time. But the more you kept talking, the more that tiny hope diminished.Â
You snorted, "Ok Dr. Spider-Man, I'm not sure a guy running around New York in a bright onesie is qualified to give out relationship advice, but you do you.â
He couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I'll let you know I give out great relationship advice and I'm not wearing a onesie," he huffed. "It's a super suit."
That just made you laugh harder, "Yeah, sure, whatever dude."
"So you and your team won?" he asked. He wasn't about to waste the only time in the day when he got to speak with you being jealous. He was gonna keep this conversation going. Try his best to give you what he never could as Peter.Â
"Yes!" you beamed. "Oh and look," you scrambled around looking for the crown you had received after you won. You had brought it up with you just so you could show him.Â
You put it on and straightened your posture, "We were rewarded with these fabulous crowns.â
Spider-Man let out a loud laugh. "Wow, you look like true royalty."
"Don't I?" you grinned. "I always wanted to be a princess when I grew up, so this is very fitting for me." You tapped the crown lightly and grinned at him.
Peter was sure he was grinning like a lovesick idiot. He remembered you telling him this, your crazy childhood dream during one of your late-night talks. He truly believed that if anyone in this whole world were some kind of royalty, it would be you.
âJust like Rapunzel.â He murmured. Your head perked up at that. âOh my god,â you rush, âYES! Holy shit! She was my absolute favorite as a kid, how'd you know that?â
He fumbles a little but quickly finds himself. âYou were humming âI See The Lightâ a couple days ago. It was an educated guess.â You can hear the grin in his voice. âGlad to know I got it right though.â
You laughed a little and settled back down. âDude, I'm not kidding. I used to eat yellow flowers as a kid 'cause I thought theyâd give me magic hair.â
At that, Peter loses his mind. Heâs cracking up and you're joining in beside him. This, he thinks to himself. This is what heâs been missing. This is how things should be. He can't help himself, the words are leaving his mouth before he can even gather his thoughts.
âSo what about your ex? Howâve things been going with him?â Nice going dumbass. She's never gonna wanna talk with you again if you keep mentioning her ex-boyfriend.
You looked at him weirdly and started twisting the ring on your finger. âWhy do you wanna know?â
âI-just IâŚâ he scratched the back of his neck, âWell actually, I'm going through a breakup too, right now, and I guessâŚI don't know, hearing you talk about it, about him, makes me feel less alone.â
Peter Parker feels like shit. He feels like a total asshole. And yet, he doesn't feel bad enough to stop, to come clean. Not yet at least. He tried making himself feel better by thinking, âWell it's not a lie. I am going through a breakup. She just doesn't know with who.â
You stared up at him, shocked. He never shared anything about himself. Not a thing. You two joked back and forth but you were usually the one sharing personal issues (or triumphs, like today). You start to wonder what his personal life looks like. He can't be that much older than you from what you can tell by his sense of humor and some of his references. This man, no, boy, who spends practically all his time running around one of the most popular cities in the world, saving lives and changing them, is going through a breakup. And heâs currently sitting on a rooftop with you and talking about it.
You blew out a long breath. âIf Spider-Man canât find love, none of us stand a chance.â
He let out a soft laugh at that. âAh, I wouldn't say that. I definitely have my fair share of flaws. And then some.â
You shake your head, âI'm sure the good outweighs the bad. I mean, come on,â you gestured towards him.
He laughed again. âSo tell me, you still see him every day, right?
You nodded, deciding that if this made him feel less alone, you could do this.Â
âIs it hard?â
You shrugged, âHonestly, I have no idea. Iâve been avoiding him like the plague. Iâve only run into him once and it was when me and another friend went to grab ice cream at our old hangout spot. I couldnât look at him. I havenât spoken to him since everything and I donât really want to. Not anytime soon.â
He sighed. Of course, you didnât wanna speak to him as Peter. Heâd totally fucked you over, heâs lucky he found any kind of loophole at all because he really doesnât think he can handle not speaking completely.Â
âHow do you think he feels?â He has no clue where the question came from but now that heâs asked, he canât help the curiosity bubbling in him.
You run a hand through your hair and sigh, âI have no idea. One second heâs avoiding eye contact in the school hallway and the next, heâs staring daggers at me in an ice cream shop. Heâs weird.â
Spider-Man chuckled lightly, âYeah, he sounds like he is.â
âDo you see your ex a lot?â You hope he doesnât see it as prying, you just want to see how similar your situations are.Â
âYeah, actually, I do.â He nods but says nothing else.Â
âIs it hard?â You ask softly.Â
He nods again, keeping his eyes low. âCrazy hard. Especially when I know everything is my fault.â
âDo you think sheâd ever forgive you?â He only shrugged. âDo you want her to forgive you?â
He looks up at you, âWould you ever forgive your ex? After whatever it is that he did, I mean.â
You took a moment to think. âI donât know. I think itâs different. I mean, I donât know what happened between you guys, but I think with Peter and I, I think he was starting to lose interest.â
He can feel his heart drop. âWhat? Why would you say that?â
âYeah,â you continued, not taking notice of the spider slightly freaking out beside you, âhe just stopped caring. Stopped showing up, and stopped listening. If I didnât know any better Iâd actually think heâd cheated on me.â
âNo way! I mean-,â he cleared his throat a little, trying not to sound as anxious as he felt, âDo you⌠do you actually that he did? Cheated, I mean. Do you seriously think he cheated on you?â
Please say no, please say no, please say-
âNo, of course not,â you told him honestly. âPeterâs a lot of things, but heâs not a cheater. Iâd accuse him of that.â You paused for a moment. âBut there was somethingâŚI donât know what. There was something he wasnât telling me.â
He let out a breath of relief. Thank god, he doesnât think he couldâve handled knowing you thought of him that way. And itâs true, he wouldâve never stooped so low. As for the âsomethingââŚ
âSay he were to show up, right now, knocking on your door. Begging to have you back and swearing that heâs changed. Would it work?â He asked half serious and half joking.
You laughed a little, âNo, but itâd probably piss off my parents.â
He grinned beside you, his mask shifting slightly at the movement. âAw come on. Not one for big romantic gestures?â He nudged your shoulder a little.
You smiled but your expression fell as you thought about his words some more. âNo, Iâm just not one for empty promises. Which is all he had to give me after a while. He used to be amazing, he used to be the perfect boyfriend. The Peter I knew disappeared and I wasnât a fan of the one who replaced him.â
You look up at him and grin. âIf thereâs any chance of anything being repaired between us. Even a friendship. Heâs gonna need to get his shit together.â
âSo he cheated on her, which fueled her depression, and ultimately led to her suicide. And that wasnât enough so he burned her most of her work, and profited off of the rest of it after she died!â
This is what your mornings looked like lately. Hanging out with MJ so much had beenâŚinteresting to say the least. There was always something you could learn from her. Currently, she was telling you all about some ancient female authorâs shitty husband as you waited beside her locker while she grabbed everything sheâd need for her next class.Â
âEvery article online about it says âallegedlyâ but fuck that. Itâs totally the truth,â She finished.Â
âGod. That sounds awful,â you grimaced. âWhatever happened to him? Didnât they have kids?â
âOh, he married someone, won a ton of awards everyone loved him. And yes, a son, who also dies by suicide, and a daughter. I'm pretty sure she writes kids' books now.â
You sucked in a breath. âHoly shit. And where did you learn all this?â
She shrugged. âI read a lot.â
âRight,â you nod, unable to completely shake off the grossness that story left you feeling. âSo,â you started, hoping to change the subject. âWhat do you have next again?â
âBiology. But I think we have a sub today, so thatâll be fun.â She slammed her locker shut, leaned on it slightly, and turned toward you. âWhat about you?â
You shook your head at her, âFree period. I was gonna catch up on my reading for AP Lit. Hey,â you wondered aloud, âis it that sub that marks people tardy even if theyâre a second late? I canât stand him.â
She sprung up. âShit. Shit. Fuck,â she rushed out. âIt is. And I canât get another tardy otherwise I get detention. Again. And my parents would kill me.â
You nodded, completely understanding. âOkay. Well, Iâm just gonna go grab my stuff and head to the library. See you later!â
âBye Y/N/N!â She yelled over her shoulder, already halfway down the hall.Â
You laughed lightly before heading to your own locker. You opened it and grabbed your bag when you felt a tap on your shoulder.Â
You slam your locker shut and turn around, only to come face to face with Brad. âHey, Brad!â You grinned.Â
Youâd never really noticed Brad before. You never had anything against him, you both just ran in different crowds. Even after you both started working on the play, you were friendly with each other but it never went past a simple smile, wave, or quick âhelloâ. But in light of recent events, you were really starting to think of him as a friend.
âHey.â He smiled right back. âSaw you here and thought Iâd just stop by and ask how youâve been.â
You gave him a closed-lip smile as you leaned back against the lockers. âThatâs sweet. Iâve been okay, long morning though. What about you?â
He nodded. âSame. Stayed up pretty late last night going over my lines.â
âReally? Donât really think you need that. Iâve seen you at rehearsals, youâre a natural Brad.â
âYeah? You think?â He grinned wide at your compliment and ran a hand over his hair. âIâve got âem memorized and all, but I just wanna make sure I know them, yâknow?â
You nodded. He wants to make sure his delivery is as good as his memory. Thatâs another thing you didnât expect from Brad Davis. His passion for theater.Â
âWell like I said, Iâve seen you at rehearsals and I mean it when I say I think youâre fine. More than fine actually. So donât stress yourself out Davis, youâre gonna be amazing.â
He beamed at you like a child. âThank you Y/N, seriously. You donât know how much that means.â
You smiled right back at him. âAnytime.â
It was quiet between you two for a bit, and you didnât really know what to say. You were about to ask if he had a class he needed to get to when, suddenly, he took a few steps closer to you.Â
That automatically took any words that mightâve been on your tongue and threw them in the dumpster behind the school.Â
âThereâs um, thereâs something Iâve been meaning to ask you, actually.â His voice is softer but, you hear every word and you can almost feel his breath on your face.Â
âOh?â Your voice matches his volume. This can't be happening. He knows you just broke up with Peter. Heâs gotta be kidding. Or maybe, heâs about to ask something about the play. Yes, you think, heâs got a question about the play and heâs come to ask me, obviously, because Iâm the director.Â
The halls are quiet now, everyone else is in class, at the library, or something. It's just you and Brad, standing so close you could count his lashes.Â
Just you and Brad. Brad, who wonât stop staring into your eyes for some reason, so youâre just left standing thereâŚ.you and Brad.
