chapter fifty-nine
expecting disappointment

   THINGS DIDN'T improve▬at all▬as the days went on. Nina, Peter and their friends were flooded and hounded whenever they finished class and stepped out into the corridor. Peter was pressured into climbing up the school gym wall only to be called a "Freak!" anyway. Somehow, Betty even persuaded Nina, Peter and Ned to be interviewed on a special edition of Midtown News. Nina remembered cringing the moment she watched it (and wished she never did):

    "What's it like being Spider-Man's teacher?"

    Mr. Harrington pursed his lips and clasped his hands together in his seat. "Well, Peter's always been more than a student to me. He's been more like▬like a son ... Who's also my little brother."

    The clip cut to Coach Wilson who frowned, eyeing the lens with a suspicious eye. "So, what do you think about these crazy Mysterio conspiracy theories that are spreading online?" Betty asked him.

    Coach Wilson merely shrugged. "There's a conspiracy theory that Justin Timberlake was in NSYNC at one time. And then you look it up, and▬oh▬he was in NSYNC."

    The clip returned to Mr. Harrington. "My ex-wife, for example, she's been spending a lot of time online. And, you know, the Internet is a wild place that really beckons people like her who are a little lost and kind of have forgotten where they came from and who they are and ... and that they love someone very much ... Sometimes you just forget these things and you end up in a subreddit ... believing in Mysterio..." Mr. Harrington blinked out of his daze and fixed his stare onto Betty who pursed her lips, startled. "S▬Sorry, what was your question?"

    They cut to Coach Wilson. "So..." asked Betty with a frown, "... you never noticed he had extraordinary athletic abilities?"

    Their coach scoffed. "I▬I mean ... it's a science school, so ... two push-ups is extraordinary athletic abilities. I mean, when I think about it, there were times that he was sticking to the wall, or ... he had this stuff coming out of his wrist. But ... I didn't really think much of it. I just..." Coach Wilson sighed, shaking his head. "I ... I've been doing this a long time. It's just a lot of kids..."

    Around Flash's head, the terrible green screen cut in and out, and his bleached tips looked more like he had dunked his head into a slime bucket. "In your book," he listened to Betty intently, "you revealed that the name 'Spider-Man' was your idea. Were there any others that you tossed around before settling on 'Spider-Man'?"

    Flash sighed as he thought about her question. The both of them sat in a green-screen pink room that had Flash's book placed in the shot on a round green table with some pastel flowers. "Yeah, well, I mean ... There were a few. You know, 'Arachnokid' ... 'The Bitten'▬" He made quotation marks with his fingers.

    Betty pursed her lips and shuffled forward in her seat. She locked one leg over the other. "I▬uh▬I noticed that in your book I'm not mentioned once."

    Flash stammered. "I▬No. No, I▬I'm pretty sure you are... Uh..." He picked up his book and the video glitched as he quickly flicked through it. His eyes widened. "Whoa ... there are pictures in this?"

    Mr. Dell slouched in his chair, his gaze wandering off in thought as he answered Betty's question. She listened with a finger and thumb underneath her chin, humming and nodding. "If that spider had bitten me, yeah ... we'd be talking about a different Spider-Man right now. I think I would have maybe had a different style costume. Maybe something with▬with flared legs, maybe? Maybe? As sexy as possible."

    Ned had not been expecting the livid and curt question thrown at him. "So, what is an appropriate text to send to an ex-girlfriend in the middle of the night?"

    Ned's legs jittered anxiously in his seat. He didn't know how to answer that, letting out a strained chuckle. When he didn't answer, Betty huffed and sat up straighter in her chair. "You look great, by the way," she told him quickly.

    "T▬thank you," rushed out Ned, clearing his throat awkwardly. "You look▬uh▬you look as beautiful as ever..."

     Nina had not wanted to be interviewed, but somehow, here she was, sitting in that chair amongst that green screen, watching Betty stare her down with an incredulous breath. "So," she asked. "Flash's book, which I presume you have read, states that he was the one that was basically the wingman for your's and Peter Parker▬also known as Spider-Man's▬relationship. Do you have anything to add to this? Is this true?"

