stranger ; 𝐩. 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫

10 | ten

[a/n: just so you guys know, from now until next saturday (july 29) i will not be on wattpad to update my stories. i will be out of state on a mission trip with my church (praise jesus) and i won't have my phone. don't cry too much you guys, i'll be back before you know it!]

"yeah, i'm not coming home right after school, may, i've got - "

"why?" his aunt interrupted. "peter," she started with amusement lacing her words, "is there a girlfriend i should be worried about?"

"n-no," he stuttered at the thought of a girlfriend, "no, i'm just meeting ned. we're gonna get ready for the academic decathlon."

"at the park?" may sounded skeptical. "don't you like a quiet environment for that type of thing?"

"um, well, not all the time...we just wanted to try something different." he bit his lip nervously as he walked out of school, heading in the direction of the most popular park in queens. today was the day. in just under an hour, like they had planned, he would meet the mysterious lucy that he'd been talking to for the past week. 

"alright, alright," may still sounded slightly skeptical, but didn't press any further. "be home in time for dinner, we're going out for larb."

"yeah, okay, sounds good," peter started to walk briskly towards the park, nerves gripping his body. "see you then." he hung up before hearing her bid goodbye.

sitting on a bench in the park, he pulled out his phone.

i'm sitting on the edge of the fountain in the center of the park. just fyi

he received a text a few moments later.

i'm on my way. oh and btw i'm bringing a friend. you know, just in case you're a crazy pedophile or something ;)

me, a crazy pedophile? i've never been so offended in my life.

can you blame me? this is the first time i've ever met someone online before meeting them in person. 

i know, i was joking. to make your search easier, i'm now the guy with a nervously jumping knee. thanks to you...

haha woops? alright, we're here, i'm heading to the fountain...

peter's head flew up. this was the moment. he would see her soon. but the girl he saw instead was the person he'd least expected to be there.

"liz?" he called out, inwardly kicking himself at saying it aloud and bringing him to her attention. 

the dark-skinned high schooler turned around, smiling at him. "hey, peter," she said kindly.

"what - what are you doing here?" he stuffed his phone in his jacket pocket, keeping an eye out for lucy. 

"it's a public park, peter," she grinned, "i'm allowed to be here." then she shrugged. "but i'm helping out a friend. she's looking for some guy she met over the phone, like, a week ago." she gave him a sidelong glance, her eyes shining with mirth. "you aren't that guy by any chance, are you?"

his mouth had gone dry. this couldn't be happening. could lucy be friends with liz? could she even go to midtown high? "uh, well, you see - "

"did i hear you say peter?" a voice came out from the middle of nowhere, and peter watched as the girl it belonged to stepped out to stand beside liz, her dark hair making her light skin glow with a sort of youthful innocence that couldn't be replicated. "'cause that's the name of the guy i'm - "

liz's eyes widened, and peter's did the same, his mouth dropping open. "are - are you lucy?" he asked quietly.

the girl blinked, and nodded slightly. "yeah," she breathed. "are you peter?"

he returned the affirmative gesture. "yeah."

"so..." liz cut in, trying to make sense of the situation. "we all go to the same school, and you guys didn't even know the other existed?"

peter looked down at the ground sheepishly. "i guess."

"well," lucy grinned, "at least you didn't turn out to be some psychopathic stalker."

peter let out a small chuckle, still in shock. "how have i never seen you before?" he asked.

lucy shrugged. "i guess you just didn't know what it was to see true beauty," she said with a flip of her hair over one shoulder. "and now you do." she giggled light-heartedly, obviously joking, but peter found himself taking in her whole presence.

the way she stood with one hip jutted out was not lost to him, and the slight curl to the ends of her brown hair enchanted him, but the blue depths of her eyes was a completely different kind of magic. they were bright and starry, and he could only imagine what they would look like if she were angry. probably cold, like pointy icicles after a long blizzard in the dead of winter.

"um, yeah," peter breathed, barely able to reply. 

"as fun as this is," liz cut in, "i've got to be home soon, my dad's finally coming home after two weeks of business travels," she looked over at lucy, who was staring back at peter, "so if you're ready to go, luce, i can give you a ride home."

lucy nodded absentmindedly, a small grin on her face. "yeah, okay," she agreed, but peter didn't miss the slight reluctance in her words. the realization that she didn't want to leave made his cheeks grow hot. 

he shook his head slightly, shaking himself out of the trance she'd put him in. "i'll see you later, lucy," he said softly.

she pulled the corners of her lips up in a gentle smile. "it was nice to finally meet you, peter."

he watched her go, unable to take his eyes off of her. what had gotten into him?

[a/n: so this was wayyyyyy longer than it was supposed to be, but it's still relatively short compared to my normal chapters in my other books, so....but anyway i hope you guys enjoyed this, and i'll see you guys next week after my mission trip!]