𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 — 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙟𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨

☕

"SIN?"

          "I HATE you so much, Brendon, and I hope you know that," Cindy told him with a glare as she took her coffee cup from his hands, "Like really, I'm contemplating murder right now."

          Brendon gave her a bright smile, always loving how easy it was to push her buttons. Some would probably recognize that doing the stereotypical 'I'm a Starbucks Employee Who Can't Remember Your Name' annoyed their friend and stop immediately, but that was not Brendon. No, when he realized how much Cindy hated this, he did it every time, making sure that he was always the one calling out the names when she bought some coffee. It gave him a joy that nothing else did, filling a void that nothing else in his life could fill.

          It was like annoying a sibling, Brendon compared it, even though he didn't have a sibling so he wasn't sure it was true. Though, his best friend in high school acted this way with his twin, so he was sure that it was similar with all normal siblings and it sparked joy inside him that he could have the same joking sibling relationship with Cindy since he essentially thought of her as a sister.

          "No, don't murder me, I have a date with Peter tonight and I really can't be, like, a corpse. That's so not cool and Peter would run away and then I would end up forever alone," Brendon pouted.

          Cindy rolled her eyes, "If you were a corpse, you wouldn't even have the emotional capability to cry over losing your chance with Peter – and yeah, you would be forever alone since you've never been on a date yet and if I killed you now, you never would."

          "That sound be sad," Brendon said, "To die at eighteen without ever going on a date. God, I'd sound like such a loser."

          Cindy nodded her head and took a sip of a drink, "That's because you are a loser, and you still will be even after your date."

          Brendon pouted and she scoffed at him. "Oh, don't give me that look," she told him, "Or else I'll web you to your desk chair and you'll miss your date and forever miss your chance with your dear Peter."

          "You wouldn't dare," he accused, even though he didn't believe it. Cindy could be cruel when she wanted to be; it was why he would never, ever attempt to cross her in any circumstance.

          "Bet."

          "Okay, please don't do that," Brendon crumbled, knowing that the bet was a sure statement and she most definitely would web him to his chair and he would be forever alone, being no trophy husband to the wealthy Peter Parker in the future. It would be a terrible life; knowing that he missed out on a chance with the future million or billionaire because he ignored the warning of the bet and now had to watch as Peter found another trophy husband. He thinks that he would cry himself to sleep every night if that ever happened.

          But whatever, Brendon's not an emotional mess. Never. Not him. And he's not overdramatic either. He's a realist who has all of his emotions in check.

          "I really can't miss this date, like I would die if anything happened and I didn't get there and then Peter thought that I stood him up and everything was a lie. Really, I would," Brendon spoke fast, looking at her with pleading eyes.

          "God, you're pathetic," was all Cindy said in response.

          "Yeah, I know. It's like my most defined character trait that everyone knows after a minute of meeting me. That, and the fact that I am incredibly desperate," Brendon said, adding the second sentence after thinking for a minute.

          Cindy rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I'll see you later to help you get ready for your date."

          "Oh my God thank you. I need help," Brendon breathed out the praise.

          Never one to disappoint or be humble, Cindy smiled brightly at him, "I know. Bye, loser."

          "Bye, Cynthia," he said back, watching as the smile turned into a glare as she left the building and he got back to work.

          A permanent smile stayed on his face throughout his entire shift.

＆

          Brendon was stressing. Of course he was stressing – he was about to have his first date with Peter fucking Parker. The amazing boy he had liked since laying eyes on his across the room at a party. God, he was just so perfect. Cute, even more adorable when he blushed, and so fucking hot. Brendon knew that he was hiding abs under his sweaters. And whenever he wore one of his science pun t-shirts and his biceps showed...Brendon felt like he was about to faint every time.

          This was Peter who was so incredibly smart, levels of a genius that Brendon would never be able to reach, with such graceful movements and a stutter that was just so cute whenever he got nervous. He was so perfect and all Brendon wanted to do was either kiss him until he forgot where he was or bop the boy's nose. Either would be great, though the kissing would be beneficial for the both of them.

          And to top it all off, Peter liked him – which was something that Brendon thought was impossible. He knew that Peter was a human disaster, much like himself, but Brendon was on a much grander scale. Peter was still able to balance every part of his life and excel in every part whereas Brendon was just a mess and nothing else. He did alright in classes and was good enough at his job that they didn't fire him, but he wasn't spectacular. But Peter had an internship at Stark Industries, a place where Brendon could only dream of working at.

          Or, well, dream of working at a company like it. Stark Industries was all about technology and the future, and Brendon was not good at anything technological. He was linguistic and the idea of being a translator seemed so much better than working on prototypes. Not that he would ever be able to because he was too dumb to even be considered for a position at SI.

