Winning the Game

Chapter 4

Trigger warning: Self-harm.

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Peter was hurting himself again.

He wasn't sure what it was about this week, but his mental state was getting worse. He couldn't bear to be alone with his thoughts anymore.

Tears slid down Peter's face as he slid a razor blade across his forearm. His shoulders shuddered at the pain, but he knew it was easier to deal with than what was running through his head.

Images of Tony's half-burnt face staring with dead eyes flashed through Peter's mind. Suddenly, he felt like he was back in the battle, blood and tears mixing as they ran down his face while he screamed for Tony to be okay. He remembered the tragedy reflecting in Pepper's eyes as she said, "Come here, kid," and pulled him into a hug. He remembered sobbing in her arms, pretending the metal arms hugging him were Tony's.

Peter's sobs in real time only grew louder, so he turned on the shower to drown out the sound. The last thing he wanted to do was give Aunt May another thing to worry about.

Peter looked in the mirror and watched his tears roll down his face. He saw the blood dripping down his arms. Peter squeezed his eyes shut in disappointment. He couldn't believe he kept doing this to himself. May would be heartbroken. Mr. Stark would be pissed. Ned would be – and is – frustrated. He just kept screwing up and failing everyone.

Peter's phone buzzed on the bathroom sink. An unknown number texted him.

??: hey :) go out to your fire escape. this sunset is to die for.

Peter Parker: who is this?

??: it's Y/N Y/L/N. your neighbor and new math partner.

Peter's vision cleared as he blinked his tears away. Y/N wanted to hang out with him? Since when?

Peter Parker: oh hi. i can't hang out right now though. sorry.

Peter sighed and started to grab bandages from the medicine cabinet. He wrapped them around his arms and walked out of the bathroom.

"Hey Pete, do you want any Chinese food? It's from Xing's, your favorite!" Aunt May called from the kitchen.

Peter stared down at the blood seeping through his bandages. There was no way he could eat with May without her noticing.

"I-I'm not hungry," Peter called back. "I'll be out on the fire escape."

Peter rushed to his room and threw on his closest sweatshirt, then sent Y/N a quick text.

Peter: actually, i'll be right out.

~~

Y/N smiled at her phone and spritzed on her favorite perfume. It smelled like coconuts. Guaranteed to make any guy swoon, from her experience.

Y/N: great :)

She threw on her tightest shirt: a long sleeve shirt with buttons at the top. She unbuttoned them, stopping before she looked too desperate. Then she grabbed a pair of leggings that she knew would hug her ass perfectly. Her long hair was already wavy from her beachy waves hairstyle from school, so she swiped on some lip gloss and flashed a smile in her floor length mirror.

Perfect, Y/N thought. Peter Parker is not ready for what's about to hit him.

Y/N headed out her window onto the fire escape. She peered over the side and noticed Peter already there, leaning on the railing and staring into the night.

"Hey Parker," she called down.

"Oh, hi, Y/N," Peter called back after startling back from his position. "Did you, um, want me to come up to your door?"

Y/N smiled at how innocent he was. "No need. I'm coming down."

"Uh, what?"

Y/N threw her leg over the side and gripped the railing with her hands. She pulled her other leg over and faced forward before starting to lower her body down. Y/N used to work out in her apartment complex's gym three times a week, so she was pretty strong. However, when she glanced over her shoulder toward Peter, she didn't realize how much space was actually between them.

"A-are you sure this is a good idea?" Peter asked cautiously. Even from her height, Y/N could see the concern in his eyes.

"Yeah," Y/N replied, trying to infuse confidence in her voice. "I got this."

Y/N gulped and lowered her body more, trying to feel the railing below with her feet. When she felt a solid surface below her, she let go intending to jump down onto Peter's fire escape. However, once she let go, she overshot the landing and almost fell off.

But, a pair of extremely strong arms pulled her back onto the patio of the fire escape. Both bodies stumbled backward and before Y/N even understood what just happened, she tumbled down on top of Peter.

Y/N let out a laugh, sprawled on Peter. Peter's mouth turned up into a grin before laughing along with Y/N. She looked down into Peter's eyes and stared at his pretty smile, which she rarely saw these days. She could feel his arms still wrapped around her figure.

This is a perfect movie scene, Y/N thought.

So, she made a move and leaned down to brush her lips against Peter's. He was shy at first, but then he gained a surge of passion and started leading the kiss. Y/N was not expecting that at all. Peter was supposed to be a geek, not a good kisser.

Y/N ran her hands through his fluffy curls and teased his lips with her tongue, asking for access. He opened his mouth and their tongues started dancing together. Y/N could feel Peter's arms moving down her back toward her ass.

"Y/N? Are you out here?"

Y/N and Peter immediately broke apart at the sound of Y/N's father calling out to the night. They stayed quiet until they heard her father retreat into their apartment.

Y/N looked down at Peter, his lips swollen from their earlier activities. He actually looked...cute?

"I should go," she said and stood off Peter quickly. "Mind giving me a boost?"

Peter stood up and smoothed down his clothes. "U-uh sure."

Y/N stood on the railing and Peter helped boost up her body. She latched on to her railing and used her upper body strength to pull herself up and over her fire escape railing.

She leaned over the railing and smiled down at Peter, her hair framing her face and blowing lightly in the wind. "See you at school, Parker." Then she turned and went inside.

Y/N smiled to herself once she was safe in her room. That was unexpected. She originally planned to start as friends with Peter and didn't want to introduce touching until at least a few weeks in.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and picked out her pajamas for the night. She was ahead of the game's schedule, which meant she was totally getting that money from Flash. Her favorite brands flashed across her eyes and she sighed happily.

But, as she was changing into her purple silk slip, she noticed something alarming. Dark bloodstains were across her shirt...right where Peter's arms had been around her.

What the hell?!

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Author's Note:

Hope you're enjoying! Vote and comment, please! :)