Chapter 11: Where They Get Close

"It's amazing how you can fall in love with a person you didn't even notice the first time you meet them"

Michelle seemed to realized that her blonde friend wasn't going to answer any of her questions, so she just decided to drop the theme entirely. Ember, however, was still in cloud nine since her little moment with Peter, unconsciously driving her best friend mad.

"I swear to God if you don't drop that smile I'm throwing your copy of 'A Game Of Thrones' at your head!" MJ finally snapped, throwing her arms out in exasperation as the two girls entered Angela's.

The blonde rolled her eyes at her friend's annoyance, the smile still on her face "You know you really should try smiling more often. You'd think that me covering your shift would erase your resting bitch face."

"Okay. A) You were the one who dragged me to that lame party. B) Smiling is overrated. And C) This 'bitch face' is a part of me, you can't erase it."

"There you are!" An overly happy Angela said coming through the kitchen door, stopping their conversation. The woman was a little dolled up for baking, the usually floured covered clothes were unstained.
"I asked Loraine to cover your shift so we could go dress shopping! What do you say?"

That's when Ember's smile dropped a little, she loved Angela to death but shopping wasn't exactly her cup of tea, specially with her step mother. Angela could spend hours walking around the mall, going from store to store never actually purchasing anything cause 'there might be something better'. And finally after long hours of walking and with their feet sore, the woman would return to the first store they entered to buy the exact same item she said wasn't goo enough.

Michelle smirked at her friend's horrified expression, oh boy was she glad she wasn't on her shoes "Well that sounds fun! I'll see later then" MJ said with fake excitement earning a harsh glare from the small blonde

"Don't be ridiculous Michelle you're coming too" Just like Ember those words erased any trace if a smirk from Michelle's face, "Bye Loraine!" Angela shouted to the girl behind the counter, not even giving either friend a chance to runaway before grabbing their arms,happily dragging both teenagers away.

After what felt like an eternity Ember managed to find the perfect dress for homecoming and even managed to convince Michelle of buying one, no matter how much the brunette argued she wasn't attending the dance. The blonde only remembered she agreed to meet Peter that same afternoon when she saw him patiently waiting at a table inside the bakery. He was all alone on his booth, fidgeting with his phone while eating his sandwich.

"Oh my gosh Peter, I'm so sorry I didn't realize how late it was." Ember quickly apologized, the boy sprinting to his feet once he saw her.

"It's fine, I was just early" Peter said, she was only late by a few minutes.

"Let's go upstairs" Ember suggested gesturing for him to follow her. Peter now noticing the bags she was carrying he gently grabbed them and gestured for her to lead the way.

"Ember!" A voice stopped them from going any further. Behind them stood Angela watching the two with an amused smile, the blonde turning to look at her expectantly "Keep the doors open" she finished giving the two a cheeky wink and leaving to attend her little buissnes, not giving a second glance to the flabbergasted teenagers.

Ember awkwardly cleared her throat,not sure of what to say about Angela's little comment. The two made their way upstairs in silence ignoring each other, until they were finally inside Ember's apartment.

"Do you, uh, want anything to drink or something" Ember offered, entering the kitchen while Peter wandered around in the living room, just hoping they could ignore the awkward moment downstairs. "There's juice, soda, water?"

But Peter didn't hear her he was too busy looking at a picture on the wall. It was the photo of a blonde woman around her forties, holding a baby covered in a mantle close to her chest. It was crazy how much the woman looked like Ember herself.
Same pale skin, only covered with some wrinkles. Same blonde hair, only you could see white traces here and there. Same emerald green eyes, except they seemed to hide so much horror deep inside.

"Is that your mom?" The boy suddenly asked still looking closely at the picture. He had never met Ember's biological mother, or if he had then he certainly didn't remember. He didn't even know what happened to the woman, he just knew Angela wasn't her birth mom. Oh boy how wrong he was, the moment Margo Lewis walked away all those years ago she took every trace of her with her. There wasn't a single picture of Ember's biological mother displayed in the apartment, it was too hard for Carter to even thin about his former wife.

