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#just quietly whispering my deep feelings onto the internet as u do
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The thing about Shannon Messenger’s story—the thing that has kept me here endlessly, crying through the books, never “outgrowing” them—is that I have never read another author who absorbs me this much.
I think many of us have memories of those times we’ve fallen deeply, deeply into books. For many of us, we use to deeply fall into books for seemingly hours, and miss those “reading days.”
And no author can take me back there like Shannon Messenger.
I could pick up a Keeper book on a train in the midst of a hurricane, and in a matter of sentences, I would cease to exist. Without my knowing, my breathe would be captured, and everything would stand still.
The breathlessness of turning the pages, the falling so deeply in that you are laughing aloud or having literal pains in your chest. And then the dawning shock when you come out of the world, realizing that you exist. Taking a shaky breath, your heart beating quickly from being in the story. But until you came out, you didn’t realize any of this. You were far, far too deep. You try to remember what reality is, but none of it feels the same.
Nothing compares to the old escapism of Keeper for me. No matter how many years it’s been, no matter which book I’m reading or when I’m reading it, I am always immediately captured.
And I don’t know how she does it, but I know that I am never the same when I emerge.
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astralaffairs · 3 years
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girly.. ilysm and your writing. can you do daveed taking care of you while you're sick with a stomach bug? i feel like crap rn and need comfort. ty! xoxo ♥️
got carried away w this lowkey 😪 and girl i tried my hand at writing daveed just for u so youd better feel loved (and also pls take care of urself and get well soon!! have some tea n take a nap)
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There was a knock at the apartment door.
"Hey, Y/N? Baby? You home?"
Y/N glanced up from where she lay draped across the couch, brow furrowed as she propped herself up onto her elbows. "Who is it?"
"Who do you think?" Daveed's voice was indignant, and despite herself, she allowed herself a small smile.
"What are you doing here? I told you not to come over. I don’t want you getting sick," she said, shutting her laptop and discarding it on the coffee table beside her. She pulled her blanket tighter around herself.
"Are you gonna let me in or not?" he asked, and she sighed. Fatigue was weighing her down; she'd been trying not to move, as she winced every time she shifted her torso, and she wasn't fond of the feeling that she may throw up if she made any sudden movements. Still, she pried herself off the couch, blanket over her shoulders, and went to open the door for him.
"Come in." Her voice was gruff. Daveed's soft smile turned into a concerned frown the minute he managed to get a good look at her.
"You look like hell, baby." She latched the door behind him, and as soon as she turned back around to face him, his hands were on her, one pulling her toward him softly from the small of her back and the other rising to her forehead as he pressed the back of it to her skin. "Are you okay? D'you have a fever? You should be in bed."
"Hey, woah, I'm not feverish." She held up her hands to stop him, and his frown deepened when she took a step away from him. "It's just a stomach bug. WebMD says I should be fine within a day. Relax."
"Why aren't you resting?" he pressed, following her in as she plugged in her laptop and proceeded to her kitchen. She huffed.
"Seriously? I got up to get the door for you." She scowled when he raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I was on the couch getting some work done, before. I swear."
"No. Uh-uh, you shouldn't be working, right now," he insisted, but she only rolled her eyes, going to grab herself a glass of water. He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder before she could. "Go sit down and let me get you whatever you need, alright?"
"I'm not that sick, D," she mumbled, but he raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"I said, sit down. I'm not here to argue with you." When she opened her mouth to protest, he folded his arms, and she stopped herself short. A moment passed in silence. "Y/N," he warned, his conviction unwavering and his tone commanding.
"Fine," she ultimately replied, albeit grudgingly, and Daveed offered her a small smile.
"Good." As his hand rose to the nape of her neck, he dipped down to kiss her on the forehead before sending her on her way. She scrunched up her nose.
"You can't be kissing me. I'm gonna get you sick."
He ignored her words altogether, and when he continued on as though she hadn't spoken, she retreated to the couch with a huff. "Now, what d'you want? Can I make you some tea?"
"That's alright. I'm nauseous; I don't have the flu."
