[a/n: soooo if you can't tell, this is gonna be one of those shorter stories, with fewer chapters as well as a shorter length of said chapters. i wanna say that maybe i'll come back and edit this and make it longer, but i know that it probably won't happen. this whole account is so messy but full of my journey of writing and making myself better, so i hope you guys can appreciate that.]

peter jabbed his thumb on lucy's name in his phone, irritated that it kept falling through to her voicemail. he'd left countless messages, but he knew she'd probably delete them. he kept trying, though. unable to let her get away from him. 

"lucy, please answer your phone," he pleaded, "i need you to know something. i need you to know that...something's gonna go down. while i'm away at the academic decathlon in washington, d.c. i'm telling you this because...you need to stay safe. i want you to stay out of trouble." he sighed and began to ramble, "not like you'd need to stay out of trouble, i know you're a really good student and you're never late to class and you're really pr--"

his time had run out, cutting off what he was about to say:

you're really pretty.

peter groaned in frustration and threw his phone across the room onto his bed. "may?" he called, "is dinner ready yet?"

his aunt's voice was perplexed as she replied, "peter, it's three o'clock in the afternoon."

the teenager slid his hands in his hair and curled his fingers into fists. "i need a distraction," he muttered to himself. his homework had been minimal; he'd finished it as soon as he got home. ned was out of the question, he was...

at a practice for the math team.

and he was late.

"i'm going to the decathlon practice, may, i'll be back in an hour," he called out before slinging his backpack over his shoulder and leaving. 

the train ride was short, and he chose that time to try again at a text to lucy.

lucy martin.

her reply took a few minutes, but it came.

how do you know my last name?

it's in the yearbook. i looked you up. it's about time i learned your last name. i'm peter parker.

i know. liz talks about you all the time.

his breath hitched, but he scolded himself immediately after.

she does?

why are you surprised, you guys are practically made for each other. you're smart, she's smart, she's pretty, you're cute

i mean...relatively good-looking

you think i'm cute?

i'm not talking to you, peter parker.

then what are you doing right now? ;)

...point taken

there's the lucy i know :)

this doesn't change anything, peter. i just...got ahead of myself. thought that you'd...

thought that i'd what?

i thought that you were different. that you'd notice me before you noticed liz. but it's fine. being friends is good too. have a good time at the decathlon, peter. i hope you guys win. 

this time, he didn't even try to keep lucy in the conversation. he knew she was gone.

"but i do notice you, lucy," he mumbled, "that's why i--"

the train screeched to a stop, and he was there. his thoughts were wiped away by quadratic equations and radicals, in the company of ned and liz and his friends.

[a/n: i think i like this chapter a little better because it cleared up some stupid drama with lucy not talking to peter, but just let me explain:

teenagers are so hormonal all the time(i would know, i am one), and so the idea that lucy gets upset by the fact that peter looked at liz instead of noticing her was completely valid in a teen's mind. don't label this conflict as stupid or unrealistic because it is absolutely realistic, sophomores in high school are so problematic. :(]