And Peter.Â
The sound of squeaky sneakers running down the hall seems to break him out of whatever trance he was held in and he steps back a bit, almost causing you to let out an audible sigh of relief. God, you could just kiss the person who decided to unintentionally interrupt whatever moment was just happening between you two.Â
Or not.Â
Because when you both turned to see who it was, your heart fell. Peter Parker is standing there, backpack hanging off his elbow, binder bursting with loose papers in hand, and staring at you like a deer caught in headlights.Â
For a second, none of you say anything. Bradâs looking confused, staring at Peter. Peter is looking at you, then at Brad, then at you again. And you, well, youâre just wishing the school hallway would split in half and swallow you whole. Youâve run through a few different scenarios in your head, and falling into the earthâs core sounds the most appealing.Â
Then Peter moves closer, clearing his throat as he approaches the both of you. âHey guys, howâve you been?â He asked.Â
Neither you nor Brad replied.Â
âRight. Hey man,â he turned to face Brad, his face suddenly serious, âdonât you drive a black BMW? Red rims, red interior?â
âUm, yeah, I do,â Brad answered skeptically.Â
Peter blew out a long breath. âThink you might be in trouble dude. I just heard the principal saying he was gonna get it towed, something about you parking wrong.â
âWhat?!â Bradâs whole demeanor changed on a dime and you almost felt sorry for him.Â
Peter held up both his hands. âIâm serious man, thatâs what I heard. But donât ask me,â he pointed to the hall behind him, âgo ask Mr. Morita.âÂ
Brad stared at you for a moment before walking off, mumbling something about âanother fucking ticketâ as you watched him leave. You almost grabbed his arm like a child, almost asked him to stay, just so you wouldnât be alone with Peter.Â
You swallowed. Brad had finally turned the corner, leaving him officially out of your eyesight and leaving you standing alone with your ex. Itâs funny really, how you went from talking about suicidal classic authors with your friend a few minutes ago, to this.Â
Yup, the Earthâs core sounds amazing right now.
For all the words he had to say when Brad was here, Peter was awfully silent now, doing that weird stare thing he did in the ice cream shop the other day. But there was no Ned to play polite this time, and no MJ to hold on a leash so she doesnât bite. It was just you and him.Â
And you had no problem running.Â
You turned so quick, it took him a second to register the movement, and by the time he did, you were halfway down the hall. He ran after you.Â
âY/N, wait. Please.â He reached out a hand to place on your shoulder. You jerked away, his hand barely brushing your cardigan.Â
Youâre both standing in the hallway, and youâre still avoiding his eyes when you say, âWeâre not doing this.â You shook your head and ran off, leaving a somber-eyed Peter in your wake.
There was no parking violation. Peter lied. But he had to.Â
Heâd gotten caught up doing some last-minute homework in the library. Spider-Man duties were keeping him busy lately because when he wasnât fighting crime on the streets of Queens, he was spending time with you.Â
He knows it isnât right, he knows it isnât fair, but god if it doesnât feel good. He loves spending time with you and he hates that he canât do it more often, hates even more that itâs his fault. And he damn sure wasnât going to cut your meetups short because he had a few math questions waiting to be answered.Â
So on his way back, the halls were empty when he suddenly heard a very familiar voice. You.Â
But you were with someone. Brad. The thought made him roll his eyes.Â
You were currently going off about how great Brad was doing so far in his role in the play you were managing. Stupid Brad, Peter was sure the only reason anything was going right in the planning of the show was because of you, you were the best person they couldâve picked for the job and all Brad had to do was say a few lines. You were the one who dealt with everything else. Brad shouldâve been praising you, not the other way around.
Heâd heard Bradâs response to your compliments and almost rolled his eyes again until he heard your response. Of course, you were being an absolute sweetheart. You probably had no clue what words like that meant coming for someone like you. You were probably oblivious to your effect on people, as you were probably oblivious to Bradâs true feelings about you.
You both went quiet for a moment, leaving Peter to wonder what happened when he heard Bradâs voice again.Â
âThereâs um, thereâs something Iâve been meaning to ask you, actually.â
No.Â
No, no, no, no. No.Â
If he were totally honest with himself, he knew it was coming. Especially after you told him about your little scavenger hunt around the school, and how well you got along with him, how kind he was being towards you. Brad didnât just randomly see you in the hall and decide to say âheyâ. He had class. Peter knew because he was supposed to be in that exact class right now.
He could handle another detention.Â
Before he even knew it, he was running down the halls. He had no idea what he was going to do, even less what he was going to say but none of that mattered at the moment. He just had to make sure this didnât go any further. There was no way he could stand by and listen to you agree to go out with some other guy.Â
And then he was standing there, youâd both seen him, and it was too late to turn back. He stared for a minute, noticing how close Brad was standing next to you. His gaze flickered between you and him and all he could think was how wrong it would be for you to end up with someone like Brad. Stupid, stupid Brad, who hung out with all the stupid jocks, and threw those stupid house parties all the time. Who only talked about his stupid car, and what model it was-
An Idea popped into his head.Â
He couldnât help it. Bro Peter stepped out and dealt with Brad, knowing the one thing that would completely get rid of him at the moment. He wasnât thinking about the consequences.Â
As heâd suspected Brad left with almost no hesitation, Peter almost doubling over with how quickly he fell for it.Â
And then, he was left with you, and every ounce of confidence, every word in his lifelong vocabulary, crumbled. It never ceased to amaze him how easily you could completely undo him. He was an avenger, for crying out loud, he had literally saved New York and, he didnât want to sound cocky but, the world. He had faced villains, of all sorts, so despicable, itâs a wonder heâs alive at all. But he did it.Â
But youâŚ. Heâs never felt like this before. So nervous, anxious, and scared to mess something up when all he wants is to fix it. In the superhero world, stunned silence isnât an option. One moment of hesitation and everything could go to shit. But now, heâs not sure what the best course of action is. Heâs not sure if speaking to you will make things worse, or better. If saying anything at all will give him more of a fighting chance. Was there even any chance of a fighting chance?
He didnât miss how you hadnât said a word and all he could think was âPlease talk! Say something! Give me a hint for what Iâm supposed to say!â
He was just stuck in place, staring directly at your face taking in your expression. You wouldnât meet his eyes and there was no stopping the pang of guilt in his gut. You looked skittish, and it shouldâve been no surprise to him when you turned to take off but it still took him a second to shake off that moment.Â
Just a second though, because soon he was running right after you. He wasnât going to let you off so easy this time.Â
Heâd called for you to stop, reaching his hand for your shoulder in hopes of getting you to listen. The way you jerk back as if his touch might burn you snaps something in him.Â
And there they are, your first words to him (Peter him) since the breakup:
âWeâre not doing this.â
And youâre already moving away again, already slipping away from him again while his hand hangs in the air. He almost touched you. Maybe it was better that he didnât because he thought he mightâve never let go.Â
Heâs not sure if you meant what you told him as Spider-Man. Maybe it was just another one of your jokes. But heâs not ready to give up hope yet. Heâll give you time if that's what you need, heâs just scared of who else might try to make their move during that time.Â
For now, heâs just gonna work on getting his shit together.Â
And that starts with going to class, and getting his work turned in.
Thereâs a buzz in the air when you enter the auditorium the next day, that can only be described as highly-caffeinated-extremely-enthusiastic-high-school-theater-kids. You were all feeling the anticipation of your work these past few weeks being shared with all your friends and family.Â
You were walking around checking up on the last-minute touchups. You walked up on stage and stopped in your tracks. âOh my god,â your hand flies up to your mouth, âyou guys! This is beautiful!â
The set group (Noah, Lacy, and Jack) all grinned up at you. They all had some form of paint on them. Lacy adorned a pair of overalls that consisted of black and navy blue splatters going up and down the front of her. Jackâs T-shirt looked as if it were being used as a rag for his hands, so there were so many colors intertwining with each other, that you couldnât pick out a single one. Noah was the messiest of the group, this specific set being mostly his responsibility. The knees of his jeans were stained black, but it didnât end there. He looked like a tornado of night, with all sorts of shades clinging to any visible part of him. Blues, blacks, indigos, you name it. And they were all gleaming with pride.Â
âHey Y/N,â Noah beamed at you. âWe just finished the last backdrop.â
Behind them all was the backdrop which would be used for the last scene of the play. Lexi and Brad (or Stephanie and Gabriel, per the script) would stand in front of it and finally declare their love for one another, commencing their forever after with a passionate kiss.Â
You knew it was supposed to be a night sky, but what you hadnât known was how well of a job they would do.Â
You let out a breathless laugh. âI can see that. It's stunning you guys, truly.â Although Midtown High was a school that specialized in the education of science and technology, the students here were extremely in touch with their creative sides as well. And that fact had never been more obvious to you than in that moment.Â
âThere's still one more finishing touch, and then itâll be perfect.â Lacy grinned at you before running backstage.Â
You were staring at where she'd just been, a furrow in your brows, when Jack nudged you lightly, âOh, this is what sheâs been waiting for since we started.â
Lacy came back, almost tripping over herself with how fast she was running. She held up a jar that sparkled in the auditorium lights as she moved it around, âGlitter!â
You grinned and clapped your hands together, âOh Iâm so happy I get to be here for this.â
Noah and Jack stood to the side while you and Lacy approached the large backdrop from the side. She made quick work of unscrewing the top and setting it beside her. She leaned over slightly and tilted the jar a tad before sprinkling it over the spacious work of art.Â
If sprinkling glitter were a profession, Lacy would be a pro.Â
You quickly figured out why she was so excited about this step, and it wasnât just the glitter. Adding the glitter gave the scene more life. It made it look as if it were real, and you were looking at a sky bursting with sparkling stars.
