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Yes, Peter and Ned are complete nerds and geeks, but let's face it: the OC does not need to be the nerdiest girl ever.There are plenty of other ways to make your OC bond with Peter, and it doesn't have to be through the "socially awkward" stereotype. Here are some different examples you could use:
•Wallflower •Popular •Class Clown •Mutual-friend •Bubbly Friend-To-All but dumb as crap. •Villain/spy •Needs tutoring
And this is certainly not all. If you can think of any of the lesser used stereotypes, please drop a comment.
The chances of your OC having only one friend are very low, and even if they do, they'll still have acquaintances. Your OC does not need to be a nerd/geek. It's overused and I know people get tired of it. We see it all the time— in the movies, in books, in shows, in real life, too. Give your readers a break and please stray from this stereotype if possible.
Here is an example of what not to do:
Decathlon practice ends in yet another drag. Sure, Jessica loves the team— maybe not the people on it, but the activity, rather— but her book partner wouldn't keep his eyes off the captain, Liz Allen.
He had this severe crush on the upperclassmen, one that Jessica wishes to disperse and disappear.
With him ogling her all practice, Jessica had to answer for him most the time. She'd ring the bell for him, then tell him the answer when he froze up. What else could she have done? All she wants is for the boy to notice her.
It's pointless, though. Jessica realizes this as she throws her millions of books into her bag, huffing it over her shoulder as she grabs the remaining few.
Imagine Jessica's surprise when Peter comes up to her at practice. "Hey, Jessica," he says, somewhat breathlessly as he catches up with her.
Jessica's eyes raise up to meet his dreamy chocolate eyes, a spark of excitement and wonder in her own as she tries to put the pieces together. Why is he talking to her? She's a nerd, a shy girl who blushes when anyone looks her way, so why would Peter Parker want to talk to her?
"I, um, I just wanted to say thank you for covering for me back there." He says.
Jessica's heart flutters. "Me? Oh, I was— I didn't want to look bad, or let you look bad... I'm sorry, uh, was that all you needed?"
Peter grabs the strings of his backpack as he looks down the halls in front of them. "Well, I uh, okay..." Peter struggles to find the words to say. "I wanna ask Liz out, and I could ask anyone but your really approachable, and I need help."
Jessica feels her heart stop. Some how, hope risen in her more in the past few seconds than it ever has, and just as quick, it's been shattered to pieces.
Like she said— she was a nerd, a nobody. Peter wanted nothing to do with her.
Do not do that! The nerdy girl was asked something by Peter, thus giving her hope she'd date him, which is sudden and strange, and then just as quickly, it's shattered. Also notice the repetitive 'Jessica is a nerd' thing. It's already stated, and unless you've got memory issues, I shouldn't have to tell you my favorite color is purple a million times.
Instead, try something like this:
Decathlon dragged on, for Jessica. She never imagined that a club would pull two hours away from her, thus waisting time and extracting it from the limited twenty-four hours allotted in a day.
Apart from decathlon, Jessica finds herself a spot in multiple other extracurriculars. There's soccer, homecoming preparations, a surprise party she's planning for her best friend, some fancy meet-and-greet her father is forcing her to go to, and her job at Dunkin' Donuts.
Not to mention, dreaded homework for AP calculus.
Decathlon meant one of those would have to be sacrificed, and Jessica can't forfeit any of those, nor can she knock them off her daily to-do list.
Something else to add to her list? The extra five minutes she'd have to spare to talk to Peter, who waits for her outside the school.
"Hey, Peter." Jessica says, her voice drained from those two hours of practice. "What's up?"
Peter's cheeks puff out as he expels air quickly. "I know your stressed with everything you've got going on right now-"
"You do?"
"Yeah. You kinda make it obvious when you sprint out of practice everyday," he pauses. "Anyways, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help?"
A dry laugh escapes Jessica's lips as she smiles his gesture. "Help? Unless you can buy me a black dress, go to soccer practice, finish signing off all the homecoming decorations, AP calc homework, plan Alyssa's surprise party, or cover my shift, then no, there's nothing."
Peter's normal kind-hearted nature seems to deflate, when Jessica says this. "You do all that? In oneday?"
"Well not all in one day, obviously. It's still a lot though," Jessica rubs her neck, a small blush coloring her cheeks as she begins to think her previous phrase came off mean. "Sorry if that sounded rude, Peter. I'm just stressed. I've-"
"Got a lot on your plate?"
"Yeah," Jessica nods. "Yeah."
"I get it."
Jessica looks over to Peter, who stares over the buildings of Manhattan. His eyes are stuck on one in particular. A small grin— despite some inner confusion— stretches across her face.
"If your not to busy, the calculus homework or homecoming decorations might be do-able." She admits.
Peter's glance quickly shifts over to her, almost caught off guard, as he copies her smile. "What about Alyssa's party?"
Talk about different— hopefully. The character is kind, but not to kind, then she's also got a lot to do, and it's implied that she's got many friends because all that she's in. Also, I acknowledged the the fact that she's got a present dad, and a crazy busy life. She wasn't supposed when Peter talked to her, she wasn't shy, she didn't have a crush. I'm pretty satisfied with that.
