EPILOGUE;
when i first saw you!

Dear Amala,

Happy 6 month anniversary! Time flies when you're in love, right? You might be wondering why you got this letter in the mail and... well. I heard you tell Akira how romantic hand written letters are and with our anniversary so close, I just knew I had to write one for you. So here I am :) Enjoy me raving about how much I love you and sorry for my ugly handwriting!!!!!!!!!

I don't really know how this goes — you know, writing and all that. This has always been your thing but I'm committed to learn because I love you (yeah, I'm gonna say this a lot because I do). I guess I should start from the beginning, from when I first saw you.

Ever since being bit by that spider, my life's been kind of a mess. I can't remember the last time I had a normal week, or even a normal day. Don't get me wrong, I've learnt to love who I've become but it wasn't always easy. I was so used to doing everything on my own; I took care of myself when I was hurt, I made my own suits and webs, I carried every secret (is this how you use a semi-colon? Let me know!). Even after I met Mr. Stark and Ned found out, some part of me still felt alone.

But that changed when I met you. To me, it was a normal night. There was crime and I'm Spider-man, so I did what I always did. I fought crime. I guess, that night was especially rough because I ended up getting really hurt. I don't really remember much after that. I just remember finishing the job and getting as far away as I could. I was hurt — because my entire body ached and I could barely swing without feeling like the world was on fire — and I didn't know where to go. So I just swung into the nearest building. I just wanted to cool down and get my head level, then I would leave. But I was loud. And you heard me.

I don't know what I was expecting when that balcony door opened. Maybe an old lady? Or some middle-aged, angry man? They'd yell at me and tell me to leave, maybe throw something for good measure (the old lady would. The middle-aged man would definitely call me a punk instead). But it was you. It was you, in your pjs and your hair up, with a knife in your hand. I couldn't care less about the knife. I just saw you and I thought: this is the prettiest girl I've ever seen. You with the moonlight on your face and your eyes that held fire despite your entire body shaking. You with your perfectly beautiful voice, asking me who the fuck I was and not backing down. In that moment, all the pain in my body went away and I couldn't hear anything except for the sound of my heart. I think I fell in love with you right there.

I was too flustered to speak and I probably embarrassed myself with whatever I said because I couldn't distract myself from how beautiful you were. You were so beautiful that I forgot that I was hurt, I forgot that I had to stand and my knees bucked. And your face softened and the knife fell to floor and you helped me. You caught me and I know you were struggling but you still tried and I'll never forget what you told me. You said "Really, Spider-man. It's no bother. Take your time. I won't tell anyone." I fell in love.

You helped me, a total stranger, in the dead of night. No questions asked, with a smile on your face. I was so grateful. I AM so grateful. You don't like to admit this but you saved me that night. You saved me that night and every other night.

I dreamt of you. You followed me in my sleep. Your curly hair away from your face, your skin shinning from the moon, your soft lips, your perfect hands, the knife. I dreamt of you that night and every other night until I saw you again. I just couldn't get you out of my head (my body shut down. I think it was the knife. Yeah, something about you holding a weapon just really does it for me. Don't laugh. I know you're laughing right now.)

It wasn't until I left that I realized that I knew you — that Peter knew you. I'm sorry for the way I acted at recess the night after. I know I'm 10 months late but I'm still sorry. I was flustered and I panicked and I just didn't know what to do with myself. I guess it was okay though because we became friends. From the AP Biology project to our texts, I learned so much about you. You're so beautiful, both inside and out. Everyday I spoke to you, I found more reasons to fall in love with you (as if I needed more. I was already sold the night we met).

I'm sorry i hid myself from you. I took advantage of your trust and used my position to my own benefit. I had both parts of you and you had both parts of me but the difference was that I knew it was you each time and you didn't (does that make sense?). I just couldn't see you falling for Peter, that's why I held out on telling you for so long. I'm sorry. I was an idiot.

Oh god, I've already wasted 2 pages... I'm sorry? for the long read. My point is: I love you. I love you so much. With every part of me. We've been through so much together and still you stuck around. I don't know why but I'm happy you did. You're the best part of my day. That sounds sappy and ridiculous but it's true. I love you.

You're probably sick of reading this so I'll keep the end of it short. I know how much you love "Red, White & Royal Blue" because you've read it 17 times and tell me about it every single time (which I love.  Please don't stop doing that. Ever.) So, to end my love letter, allow me to embrace the essence of Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz.

*AHEM*

AN INCOMPLETE LIST: THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY GIRLFRIEND AMALA AMIN

1. Your smile.
2. The way your hair curls around your ears.
3. When you playfully bicker with Akira (and Ned).
4. The way you smell with your Nicki Minaj perfume (like home.)
5. Your ability to turn everything into a joke.
6. Your confidence (please give me some).
7. Your face when your favorite song comes on (your eyes sparkle every time The Night is Still Young comes on).
8. How you said "what are we going to do about it?" when you found out I was SM (I fell in love with you again).
9. How you constantly defend the people you care about.
10. Your eyes (they're this beautiful dark onyx color but when you're in the sun, they look like gold).
11. The way my hoodie looks on you.
12. How you waited for me every night on your balcony.
13. How you protect me even though it's my job to protect you.
14. The spontaneous pictures you send me (from the random duck you found at the park, to you smiling at the bookstore).
15. How you love me.
16. How you still love me.
17. Your smile (I already said this, I know, but it's just so beautiful).
18. How brave you are.
19. How when you kiss me, it's like the entire world stops.
20. How much I love it when you make my world stop.

I'm sorry for the long read. Happy 6 months, baby. I'm so in love with you <3

TLDR : I'm sorry for being an idiot and I love you.

I love you, always.

Your boyfriend, Peter :=)

— THE END —

[ note ]
hi :')

thank you for making it
to the end of when i first
saw you. this has been an
insanely beautiful journey
and i'm sad to see it come
to an end 🤍.

i'll try to keep this short but
i want to individually thank
every single person who read
this book, who commented, who
voted.. etc. i see you. thank you.
🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

i'm crazy grateful for all 5,000+
of you!!!!!!!! this means so much
to me. your support has been
insane and i'm glad you've enjoyed
reading ab amala and peter 🤍.

if you're interested in my writing,
i have a new steve harrington and
a sapnap story ☺️

beyond that, thank you. i'm going to
miss my characters here but it's time
i let them go.

thank you for being here!

all my love,

pearl <3

EDIT PART 2
10K!???????? holy
shit. thank you so
much for all the
support <3 even after
finishing this story.
beyond thankful.

this is crazy :')

bonus chapters maybe?
idk we'll see 🤔🤔

thank you all,

pearl <3