 After getting the area in front of her, she turns to you, holding out the jar. âHere! Give it a go.â
You stared a her a bit before quickly shaking your head, âLace, I never thought someone could be good at sprinkling glitter, yet here I am. You were like a freaking fairy! Iâd totally ruin it, and I canât do that to you guys.â
You held your hands up and started backing away slowly. You could hear Jack and Noah laughing behind you.Â
Lacy just rolled her eyes with a smile stuck on her face. âNonsense, Y/N, youâre a pro at everything you do,â she lowered her voice a little, âlike that scavenger hunt?â
You gave her a look before turning around to make sure Mrs. Lightbody was nowhere around. âNone of that,â you hiss, âthat was a one-time thing! And it was a group effort!â
âOh come on,â Noah this time. âWe all know you had the hardest list of the bunch. Seriously Y/N, if Brad hadnât shown me the list, I never wouldâve believed that you did all that.â
Jack nodded. âHonestly, me and Lace wrote that as a little joke, like, âHey, what if we were really wild with this? What would we do?â And you came and proved us all wrong.â
Lacy hummed her agreement, âWhat they said, exactly. And this is just a bit of glitter. No big deal!â She grabbed your arm and pulled you towards her.Â
You laughed lightly, feeling yourself grow a little flustered under their praises. You grabbed the jar of glitter from Lacy and went to work, being extra careful so you donât ruin all their hard work.
âThis is good glitter,â you say softly, completely concentrated on the task at hand.Â
âOh my gosh! I know right!â Lacy practically squeals her response. You laughed but could hear Noah groaning behind you. You finish with the glitter, screwing it shut before turning back to face him.Â
âThereâs no such thing as âgood glitterâ,â He did air quotes on that last part, sounding extremely frustrated and something told you this wasnât the first time they had this conversation.
âYes, there is! She just said so!â Lacy was standing her ground. Suddenly, she turned towards you, âYâknow who can settle this? Lexi. Go find her Y/N, take the glitter, and ask her what she thinks. Sheâs gonna agree with me, I can already feel it.â
You held in a laugh. âSure thing Lace.â You turn to go find your other friend and as you're walking away you can still hear them arguing, Noah not convinced that glitter could be good or bad. Itâs just glitter.Â
You walked around the auditorium looking for Lexi and failing to find her. You started asking around, feeling sure that someone had to have seen her. You knew she was here, having seen her enter at the start of rehearsals. Walking around the front of the auditorium, peering down aisles, you were about to go check backstage when you heard a Brad Davis.
Now youâre not sure why, you didnât do anything wrong after all, but a panic settled in you. Next thing you knew, you jumped into one of the aisles and crouched down.Â
He was walking up the main row between the chairs, script in hand, talking to someone beside him who you couldnât see. They were moving closer to you. Shit.Â
In a rush, you start crawling, crawling, down to the opposite side of the aisle they were approaching. You were almost out, but you accidentally pulled down one of the chairs that are built to automatically flip up. Not a loud noise, but loud enough. You wince but donât stop until you're sitting against the side of the row of chairs, out of their sight.Â
You could hear the chatter stop and the footsteps slow. You sucked in your breath and folded in on yourself even more. You were already coming up with a cover for yourself.Â
âOh, hey Brad. Yeah, Iâm on the floor. Not avoiding you or anything, justâŚ.decided to see what the view of the stage would be like from here. Not good!â
It sucked and you really hoped you wouldnât have to use it.
It seemed as though your luck for the day hadnât expired because you heard them mumble amongst themselves and move on. After a few moments, You let out a sigh of relief and started crawling down towards the stage. You werenât risking getting seen just yet.
You were starting to like Brad, you really were! But after recent events you had started to think the interest heâd taken in you wasnât the same as the platonic one youâd taken in him. And you were bad at confrontation or being put on the spot. Obviously.
Plus you figured heâd want to talk about that weird moment with Peter in the hall the day before and youâd rather pretend that didnât happen at all. Even you didnât know what that was.Â
Moving slowly, you kept your head down, trying to reach the stage so you could just bolt behind the curtains. Suddenly, a pair of pointed-toe black flats came into your view. You paused and slowly looked up. In front of you stood Ms. Lightbody.Â
âHi.â You said meekly. She looked down at you with a furrow in her brows, âHello Miss Y/L/N. May I ask what youâre doing?â
You fumbled for a moment but finally found yourself. Clearing your throat, you stood up and dusted yourself off. âI dropped an earring.â
Way better than that other bullshit you were thinking of.Â
She stared at both your ears, which adorned a pair of earrings you never took off. âOh?â
âIâve already put it back in,â you explained to her lamely. She gazed somewhere behind you and you followed her stare. Brad and his friend were still walking up and down the main row, lost in some conversation. You gulped, if she had seen you earlier, it wouldâve been fairly obvious to her the real reason behind your little floor exploration. And that was just embarrassing.Â
She hummed in response, âI see.â Her voice carried some tone of understanding and you felt yourself run hot with embarrassment under her gaze.Â
âDid you need something, Miss?â You rushed out quickly, hoping to change the subject.Â
âYes,â she focused her gaze on you now, and if you didnât know any better, youâd say there was a sprinkle of amusement in her eyes.Â
Ms. Lightbody was a newer addition to Midtownâs staff. She came in to replace the schoolâs previous drama teacher, and she also subbed at times. Most of the student body disliked her, thinking her short-tempered and strict but you knew that was far from the truth. It seemed this play helped you better understand your peers and superiors alike. She was an amazing teacher and, contrary to popular belief, she wasnât an impatient maniac who didnât have the skill set to teach. She was always willing to help someone who didnât understand, but what she didnât tolerate was purposeful incompetence. Â
âLexi is in one of the rooms backstage, I need you to go find her and tell her thereâs one more scene we need to rehearse.â She paused and looked behind you again. âAnd I suggest you get to that soon because I think your friend, Mr. Davis, has spotted you.â
You blanched, unsure whether to dwell on the fact that she knew, or that Brad had spotted you. You turn slightly only to see Brad already looking towards you.Â
You quickly snapped your head towards the lady in front of you again. âOn it!â You told her, not waiting for a response before shooting up the stage and behind the curtain.Â
You couldâve sworn you heard her laugh.Â
You were backstage looking for Lexi. It wasnât like her to stay tucked away like this, since rehearsals had started she was always ready for anything, talking things over with the other cast members, ready for criticism but rarely needing it. There was probably no one on the cast who was as excited as her.Â
âLex, you here?â You whispered softly. Behind the stage was empty and dark. You walked around carefully, trying not to accidentally trip on anything of the string or left-out equipment. All of this was going to need to be changed before tomorrow evening.Â
Suddenly, so quiet you could barely hear it, was a shuffling noise. You looked around for some switch, finding it on the wall to your left. You switched it on and the action earned you a hiss from someone a little further in the room.Â
You turned quickly, finding Lexi sitting at one of the small makeup desks, hands coming up to cover her face as if she were some vampire.Â
That worried you.Â
You rushed to her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder. âLex,â your tone was quiet so as not to disturb her anymore. âWhatâs wrong? Are you sick?â
She looked up at you, hair disheveled, face a little pale, and eyes tired. âNo, no Iâm fine.â She shook her head but you werenât convinced.Â
You moved to sit at the desk next to her. âOkay,â you said softly, âthen why are you sitting back here?â
She sighed a little. âIâve just had a small headache since lunch. But Iâll be okay really.Â
Your frown only deepens. âDid you eat today? Drink water?â
She nodded then rubbed her temples a little, shutting her eyes as she did so. âItâs probably my fault, I didnât sleep well last night and Iâm just tired.â
Her eyes snapped open and she looked more alert now. She clasped her hands together and smiled at you. âSo wake me up Y/N/N. Tell me something interesting.â
Skeptically, you eyed her up and down. âAre you sure that's all? Should I take you to see the nurse?â
She shook her head again, her hair flying around her face as she did so. âNo. Iâm actually feeling better already, talking to you. I think the smell of Noahâs Axe Body Spray was just really setting everything off.â She gestured her hands around herself.Â
You laughed, glad to see her acting like herself again. âBut seriously,â she said, putting a hand on your knee. âTalk to me, itâs waking me up. How was your day?â
You let out a breath and leaned back in the chair, looking up to the ceiling. âBrad asked me out.â
She gasped so loud, you started up in your seat. âShut up. Shut up!â
Smiling, you shook your head. âWell not yet. But I know itâs coming, you know what I mean? He keeps trying to get me alone, and he gets really close and starts staring into my eyes and everything. But he keeps getting interrupted.â
She gasped again, softer this time, and held her hand to her chest. âOh my god. Thatâs so cute! Are you gonna say yes?â
You stilled for a moment. Were you going to say yes? Youâd figured out what was most likely coming your way, but you hadnât really thought of how to handle it. You couldnât crawl across floors to avoid him forever. That would make graduation very awkward.Â
And at the same time, you didnât want to reject him. Brad was sweet, maybe not the type of person you usually went for, but he had his own things. Maybe you needed something new, something different.Â
But something in your gut was telling you maybe you shouldnât go out with someone who made you panic-crawl on the floor just to avoid having a conversation with them.Â
Not to mention, you just werenât interested in him like that. At all.