     Nina stared right into the camera and stated firmly. "Nothing in Flash's book is real! He's not even friends with Peter!"

    The clip switched back to Flash who looked very troubled by Betty's words: "What do you say to the people who claim that you're not really friends with Peter Parker?"

    Flash took a soft breath. He swallowed harshly and looked down at his hands. After a short moment, the words he spoke were a pained croak in the back of his throat: "You▬" he sighed again, shaking his head. "You know, it hurts. Because..." he took a sharp breath through his nose, forcing back fake tears. "You know, I..." He held his hand up, unable to speak on the matter any longer.

!!EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!!!!

    "Tell me," Betty brushed her hair out of her face and shuffled forward in her seat, arching a brow at Peter who hunched up in his seat, not too sure what he was doing here. "If the spider that gave you your powers were here right now, what would you say? Would you say 'Thanks'? Or 'Thanks for nothing'?"

    Peter frowned. "I▬I would say 'Thanks'..."

    Betty tilted her head, disbelieving. "'▬For nothing'...?"

!!EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!!!!

    "You can catch the rest of my exclusive interview with Peter Parker today at lunch, only on MNN▬" Betty smiled at the camera as she sat at her very own news desk (Midtown News has gotten a well-needed upgrade in budget). "Up next, Lady Liberty is getting a makeover, and some of Midtown High's very own artists share their ideas on what she should look like. We'll be right back after this important message from Principal Morita about cafeteria safety..."

*ೃ༄

     THE SPOT at the top of the school had become their spot. When things became too much; when the whispers became too loud or the insults too upsetting▬when the cameras hurt their eyes and the tabloids became burnt into their minds, they disappeared up here; away from it all, just together▬and none of that ever seemed to matter anymore.

    Nina was running out of time to complete her early entry college applications. She could only lie so much about all she's sent through to M.I.T. and all of their linked backup schools. She could only stare at the N.Y.U. application open on her computer tab for so long before she had to get out of it, not sure whether she was upset or felt guilty.

    She and Peter did everything together▬went everywhere together. From elementary to middle school and then to high school. They always made sure that wherever they went, the other could follow. It was their promise. Their rule. And when they realised they were▬for once▬looking at going separate ways, it had been all about how to make sure they would see each other on weekends, and over the phone. They were never going to let it become a problem ...

    Until now, Nina supposed.

    Until the only answer seemed to give up on the dream she has had forever▬her plan for the future. Not because of Peter. None of this was his fault. But because of Mysterio. Because of Mysterio, her entire life had been turned in on itself. Nina has always been so sure of everything, and even when she lost it for a moment, she always gathered herself back up.

    Now, she wasn't sure of anything. Barely anything at all.

    She supposed that so many others have had to change their dreams▬change the pathway they took and still ended up where they wanted. And yet, somehow, this felt a little bit different. Leaving N.Y.U. behind and moving to Boston▬even if it were to be with her friends, with Peter ... didn't feel right, and that upset her, too. Because where one of them went, the other always followed.

    But at this stage, if she didn't complete any application, Nina was going nowhere.

    So far, she had been great at ignoring her problem ... until it was getting bigger and bigger▬and well, bigger.

    But right now, she supposed she could keep on ignoring it▬up here on this roof with Peter ... all of their problems seemed to drift away with the slight draught. Nina chuckled at something she read from her phone, and Peter felt her laughter vibrate against his chest where she rested her head.

    "Hey, hey..." she was saying, zooming in on her phone to show him the headline she had found. "Hey, listen to this..."

    Peter peeked an eye open from where he was lying back against his textbook. He glanced down, frowning at what she held up for him to read. "Yeah? What is it?"

    Her chuckles were soft and muffled▬and they only grew when he squeezed the arm that was wrapped around her. Nina giggled and he let out a chuckle himself. "What?"

     She bit back her giggles as she finally read the newspaper article off her phone. "Listen▬'Some people suggest that Parker's powers include the male spider's ability to hypnotise females▬'" she broke out into more giggles when Peter threw his head back against his chemistry textbook, grumbling in his frustration, "▬'which he used to seduce Hart into his cult of personality▬'"

    "▬Oh, come on▬!" Peter scoffed. "Stop▬Stop!"