"Tea's still good for your stomach," he argued, and although Y/N raised a skeptical eyebrow, he didn't seem moved. "Y'know, I'm gonna get you something to drink no matter how much you put up a fight. Just lemme make you some tea."
"I don't really drink tea," she said softly, but Daveed was already rooting through her cupboards.
"You do today. What kind d'you like? Green tea? Lemon?"
"Can't you just get me water?"
"I can do both."
Y/N sighed, resting her head on the arm of the couch as he plugged in her little electric kettle and then proceeded to pull down a glass for her, filling it with water from her refrigerator. "This is so unnecessary."
"Don't care." He came to sit next to her on the couch when he handed her the glass of water, and she murmured a 'thank you.' "You clearly aren't gonna take care of yourself, so someone's gotta."
"I'm taking care of myself just fine," she said softly before taking a sip of her water, and she shrunk back into herself when he gave her a disbelieving look.
"Then why are you still working at 6 PM?" he asked.
"Because — and this may surprise you — I have a job," she answered dryly, her tone almost patronizing, and he rolled his eyes.
"That's no excuse for you doing overtime when you called in sick," he said matter-of-factly. "You should be in bed."
"I'm perfectly fine working on the couch."
"No more work for tonight," he said, and the words held an air of finality. Her eyebrows shot up.
"But—"
"No, Y/N." She frowned when he used her name, tone scolding. (What'd happened to 'baby'?) "Go to bed while I finish making you some tea. I'll meet you there in a second."
"I'm fine here," she said defiantly, and he eyed her dubiously.
"Why'd you rather be here than your bedroom, then? So you can use your computer?"
She shrugged. "Better internet connection?"
"Baby," he sighed, and she frowned at how exasperated he sounded. "Why're you being so stubborn on this, hm? Why can't you just let me take care of you?"
"Because I can take care of myself," she insisted, and when he raised a disbelieving eyebrow, she huffed. "I'm serious! I'm perfectly self-sufficient, alright? Stop treating me like a child."
"I will when you stop acting like one," he said, and Y/N scowled. "Don't play; you know you need to rest. So either get up, go to bed, and I'll meet you there in a few, or I'm gonna carry you to bed right now. Your choice."
She eyed his expression warily, and it was clear he wasn't kidding, and when she pulled her knees into herself where she was curled up at the end of the couch, he gave her a warning look. She huffed. "Fine. But I'm bringing my laptop."
"No, you aren't."
"Daveed!" she protested, "You can't just come in here and decide you're calling the shots, now. If I want to work, I'm going to. I didn't even ask you to come here in the first place."
"You gonna act like you want me gone, then?" he asked skeptically, and she pulled herself off the couch with a deep-seated frown, blanket still draped across her shoulders as she shuffled her feet into her slippers. "'Cause I can go. Just say the word."
"I didn't say I wanted you to leave," she mumbled, not looking back at him. "I just don't like being told what to do. You didn't have to criticize everything I'm up to."
"Don't you tell me I'm being unreasonable," he said, and she stopped, glancing back to where he was walking over to her kitchen. "If you'd just take care of yourself, I could've come spent the evening hanging with you in your room. But at the rate you're going, you're boutta be sick for another couple days, so get to bed."
Y/N was beginning to feel like a scolded child; her gaze was downcast as he watched her expectantly, and eventually, she murmured, "Okay."
"Thanks, babygirl," Daveed replied, and as she shuffled out of the room, he called after her, "I love you."
She hesitated. "Love you, too."
She crawled into bed not even minutes later, and she had to admit how nice it felt to just curl up and relax, not trying to work from home, not trying to keep herself going. Just to rest. She checked her phone for a brief moment, propped herself up on a pillow against the headboard, but she didn't keep scrolling through it long, discarding it on her bedside table minutes before Daveed entered with a steaming mug of tea.
"Careful," he warned her as he handed it to her, and she took it delicately, blowing on its surface as he rounded the bed. He took a seat beside her, pulling back the covers to join her in bed. Y/N took a small sip of her drink.