          But Peter was smart, so fucking smart, and it wasn't really a surprise that he would get a position there. He deserved it.

          "Cindy, I can't do this," Brendon declared while pacing around the dorm. Not that there was much room for him to pace, the dorms were so small that he felt bad for anyone with claustrophobia living on campus.

          "Yes, you can," Cindy assured him, "Weren't you just saying this morning that if you didn't go on this date your life would be ruined?"

          "Yeah, but that was this morning and now this is now. I'm gonna fuck everything up and then he's going to realize that I am the worst human disaster on the planet and leave me," Brendon explained to her.

          Cindy rolled her eyes, "That's not going to happen. Peter's a mess, too, so he's not gonna run. Nothing you do is going to be so bad that it has him running for the hills."

          "Oh, really? Because I could tell him about the time in kindergarten where I forgot that you had to go to the bathroom to change and so I was about to strip in front of my whole class before my teacher reminded me."

          Cindy muffled a laugh, "You really did that?"

          "Yes, now shut up," Brendon snapped at her, "It's not one of my proudest moments."

          "I am never going to let you live that down," she smiled at him though became serious again at the look he gave her, "Look, it's gonna be fine, so stop worrying so much. Everything is going to go perfectly and you're going to kiss and have the best date ever. Then, in the future, you'll become Brendon Parker and be the trophy husband you were always meant to be."

          Brendon melted as she called him the future Brendon Parker. God, that would be perfect. Finally, no jokes about being the lost, long Mexican brother of Sam and Dean Winchester, only questions about if his husband really was the famous Peter Parker – and yes, he would be.

          But as quick as he melted, he snapped back into panic. "How can you be so sure, Cindy? I mess everything up – I mean, I almost told everyone you were Silk the day after you told me. I can't do this!"

          "I know, I was there. Almost had to kill you," Cindy said.

          Brendon groaned, "Now I wish you did. What I would do to be murdered right now."

          "No," Cindy said sternly, "We're not thinking that way. Not tonight. Because you're going to have fun with Peter and not worry or be nervous at all."

          Brendon snorted, "I think it's physically impossible for Peter not to be awkward. At least he's cute when he's like that."

          "Sure, cute," Cindy said.

          Then, there was a knock at the door and Brendon froze, staring at the door like a deer caught in headlights with wide eyes. Cindy noticed this and let out a small snort. His shock didn't last long as he blinked and looked back at Cindy for advice on what to do.

          "Oh, come on," Cindy rolled her eyes, going to the door and opening it, "Hi, Peter. Here for Brendon?"

          "Hey, Cindy. And, uh, yeah," Peter smiled at her.

          Cindy looked at him. "Time to go," she said and when he didn't move, she went to him and pushed him roughly forward.

          "Ow," he hissed at her but Cindy only shot him a look. Then, Brendon turned and saw Peter and his heart skipped a beat. God, he looked so good, "Hey."

          "Hey," Peter repeated and for a moment, neither of them said anything until Cindy cleared her throat and blinked, "Right, you ready to go?"

          Brendon nodded. "Yep!" he said, walking out of the dorm and letting the door close behind him, "So, where are you taking me?"

          "There's a pizzeria not too far from here and Cindy said that pizza was your favorite food, so I thought we could go there?" Peter said, though it ended up as a question as he looked Brendon nervously, hoping that he had made the right choice.

          "Yeah, I know that place," Brendon smiled, nodding, "Cindy and I go there sometimes. They're amazing, you're gonna love it."

          "I'm sure I will," Peter agreed, taking Brendon's hand into his own as smoothly as he could (which not very smooth but Brendon didn't even care because oh my God he's holding my fucking hand I can't breathe –) which made the Winchester boy grinned from ear to ear.

          As they walked out of the building, going to the pizza joint, have regular conversation as their hands swayed together, Brendon forgot what he was ever nervous about in the first place. It was like Cindy had told him; everything was going to be perfect and one day he'd become Brendon Parker. He just had to wait for that day and until then, he could enjoy sharing a pizza with the boy and kissing his lips right after.

          That was more than enough for the time being.

author's note
i know that this is a little shorter than most chapters (but this is the trend lately with me though, so it's kinda normal) and sorry that i don't really get into the details of their first date, but i really didn't want to write that. i don't know, i more liked writing about brendon's general nervousness over it and the before parts rather than the date itself. i think it would've just turned out really badly if i attempted to write that.

also don't we love me writing this at midnight when i have to be up before ten and leaving to go on vacation with my family? because same.

(and also, there's less than ten chapters left in this book so get excited and a little sad.)