    Nina cut herself off, giggling as she got out of the article at Peter's reaction, happy to hear him laugh. "Yes, whatever you say, Mr. Spider-Man, sir..."

    He chuckled softly at her tease and her giggles faded away into a warm smile, turning her phone off and shuffling so she could face him. Peter noticed her move and he tilted his head. "Can we just stay up here all day?" He then asked her, soft and gentle. "It is so crazy down there..."

    Nina propped herself up on one elbow, nodding as she glanced down at him. He continued to watch her, gaze following her movement as something switched in his stare▬one brow quirked ever-so-slightly upwards, and Nina thought he looked pretty hot right now. "Yeah?" she replied, humming. "Is that so you can pull me away from everyone, Tiger, and hypnotise me with your Spider powers▬?"

    "Okay▬!" he sat up and tugged her close and she giggled▬until she realised how close they suddenly were. Peter seemed to notice, too, and his words were lost on the tip of his tongue. The grip he had on her waist tightened▬Nina didn't think he even realised he had done it.

    With one hand resting on his shoulder, Nina could feel his breath fan her lips▬just as hers did his. She met his gaze briefly, achingly close▬and yet not touching. Peter's eyes fluttered close as he leaned in to close the gap, when▬

    "Finally!" someone exclaimed with a loud sigh. Nina pulled away, sitting down on the concrete at Peter's side with an exasperated glance up to the sky. Ned climbed up onto the roof of the school to join them with MJ following▬neither realising that they had interrupted their friends. "Some privacy!"

    "Privacy..." muttered Nina, annoyed. She shared a quick glance with Peter who sighed. "What's that?"

    Ned dropped his school bag down beside him as he sat down. "It is so crazy down there!"

    "Yeah, no kidding," added MJ, flopping down opposite Ned and throwing her bag in front of her crossed legs. She pulled out her phone, most likely texting Felicia. "I am so glad I got out of that dumb interview with Betty."

    "So," then said Ned as Nina and Peter shuffled to sit properly with their friends. The four of them huddled in a little circle away from the crowds of their school below. "I was thinking ... When we get into M.I.T., we should live together!" He unzipped his school bag as he said that.

    Peter grinned as he considered this. He nodded, not completely against the idea. "Yeah, yeah, for sure."

    MJ nodded and then she shrugged. "I mean▬yeah, sure. Whatever."

    Nina didn't answer, and she was glad that Ned didn't wait to hear one from her as he pulled out his computer and opened it up to show them the tab of M.I.T. extracurriculars. Nina and MJ both made a face at the sports picture. "This is gonna be us," grinned Ned.

    "Yeah, sure," muttered Michelle. "Minus the Frisbee ... and the smiling."

    "And the short shorts," added Nina. MJ shivered in disgust, agreeing with her.

    "Okay, well, M.I.T.'s obviously the dream," then said Peter, admittedly eager to get out of high school and out of New York▬to start a new life somewhere else, "but ... if we match up our backup schools, then either way, we'll all be together in Boston." MJ and Ned both nodded. Nina pursed her lips and started to fiddle with her fingers. "New school, new town. I can Spider-Man there▬I mean, they have crime in Boston, right?"

    "Yes," assured MJ. "Yes▬a lot of crime. Cia can cause all of it."

    "Uh, no▬" Peter quickly corrected and MJ just shrugged once again.

     "▬Yeah," agreed Ned. "Wicked crime!"

    "It'll be like a fresh start," Peter finished with a smile. Though, when he noticed that there was someone who hadn't said a word▬whose word perhaps meant the most to him▬he frowned. He watched Nina spin a pen around in her fingers and start to tap on her cheek, listening▬but he knew she was anxious about something. "Hey..." he nudged her knee with his own. "What's up?"

    Nina pursed her lips. She dropped her pen into her lap and shook her head, trying to shrug it off with a little smile. But Peter saw right through her. In the end, she sighed and admitted. "It's just ..."

    Peter watched her gently. "What?"