Lexi was going on about something or other, seemingly fine at the moment. âI totally knew he was into you. I mean, that whole picking you up in the library thing?â She shook her head. âNot just a platonic thing.â
You laughed loudly and stood up. You held out a hand for her to take. âCome on Lex, everyoneâs looking for their star.â
She took your hand and stood. âI bet they are, Iâll have to apologize for hogging you from them.â
You laughed again and started pushing her towards the front stage. âOh! I almost forgot to tell you! Weâre playing with glitter!â
The rest of the day went by smoothly. You, Lexi, and Lacy applied the finishing touches to the backdrop. As Lacy had guessed, Lexi agreed with her. Lacy went on about all the qualities the perfect glitter should consist of;Â âcatches the light, soft, and dustable.â
You were sure that last one wasnât even a word but Noah gave in eventually and let the girls have their win. But that wasnât enough for the three of you. Not wanting to put the glitter away just yet, you started sprinkling it on each other.Â
Word spread across the auditorium like wildfire, and soon, a line started forming on the stage to get glitter sprinkled on you, boys and girls alike. Ms. Lightbody shut that down quick.
You stuck to avoiding Brad for the rest of the day. It wasnât hard, you were both busy, him being one of the leads and you helping with a little bit of everything and making sure everyone stayed in order (with the exception of the glitter fiasco).Â
At the end, Ms. Lightbody had gathered you all around to talk about how tomorrow was going to go. She went over the basics, what time the show was going to start, and what time you all had to be there. It was things you all already knew but it was good to go over. In the end, you thought she looked a little sad, and apparently, you werenât the only one because someone else pointed it out. That made everyone jump and you all pulled her into a group hug. This little group had become like a crazy family and you were forever grateful you had a chance to be part of it.Â
You left quickly after that, wanting to get out before Brad offered to walk you home or something. You said bye to your friends, taking extra time with Lexi. She had been more reserved after you two talked, not as tired as youâd found her backstage, but still not quite herself. You told her to get lots of sleep tonight. She was needed tomorrow
Now, you were sitting on the rooftop ledge, kicking your feet as Spider-Man sat next to you.
âAre you excited?â He asked.Â
You nodded, smiling. âVery. Weâve all been working really hard for this. And you should see how great a job everyone has done. I canât wait to see it all put together finally.â
âIâm sure youâve done a great job,â he nods. âI really wish I could be there. Youâre gonna need to take some videos for me. Show me afterward.â
You grinned wide. âSeriously? Youâd wanna see?â
âHeck yea I wanna see,â he said, voice serious.
âOkay.â You nodded. âIâll take plenty of videos, donât worry.â
âThank you.â He said, raising a hand a ruffling your hair. You laughed and slapped his hand away. He stared at you a little before asking, âWhatâs in your hair?
You grinned wide. âGlitter.â
He shook his head, laughing. âI donât even wanna know.â You giggled beside him.Â
 âAre your friends going to be there?â He asked.
âUm,â you say, still smiling. âYeah, I think so. They said they will, and I think itâll be fun.â MJ had told you she was definitely going to be there, she couldnât wait to make fun of the kids in the play, sheâd already bought her ticket. Ned said he wanted to see it as well, and PeterâŚwell, after recent events you couldnât think of any reason heâd be there. He probably wouldnât be able to find the time in his busy schedule, even if you two were still together. So it was better like this.Â
âWhat about your parents? Are they gonna try to make it?â
A beat passed before you replied. âNo,â you shook your head. âI donât think theyâre gonna be there.â
He was quiet for a moment, not sure what to say. He almost regretted asking.Â
âBut itâs okay,â you said, your voice so soft, it took everything in him not to reach over and pull you into his arms. âI wasnât expecting them to anyway. I have my friends, thatâs enough.â You cleared your throat and wrapped your arms around yourself.Â
He watched you for a bit and it hit him then, just how strong you were. How much you had on your plate at the moment. How little you let it show.Â
Your parents were basically roommates to you, you barely saw them, they were just there. The play you were managing? While everyone else had one job, one task they needed to focus on and get done, you were involved in everything. He remembered you mentioned to him a few weeks ago something about your phone blowing up since planning started. He never thought much of it then.Â
The more he thought about it, the more he realized you were always doing this. When it wasnât the play it was something with your family, or tutoring other kids at school. And on top of all of that, you were always available for your friends whenever they needed you, and your grades never slipped. Your essays and tests were used by your teachers as examples. He always knew, but not really. It was painfully obvious right now. And it was even more obvious to him that he never helped. He shouldâve helped make things easier for you, because he loves you, because he cares for you. But all he did was add to your plate. The thought made him feel sick.Â
âIâm so sorry,â Even through his voice-changer you could hear the sincerity, the despair in his voice. Your brows furrowed.Â
âYou donât need to apologize, itâs not that big of a deal. I swear,â you told him sincerely.Â
He nodded but the movement almost looked forced. âHow have you been?â
You paused. âGood,â you nodded, as if confirming your own statement. âBusy, but good.â
âHave you taken a moment to breathe recently? Just relax yourself for a few seconds?â
You were taken aback by his question. No one had ever asked you that. âI- I donât think so,â you replied quietly.Â
âAlright, thatâs okay, we can do that together. Here,â he held out both his hands, palms up. âput your hands in mine.â
You followed his lead and placed your hands in his. The material of his suit felt smooth, but thicker than it looked, and you were surprised to see how well your hands fit together.Â
âClose your eyes.â He said, and you saw the whites of his mask flicker shut. You followed his lead.Â
âGreat. Now big breath, through your mouth.â You sucked in a handful of air, the sound ringing out like a quick gasp.Â
His hands gave yours a gentle squeeze. âNo,â he said, voice soft. You felt your face heat up and you tried again, this time slowly letting the air enter and fill your lungs.
âNow out through the nose.â
You let the air leave you, not even realizing how tense you were until you felt yourself relax. Your eyes fluttered open and you found him already staring at you. His thumbs had started gently caressing your hands and you found you didnât mind at all.
âA few more times.â He told you, and you nodded at him. You closed your eyes again and repeated your actions from before, more sure of yourself this time.
When you had finished, you opened your eyes again. His eyes were still open and you thought his mask shifted into something like a grin.
âBetter?â He asked you, and you smiled, nodding your head. It was crazy to you to think about how over these past few days, that very mask had turned into a comforting sight for you. You really thought of New Yorkâs Spider-Man as a friend. And you hoped he felt the same.
You nodded again, unable to take your eyes off of him. You werenât even aware you were still holding hands until he removed his from yours. You almost protested, your hands suddenly feeling colder than they ever have.Â
But then he brought his hands up to cup each side of your face.Â
Oh.Â
You were sure you were melting. You couldnât remember the last time you felt like this, and you couldnât even see his face! You wished heâd just rip it off, you wouldnât care who was underneath.Â
He brought his face closer and leaned his forehead against yours. Your eyes fluttered shut. You stayed that way for a minute, both of you just enjoying the moment before you decided to speak.Â
âTake it off.â You whispered.Â
âWhat?â He asked, his voice matching your volume. You had opened your eyes and you were looking at him now. You could clearly see the eyes of his mask were still closed and you fought off a smile.Â
You brought up your hand to his face and traced his jawline. You could feel his jaw flex underneath your fingers and you couldâve sworn you heard him gulp.Â
âTake it off.â You repeated, your thumbs now caressing his cheekbones.Â
His eyes flew open and he leaned back. âNo,â he shook his head, moving even further from where you two were seated next to each other.Â
Your brows shot up at his sudden change of demeanor. You wished you hadnât said anything. âOk,â you said, voice quiet. âYou donât have to. Iâm sorry, I didnât know. I was just- ugh Iâm so sorry.â
âNo!â He repeated. âDonât apologize I- you did nothing wrong.â
But the way he was acting was making you feel otherwise.
âI have to go. Good luck tomorrow.â He said, stood up, flung out his wrist, and started swinging through the buildings faster than you could blink.Â
Fuck.Â
You were a wreck.Â
Everyone was running all over the place, orders being shouted across the entire backstage. Some people seemed to have invited their friends to hang out backstage (which was not allowed). Every corner was packed. And you were in the middle of it all.Â
âY/N!â Ms. Lightbody called for you from across the swarm of bodies. You made your way through everyone, not stopping until you were standing in from of her. She placed a hand on your shoulder and steered you until you were both standing in a corner, as far away from the others as you could get.Â
âMiss Walker isnât here, and itâs starting to become a problem.â She told you, voice serious.
You blanched. âLexi isnât here yet?!â
She shushed you. âI donât want to start a commotion. Things are barely going smoothly as is, and this will not make it better. Everyone will start worrying if they find out their lead hasnât arrived, and we cannot have that.â
You nodded at her, mind racing. âWhat do we do?â
She sighed, âFor now? Wait and hope for the best, thereâs still a bit more time.â
You nodded again and she took a second to look around the room. âWhat is all this? Half these kids have no business here!â She turned towards you again. âI'm going to try to reach Miss Walkerâs mother, deal with all these children Y/N, please. I want them gone by the time I get back.â
She turned to leave before she remembered something that had her turning right back, âYou have Miss Walkerâs contact information, correct?â You nodded at her again. âGreat. Try to get ahold of her, will you? The sooner we figure this out the better.â
âSure thing Ms. Lightbody.â You told her, waving her off, your voice sounding a hundred times more confident than you felt.Â
You watched her walk out the back door to make her phone call, and you paused for a moment, unsure what to do first. You turned and pulled out your phone. Heading for the door Ms. Lightbody just walked out of, you pulled up your message thread with Lexi.
girl WRU !!!
you were needed like 30 mins ago !!!!Â
get here-
You bumped into someone, your phone flying out of your hand before you could send that last one. You wouldâve been sent flying backward if the person hadnât gripped your waist tight to keep you steady.
