chapter four!
unexpected encounter

     NINA had hit her final straw.

    Surely, life couldn't be this frustrating, right? There had to be some fine-lining that made all the pain and suffering worth the end result? Nina was supposed to be in college, by now. She was supposed to be working towards a major in biology, maybe even double in chemistry. Harry told her that she'd always have a place as OSCORP if she wanted.

    So why was she still here? Why was she still scraping by at Moondance Diner with coffee on her skirt, barely even five dollars in tip money and aching feet?

    She was out that door as soon as her shift ended. Throwing on her coat, a scowl on her face━Nina was so goddamn over it all. She had prayed for bigger things; dreamed of them at night in her room. Worked her ass off at school to get college recommendations and still, here she was.

    And she didn't need some heckler rushing after her. Not right now. Not after such a shit day at the diner. Nina needed space. She needed to go home. She needed to sleep━

    "Hey!"

    "Go away!" She snapped without meaning to. Her usual kind demanour was not around at the moment; she just wanted to get home.

    But the young man her age didn't stop. He rushed out onto the road, holding a hand out to the yellow cab as it blared its horn in apology. He hopped along, far fitter than he used to be back in high school. "Hey!" he called after Nina again, estatic to see her. "Nina! Nina!"

    Her annoyance washed away immediately as she recognised the voice. Reaching the sidewalk, Nina spun around and just like that, her face lit up with a bright, beaming smile as she saw the man opposite her. She hasn't seen that brown-hair, that grin, and those intelligent, dorky eyes in far too long.

    "Pete!" she exclaimed. "Hi!"

    Peter Parker chuckled at her sudden change, going a little scarlet, "Hey━"

    Nina shook her head, a little in disbelief. "What━What are you doing around here?" she asked him, chuckling along. He shrugged, waving the paper in his hands.

    "Oh, um━ah━" he showed the paper again, smiling. He stood taller these days. Taller, without those glasses; he looked older, mature. They were not far out of high school, but Peter Parker was already growing into his features like a man. "━I'm begging for a job. How 'bout you?"

    Nina's smile faltered slightly. She hugged her coat around her tighter and glanced nervously over her shoulder at the diner behind them. "Uh ..." she pointed, sheepish. Peter followed the gaze of her thumb and his brows rose. But he didn't say anything. He didn't look sympathetic. She appreciated that. "Well ... college didn't go so well. I guess━well, just trying to get there another way."

    Peter frowned, confused. He was gentle in his words. "Wait ... you didn't get in?"

    "No," she slumped her shoulders, annoyed. "I didn't ... it's ... complicated. You don't really see━well," she flushed, angry over it all again. Squaring her shoulders, she met Peter's gaze and said. "They believed that━despite my marks, and my references━as a woman, I was not the right choice into their degree."

    Peter Parker slumped with her. His brows lifted. "Oh ..." he realised. He pursed his lips. There was some silence before he decided to say. "You know I could ask Harry, and he could talk to━"

    "I know he could," she cut him off harshly. Realising, she flushed pink and apologised. "I just ... I want to get to OSCORP, but I want to do it the right way. I want to make it. I want to work for it. I want to be picked not just because I know Osborn's son, but because I deserve to be there. Harry's offered, but ... I just ... yeah."

    Peter stared at her for a second. His frown returned. He tilted his head at her and Nina froze━did he not know? "You've ... you've been talking to Harry?"

    "Yeah," said Nina cautiously. "Didn't ... didn't he tell you? I thought you guys were living together."

    At the look on his face, she knew he hadn't. Oh dear ... this was awkward. Nina shuffled in her flats, finding it hard to meet Peter's gaze. She didn't know why it was so hard to tell him, but the way he was looking at her, like he already knew the answer ... and was so disappointed ... "Well, um ..." she shrugged, trying to show it off as nothing serious. "Harry and I ... well, we're going out."

     He continued to stare at her for a moment. She watched him, feeling her heart begin to race as she anticipated his answer. Why was his answer so imporant to her? She barely knew him in high school. They talked, they smiled, she saw him whenever she visited Mary Jane and saw him next door, but that was it ... and yet ...? "Oh," Peter let out. Quickly, he cleared his throat and smiled. "Oh! Oh, yeah, right!" he scoffed a chuckle.

