𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚 — 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧

☕

CINDY WAS PACING which made Brendon nervous. She never paced unless she was incredibly anxious about something and of course she had the right to be. Brendon understood the need to pace on the day she had, but it still filled him with nervousness and he did not want that – Peter was still at their table today and he had to be on his best effort. Get his charm on and maybe talk to the guy, like other people do when they want to engage with their crushes.

Of course, that would mean talking and talking meant the possibility of making a fool out of himself and he did not want that. At all. Because making a fool out of himself meant losing his chance with Peter forever and that meant a lifetime of loneliness. Cindy would call him dramatic if he said that, but it's true. He wasn't wrong at all – he wasn't.

But he sat on his bed as he watched Cindy pace, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets as her hands flew around wildly and her breathing was erratic. It was a train wreck and if this wasn't his best friend and if he wasn't freaking out with her, he would probably be laughing at her.

He thought about what he could say to calm her, but he knew nothing would work. The 'you'll be fine' would be met with 'what if I'm not?' and trying to go anywhere near her for some physical contact to comfort her would lead to his death. She was a strong woman and he was a weak little man. Really, he had no strength at all. He never trained, never tried, and never had it. It didn't matter too much, he just had to find a guy who did have strength so they could open up the pickle jar and carry him and...well, that was going too far.

Still, even though she would kill him for it, he said, "You'll be fine, Cindy."

As suspected, it unleashed all her nervous wrath onto him as she stared him down until spiders were crawling up his spine. "I'll be fine? I'm not going to be fine! I have an interview at S fucking I – it's not fine. What if I mess up? What if I'm not good enough? Nothing is fine!"

Brendon sighed. "Cindy Moon, you are one of the smartest people I know. And I have a lot of smart friends...which kinda makes me not feel smart at all. Whatever, forget about that. Back to you, right. You are incredibly smart and you will get this internship, you just have to show that you deserve it. So puff up your chest and put a good look on your face and fucking work it, sister."

Cindy gave him a scandalous look. "Don't call me sister ever again."

"Awe, by James Charles. We love a good shistar," Brendon pouted and she rolled her eyes.

Shaking her head, she took a sit beside him. "No. No more James Charles for you."

"But he's iconic!" Brendon defended himself, "And he's such a fucking queen. I need him in my life."

"You don't even wear make-up!" Cindy exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

Brendon rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Like that even matters. He's funny and he has some great guests. I like his shit and I ain't gonna stop watching it just because I don't use his make-up tips."

Cindy snorted at him. "You said ain't."

He blushed and shoved her, not that it actually hurt her. He was never able to that, not that he ever really wanted to either. So it was a good thing. "I'm Southern, it's what we say, so shut up."

"I know, but it's still funny," Cindy smiled at him before frowning again, "I'm gonna make a fool out of myself and then they're gonna blacklist me from any other tech company and then I'll never get an internship anywhere and have to rethink my whole career path."

"I'm sure that's not going to happen," Brendon told her honestly, "And I'm also sure that whoever interviews aren't just going to blacklist you from other companies. If they don't want you, then fuck them. Prove them wrong somewhere else, they won't know what hit them."

"But you don't know that," Cindy insisted, a nervous look in her eyes.

"Well, yeah, but I really don't think they'd do that," Brendon said back, in part agreement.

Cindy eyed him. "You don't know what New Yorkers are really like. We can be vindictive as fuck."

"Good thing I plan on living here then. I'll know eventually and get better at your game. Actually, I'll own you," Brendon held up his head, sure of his ability.

That just caused his friend to laugh at him. "Sure you will, Brennie. Tell that to me again when someone comes and fucks you right in the ass."

"Well, I don't think I'd mind that. Especially if it's Peter..." Brendon trailed off as Cindy gave him a disgusted look.

"I am too gay for you to be saying that to me," Cindy shuddered and Brendon laughed at him, throwing his head back.

Actually, it was most accurately described that he fell back on his bed after a minute, hand lying across his stomach as he continued to just laugh at her disgust. And soon, even joined in but didn't go as far to collapse down on his bed.

And the nervousness of the interview was forgotten for a minute until Cindy had to leave. But from what Brendon say, she was okay. She was confident and she would rule the day.

＆

When Brendon got the lunch table that day, it was just Betty and Peter – who was surprisingly there early. But that had become a common occurrence lately and while it wasn't unwanted (not in the slightest), it was odd and a little worrying. Not because he didn't see how well-rested Peter was looking lately, but because now he was noticing just how sleep deprived the boy was before. And that was concerning.

And it really wasn't his place to say anything, if he did Peter would retreat away and think he was weird. Maybe even a stalker for noticing these things. And he didn't want that at all, so he kept quiet and worried to himself and Cindy who would just roll her eyes. She always said he was too far gone and while he might agree, he always protested.

But what was also concerning was the lack of Bren or Harry, who were always here these days. Bren was a regular – he always ate lunch with them – and Harry was there three days out of the week usually. Sometimes other things happened, but he was usually there and it was weird not having him on a day that he always joined them on.

Still, he sat down, watching Betty gobble up her food and Peter eat his quietly. They sat on opposite sides and Brendon took the side opposite to Peter and next to Betty. While he wanted to be closer with the boy, he also didn't want to look weird because he did know Betty better and she would definitely suspect something if he didn't sit beside her. Oh, who was he kidding? She already knew everything. There was no keeping anything from an upcoming journalist.

"Hey guys," he greeted them with a smile as he sat down. Peter smiled back at him and Betty nodded in his direction to show that she saw him, "Where are Bren and Harry?"

Betty swallowed her food before telling him, "I think they're on a date. I think. They didn't say anything but I saw them earlier and they were looking way too excited for lunch, so I think they're on a date."

"Nice," Brendon commented, "They've needed to get together for months now."

"Just like some other people that I know," Betty muttered to herself, but Peter heard her and frowned.

"Who?" he asked her and Betty looked up startled, not expecting someone else to hear her comment.

"What?" Brendon asked as he took his first bite of his hamburger. His eyebrows were furrowed him confusion and Peter would never admit it to anyone else but he thought the Winchester boy looked adorable like that.

"Who needs to get together?" Peter re-asked Betty and the girl looked shock that he made out her question.

Brendon turned to her curiously as well and she stuttered. "Ah, well, um, you don't know them," she said finally, smiling.

"Betty," Brendon began, "I am one of your best friends, we hang out all the time, and I mean this as no offense but what other friends do you have?"

She sent a glare his way and he withered for a second. He never said he was the strongest man who it came to being glared it, reminding him of his mama. And his mama was a vicious woman when she was angry. He shuddered when he thought about the time he got home after curfew and she made him clean the whole house. Even wash their toilet...it was the most disgusting thing Brendon had ever done.

"I have friends you don't know," Betty snapped at him, "They're from Midtown."

Peter frowned, "Is it Liz and someone?"

"Who's Liz?"

"No, it's not Liz," Betty sent Peter a look, as if silently forcing him to shut up. Then, she turned to Brendon and gave him a smile, "Liz used to go to our school. We were friends. Peter kinda dated her."

Oh. So Peter was straight. Brendon felt his heart drop, disappointment probably filling his eyes as well, which he couldn't seem to control. Peter didn't see it and Betty gave him a look that said she would explain more later. He didn't want the explanation.

"We didn't really date," Peter was quick to recover and inform him, which he didn't really know why. It wasn't like they were close, Peter didn't have any obligation to tell him, "I just – we went to Homecoming together my sophomore year. Really, it wasn't anything."

"Yeah, but you crushed on her for, like, two years, dude," Betty told him. "It was obvious."

Peter blushed and diverted his eyes, "I'm not the best at hiding those things, am I?"

Betty shook her head in agreement. "No, you're not," she said before looking back at Brendon, "But neither are you."

Brendon took the time to swat her arm and she hissed back at him. He would've laughed if he wasn't feeling so crushed at the news that Peter was straight. It was finally confirmed; his crush would never like him back.

"Well," Betty finished up her lunch, "I gotta run. Kelly didn't finish her fucking article that's due today, so guess who has to write it now? Me. See you guys tomorrow."

As she stood up, Brendon frowned and called, "Wait – are you really skipping class to write an article for someone else?"

"Yep," Betty nodded, "You know I'll lose my internship if I don't. Oh, that reminds me, send Cindy my luck."

"Will do," Brendon told her as she walked away, leaving him and Peter.

"What's going on with Cindy today?" Peter asked him as he took another bite of his food. When Brendon frowned, he explained further, "Betty said she wished Cindy luck, so what's going on?"

"Oh," Brendon felt like an idiot. This was why he didn't want to see Peter; he was acting like a complete fool. "Right. Her interview for the Stark internship is today."

"Nice. I'm sure she'll do great," Peter said and Brendon nodded.

"I know. She's smart, and she's good with people. I'm not really worried, but she was freaking out this morning," Brendon told him, "What's it like working there anyway?"

Peter shrugged. "Everything just kinda hazes together. You're always running. Never really have any time to think."

Brendon nodded at the information, thinking of how he'd keep it to himself since it wouldn't really help Cindy. "Perfect then."

"So, you thinking about getting an, um, internship?" Peter asked him and Brendon shrugged.

"Don't know. Not really. I don't really know what I wanna do, or what field, so it kinda doesn't help looking for an internship somewhere. I mean, I know I either wanna be like a translator or psychologist or something, but I don't really know more than that."

"Sounds cool," Peter complimented him and he felt himself smile.

But he had to play it cool. Because Brendon Winchester was definitely cool – like really cool. "What about you? What do you wanna do?"

"I don't know. Engineering? I'm hoping to stay in SI," Peter told him, keeping out the details that Mr. Stark and Miss Potts already wanted him to take over the entire company when he was old enough and had the right training. It wasn't public knowledge.

"Nice," Brendon said, "It'd be cool to work there."

"It is," Peter told him, "You can always try and internship there if you're interested..."

Brendon, because he was oblivious, didn't pick up the hint that Peter wanted him there so that he could see the boy more. And so they could talk, and maybe have something more. Peter called him Cute Boy From Class for a reason. But Brendon didn't know about that, and Peter didn't really want him to either.

All Brendon heard was the words said, so he shook his head. "Nah, I'm not the tech type. I'd be the worst intern there – if I ever got it in the first place. It's not really my thing."

"Well, there's other departments you can intern more besides tech," Peter told him, urging him more to intern.

Brendon snorted, "Like what?"

"I mean, I don't know every intern program – I only work in tech," and business with Miss Potts, but he didn't know that, nor did he need to. "But I can look into it if you want me to."

And gods, Peter hoped that he said yes. It would be embarrassing to bring it up to Mr. Stark or Miss Potts, but it would get Brendon there and they could hang out. That would be worth it.

Brendon thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Why not?" he asked, a smile on his face that struck Peter, "Thanks, Pete."

Peter wouldn't admit it to anyone if his heart fluttered from the nickname. No one needed to know that either.