Special (Peter Parker love story)

Chapter 1

The song was over, the mic was putting off no sound, and only the clink of silverware and the last strum of my guitar could be heard before a round of applause. I drank intently from the glass of warm water that was sitting next to me on a short stool, and unplugged my guitar from the small amp that I had just bought. It was all my parents could afford, now that they were trying to help me pay for college, and the little money that I got playing in places like the coffee house I was in now went towards paying the bills that we could hardly afford. 

It was the life I was completely used to, and I didn't mind at all. "Thank you everyone for the generous..." I looked in the cup that was by my feet and quickly counted the money "15 dollars and 38 cents that were donated. it's a new record!" I got a few stifled laughs from people that were eating scones and blushed "I'll be here all week." I said with one last smile, and jumped down the chair that I was sitting on. I made sure the microphone was off, and whispered to myself "Stiff pricks..." and began to pack up my stuff when the sound of coins jingling into my can sounded. It was truly music to my ears. I saw a tall boy walking away, and said as quickly as I could "Thanks so much!"

He turned around, and my heart dropped into my stomach. He was gorgeous. The boy gave me a friendly look and a smile, and his grin stretched from ear to ear. I felt my stomach flutter when I looked into his chocolate brown eyes; they reminded me of the cup of coffee I had every morning before I began to play. I felt like I would have seen him here before, but his face was entirely new. "You're welcome." He replied in a sweet voice.

I pulled down my loose grey shirt and flattened my hair with my hand "Do you come here often?" I asked, and he laughed. I blushed and looked away from his happy brown eyes "I mean I haven't seen you here before and....well you're so nice, I mean 10 dollars and 20 cents is the biggest I've ever got in one donation."

The boy lowered his eyes and rubbed the back of his head "I'm sorry, that's all I have."

"No seriously, 10 dollars and 20 cents is really the biggest single donation I've ever had." I replied, making his eyes twinkle as another smile lit up his face. "Thanks again though, I feel like I should really give you something...." I began to shuffle around my purse to see the few things that I had on me, and there was nothing I wanted to give away. I didn't suppose he wanted tampons or a empty pack of mint gum.

"Your name would do fine, actually." He interjected shyly, ending his sentence with a nervous giggle. I tried my hardest not to blush but the rosy red color that I tried not to let leak through crept on my face. 

"Harlow Winters." I put my hand out for him to shake, and he shook it gingerly. I let go of his warm hand and looked him in the eyes, expecting him to tell me his name but instead just stood there, for a few good seconds before I spoke up again. "And this is the part where you tell me your name."

The boy laughed and put out his hand "Peter...Parker." I shook his hand again, though this time I noticed how much smaller I was than him; his large hand made mine look like a child's. This made the feeling of embarrassment turn my cheeks pink, but I quickly tried to recover and remain steady so that I wouldn't look like a fool.

"Nice to meet you, Peter." His eyes lit up as my pink lips stretched into a smile.  "Thanks again for the donation, you have no idea how much that means to me. I kind of want to hug you, is that weird?" 

Peter chuckled, "No, it uh...kind of makes sense..." I asked him if I could, and he laughed nervously again. "Sure." he stammered, and I hugged him. I quickly wrapped my arms around him in a friendly hug, but couldn't help but feel my heart skip a beat as his soft hand touched my back.

As I released him I caught a whiff of his scent; which was a mix of sweet cologne and crisp air.  "This will go straight to the bills, not anything material I swear."

"Whatever you need it for is fine." Peter smiled and adjusted the glasses that were set on the bridge of his nose. He pushed them closer to his soft eyes, making them look bigger in the lenses. "And you're actually really good by the way. And you'll be here all week?"

"Yes." I answered hastily, and pang of sharpness creeping its way into my answer "I do all kinds of music, I basically know the words to and know how to play every song you could ever want to hear ever." I explained, and we both laughed like old friends "And I take requests, and do shout outs, you know to 'that special someone', I get a lot of those."

"Well good thing I won't bother you with any, then." Peter answered abruptly and rested his hands on the back of his head while he kept his head down.

"Oh you don't have a girlfriend? Shame, I mean a guys as-" his eyes shot up to meet mine "Generous as you must have someone." I continued and bit my lip from spilling anything else.

"No, I just broke up with a girl actually...it was kind of a promise I made." Peter began to rub his head again, his once happy eyes now began to look sad. I could tell that I had opened a still fresh wound, and instantly wanted to take back what I had said. 

"I'm really sorry about that, but being single really isn't that bad once you get used to it, believe me." I smiled at him which seemed to cheer him up a bit. However, I could not relate to his pain. I had never had a boyfriend before, so the pain of a breakup was something I had never felt before. 

"Yeah I guess..." Peter looked at me for a few seconds, checked his watch, then looked back at me "Well I have to get going, I'm sorry, I'll um...I guess, actually...uh, what time do you play tomorrow?"

"3 o' clock, same time every day." I said with a cheeky grin.

"I'll have another 10 dollars and 20 cents ready for you." Peter shoved his hands nervously in his pockets and smiled at me. "I promise."

"Thanks." I said with a smile, and he turned slowly and walked away. I smiled at his back, and my heart continued to flutter with excitement as I packed up all of my stuff. And that's how it all began.