darling [peter parker]

party bus!

Yes, she was wearing red.

She had picked the dress out before she and Peter had broken up and fuck, was it cute. What, was she just not gonna wear it even though it looked fantastic on her? Fuck that. Wendy was not letting stupid Peter Parker dictate her decisions anymore. Stupid Peter Parker and his stupid delicious lips and his stupid pretty face and his stupid everything. She huffed as she ran her brush through her hair for the nth time (she'd lost count around stroke 67.)

She hadn't done anything too special. Her hair was down. She'd done her normal makeup just with some shimmery nude colors on her eyes and heavier highlighter. She rubbed red tint on her lips and got into her dress. It was off the shoulders, which was finally allowed to school dances after lots of protesting and complaining. She clipped her black velvet choker around her neck and added a thin silver chain weighed down by a simple circle pendant with crossed arrows on it - a gift from Erin during her Hunger Games phase. It was the same necklace she'd worn when she performed in the sixth-grade talent show and the Peter Parker thing began.

She went to take it off, hesitated, and left it on.

She stepped into simple black heels. Most people hated wearing heels, but Wendy was an exception. She was so short that wearing heels didn't even bring her up to average height. Still, it brought her up by a few inches, which was better than nothing. She stuck her phone, cash, keys, and any makeup she wanted to bring along into a little black bag her mom had insisted she use. She spritzed herself with her favorite body mist, 'Pretty as a Peach.'

When she finally left her room, her mom insisted on a whole photoshoot. Luckily, Wendy had accounted for such a thing, so it only put her three minutes behind. The party bus she and her friends had rented picked up her at her front door. Angie and Margot were sat in the back, Angie trying to do Margot's makeup. Erin was saying something to Ned about quantum physics. Wendy took the seat next to MJ, who was eyeing the stripper pole with distaste. Erin had been unable to find a party bus that didn't have a stripper pole installed, so they were stuck with it.

The bass was so loud that it took control of Wendy's heartbeat. She glanced to the front. The bus driver was in a separate cab so they couldn't hear what was going on in the bus. She wandered over to the drinks station, where the driver had supplied soda and Erin had stashed small bottles of booze. Wendy poured herself a plastic red cup of diet coke with a splash of rum. She kicked off her heels and approached the pole.

"Gonna give us a show?" MJ asked, smirking slightly.

Wendy sipped her drink. "You know, in my self-defense classes, I've been training with a bo staff." She wrapped her hand around the top of the pole and absent-mindedly spun around the pole, eyes closed and her head thrown back.

"Are you high?" Angie questioned.

"Nope," Wendy replied. She drained her cup and tossed it in the trash with a flick of her wrist. "I'm just trying to think about anything but the fact that my ex is taking one of my best friends to homecoming. You know, no big deal."

Margot sighed. "Wen, I thought we agreed no Peter talk tonight."

"You guys have Peter talk?"

The girls turned to look at Ned, who they'd forgotten was on the bus too. Wendy turned bright red. Well shit. Now Peter's best friend knew they talked about Peter.

Heart pounding, she blurted, "Who's Peter?" Erin groaned and rolled her eyes. MJ chuckled at Wendy's misfortune. Margot and Angie shook their heads in disappointment. Ned looked around the bus like he wasn't sure what just happened and he had to check with everyone else to make sure it had indeed happened and he wasn't just imagining it. Wendy readjusted her grip on the pole, remembering sparring with Colleen and making jokes about learning how to 'work the pole.' Sparring with Colleen was one of the only times she didn't think about Peter.

Stupid Peter.

"He'd kill me for telling you this, but he never shuts up about you," Ned dished. Wendy was suddenly at attention, a strange look on her face. Ned figured this was a sign to continue and added, "He's been obsessed with you since sixth grade. It's actually really annoying. It's Wendy this, Wendy that. He really misses you. He's like, totally heartbroken."

MJ sat up. "You know."

Margot frowned. "Know what?" Wendy exchanged looks with MJ and Erin. Margot had to be the dumbest genius she'd ever met.

"You know Peter's Spider-Man," Erin said in a hushed tone as if the driver had a chance of hearing them over the thundering music. "I mean, of course you know. You're his best friend."

Ned's jaw dropped. "You all know?"

"Duh, we're geniuses," Angie remarked. She snuck a look at Wendy and added, "and Wendy said Spidey and Peter kiss the same. But mostly the genius part." Ned did a double-take. Wendy winced. She hadn't meant to tell her friends Peter's secret. She'd tried to keep it from them, but they weren't idiots, even if Margot had her moments. The second she'd told them she and Spidey broke up, Angie had gone, "Oh, because he's Peter?"

Ned furrowed his brow. "Wait, when did you kiss Peter as Peter?" With those words, every girl on the bus choked on air. Peter didn't tell Ned about the bathroom kiss. Well, bathroom kisses.

Wendy forced a laugh. "Uh, in one of the bathrooms at Liz's party because of the dare. And then two days ago in the girls' bathroom in the 200 hallway." Angie shrieked indignantly. Wendy had uh, forgotten to mention that particular makeout session. And by forgotten, it was more like she neglected to tell them about it because she knew what they'd say, which was-

"Really? After everything?" Erin.

"Dude, I thought you were better than that." MJ.

"Why the girls' bathroom of all places?" Margot.

"That's both disgusting and romantic." Angie.

Ned scowled. "Peter didn't tell me about that!"

"Okay, in my defense, it was my lowest moment so I really didn't want to think about it, let alone talk about," Wendy said hastily, "and in Peter's defense, fuck him. I recognize that's not really a defense to which I say I'm mad at him and therefore I had no intention of actually defending him." The bus was silent for a moment. Erin downed the rest of her drink.

Margot scoffed. "Wow. We're a bunch of fucking disasters aren't we?"

"Duh," Erin retorted. "We're teenagers."

*

this chapter is fucking weird. happy new year!!