Spider-Man Imagines I

Not That Girl (Part Three) | Peter Parker [TH]

Peter blinked slowly.

You opened your lips, expecting an explanation of some kind, but you only croaked out a sound of horror. It was so humiliating to stand in front of your best friend and just know he was suddenly seeing you differently.

And it definitely wasn't a good kind of different.

You clamped your lips shut as he looked away from you, hand pushing the hair up off his forehead, eyes avoiding you completely. His jaw set roughly.

It was clear that he didn't like you back.

"I'm sorry," you managed to choke out.

He didn't reply.

You turned around and hurried towards the crosswalk, face burning in embarrassment. You felt your heart throb. No pain was as bad as the pain of losing your best friend - especially that quickly.

...

Your mom didn't pry, though it was clear something was wrong with you. You sat down on your bed, blanket around your shoulders, and attempted to bury yourself in your book, but you couldn't.

You kept thinking about how horrifying the whole situation was. How your biggest secret was just revealed in one split second. Now your best friend couldn't even think about you without knowing that you were in love with him.

And now you knew he didn't have the same feelings for you.

You couldn't help yourself. With tears in your eyes, you picked up your phone and sent Peter a text.

I'm sorry.

He didn't respond. For ten minutes, you panicked quietly, wondering if he was just going to flat out ignore you for the rest of your life.

If he didn't talk to you, and you didn't talk to him, you would have to sit somewhere else for lunch. And Ned would most definitely go with Peter, and you would be alone, and that would only make the whole situation worse-

Your phone buzzed. You opened the message and held your breath.

What do you expect me to say?

Your eyes welled with tears. The wording of Peter's message was so cold, so straightforward. It was clear in that moment that you had no hope.

Feeling a sob forming at the middle of your throat, you turned off your phone, tossed it on your nightstand, and crawled under your covers. Your mother called you for dinner, but you closed your eyes.

...

Three hours later, you were jolted awake by a hand on your arm. It shook you, making your eyes pop open and your head snap up off your pillow.

"Hey," your mother said. Your blurry, still sleepy eyes wouldn't focus on her face. "Sorry for scaring you, sweetheart. Are you okay?"

You rubbed your eyes and looked at your phone, searching for a blinking green light. A moment after staring, you remembered that you'd turned it off and why you had.

"Yeah," you mumbled, remembering what had happened before your nap. "Sorry for sleeping."

"Don't apologize," she said sweetly. She rubbed your arm. "Hey, I don't know what is going on with you, but I'm here to talk about it when you're ready. If you're ever ready."

You nodded.

"Okay," she said, and she kissed your head. "Dinner is in the microwave for you, already heated up. And Ned called, he said you weren't picking up your phone. I told him you'd call him back after dinner."

You nodded. "Are you going somewhere?" you asked.

"Out with some friends," she replied. "I'll be back tonight." She kissed you on the cheek. "I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you," you muttered. She got up off your bed and walked to the door. "Bye."

After she left, you went downstairs and grabbed your dinner. You took it to your room to eat, taking your time mostly to avoid the phone call that was in your near future. You weren't that hungry though, and every few minutes you remembered the look on Peter's face as he realized you liked him, and the sandwich in your mouth tasted a little less appetizing.

You finally threw it away and just turned your phone on. After checking each of the twenty messages from Ned, you called him and waited for him to pick up.

"___!" he exclaimed when he did. "I thought you were avoiding me."

"I was," you muttered.

"Ouch."

"I'm avoiding everyone, Ned, and I'm sure you know why." Your voice was sharp and dry.

"Peter told me," he said.

You didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," Ned said. "I didn't mean to pry. Neither did he. And how long have you kept that crush a secret?"

"A while," you muttered.

"Man. I'm surprised. I shouldn't be, I guess," he said. "What are you going to do?"

"Find a new lunch table, I guess," you said. "Prepare myself for the cold shoulder from Peter. I guess that's better than the pity party I was getting."

"You're leaving?" Ned asked, surprised.

"Ned," you said, "Peter was horrified that I liked him. Horrified! And you know what? He was so sure that whoever I liked would like me back, that whoever I liked was a lucky person. But once he found out it was me, it was like none of that even mattered. He looked at me like I was sad and pathetic."

"He didn't," Ned said.

"He did," you said. "It's further proof that girls like me-"

"I didn't look at you at all!"

You blanched, cradling the phone closer to your ear. "Peter?"

"Dude," Ned started.

"I didn't even look at you when I found out, so that's a bunch of bull!" he shouted, sounding like he was right next to the phone. "Don't make me out to be a bad guy when you like me-"

"How is it bad that I like you? I never even expected you to ever feel anything for me in return, Parker, so shut up," you said. Your bottom lip trembled. "Screw you, Ned. This was a really crappy way of getting me to talk. I thought you cared to hear-" Your voice broke at the end.

Both boys were quiet for a second, surprised sadness filling them as they heard you stifle a cry.

"___," they both said.

"Don't," you spat, yanking the phone from your ear. They said your name again before you hung up and threw your phone off the side of your bed, hands flying up to your face.

You cried and cried, thinking of how horribly alone you suddenly were.

You weren't the kind of girl to get any boy. You weren't the kind of girl to feel beautiful. And apparently, you weren't the kind of girl to have friends, either.