    "Yeah," went on Nina. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She wished she had a pen to tap on her cheek. "Also, um ... maybe don't tell Harry I work at a diner?" Peter arched a brow, confused. "Well," she blushed again, "he might consider it ... low."

    "That's not low," said Peter instantly.

    Nina met his gaze, surprised. There was some part of her that scolded her for her stammer, "R━Really?"

    "Yeah," he nodded. "I mean, you have a job. You know, Harry ..." Peter smirked a little, amused by something on his tongue. His eyes glinted with mischief. Nina felt her heart flutter at it. "He doesn't live on a little place I like to call Earth."

    Nina couldn't help it. Whether it was relief, or the way he smiled, she didn't know, but she chuckled, and her the weight on her shoulders lifted. "No," she said after quiet laughter between them. "No, I guess not."

    Another silence settled. But ... it was sweet. Nina smiled and she tucked her hair back again, feeling quite ... appreciated under the gentle gaze Peter had on her. She didn't feel like she was trying to be something she wasn't, or that she was reaching too far, or that she wasn't enough. She felt ... she felt like she was exactly where she was meant to be in this moment, and that it was okay.

    She chuckled again, suddenly a little nervous. "Um ..." she was back to shuffling. She gave Peter a brief glance, unable to stop smiling. "Thanks, Pete. Really. Um━you know━perhaps we should━like━I don't know, catch up some time?"

    At his quick nod, she grinned. "Great!" she said and started to walk down the street. She didn't want to miss the train. Another thought struck Nina and she spun around so she was walking backwards. Peter watched her. She waved, "See you soon, Pete! It's great to see you!"

    He waved back and her grin broardened. There was a little skip to Nina's step for the rest of the day after that.

*ೃ༄

    SHE WAS glad when the clock finally chimed to the end of her shift. Nina didn't expect any customers, and she didn't get many. Perhaps one or two earlier, but as night dawned on Queens, Moondance Diner was quiet. She slumped against the counter, staring at the tip jar that had just a single dollar inside. Nina turned it around, pursing her lips. She didn't even get any with the checks. There was just this single dollar.

     The only good thing out of all of this was that she got time to study and to look through her phone, just waiting for the hours to tick by and she can rush to the subway and catch the train home. She couldn't wait until she can slip under her covers and just sleep the night off.

     With a sigh, she took the dollar and began to lock up. She did her round of the diner, annoyed in her uniform that was a horrible attempt at the 1950s; in fact, she was sure it was an insult━not even the 1950s wanted this outfit back.

      Her feet were sore, she had a coffee stain on her apron, and she was beyond tired. Just think of the end result, Nina reminded herself. Think of college. Think of where you'll end up. But at this hour, god was it hard to keep a positive mindset. Making her way back to the break room, she grabbed her school bag and sent her mother a text to tell her she was leaving now.

     Setting her skateboard on the tiles, Nina was happy to be back on it, again. She felt better with her feet rooted on the wood; twisting and turning, diving down slopes━she felt fast and she felt alive; there was a thrill where she felt like she could do anything.

     Bag slung over her shoulder, she skated to the doors. She locked them and drifted out into the sidewalk at night, slipping on her coat. It was drizzling, and she wished she had an umbrella. But she didn't have far to the train, and it made night shifts like this okay. If for some reason, some punk decided she was someone they could harass, the subway was just a block away.

      Putting in an earphone, she started her music and began the trek. She avoided those walking late at this night; all of them in groups, probably heading to the bars, or heading home. They paid little attention to her, as long as she didn't run into them head-on━that's happened before, and it was embarrassing.

      But despite the distant sounds of cars and helicopters and the night-life━perhaps even all the way from Brooklyn, or across the bridges━, Nina was suprisingly alone on the streets. No one wanted to stay out late on a Wednesday night. Not when there was work and school in the early mornings.      

