𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘, peter parker

CHAPTER 8

"AND I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU, IT TAKES EVERYTHING IN ME NOT TO CALL YOU."

ANDIE HAD NOT SPOKEN TO Chey and Noor in a little bit more than two weeks and it was hard. The trio had known each other since the third grade and they had spoken to each other everyday since.

And the weirdest part about it was that Chey and Noor didn't seem to care. At all.

It pained Andie, she missed her friends but they didn't miss her. Everyday she sat for lunch with Peter and his friends, she really liked MJ and Ned, and she liked Peter but in a slightly different way. She had just recently noticed the fluttery feelings in her stomach when he was near, the way her eyes instinctively followed his while he walked by, the way her usual unnecessary 'flirting' had faded along with her boldness; she had become shy. She hated it. Whenever she got a crush on someone she pushed them away, she detested the feeling of being dependant on someone. She didn't need it, she was her own person and when she developed a crush on someone that's all she felt like, a girl with a crush.

Lunch at school made Andie feel immensely stressed, irritated, and depressed. Her life wasn't fair, her father had literally died in front of her, she had gotten sexually assaulted with a gun to her back, the only two people she told had ghosted her at the flip of a dime.

"Hi guys!" Andie smiled, trying to be optimistic. She immediately sat beside Peter, trying her very best to ignore the fact that her old best friends were laughing right behind her.

Ned smiled back at the brunette girl. "Hi, Andie! How was your science class?" he asked. Ned had an extremely good memory for the people he cared about, in the roughly two weeks Andie had spent with Ned, he had learnt her entire timetable. Honestly it was a little too quick, almost to the point where it got creepy.

"Fucking sucked. Like I've actually never wanted to shoot myself in the head more, and I had a gun to my back two months ago. So, that's saying something." Andie joked, making Ned and Peter make weird faces while MJ cackled.

MJ loudly cackled, "I've officially decided; I like you." she pointed her fork at Andie with a mouthful of food.

"You're just — just deciding that now?" Andie stuttered. "I thought we've been friends for, like, weeks now." she mumbled softly with a small smile on her face.

Peter giggled quietly. "No, Andie, this is a huge honour. MJ isn't friends with anyone, it took us months to become friends wit—"

"—I'm not even friends with them." MJ interrupted Peter, pointing at Ned and Peter.

Ned laughed. "Haha MJ very funny." he rolled his eyes.

"I don't think she's kidding." Peter squinted.

MJ shrugged, taking another bite of her food. "I'm not." she stated, not missing a beat.

Andie yelled a laugh, "HAH, I like you too MJ. Best friends forever." she cackled, over and over again. Making MJ, Peter, and Ned laugh.

It was weird, but Andie finally felt like she belonged. It took two weeks for Andie to finally feel like she feel like she was wanted. She was friends with Chey and Noor for years and not once did she feel needed, but two weeks with them and she felt needed.

"Aw, Andie! You finally have a boyfriend, that's amazing! How long have you two been together?" one of Andie's fake friends who she hardly ever spoken to asked, the girl was more of an acquaintance than anything.

Andie didn't notice the fact that Peter and her were holding hands until the girl walked up to them. Peter had also clearly just noticed, as his face had immediately turned red and his ability to talk without stuttering had disappeared. "We're not — we're not dating. We're just — just — just frien—"

"— We've been dating for two months now," Andie lied, trying to hold in her laugh. She turned to see MJ almost dying of laughter, Ned looking shocked and Peter was a mix of confused, laughing, and he also liked it. "and we love each other, mhm. Isn't that right, babe?" she bit her lip to keep from laughing. To go with the joke, or because she wanted to, she started playing with his hair.

Peter chuckled, playing with the gold rings on her hands. "What, uh, yup! We're so in love it hurts." he moved his attention from her rings to the girls face, then back to her hands.

"Adorable! How did you know you were in love?" the girl asked, not leaving them alone.

Andie couldn't think of a lie, she was stuck. However, Peter could think better. "I just knew. She's so pretty and funny and sweet, I just trust her a lot. Andie is one of those people who light everything up — I mean she's like a shot of expresso, like being bathed in sunlight. She's just always on my mind." his eyes turned from exclusively her hands on his to solely her eyes. Her eyes were soft and adoring, the way he described her made her heart melt. She knew she had a crush on him but with the way he was talking about her, Andie wanted to jump into his arms, start making out with him and then get married.

"That's so sweet, Peter. Well, Andie, I'll see you later. We gotta hangout soon, arg I miss you!" the girl flapped her hands at Andie, pouted, then walked away.

Andie politely smiled and waved goodbye as the girl walked away. "God, I hate her. But seriously Pete, that was so nice, like legit the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Where did that all come from?" she asked, basically forgetting anyone else was in the room, let alone hundreds.

"It was all true. You're the best, Andie."

"Thanks, Petey. And also, that was so fucking hilarious, up top Petey." Andie burst into laughter, holding her hand up to high five the boy.

Peter laughed along with her, giving her a high five. "You guys are really fucking weird." MJ observed.