Chapter Text
Peter Parker had a rule.
Actually, Peter Parker had a few rules, and most of them had something to do with Spider-Man..
Don’t reveal your identity, don’t let people get hurt, don’t swing too close to buildings, don’t forget your homework.
That last one wasn’t technically a Spider-Man rule, but Aunt May had made it very clear that it still counted.
Tonight, however, Peter had broken a different rule. Don’t show up at someone’s bedroom window! Especially not a girl he’d met that morning, and not a girl who went to his school.
And definitely not when he didn’t have a particularly good reason.
Peter crouched on the edge of the building across from Lara Jean’s apartment, staring at her window.
He knew where she lived because he’d seen her walking home after school.
It wasn’t difficult to recognize the building from above. Peter spent most nights swinging through Queens, and after a while, the streets and buildings started to become familiar. He knew which rooftops connected to which blocks, which buildings had fire escapes, and which windows belonged to the people he’d seen around the neighborhood.
He hadn’t meant to memorize Lara Jean’s.
He just had.
After that awkward interaction, Peter swung away from Lara Jean’s window and immediately regretted every decision that had led him there.
He’d fought actual supervillains with less panic than he felt right now. She’d screamed.
Obviously.
He was Spider-Man. He had shown up outside a girl’s bedroom window wearing a mask. Screaming was probably the appropriate response.. Still, there was something about the way she’d looked at him afterward that made him smile.
She hadn’t asked him to leave. Well. Technically, she had, but she had kept talking to him?
That was all. He definitely wasn’t going to do it again.
Probably.
The next morning, Peter walked into Chemistry with approximately four hours of sleep and immediately wished he had stayed home.
He dropped his backpack beside his desk and pulled out his notebook, trying to convince himself that last night hadn’t been as embarrassing as it felt.
It had.
He’d shown up at a girl’s window, a girl he’d met that morning! A girl who went to his school.
Peter stared at the board.
Maybe—
“Hi.”
Peter looked up, Lara Jean stood beside his desk and froze for half a second.
“Hi.”
She sat down beside him and pulled out her notebook.
Peter glanced at her.
She looked completely normal.
Like she hadn’t screamed when she’d seen Spider-Man outside her window.
Like Peter hadn’t spent half the night wondering why he’d gone there in the first place.
“Did you sleep?” she asked.
Peter blinked.
“Yeah.”
She looked at him.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Lara Jean smiled. “You look tired.”
Peter stared at her.
“You too.”
“Well, I slept.”
“Same.”
She laughed.
“I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t have to.”
Lara Jean smiled and turned toward the board, Peter tried to do the same. For the next few minutes, he actually managed to pay attention.
Then Lara Jean leaned toward him.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” He responded blankly.
“Do you know anything about Spider-Man?”
Peter nearly dropped his pencil.
“What?”
“Spider-Man.”
“I know who he is..”
“No, I mean—”
She lowered her voice.
“He was outside my window last night.”
Peter stared straight ahead.
“Oh.”
Lara Jean looked at him.
“That’s all you have to say?”
“What am I supposed to say?”
“I don’t know. Something.”
Peter shrugged, trying to look casual.
“Maybe he had a reason.”
“He said he didn’t.”
Peter bit the inside of his cheek.
“That’s… not very reassuring.”
“I know.”
She looked back toward the board.
Peter let out a breath.
“You weren’t scared?”
“I was.”
“Then why did you keep talking to him?”
Lara Jean thought about it.
“I don’t know.”
Peter smiled slightly.
“Well he’s a superhero isn’t he?”
She looked at him and smiled.
“Sure.”
The teacher turned around.
“Is there something you’d like to share with the class?”
Both of them immediately looked forward.
“No,” Peter said.
“Not really—” Lara Jean added.
The teacher stared at them for a second before continuing.
Peter glanced sideways at Lara Jean. She was trying not to laugh.. He smiled.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be as awkward as he’d thought.
By lunch, Lara Jean had gotten used to finding Peter. He was sitting at the same table as yesterday with Ned and MJ, talking about something Lara Jean couldn’t quite hear as she approached.