      It gave her chills, though. It put her on edge. She didn't know why more people around made her feel better, but it did, and now that there wasn't, her eyes darted around subconsiously, as if expecting someone to come out and attack her. At least she had her skateboard, if that happened, perhaps she could outrun them.

      Nina thought that perhaps she should stay somewhere else for the night. She was sure her parents would understand. She knew exactly who lived near this block, and Nina felt the sudden urge to call them. The first time since the first week after. It wasn't the first time Nina had called up, asking to stay over after a night shift, too scared to take the subway alone. But this was the first time she wanted to call up after everything that had happened.

     How weird would it be? How awkward? Nina couldn't call up Peter or May━she couldn't stay at her ex's house after their breakup. She'd prefer the alone subway. And yet ... she itched to call him, to see whether he'd even pick up. (Because for a little while before the end of their relationship, he rarely ever did).

     Her finger hovered over Peter's contact. Would he be home? What would he be doing? Would he even want her to stay over? She wouldn't blame him. He didn't seem to want anything to do with her, at all━especially after the small fight they had in the school corridor earlier today.

     Nina bit her bottom lip, coming to a stop. She set herself against the brick beside an alleyway under the light of a twenty-four-hour drugstore.

      Just do it, she told herself. There's no harm if he says no. He probably won't even pick up!

      So, with a deep breath like she had ducked under water, Nina quickly pressed his contact and flung her phone up to her ear. It rung ... and rung ... her heart thundered for some stupid reason. It continued to ring ...

     "Hey, this is Peter. Parker. Uh, leave a message━?"

     She didn't leave a message. Nina scoffed and just hit the red button, not even sure why there had been some part of her that believed he'd actually answer.

      Nina glanced around her again, nervous with one foot on her skateboard. There wasn't even anyone around━!

     "You okay there, miss?"

     The sudden voice from above made her squeal, jumping so high she could've hit him right in the head━except he swung back with a, "Whoa! Watch it! Hanging here━!"

      Nina scrambled back, eyes wide. She stared, shocked, to see a familiar web-slinger gazing back at her, upside down and hanging like a spider from the fire escape beside her. Dressed in red and blue, behind a mask with pointed lenses, the very Spider-Man tilted his head at her.

     She just stood there, hunched up and still trying to control her heart rate. Nina didn't say a word, and perhaps it was very embarrassing, but in this moment, that didn't cross her mind.

     Spider-Man spun his body around until he hung up-right before dropping down silently onto the wet sidewalk with padded feet. "You shouldn't be out here alone at this time, Miss. I hear this place can get some nasty robberies."

     He sounded tired━like he had just run a marathon. There was an awkward shift in his stance, and Nina wondered whether he had been the one to see the robbery instead of hear about it. She had heard police sirens ...

     "Uh ..." was all Nina could manage. Spider-Man was taller than her; but not by much. But in that suit, he seemed bigger━broard-shouldered and thick-legged. Felicia's voice came to her mind off-handedly, do you think he's hot behind that suit?

     Go away Felicia, Nina scolded her head.

     Even behind a mask, Nina could tell this Spider-Man watched her━tense, hesitant, but also with a hint of mischief. He was amused at her lack of a response. Cocky, even. It made her quickly clear her throat and straighten her shoulders. "I'm heading home from work. I'm fine, thank you, Spider-Man."

     "What're doing working this late?" Spider-Man turned to follow her as she pushed off the wall and back onto her skateboard, refusing to meet the vigilante's gaze.

      "I work at a late-night diner," answered Nina, keeping her gaze on her shoes as she fixed them correctly. It frustrated her that being beside Spider-Man made her stumble and flustered. "I'm fine. Thanks. Don't you have some other crime-stopping to do? I don't wanna miss my train."

      "I━uh━wait━!" as she started to leave, Nina didn't expect Spider-Man to scurry forwards to catch up with her. It made her frown at him, incredulous. His voice had changed an octave, she noticed, in his stammering. Higher, lighter━younger, even, than the rough New York accent he had been going with before. It made her heart jolt in suprise, and slow her skating right down to a crawl. It allowed the web-slinger to match her pace.

      "What?" she asked.

