darling [peter parker]

good!

Her parents had gone to work by the time she left her room. She was too anxious to eat so she went straight to school. She kept her head down. She passed newspaper stands but the very thought of looking made her stomach churn wildly. The voice at the back of her head told her that everyone was looking at her. Everyone knew.

She walked up the path to the school. Most people were inside by now. She paused on the steps. She could still turn back. She could run, hop on the subway, and just ride the tracks until her heart stopped pounding. She balled her hands into fists. No. There was no running away from this.

Wendy pushed into the school and instantly everyone turned to stare. It took everything within her, but she kept her head held high and her gait confident. She hadn't done anything wrong. She'd spoken out against injustice. She'd done something brave, something she hoped her Aunt Peggy might be proud of.

She walked to her locker where her friends were waiting. Fuck. She could feel herself breaking, her resolve crumbling at the sight of them. They turned to look at her. Shit. Angie and Erin looked close to tears. Margot had her hand over her mouth the way she always did when she was trying to stop herself from crying. Even Michelle, master of masking her emotions, seemed upset.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," Angie said as soon as Wendy was close enough to hear, "but I talked to Coach Wilson and he said we can make room in the budget for a new cheer uniform if you need one, and Erin talked to Mrs. Wayland and you're not going to be punished for missing cheer or dance."

That was the last straw.

A strangled sob escaped Wendy as she threw herself forward into her friends' arms. They surrounded her, forming a protective layer from the rest of the hallway. Angie started crying too and Margot was only seconds behind. They stayed like that for awhile, a cluster of girls and tears. The warmth generated from their bodies was almost too much, but Wendy couldn't find it within herself to care. She was safe in the arms of her best friends, of the people she knew would never look down on her.

"Anything you need, we'll provide," Michelle promised when they finally pulled away. She ruffled Wendy's hair. "We'll storm the police precint if you want to."

Angie winced, down to sniffling. "Maybe not that." She took one look at Wendy and burst into tears again, crying out, "Definitely that! Whatever you want!"

"I should've walked you home," Erin whispered.

Wendy shrugged. "It wouldn't've mattered. They would've just hurt the both of us." Angie suppressed a wail. The blonde's eyes widened and, in a panic, she blurted out, "Hey, it's not...it's not that bad. I-I got to meet Spider-Man." Angie did wail this time because Wendy meeting Spider-Man was just a reminder that Wendy had needed saving.

"When you called out Michael Fassbender and Woody Allen, I screamed," Margot admitted followed by a forced chuckle. "It was so badass. The whole thing."

Erin pressed a kiss to Wendy's forehead. "And if anyone says anything, we'll kill them, okay?" The group converged for another hug before breaking apart to go to class. When Wendy stepped into her French class, she knew her worst nightmares had come true. There were whispers that stopped as soon as she walked in.

Great.

*

When lunch rolled around, Wendy only had one thing on her mind. She had things she needed to sort out. The blonde strolled into the cafeteria and sat opposite Peter and Ned. They stared at her like she'd gone absolutely insane.

Wendy laid her hands on the table and sighed. "Parker, we need to have a talk about plagiarism."

Margot plopped down beside her, lunch tray in hand. "Are we sitting here today? Why are we sitting here?" Angie took the spot on Wendy's left, Erin taking the seat to the left of her. Michelle sat at the next table down. The other girls didn't question the seating arrangement. They figured Wendy would be clambering for any sense of normality, and Wendy's normal was battling Peter.

"I know Spider-Man wrote the poem, Peter," Wendy said, leaning forward with narrowed eyes.

Erin paused. "Spider-Man did the what now?" Peter's cheeks were bright red, his gaze dancing around the room. He refused to look at Wendy. His brow was furrowed slightly like he was in pain. Ned looked like he was either going to laugh or cry.

"Wendy won the bet, now she and Spider-Man are friends, and he wrote the poem Peter read yesterday," Angie re-capped. She quirked an eyebrow. "Do you not read the group chat?"

"I muted the notifications after Margot's My Immortal commentary," Erin explained, snatching a chicken nugget off of Angie's tray.

Margot pouted. "Hey! That was quality content." Erin scoffed and stole a handful of fries from Ned.

"H-He said he wanted it to be a-a secret," Peter stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. Ned's eyes were darting back and forth as if he was watching a tennis match.

"Wait, Spider-Man wrote the poem?" Erin was waggling her eyebrows now as if the implication had finally caught up with her. She bobbed her head, her lips pulled into a large smile. She reached over Angie to poke Wendy's arm. "Yes, get it, girl!"

Wendy rolled her eyes but shot Erin a discreet wink, eliciting a squeal from her friend. The blonde cleared her throat and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Look, I just want people to stop saying we're in love with each other, so I'm telling everyone he wrote the poem and you're gonna back me up, right? I mean, it's a win-win. It's proof that you're friends with Spider-Man and people will get it through their thick skulls that we're not meant to be or whatever."

Peter nodded hastily. "Right, yeah, sounds good."

"Good," Wendy affirmed, her shoulders sagging with relief. "Good."

*

good?

sorry for the late update loves!! i've been super-preoccupied this week what with finals coming up and my hayley kiyoko concert yesterday (she was fucking amazing and so was gavin turek, the new loml) and i just completely forgot about updating this. hope you enjoy this chapter! next one is a bit...different ;)

edit: the gif is wendy going off on peter at lunch