Peter noticed her and shifted his backpack off the empty seat beside him.
“Hey.” Peter said
“Hi.”
Lara Jean sat down, trying not to think about the fact that she’d automatically looked for him when she walked into the cafeteria.
Ned smiled at her.
“Second day.”
Lara Jean smiled, “Still alive.”
“That’s good.”
MJ glanced up from her sketchbook.
“Give it time.”
Lara Jean laughed. Peter smiled too, but when she looked over, he was already looking away.
She looked down at her lunch, for some reason, that made her feel a little warm.
Ned continued talking about a game he’d been playing, and Peter immediately got pulled into the conversation. He started explaining something about the mechanics, getting more animated as he talked.
Lara Jean listened, amused. Peter noticed her watching him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You were looking at me.”
“I was listening.”
“Oh.”
He looked back at Ned, suddenly very interested in whatever was happening on the table.
Lara Jean smiled to herself.
Eventually, the conversation shifted to school.
“How’s the whole getting-lost thing going?” Ned asked.
“Better.”
Peter glanced at her.
“You got lost again.”
“Once.”
“You said you were going to use the map.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“I forgot.”
Peter laughed under his breath.
Lara Jean nudged his arm with her elbow.
“Don’t.”
“I’m not saying anything.”
“You’re thinking it.”
“I usually am.”
She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, it was strange how quickly she’d gotten comfortable with him.
Yesterday, Peter had just been the boy sitting beside her in Chemistry.
Now she was looking for him at lunch, saving him a seat without thinking about it, and somehow noticing every time he looked at her. She wasn’t sure when that had happened, wasn’t sure she wanted to know actually.
After lunch, Lara Jean and Peter headed toward their next classes together. They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Lara Jean checked her schedule.
“Wait.” Lara Jean said before he walked off
Peter looked over. “What?”
“Do you know where Room 217 is?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course you do.”
Peter smiled. “You’re getting better.”
“I’m still getting lost.” Lara Jean laughed.
They reached the end of the hallway, and Peter pointed toward a set of stairs.
“You go down here, then take the second hallway on the left.”
Lara Jean looked at him. “I’m not going to remember that.”
Peter thought for a second. “Do you have your phone?”
“Yeah.”
He pulled his own phone from his pocket. “Just give me your number. I’ll text you the directions.”
Lara Jean hesitated for half a second. “Okay.” She handed him her phone. Peter typed in his number, then handed it back.
“There.”
Lara Jean looked at the new contact on her screen.
Peter Parker.
She saved it.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah. No problem.”
For some reason, neither of them moved.
Peter glanced down the hallway.
“I should.. Probably go.”
“Right!”
“Okay..”
“Okay.”
“See you later.”
“Yeah. See you.”
Lara Jean watched him disappear around the corner before looking down at her phone again.
Peter Parker. She smiled to herself, then she quickly put her phone away. This was already becoming a problem.
She dropped her bag beside her desk and changed into something more comfortable before starting her homework.
She managed to finish most of it.
Mostly.
Her chemistry notes were open beside her, but she hadn’t looked at them in ten minutes. Instead, she was thinking about Peter. Not even anything specific.. Just Peter.
The way he got excited when he talked about things he liked. His slightly awkward nature. And now she had his number.
Lara Jean reached for her phone, she stared at his contact for a moment. She could text him.
No. Why would she text him? She hadn’t even had anything to say, she put her phone down. A few seconds later, she picked it back up. Before she could overthink it, she typed.
Lara Jean:
did you get home okay?
She stared at the message, then she sent it.
The reply came almost immediately.
Peter Parker:
yeah
A second message appeared..
Peter Parker:
you?
Lara Jean smiled down at her phone.
Lara Jean:
yes :)
The typing bubble appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again..
Peter Parker:
that’s good to hear!
Lara Jean stared at the word for a second longer than she should have. She put her phone down. Then picked it back up..
Maybe Peter Parker was becoming a problem.
Lara Jean stared at her phone for another few seconds before setting it facedown on her nightstand. She needed to stop thinking about him.
That was easy..
Probably.
She pulled her blanket over herself and turned toward the wall. Ten minutes later, she was still awake. Twenty minutes later, she heard something tap against her window.
