AMOUR

03

04

"who would be dumb enough to send you flowers? flash sneers.

you. you would be dumb enough."

You had been giving Peter a flower everyday.

Of course – you hadn't initially known Peter's favorite flower. No, you had to bribe his best friend for that sort of information, who gave you an odd look upon the request, but pocketed the cash anyways.

"Gardenias – convey purity and sweetness; and of secret love. They tell the receiver they are lovely."

You had pocketed the flower in the vents of his locker, tucked in neatly to ensure that Peter was in the line of its' sight. Peter was always early to school, you note, so he always had chance to admire the flower, gently plopping it into a cup he held in his locker, where all past flora had gone.

"You got another?"

"Yeah." There's a smile in Peter's voice, the soft notes of his voice packed with warmth. "I've been getting one everyday, so far. I wonder who's doin' this."

You overhear their conversation - surprised momentarily at Ned for not exposing you right then and there. You...didn't really find him to be the best actor, all things considered.

But, a part of you was still happy that Peter had appreciated your gifts - you know that he didn't particularly think of himself as the most popular kid in school, the type to have crushes on him all the time - but you were ready to prove that wrong.

***

"What's this?"

You internally groaned. Just the person you wanted to avoid but couldn't – Flash Thompson. He prided himself on the basis that he was simply better than everyone else, despite other things proving otherwise. You noticed that he seemed to especially target Peter the most, and that made an anger boil fiercely under your skin.

"Someone's sending Penis Parker flowers?" Your skin bristles at the nickname, at the sneer in his voice, but you're much too far away to do any real damage, or say anything. "Who would be dumb enough to do that?"

You. You would be the one dumb enough to do that. But you're close enough - enough to dive in and prevent anything else from happening. And before he can open his mouth to do anymore real damage, you're already in his face, blocking the way with a cool, but angered expression.

"Why don't you go ahead and fuck off?" You crossed your arms. "Before I wipe that ugly look off your face."

Hell hath no fury like your wrath, you suppose, because Flash looks very suddenly put off, a conflicted look on his face. He glances back at Peter, an emotion on your face you quite can't describe, before he scoffs, muttering something under his breath as he walks away.

"I can defend myself, y'know." You hear Peter say behind you, sounding a little quiet and reserved.

You let out a sigh, feeling a prickling guilt settling in your stomach. "Yeah, I....I know. Can't blame me for trying to help though, right?"

There's a slight pause, the only sounds being from his locker, which creaks open. The flowers pop into view, still as pretty and fluffy as you first saw them.

"They're really pretty." You comment, voice soft and careful, like you were afraid anymore words were going to break the moment. "The flowers, I mean."

"Yeah." There's a smile picking up at the corners of his mouth, quietly admiring his growing collection for a moment. "I dunno - I jus' really like them."

Peter gets his books out of his locker, the ones needed for the project you two are working on together. That's what you had come here originally for - to head to Peter's place and work on it. Though after today's encounter, you're not sure if that will be possible.

"Listen, Peter," You start. "Uh - we don't have to work on the project today, ya know? I can work a little overtime. If you...if you wanna wind down, I guess."

You kick yourself for stuttering, but Peter doesn't seem to notice, staring at you long enough to make your hands start to clam up. However, he shakes his head with a grin, more upbeat compared to before.

"Nono, it's cool!" He waves it off, clearing up the tense air from the situation before. "I couldn't - I mean, that's not fair for you."

You watch as he fumbles for his next words for a second, and you notice how animated he gets, how his hands convey his words to match. It's something you never noticed before, and his hands were nice: they looked soft and warm, and you found that his were slightly bigger than yours when prompted by your theory, reaching over your fingertips.

"Besides," Peter's voice snaps you out of your daydream, and you're tuning in back to hear his next words, framed by his cute smile. "I like hanging out with you. You seem pretty cool!"

Those words shot straight through your heart - practically paralyzing you to your spot as Peter shut his locker and locked it. He had no idea of the effects he had on you, gesturing you along to hurry up, or he would 'leave you in the dust', as he put it.

You took a deep breath, clenching the fists at your side as you nodded, a determined smile on your face as you jogged up to keep at his pace. He begin to talk animatedly about his day, a treat you undoubtedly enjoyed so much. It was a sign he was becoming more open with you, more relaxed around your presence. Gone were the casual, polite conversations and in were the discussions of your day, or funny pictures you had found on each other's feeds.

Hang in there, [f/n]. You thought to yourself, smiling at Peter's discussion of his favorite movies: a question you didn't regret asking. You're almost there.

a/n:

not really all that proud of this one but? it's okay so i guess i can plop it in here

anyways bye

- val