The blonde made her way towards the boy, looking at the picture he was now holding, the one of Anastasia Darling holding his baby boy on her arms "Oh no, that's my grandmother."

"You look just like her" Peter gushed, placing it back on its place and going for the one on top of the coffee table. It was one of the same woman only younger probably in her early twenties, smiling brighter than in the other photo, proudly holding a worn out book, Peter couldn't really read the title. Maybe it was because the woman in the picture was closer to Ember's age but either way you could definitely notice the family resemblance.

"I get that a lot" Ember replied, smiling softy at the memory of her dear grandmother. She was truly a hero in her eyes, there was no one like her in the whole world. "She always carried that Peter and Wendy copy around. It was her favorite"

Peter smiled at the sight of the blonde girl staring fondly at the picture of Anastasia, he could tell the two were pretty close. He was entranced by the blonde girl, he loved the smile the mere memory of her grandmother brought. Peter knew right then and there that every time he said Ember Snow was just a childhood crush he was only trying to fool himself. Truth is Peter Parker was wrapped around her little finger and she didn't even know it.

The blonde completely oblivious to his stare, realized they had been standing there for far too long. She cleared her throat tearing bringing herself back to the present and the land of the living "We can work on my room"

Peter absentmindedly nodded his head, her words hardly making it to his brain, all he could think was how much he wanted to get lost on her green eyes and never look back, or how much he wanted to kiss her perfect red lips, but he was too much of a coward to do it. In his mind there was no chance the girl would feel the same way, he was just Peter Parker and in her eyes he was no Spider-Man.

Ember's bedroom was fairly simple. The walks were plain white, with fairy lights adorning them. On one corner, there was a desk with a laptop and some school book, it was her study corner. The other side however was her favorite spot, there was a window seat, surrounded by two full bookshelves, there were more fairy lights and way more pictures. Some were of her and Carter or Angela, some were with Michelle, there were also some with an old lady Peter realized was her grandmother.

"Holy shit!" He suddenly exclaimed, excitement clare on his voice as he spotted a picture of a familiar man half hugging a younger Ember who held blue and red shield proudly, both smiling as bright as ever. "Is that Captain America?!"

"Oh, yeah that's me and Steve on my twelfth birthday" Ember answered simply, sometimes she forgot how big of a deal Captain America was. For her he was just Steve, the lovable outdated dork she saw as another father figure. He was her best friend when she felt there was no one else she could trust. And now he was gone, he ran and left no trace. Ember knew that he didn't leave because he wanted to but she just wished he would at least try to contact her from time to time. Just to know he was fine. "He's a family friend" Ember finished, noticing Peter's confused stare.

Peter nodded, unsure of what else to add, after all Captain America was considered a fugitive now, and it was partly his fault. Aiding at the attempt to catch a 'family friend' was definitely no ice breaker for a conversation with the girl you like. "We should, uh, start working right?" He asked after a few seconds of awkward silence, reaching for his backpack and getting his books out.

"Yeah, sure" Ember nodded, following his actions and sitting on the floor. Peter still stood there unsure of whether sitting next to her would be overstepping her boundaries. "Come on Pete I swear I won't bite" she said, patting lightly the spot next her inviting him to take a sit. He nodded shyly as he sat down, the two quickly smiling at each other before they got to work.

❅

"I got there first" Peter argued laughing slightly as the girl next to him scrunched her face in disbelief. The two teenagers finished working after about an hour, now they were sitting on Ember's window seat, just chilling, talking about many things including how they met.

"You did not!" Ember retorted pouting like a child, earning another chuckle from the boy.

"I so did! I was waiting patiently to get on that swing only for a blonde girl dressed up as Hermione Granger to push me to get to it!" Peter exclaimed, laughing at the memory of Ember wearing that costume almost everyday. "You always wore that costume"

"Stop laughing, I was three!" she complained, hitting him lightly, only for him to crack up more. Ember's check turned bright red from embarsment at the memory of how hard she begged her parents for that costume,she just loves it. The blonde still remembered how she cried when it stopped fitting. "Besides Hermione Granger is iconic!"