âWoah, careful.â
Youâd know that voice anywhere. Peter.Â
âParker,â you said, backing away quickly. âWhat are you doing here?â And you donât mean for it to come out as harsh as it did butâŚthereâs just a lot on your plate right now.Â
And it seems he can tell. He bent over to grab your phone, placing it back in your hands. âThe lady at the office saw me walking by and asked me to drop these off.â He waved a big bag you hadnât noticed in his other hand.Â
You reached for it, saying, âOh my god, perfect.â At the same time, he asked, âAre you okay?â
You completely ignored him, taking the bag from his hands. Turning around, you caught Jack walking by at just the right moment. âJack! Here,â you called him over, âThose supplies you guys were asking for.â
âSweet, thanks Y/N/N!â He said, leaning in to give you a quick hug. You smile but then quickly shove him away, âThank J, but you really need to go finish. Like, right now.â
He straightened his posture and saluted you. âMaâam yes maâam!â He said, then he turned to Peter, who had been watching the whole exchange, âSup Parker.â He sent a little head nod towards him, as he started walking away.Â
Peter returned it, brows slightly furrowed as he looked between the two of you, âHey man.âÂ
You started walking around, trying to count up how many people there were who werenât a part of the cast or crew.Â
One, two, three-
You felt a hand placed on your shoulder and you turned quickly, only to see Peter still hasnât left.Â
You looked at him in disbelief. The nerve of this guy. Thereâs no way he seriously thinks youâre going to talk about the two of you right now, is there?
âHow are you?â He asks again and youâve never found someone dumber than you did right now.Â
âHello?! Things arenât going too hot in case you canât tell, and you arenât exactly helping right now!â
He nodded, âOkay. What can I do to help?â
You scoffed. âI donât know, leave. Itâs so crowded in here and I have to get all these extra people out. Shit,â you smacked your forehead. âI forgot I have to find Lexi. Fuck! And I have to-.â
âY/N!â Someone shouted your name for the umpteenth time that night. You turned and met Vanessa, one of the people in charge of makeup.Â
âWeâre out of setting powder.â
âWhat?!â
She winces. âIÂ know, Iâm so sorry. We thought we had enough but then some of the boys were playing and knocked over-,â
You waved her off, not wanting to hear the rest of it. âOkay, okay. Do none of the other girls have any extra? Is no one willing to lend you some?â
She shook her head. âNo! I already asked. I donât know what to do.â
âIâll get you some.â Peter stepped in. âJust send me a picture of what it looks like and Iâll be back in ten minutes tops.â
Vanessa gasped, âDude. Youâre a lifesaver. Y/N,â she met your eyes, âyour boyfriend is a lifesaver!â
âOh heâs not-,â you started, but she was already walking away. You turned towards Peter, the disbelief on your face getting stronger every time you looked at him today.Â
You started shaking your head, âWhat on earth are you doing Parker?â
âHelping you.â He said as if it were the easiest thing on earth. He wondered if you were making a conscious effort not to say his first name.Â
Your head wouldnât stop shaking left and right. âWhat? What do you- I donât-,â
He cut you off, âAnd Iâm gonna get rid of all the people who donât belong here too.â He looked around the room before looking down at you. âYou, justâŚtake care of yourself Y/N. Donât stress too much, itâll be fine.â
âAre you sure you even have the time?â
Shit.Â
His face fell and you immediately felt guilt seep into your bones.Â
âPeter Iâm so-,âÂ
He cut you off again, his voice quieter this time. âNo, that was..that was fair. But I mean it.â He raised his voice, sounding more sure now. âIâm going to help you out.â
He stepped away from you suddenly, leaving you standing with your mouth agape. He walked to the end of the room, stopping right before the door. âAlright, everyone! Listen up,â He clapped his hands together, his voice booming around the room. Everyone quieted down to hear him.
âUnless you had some part in putting all this together, Iâm going to need you to follow me out right now. Let everyone do their thing, we donât need to bother them any more than we already have.â
Everyone was still for a second.
âAnd,â he continued, âMs. Lightbody gave me permission to start handing out detentions.â
That got everyone moving. Your brows furrowed as a sea of students started moving through the room and out the door. Ms. Lightbody did no such thing.Â
Peter stood to the side, holding the door open. It had come down to the last few people and Peter held back a boy. âYou,â he told him, âIâm gonna need you to stay outside this door and make sure no one enters unless theyâre part of the cast or crew. We canât have that happening again.â
âOh shit. Like a bouncer?â The kid asked eagerly.
Peter stared for a bit before he nodded. âYeah man, exactly. And listen,â he pointed at you, âif youâre not sure, you ask her, alright?â
The boy turned towards you and you offered him a smile. âDamn! Sheâs smokinâ!â He exclaimed. If you werenât so busy, you mightâve blushed.
Peter narrowed his eyes, and it seemed like he was considering something before he quickly shook his head. He grabbed the boy by the shoulder and placed him on the outside of the door.Â
âVanessa!â He shouted. âSend me a picture of the powder, Iâm going right now.â
âAlready sent Pete, thanks!â She shouted back, giving him a thumbs up from where she was standing by the makeup chairs.Â
Pete? Why would she call him Pete? She doesnât know him like that. I used to call him Pete-
You stopped your train of thought. You could not afford to think like that right now.
âPerfect.â He said, he made to move away but his eyes met yours and he froze. âIâm gonnaâŚâ he trailed off, feet stuck to the ground as his thumb pointed to the door.Â
âOf course,â you nodded quickly. âAnd Peter,â you stop him before he turns to go, âthank you. So much.â You hoped your voice carried the sincerity you felt.
He smiled at you softly, âAnything for you Y/N/N.â
This time, you did blush. You turned away before he could see you and placed a palm on your forehead.Â
âWow,â a voice said from beside you. Brad. âDidnât know Parker had that in him.â
âYeah,â you whispered, âme either.â
âHey, whereâs Lexi?â Someone in the room asked. You felt your heart drop. Lexi. Youâd completely forgotten about her after that whole thing with Peter.Â
You had a show that needed to start in less than an hour and your star still hadnât shown up.Â
You pulled out your phone again, pulling up her contact. You were about to hit the âcallâ button but right then, Ms. Lightbody walked in.Â
She was holding her phone to her ear, and she was staring straight at you, her face full of dread.
âLexi canât make it. Sheâs got some type of flu, she canât get out of bed. I am on the phone with her mother right now.â
Your jaw dropped. Chatter broke out everywhere. The kids were panicking, wondering what to do now, now that the lead of the whole show wasnât going to be here.
Fuck. You shouldâve known, yesterday when you saw her. But you were stupid enough to believe it was just lack of sleep. You shouldâve figured it out faster so you couldâve planned something. Stupid, stupid, stupid-
âMiss Y/L/N.â You looked up when you heard your name. âSheâs asking to speak to you.â Ms. Lightbody holds her phone out for you to take.Â
Your eyes widen, âMe?â
She nodded, hand still outstretched toward you. You swallowed and walked your way toward her. You reached for the phone and held it to your ear. The chatter around the room stopped, everyone straining to hear what was going to happen next.
âHello?â
âIt wasnât the Axe Body Spray.â
You barked out a laugh at the unexpected joke. âLex! Be serious, what happened.â
âI got sick when I got home from rehearsal yesterday, Iâve been asleep since.â It was then that you heard how different her voice sounded. Nasally and broken, like sheâd swallowed a lawn mower.Â
âMy momâs only woken me up about twice to drink some medicine,â she continued, breaking into a fit of coughing at the end of her sentence. Yeah, maybe it was a good thing she didnât come.
âLex,â you repeated, sounding more desperate this time, âwhatâre we gonna do?â
âWait,â someone in the room with you starts, âwhat about her understudy?â
âThere is no understudy, dumbass!â Someone quipped right back.Â
âYou,â Lexi said.Â
âHuh?â You replied.Â
âYou, Y/N.â She repeated. âYou need to do it. You need to play Stephanie. No one else could do it. You know all the lines. You know the whole play.â
You paled. âBe so fucking for real with me right now Lexi Walker.â
âIÂ am.â She said seriously. Or, as seriously as she could sound when she had to cough after every other word she spoke.
People were leaning in now, trying to hear what was going on between the two of you. You ignored them, âLex, thereâs no way. You know I canât do that.â
âOh my god!â Someone shouted. Lacy. âY/N! Y/N can do it!â
You shook your head quickly. âNo! I canât!â You replied to her, the phone still pressed to your ear.
âYou have to, Y/N, please, for me. You know how much this means to me. Youâre the only person I trust,â Lexi begged
There are shouts from your cast-mates now, encouraging you to take the role when that was the last thing you wanted to do.
âLex, babe,â you tried to reason, âI didnât rehearse as much as you did! I donât know it like you.â
âNo,â she agreed, âyou know it better. All that time you spent, going over every detail of the set, the costumes, the script. It was for this. Now please, you know you can do it.â
You paused. You didnât want to, but it was really looking like you had no choice. You looked around at everyone in the room, they all worked so hard, hell, you worked so hard to make this happen. You werenât gonna let it all be for nothing.
You rubbed your temple with one hand, the other holding the phone up to your ear. âDo you guys really think I can do it?â You looked around at everyone, hoping theyâd answer honestly.
A chorus of agreement rang out from the group but Ms. Lightbody stepped in. âMiss Y/L/N,â she started, âI know none of this has been ideal. And I know weâre asking a lot. You didnât come in today expecting to step onto that stage, but right now, thatâs what we need. And I think we would all appreciate your help in these unexpected circumstances.â
You stared at her for a moment. You always wondered why she spoke so formally all the time, maybe one day youâll ask her.
âSure, Iâm down.â You shrugged and everyone started cheering.Â
âOh good,â Lexi sighed, âcause I need to go throw up right now, so bye. Tell everyone to take lots of photos and videos for me please!â
You winced. âWe will Lex, you just work on feeling better. Now go, I love you.â
âLove you too babe.â She replied before hanging up quickly.Â
âAlright,â Ms. Lightbody started pushing you to the makeup chairs. âHave a seat Y/N. Girls,â she turned toward the makeup crew. âGet started on her, afterward, take her to hair and then, get her into her costume.â
They all chorused an agreement and started fussing over you. You were one of the last people to get ready, everyone one else having already had their turn.Â
With so many people working on you, your makeup was done in no time. Soon, only Vanessa was left and she was powdering your face.