    "Nothing," Nina quickly reassured him but then faltered. "It's just ... you know ... there's always a chance ..." her eyes wandered over to the N.Y.U badge she had pinned to her school bag. She looked away before Peter would notice, but he did. She didn't see the way his eyes grew heavy the moment he saw it. "Look ... If you expect disappointment ..." Nina looked down at her fingers and mumbled: "Well, you can never really get disappointed, then."

    Peter looked back up at that. He frowned. "Hey▬come on▬" he reached out and took her hand, squeezing it so she'd meet his gaze. He linked their fingers together and held them in the palm of his other hand, brushing his thumb across her knuckles. "It'll be a fresh start," he promised her. "And we'll all be together."

    Nina didn't know why she suddenly wanted to cry. She held onto Peter's hand tight and took another deep breath. At both MJ and Ned's smiles, she managed one of her own. She nodded. She nodded again. "Yeah, yeah. No▬no, you're right," she smiled at Peter. "Fresh start."

    They both slowly moved their gazes onto Ned as he grinned and placed his hand over their linked ones. Nina and Peter shared an incredulous look.

    "Fresh start," he smiled.

    MJ sighed, disappointed.

*ೃ༄

    NINA WAS dreaming.

    She knew she was dreaming. But she never knew she could dream stress this real. At first, she didn't even know what she was stressed about. Perhaps alll her frustration and tense fear about colledge admissions had gotten to her in her sleep▬or perhaps it was something else.

    She was staring at herself in the mirror, taking a deep breath and fixing her hair. Nina recognised herself, and yet she didn't. She looked older▬she was not in highschool. But she looked gorgeous. With makeup and wonderful hair▬whatever she had been doing, she had meant to look her best in order to impress something, or someone.

    Scientists like to say that when someone dreamt so vividly▬where they could see colour, understand they are dreaming, and yet keep on dreaming all the same, is one of the rarest types of dreams. Lucid dreams. Nina didn't know whether she lucid dreamt, or whether what she was dreaming was actually real▬everything was so real, she had the right amount of fingers, she could count perfectly under her breath ... it was almost like these dreams were never dreams at all.

    Nina took another deep breath, nodding to herself. She brushed her hair off her face, trying to stop the feeling of her heart clawing up her throat▬

    "Nina!"

    And like that, every nervous feeling washed away as she spun around, her heart recognising the sound and yet when she met his gaze, Nina was momentarily confused. But then, when she saw him smile, every confusion disappeared. She scoffed to herself▬how could she not know who this was? This young man with a bright smile, narrow face and such a dorky look about him that it was so endearing it turned handsome.

    "Peter!" breathed Nina with delight and rushed over to him. And just like that, she seemed to remember everything▬she had just finished her final presentation. She had been so nervous, she still was so nervous that she hadn't done so great. But now that Peter Parker was here, none of that seemed to matter.

    And yet ... he didn't look like the Peter Parker she knew so well▬and yet, she knew this Peter Parker like the back of her own hand.

    She smiled, sweet and happy when he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight for a gentle, estatic hug. She sighed with relief the moment she was in his arms. "Oh, Pete!" Nina pulled away and rested her hands around his neck, meeting his happy gaze. "I'm so glad you're here! I thought I was about to drop with nerves▬Was I good? Was it good?"

    Peter gaped at her. "Good?" he echoed. "You were great! You were▬"

    Her smile brightened even more. "You said great," she giggled and his words turned into a chuckle. Nina pecked him on the cheek quickly. "I got your flowers, I love them▬they're beautiful! And I got some from Harry, too ... Was he here tonight?"

    Peter's smile wavered. He sighed and her brows furrowed, concerned. "Yeah ..." He said. "I ran into him outside."

    Nina pursed her lips and fixed some of his hair as it fell over his eyes. "What's going on with you two anyway?"

    He sighed again. "It's complicated," he told her▬though she knew he wasn't letting her in on the whole story. She knew it had something to do with Spider-Man and Harry's obsession with finding him after he killed his father, Norman Osborn, who also turned out to be the Green Goblin. But other than that, Nina knew nothing.

    So she decided to change the subject. "Tell me again▬" she squeezed his shoulders, back to grinning. "Was I really good? Do you think it made sense? Was the presentation fine? I didn't stumble on my words too much, did I▬I was so nervous! My knees were shaking!"

