darling [peter parker]

uh oh!

Wendy's second mistake was expecting an easy win.

She thought it'd be about the same as all the other matches. How strong could Peter even be? It turned out just as strong as Wendy. He caught her off-guard and almost took her down within the first few seconds. She gritted her teeth and forced him over to her side. He pushed against her.

Her first mistake had been setting stakes, to begin with. A mistake she didn't realize until she was struggling to slam his hand to the table. She was too overconfident, too cocky. She should've expected Peter to have some kind of trick up his sleeve. Their hands quickly grew clammy as they wrestled for dominance. She decided to try something else.

She stared directly into his eyes. Maybe some intimidation would knock him out of the running. Their gazes locked. There was something in his eyes she'd never seen before. Desperation. It was then she realized that Peter had been entrusted with Spider-Man's identity by either Tony Stark or Spidey himself. It was probably in his contract with Stark Labs. He could get into serious trouble for revealing Spidey's identity. Not to mention there was a reason Spidey hadn't told her his identity yet. Was she betraying him by making this deal with Peter?

But didn't Wendy deserve to know who she was letting into her room every day and kissing for hours on end?

Wendy's third mistake was feeling bad for Peter because, in that moment, he slammed her hand to the table.

The crowd went silent. Everyone knew what that victory meant. It meant Wendy Carter had to kiss the guy she'd hated since middle school. It meant Spider-Man's supposed girlfriend was going to kiss Penis Parker. It meant Wendy Carter lost a bet. No one could think of the words to say. Wendy had never lost a bet.

Until now.

Wendy, with a steady calmness that had sent terror through many's hearts before, rose from her seat and excused herself to the bathroom. Once the door was locked and she was sure no one had followed her, Wendy grabbed fistfuls of her hair and screamed. What had she been thinking? She was so dumb. She wasn't allowed to be dumb. She had to be smarter, faster, better than everyone else. That's what was expected of her.

And she disappointed everyone.

Wendy sat down on the plush carpet and fought the urge to vomit. She'd lost a bet. She never lost bets. There it went, another part of her identity stolen by Peter Parker. This was her own personal hell. She'd been embarrassed in front of all of her friends, the cheer squad, the football team - everyone. She could never show her face in school again. Part of her badass persona had been stripped from her. Would anyone take her seriously?

There was a knock at the door. She startled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Her makeup was running. She sniffled and stood up. She rinsed her hands off quickly before calling out, "Hello?"

There was a pause and then, "Wendy, it's Peter." He sighed so forcefully she heard it through the door. "I know I'm probably the last person you wanna see right now, but we really need to talk." She bit her bottom lip and debated her options. She could let him in and let him see what a mess she was, or she could tell him to fuck off.

For some inane reason, she let him in.

He slipped inside the bathroom. The second he caught sight of her he surged forward and took her face in his hands. She flinched but didn't move away. He wiped tears from the corners of her eyes with one thumb while the other absent-mindedly stroked her cheek. His touch was warm and so strangely familiar. Their eyes met and he leaned in just the slightest.

The moment shattered and Wendy felt a rush of burning anger. She pulled Peter's hands off her face and scowled. "You know for someone who claims to be so close with Spider-Man you sure are eager to kiss his girlfriend." His face fell.