âPeter came back?â You asked her once you realized what she was holding in her hands.Â
She nodded. âYeah, a few minutes ago, but he didnât come in, left the stuff with the dude outside the door whoâs calling himself our âbouncerâ.â
You nodded, âOh okay.â
âYouâve got a great boyfriend Y/N, seriously. Not many guys I know would help out like that, no matterâŚâ
You zoned out while she was doing the finishing touches on your face. Not many guys you know either, Peter included. Or at least, the Peter youâd come to find yourself in a relationship with. The old Peter, however, wouldâve done anything for you, and you for him. You got a glimpse of him earlier tonight and you wondered what it was that triggered that.Â
The few moments of silence gave you time to go over everything that's been happening recently in your head. Youâve had a hectic past few weeks, but especially this last week. With the last few rehearsals, everything with Peter, everything with Spider-Man. OhâŚ
And then there was himâŚ
There was a moment yesterday. You tried to gaslight yourself into thinking you imagined it but you didnât. It was real. Until you ruined it.
Youâd gone to bed late last night, staying on the roof even after heâd left in case he decided to come back so you could apologize again. Youâd felt downright terrible all night. And this morning.Â
It was none of your business to ask him to take off his mask. Who the hell did you think you were? There mightâve been something before but there was no wayâŚnot after the way he reacted last night. Youâd pissed him off. And now youâd lost another friend.
âThere you go!â Vanessa said, pulling back from your face and grinning. She held up a mirror for you to take a look. âWhat do you think? I think it matches Stephanieâs description pretty well, no?â
You gasped, âOh my god Vanessa, this is exactly how I pictured her! When all this is over you have to teach me how to do my eyeliner like this.â
âDeal.â She grinned.
Suddenly, Ms. Lightbody walked by. âWho is that child standing outside the door?â She asked. Vanessa shot you a look and you subtly shook your head at her, and at anyone who turned towards you.Â
No one answered her. âHe asked me for my ID?!â You choked back a laugh. âHe doesnât even go here!â She continued. Everyone successfully avoided her, playing busy with whatever task they had in front of them. Vanessa kept brushing over your face with a clean brush while you both fought back smiles.
âY/N!â Ms. Lightbody called. You shot out of your chair and approached her. âYes maâam?â
âIs your makeup all done?â You nodded while she examined your face. âVery well, head over to hair, we need everyone ready soon! Curtain opens in 15!â
That last one was directed at everybody and you could feel the shift in the atmosphere. If everyone wasnât working before, they were now.Â
You headed over to hair and let one of the people there pin it up for you. After that, you were held into your costume, your friends pulling on layer after layer before finally, you were completely ready.Â
You looked in the mirror. âI look I came out a Jane Austen novel,â you murmured.Â
Lacy, who stood beside you, laughed. âAnd it suits you! You look beautiful Y/N, stunningly classic. Very vintage.â She nodded in approval.Â
You turned towards her and smiled, âThank you, Lace.â You sucked in a breath and ran your hand down the hem of your costume. âIâm nervous,â you admitted shyly.Â
âDonât be,â she replied, voice soft. âHey, if you could pull off that scavenger hunt, this should be a piece of cake.â She smirked wickedly at you.Â
You laughed, âActually, youâre right.â
âI always am.â she shrugged
âSHOWTIME EVERYONE, GET IN YOUR PLACES!â Ms. Lightbodyâs voice boomed across the whole backstage.Â
You both looked at each other. âBreak a leg.â She grinned at you.Â
You grinned right back. You could handle this.Â
The anxiety from before had mostly worn off. Now, all you felt were nervous jitters and even a little excitement. Everyone was right, you knew everything about this play like the back of your hand, and you were looking forward to being out there with people youâd come to think of as friends.Â
You got into place, standing beside Brad and some of your other cast-mates who were going to be in this first scene with you.
âHey,â he said, voice low and he looked down at you with a large smile on his face.Â
âHi,â you replied, smiling right back.Â
âDonât think I got the chance to tell you, but Iâm really happy youâre doing this.â
âYeah, I think I am too.â
âCurtain warmers on?â Ms. Lightbody spoke into a little headset. âPerfect. AndâŚaction!â
The lights blinded you for a second, once the curtain opened, and you had to stop yourself from turning your face away. In the beat you had before the scene came to life, you chanced a glance at the crowd. You really wished you hadnât.Â
Peter Parker was sitting front row.Â
As quickly as you looked, you averted your gaze, but not before you noticed a few things. Beside him sat Ned, and in the row behind them, right behind Nedâs chair, sat MJ. And all three of them had their mouths hanging open. You had to fight down the heat threatening to rise to your face.Â
You never told them, hell, you didnât even know. What were they gonna think? There was no way you could pull this off, you were all fooling yourselves, everyone was wrong and-
The first line was delivered, and it all came to life.Â
You were panting, running backstage. There was a small intermission at the moment, and you had just changed your outfit, from the simple gown you were adorning, to a bigger one. This one was more detailed and more eye-catching. It was supposed to be special because it was meant for the last scene of the whole play. The confession. Your kiss with Brad.
In the heat of the moment, youâd forgotten that specific detail. And as you sat down in the makeup chair again and one of the girls reapplied your lipstick, it was all you could think about.Â
You had to kiss Brad. And Peter would be sitting front row watching the whole thing.Â
That shouldnât matter. First of all, it was all part of an act. Even if you were still with Peter, (which you werenât. You had to keep reminding yourself of that little detail) it wouldnât have mattered because you were doing it for the play. A play you werenât even planning on being a part of, acting-wise, of course.Â
And then there was Spider-Man. If there was anyone you had to be kissing right now, you wished it was him. But there was no chance of that happening after last night. You wondered how he was feeling right now. Heâd probably tell you to relax and stop stressing yourself out.Â
The thought made you take in a breath through your mouth, and slowly exhale from your nose. Just like heâd taught you. You felt yourself relax and, not for the first time that night, you decided that you needed to just get through tonight. And then you could worry about everything else.Â
The girl helping you with your makeup (you didnât recognize her, but appreciated the help nonetheless) pulled away and smiled. âAlright, I think youâre good to go.âÂ
âThank you.â You smiled back and stood from your chair.
Ms. Lightbody approached you, placing a hand on your shoulder, âCome on, Miss Y/L/N. We need to get you in place.â
You nodded as she led you to the wing on the side of the stage, the curtains were still down, and by the time they opened again, you would be standing on the makeshift balcony (built by the props team), soon to be joined by Brad.Â
You went to approach the steps of the balcony when you felt her hold you back.
âI wanted to thank you again Y/N. I know we were all planning on Miss Walker doing all this but honestlyâŚI couldnât be prouder.â
Your heart warmed at her confession. You were upset you didnât get to see Lexi shine like youâd been planning but you hoped youâd do her proud. You were glad to know you did Ms. Lightbody proud.Â
Without saying a word, you throw your arms around her in a warm embrace. She quickly reciprocated.Â
âI know weâve all given you a hard time these past few weeks, and we donât say it enough but we appreciate you. All of us.â
You both pulled back and her eyes were full of emotion. âThank you Y/N, truly. Now go, Iâll get Mr. Davis ready.â
You nodded and stepped onto the set, positioning yourself at the end of the balcony. The balcony protruded from the side of the stage and covered a quarter of it. The backdrop youâd been appreciating just yesterday now stood to your side. You saw parts of it glitter from the light leaking in from backstage and you stifled a laugh.
Soon, the curtain opened. Youâd grown used to the lights by now, welcoming their glow over your face. You gripped the railing and played broken-hearted, right now, Stephanie and Gabriel had just had a falling out during a ball and you had run out onto the balcony to get some air.Â
âStephanie.â Brad approached behind you, and you turned around in fake shock.
The hardest part about acting, youâd come to find, was keeping a serious face and not laughing at yourself or your partner.
âLeave me be, Gabriel.â You waved a hand at him, turning away.Â
He caught your arm and held it gently between the two of you, standing so close, you were trapped between the railing and him.
âIÂ canât,â he said, his voice strangled. He looked down at you, face so pained, you almost believed him.Â
And so it began, the two of you going back and forth, delivering your lines, monologues about your feelings for each other, and how nothing in the world mattered except holding the other person, even for a moment.Â
Brad was finishing up, he was pacing back and forth in front of you while you listened intently.
ââŚAnd all this, because I love you.â He stopped in front of you now, hands coming up to cup your face. You did your best to get your expression to convey the love you (or Stephanie) were supposed to be feeling and then it happened.Â
Brad leaned, crashing his lips onto yours. You throw your arms around him, meeting him just as eagerly, and tried your best not to think about all the people currently watching suck each otherâs faces off. One of his hands traveled down to your waist while the other moved from your cheek to hold the back of your head as he dipped you. Cheers broke out across the crowd.Â
You two stayed locked together like that for a few moments as the curtains closed, and then you broke apart. You were both panting, faces flushed, but you didnât have time to think about what just happened. You and Brad had started moving off the balcony and onto the actual stage itself, the other members of the cast and crew joining you to take the final bow.Â
You all lined up across the stage, hands interlocked. With you and Brad in the middle, the curtains opened. You could still hear the applause before, but now, it got even louder and you couldnât help the big smile that overtook your face. People were whistling, and clapping, someone was even throwing roses. You all took a bow together, and rose together, throwing your interlocked hands in the air.Â
Your body was buzzing with adrenaline. It was over, youâd actually done it. You could see Ms. Lightbody standing to the side, gleaming with pride at you all.Â
Soon, you all let go of each other and started embracing and exchanging congratulations. Brad turned toward you and pulled you into a tight hug, lifting you up a little. You laughed, holding onto him just as tight. The applause seemed never-ending, even as you all started walking off stage.Â
Now backstage, there was a buzz in the air. Not the same as a couple hours ago, which had been anxiety and nerves. This was triumph, pride, and adrenaline.Â
âAlright everyone,â Ms. Lightbody approached the center of the room once everyone had reconvened. âWeâve finally finished. And it was a hit.â
That caused everyone to start whooping and shouting. She rolled her eyes but even she couldnât hide the smile creeping onto her face.Â
She held up a hand, âOkay. I just wanted to let you all know, how proud I am of each and every single one of you. You all worked so hard to make this happen and you worked through every problem that came your way.â She gave you a pointed look and the cheers started up again.Â
You hid your face in your hands as your friends pulled you into side hugs. âAnd I just wanted to say,â she continued. âWeâve all had a long night. Leave the cleaning for another day, everyone, go celebrate!â
She waved her hands and everyone started cheering again, moving as one to the back door to meet up with their friends and family.Â
As soon as you entered the hall you were bombarded by thanks and praises from your friends. You thanked them and threw their compliments right back at them, saying that this whole thing was a group effort.Â
You were flying from one group to another, everyone shouting your name. You were currently with Noah, Jack, and Lacy, telling them how good a job they did on the sets when you heard your name being shouted out again.
