[WORD COUNT: 2150]

　.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

'the doubters are just dreamers with broken hearts'
— atticus

Your head lolled gently on your shoulders as your eyes drifted in and out of sleep. It had been around ten minutes since Peter had left, and you were still procrastination on whether or not to get up, or just lie in bed. You knew which one you would prefer, but you needed to get up soon. Your feet outstretched to the colder end of the bed as you fell backwards, head hitting the pillow and wanting desperately to sleep.

You had already contacted the school about not going in, and filled in for Peter too. Now, you had around an hour until Peter came back and you already knew you'd be spending the whole day together. Peter was getting confident, which was a good thing for him but you were on the fence. Like you had said before, you wanted to make the most of the time you had with Peter, as you'd never been this close with him. Yes, you were best friends and had been for a while but this... This was so much different.

You knew with the new earned ego Peter would whizz through the steps, getting his nerves out the way with you before... Moving onto someone who represented more of a challenge. You knew deep down inside that you should and were happy for him, but you were allowing yourself to feel ever so slightly jealous because quite frankly, who wouldn't? It was your own fault.

People would have told you to just be up and open about your feelings, as you were the one leading the situation, but that didn't mean you had a say over what Peter's opinion would be. You weren't the boss of him. But at the same time, you were unsure exactly what you were feeling for Peter. You could nail down maybe having a crush on him, but it wouldn't progress any further than that as you knew what falling in love was like, and this wasn't it. Heck, you'd seen him naked at his weakest, why wouldn't you have something for him?

You sucked your teeth, moving your legs from under the blanket and strolling across your room, picking up one of your oversized shirts your dad used to wear and exchanged it for the top you were currently wearing. Then, you opted to head downstairs for some breakfast and catch up revision, seeing as you weren't going to be at school and would most certainly need the energy.

Mornings were never fun when you had time off school, as nothing ever happened. You'd never had a day off when you lived with your parents, only during college due to Peter, which excluded the agreement. It was only ever times when he was in desperate need of medical attention, and despite having done this now for over six months (openly to you) he still hadn't come up with a good enough excuse to use at the hospital. So, you were his go-to.

So, the morning after you would usually be exhausted, hauling yourself out of bed and moping around after being forced to take the day off. At times Peter would usually then be the one looking after you, as he would usually sleep or at worst times pass out after being treated and leave you awake cleaning up after him. A prime example of one of those moments was when he came to you with a bullet wound, certainly hesitant he didn't want to go to the hospital, so you had to stand and remove it yourself. You were mad for a couple of days, as learning that if you didn't cauterize the wound he could have been killed from blood loss. So, he trailed around after you making sure you were okay for maybe a day or two before you both returned to school.

Some heads would turn at the convenience that you and Peter always had the same days off, and would always come back to school together. But, it never really bothered you. Rumours would go around, and you never bat an eyelid. Except for now, because the majority of them were true.

Again, you'd sat drowning in your thoughts that now looking down the cereal in your bowl had turned soggy, so it was thrown down the drain and the bowl in the sink as you walked back over to the couch to catch up on some F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Or, more likely, result back to your mind and let the flood gates open, allowing Peter to swallow your thoughts.

The more you thought about it, you'd say the worse it got. He was too pure for all of this and yet coming to face you, he would have you on your hands and knees practically begging for it, yet he was silent and so clueless. With a bit of will power and more confidence, Peter would literally take over this ordeal and have you the one feeling small under him. You weren't afraid to admit the fact you wouldn't mind that either.

Your teeth gnawed into your bottom lip as your eyes would continuously avert away from the screen, looking around as if there was anything more interesting in your small apartment. You couldn't be bothered to get dressed, as you would only be removing the clothes again, and you couldn't see a point in showering as you would only be getting messier. All you could do was wait.

"It seems to be all clear, Peter. Well done" Peter's AI, KAREN spoke through the intercom as Peter landed on a nearby rooftop, setting himself down just in time for the sunrise.

"Thanks, KAREN" Peter sighed, removing his mask as he sat against the wall of a roof fire exit, removing his mask and holding it between his legs. The clouds were thinning over in the distance, the orange hum glowing as the sun rose under the protection of the hills and shadows of city buildings. It somewhat reminded him of you.

The colours were bright like your eyes, and the pastel paintings it created across the sky reminded him of your bedroom wall, neatly decorated with your own personal touches. He could picture the polaroids now, seeing them scattered over your room, some on your mirror and the occasional one stuck to your bathroom sink.

"So how's your love life, Peter?" KAREN asked involuntarily, "Your heart rate has increased by 23% of the average percentage, is Chloe on your mind?"

"Okay, first of all, how are you even talking to me when I don't have my mask on?"

