All Of Me (Peter Parker x Reader)

Chapter 51

The next time Peter saw (y/n), it was at school while she was walking out the door. The second he saw her, his heart started pounding as his mind decided that this was the perfect opportunity. Taking a deep breath, Peter walked over as usual and called out her name. (Y/n)'s head turned around like lightning at the sound of his voice.

"Peter!" she called back, stopping as she waited for him, her blank face gaining a smile. "How'd your day go?" she asked.

"Oh, all right, I guess. You know my photography teacher?" he started.

"From the class you hate?" she specified.

"That's the one. He said that for someone who hates it so much, I'm really good at it. He even mentioned an open job for the Daily Bugle that's been open for years, but no one wants it," he explained.

"You should go for it if you're good," (y/n) thought aloud.

"Only if I become desperate," he said.

(Y/n) quirked an eyebrow, pausing for a second before shrugging her shoulders. She's never seen any of the pictures that Peter has talked about, but it sounded like he could make really good money for it. She didn't understand why he wouldn't use this skill to make (what sounded like) easy money. Still, what he wanted to do with his time was his business. In their line of "service", free time had to be chosen carefully.

"Oh well," she said simply.

"Hey, (y/n), are you free today?" Peter asked suddenly.

A sudden burst of happiness lit up her face, and she turned to look at him, stopping in her place right before they crossed the street to the bus stop across from the school.

"Actually, I'm not," she told him, a nervous smile on her face.

"Oh, really?" Peter said with a twinge of disappointment.

"Yeah! I'm going out with someone today," she said.

Peter's heart raced, and not in a good way. The kind where your stomach drops while your heart physically stings with every beat. "With who?" he asked, trying not to sound as hurt as he was. "Is it that Ethan guy?" he asked.

Peter knew him. Well, not knew him, but knew of him. There was a difference. He was nice enough, a bit baby-ish, didn't like to fight, and was not too far off from the nerdy personality he had himself. When (y/n) said she'd hung out with him a few times at and outside of school, everyone was glad that she was making friends on her own, even if it wasn't intentional at first.

Now it was killing Peter on the inside out, and (y/n) could sense it.

"No," she started, watching his face and body, mirroring his nervous stance a tiny bit. "I'm actually hanging out with my Mom. We're having a girls' day," she said with a nervous chuckle.

Peter felt like he'd narrowly missed a semi-truck, a feeling he could actually relate to. He could tell (y/n) had picked up on his shift in attitude, and relaxed as he did. He knew that they were still nervous around each other. "Walking on eggshells", so to speak.

"That's great! ...Right? Whose idea was it?" he asked.

"Mine," she answered. "I'm sorry about tonight, but maybe we can hang out tomorrow when we patrol?" she suggested.

Peter shook his head. "No- I mean!- we can still patrol tomorrow, but I wanted to hang out apart from patrolling, just to have fun, you know?" he said.

(Y/n) contemplated it for a moment. "Ok, then. Well, I gotta go find my Mom. She's picking me up today," she told him.

"Does she even know how to drive?" he asked, the question popping up inside his head.

I mean, (y/n) only knows how to drive a dirt bike. Kate mentioned driving a plane, but still..., he thought.