    "Your knees were fine!" Peter quickly reassured her, a sweet smile back on his face. "And you spoke amazing, I heard everything you had to say▬your enzyme kinetics equation was perfect! I'm enlightened on my own metabolism!"

    She gave him a gentle look. "Pete," she chided, though her heart swelled. "I was talking about amphibions. You're not an amphibion. You're an arachnid▬" she poked him, playful and he chuckled.

    "Even so!" he poked her back and she blushed.

    "Are you sure I spoke okay?" she went on, a little less confident now. "I felt as though I could barely hear myself."

    "You were fine," Pete promised her. At the look on her face, he squeezed her arms gently. "It's the acoustics," he continued. "It's all about diffusion. It keeps the sound waves from grouping. You see, when the sound waves, they propagate, then it's like an▬"

    Nina just smiled, her whole face lightening up with a love she knew she felt for this Peter Parker deep inside her heart. Like she did whenever she saw him▬no matter how he looked, or how he sounded ... he was just Peter Parker, and Nina Hart loved him. When he noticed, he stopped talking and frowned slightly. "What?" he asked her.

    She shook her head, still smiling. "Nothing," she said to him gently. "You're just such a nerd, Tiger."

    Peter made a face, light-hearted. "Says you▬" he joked and they both chuckled, more than happy with where life has brought them; to this exact moment.

    There was a knock on a distant door▬the tap of knuckles against a window, and Nina found herself waking up as if she had just drifted off into a light nap ... And she supposed she had. When she opened her eyes, she was sprawled out on her bed in her room back home▬and for a moment, she had this strange feeling like this was the dream, and not the other way around.

    Knuckles rapped on glass again, and Nina glanced up. Her Peter Parker was there on the fire escape, waving at her through the glass with his mask on. Nina stared at him for a moment, still caught up in the dream she just had▬of another Peter that felt so real; everything, even what she felt ... until she shook it out of her mind and stood up, making her way over to unlock the window and push it open. Spider-Man crawled inside. She closed the window after him, confused.

    "You're not supposed to be here," she told him as he pulled off his mask, revealing a mess of honey brown curls.

    Peter glanced back at her, and he made a face▬and there was such a difference to the Peter she saw in her dream, and yet there wasn't. Her Peter Parker wandered over to her desk and smiled slightly when he saw the framed picture of them he had taken on the plane trip back from London with Nina fast asleep on his shoulder. "It's fine," he assured her.

    "You don't have a group of fans following you?" she muttered, admittedly tired as she sat back down on her bed. Peter met her gaze again. He shook his head.

    "I snuck over here," he grinned at her, managing a cheeky tone that she hasn't heard in a little while. "Sneaky as a spider."

    Nina rolled her eyes, but her lips tugged up into a smile. She was glad he was here, though. It had been ages since he randomally appeared at her window▬she missed looking over and seeing him grinning back at her through the glass.

    "I actually came here for a reason other than just to see you▬" Peter Parker dropped down to sit on the bed beside her. The mattress bounced at his weight.

    She frowned, shuffling over and crossing her legs so she could face him. He peered at some of her study notes before neatly placing them on her bedside table. "Yeah?"

    "Yeah," Peter smiled and sat cross-legged as well, still in his Spider-Man suit. "Where's your laptop?" he tugged it close to him before she could answer. He knew her password and logged in.

    Nina's frown deepened and she shuffled closer, trying to look over his shoulder. "Wait▬what are you doing?"

    Peter Parker opened up a new tab on her safari, determined. At first he didn't answer her question, but her eyes started to widen when she saw him type something in the search bar: New York University.

    "We▬" he then said once he pressed enter and the tab loaded, "▬are both applying for N.Y.U."

    Nina stared at him and not the laptop screen. At first, she thought she had imagined his words▬she didn't believe him. Her lips parted, shocked to silence as she started to realise he was being serious, especially when he scrolled down to applications. Nina blinked. She started to choke up. "B▬But, wait▬"

    "Nina," Peter cut her off, looking away from the screen to meet her startled gaze. His own was gentle, and she felt herself grow emotional. A lump formed in her throat. "You've always wanted to go to N.Y.U. That's your dream. You should go to N.Y.U. And if you get in, I'll stay and go with you."

