Lovebug ── PETER PARKER¹

20. Hostility

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          For the first time in a while, Luna Giraldo slept peacefully for an entire week. She didn't wake up sweating, or shaking, and she didn't get shivers from the thought of what'd been done to her. She was thrown a rope, a rope that pulled her out of the dark corridor she'd been stuck in. She felt liberated in a sense. For one, she was able to kick ass. And second, the ass she kicked was the very one who caused her to take the class in the first place.

          As expected, the man who'd been tormenting her, whom she learned was named Ernie Lakewood, was arrested and convicted. The lousy owners of the bar were forced to hand over footage, which revealed that Ernie had forcefully dragged the young girl into the alley with foul intentions. He was sentenced to five years in jail, and while Andrew attempted to argue for more, Luna immediately shut him down. She was just happy a man that awful would no longer be able to walk the streets, even if it was just for five years.

          On top of that, more time was spent with Danielle. She came to Luna the following day, in desperate need of comfort as her mother got full custody of her when she wanted to be with her father. Luna, though she was unsure how, provided the comfort that Danielle had so desperately needed, holding her as she wept. That'd taken up a majority of her weekend, leaving her no time to talk to any of her friends. It only got stranger when they got to school, her hand enclosed in Luna's as they walked the halls. The two girls hadn't even kissed, yet Danielle was walking around like they'd been dating for months and everybody was unaware of it.

          Liz was beaming when Danielle sat at lunch with them for the week, her hand holding Luna's beneath the table. Mia had given her the stamp of approval after two lunches with her, shooting her best friend a thumbs up whenever she saw the two holding hands in the hall. The only person who never seemed happy to see the two together was Peter. Luna found herself canceling their sessions more often, and each time, Peter avoided looking at Danielle at all costs. He'd frown whenever the words "I can't make it" escaped Luna's lips, his head dropping to avoid settling his glare on Danielle each time. Danielle had taken notice of this, her frown deepening with every minute spent in the vicinity of Peter Parker. She almost wanted to put the boy on the spot and ask what his problem was, but decided against it, as he was Luna's friend and the last thing she wanted was for the girl to be upset with her.

          Danielle had quickly grown fond of Luna, even if the feelings weren't always reciprocated. When they were apart, she found herself missing the girl. Any free time she had during school, which wasn't much as she was on almost everything, it was spent with Luna. Any alone time they got was spent with Danielle working up the nerve to kiss the girl, and every time she got to that point, it was ruined. Wether it be from Liz Barns poking her head in, or Luna spotting Peter Parker down the hall, there never seemed to be a good time for the kiss to happen. It was almost like the universe didn't want Luna and Danielle to kiss, not wanting them to take the next step in their relationship and make things much realer.

           It was Friday now, a whole week from Danielle and Luna's first date, and the day they'd be having their second date. Luna was taking her Spanish book out of her locker when someone stood beside her, causing her to look up. Her lips turned up slightly at the sight of Peter, but he never matched her smile. "Hey, I didn't see you at lunch today," She spoke softly, shutting her locker before leaning against it. "I had to tell you-"

          "You're canceling again, I know," Peter cut her off, and Luna instantly frowned at the hostile sound of his voice. She stood up straighter as Peter began speaking again, "We've only met up once this week, and you seem to be doing fine in bio, so I don't think we really need to do this anymore, do we?"

          Luna blinked in shock, and she was quick to stammer, "But–But I–"

          Peter crossed his arms across his chest, raising his eyebrows at the girl. "Be honest Luna, you were doing fine this week without me reading everything over to you. You want to spend more time with your girlfriend, and I have clubs I've been neglecting to study with you. Now we can go back to normal, no more studying."

          Luna frowned at his words, her shoulders dropping in defeat. She's never seen Peter Parker so agitated with a single person, and she never expected that person to be herself. It was clear he wasn't happy with her, and that made her sick to her stomach. What could she have done to upset Peter so much? There was no way he was just upset about her skipping out on their study sessions, it had to be something deeper than that. Or perhaps she didn't know Peter as well as she thought she did.

          Peter took her silence as an agreement, hiking his bag higher up on his shoulder. "I'll see you around," he muttered, leaving the girl beside her locker in shock.

          Luna must have been stood there in silence for at least a few minutes, before Mia found her. She frowned at the sight of the girl, her cheeks flared up, and lips settled into a pout. "You okay?" She questioned, snapping Luna out of whatever state of shock she had been put in.

           Luna blinked rapidly, shaking her head as she looked down the hall Peter Parker had disappeared down. "I don't know," She mumbled, clutching her Spanish book tighter.

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soooo, question time.

Do you guys like Danielle? I mean, ignoring the tiny factor of who you think she is from my other book, is she alright?

Personally, I like her more than I thought I would. At least for now I do. Lowkey ship her and Luna, but Paraldo has a special place reserved in my heart.