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THE BACKYARD WAS ALISSA's FAVORITE PLACE AT HER HOUSE. Her parents never really went out there unless they were hosting a work party or had distant relatives over for the holiday seasons, and Alissa was thankful for it. More often than not, she found herself seated out in the back with her legs dipped in the refreshing pool after a heated fight with one—or both—of her parents, and the occasional ones with her brothers. They all knew it was best to leave her alone when she went outside to cool off, knowing she would most likely get over it after some time away from them. And it usually did the job; it had become her own little safe haven.

Her brothers nor her parents appreciated the beauty and peace that their backyard provided, but Alissa did. The flickering yellow lights of lightning bugs that floated around in the cooling air, the mellowing sound of water running into the pool from the small waterfall in the bad, and the hum of crickets all in one place could make someone calm down rather quickly. Well, maybe not so much with the dozens of crickets that tended to grow too loud at times, but the outside was typically a peaceful place for the teenager. That was why she didn't really bring her friends out there unless she herself was having a party or if she had more than three friends over to hangout. However, Peter was different than the rest of her friends, and if that meant she gave him special treatment, well, that wasn't anyone's business but her own.

Alissa still had a hold of Peter's hand as she led him outside, holding on for just a few seconds longer until they were stood on the deck, standing side-by-side. She blushed, fiddling with her hands as a silence came over the two after she let go. Peter cleared his throat, readjusting the dark green jacket he wore.

"Wow, your backyard's really nice. I-I've only seen it at night, but it's just as great in the light," Peter said, eyes scanning the vibrantly colored backyard. Alissa softly smiled at his kind words, sighing to herself softly.

"Thank you, Pete. Not many people get to see it so. . ." Alissa dragged off, biting her lip.

Peter turned to her. "What're you talking about? There's always parties here. Dozens of people get to see it," he said in confusion. Alissa new cult sighed, plopping down in a chair at the wooden table. It was in the center of the deck, each chair in its correct place so that there was an even amount. Extra chairs were stacked in the shed, protected from harsh weather conditions that occasionally plagued New York. Peter took a seat next to her, wondering if he said something wrong to make her sigh. "I-I'm sorry, I—"

Alissa dismissively shook her head. "No, it's okay," she dismissed, sending Peter a comforting smile that calmed his nerves. "It's just. . .I don't know, not a lot of people actually see this. I mean, they see it, but they don't. That doesn't make any sense, does it?" Alissa asked, scrunching her face in embarrassment. She lifted her legs, pulling them into her chest and resting her chin on her knee, feet dangling over the seat.

"No, I get it."

Alissa's head perked up, eyes flickering to the boy at his words. "You do?"

"Yeah. They see everything out here, but they don't see the true beauty of it all," Peter shortly explained, eyes briefly locking on the pool for the fifth time since they stepped outside.

Alissa couldn't help but grin. "Yeah. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that," she honestly admitted. "I thought I was crazy for it."

"No one could ever think you're crazy," Peter quickly denied. Alissa blushed again, pushing her face into her knees to hide her rosy cheeks from his peering eyes. Peter didn't notice it, shifting in the chair. Then Peter smiled, lightly biting the inside of his cheek, his gaze falling upon the pool again.

"Wanna go for a swim?" Alissa questionably wondered. Peter's head swiveled around in her direction. "Most pools are closed this time of the year, but since ours is heated, we can still use it."

Peter let out a nervous laugh, rubbing his hands together, "I-I don't have any swimming trunks with me," he said.

Alissa waved her hand and stood up. "I'm sure Carter has a pair you could borrow," she stated cheerfully. Peter followed her when she began to move, trying to stop her, but no words of protest came out. So, he just closed his mouth and trailed after her, finding himself going deeper into the large house as they descended up the stairs.

After a minute or so, they reached Carter's room, finding it bright with the navy blue curtains drawn back all the way. Clean and dirty clothes littered the wooden flooring, numerous of empty pizza boxes were discarded on his desk and tv stand. The metallic trash can was nearly overflowing with crumpled pieces of paper and crushed soda cans. His bed was a disheveled mess of big and a small blankets, tattered pillows fallen around the queen sized bed. Alissa grimaced in pure disgust, smelling an odor she only assumed came from the old pizza boxes she passed, but she couldn't have been too sure when she wasn't able to see what resided under the bed.

Peter decided to stay in the hallway, not wanting to mess anything up in the already disheveled room. Alissa seemed to take notice of it as she glanced back at him, spotting him awkwardly stood in the doorway, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet while he patiently waited.

"You can come in, you know," Alissa airily chuckled, yanking open a door of Carter's dresser as she spoke. "It's not like he's gonna know you were in here. You can't mess anything up since he already did it himself, or maybe that was Flash's doing, but still."

"Flash," Peter pursed his lips together at the mention of the boy. "H-How did they—"

"I honestly don't know." Alissa didn't look up from her rummaging as she answered. "One day they weren't talking to each other, and then the next thing I know, they're best friends again. I'm still confused, but I'm not going to question it. I don't want to get caught in the middle of it all again."

Peter understandably nodded, glancing at the pairs of swimming trunks she pulled out and tossed on the bed, most likely ones that would fit him better than the rest. He wondered if he could bring up the water incident with Flash now that they were on the topic.

