I take a deep breath and constantly fiddle with the sleeves of my sweater. Winter break has been a glorious reprieve, and it only got better when the letter from Midtown came three days before the new semester.

"You know," Mom whispers just over the sound of the subway, "I'm so proud of you. It takes a lot of courage to speak up, and even more to fight for what you want."

"Yeah, well, I had some really great friends backing me up." I tell her. "I swear, Peter and Ned are pretty much the only way I passed the entrance exams."

"Did you ever get around to telling them?" She questions, and I shake my head.

Once I finished crying at my acceptance to Midtown, I decided to just surprise my two best friends. Partly because I wanted to see their reactions, and partly because I still don't know what to say to Peter after New Years—when I swear we almost kissed. We've been playing this subtle flirting and pretending we don't notice the way the other stutters and gets nervous.

"I figured it'd be more fun this way." I partially lie to my Mom. "You really didn't have to come with me, you know."

"I do, but I wanted to personally thank Principal Morita. Plus, I have a little more paperwork to finish."

"Very." I tell her in reply. "I'm gonna head in and try to find my friends, but I'll see you after school."

"Okay, babydoll." She smiles and presses a kiss to the top of my head, "Have a good day."

I nod and head inside. It takes me a minute to find my locker and spin in the combination from my orientation papers. My palms keep growing sweatier by the second. I quickly put my bag inside and head to my first class of the day.

Luckily, when my parents agreed to let me try to transfer to Midtown, Peter and Ned gave me their schedules to give me a good idea of which classes I'd want to take. It helps ease my nerves a bit to know I have all my classes with one or the other, and I start off with both of them.

I shift on my feet anxiously and watch as other students pour into the classroom, each of them offering me a weird look or glance as they pass. My stomach starts to knot, and it takes everything in me to remind myself this place is different. It won't be like EAST.

It can't be.

I'm so caught up in the riptide inside my head, I almost miss the voice that's come to make my heart pound and hands shake over this past month. Coming down the hall towards me are my two best friends.

Ned looks up first, and his eyes widen and jaw goes slack in surprise. It makes me smile and bite back a laugh. There's just something so wonderfully and pure about his reaction and the pure joy on his face.

A second later, Peter looks up as well. His face goes still, and I feel my stomach churn as I wonder if this was a mistake or maybe he didn't want to see me after the silence between us since New Years. Except, a second later, the brightest smile I've ever seen breaks across his face.

He quickly hands his books off to Ned before rushing to pull me in a tight hug. "What are you? How come you didn't tell me you were coming here?" He mumbles into my sweater.

"I only found out I passed the exams a week and a half ago. So I wanted to surprise you."

Peter pulls away and avoids my eyes. "Well, it's an amazing surprise."

There's a moment of silence between the pair of us. I shift on my feet, unsure of what to say or do. Ned looks between the two of us, and offers us both a smile as he says, "I'm gonna give you two a moment."

Once he's gone, it feels like it's just Peter and I despite the busy hallways. He scratches the back of his neck like he always does when he's nervous, "Sorry I didn't text you after New Years. I just—I didn't know what to say."

My heart sinks at that. I've spent the weeks since the party hoping that maybe it meant he felt the same way. "Oh, um. That's—that's okay. I just as long as things aren't gonna be awkward now."

Peter's eyes widen in panic at the sudden down shift in my mood, "Wait! No, that's not what I—crap." He takes a step closer, pushing his glasses up when they slip down his nose. "I'm screwing this up."

"Screwing what up?"

"Okay, here's the thing, I like you—a lot since you brought me gummy worms at the game. Then New Years, I was gonna finally tell you, but—"

"Flash decided to be a jerk?"

"Yeah, and I didn't know how to tell you I couldn't stop thinking about you. Now you're here, and I can just tell you and finally ask—"

"Yes." I smile at him. "If you're asking me out, then yes. I've been dropping hints for a while now."

"Really?!" Peter asks me with a beaming smile. "So—um—maybe we can go out on Friday?"

"Sounds perfect." I tell him and try not to bounce on my feet in excitement. "We should probably head in. I don't wanna be late to class on my first day."

"Yeah." Peter laughs and casually slips his hand into mine as we go into the classroom to meet Ned, who ends up yelling in excitement when we tell him the news.

It makes me laugh and wonder how on earth I got so lucky to be able to call these two goofballs my friends. A month ago, I never would have thought I could feel this happy, but here I am.

——— 3 Months Later ———

"Hey, babe." I call as I approach Peter in front of the school bus. He smiles as he hands me a hot cup of cocoa. I can't help but grin as I admire him. Somehow the boy manages to make sweatshirts and glasses look adorable. "Sometimes I wonder how you always know what I need, but thank you."

"You always stop and get cocoa when you have to get up early." He replies and slips his hand into mine. "And I know you'll want to be fully awake for the trip since you've been talking about it for the past two weeks."

"So have you." I retort. "But seriously though, even Flash can't ruin today. I mean, we're getting to see the inner workings of one of the leading scientific research facilities. The only thing that could top this would be going to to Stark Industries—or meeting the Avengers."

"Maybe you could make our own iron suit. You've definitely got the brains and willpower to do it."

"Don't tempt me, Parker." I grin at him, "You know I'd do it in a heartbeat. I already have designs in my head and everything."