"Thanks," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes, and Daveed frowned.
"Hey, just for the record—" He rested a hand on her knee where she had it tucked into her chest, and she looked up, "—I wasn't trying to be overbearing, or... controlling, or anything. You worry me sometimes, though."
"I know, baby," she murmured. "Sorry."
"You don't need to apologize." He pulled her closer with an arm around her shoulders, and she burrowed into his side, being careful with her tea. "I'm sorry for making you feel like you did. Just... be gentle with yourself, okay?"
"Okay, D," she whispered as he leaned in to kiss the side of her head. She took another sip of the tea, and she couldn't quite determine whether it was the source of the warmth blossoming in her chest.
"Good," he said, and she turned her head to look up at him with a weak smile. "I don't like seeing you feeling so bad. And definitely not when there's something you can do about it."
"Yeah. Yeah, I know," she muttered into her mug, taking another sip. She was appreciating the tea more than she'd expected to. "But you should go, now. I'm just gonna get you sick if you stay."
"Hang on, I was planning on crashing here with you tonight," he protested, and she gave him a deadpanned stare.
"You're really gonna lecture me on taking care of myself and then expose yourself to illness like this?"
"If I'm going to catch your stomach bug, I've already caught it," he argued, "If I've been exposed to the germs, anyway, so I'm gonna make the best of it."
"That's poor logic."
"D'you want me gone?" He raised an expectant eyebrow, and she gave a halfhearted shrug. "'Cause, if not, I'm staying. No point in fighting me on it."
"Alright," she conceded with a sigh. He smiled as she sipped her drink, and when she put it aside on her table, Daveed hooked a finger under her chin, turning her toward him so he could kiss her softly on the lips. When he pulled back, if only an inch, their heads were pressed against one another, and she said, "Well, now you're definitely getting sick."
"Worth every second." He kissed her again, this time pulling her onto him by her hips. "Now, you can dote on me when I'm bedridden."
"Can't wait," she said, and the wry sarcasm in the words just made him smile. "But thanks for taking care of me, Daveed. Really. I love you."
"I love you, too," he whispered. "Do you need any more blankets? A sweatshirt? Can I make you dinner?"
"I'm too nauseous to eat." She frowned, and he brushed a piece of hair away from her forehead.
"Then let's take a nap," he suggested, and upon seeing the hesitance on her face, he went on, "Don't put up a fight on this one, babygirl. You look real tired. You got something to drink, you don't wanna eat, and now you need sleep."
"Do I really look that bad?" she asked hesitantly, and he cracked a soft grin.
"You still look hot. You're wearing the bedhead and eye bags real well, I swear," he teased, and when she rolled her eyes, he kissed her nose. "I'm just playin'. I still think you look great, but you do look like you've been put through the wringer."
"Wonder why that is," she muttered bitterly, and Daveed sighed.
"Since you look so tired, can I suggest sleeping?" he asked. "Might work. Might make you less exhausted. You might even like it."
"Fine," she agreed softly, and he smiled, kissing her forehead.
"Good."
"But can you stay with me?" she asked, and he raised his eyebrows, surprised. "I just don't want to wake up here alone."
"You really thought I was gonna miss out on taking an extra nap?" he asked indignantly, and she huffed out a light, all but inaudible laugh. "Oh, no, babygirl. It's been a long week. This is as much for me as it is for you."
"Well, I really feel loved," she said sarcastically. When he swept his thumb across the skin of her cheek, eyes crinkling at the corners, adoration shone in his gaze; her words couldn't have too much irony to them.
"Good. 'Cause I love you."
"I love you, too." Though she'd been all but leaning against his chest where she sat in his lap, it was then that she pulled away, shifted herself off of him as she gravitated back to her side of the bed. "You're really gonna stay?"
When she curled into the covers, facing him, she raised her eyebrows, watching him hopefully, and he combed his fingers into her hair where she lay. He lowered himself into bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close with his hand at the small of her back.
"Absolutely," he whispered. "I'll always be here when you need me."
