Spider-Man Imagines I

I Just Want You To Be Safe | Peter Parker [TH]

You slumped against your seat on the bus, your face buried nose deep in a book. With the comforting scent of the pages and the warm feeling of admiration for your favorite characters, your mind was elsewhere.

You were so out of it that you didn't even realize Peter, your best friend and, although you hate to admit it, your crush, had gotten on the bus until he nudged you with his knee. You jumped, dropping your book on your lap.

Peter grinned. "Oops, sorry."

You glared at him. "Thanks."

"I said sorry!"

You sighed and marked your book. Shutting it tight, you began to stuff it back in your backpack. Peter frowned as he got a glimpse of the cover.

"Another young adult romance?" he asked. "Bleh."

You rolled your eyes. "They're good reads, Peter."

"They're cheesy," he said, scowling.

"And how many of them have you read?"

He gave a short nod. "Good point."

"I'll let you borrow one if you want," you said. "You might like them."

"No thanks."

You shrugged. "Suit yourself, Peter. I'm just trying to be a good friend and offer you a good book."

Peter shifted, grabbing on to one of the poles so he wouldn't fall while the bus turned. He scrunched his nose. "I think they're kind of pathetic."

You raised your eyebrows. "Pathetic?"

"I mean, like, these authors spend their lives writing books about other people falling in love," he said. "That's not really living, like, your life. It's making one up that's better than yours. But you don't really get to live it. It's not yours to live."

Ouch. You physically winced. Suddenly the pages of notebooks filled with your own romance novels going nowhere weighed a thousand pounds in your bag.

How many of them, you wondered, were written because of Peter? How many were inspired by him?

When Peter realized you were quiet, his eyes widened. You guessed that your face reflected how you felt because he was suddenly not disgusted by your choice of reading.

"I-I didn't mean anything," he assured you. "I'm sorry. That sounded really horrible."

You shrugged. "It's fine, Peter."

"No. No, it's not," he said. "I'm such an idiot!"

You didn't speak for the rest of the ride. Well, if you were having trouble deciding this morning, you weren't now. Today would definitely not be a day full of smiling.

When the bus stopped at the school, you stood up and pushed your way to the front. You didn't want to seem upset with Peter, but you couldn't help it.

He ran to catch up with you. You kept your head down as you plugged your earbuds in your ears. Music was already blaring, so Peter couldn't talk to you.

That didn't stop him from hovering over you every chance he had. He followed you to the cafeteria, stood by you in line as you bought a coffee, picked up two sugars for you and even dumped them in, and stood by you at your locker.

You had to admit that it was endearing.

But gosh, couldn't he just go away? Couldn't he make it easy to want him to leave? How simple would it be for Peter to do one thing that would stop your feelings for him in their tracks?