You turned around and saw MJ. Grinning, you excused yourself from the group and charged at her, pulling her into a hug without giving her any time to protest. To your surprise, she pulled you in just as tight.Â
âWhy didnât you tell me?â She mumbled into your hair.Â
âOh my god,â you started, âMJ it was insane. It all happened so fast, that Lexi got sick, so she didnât show up! And I knew all the lines and stuff so I had to step in cause no one thought of casting an understudy and-,â
You pulled back from the hug but kept your hands on her shoulders. âOh my god, what did you think? Was it bad? You can tell me -,â
âNo! No way, holy shit Y/N, it was so good!âÂ
âSeriously?â you smiled at her. âWhat happened to the whole âschool productions are so cringeâ mindset?â
âThat was before her best friend was starring in one,â said Ned. You hadnât realized he was standing beside you two, with Peter beside him.
âDonât worry, Y/N,â He continued. âThe show was amazing. And you popping up on stage was a fun surprise.â
You grinned at him. âThank you, Ned! Iâm so happy you all made it.â You looked at Peter and offered him a small smile. Heâd really helped you out today, and the fact that heâd made it to the actual show, and stuck it out till the end, meant a lot as well.Â
âOh of course we made it!â Ned cut it, putting your attention back on him. âPetey here wouldnât shut up about it. Went out and bought you flowers and everything.â
Your mouth fell open at his words, and for the first time, you noticed the large bouquet in Peterâs arms. You saw Peter nudge his friend hard and Ned winced before his face lit up in understanding. He grabbed MJ by the hand (which she quickly yanked back from him) and said, âOk, well weâre gonna go talk to someone else. Congrats Y/N!â But you didnât have a chance to reply before he was scurrying off, MJ with him.Â
You stared at them for a bit before turning all your attention to Peter. He cleared his throat before saying, âHey.â
âHi.â
âThese are for you,â he said, holding out the bouquet of fresh flowers. You accepted them from him and brought them up to your nose, taking in a whiff of the sweet scent.Â
âMy favorite.â You whispered, fingers lightly tracing the petals.Â
He nodded. âYeah, um, I saw them and I thought you might like them. Especially with everything, you know,â he gestured vaguely, âthought youâd like some flowers.â
Your heart warmed at the thought that he saw your favorite flowers while he was out and thought of you. âThank you, really. But you didnât have to do that.â
âI wanted to.â He admitted.Â
You looked around, unable to meet his eyes. You focused on the floor, âWell thanks Parker, that was really sweet of you.â
He sighed, âY/N please, I donât want to-,â
But he got cut off by someone shouting your name. âY/N!â Brad approaches you two. He looked Peter up and down before turning to you, âHey, so the whole cast and stuff is going out for ice cream in our costumes, thought itâd be fun. Wanna join?â
Your face lit up, âOf course!âÂ
He grinned right back at you. âGreat. Come on, theyâre leaving now.
You turned towards Peter, whose expression looked harder than before. âListen, thank you so much for your help today, it means a lot. And thank you for the flowers.â
He nodded but his attention was on Brad. He finally turned toward you, his expression notably softening, âLike I said before, anything for you Y/N/N.â
You stayed there for a bit, caught in his eyes, unable to look away. It isnât until Brad places a hand on your shoulder that you realize youâve been staring.
âReady to go?â He asked. You nodded and turned to leave. As you were walking out the door, you turned to look over your shoulder. You werenât even sure why, but as you did, you caught Peter already staring. You sent him a little wave and he returned it before turning and walking away himself, shoving his hands in his pockets.Â
You walked to the ice cream shop with the others, still holding your flowers. And after everything that happened today, all you could think about was Peter.Â
You had a blast. The ice cream shop was packed with a bunch of high school kids in old-timesy clothing, laughing and joking with each other.Â
Brad had paid for your ice cream, despite your multiple refusals, claiming that they all owed you for stepping in and saving their asses.
âConsider it a thank you for that great kiss earlier.â He winked before walking off.Â
That had gotten you to shut up.Â
You all sat at tables surrounding each other, even pushing some together. You ate your ice cream in peace, joining the conversation every now and then to make a joke.Â
Someone had gotten Lexi on the phone and you all said hello. She congratulated you and you thanked her, letting her know you thought it shouldâve been her on that stage instead. She made some joke about âif you wanted the whole front row to be covered in vomit, then I totally shouldâve been there, youâre right.â And you all laughed. Â
You had noticed Jack and Lacy moved to their own spot across the store. They were laughing together with Jackâs arm around her cocooning them from the world. It seemed they had finally gotten together and you couldnât be more happy for them.
For some reason, the only thing on your mind was Spider-Man. It was silly but all you could think about was finding a way to make things right with him. It sucked that you had no way to reach him, but youâd decided to wait on the roof tonight, hoping heâd see you while swinging and stop by. Even if he left right after you apologized, you wouldnât mind. You just wanted to see him.Â
You realized how late it was getting, and that it was usually now when you met up with him. So you'd asked Martha, (her mom helped with costumes, but she worked on the props) for a ride back since she had a car and lived in an apartment building near yours.Â
She quickly agreed, claiming she was ready to go too, but she had to walk back to the school to grab her car.Â
So youâd waited, but you couldnât fight off your anxiety. Your leg kept bouncing up and down. You stayed like that for a while before Brad put a hand on your knee, stopping the action.
âYou alright,â he asked, some sort of half-smile on his face. You looked at him then and thought, I can see why people like you Brad. He was kind, he was funny, he was fairly handsome, pretty popular too. And yet all you could think about was heading back home and waiting for someone you didnât even really know.Â
You nodded, âYeah, Iâm just waiting for Martha to pull up.â
âI could walk you home if you wanted.â He offered.Â
You smiled but shook your head, âNo, but thank you, Iâm kind of in a rush.â
âEverything alright?â
âEverythingâs fine.â You assured him. âJustâŚtired.â
âYeah,â he nodded at you. âI get that. But hey.â
You looked up at him expectantly.Â
âBefore you go thereâs something Iâve been meaning to ask you.â
Your eyes shot open. âOh?â You said, and it felt oddly reminiscent of that moment the two of you shared in the hall.Â
âYeah. Would you wanna go out with me sometime?â
âLike a date?â You blurted out. Like an idiot, you thought. You knew it was coming and yet youâre acting like he just told you he was Taylor Swift.Â
He smiled at you and nodded, âYeah, like a date.â
Oh Martha, where are you?
You were silent for a few seconds before you cleared your throat. There was no crawling away this time, no Peter running to interrupt. You had to face this.Â
âI really like you Brad butâŚI canât out with you.â
His expression fell a little, but he didnât look surprised. âItâs Parker, isnât it?â
You were taken aback. âHuh?â
He nodded his head towards and flowers lying in your lap, âParker. I saw you two today. When he was helping before the show, that was all for you. He sat front row before he even knew you were going to be on that stage.â
You blew out a breath and ran a hand through your hair, which youâd taken out of its updo. âI donât know.â You told him honestly. âI donât know and thatâs the problem. Things are still really weird between me and him, and going out with you? That wouldnât be fair to me or you.â And the other person you couldnât wait to see.
He nodded again, understanding coating his features. âI get that, but hey,â he smiled at you, âweâre still friends right?â
You grinned wide, relief flowing through you. The last thing youâd wanted to do was hurt his feelings and you were so glad he was taking this so well.Â
âOf course we are,â you replied honestly. Right then, your phone started ringing and you stood up to answer. Martha was outside waiting for you.
You walked back to your table, saying your goodbyes to everyone. You were pulled into hugs and thanked a few more times. You really wanted to take your time but you couldnât stop the part of you that wanted to rush home and sprint onto the rooftop.Â
As soon as you were out the door you were sprinting to the car. You spent the whole ride anxiously fiddling with the bouquet of flowers from Peter.Â
You barely thanked her as you stepped out the door, closing it and waving goodbye as she pulled away.Â
You rushed straight up the stairs, wasting no minute. You felt hopeful, for the first time in a long time. You were going to make sure he knew you were sorry, make sure the two of you remained friends.Â
You stepped onto the roof, the wind blowing around you. Only then did you realize you were still in your costume. That didnât matter though, you didnât want to risk going down to change. And you were sure that if he did stop by tonight, he would love to hear about the crazy day you had.Â
You stepped close to the ledge, setting the bouquet down by your feet and you leaned over slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the hero youâd come to think of as a friend.Â
A weird sense of familiarity washed over you, and you realized, this was exactly what youâd been doing a few hours ago. Standing on that makeshift balcony, waiting for your lover to come so you could make amends. Except, this wasnât a fake balcony, and there was no way you and Spider-Man were lovers, barely friends at best. But still, there was something familiar there.