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ambivalent-anarchy · 4 years
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Too Cheesy
Gender: Female
Pairing: Peter Parker x reader
Warnings: Sickening fluff and insanely cheesy pick up lines.
Summary- Ned agrees to stay at Peter's house and help him find the perfect pickup line to ask out his crush with before spring break. But what happens when his crush tags along and also wants to help? ---------------------------------------
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"Nah Peter, too corny."
Peter Parker was standing in the middle of his room, his best friend Ned sitting on his bed, cradling their death star in his hands. Peter scrolled down the screen of his phone. "Okay, how about this one?" After reading, Peter looked to the wall and gave a smug smirk, as if he were actually looking at someone. "Hey [Y/N]... are you religious? 'Cause you’re the answer to all my prayers."
Ned cocked his head to the side. "Is she religious?"
"I dunno, I never really asked before," Peter answered, breaking out of his assumed position.
Ned scrunched his nose a bit. "Well, we probably should stay off of religious pick-up lines then."
"Right," Peter agreed, looking back to his phone again. He scrolled a bit more. When satisfied, he looked up at the wall again, raised his eyebrows with an award winning smile before he recited another.
"Life without you would be like a broken pencil… pointless."
"Wow..," Ned said. He pointed and nodded slowly. "I think that's a keeper. Try it again just to make sure though. Oh- and this time, make it more personal."
"Okay," Peter said, going back over the line in his head. He assumed the position and instead of a smug, gave a small smolder.
"Wait," Ned interrupted. "Does this one even make sense? I mean- a pencil still has a point even when it's broken, right? Unless, of course, it's the bottom half, but that would only work if it's a clean break. A-and-"
Suddenly, realizing how completely ridiculous he must look, Peter grimaced. "Ned, why're we doing this again?!"
Ned rolled his eyes. "C'mon Pete. It's because pickup lines always work!"
"A-are you sure? Cuz that doesn't sound right."
"Dude, I'm telling you," Ned defended. "I saw Flash walk right up to Sydney and gave her the perfect pickup line and he immediately got a date! Flash of all people! If he can, you certainly can!"
Peter rolled his eyes. Ned was seriously comparing him to Flash? There were tons of reasons as to how Flash got with Sydney. "But Flash is popular and rich and stuff... I'm just me."
Ned scoffed. "Well..." He looked up with a carefree smile. "If it makes you feel any better, if I were a girl, I'd totally date you."
"..thanks..." Peter said, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. He looked around the room with a nervous chuckle. Ned, apparently not realizing the awkwardness in the room, hasn't looked away and continued to smile at his friend.
Finding his voice, Peter spoke up. "So, um, what was Flash's line anyway?"
"Uh-uh man," Ned answered. "You gotta find your own! Sydney probably already told the whole school, so you'd just be a copycat. Your line needs to be original."
Peter raised his eyebrows. "We're literally looking this stuff up from the internet, Ned! That's not original!"
"Just trust me. Now read another."
"Okay..." Peter begrudgingly agreed. He was regretting this whole thing more and more each second. He took a deep breath and recited his next one.
"[Y/N], my love for you is like dividing by zero– it can't be defined."
He looked to Ned, who was silently contemplating the words.
"...I kinda like it," Ned finally said.
"I don't know," the scrawny teenager sighed, throwing his phone onto his bed. "It needs to be really good! Not mediocre. Tomorrow is my only chance to tell [Y/N] how I feel before spring break starts. I can't back out!"
"Pete, relax. We'll just add it to the list. Now do another-"
"Peter!!! [Y/N]'s here!!!"
The two teenagers froze. Their eyes widened at his aunt May's voice. They looked to the door, then to each other.
"What is she doing here?!?!," Peter whisper-shouted, two seconds from panicking.
"It's your apartment, you tell me!," Ned whispered back, arms flailing wildly.
"She can't be here!," he yelled to himself, pointing towards the door you could be walking through any second now. "She can NOT be here!"
The two quietly went back and forth as you came closer to his room. Normally, you were always more than welcome. But today, unbeknownst to you, Peter's home was probably the one place you definitely shouldn't be.