"Hey, Y/N." Flash grins as he stands. "You're looking good today."

"Nice try, Flash, but I look good every day." I counter and turn back to Peter. "Anyway,—"

"You know he likes you, right?" Flash interjects, and I offer him a confused look. "Penis Parker's got a crush on you. It's why he's always hanging around you and bringing you drinks in the morning."

I have to bite my lip to keep from bursting into laughter on the spot. Somehow, I manage to keep a straight face as I look to Peter, "Really?" My boyfriend offers me a nod as he catches on, and I let out a sigh. "Wow. That's a relief. I mean, it'd be pretty awkward if my boyfriend didn't like me."

"Wait—" Flash screeches and steps in between Peter and I, "You're actually dating him."

"Yeah, I am." I look over his shoulder to see Mr. Harrington waving everyone onto the bus. "C'mon, babe. We better hurry if we don't wanna sit in the part of the bus that smells like Mr. Harrington's cologne."

I grab Peter's hand, and the both of us can no longer hold in our laughs as we leave Flash looking flabbergasted. "Oh my gosh." Ned calls as he finally catches up with us. "What just happened? Because Flash looks like you just told him 'edm was never cool.'"

"Just that we're dating." I reply with a shrug. "The look on his face—that was just perfect."

All the while, I can't stop thinking how grateful I am to my mom for making me go to that stupid football game.

When we finally reach and head inside Oscorps, all I can think is it's pretty much exactly how I pictured it—daunting and exciting. It's all bright white and high tech that makes my head spin. "Would I have killed them to not have painted everything white? I feel like I'm gonna go blind in here." I whisper to Peter and Ned as we're given our keycards, which earns a chuckle from them.

We end up exchanging lots of comments—some joking and others in awe of everything we get to see.

"And as you can see here, we have the subjects of our genetic studies." The tour guide tells us. "Currently we are working with arachnid DNA in the hopes of enhancing their current capabilities."

Peter and I watch in fascination as the spiders weave intricate webs. Someone in the group asks how they're doing it, and I manage to catch the guide saying something about radiation. "So they're basically trying to spider hulks?" I ask Peter, who shakes his head with a laugh. "What? It's a valid question. They're enhancing dna with radiation, which is exactly what turned Dr. Banner into the not-so-jolly green giant."

"You know," He tells me with a lopsided grin, "You're gonna make a great scientist one day."

I shrug. "I know."

"Y/N!" MJ calls, "You have to see how these ones are attacking." I follow her to a case where one of the scientists is dropping some crickets in. For a second, the case seems empty, but in a split second, chunks of the dirt lift up and spiders larger than normal reach out and grab the unsuspecting bugs. I crinkle my nose up as I watch. "It's so gross, but dang, it's cool."

"A hundred percent." I tell her and find Peter as the group moves on. It takes me a second to find him, and when I do, he's rubbing at the back of his neck and his face becoming pale. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just getting a headache, I think." I grab his hand and try to see if he's genuinely alright. "I promise, I'm okay. Let's just enjoy the last bit of the tour."

"Okay, but we're gonna get you some medicine when we get back." He just nods and squeezes my hand. As much as he's trying to hide it, I can see something's wrong. I keep his hand in mine until the tour's over, and we're on the subway home.

Ben and May are still working when we make it to Peter's apartment. "I'm fine, Y/N. Ben's should be home soon; I'll just lay down until then."

"Pete," I sigh and hold his face in my hands, "you're burning up and shaking like crazy. I'm not leaving until I know someone's gonna here to make sure you're okay if I can't be. So go change into your sweats. I'll come check up on you in a minute."

I lean against the kitchen counter and sigh. Something about this feels weird. It looks like the flu that's been going around, but it came on pretty quickly. A part of me wants to call May, but she's probably working another long shift and worrying about Peter is probably the last thing she needs. Especially since it's probably nothing.

At least, that's what I tell myself as I grab some medicine and a glass from the cabinet and take it to Peter, who is already curled up under his blankets. "Here. These should help." He offers me a weak, grateful smile. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah." His hand finds mine, his thumb tracing over my knuckles.

There's this funny look on his face. It's a mix of a goofy grin and deep thought. "What's on your mind?" I ask him as my free hand brushes his hair back.

"How much I love you." He softly replies.

My heart feels weird in my chest. That's the first time he's ever said it. All I can think to do is chuckle and say, "I think the fever's getting to you, babe."

"It's not." The grin on his face widens. "I was planning on telling you next week. Ben taught me how to make that pasta dish you love, and I was gonna tell you then. But now seems like a good time too."

"Yeah, it does." I try to bite back my grin. "And I'm glad you said it now, because it means I don't have to wait any longer to say, 'I love you too.'"

Peter's eyes start to drift close, and he pulls me down next to him. "Stay for a bit?"

I sigh and nestle up against him, "Fine, but if I get sick, I'm blaming you, Parker."

"Don't worry." He cracks an eye open to look down at me. "If you get sick too, I'll take care of you."

"I'm holding you to that." I whisper and admire him.

There's just something about Peter Parker. I can't explain it; all I know is that I'm so lucky to be able to have him in my life and to love and be loved by him. It's something I wouldn't give up for the world.