"Whatever, you tried to steal my swing!" Peter argued, his smile never leaving his face as he smiled at the blonde.

"Oh, stop being so petty! In the end neither of us got the swing" The boy was right, he got there first, but she wasn't planning on admitting it any time soon. After all an older boy ended up beating both kids for the swing while they were busy fighting, but it was for the best. If it weren't for that little incident Ember and Peter wouldn't have become friends. Yes, after the blonde began getting homeschooled they lost contact, but they were once great friends and now they could be even more,.

"Remember that time you punched Jeremy Hudson?" Peter recalled, they were older and it was Ember's first year back at school. At that time Peter had already met Ned and even if Ember seemed to be more reserved than her younger self, he still payed attention to her.

"Oh yeah, that's when me and Michelle became friends" Ember said, smiling fondly at the memory of her and Michelle bonding during detention. "He was making fun of my braces" she remembered, how almost the entire class laughed and how Michelle almost instantly kicked him where the sun doesn't shine just to defend Ember and Ember was quick to land a second punch on his face just like Steve taught her to.

"I still don't get why, you looked adorable!" Peter said, frowning at the thought of anyone hurting Ember Snow.

"No I didn't" Ember chuckled at his comment, shaking her head slightly. Oh how she hated the braces, well she only started hating them when people made fun of it.

"You always look adorable" Peter blurted out before he could stop himself, snapping Ember's attention back to him. The two stared deep at each other's eyes, hearts beating fast. Neither of them realized how close they were sitting, until now. All it would take for their lips to meet was an act of courage. Both unsure of what to do in this kind of situation started to lean forward, like two magnets that simply couldn't help but getting closer. Peter held his breath as he saw her get closer, her eyes flickering from his eyes to his mouth asking for permission, his doing the exact same thing.

"Ember I'm home!" A voice screamed from the corridor, the teenagers suddenly brought back to reality sprung far from each other, cheeks burning bright red at the mere thought of what almost happened. "How's my favorite daugh-" Carter Snow abruptly stopped mid sentence as he finally stood in front of Ember's open door, eyes locked on the unknown intruder. His smile washed away from his face as he stared at the boy inside her daughters room "Who the hell are you?" He asked through gritted teeth. Peter's blood ran cold, in that precise moment he was terrified of Carter Snow, a buffed tall man who looked ready to murder him, if given the chance.

Ember felt embarrassed at her father's overprotectiveness, poor Peter looked like he was ready to make a run for it, she was about to intervine when the boy finally decided to speak up "I'm P-Peter, Mr. Sn-" The boy stopped death on his tracks at the look the man gave him. "I mean sir" he quickly corrected himself, oh how much he wished he could disappear.

"Aha, and what are you doing here?" The man asked, crossing his strong arms on his equally toned chest.

Ember rolled her eyes at Carter's antics, just about ready to die from embarrassment. "Working on a school project, dad" she said adding an annoying tone on the last word, giving him a pointed glare, clearly just wanting him to knock it off.

"Oh, you're home, amor" Angela suddenly arrived, kissing her husband on the cheek , before noticing the scene. Carter looked rather tensed, Ember looked annoyed and poor Peter Parker looked like a terrified chihuahua. "Amor, could you help me with some bags" Angela said, sending the boy a reassuring smile, rubbing her husband's back soothingly dragging him away.

"Would you stop that! That kid looks like he is about to have a panic attack!" She muttered, slapping Carter's arm once they were out of the teenager's reach.

"Did he really?" Carter asked, grinning proudly at the thought of Peter being afraid of him. His grin turning into a grimace as Angela suddenly hit the back of his head. "Oh come on angel, maybe that way he'll leave" he groaned out in pain, staring fearfully at Angela's eyes.

"What did the poor boy ever did to you,huh?" Angela asked, glaring at Carter "Give me one good reason of why he should leave?"

"He's in my daughter's room!" Carter exclaimed, flapping his arms around like a bird. Angela just stared at him, face blank, not satisfied by his answer "Am I supposed to let a total stranger alone with my daughter?"

"You know what Carter? You're absolutely right" Angela stated, smiling sweetly at him a glint of mischief barely visible on her eyes as she made her way back to Ember's room.