You poked your head around the doorframe. "Heyyyy fellas!"
They froze, looking to you with their mouths zipped shut. "Why so tense?," you asked, a small smile playing on your lips.
"No reason!," Peter yelled.
"Hey [Y/N]." Ned gave a wide smile.
You return it with a wider smile that certainly betrayed the rest of your face, that held only confusion. "Uh, what's going on, guys??"
They looked to each other, then to you, then to each other again. Ned broke away first this time. "Peter's trying to find a pick-up line to tell his crush was tomorrow!," he spat out quickly, earning an excited gasp from you.
Peter's jaw stopped to the floor. If he were a computer, he would've definitely been crashing right now. "What the hell, Ned?!," he practically screamed, his voice cracking a bit before he covered his face with his hands.
"So, whose the girl?," you asked, pushing through them and climbing onto the top bunk to sit.
"Uh-"
"DON'T. SAY. ANYTHING!," Peter hissed out through gritted teeth.
It didn't take you too long to realize the tension in the room. "Uh, should I come back another time or something?"
"That would be ideal," Peter mumbled under his breath.
Your eyebrows scrunched together in annoyance. Why were they being so weird and vague?
"Okay, did I do something? Is that why you're acting so weird, Pete? I mean, I was gonna try to help you out so you won't make a complete fool of yourself in front of this girl, but-"
Ned dropped the death star as he excitedly clapped his hands together. "That'd be perfect, actually!!"
Both you and Peter groaned as you looked at the peices on the floor. "Ned!"
"At this point that thing needs to stay at my house cuz when it's at either of yours it always breaks!," you laughed.
"Umm..." Peter looked away and took a deep breath. "[Y/N]?"
At this point, he had no idea nor any control over what was going on and the only words processing in his mind were what the fuck.
His crush was not supposed to be here while he was practicing what to say to his crush tomorrow.
"Yeah, Pete?"
But you were here now, and you didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon.
So what's the worse that could happen?
"C-could you maybe, um, help me with this?"
"With your girl problems? Sure. I mean, if we leave it your hands, the poor girl won't even know what hits her."
Ned bit his lip, attempting (and failing) to hide a fit of laughter. "She sure won't!"
"Dude!," Peter hissed, nudging his shoulder.
"So what've you got so far?," you said, watching Peter expectantly.
"Uhh.." He blew out a heavy breath. Welp, he thought. Guess we're doing this now. He picked up his phone and awkwardly read off the line.
"My love for you is like dividing by zero– it can't be defined.."
He looked back up at you, frozen as statue. That was so embarrassing. You smiled and giggled a little. "That was so cheesy!"
"Oh..," Peter mumbled. He'd actually thought that one was pretty good.
"That's only because he's not doing it like he did a second ago," Ned, ever the oblivious one, noted. "C'mon! Do it the way you did it before [Y/N] came in here."
If looks could kill, Ned would surely have been maimed and then ran over a bus by now.
Peter sighed. He looked up to the wall right above where [Y/N] was sitting and gave his best smolder.
But before he could get a word out, laughter erupted the room. "PETE WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!," [Y/N] shrieked, practically falling off the the top bunk of the bed with laughter. "Girls' want a genuine smile, not some James Bond wannabe look!"
"Y-you don't think it looks cool?," he asked, cheeks red as beets by now.
"Frickin' goofy is what that looks like!," she responded. "Gimme your phone."
Peter's face fell. Wow, he thought. I'm way off. No way I'm gonna get her now, except...He looked to Ned, who was practically just spectating the whole thing at this point. Their eyes joined, and they could both tell they'd come to the same conclusion.
What better way to find out exactly what to say than by finding out by who you're going to say it to?
[Y/N] scrolled down a few until she found one that she liked. "Ooh, this one's pretty good." She looked up from the phone. "Now, watch me and I'll show you how it's done." She hopped down from the bed and said the line straight to Peter's face, biting her lip and smirking.
"Hey you, apart from being sexy, what do you do for a living?"
