𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 — 𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚

☕

STEAM ROSE FROM his coffee cup that was warming his hands. The dark color seemed to entrance him as the familiar, awakening smell filled his senses and the warmth kept him steady. The coffee shop around him was loud, noises bouncing off the walls as people ordered then paid and then had their name read aloud for them to take their cup. Chatter from the tables which usually drew him up due to his enhanced hearing was just white noise now.

          Ned was in front of him, chattering away about the newest episode of Game Theory he had watched. Usually he would be interested, soaking up every word he said since he was interested in the new episodes he had missed, but today he couldn't focus. Too much was on his mind for him to truly hone in on his friend. And if Ned noticed that he wasn't paying attention, he didn't say anything yet.

          But Peter just couldn't stop thinking about what Cindy said. Cindy who was Silk, the same crime fighting spider he had been spending nights having playful banter with was Brendon's best friend. Brendon...the boy he couldn't help but look pathetically at because all he wanted was to use his Spider-Man confidence and ask him out on a date but he couldn't.

          Brendon, who Cindy said had a crush on his as well. But that couldn't be true – it couldn't. Brendon was great. He was funny, great at school and always had his back in Spanish when he slept through the whole lesson, and offered a superhero in a mask coffee at midnight for his troubles.

          So no, Cindy must be lying to him. Cindy must just be toying with him because his crush was too obvious and Brendon probably knew about it to and laughed at him because why would he liked little Peter Parker who couldn't stand up for himself? At least, not in his civilian form.

          But how he wished Cindy was telling the truth. He could feel how his heat would leap out of his chest at Brendon saying that he liked him back and being truthful. How happy he would feel when they would kiss and Brendon would hold him so close. Brendon would like him back and they would be together – boyfriends. It had him giddy to think of that possibility.

          It wasn't true, though, he knew that. Brendon could have anyone he wanted, someone beautiful and confident and who didn't stumble over his words all the time and sleep through lectures. He wouldn't want a disaster like himself.

          "Peter?" Ned's voice called out to him, breaking him out of his thoughts, "You alright there?"

          Peter looked up from his coffee, which was getting colder now that they had been sitting for a while (and he still hadn't taken a sip of it, "Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm just tired. Patrol takes a lot out of me, you know."

          Ned looked at him. "Dude, you've been patrolling and going to school for years now and I've never seen this dead of a look on you. So come on, you can tell me. I mean, I'm your guy in the chair."

          Peter's lips twitched up at the mention of the nickname. He wanted to tell Ned about Cindy but he knew that was wrong. He couldn't go revealing her secret identity, that was wrong.

          "Cindy found me last night and...well, she said that Brendon had a crush on me," Peter admitted, kind of. It wasn't a complete lie, he reasoned with himself, it got the truth that he wanted to convey across. And it kept Cindy's identity out of this.

          "Like last night when you were the...other guy, or last night like this?" Ned asked skeptically.

          "Last night like this," Peter lied to him, feeling his insides swirl and twist around in discomfort for being dishonest with Ned.

          He expected more skeptical questions from Ned – like he would get if MJ was there with him – but all he got was a bright smile form him and squeal of joy. "Dude, that's great news!"

          Peter looked taken aback. He really should've expected this response after knowing Ned for so long, but he guess he just got used to MJ's response to Peter revealing something about himself to her. Nothing really big came up for him to tell Ned whereas everything was new for MJ since she was so far away for her own college.

          "How is it great news?" Peter asked his friend, "It's not like I can act on it."

          "Why not? Brendon likes you back, this is amazing! You can finally stop pining after him and actually get with him!" Ned cheered for him and Peter shushed him, not wanting any of the staff – which included Brendon, who they were talking about – about their conversation.

          "Sh! He could hear you!" Peter said quickly, leaning forward so that Ned could tell how serious he was.

          "How bad can it be if he knows? I mean, I know I haven't had a conversation with Brendon but from what you've said it seems like he likes you too," Ned told him.

          Peter shook his head, shaking off that ridiculous thoughts that were only true in his fantasies. "No, no, no. He doesn't. No one likes me, Ned."

          "Liz liked you," Ned recalled his old crush from sophomore year.

          "Yeah, but not after I had to leave her during Homecoming to stop her criminal dad," Peter pointed out.

          Ned just shrugged, "Still liked you before that."

          "I'm pretty sure I was just a last resort. Or a pity date. I mean, MJ always said I was being too obvious," Peter disagreed.

          "That doesn't sound like Liz," Ned shook his head, "No, she wouldn't do that. I mean like, is it really that hard to believe that she would like you?"

          "I mean, yeah," Peter said but Ned just gave him a look, "What? Come on, we were sophomores and she was a senior and no senior just happens to like a sophomore. It just...never happens. I just asked her and she needed someone to go to the dance with so she said yes. There was nothing really else with it."

          Ned shot him another look before shaking his head again. "You're really not going to believe that anyone could like you, are you?"

          "It just doesn't happen," Peter said instead of straightly answering the question he asked, "I'm just nerdy Peter Parker, people don't like twice at me."

          A noise of disagreement came from Ned but he didn't say anything else, which Peter was glad about. He just couldn't see a possibility where Brendon could like him. Brendon was cool and had all his stuff together whereas he was a mess who barely even knew what day of the week it was. Brendon probably wanted someone who was as organized as him, not a disaster like Peter. So they just...wouldn't happen.