"When you passed the Training Wheels protocol and unlocked all features to your suit, this was one of them in case of emergency"

"Oh... Well, this isn't an emergency"

"It is to me, is there someone of your mind or do I need to run a body scan?"

"Alright, alright, yeah... Yeah, there is" Peter caved, pushing out his legs and allowing them to rest against the uneven gravel, feeling stones poke at his legs even through the comfort of the suit lining.

"Do I know her?" KAREN asked curiously. Peter chuckled, turning his head to look at the city below. At the end of the street was your apartment building, and he could just make out your fire escape balcony from where he was sitting.

"I don't believe you've met" Peter replied, a small smile on his lips, "but she's just a friend" he quickly clarified. Saying that out loud sounded wrong. Peter knew you were more than just your ordinary friends now, as you'd seen each other vulnerable. You'd done things to each other no friend would even dare to do, and partly at times, he would blame it on the fact that you were both erratic teenagers looking for some kind of way to get off.

But when he touched you, feeling your hot skin right there at his fingertips, he felt more than just lust and needy desire. This wasn't just a fun game you got to play with each other, no matter who the winner may be. He felt more than that, and he wondered whether or not you did too.

"You and Ned are just friends. Your heart rate doesn't increase when you are thinking or talking to Ned"

"W-well that's different" Peter shot back, snapping a little as he wanted those thoughts to himself.

"How so?" KAREN asked, leaving Peter in a contemplating mess. She had a point, to be frank. It was different because he cared about you above everyone else, excluding Aunt May. The past couple of years you'd been his rock, his will to live at times because just seeing your face made him smile. Your small quirks made his heart flutter and yet here he had been handing all the credit to Chloe.

"You have an incoming call from Aunt May, would you like me to forward it?" KAREN suddenly sounded through the AI, making Peter jump after getting lost in his thoughts. He cursed under his breath knowing she would only be worrying about where he would be, but he couldn't just ignore her.

"Yeah, go ahead"

The sound of a bang coming from upstairs caught you off guard, head shooting to the roof as you felt your heart pounding in your chest. Peter's back.

Your feet paced quickly, moving almost into a run as you shot up the stairs, often missing a step before skipping down the hallway and into your bedroom where sure enough Peter was changing into some ordinary clothes.

"Hey" he shot you a smile, zipping up his jeans tightly before picking up a shirt.

"Hey, how was patrol?" you smiled back, sitting down on the bed and crossing your legs.

"Eh, same old" he looked down at his hands, shirt tucked between his knuckles as he shrugged. He glanced at you on the bed, looking up at him with knowing eyes. He smirked, tossing down his shirt and moving over to you on the bed, pushing you down as your lips connected hastily. To say Peter had been craving you since he left this morning would be an understatement, and feeling you against his lips again gave him a whole new rush of adrenaline.

But you were hesitant, and it made his blood run cold. He pulled away gently, leaning over you as you remained underneath him, eyes scanning his face as he did the same.

"I-I'm sorry, did I move too fast?" he stuttered, feeling the heat rising to his cheeks.

"No, no" you giggled, "It's just, well... What else is there for you to learn, now? I.. I think you're ready if I'm honest" you sent him a heartfelt smile, but Peter's heart sank. It couldn't be over, right? Not this soon. It was too short, he wanted more, he needed more.

"Oh.. Uh, yeah, y-your probably right"

"Hey," you stopped him from moving, seeing he was heading to back up and his eyes shot right back onto yours. "There, uh, there's a party at Chloe's house tonight, we could run a trial and error?" you shrugged, sitting rather awkwardly underneath him now.

"Trial and error, uh yeah sure, right" he coughed, clearing his throat and nodded sternly.

"Peter, I-"

"I uh, I gotta go" he moved off of you quickly, out of reach of your hand as you went to grab him back.

"Peter, don't do this"

"I'll see you tonight, Y/N" he murmured, almost under his breath as he slipped on a shirt and dived for the window, swinging away into the city despite his identity being on the show. He had to get away from you, in fear of showing his real emotions. He couldn't understand why that was such a bad thing, though? He felt something for you, he knew. But, hearing you say you wanted to end the agreement feeling he was ready, honestly... It hurt.

He wanted to keep this going for longer than expected, but he had used his confidence in the wrong term and you were getting the wrong idea. In reality, there was nothing there for Chloe. It had always been you, you. You!

You watched Peter swing in between city buildings, tears brimming at the lids of your eyes. How could you be so stupid!? You had him right there, right there, and you fucked it up. This was a no strings attached agreement and you were letting the most blatant rule slide. You couldn't break the rules, not even for Peter. You had feelings for him, and you knew he didn't feel the same. There was nothing there for you whereas what you wanted to give out would be everything you had left in you.

He. Likes. Chloe.

So get a fucking grip over yourself. 

　 .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The tea, my fellow bread bins, is hot.