Immediately afterwards, she broke out of it. "See?," she asked. "That's how it's done." [Y/N] tossed the phone back into Peter's hands before sitting back down. "Now do that."
Peter sucked in a quick breath, lightly tugging the bottom of his gray shirt. "U-uh, um, yeah okay.."
That was hot, was all he could really think at the moment. She's so frickin hot.
Scatterbrained, he stood and looked back at you. "U-uh.. -oh, here's one..." He shook his head slightly, as if attempting to shake the jitters out. "A-are you a cam-mera? C-cuz.. you sure do make me sm-mile," he stammered, ending with beyond awkward fingers guns.
[Y/N] chuckled, biting back a small smile. "Ya know, you're just too cute sometimes..."
At that, Ned's jaw fell to the floor. Peter's face turned a shade of red you didn't believe was even possible.
"Uh, u-um, ah, heh, thanks..."
"Hey yo, my mom's texting me," Ned suddenly announced. "I gotta get home. See you two tomorrow." He smiled at [Y/N] and then looked Peter square in the face with a shit-eating grin. "And good luck Pete!," he said, earning a middle finger from his best friend.
After the door closed, [Y/N] frowned. "What's up with you two? Are you guys fighting?"
"Nah, Ned's just being..." Peter trailed off, shaking his head slightly. If he were to elaborate, he could risk telling you. Better to play it safe. "So was that one good?"
"I mean, it'd be nice if you could g-g-g-get it out!," you mocked with a smile.
"No stuttering then," he concluded to himself. "Stuttering's a turn off."
"Well, not exactly," you corrected. "I actually think it's kinda cute when you do it." Noticing his intense blushing, you grabbed his hands to give comfort. "Just relax. No stuttering. And keep eye contact. Got it, Pete?"
His cheeks reddened as he looked away, desperately trying to redirect his focus from your turned up lips. "Oh, u-uh um, thanks! That's great, ya know! L-lets, ah, just get back to the th-thing- uh, the line..."
And so you did. You helped him til eleven o'clock at night. You went over about fifty. Until there was no way he couldn't have a perfect one to show the girl.
Until the next morning.
Spoiler alert: he didn't find a line.
When you left the indecisive teenager, he'd looked like he was on the right path. He had an entire list of good choices you'd picked out with him, along with practiced ways to do each one.
But, when he woke up and looked back at the list, each one just felt wrong.
Cheesy.
Overused.
Corny.
Lame.
You wouldn't like it. You'd already heard it. It wouldn't feel special to you if he'd told you something you'd already picked out for yourself, even if you didn't know you had.
You'd reject him. And more? Because you were a nice person, you'd probably still want to be friends.
Which was definitely way, way worse.
"Peter!," May yelled. "Engine's being turned on in five! Be there or you'll have to swing to school!"
-
Perer told you he'd tell his crush the line by the lockers during homeroom.
You couldn't wait. 'This is gonna be so awesome,' you thought, scanning the halls for his curly brown hair and wrinkled jacket.
'Of course, this girl better be worth his time or I'm gonna frickin' tackle her....'
The night before, Peter had told you nearly everything about this mystery girl.
He gushed about how she was perfect. Beautiful. Everything he ever wanted.
And you felt happy for him.
But deep inside, you knew that whoever the girl he'd chosen was, you wouldn't approve. Because deep down, you wished that it would be you.
But you and Peter were friends. Since the sixth grade. If anything was ever gonna happen, it surely already would've.
And It wasn't gonna happen...
And when this girl said yes (it's Peter Parker, why wouldn't you?), you'd have to watch them hug, kiss, give inside jokes, and everything else couples did.
And because he was your best friend, you'd have to just sit there and be happy for him.
"Miss. [Y/L/N]. Come on, get to class!," your homeroom teacher yelled, standing by the door, holding it open for you to walk into the classroom.
"Must be late again...," you mumbled, looking around the halls for Peter one last time before making your way to the door.
"[Y/N]!"
You whipped your head to where the voice was coming from. It was Ned, running down the hallway.
"Yeah?"
"He's gonna do it!," he yelled. "He's about to ask!"
