stranger ; 𝐩. 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫

07 | seven

"the number you are trying to reach is not available. at the tone, please record your message. when you are finished recording, please hang up or press one for more options."

peter waited for the beep. "hey, luce, it's me. it's peter. i know i kind of went crazy earlier, but you have to believe me, it was all real. i was worried, and for good reason. i'm sorry it took so long to call you back, i got an earful from my aunt may when she noticed i was gone." there was a pause, and he took a breath. "look, lucy, i'm sorry if i scared you tonight, i didn't mean to. i mean, you probably didn't even believe me, so you weren't even scared, but i didn't want anything to happen to you, and i would hate myself if you got hurt because i feel like this past week has been really really fun and i've never done anything like this before, i've never talked to someone before meeting them in person. and let me just say that i liked it." he took another breath, and finished, "okay, i should probably go, i've got school tomorrow. goodnight, lucy."

it wasn't until coming home from school that lucy was able to listen to the coicemail peter had left her at one o'clock in the morning.

with a small smile, she dialed his number and called him back. "peter," she said with an amused grin.

"hey," was his response, but he was interrupted by a large yawn. "what - what's up?"

"nothing," she said simply, "but it seems like you had a late night."

"oh, y-yeah. i did."

"do you want to tell me why? if i remember correctly, you promised me an explanation."

"i know, but it's harder to explain than you think. i don't know if i'm ready for it."

lucy sighed. "i'm not surprised," she mumbled, a little irritated.

"what's that supposed to mean?"

"excuse me if i'm overstepping the boundaries of this friendship thing, but if you say the words 'i promise' in a sentence, that usually ties you to fulfilling that deed. i get it, we don't know each other well at all, but then maybe that's a sign you should wait until you start bringing out the promises. at least until you feel comfortable keeping them."

"lucy, it's hard to believe, i don't expect you to understand - "

"to understand? petey, what could possibly be going on? we live in queens, not in space! there's a limit to the things that you could be dealing with, and i think that i'd be fine if you just told me. what do you have to be afraid of?"

"i'm under a lot of pressure, lucy, with this internship and school - "

"peter, what's going on?"

"i - " he took a deep breath. "someday i'll tell you, but today is not that day."

lucy sighed. "alright, fine." she hung up, collapsed into her desk chair, and put her head in her hands. how could he have such a frustrating effect on her after only a week of phone calls?

"what are you hiding, peter? who are you?"

[a/n: this fic is going so fast i'm actually cringing...i know this won't be one of those social media fics with like seventy parts, but i feel like it's a little faster-paced than i'd originally planned...anyway what did you think? are you guys okay with the pace of this?]