The Spider's Web

i'm gonna ask her!

**This chapter shifts to Peter's POV**

Dude! Okay, now you definitely gotta ask her to that back to school dance!" Ned exclaims over the phone, I swear he's more excited about this than I am.

"Alright, alright. I'll ask her on Monday. Should I text her or wait?" I ask, genuinely puzzled.

"Uh hello? She's probably waiting for you. Peter, do I need to be your wingman for everything? Some things are common sense," Ned playfully scoffed.

I let out a hefty chuckle as I roll my eyes. After hanging up the call with Ned, I swipe to my messages.

Thanks for the great night Betty 😄 I hope we can go out again

Of course! Thank you too, Peter. ☺️

I drifted away to sleep with the biggest grin of my face that night.
-

I plan to ask Betty after school when her cheer practice ends. As soon as the bell rings after 6th period, I rush back home to gather myself. I reread my poster with pink cursive letters that made out, "Betty Cooper, CHEER ME UP by going to the dance with me?"
I cringed as I reread it, hoping she would at least find my pun somewhat cute. Before I leave, I make sure to grab the fresh rose bouquet for her.

My heart begins to beat frantically while I make my way to the gym. It feels like an octopus is strangling my lungs. I can't breathe. What if she says no? What if I make a complete fool out of myself? I can just feel my cheeks already turning red. Great, now what? I'm gonna look like a tomato when I ask her out. Before I push open the door, I take a deep breathe. I try to calm myself down, reminding myself that our first date went well.

"Betty!" I call out her name and almost fall down to my knees at the sight of her beautiful face. All the other River Vixens were a blur to me. I could only see Betty.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

I stammer, "I wanted to ask you something."

Betty and her team change from confused to appalled as I unravel my poster. I hold it proudly, smirking at Betty. She blushes, just as hard I was and walks over to me. I hand her the bouquet of fresh roses that were almost as beautiful as her. Betty goes in for another kiss, which takes me by a pleasant surprise. My heart wasn't beating so fast anymore. I felt content.

"I can take you home after practice by the way," I offer.

"Can you wait for me outside in your car?"

I nod, waving goodbye to Betty and the other River Vixens. I couldn't believe it. I, Peter Parker, was going to a school dance with Betty Cooper!

-
*Switching back to Third Person POV *

"Hey get out for a second, I wanna show you something," Betty broke Peter out of his thoughts by knocking on the car window.

"Don't scare me like that," Peter rolled his eyes, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Betty let out a bellow of laughter which was music to Peter's ears. He felt himself getting butterflies. Peter was caught off guard again by a roar of thunder that emerged from the sky. He nearly slipped onto the ground from the fright the roaring sky gave him.

"Woah, are you okay?" Betty asked concerned, putting her arm around Peter for support.

"I'm good," Peter replied with a warm smile.

"Shit, it's raining really hard," Betty observed, looking around the parking lot of the school.

Heavy rain poured down from the gloomy grey skies. It was as if Zeus was having a catharsis. The sounds of students talking amongst each other were disrupted by the booms of thunder. Harsh raindrops dropped down like stones while the sky remained restlessly grumbling.

Betty grabbed Peter's hand quickly, leading him to a nearby tree for shelter. Their laughter rang across the school, mixing in with the beats of the heavy downpour. Betty stopped halfway before they reached a tree. Peter was confused as to why Betty put themselves out in the rain. That was until Betty reached to cup Peter's face with both hands.

Peter steadily leaned into Betty, their wet foreheads pressed against each other. Peter's world fell away as Betty gently kissed him. Everything else was a blur, the only thing Betty could feel was Peter's warm lips whilst the icy rain sunk onto their skin. Peter caressed Betty's cheeks as their breaths mingled. Betty pulled in Peter closer until there was no space between them. Peter could feel Betty's heart beat against his own chest. Their lips stayed locked with each other until the rain began to stop and turn into a light patter.

"I just wanted to know what it was like to kiss in the rain," Betty said, slowly pulling away.

"Cliche, but it felt nice with you," Peter replied, rubbing his nose against Betty's.

"Come on, let's go now," Betty nuzzled into Peter one last time before heading off to his car.