     "I can't let you walk alone," he told her, and that voice was back━and the confidence. But there was something that made the air between them awkward; like there was a tense past. Thing was, Nina has never even met Spider-Man before, and she was sure he's never met her.

      Nina hated how she flushed. Spider-Man walking her home? Making sure she was okay? Did he do that for anyone? Don't make this special, Nina, she chided. He probably helps people walk home all the time. "I'm fine," she said for the third time, but it was softer now. "I don't need a bug babysitter."

      Spider-Man's lenses widened at her━how do they move like that? "What did you just call me?" he was suprised, and yet a light chuckle escaped through. "Bug Babysitter?"

     She flushed even more. She went pink. She turned to face forwards. Spider-Man continued to follow her at this slow, crawling pace on her skateboard. Nina couldn't believe she was suddenly being escorted by Queen's latest celebrity. She didn't even know why she was letting him. She didn't know him. He may stop robberies and help give old women directions, but that didn't mean she trusted him.

     "Yeah," she said, gaze set forward. "'Cause ... you know ... spider."

     "Spider's aren't bugs. They're arachnids."

     "I know that. But, Arachnid Babysitter doesn't have the same flow, does it?" Nina gave her skateboard a push along with her foot. She was determined to not have a spidey entourage. "Now, can you just let me be? I'm fine, I told you. I'm going to miss my train."

      Spider-Man didn't listen. He just brought a hand up and thwip! a long, glistening line of web like rope clung onto the overhead of the shops beside them. "No can do!" he said in a sing-songy voice as he swung, lifting his legs forward like a child on a swing so he wouldn't graze the sidewalk. Reaching the end of the web, he struck forth a new one right in next to Nina and met her gaze. "Hi," he greeted. She heard a grin behind the mask.

     She scowled. He was being obnoxiously stubborn about this━something that was so familiar it annoyed her. Nina realised he wasn't going to give up as he let loose another web, doing a small trick in the shallow space.

     "Fine," she grumbled, giving her skate another boost. "Are you always this determined?"

     Spider-Man dropped from his web, keeping up with her easily. "I'm helping you," he stated. He pointed at his suit where a miniature black spider-design sat. "I'm Spider-Man."

      "Bug boy."

      "Ouch."

     Nina ignored him and glanced down at her phone again. She was waiting for Peter to call her back, and she hated it so much. She was close to his street. What if she just walked up to his floor and knocked on the door. May would let her in, right? She would make her dinner and give her the couch? Why did she want to go to Peter's so desperately? Stop it, Nina!

     Spider-Man's lenses flickered inwards, like the shutters on a camera. "What's wrong?"

     "Nothing," Nina said quickly and stuffed her phone into her pocket. She slowed down as they reached a red light at a crosswalk. Spider-Man came to a stop beside her. "Just ..." she frowned, wondering why she was continuing. She sighed and shook her head. "Doesn't matter." Moving the conversation away, she checked the time and cursed. "I'm going to miss this train ... I know someone who lives in the next block, but ..." here she was again, continuing. She doesn't even know Spider-Man! He just showed up, scared her, and now decided he was going to walk her to the platform. "I don't think he'd appreciate me showing up out of nowhere. Especially today."

     She didn't notice how Spider-Man tensed━shoulders so rigid that for a moment, he had become a statue. That voice shook for a moment, back to a higher, gentle━a young, "W━why?"

     Nina stared at him, confused. She had this strange feeling ... yet again, like there was history between them; that for some reason, they had done this before. He was familiar in a way she couldn't describe, and it slightly scared her. "Um ..." she was back to being at a lost for words. "It's ... well ..." she flushed and looked away. "Why do you want to know?"

     "Uh ..." she caught him off guard there. He shuffled on his feet and wiped his hands against the pants of his suit. "N━no reason," said Spider-Man. "Just ... just ..." the light changed and he shot up like a cork. "Ooh! Look! Green light━make way! Flingggg━!"

      He swung across the crosswalk and Nina scowled after him, trying to hide her amusement. But it betrayed her, and her lips quirked into a little smile. She skated across the road, following his childish figure with a bubbling need to chuckle.

