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The bell rings once again, signaling that the school day is over. Everyone scrambles up from their seats in math class and speeds out of the room as fast as they can, to leave the prison adults call school. Peter smiles to himself and sighs in relief. He gets to finally go home after a long and hard day of learning. Don't get Peter wrong, he loves school, especially biology, but sometimes, he rather be doing something else instead of being forced to go to the place where he gets judged everyday.
The day outside is gloomy, the dark clouds painting the skies gray, almost black. He heard on the news that there was a chance of rain, so he was going to take the school bus instead of skateboarding home. He wasn't going to take a chance and get wet.
Peter goes to his locker and puts his math textbook and notebook before taking out other notebooks and textbooks for homework. He packs his book bag and closes his locker before making his way outside. When Peter steps out into the dark and gloomy atmosphere, he is immediately met with humid and sticky air. He unzips his sweater and starts to look around. There is a pretty large amount of students waiting for the school transportation. He recognizes most of his peers but his heart jumps out of his chest when his eyes lands on a certain someone.
Her. Zoey.
Peter's breathing started to get uneven and heavy. He didn't know why he was so nervous, it was just a girl he never met. She maybe caught him off guard since Peter hasn't seen her in the past two weeks, he passed by the drama/dance room everyday and she was never there. He also paid attention to who he passed by in the hallway, to see if maybe she wasn't going to mini club Miss Almond has, but he got the same thing; he didn't see her anywhere. Peter shakes his head a couple of times, and combs his fingers through his hair, trying to fix it since there is a slight breeze blowing his hair twenty different directions. He is trying to look at least decent so that she can notice him, but Zoey wasn't even paying attention to anything around her.
Zoey is looking down at a tan book, her eyes scanning the pages briefly before flipping the paper page. Her hair is blowing behind her, revealing her side profile. She is desperately trying to keep her hair down with one of her hands but to no use, the light brown strands kept flying, getting in her eyes and mouth before floating at the back of her head again.
Peter gives up and looks down at his shoes in defeat, but smiles a little at himself. Zoey would rather be reading and keeping to herself instead of socializing, just like Peter. He would rather be working on equations and investigating about mutations on bugs and animals than hanging out with someone. That's why Peter had no friends. Zoey and Peter have something in common; they're both social outcasts in their own way.
After a couple of minutes of standing in the sad weather, the bus finally comes to a stop in front of everyone. One by one, each teen climbed into the bus before Zoey and Peter were the last ones left to get in. Peter gulps and a wave of confidence hits him. He approaches Zoey slowly and debates on getting her attention or not. Peter closes his eyes briefly and nodded before opening them again and reaching her. He raises his hand and taps Zoey's left shoulder softly.
Zoey doesn't react.
Peter tries a second time; she doesn't react again. Peter keeps trying and trying as he knew that the bus driver and the students were getting impatient. Peter sighs loudly and decided to do something that he should've done in the beginning. He places his hand on the page she's reading, covering the sentences with his skin as he winced, closing his right eye and pursing his lips.
Zoey quickly looks up from the spot she was reading as she was interrupted. She tilts her face up to look at Peter Parker. Peter nods his head towards the bus standing in front of them. Peter expects a 'thank you' or at least a smile, but Zoey just stares at him with the same blank expression she gave Miss Almond at the drama/dance classroom.
Peter bites his lip and looks down, kind of intimidated as he saw her legs and feet climb up the steps of the yellow school bus. Peter follows behind her, walking down the black aisle as the bus starts driving down the road. Zoey sits all the way in the back seat of the right side, Peter follows and sits in the back seat across from her in the left side.
Zoey starts to read again, tucking strands of hair behind her ears as she looks down. Peter stares at her, admiring how peaceful she looks, but the blank look she gave him is stuck on Peter's memory, replaying that moment over and over again.
Peter feels so down and rejected that he quickly denies the idea of trying to talk to her. After she ignored him, he doesn't want to get ignored again, so he just slumps against the bus seat, imagining what would have happened if she actually said something to him.
Ten minutes later, the bus screeches to a stop at a corner of a street. The double doors slide open and all the high school students start pushing each other to be the first one to leave. Again, Zoey and Peter are the last ones to leave. Peter thinks that Zoey might not realize that the bus arrived at it's stop, so he wants to get her attention again but at the same time, he doesn't.
Luckily for Peter, Zoey actually stands up, closes her book and stuffs it into her old, brown, messenger bag before walking up the bus aisle before freezing halfway. Rain drops suddenly start to pound against the small windows and thunder shakes the bus after lightning illuminates the sky. Zoey sprints out of the bus and Peter follows her without thinking twice. He grabs his skateboard that is hanging behind his book bag before holding it over his head to try to keep his body dry when he steps out of the bus.
He starts to run the way he usually goes to go home when he sees Zoey's silhouette sprinting down the same direction. Peter slows down a little bit but feels water seeping into his shirt and pants, making the fabric stick onto his skin. He starts to run again, going down a couple of blocks, following Zoey, his mind filling up with thoughts as Peter was confused. How did he not notice this girl in school or even skateboarding home? The world may never know.
Zoey stops in front of some steps to an apartment building a couple of houses down from his. Peter races to his house, going up his steps before stopping and turning to look at Zoey. To his surprise, she was already looking at him, her mouth open as her chest heaves up and down. Her whole body is soaking wet and Peter notices that she is shivering. Her hair is also wet and it is sticking to the skin of her neck, framing her soft face.
Peter lifts his hand and waves slowly and shyly, hoping for a wave or something back. But to Peter's dismay again, she just blinks once, walks up the steps and disappears through the front door.
Peter tilts his head up and looks at the roof of his balcony, placing his hands behind his neck. He lets out a big groan, closing his eyes. He is going to find a way to get her attention properly, one way or another.