You turned towards your teacher. "Um, can I go to the restroom please?"
"Yeah sure," the teacher replied.
Once the door closed, you ran to meet Ned in the middle of the hall. "Ask? Wait, on a date or to actually be his girlfriend?"
"TO BE HIS GIIIIRRRRRRLLLLLLLFRIEND!!," he yelled, shaking you by your shoulders back and forth frantically.
'Wow,' you thought, eyes wide. 'Peter's actually getting some balls now.'
This was it. And you were gonna hold your tongue and watch it happen.
Ned looked over your shoulder as he practically gasped for air. "He's coming! He's coming!"
You pulled his arm a bit, attempting to pull him to towards the wall. "Don't we need to hide? They don't need an audience!"
Suddenly, using his strength against you, Ned turned you around quickly for you to come face to face with Peter.
"Where's the girl?," you said, looking around curiously. After you were met with silence, your curious smile went away. "Pete, where is she? Where's she at?"
"I-it's...um, [Y/N] it's always been-heh. It's you," he answered, looking into your eyes shyly.
Ned could've bursts from joy right then and there. You could feel his grip on your arms tighten out of excitement.
But you didn't care, because you were sky high yourself. "So all that, yesterday? That was all about-"
"Yeah. You."
You sighed, practically frozen. "Major fucking plot twist, dude.."
He tilted his head. "'Saw' level?"
"More like 'Shutter Island' level," you answered.
"Ooh, that was a big one," Ned added brightly.
You shifted slightly. "So, um, what was the line you chose?"
"Oh!," Peter laughed. "How could I forget? Uh-" He grabbed your hands gently. "Okay." Hey blew out a long breath. "Relaxing. No stuttering. And keeping eye contact," he reminded himself aloud before he slowly and tenderly recited the line he'd chosen.
"[Y/N], ahem, um, If I had a penny for every time I thought about you, I'd have exactly one cent.."
You frowned. "Hold on, I don't get it. That means-"
"-Because you never leave my mind, sweetheart."
Raising your eyebrows, your heart warmed and you covered your hand over your mouth. That was one you hadn't chosen. You'd never even heard it before. He'd found it himself.
Noticing your reaction, Peter tensed. "W-was that too much? I'm sorry if that was too much! The last thing I would want for it to be is too-"
"That was perfect, Peter."
He paused. "It wasn't too cheesy?"
"Just a little cheesy," you said, pinching your fingers together and giving a quick wink.
"On a scale of one to ten?," Ned asked.
"Ned!," Peter scolded, quickly sliding his finger over his neck as a warning. He then looked back to you with a timid smirk.
"So, ah, does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?"
"Hmm, I guess it does, huh?," you giggled and turned to walk away just as the bell rang for first period.
-
"Sooooo, how'd it go?," May asked, poking her head around the doorframe of Peter's room.
When Peter turned towards her from his bed, May knew the answer before he even uttered a word.
He was staring up at ceiling twiddling his fingers and grinning like a madman.
"She said yes, May..I-i didn't think she'd actually say yes!"
May smiled. "Well, that's good!"
"Our first date's tomorrow and- Oh God! I might need to find another line to tell her! I'll use the math one this time since she was so excited about acing that test earlier today. Oh my gosh what if- what if we kiss?! That'd be SO awesome! Right, May? Ooh man, what am I gonna wear?? Ned said to wear a tux. But it's just a movie date, not prom! Jeans and a t-shirt should work, right? What if I get there and I'm underdressed?! Why is this stuff so hard?!"
Aunt May watched as the young boy frantically vented to himself and shook her head. "God bless him..."
She looked down at his desk in the corner of his room. On it was a small journal. It was opened to a page labelled 'Pickup Lines To Tell [Y/N]'
Underneath it were lines separated into sections based on 'coolness,' 'nerdiness,' and 'sexiness.'
May furrowed her eyebrows. "Hon, you know pick-up lines never work, right?
"Well May," Peter sighed, leaning back into his bed. "There's a special girl out there that would beg to differ.."
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