I Can't Make You Love Me || Peter Parker x OC

Chapter 9: For Tradition's Sake

Anneliesa's perspective

God, I felt so stupid for acting this way. I tried to tell myself not to freak out about this, that it was just a silly little watch, and that I could get another one. Not even a day ago, I had been crying, upset about the fact that my parents showed only materialistic love towards me, and that all of things they bought for me were just attempts to make me feel consoled. Everything inside of me told me that I shouldn't feel anything about the fact that I lost it. It could be replaced as easily as anything else I owned, but for the life of me, I couldn't get myself to calm down about it.

Peter responded like a saint. The second he realized I was upset, he was right in front of me, hugging me and trying to comfort me in any way that he could. Fighting with all of the self-resilience that I had left, I kept my tears locked away. I knew that it was just plain stupid for me to cry over something like this, and that showing emotion shouldn't immediately make me shed tears. But Peter being so gentle and caring with me made my resolve soften to the likes of putty. That's what I was when I was around him, putty; malleable and doing whatever he needed. Peter filled this gap inside of me that no one else had done before, and I never wanted him to leave.

Our plans for the day were made, and if we wanted to have any hope of getting to the cafe before it got too late, especially since it was almost 10:00 now, we would have to leave soon. With heavy reluctance, I pulled away from Peter's embrace, instantly shivering from the cold that washed over me at the sudden lack of his radiating warmth. I was in and out of my bedroom within 10 minutes, hair and teeth brushed, clothes changed, and emotional barriers rebuilt to full marks. I was awkwardly aware of Peter's gaze and the way it tracked every single one of my movements, but it was oddly comforting in a way, knowing that someone was finally paying attention to me.

By the time I finished up getting myself dressed in my boots and coat, Peter was still staring, and he didn't even seem to be aware of it. After testing a few different methods to get his attention, I eventually snapped him out of his thoughts and couldn't restrain the giggle that I let out in response to the bewildered expression and blush--as deeply-red as his suit-- that formed on his face.

Leaving him to his own devices, I turned away and strode through my front door, hearing Peter follow behind me a few seconds later. Nothing seemed to phase me, and I didn't even realize quite where and why I was going to the place that I was. Auto-pilot kicked in and I wasn't back at the controls until I was looking up at the manifestation of my inner turmoil.

Saying that I was nervous in the lead up to going back to the Hillcrest was a vast understatement. I let myself let go, and dared to think that for just a single second that nothing was going to go wrong. Of course, just as soon as I had set plans in place to let my guard down, Dean just had to rain in on my pity parade. Dean had been working for the Hillcrest for several years, and was only a few years older than I was. 'Friends' was maybe a strong word to describe what we were, but Dean and I were no strangers to each other.

Usually I would go over and talk to him whenever he was working, so it irked me to behave in such a way towards him, but he almost said my last name aloud, and I couldn't let Peter know more than he already did. It's not that I didn't trust Peter, because I did, and I had full intentions of telling him the whole truth at some point, but I wanted it to be on my terms when the time was right. Peter was very observant--one of the qualities that I simultaneously adored and loathed about him-- and me having complete access to one of the most expensive buildings in the city was not going to go under his radar. I was also not going to put his deductive reasoning past him; if he heard my last name, it was only going to be a matter of time before he made the connection for himself.

Whether or not he was going to be upset about it, I still wasn't sure. But I didn't want to test the waters here. Peter would learn about me when I was ready for him to learn about me, and I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that stayed true.