You waited. And waited. Just when you were starting to give up hope, you heard the small thwip youâd come to realize signaled his arrival. Soon after, you heard a pair of feet land in the middle of your rooftop.Â
You turned toward him, heart racing. For a moment neither of you said anything, just stared at each other, but you quickly decided you needed to get your words out before he left again like last night.
âI am so sorry. Iâve been so worried since last night that I upset you and I can't stand it, please would you-,â
OhâŚ.oh.
Before you could even inhale to get your next word out, he was walking towards you, ripping his mask off, gripping your face, and pulling you into a deep kiss.
You didnât even get to see him but that was the last thought on your mind. He was kissing you. And it was perfect. Your hands flew up to his hair, and you tugged slightly, making him kiss you even harder.
His mouth moved against yours like heâd been waiting his whole life to do this, and couldnât believe he finally got the chance. You met him just as eagerly, for each kiss, trying to memorize the feeling of his lips on yours.
Something about this, all of it, felt so, so familiar. But every time you made to pull away, his lips chased yours and you couldnât help but give in.Â
Soon enough you both pulled away to catch your breaths, eyes still shut as you leaned into each other, foreheads touching. You enjoyed the moment for a bit, and then you opened your eyes, about to make a joke about how that was an interesting way to accept an apology.
You gasped out loud, hands flying up to cover your mouth as you stumbled backward.Â
âOh my god,â you whispered. âOh my god.â
âY/N/N, Iâm so sorry,â he says. Peter says. Because itâs Peter standing in front of you right now and he didnât seem to be the least bit taken aback by your reaction.
Youâre unsure what to say to him, your head is reeling and you can't breathe.Â
âOh my god,â you repeated, your voice barely a breath.Â
âY/N, please, please let me explain.â He stepped toward you and reached out a hand.Â
You shook your head so quick, that you thought you might give yourself whiplash. âNo. This,â you pointed at him, âis so sick, Peter.â Your voice broke at the end and you tried to fight back the tears that were already burning in your eyes.Â
His eyes widened. âY/N I promise you, itâs not what you think-,â
âWhat do you think I think Peter?â You asked him, voice full of exasperation. âBecause I think, you lied to me. I think, you played me for a fool. I think, youâre sick and twisted for sitting here with me every night and playing friends with me. Asking me about my day, pretending to care. Fuck, asking me about my ex. Continuously,
âI think,â you continued, tears flowing freely now, voice shaky and weak, but still conveying your anger. âI think you got me to trust you, again. Just so you could stomp all over every bit of me, again!â
âItâs not like that Y/N, it was never like that. Please, believe me, sweetheart. Please donât cry.â He begged, looking like it was taking every muscle in his body to hold himself back from pulling you in again.Â
âWhy should I believe you?â You snapped at him. It was hard for him to believe that, just a minute ago, he was holding you again. Kissing you like nothing else in the world mattered. Heâd give anything to have that back.
âBecause every moment we had out here was real! Every concern, every question. I was never playing pretend, I just, ugh!â He groaned out loud, dropping his head in his hands, and tugging his hair tightly before looking up at you again. âI fucked up Y/N,â his voice is watery, and because you canât undo the time you spent together, as Peter and as Spider-Man, you canât help the strong impulses you feel to hold him tight. But you stand your ground and wait for him to continue.
âFirst when I didnât tell you about this,â he said gesturing towards his suit. âWhich has its own reasons. And then again, when I bailed on you all those times, which was because of this. And again when I let you walk away from me that night at school. I shouldâve fought for you, I shouldâve shown up more, I shouldâve shown up every time and never given you any reason to not trust me,
âBut I didnât. And you called things off⌠And at that moment, all I could think was you, walking down the streets of New York, crying, and distracted.â He shuddered and your heart fell. Youâd never thought of it like that. âYou donât know the things Iâve seen,â he said, looking up at you, eyes red and face flushed.Â
âSo I thought Iâd just walk you home, make sure you got there safely, and then Iâd start staying away. But it was you,â his voice broke. âAnd you were so upset and all I could think was that itâs my fault and I hated myself. So when you invited me to hang out on the roof with you, I thought Iâd show up, try to cheer you up a little,
âAnd you made me tea, that night,â he laughed softly. âI donât think you even realized, but you made it the way I always drink my tea. My favorite.â Your mouth fell open a little when you realized you had, in fact, made his favorite tea that night. Heâd told you during a late-night conversation before you two had started dating, and ever since, it was the only tea you drank.Â
âSo I had to stay,â he continued. âAnd then we started talking, and you were joking, and telling me things I had no idea about. And I never wanted to leave,â he admitted softly.Â
âWhy didnât you tell me?â You asked him, pointing at his mask on the floor, voice raspy from the tears still clogged in your throat. âWhen we were still together? Iâll bet that's why you were always bailing, isnât it?â
He looked down and nodded. âIt is. Or was. I wanted to,â he looked up at you suddenly, his face so sincere, that you could feel the desperation in his next words. âGod Y/N, you have no idea how many times I almost did. But I stopped myself every time because the risks of you knowing were too high.â
âRisks?â You asked confused.
He nodded, âIâve met a lot of people. Bad people. And if the one catches wind of this, of you? If someone ever tried something, Iâd never forgive myself.â He looked away shaking his head.
âSo no one knows?â
He shook his head again. âOnly Ned and May.â
âNed knows?â You knew they were best friends, but really?
âIt's not like that, no.â He waved his hand. âHe found out by accident. He was waiting in my room one day, and I crawled in through the window âcause I didnât see him.â
You huff out a breath from your nose. That was so Peter. Youâd bet money that May found out in some similar situation.
âWait,â you started, âif we went through all of that, and you still didnât tell me, why tell me now?â
âBecause I canât stand to be away from you any longer.â His voice sounded broken, like heâd been dying to get that off his chest.
He stepped closer again, and you didnât push him away this time, much to his surprise. He doesnât stop until heâs standing right in front of you.
âIâll protect you from anything or anyone that may come your way. Iâd do anything for you sweetheart,â he repeated his words from earlier and you felt something grow in your chest. One of his hands came up to cup your cheek, the other, moving to your waist. Your hands rose up to lay on his chest.Â
âGod, you have no idea how much it was killing me to sit beside you all those nights and not be able to touch you.â He whispered, staring straight into your eyes.Â
You met his gaze. You believed him, every word. Youâd known Peter for years, you knew when he was lying to you, which was part of why you broke up with him. You knew he was lying to you, or holding something back from you, you just didnât know what. But you still had a few more questions.Â
âLast night. Why did you run off? Why didnât you just tell me then?â
âBecause I was a coward,â he admitted, expression sad. âI was enjoying it all too much, I wasnât ready to ruin it yet. I still couldnât believe I found a way to still talk to you, and you were asking to see me,â he blew out a breath.
Yeah, obviously that didnât initially start well.Â
You nodded. âAnd when you kept asking me about you. About my ex and how I felt about him, why?â That part still had you confused
He looked up, closing his eyes, âI wonât lie to you sweetheart, that was just me being a dumbass. That was complete selfishness andâŚ,â
He trailed off. âAnd what?â You questioned him. There was some unspoken thing you two were doing right now, that you could ask anything, and heâd answered honestly. It was the least he could do.Â
âAnd jealously,â he finished quietly, looking down at the ground.
âJealousy?â You repeated, still confused. âBut who would you be jealous ofâŚoh.â
And it was then that you realized how youâd talked about Brad to Spider-Man (before you knew who he was of course), and how, right after, when heâd asked about Peter, youâd said something about just trying to forget the whole thing. You had to hold back a laugh when you remembered all that. Poor guy mustâve been going insane.Â
He nodded. âYou kept talking about that Brad guy and talking about trying to get over me. And I hated that you seemed to be getting over me so quick. Like I said, completely selfish. I'm sorry.â
âNo,â you shook your head, âthat makes sense actually. But seriously Peter..â You trailed off, shaking your head again.
Worry crept onto his features, âI know I messed up Y/N/N, big time, but Iâm willing to do anything-,â
âYou really thought I was into Brad?â You asked, wrinkling your nose up at him.Â
He let out a breath of relief, before laughing a little. God, he was so happy you were joking with him.Â
He leaned down and pressed his forehead against yours, âIâm sorry sweetheart.â
âYouâre forgiven,â you told him, the sincerity in your tone impossible to miss, and he knew you were talking about more than the crazy jealousy.Â
He looked down into your eyes, his gaze so intense you almost went to look away. âIâm the luckiest man alive,â he whispered, his voice so low, you wondered if he even meant to say it out loud.
His eyes flickered down to your lips, and you took that as your cue. You leaned in, closing the gap between you. He kissed you back instantly. It was softer than the one earlier, but way more meaningful. Every press of his lips on yours felt like repairing something. Mending whatever it was that had broken between the two of you.
You pulled away first because you knew he wouldnât, but he didnât let you get far. He started planting kisses all over your face.
"Have I told you," Kiss. "How beautiful," Kiss. "I think you look tonight? And every night."
You laughed, face heating up at his compliments. "Thank you, Petey."
"I love it when you call me that." He said, grinning like a lovesick idiot. He leaned in and kissed your cheek one more time before he pulled away again.Â
"I didn't like it." He said, a frown on his face.
"Didn't like what babe?" You asked, tilting your head up at him while your fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck.
He let out a sigh, "The breakup. Being broken up. Not talking to you, as me, I mean. Not as Spider-Man. And I sure as hell didn't like seeing some other guy make out with my girl in front of everyone."
You laughed and you felt butterflies erupt in your stomach when he called you his girl. "Well don't worry," you told him, moving your hands to cup his face. "We're not doing that again, not if we can help it."
You leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before pulling away, which made him whine.Â
 He moved his hands to your shoulder as he buried his face in your neck, breathing in your scent.Â
âYou drive me crazy, sweetheart.â He said, voice muffled by your skin.Â
You giggled, âYou drive me crazier, Peter Parker.â
âcrazierâ taglist: @coralineyouareinterribledanger @666yourmomdotcom
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