Lara Jean’s eyes opened.
No.
She stayed perfectly still.
Tap.
She slowly sat up, there was no way.
Tap.
Lara Jean got out of bed and walked toward the window.
She pulled the curtain aside.
Spider-Man was crouched on the fire escape outside her window. Again.
Lara Jean stared at him, he raised one hand in a small wave.
“Hey.”
She opened the window.
“You’re back.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Spider-Man paused. “I was in the neighborhood.”
Lara Jean looked around. “You’re in Queens.”
“Yep.”
“You said you were in the neighborhood.”
“I was.”
“Do you live in Queens?”
He tilted his head.
“That’s classified.”
She laughed. “You know, you really aren’t very good at answering questions.”
“I’m working on it.”
Lara Jean leaned against the windowsill, for a moment, neither of them said anything. She looked at him.
“So… do you just patrol at night?”
“Mostly.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
“Okay. Usually.”
Lara Jean frowned.
“That’s not reassuring.”
“I’m sorry.”
He sounded genuinely apologetic. She smiled despite herself.
“So what do you do when you’re not… doing this?”
“This?”
She gestured toward him.
“Spider-Man.”
“Oh. That.”
“Yeah.”
“I go to school.”
Lara Jean blinked.
“You go to school?”
“Sometimes.”
She laughed.
“Sometimes?”
“I mean, I go every day.”
“That’s more reassuring.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you like it?”
He shrugged.
“It’s okay.”
“What do you study?”
“Science.”
Lara Jean smiled.
“Of course you do.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. You just seem like you would.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Maybe.”
He laughed, Lara Jean looked down at her hands.
“I met someone today.”
Spider-Man went quiet. “Oh?”
“His name is Peter.”
She didn’t notice the way Spider-Man’s shoulders stiffened.
“Peter?”
“Yeah.”
“Who is Peter?”
“A boy from my school.”
“Right.”
“He sat next to me in Chemistry.”
Spider-Man nodded slowly.
“Sounds nice.”
“He is.”
There was something about the way she said it that made him look away.
Lara Jean smiled.
“He’s funny.”
“Funny?”
“Yeah.”
“How funny?”
She thought for a second.
“I don’t know. He’s just…”
She smiled.
“He’s awkward.”
Spider-Man laughed.
“Okay.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Lara Jean narrowed her eyes.
“You’re laughing.”
“I’m not.”
“You definitely are.”
“Maybe a little.”
She smiled.
“Anyway, he’s nice.”
“That’s good.”
“And he helped me find my classes.”
“Very heroic.”
Lara Jean laughed.
“You’re making fun of him.”
“Maybe.”
She shook her head.
“You’re weird.”
“I’ve been told.”
Another silence settled between them, it wasn’t uncomfortable, Lara Jean looked out at the city.
“Do you ever get used to it?”
“To what?”
She gestured toward the buildings around them.
“All of this.”
Spider-Man looked over the city.
“Sometimes.”
“New York feels so big.”
“It is.”
“I thought moving here would feel exciting all the time.”
“And it doesn’t?”
“Sometimes it does.” She paused. “Sometimes it feels like everyone already has a place here except me.”
Spider-Man looked at her. “You’ll find yours.”
Lara Jean looked up at him. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
“Thanks” Something about the certainty in his voice made her smile.
He smiled and glanced toward the street below.
“I should probably go.”
“Oh.”
She hadn’t meant for the disappointment in her voice to be that obvious. Spider-Man looked back at her.
“I’ll see you around?”
Lara Jean smiled.
“Maybe.”
He stepped backward onto the fire escape.
Then he stopped.
“And, LJ?”
“Yeah?”
“Peter sounds like a good guy.”
She smiled.
“Yeah. I think he is.”
Spider-Man gave her a small wave before turning around.
A second later, he disappeared over the edge of the building. Lara Jean stood at the window for a few seconds. Then she closed it.
Wait a moment…
LJ?
She frowned.
She hadn’t told him that.
Actually—
She hadn’t told him her name at all. She stared at the closed window.
“How does Spider-Man know my name?”