Peter opened Luci's window and went into her room. He let his suit fall befslipping on some pajama pants on that he had grabbed from his room before coming to Luci's room.

"LuLu? You awake?"

"Yep, I'm enjoying the view," she joked since it was pitch black and she couldn't see a thing.

Peter chuckled crawled into bed with his beautiful girlfriend.

"Get some sleep, babe," Peter pecked her lips and snuggled with her, smiling brightly as he held her in his arms.

🕷

The weeks passed and soon it was the end of August. Peter was seeing less and less of Lucinda.

She was always with her brother and her cousin, not with him. They had only gone on one date since Orion came home.

Peter didn't want to take her away from her family so he stayed quiet but he was worried about how distant she had become.

"Luci? Are you busy?" Peter asked through her door after knocking.

"Yeah! I'm going out to lunch with Orion and Hunter! We are gonna go around the town tonight!"

Peter slumped and lowered the flowers he was holding. He had planned a date for them but she wasn't going to be able to come.

"Okay. I'll see you later then..." Peter was afraid that he was losing her. He was jealous of Orion and Hunter because they had all of Luci's attention and time. He didn't feel like he was pushed to the back burner. He felt like he was pushed off the stove.

"See you!"

"Luci... I... before I go... when can we hang out again? Or go on a date?"

Luci opened her door and hummed. "Probably not for a few weeks. I'll try to find a time but I've got plans with Orion and Hunter."

Peter's heart ached. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, just have her time and attention again.

"I get it..."

He was afraid to say anything about feeling unwanted because the mere thought that she might let him go terrified him to no end.

❄

Luci was excited and went to the tower. She met up with everyone and smiled.

"How's everything going?" She asked as she looked around.

"We are almost done, sweetie. Your mother is just finishing up the tomato soup casserole and some other treats," Steve said to his daughter.

"Great! I'm almost finished with the cake," Luci beamed as she looked at the banner that read,
'HAPPY B-DAY LUCI ORION & PETER'

"You know, this is yours and Orion's party too. It's your seventeenth birthday," Steve looked at his little ice crystal.

"I know but Peter has been taking care of me and helped me through my injury. I really want to do this for him... I have to do this for him," Luci smiled as she thought about her amazing boyfriend.

🕷

Peter sat on his bed and looked at the promise ring her bought Lucinda for her seventeenth birthday.

"I miss her so much... it feels like she's in another country... what if she's regretting her decision? What if being with me isn't as great as she thought? M-maybe she's distancing herself to leave me..."

Peter was so afraid that his mind was just going straight to the worst case scenarios. He started to cry from the fear of losing Lucinda.

May knocked on the door and came in.

"Peter? Are you alright?" She saw him crying and immediately sat by his side, hugging him tight. "What happened, Peter? Is Luci alright?"

"I-I think I'm losing Luci... she never has time for me, she doesn't talk to me much, we haven't gone on a date in a while, she doesn't answer my texts or pick up my calls..."

May frowned, knowing what Luci was planning and she couldn't spoil it.

"I'm sure you aren't losing her. She's probably just really excited that her brother's back and her cousin are around."

"But what if she does leave me? I don't want to lose her... I don't know what to do... I'm afraid that of I bring it up to her, I'll make it worse and she'll leave me... I'm scared, Aunt May..."

May rubbed the back of Peter's head. "I'm sure she's not gonna leave you, Peter. Don't be scared to talk to her. If she leaves you, that is her loss, but more importantly, if she leaves you, she isn't the one for you."

"But she has to be the one for me... I can't stop thinking about her, I feel so at home when she is with me, I would die for her if I had to, I don't want to see her in anyone else's arms, and I don't want to be with anyone else. I-I... I love her... I really love her..."

"Love is a strong word, Peter. Don't just say it, you have to mean it," May said softly and Peter looked at her.

"I do mean it. I love Luci. I really do," Peter said as he gripped the promise ring tightly.

"You're fifteen, Peter. Almost sixteen. Are you positive you want to be in love. It's okay to like someone a lot and be with them but not truly love them yet."

"May, this is Luci. I've known her my entire life. I know everything about her and I know that she is everything I could ever want and more. I never wanted to accept that before because I wanted both her and Liz. I didn't want to lose either of them so I decided to keep Luci as a friend and date Liz but that didn't  work. Liz was never right for me now but Luci is more than perfect for me and I accept it. I can't live without her."

May sighed and nodded. "I know. Just be careful. But trust me, Lucinda doesn't want to leave you. She never gave up when she was asking out because she was determined to be with you. She had talked to me many times before you started dating. She was always afraid that you wouldn't be her friend anymore because of her asking and she was terrified of Liz because she wanted to be with you," May rubbed his back and Peter nodded.

May remembered see Luci waiting patiently on a park bench one day. The memory played in her head.

❄

Luci sat on the bench, looking around constantly.

May walked over to her curiously and smiled.

"Hello, Lucinda. What are you doing out here?"

"I-I asked Peter to meet me here. I'm just waiting... b-but I don't think he's coming... he never does..." Luci hugged herself and looked down. May frowned and sat next to her.

"Why doesn't he come? He loves spending time with you."

"Because he doesn't want to be with me... I-I really like Peter but it's useless... he'll never want me back..." Luci started to cry, all of her fake happiness fading in a split second.

"Don't say that. Show him that you are the right girl for him," May comforted the crying girl. "He'll come eventually."

"I sit out here all the time for hours and he never comes... I've been here since school let out... I just wanted desperately to believe that I had a chance... he's perfect for me but I'm... I'm not enough to be with him..." Luci trembled as her heart ached. Her heart screamed and begged to be with Peter but she was trying so hard to no avail.

"You are absolutely perfect, Luci. Don't tell yourself otherwise."

"But I'm not... I wish I was Liz... she is so perfect and Peter wants her... I'm trying so hard to be just like her but no matter how hard I try, I'm just not as good as her... I'll never get to be with Peter..."

"Don't try to be Liz. Be yourself," May kept her in a comforting embrace.

"But I tried that and it didn't work."

"Then Peter isn't the right one for you."

"But he is. I feel so incomplete when he's not around. I can't get him off my mind. I'm so lost without him... he makes me so happy just by being in the same room. I can't imagine being with anyone else. I don't want to see him spend his life with someone else. I-I need him," Luci felt so helpless and pathetic but she felt weak without him.

"I know that feeling," May thought of Ben and when they met as kids, growing up to be lovers.

"I'm just gonna give up... he'll never fall for me... I at least want to keep him as a friend... I can't ruin that too..."

"Don't give up, Luci. If you truly want to be with him, never give up," May said and Luci nodded.

"Okay..."

"Come on, let's get you inside. It's cold out here."

🕷

Peter just sniffed and looked at the ring.

"Get some sleep, Peter. You've got a long day ahead of you," may said but Peter didn't really hear her.

May closed the door and Peter put the ring in the little box.

"M-maybe we just need a break from each other..."