Spider-Man Imagines I

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

School the next day was not as miserable as it had been previously.

You'd woken up and smiled knowing that Peter didn't hate you anymore. Your heart and stomach felt funny, a soft of bubbly, queasy feel you felt in your fingertips, too. You remembered how his hand felt in yours, and how he had held your hand not once, but twice.

"___, sweetheart," your mother called on the other side of your door. "Grab some breakfast and come on, we gotta go!"

"Coming," you said.

You grabbed your backpack and phone, turning the screen on to see three new pictures - memes, no doubt - from Peter. You grinned.

Life was starting to feel normal again.

...

"What happened to your chest?" your mother asked, one hand on the steering wheel.

You touched it subconsciously, hands stroking the bandage you'd put on before bed, remembering the cool touch of blade that dug into your thin skin there, poking at the bone. You winced and shuddered, but played it off by adjusting the sleeves of your thin cardigan.

"Um, it happened in science," you lied. "Chemistry, actually. Peter and I were doing this experiment and I mixed something wrong and a glass beaker shattered and a piece cut me."

You were sort of proud of yourself for how smoothly it came out. Although you hated lying more than anything, you couldn't risk giving up Peter's secret, or letting your mother know that you were mugged. She'd never let you outside again.

Plus, it was a believable lie. You did go to a science school, after all.

"Oh my gosh, baby," she gushed. "Those teachers really need to give better instructions."

"Yeah. But I'm okay."

She shook her head. "Wait... you said Peter, didn't you?" A hopeful smile graced her lips. "Did you two make up?"

"We did," you said. "He apologized and we hung out yesterday. Everything is normal again, I think."

"Oh, good. I'm glad." She was pulling into the school. "And if you ever want to talk about your crush on him or just boys in general, talk to me. Okay?"

"Okay, I will, Mom," you said, unbuckling your seatbelt as she pulled to a stop. You leaned in and let her kiss you on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you," she said as you got out. "And we can plan our trip to the store soon! Homecoming is only in a few days!"

Right. You waved after you got out of the car, your mood faltering slightly at the thought of homecoming. You perked up once you saw Ned and Peter across the lot, waving and smiling at you.

Everything would be okay. You were best friends with the two biggest dorks in all of Midtown.

...

"I asked my mom not to get me a regular tie. I mean, I'm more of a bowtie kind of guy," Ned said, "but she is sort of set on this red that she swears brings out the brown in my eyes. What the heck does that mean?"

You snickered as Ned talked, walking alongside him to fourth period. Your PE clothes were stuffed in a plastic bag at your side, in desperate need of a wash at home. You stopped by your locker to drop them off. Ned lingered.

"You seem more upbeat about the whole homecoming thing," Ned noticed. "What's up with that?"

You shrugged, yanking the locker door open. "It's stupid to want a boyfriend or a date. I mean, one day a guy is gonna like me. Maybe not soon, maybe not for years." You frowned. "But one day. I hope."