THRILL ME ° peter parker

twenty-eight; the dance

"Ah look at my beautiful boy!" Cassandra said happily. Nico blushed and turned away from his mom as he continued to fiddle with his tie. She walked in front of him and took the tie in her hands and Nico let her fix it without a fuss. "This is an interesting choice..." she muttered as she eyed the red tie with intricate black detailing.

"It's ugly, I know." Nico laughed, "Flash has a matching one in blue and he's letting me drive his car, so the least I can do is wear this stupid thing."

"You two..." Cassandra chuckled. "Okay, done. I want photos, wait right here." she said before leaving the room in search of her phone.

Nico leaned against the kitchen island and sent Flash a text, not realizing his dad had walked in. Mr. Delmar cleared his throat and Nico snapped his head upwards.

The first few days after that night Nico spent most of his time holed up in his bedroom and Mr. Delmar never spoke a word to him. Recently, however, he started to make small talk with him, but it'd be cut short as Nico felt it too awkward and found any excuse to get out of the conversation.

"You look nice," Mr. Delmar stated. Nico nodded and said a quick thanks and turned to leave. "Wait, I want to talk to you."

Nico inaudibly cursed under his breath before turning back around, "If this is going to ruin my night can it wait until I get back?"

"No, it can't wait. It's already long overdue." Mr. Delmar said. He paused for a moment as he took a seat at the counter. Nico knew where the conversation was going but stood still. "I'm sorry," Mr. Delmar started, "I'm sorry for reacting the way I did. I'm sorry for not being considerate. I'm going to do better, to understand, okay?"

Nico exhaled. He could feel tears forming but he wasn't going to let them fall.

"About what you said," Mr. Delmar continued, "I want you to know that you are my son. Nothing can change that and I wouldn't change anything about you, Nico. I love you."

Nico hesitated for a moment before giving his dad a hug, "I love you too."

"And tell Parker I'm sorry. I think I spooked the poor kid." Mr. Delmar stated as they pulled away. "Where is he anyways? Why are you going with Flash?"

Nico parted his lips to reply but he didn't know how to respond. Fortunately, a knock on the door interrupted and he shuffled over to answer the door. Meanwhile, Cassandra returned with her phone in hand.

"Yo you wore the tie!" Flash said as he entered the apartment, "Okay, now that I'm looking at it, you're not pulling it off as well as I am."

Nico snickered, "You're joking? Dude, you wore a plaid shirt with a patterned tie! You can't do that."

"What are you, the fashion police?"

"Yeah, what if I am?" Nico playfully replied.

"But you're not."

"I could be."

"You aren't."

"Okay, boys! That's enough. Go stand over there, I want pictures." Cassandra interrupted, motioning them to move. They obeyed and Nico put his arm around Flash's shoulder before his mom snapped a few photos.

"Okay! That'll do. Oh, you both look so handsome." Cassandra stated as Flash peered over to see the photos.

"That's it? No, let's get a few more." Flash ordered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "Mr. D you gotta get an angle from the left. And can we get some more lights on?"

Nico shook his head and looked at his mom, "Look at the monster you unleashed."

"You handled her well, my friend. A little hard on the brakes though..." Flash stated. Nico rolled his eyes and tossed Flash his car keys.

The two made their way through the parking lot of dressed up students posing for pictures, and up to the front steps of the school. A few kids were scattered on the steps, sitting and chatting away while others were attempting to secretly pass around vape pens.

Nico didn't realize he was nervously fidgeting with his hands as the two made their way to the gymnasium. He finally noticed when he stopped at the doors, when Flash reassuringly patted his shoulder.

"Don't let Parker ruin your night." Flash stated, "If you want me to, I'll fight him. Just say the word and it's on sight."

"Alright calm down there, buddy, you're not fighting anyone." Nico laughed lightly, "But I appreciate the gesture."

The two enter the gym and Nico's eyes land on Ned and MJ chatting by the drinks table. They happily wave at Nico who gives them a small smile before Flash tugs Nico away to greet his soccer friends.

Only ten minutes had passed and Nico already felt his social battery draining. He excused himself from Flash and his friends and found a lone seat at a table near the edge of the dancefloor.

He took a sip of his punch, which Flash's friend Victor took the liberty of dumping vodka in only minutes after they arrived. Nico absentmindedly watched as most of the students danced and mingled about. His eyes eventually fell on Liz who was smiling wide in his direction.

I knew immediately who she was looking at, because that's how I looked at him too.

Nico reverted his eyes to his right to find Peter slowly walking towards her. Without hesitating, he placed his cup on the table and hastily exited the gym and out to the front of the school. He thought he was going to be okay, but actually seeing Peter with Liz felt like a stampede of elephants running laps on his heart.

The parking lot of the school is completely empty now, and Nico found himself walking towards Flash's car. He cursed under his breath, realizing he didn't have the keys and plopped down on the curb. Nico didn't have his journal but there was so much he wanted to say, so he pulled out his phone and began typing in his notes app.

I'm done caring about what others think...because if we had a second chance I'm sure as hell not hiding how much I love -

A figure landed in front of Nico and he let out a small shriek. "Peter?" Nico questioned as he eyed the boy's attempt at a Spider-Man suit, which consisted of blue sweatpants, a red sweater and a red ski mask with goggles glued on.

"Nico, I need Flash's car and your phone right now!" Peter stated, frantically. "Liz's dad is the wingsuit guy and I gotta catch him before he leaves town!"