𝑨𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑶𝑰𝑵𝑬 // 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓

21

"Hey," Peter says as he spots me in the Osborn lobby.

"Hi!" I greet him, yet again far too oddly cheery.

I think that Peter is going to pull me into a hug, but he doesn't, so we just stand there looking at each other awkwardly.

"Thank you for coming," I say, breaking the silence.

"Oh, sure, no problem, I was just in the neighborhood," Peter refers to his backpack, and I spot the red suit peeking through the zipper.

"Right, right. In the neighborhood," I relay.

What the hell is wrong with me? I think to myself. I've known Peter my whole life, and I've never struggled to talk to him, yet here I am, bumbling like a complete idiot.

"So, uh, I was thinking," Peter scratches at the back of his neck, "if you were up for it, we could maybe swing home?" Peter raises his eyebrows at me, unsure of himself.

"You mean—" I reference to the suit in Peter's backpack, and he nods. "Oh! Yeah!," I say far too excitedly. I then clear my throat in attempt to act normal, "Eh-em, I mean yeah. Yes, we could definitely do that. I mean, it's faster than the train."

Peter and I share awkward smiles, and even though it's slightly uncomfortable between us, the uneasiness is... nice.

Peter has always been slightly awkward, especially around girls, and I was not necessarily an exception. Growing up, I was typically thought of as "one of the boys", but whenever a glimmer of my girlhood shined through, so would Peter's awkwardness.

We exit the lobby together, turning into the alley right next to the building. Peter takes his backpack off of his shoulder, and instantly begins to peel his shirt off, causing my eyes to widen at his perfectly sculpted torso.

Peter's eyes widen as they meet mine, his face going white in embarrassment.

"Oh, uh, sorry, I'll just- give you some privacy to, uh, change," I gulp, my cheeks turning bright red.

Since when does Peter make me blush?

"Alright," Peter sighs, stuffing his street clothes into his backpack. "Could you, uh, hold onto this for me?" he asks, holding the backpack out toward me after zipping it up.

I nod in response, slipping the flimsy straps of the backpack over my shoulders and pulling them tight.

"So... How does this work?" I ask coyly. "Do I just..." I timidly approach him, gently wrapping my arms around him. We are so close, I'm worried Peter can feel my racing pulse.

"Y-yeah," Peter lets out a light nervous laugh, "Hold on real tight."

"Peter... you're forgetting something," I blush before grabbing the mask from his hand and cautiously bringing it up and pulling it down over his face.

"Thanks," he says, and I wish more than anything to be able to see his facial expression right now.

"Hold on!" Peter instructs as he pulls an arm tightly around the small of my back before shooting a string of web out from the web shooter on his free arm.

We sling up into the air, causing a loud shriek to escape from my mouth.

"You okay?!" he asks loudly as we soar through the air, Peter slinging web after web.

The feeling of the air on my face and through my hair is incredible.

It's like we're flying.

"This is amazing!" I squeal joyfully. The adrenaline is pumping through my veins at astronomical levels, and I don't think I've ever smiled this wide in my entire life.

Within minutes of swinging from building to building through New York, we finally make it back to our humble little apartment building in Queens.

We land on the roof of the apartment building, the floor beneath my feet feeling oddly foreign.

"Phew," Peter sighs as he pulls his mask off, his other arm still wrapped tightly around me.

Peter smiles at me, "Wow," he mutters, eyes scanning my face.

"What is it?" I blush.

"I don't think i've ever seen you so... happy," Peter chuckles.

He's right. I've always been a pessimistic person, never truly seeing the bright side of things really. I guess I got that from my dad; he was always so worried, and had such a negative view of the world. "The world is a dark, cruel place. It will always be against us, Felicia. Never forget that. We do whatever we gotta do to survive, no matter who it hurts in the process," he'd tell me.

My dad had a lot of faith in me, sure, but that was pretty much it. He had no friends, and no family. Only me. I guess you could say that he raised me to be selfish in that sense. I was never really good with feelings or empathy.... but I've always had a soft spot for Peter.

I think that the pessimistic view I've had my entire life has really prevented me from seeing the world differently, but today with Peter, my eyes had opened.

"You look so beautiful," Peter says softly.

I'm nervous, so nervous, as Peter slowly leans in.

Why am I so nervous? Peter and I have missed plenty of times!

My heart is racing as he gently presses his lips against mine.

The kiss is soft, tender, and nice.

He presses his forehead lightly against mine as our lips separate.

"Felicia... I..." Peter says, seeming as if he is about to say something important, but we are startled by the blaring sound of my cell phone ringing in my back pocket.

"Oh! Uh, sorry," I apologize as I pull my phone out of my pocket, my cheeks burning.

My face falls as I see the name on the screen.

"Who is it?" Peter asks.

"It's... Harry," I tell him reluctantly. I hesitate answering for a moment, not really wanting to speak to him, but then I remember his little realization, and fear that he might do something stupid.

"I'm so sorry, Pete, I've really got to take this," I sigh, pressing the green button on the screen. "Hi, Harry," I say into the phone pressed against my ear.

"Felicia! You- Where did you go?! I tried calling Peter to see if you were okay, but his phone must be off or something, and your phone was going straight to voicemail!" Harry panics on the other end of the phone.

"Harry, I'm fine, really. I just, I needed some space. I'm sorry that I left in such a hurry. I just had something important to take care of," I say, smiling at Peter.

"We, uh, never did get to finish our talk, Felicia," Harry says, his voice in a very serious tone.

"There's nothing more to talk about," I sigh, "I think we should just be friends. I'm sorry, Harry, but I just... don't like you that."

There is no sound from the other line, just silence, followed by a beep signifying that Harry had hung up the phone.

"So what was that about?" Peter asks meekly.

"Um," I take a step even closer to him. "I'll tell you about it inside," I smile, "C'mon, let's head in."

"Okay, hold on," Peter tells me, gripping me tightly before flinging is both off of the roof of the building down toward the fire escape, causing a joyful shriek to escape from my wide mouthed smile.

———
A/N:
Another eventful chapter!! We FINALLY got some web-slinging action ;) I am SO excited to keep sharing this story with you all!
Thank you for reading! Please don't forget to VOTE and COMMENT! Please please PLEASE keep commenting your thoughts and opinions! Your comments mean the world to me and keep me motivated :')