     Nina still couldn't quite comprehend what he was telling her. Her words were stuck in the back of her throat. "N▬No ..." she managed, still shaking her head. "But▬But what about M.I.T.? What about a fresh start in Boston▬?"

    "We'll both apply to M.I.T.," Peter reasoned with her, "and we'll both apply for N.Y.U. That way, no matter what, we'll be together. I just ..." Peter pursed his lips. "I don't want you to walk away from the dream you've had since we were kids ... Just because of what I did."

   Nina grew tearful. "You didn't do anything▬"

    "Still," Peter locked her gaze once again, sure of his decision. "And if you get into N.Y.U., then ... then I won't go to M.I.T. I'll stay in New York with you."

    Her tears fell. "Pete▬Your ... it's been your dream to go to M.I.T. That's your path▬"

    "You're my path," Peter corrected her. Her brows lifted. "I told you," he gave her another smile. "I'm following you▬I'm following you for the rest of my life. That hasn't changed."

    Nina watched him start to type in her application for her, and her heart clenched with such warmth she couldn't even describe▬she couldn't even breathe. And she made her own decision. She realised then and there what her real dream was. She was Peter Parker's path, but he was her path as well. If he got into M.I.T., then she would go to Boston with him, too. As long as they were together. After everything▬after all that has happened, Nina realised that that was what mattered the most.

    Her dreams were just that, dreams. This ... this was her reality.

    (It had to be).

    "Pete..." she said again, and when he heard how heavy her words were, he turned to her once again. Peter watched her for a second, seeing the red-rim around her eyes but in awe of the way they glinted with something he couldn't describe, but it made his heart race.

    His eyes glanced down to her lips and her breath hitched, watching him until he leaned in and started to kiss her▬slow at first, until he took a breath and kissed her again, and there was a fresh confidence in the way he pressed his lips against hers. Nina lifted her hands and slipped her fingers into his curls, starting to breathe faster as they continued to kiss each other. She felt the rough material of his suit as his hands▬shy at first▬found her waist and started to run up and down.

    "Nina," Peter said suddenly against her lips, and heart fluttered at the way his voice sounded.

    She opened her eyes and met his gaze, still hovering by his lips. "Yeah?"

    "I can hear how fast your heart is racing right now ..."

    Her fingers traced his cheeks. "Yeah?"

    His eyes closed. "Yeah."

    "Do you wanna stop?"

    He shook his head, "No▬" and pressed his lips against her's once again in a passionate kiss.

*ೃ༄

    a/n: am i adding a bunch of filler chapters cos i'm scared to get to the main nwh plot? yes.

    also cia will come in more from now on. it's just cos she's no longer at school cos she dropped out that she's not around. but she'll show up once we get into the thick of nwh.

    (when you realise that nina is a canon event...)

    tom holland 🤝 giving me butterflies cos he's so fukin hot like zendaya girl i-

    tbh zendaya is my girl crush. like all the straight guys like ryan reynolds? zendaya is my ryan reynolds.

    but also tom holland *screams*

    anyway peter and nina are so fukin cute- like omfg-

    🙅🏼‍♀️ also we pg-13 here guys there's no mature tag 🙅🏼‍♀️

    what happened above is like as far as we'll ever go.

    btw i have no clue how the school system/ages in america works. in australia if you're in your senior year ur turning 18 unless your a young shît like i was and turned 17. they're turning 18/are already 18 cos that's just what makes sense to me.

    (which means they've grown up so much *sobs*).

    pete's love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation because tom holland's said those are his so >>>> 'i like both of those things those are important to me' LIKE BABY OMG AND ZENDAYA LOVES WORDS OF AFFIRMATION LIKE-

    fuk if they break up love is dead.

    guys! mini photo albums! i'll make some more as we go along with some manips hopefully if i have time. i haven't made a manip in ages so i'm scared they're gonna turn out shit but here are the little ones I did for pete and nina:

   peter's camera roll:

   nina's camera roll: