Every Day ── PETER PARKER²

35. Broken Crushes

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          Everything was falling apart.

          Okay, maybe that statement was a little dramatic, but to Luna, it sure as hell felt like everything was falling apart. All the adrenaline she felt while yelling at Ernie quickly vanished the moment Diana brought up what was said, and Luna had no choice but to run out of the building and attempt to make it to the car before Diana did. She succeeded, but she could barely get out any words before Peter was leaping out of the car to hug her, Liz following suit. So while he was squeezing her, he didn't pay any mind to the words "Diana knows."

          It was when Luna was yanked away from Peter that he finally processed what she had said, Diana's shocked expression being proof that he hadn't misheard his girlfriend. It wasn't the best idea to speak of it out in the open, but it also wasn't good to speak about it while Diana was driving, so they sat in the parked car, awkwardly sharing looks while Peter tried to find the right words to inform her of his situation. One would think that was the worst part of their conversation. But no. The worst part was having to explain how Diana found out in the first place.

            It resulted in a back and fourth between Peter and Luna, Peter arguing that Luna needed the protection as she didn't have powers like him, while Luna argued they were supposed to protect each other. It was cute at first, Liz and Diana sharing looks that screamed "aww", but their conversation quickly grew annoying when neither stopped. It only stopped when Diana cut them off, returning to the original topic, keeping things a secret.

           They decided it was better to not tell anybody else, too many people in on it now.

           Then they went against that and decided, fuck it, let's tell Mia too.

            Luna and Liz couldn't deal with the overwhelming guilt of keeping a secret from Mia, especially now that someone like Diana was in on it. Peter didn't mind as much as Luna thought he would, stating that he trusted Mia as much as he trusted herself and Liz, which made Luna swoon the slightest bit, but she tried not to act on her thoughts while Liz was there.

           Which brings the two girls to now, standing in Luna's living room with Mia sat on the couch in front of them.

           "I feel like I'm in trouble," Mia chuckled, before her face fell suddenly. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"No," Luna heaved out, suddenly feeling as if a weight has been placed on her shoulders. Though her and Liz had tried to plan exactly how the conversation was play out, Luna couldn't help but be worried. It wasn't like when she was telling Liz or Diana, because at least then she had Peter by her side. After all, it wasn't her secret, it was his. It made sense he told his own secret, but he made a good point, stating that he'd been slacking in the hero department as he'd been spending so much of his time with Luna to prep her to see Ernie. So it left the task to Luna and Liz, the two girls fidgeting in front of their confused friend.

Mia's eyes darted between the two, taking note of the way the two were holding hands. Her eyes suddenly widened, only making the sick feeling in their stomachs intensify. "Wait, is this actually happening?" She shot up from the couch, a smile tugging at her lips. "I knew this was coming!"

Luna could feel her chest tighten. Did she know? If Liz was able to figure it out so easily, just piecing together clues that were set in front of her, then maybe Mia was able to do that as well. She wasn't the brightest person, but maybe it was an act. Luna could feel a headache coming on at all the theories swimming around her mind.

"You did?" Liz squeaked out, her hand tightening around Luna's.

Mia nodded rapidly. "Well, duh. The signs were right in front of me, I'm not that slow." Mia grinned. "Let's say it at the same time. I'm so excited."

Liz and Luna shared a look of discomfort, before nodding uncertainly.

"You guys are finally dating!" "Peter is Spider-Man."

Luna was quick to pull her hand away from Liz's at Mia's words, a look of horror taking over her features. She thought they were dating? After all the trouble Luna went through to rekindle her relationship with Peter, and with Liz's fresh heartbreak of the departure of Liz, she thought the two of them decided to date each other? She was lucky she's got a pretty face and great personality, because she was really not the brightest.

Both Luna and Liz were too focused on the thought of the two of them dating to notice the look of pure shock their best friend wore. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Mia cried out, both girls turning their attention back to her. Her cheeks were a light shade of pink now, lips tugged down into a frown. "No way is Peter fucking Parker Spider-Man. You guys are fucking with me!"

"I told you she wouldn't believe us," Luna sighed.

"Good thing I have this then." Luna's face fell when Liz pulled a photo out of her pocket, handing it over to Mia to examine. "Shouldn't leave that lying around, Moonie."

Mia stared down at the photo of Luna beside the red and blue clad hero, his mask in his hand as they were deep in discussion. The photo Danielle Georgeson had taken of them the night she unintentionally found out Peter's secret. Her frown only deepened as she looked over every small detail of the photo. The way Luna looked distraught, her red cheeks and deep frown still visible despite the dark setting. The way Peter looked hurt, like the words Luna was saying to him were piercing him more and more as time passed.

"Luna, when was this photo taken?" Mia asked quietly, unable to look past the setting of the photo to see the true purpose of it. "Were you guys... arguing?"

Luna frowned, stepping forward to examine the photo herself. She hadn't dared to look at it since she found it, too scared of someone else seeing it and holding it against her. It was only now, a week later, that she realized when this photo was taken. The night Mario had dragged her into the alley. Danielle had been there to make sure it went down as she planned.

"Yeah, we were, I guess," Luna responded curtly, eager to change the topic. "Anyways, you know now. So, no need to dwell on this photo." Before Mia could protest, the photo was taken out of her hand and placed in Luna's pocket. "Any questions?"

"All those times he ditched you...?"

"He was being Spider-Man," Luna responded, Mia nodding in understanding. "Mia, you know you can't tell anyone right?"

"Not like anyone would believe her," Liz interjected, earning a glare from Luna. "What? All I'm saying is if I didn't hang around Peter so much and saw what I saw, he's the last person I'd think was Spider-Man. I honestly pictured someone more like... I dunno, Flash."

"Flash is not good enough of a person to be able to do what Peter does," Luna scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, save the guy who tried to kill you and the people you love multiple times? Only my Peter would do that."

"My Peter," Mia repeated, mockingly gagging immediately after. "You guys are so disgustingly infatuated with each other. I can't believe I had a crush on him."

Luna's eyes widened. "You had a crush on Peter?"

"No. I had a crush on Spider-Man, but now that I know it's Peter, it just feels gross."

"I don't know if I should be offended or thankful." Mia opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted as a ding sounded in the room, all three girls turning in the direction of their phones, unsure of who received the notification. Luna's lips twitched up when she saw her phone lit up, Peter's name on display. She was quick to grab the phone and unlock it, eager to read the text. Her face quickly flushed as she read the text, unaware that both of her friends were reading it over her shoulder.

"'Come over, May isn't home,' I'm sorry, did Peter Parker just booty call you?"