Spider-Man/Peter Parker One-Shots

(HC) What's Right In Front Of You

Requested on: Quotev

People don't like to believe the truth if it contradicts with what they think, so despite your protests that you and Peter were not dating, everyone kept teasing you regardless. You made it clear there were no hidden feelingsーand there weren'tーfor your best friend and he did the same. But for whatever reason they never believed it.

You couldn't say if it was in an effort to make them stop teasing you or if it was because you were such an amazing friend, but you decided to help Peter get with his crush, a senior girl named Liz. You could understand why he liked her; she was pretty, nice, and led the Decathlon team. So, after school at practice for the upcoming meet, you put your plan into effect.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Peter asked, glancing at Liz nervously.

"Of course." You put a hand on your hip and smiled confidently. "As long as you don't mess up." The determination faded from his eyes and he looked at you worriedly. "Don't worry about it!" You bumped his shoulder with your own. "You're smart, you'll be fine."

"What if I mess up?"

"Don't." He sent you a look to express how little your advice helped. "Chillax." You rolled your eyes. "If you don't know the answer just pretend to think and I'll take the question."

"Ok, got it."

"Good. Practice is about to start so let's go." You walked into the room where the other kids were milling around, talking to each other and waiting for Liz to start practice. You led the way to Ned, who was sitting against the wall and staring off into space, probably imagining what Lego creation he and Peter would put together next. He snapped out of it when the two of you sat down next to him, but before he could get out a greeting Liz started practice.

After some warm-ups you approached Liz with a cocky smirk on your face. You needed to appear confident, sure you were going to win, so when Peter beat you it would make him seem smarter. She shuffled the practice cards in her hands and looked at you expectantly.

"I want a 1 on 1 match against Peter," you said.

She rose an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I said I was smarter than him and he disagrees, so we need to settle that I'm clearly smarter."

"Alright." A half drawn smile formed on her lips. You ran to the right table and pointed at Peter. "1v1, me and you." His eyes widened in a silent panic before he got to his feet and walked to the left table. You both took a seat and placed your hands over the buzzer in the middle of the table. You turned to Peter and winked.

"First question," Liz said, holding up her flashcards. "Who was the second president of the United States?" What an easy question.

Peter hit the buzzer. "John Adams." You shot a glare at him.

"Correct." Liz flipped to the next card. "What's Avogadro's number?" You could almost feel the panic from Peter as he pretended to recall the answer. You slammed your hand onto the red button.

"6.02 x 1023."

"Correct." As Liz looked for the next question, you sent a smile Peter's way. He sent a small one back.

This went on for a while before Liz announced that this was the final question. You leaned forward, your hand resting on the buzzer.

"What number can you not divide anything by?" She looked between the two of you. You expected Peter to hit the buzzer, proudly say his answer, and officially win this match, but there was nothing from his side. You put a hand to your chin as you pretended to think and snuck a glance out of the corner of your eye. He was frantically trying to come up with the answer but he wasn't succeeding. You bumped your knee into the table and he turned. You made an o with your hand.

"0!" Peter said after smacking the button.

"That is..." You looked at her with a 'please don't say he's right' look. "Correct!" Ned cheered as you slammed your fist into the table and nearly let a swear word slip. "Congratulations Peter, you're smarter." Liz smiled at him and you about rolled your eyes. He was staring at her with heart eyes like a dork. You pretended to storm off, and once you were out in the hall you grinned to yourself. That went well.

Whenever you saw the opportunity, you took it. Liz was in view? Make Peter do something cool. Liz was in earshot? Say something great about Peter. But through it all, you had an uncomfortable feeling in your chest. It was like you regretted helping him, like you wanted to back out after coming this far. You tried to lie to yourself, but you knew deep down exactly why this was happening. You had developed feelings for Peter.

But it was too late. Liz was showing interest in Peter and it was clear any chance with him just went out the window. Besides, you two were better off friendsーat least that's what you told yourself to ease the pain.

P.O.V. change

Peter didn't understand why feelings had to be so complicated. He had liked Liz for the longest time, and just when she was within reach, his feelings for her started to fade. The same time he lost interest in her he gained feelings for (Y/N), but everything was platonic between the two of them. However, he did notice a small change in how (Y/N) acted, small enough it didn't seem significant before but now seemed very big. She didn't like Liz anymore, even going so far as to avoid her when she could. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why though.

"So are you going to do it?" (Y/N) asked, resting her crossed arms on the table. It was lunch but both of them had finished their meals more than 5 minutes ago to give Peter enough time to talk to Liz. He wasn't sure if he still wanted to ask her out, despite all of (Y/N)'s efforts.

"I don't know." His gaze dropped to the table.

"Chicken." There was a teasing smile on her face but something in her eyes contradicted her happy exterior.

"Fine." He stood. She worked hard for this, he'd feel bad to put it to waste.

"Good luck." She didn't mean it. He shot her a smile before heading towards Liz's table. On his way he thought of what to say, whether or not he should ask to talk to her in private, and what his chances were of success. As he got closer his footsteps slowed and dread filled his stomach. What if he was making a mistake? He stopped in the middle of the lunchroom. He tried to will his feet forward but they felt glued to the dirty floor.

No, he couldn't do this.

Peter turned around and headed back towards the table with his head down. (Y/N) saw him coming and stood, concern etched into her face.

"What happened?" she asked, moving to walk in stride with him out of the lunchroom. He didn't answer her at first, instead waiting 'til they were out of earshot from everyone in the cafeteria. Then he turned to her.

"I couldn't do it," he said.

"You couldn't do it?" Her voice was filled with disbelief. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Her posture seemed less tense after his confession, almost carefree now that she knew they weren't getting together today. "Are you going to try again?"

"No."

"Good," she muttered.

"What?"

She spoke up. "Why?"

"I like someone else now." He glanced away.

"Who?" She frowned, wondering who on earth it could be now.

Moment of truth, Peter thought to himself. "You." She blinked. He waited patiently for her response but she must've shut down because she stared straight ahead with a mixture of confusion and shock. He was starting to grow worried when she abruptly shook her head.

"Me? But I'm not..." A grin broke out on her face. "Why am I complaining? This is amazing." She met his gaze. "I like you, too." His eyes lit up.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend?" Even though she just said she liked him he still felt a little nervous about asking.

"Of course." He felt something bump his hand and looked down to see her hand reaching out for his. He intertwined their hands with a smile. And to think he almost missed the perfect girl while being distracted by someone out of his reach.