"I am?" asked a shocked Carter as he followed his wife.

❅

Peter stood in the middle of the room, his brown eyes going from the floor, to the blonde girl sitting by the window playing with her thumbs. Before Carter arrived he almost kissed Ember Snow, he almost kissed the girl he liked. And in a shocking turn of events it seemed like she wanted to kiss him. Despite that Peter  still felt unsure about the possibility of Ember actually reciprocating his feelings. Perhaps she leaned in because he had an eyelash on his face and she wanted to get it out? Or maybe it was just the heat of the moment? Either way, he felt like those options were more realistic than the truth. Unknowingly to the other, Peter and Ember liked each other, and in their minds they kept thinking about the almost kiss, silently wondering what it could've been and probably would never be because they were to scared to admit their feelings.

"Knock knock" Angela suddenly said, gaining the pair's attention, Carter following to stand next to his wife, smiling proudly " Carter and I were talking and we agreed that you should stay over for dinner Peter"

"Yeah" Carter said, only for him to catch onto what Angela just said. His eyes widening in shocked as he looked at the woman next to him " Wait, what?"

Angela smiled smugly, raising her hand to shush Carter, before focusing on the two dumbfounded teenagers in the room "Yeah, you know you're a close friend of Ember's and we would really like to get to know you better"

"But-" Carter started only to be cut off by Angela's harsh glare. Truth was that Peter Parker could be scared of him, but Carter Snow could be terrified of Angela Forbes. "Whatever you say honey"

Angela smiled at him lovingly, reaching for his hand and leaning more into him. Ember cleared her throat awkwardly regaining their attention. "So what do you say Peter?"

Peter felt the pressure of their stares, Angela almost pleading him to agree with her eyes. But did Ember even want him there? The girl just sat at the couch looking like she wanted the whole thing to be over. And that's when it overcame him again, the fear of overstepping her boundaries. The fear of him seeming too desperate and for her to reject him. "I can't." He finally said, avoiding their eyes, missing the disappointment that filled Ember's eyes. "My, uh, my aunt is expecting me. She probably, uh , already cooked dinner" The first part was true, the second one not so much. It was most likely May would burn down their apartment before having anything ready. He loved his aunt but she definitely was no cook.

"Oh that's alright, but we'll take a raincheck!" Angela said, still smiling, Peter couldn't recall a time where the woman didn't seem extremely happy, it was weird to even imagine her without her bright smile.

"Yeah sure" He nodded, not entirely sure he would be keeping that promise any time soon "I better get going now, but thanks again Mr and Mrs Snow"

"Oh just Angela dear" Peter nodded at the woman, smiling at her, before the woman hugged him for a second. To Angela, Peter Parker was already part of the family.

Peter turned to look at Carter expectantly, extending his arm out for a handshake. Carter looked at his hand, shacking his hand a little too hard "And you can call me Sir" the man said as farewell, Peter nodding enthusiastically trying to hide his fear.

Peter looked at Ember unsure of what to do or say, specially with Carter's eyes set on him "I'll walk you out" Ember said smiling a little, causing the boy to sigh in relief, maybe it won't be too awkward between them.

He followed her all the way downstairs, neither of them talking until they were on the door. "So, uh, see you around?" Peter said not even turning to look at her.

"Wait!" She said stoping him from going out. The boy turning to look at her anxiously "I'm sorry about what happened"

"W-what?" Peter asked, feeling his stomach drop. He was right she never meant to lean in, she didn't feel the same way.

"You know my parents. They're kinda weird" Ember said, unknowing of the boy's pain.

One part of her wanted to kiss him but the other part was too afraid of the outcome. So she just leaned forward pressig her cold lips to his cheek and leaving them there for a second. Peter's cheeks grew warm, his heart fluttering at the touch of her lips on his cheek, his eyes widening and his lips twisting into a bright smile. Perhaps he still had a chance.

"See you soon Pete" she giggled looking at him lovingly, unable to stop smiling just like after school.

"Goodnight Em" He replied, also smiling like the lovesick fool he was for her.

❅

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