          Ned could think whatever he wanted and so could Cindy, but Peter knew the truth; Brendon Winchester could never like anyone even remotely similar to him. Why embarrass himself by asking Brendon out?

＆

          Brendon was not having a good night. He got off his shift only to learn that he was booked again tomorrow – which wasn't in the schedule – because Izzy was sick and couldn't make it but they still needed someone to cover her shift which meant Brendon didn't get the day off like he was banking on. Ugh, Izzy was such an inconsiderate bitch getting sick like that.

          And now, of course, he went to start on his Spanish project before remembering the fact that, oh yeah, it wasn't a solo piece. It wasn't just the Brendon Winchester show this time but now the Brendon and Peter show. It would be his dream come true if he didn't know that his personality on full blast alone with just Peter would make the boy go running for the hills and forever away from him.

          So he did the only thing he could; he loudly groaned, alerting Cindy's attention, and slumped down in his bed, pushing the laptop away from his lap and onto his legs. And, as he thought, Cindy sighed and turned around in her chair to give him full attention.

          "What's wrong?" she asked him, though her tone was void of any compassion and instead laced with fake annoyance at him for his dramatics.

          "Spanish," he answered.

          She raised an eyebrow at him, "Yeah, you're having problems with a class in a language that you're already fluent in and doesn't make you write essays...I'm really believing that you're having a hard time."

          "I am!" Brendon whined, "We have a group project, Cindy, and I can't handle my partner."

          Cindy hummed in understanding, completing what she thought Brendon was implying, "And they don't even know how to say hello in Spanish meaning that you have to do all the work yet they still get at least half the credit."

          He shook his head. "No, it's not that. I wish it was as simple as that. I could just go to Jones and say 'hey my partner is a fucking dumbass who doesn't even know English fully to ever know Spanish so I did all the work' but no. It's not that."

          "Then what is it?" Cindy asked, more intrigued now that her first theory was wrong.

          "My partner is Peter," he told her plainly.

          Cindy just stared at him for a moment as if unimpressed with his dilemma over his partner for the project. "And?" she even asked him, trying to get him to give her more information.

          "What do you mean 'and'? Can't you see how bad this is for me?" Brendon asked her.

          "No, not at all," she said, "I thought being partnered up with her crush would be a good thing. It's an excuse to hang out with him and you can get to know Peter more and make him fall in love with you."

          "I could also turn him away with my personality and awkwardness and make him run for the hills. Then he'll never speak to me again and I'll forever lose my chance with him," Brendon frowned.

          Cindy snorted, "In case you were too caught up in your infatuation with him, Peter's really fucking awkward too. He's not going to be disgusted that you can't talk to him like a normal human being because he can't either."

          His frowned depend. "That's rude."

          "But am I wrong?" Cindy questioned him, eyebrows raised as if asking him to disagree with her.

          Knowing that she wasn't wrong – because Cindy rarely ever was when he asked for advice about his problems – he sighed and shook his head. "No, you're not."

          She gave him a bright smile. "Good. Glad that we're on the same page then. While it's fresh in our memories that I can always correct, I should mention that he definitely likes you too."

          "No, he doesn't," Brendon immediately shook his head, denying the possibility that Peter Parker could ever think he was cute and want to date him. That just...it wasn't anywhere in the realm of truth.

          "Um, who is the goddess of knowledge here? Me, not you. Which means that I am always right and he does like you," Cindy decided, "Which also means that you need to ask him out because you can't keep waiting for him to kiss you."

          "But I'm the trophy husband and trophy husbands don't make the first move," Brendon told her.

          Cindy snorted, "I'm pretty sure every trophy husband and wife are the ones that trap the money makers in relationships so that they don't have to work at all."

          "Hey! You're making it sound like all of us are gold diggers and I am not a gold digger. I am just a trophy husband who wants to support his husband," Brendon defended himself and his kind.

          "You're not even married to Peter, Brennie. And you're in school which doesn't make you a trophy husband," Cindy laughed at him.

          "I'm a future one in the making so don't talk bad about my future," Brendon pouted at her.

          Seeing this, Cindy sighed and moved over to sit on his bed with him, "Oh, come on. I'm just joking, Brennie, I don't actually think that of you."

          "Good 'cause that's not me," Brendon shot back at her.

          "But you have to realize that if you're going to be Peter's trophy husband that you'll actually have to get with him first which means talking to him," Cindy said.

          "Yeah, yeah," Brendon responded, "It's just hard. I mean, what if Peter doesn't like my personality and then I'll never get to have the future I've been dreaming of?"

          "Oh, don't worry about that," Cindy waved his worries off, "I'm sure that if you just talk to him – like, really talk to him and get to know him – you'll have him falling for you in no time."

          Brendon looked at her, "I really wish that I had your confidence in me in myself."

          "I know you do," Cindy sighed, "But you'll get there eventually – hopefully with Peter by her side."

          His heart fluttered at the thought and he wanted to squeal thinking of how Peter would kiss him whenever he said something bad about himself and how he would do the same. Instead, he hit Cindy with a pillow. "Stop! You know what that does to me!"

          She just laughed at him and went back to her desk, leaving him to fall back onto his bed and smile giddily at the ceiling as his fantasies of himself with Peter took over his brain.

authors note
so i had another version of this chapter almost completed and then my computer just shut the fuck down and word didn't save all of it which means that i had to rewrite this chapter. it's shorter than what it would have been before but i honestly like this version more, the first draft was just going places i wasn't entirely happy with but was just gonna role with.