Senioritis 2

Chicago

Peter's eyes slowly opened and he felt a cold towel being pressed against his face.

"Oh, thank God, he's awake..." a girl sighed, and Peter realized that it was Betty, and he was lying on Ned's couch.

Ned and Betty both peered over Peter. He looked back up at them before trying to sit up.

"No, no, no, no, Peter-" Betty said quickly, grabbing his shoulder and letting him down gently again. "Don't move. Just lay down a little. You're pretty bruised up."

"What happened dude?" Ned said, his face riddled with concern.

"No questions, Ned." Betty said, firmly. "He needs to rest."

"I...was with MJ..." Peter said. "And then...Noah-"

"Shh..." Betty said. "You can explain later, okay? Babe - hand me that ice pack."

Ned handed Betty an ice pack that was sitting on the center table. Peter inhaled sharply as Betty lifted up his shirt and pressed the ice pack against his bruised skin.

"I'm holding it here for a few minutes." Betty said. "You're gonna be fine, Peter."

There was something so calming about how gentle Betty was being, and for the first time, Peter actually trusted her.

"Thank you." Peter sighed, as Betty smiled back at him a little.

"It's okay." She said. "Breathe through it."

Peter nodded, before wincing again because he felt a sharp stab of pain in his ribs.

"Just relax, Pete." Ned said. "She's almost done."

Peter felt his eyes shut and then open a little again. They were both still leaning over him.

"I'm sorry." Peter said. "To you...Betty. For being an asshole."

"Peter, stop." Betty said "Don't be silly. You don't have to apologize."

"I didn't think..." Peter continued, a little drowsily. "That you two would be good...for each other. But who am I to judge...right?"

Ned and Betty looked at each other before chuckling.

"Don't fall asleep..." Betty said. "You're gonna have to take some Advil in a second."

"And then you can tell me what happened." Ned said, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder.

Peter swallowed, as Betty brought over a glass of water and two Advil tablets.

"Thanks." Peter said, as Ned helped him sit up a little.

Peter downed the tablets then handed the glass back to Betty, who looked at him with a worried face. Her blonde hair was slicked back in an extremely high ponytail.

"Babe, I think Peter should stay here tonight." Betty said.

"No." Peter muttered, laying back down. "May will go crazy-"

"Um, yes." Ned stayed, matter-of-factly. "Look at you. She's gonna go crazy if she sees you like this-"

"But I told her I was coming home, Ned." Peter winced, shutting his eyes again.

"Whatever." Ned said, sitting down at the end of the couch, by Peter's feet. "Give me your phone. We'll put her on speaker and make up some bullshit about a sleepover. Besides, it's a Friday night."

"Ned." Peter started, but Ned had already grabbed Peter's phone and began dialing May's number.

Peter just sighed, as Peter heard May's voice at the end of the phone.