     Nina caught up to Spider-Man, sweeping around a fire hydrant and his body, twisting infront with a cheeky smirk over her shoulder that even surprised her. But she just ... she felt familiar and at ease; like he was someone she had known her whole life. (No wonder the population of Queens loved him so much).

    "That's against the law."

    Nina couldn't stop her chuckle this time. She skated backwards; she knew this path back to front. She could skate it in her sleep. "What? What law?"

    "I have right of swing."

    She laughed at that, shaking her head. Spider-Man's lenses tilted upwards, like he was smiling. "You're dumb━"

    It happened quickly. There was a crack in the sidewalk she hadn't anticipated. Spider-Man's eyes widened. Nina's skateboard tipped.

    She gasped, ready to fling her hands out to break her fall, but then she froze, mid-air. Something tugged her backwards by the small of the back and she gasped again. In front of her, white webs encased around her skateboard from the middle, and it was whipped back into Spider-Man's arms, her with it.

    Spinning on her feet, Nina's eyes were wide and her breath was hitched as her hands struck his chest. She was breathless for a moment, unable to think being so close to him. She was struck with a wave of similarity; of a different hand on her back, a different set of eyes she stared up to, and Nina was caught off-guard. She became enamoured in this moment━struck by how alike it felt.

    Spider-Man didn't move either. He just stared back at her. Silence. Breathless silence. Then, he stammered, "Y━you know, it's advised you wear a helmet when you skate."

    Nina was still stuck in this strange feeling. "Sorry?"

    "A━and knee pads, and elbow pads," went on the vigilante. "You could hurt yourself."

    He let go of her, and Nina felt like she had been stranded. Spider-Man cleared his throat and passed her skateboard back. He scratched the back of his neck. "Uh━here━um━here you go." The confidence was gone. "What's ... um?"

    Realising he meant her name, Nina somehow managed to stammer, still staring. "Nina," she said softly. She quickly shook herself out of it. "Hart. Nina Hart."

    "Here you go, Nina Hart," said Spider-Man. Nina took her skateboard with ginger fingers. There was more silence. Nina was getting close to missing her train, but she made no decision to keep on going. Her heart pounded.

    "I have a train to catch," she mumbled, though it was to herself more than anyone else. She hugged her skateboard to her chest.

    Spider-Man nodded. He stepped away further. He seemed a little disappointed that their little chat and walk was over. "Right, yeah. You better get to that, Nina. Don't wanna miss it."

    "Yeah."

    Nina continued to watch him as he awkwardly stepped away. She flung a hand out to help as he stumbled over the edge of the fire hydrant. But Spider-Man was quick to regain his balance, chuckling nervously. He didn't sound like an adult. He sounded like a boy; he sounded her age.

    "I'm good! I'm good!" He assured her. "Stay safe, Nina Hart!" Spider-Man pointed at her as he walked away. "Wear a helmet! Keep up with your homework, I'll just━" he ran backwards into the pedestrian light. Nina winced. "Um━yeah! Have a good night!"

    And before he could embarrass himself further, Spider-Man threw up his arm. A web glistened out into the night and seconds later, he disappeared upwards towards the city-scape with it.

*ೃ༄

     a/n: peter parker 🤝 me 

           ... nothing we're just holding hands 

     anyway, nina and spidey have met, although, technically they already know each other, but that's minor details.

     btw, what are you guys looking forward to? any flashback sequences you'd like to see? let me know here:

     also, writing peter as spider-man in homecoming was a little hard cos i've been watching andrew's portrayal and the video games, and the whole demanour peter has in those and in homecoming is similar, but also very different and i'm trying to not like write that instead of writing how he is in these movies ahahaha. because tom's spider-man has those quips and the confidence of a spider-man who hasn't been at it for years like in the game, or with the amount of cockiness he has in andrew's version. so he's cocky, and does the quips and such, but he's also a nervous bean and i'm like getting anxiety over writing it correctly ahahaha. 

     but i hope you enjoyed this chapter!!! i'll see you guys soon. 

     (also, ps: spider-man ps4/ps5 fic? anyone? lmk, i might have an idea for one, but i have no idea how imma write it).