So, he did.

"Uh, the other day in Ms. Warrens," Peter began, "When Flash was being a jerk—w-why'd you step in?" Alissa froze in place, eyes widening. She hadn't been expecting him to ask her about that day, and suddenly, she couldn't figure out even the simplest kind of lie that wouldn't raise questions or give her crush away.

She slowly closed the drawer, taking her time before finally facing Peter. "I don't know," Alissa timidly mumbled. "I guess. . .he's a bully, but maybe I-I can help him stop, you know? We're close and all, but he doesn't always listen to me. S-So I tried something new. I'll admit, it wasn't my brightest idea, but it was all I thought to do. Plus, you're my friend—one of my best friends. Just because Flash is my friend, too, doesn't mean I'll let him get away with being a jerk."

Peter had a thought, but brushed it off, almost laughing at it. "Still? I don't think I ever thanked you for it. So, thank you, Alissa," he kindly thanked her,

Alissa beamed, tossing him two pairs of trunks. They whacked him in the face, making his glasses slide down his nose slightly. Alissa giddily giggled, heading towards him, lightly pushing him towards the hall bathroom as he fumbled around with his glasses. "I think these two would fit best. I'll meet you by the pool."

Without another word, Alissa headed off, leaving Peter to choose from a blue pair of trunks and a red pair.

° ° °

Peter's breath hitched in his throat when he saw Alissa exit the house. The girl had on a light blue two piece swim suit, her brown hair brushed back and face perfectly clean of any makeup. Peter quickly averted his gaze, running a hand through his hair. He knew Alissa was attractive, but so were most of his female friends. They were all beautiful in their own ways, and Alissa was just someone who Peter had grown used to being around, not thinking much on her appearance after so many years of being her friend. Now, seeing her in a different light after so many years, it brought a strange feeling to his stomach that he would've much rather ignore.

"Hey, you picked the red ones," Alissa casually noted, sitting down beside him on the edge of the pool. She dipped her legs into the warm water beside Peter, cheerfully grinning. Peter did the same, contently sighing. "That's my favorite color."

Peter chuckled. "Mine too."

Alissa bit her bottom lip, trying to keep her lips from moving upwards anymore than they already were. She suddenly stood up, muttering that she would be right back as she raced inside the house. Peter titled his head to the side in confusion as his eyes followed her, but a bright grin spread across his lips when music began to play from the speakers placed around the pool.

Alissa came bounding back out, moving towards the pool once again. "You Like MGNT, don't you?" She presumed, hoping he did because she thought he told her that he enjoyed their Oracular Spectacular Album.

Peter nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, it's one of my favorite. I like this song the most," Peter said. Alissa agreed.

"Definitely. Time To Pretend is their best song yet," she said, sitting beside him once more. "Hey Peter, how well can you swim?"

Peter nonchalantly shrugged. "Good, I guess. Why do you—" Peter was shoved forward by two small hands, his entire body going under water. Alissa squealed loudly, clamping her hand over her mouth. She gasped, turning to the side to look at Brian who was laughing hysterically while splayed out on the ground. Peter popped back up seconds later, sputtering out gulps of water. Alissa gaped, darkly narrowing her eyes at her little brother.

"That was the best thing I've seen in my entire life!" Brian exclaimed, capturing Peter's attention. "You literally set me up with that by asking him how well he could swim!"

"That's not why I asked!" Alissa snapped in her defense. Peter wiped his eyes, fully taking notice of the curly haired boy standing off to the side. Brian victoriously smirked. "I asked him so I could do it later. . .when he wouldn't be expecting anything!"

"Hey!" Peter interjected. Alissa and Brian snapped their heads around, facing him. Peter laughed, pushing his hair back from his forehead. "It's alright."

Alissa sighed, running a hand across her face. She dropped her hand, looking from Brian and then to Peter. Without another word, she jumped forward and did a canon ball into the pool. Peter swam back a little ways, closing his snapping his eyes as water splashed him in the face from the jump. Brian raised his brows, eyes flicking to meet Peter's.

"Well, I've had my fun," Brian proudly said, nonchalantly shrugging. He began heading towards the door, not looking back as he spoke. "Don't do anything gross in that pool, either! I swim in there, too!"

Alissa popped back up, warmly grinning, not having heard her brother. Peter did the same, faintly chuckling. Alissa leaned back in the water, allowing her body to submerge further underwater. Peter did the same. Alissa ducked her chin further, trying to hide her ever growing smile. Peter noticed it, but didn't say anything. He just let out a content breath, knowing that spending time with her was actually lot better than being in Coney Island in a too expensive hotel.

It was the first time Peter noticed Alissa smiling because of him, but it was also the first time Alissa didn't realize she was blushing along with her bright smile at the attention he was giving her.

It was just the two of them in that very peaceful moment, and Alissa wished that it would never end. She knew it would at some point, but for the moment, she was going to savor their alone time for as long as he was with her.

And he was going to do the same.

° ° °

Honestly, I don't know how I feel about the last part. I thought it was going to be a lot longer, but I thought maybe this was a good ending point? I'm not too sure, though. I also thought of making the next chapter start with the rest of their time together and then just move onto what I have planned next, but idk.

Anyways, please don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments and I hope you enjoyed!