The Butterfly Effect: a Peter Parker Fan Fic

Part 31; Regrets

Regret is a form of punishment itself ~ Nouman Ali Khan

After the bathroom reunion with Cassie, it feels as if everything is about to fall into place... if it weren't for the problems I still need to deal with. My eyes dart to my watch and the time tells me that I'm in dire need of getting my books. Class begins in a few minutes and I have nothing. The walk towards my locker feels shorter than it would have before the day began. It's only been twenty minutes and in that period, I kissed Flash and made up with my childhood best friend which was not exactly the morning I was expecting.

A large crowd has gathered around my locker bay. Cheerleaders can be seen watching the locker with envy, the nerds rolling their eyes and jocks hollering. Someone must have asked someone else out to the winter dance... and my guess is that it's some hot and popular guy who all the bratty girls adore. That would explain the looks on their caked faces.

Getting past them won't be easy, but it has to be done somehow. Football players tower over me at six foot something but I shove them out of my way with ease. The chattering in the area increases as I push past. Shit, what if something about the dare came up? is my immediate thought. But why would the cheerleaders be jealous of me getting teased? Maybe because I kissed Nate?

Never in a million years, would I have guessed what the fuss was about. Nate leans against the locker beside me, looking tired and almost dead. But what alarms me isn't what's near the locker, but what's on the locker. Rose petals and even whole roses are littered all over the door. A teddy bear holding a heart plush is somehow taped perfectly in the middle. That's not even the worst part. The worst part is the ripped out page from an exercise books with the words I'm sorry written with dark, bold letters.

As soon as he takes in my presence, Nate stands up taller and his face almost... lightens up. "Raven," he says breathlessly.

His voice fills every nook and cranny of me with fury. I stare at the door in shock, trying to process what he's done. Then, comes my Raven-like act. My hands claw at every single rose and every single petal, ripping them off. The crowd gasps, but Nate watches me, his lips pressed together. He radiates guilt, but I don't let that stop me. The teddy bear is strongly taped on there so it takes a few tugs to get that one off, but the best is saved for last. This time, I look at him dead in the eyes as I yank the piece of paper. I quickly rip it to shreds, each little piece falling at my feet. One quick stomp over the top of them and my tantrum is finished.

"No you're not," I hiss and slam my locker door open. No one moves a muscle except for me. The crowd's breaths are heavy and frightened. They're still here, judging me for attacking Nate Porter even if he betrayed my trust. I turn around to face them all and shout out, "leave! All of you just leave! Go pry in someone else's life!" None of them disobey. They scatter instantly like rodents, clearly intimidated by me. Nate isn't. He goes back to resting his head against the cool metal. "That includes you," I snap.

He chews on his lip and looks at the ceiling. This irritating stand-off lasts for a whole few seconds before he gives in. Nate sighs and mutters, "I can't stop you from hating me, but I really am sorry." He walks off. I shove my head inside of my locker, hiding any distress that's currently present on my face.

I'm a mess. A literal mess.

Break comes faster than I could wish for. My arms rest at the table of a different bench to the one that the four of us usually sit us. My back faces the entrance and I sit in the corner, hoping that they won't notice me. I just need time to heal, process, recover and most importantly, think.

But much to my dismay, my raven black hair seems to stand out among the others. The three of them slide into the seats opposite to me with ease, Peter directly in front of me me and MJ practically glued to his side. "Hey Raven!" he beams, "we were just talking about the winter dance."