Web Tangled

Chapter 10 - Guilty

(Insert song: Taylor Swift - Lover)

The next morning I dug through my clothes in the closet. I couldn't decide which one would work the best. It was between the classic white shirt, light blue cardigan, plus navy coat combo; the cream bat sleeve shirt and ash blue pants combo; and a simple plain light blue shirt, tie, v-neck sweater, and blazer combo. After consulting to almost everyone on the compound, most people chose the second option. They said I had to make an impression. And that it was the less stuffy option out of the three, this one was pointed out by Tony. I went back to my house at lunch to prepare myself and inform my mom about today's date. She gave me a mouthful of inputs in how to not turn a guy off, some were noteworthy and some were just ridiculous. I specifically styled my hair the best I could for the first time today. I brought my suit backpack for the date too, in case something would happen. You can never be too careful. Suddenly the doorbell rang, and from the sound of my mom's rare friendly tone of talking, it was Peter. I peeked from my room and looked at him. He was looking fancier than usual, even more than our first day out together. He wore a turtleneck and a navy blazer. He brought some flowers and a cake and passed it to my mom. I slapped myself several times, did a breathing control, and went out and greeted him.

"Hi, Peter," I walked up to him in the living room.

"Oh... hi, Aoi," he seemed a bit dazed, "You look... stunning."

"T-thanks," I nervously replied, "You look fancier than usual... in a great way I mean!"

"That's a relief," he said, "I thought I overdressed earlier. May insisted I should wear this."

"She makes a good point," I nodded approvingly.

My mom then came out of nowhere already with a camera in hand.

"You two stand in front of the painting there," she told us, "I'm gonna save a picture of this."

"Mom!" I whined.

"I can't miss a moment like this," she insisted, "Also, I want to show your dad the picture. Sorry Peter dear, he's out on a business trip to Kyoto yesterday."

"It's... it's okay, ma'am," Peter assured her, "Please send my regards to him and tell him I'll take good care of Aoi... and also not to worry."

"Aww. You really are too good for Aoi-chan, darling," she praised him, "Now you two stand close and smile for the camera."

We went close to each other awkwardly at first. He put his arm around me cautiously and smiled as bright as he usually does. Seeing him smile made me couldn't help but put a smile on my face too. After the picture session, my mom gave him some manju bread, wagashi sweets, and expensive bottles of sake my dad brought from his trip. She told Peter to give them to Aunt May and to pass her greetings to Aunt May. As we walked out of the door, she pulled my bag to stop me.

"Please put some effort to not make him uncomfortable," she whispered.

"Wish me luck," I formed a fist and doing the faito gesture.

Peter ushered me to a car driven by Mr. Hogan. I guessed Peter must've told Tony about the date. We drove to his apartment to meet Aunt May. He told me repeatedly he's sorry about the place which I kept on insisting was not something to worry about in the slightest. Peter knocked on the door which was opened by Aunt May. She looked beautiful and didn't look her age at all. She put on the similar bright smile Peter always has.

"Oh, you're here already!" she warmly welcomed us, "Come in, boys."

"Thank you, Mrs. Parker," I said to her, "My parents wanted to give you some snacks from my hometown."