Chapter Text
The cafeteria was too loud. Too many people. It made you uncomfortable even though you were sitting alone.
You were never a people person. Sure, at your old school you had friends, but they were a select few, and it took you a while for you to warm up to them. But you went to a new school this year, and so far, you hadn't made any friends. Not that you were complaining.
You were the type of person to keep to yourself. Keep your head low, do your work, stay out of trouble type of person. But it was really because you were too afraid of change, no matter how much you dreamt of doing something.
"Are you okay?" The voice had startled you, snapping you out of your current daydream. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" The voice apologized.
You looked up from where she was staring at the table with your head in your hands to meet the face of the boy who talked. "Yeah." You said in a quiet voice. "I'm fine."
You watched as the boy in front of you frowned a little, and then invited himself to sit down across from you. With a curious stare, you watched as his brown curls bounced slightly as he climbed over the bench and his dark eyes met yours.
"Are you sure?" He tilted his head slightly to the left. "I-I don't mean to intrude, but you don't look okay."
"I'm fine." You repeated cautiously. "Just not having a really good day."
"That sucks." You thought with the tone of your voice, you had shut the conversation down, but instead, the boy rested his elbows on the table, folding his arms down and leaning slightly forward with a small smile. "Can I help you feel better?"
"Um," Your eyebrows furrowed down while you stared across the table at him. "I don't even know you?"
He then cleared his throat and straightened his back. "I'm Peter. Peter Parker." He held out his hand with a large smile, expecting you to shake it and introduce yourself, but that's not what you did.
Instead, you scoffed in disbelief, a shocked look appearing on your face. "Sorry, but I don't do friends that easily." You receded your arms that were already on the table and dropped them in your lap. You tried to ignore how the action had made Peter's smile waver and dip down a little, because to your surprise, it hurt a little to see the disappointment on his face.
But the hurt didn't las long as he just shrugged and smiled. "Well, you're always alone, I've noticed since your first day here, and I want to fix that."
"Why? You don't know me." You stated, narrowing your eyes.
"I would like to know you," Peter's head then turned to look behind him as a voice called out his name. "I'm gonna go sit with my friend Ned, he's right over there, if you want to come over. He's the one who worked up my courage enough to come over here in the first place, and now that I've started, I'm not stopping. Actually," He lifted his bookbag up from next to him and opened it on the table, taking out a yellow sticky note and a pen. "Here,"
Standing up, he stuck the note down in front of you, and you watched as Peter as he waved goodbye and walked away to sit with Ned.
Glancing down, you saw what he had quickly scribbled on the post-it.
You have pretty eyes
Slowly, you peeled the note off the table and stared at it some more, glancing up once at the boy whose head was now facing away from you. Why would he write that? You could feel it already, how much you were going to hate it when you don't open up to him.
Taking the small piece of paper, you crumpled it up and tossed it at the table, watching as it bounced about two feet away from you, and going back to trying your best to ignore the chattering of the teenagers around you.
When the monitors blew their whistles, signaling the end of the period in two minutes and dismissing the students, you grabbed your binder, and was prepared to leave, but stopped when you saw the small yellow paper out of the side of your eye.
With a large sigh, you picked it up and carefully unraveled it, trying your hardest not to rip it, and looked at it again. Then you opened your binder and stuck it on the inside cover before following the mass of students out of the cafeteria.
Peter had felt his heart deflate a little when he turned around and saw you crumple up his note. Ned had told him it was okay, and that he had tried his best, but nonetheless the action had hurt him.
But when the period ended, and he singled you out from the crowd again, he saw you pick up the paper again and keep it. The action gave him hope again, and that hope had given him a plan, and now the plan was set in motion.
Coincidentally, walking to his 6th period class, he saw you close your locker door and walk off to your own class. Making a mental note of which locker was yours, he rushed to class, writing it down the second he could get out a piece of paper. His plan had now been altered, but it was no less the same, and he expected the same outcome. Hopefully.
It was as if it was perfectly planned when he noticed for the first time that his 9th period was right across the hall from your locker.
At the end of the school day, you dodged your way through the moving bodies to get to your locker. But instead of opening it right away, you stopped and stared at the blue sticky note stuck on it's front.
Cheer up :)
The handwriting was neater, not written in such a rush, but it still was Peter's. Shaking your head, you grabbed it and placed it in your binder next to the yellow one he had given to you four periods ago.
You opened your locker and stuffed your things into your bookbag and closed it again, heading in the direction of the school's main doors, starting your walk home.
Peter had hung back and waited to see your reaction to his second note. His heart warmed when he saw that your didn't crush it this time, and kept it like you did with the other. With a skip in his step, he turned to walk out of school, happy that his plan might just work after all.
You noticed that Peter hadn't tried to go up to you during lunch anymore, but for the rest of the week, every time you went to your locker, you found another stick note left by him, every one saying something positive or complimenting you.
And you kept every single one.
On Friday, Peter had to figure out what to do over the weekend. So like any normal superhuman being, he followed you on your walk home. He just wanted to see where you lived. Just in case.
Perched across the street in his Spider-Man suit, he watched as you went into an apartment complex a couple blocks away from Midtown. He asked Karen to remember your address with a grin on his face, and then went off to do his daily patrol.
That weekend, or any weekend after that for the next four weeks, he didn't leave any notes. Peter figured that it would be really creepy and not help him at all if you knew he knew where you lived. He was trying to be your friend. Maybe something more, but he wouldn't admit that to himself yet. Besides, he didn't know which apartment you lived in.
Even though you never talked, Peter could feel, or at least think he could feel the bond that was slowly forming between the two of you.
He was yet to see you crack a smile, but he always watched as you saw every one of his notes, and noticed how your expression always softened.
You didn't want to acknowledge the fact, but you couldn't disprove that you didn't warm every time you saw the words from Peter. He always said something like today's a good day to smile or I like your shirt, I love Star Wars too, and you realized that the boy wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
That was until the first Thursday of the new month. You had got your hopes up to see what Peter had wrote to you that day, but your face went blank when there was no note that morning.
Peter was standing a couple of feet away, and he felt bad for not leaving a post-it. he felt even worse when he saw the look of disappointment of your face when you saw there wasn't one. For the first time in weeks, he was going to walk up to you and say something, but the first bell had rung. The both of you were running a little late that day.
At first, you took a deep breath, not wanting to feel so hurt that a piece of paper wasn't attached to her locker, but to your dismay, you had thought about the situation all day, even as you grabbed your backpack and walked home.
Maybe he had forgot? You had believed that to be highly unlikely.
Had Peter been sick that day? You don't share any classes with him, and you hadn't made a habit of looking for him at lunch. It was a possibility.
Or had he just given up because you hadn't done anything?
You spent the rest of the day thinking it was your fault. All Peter had wanted to do was be your friend, and even with all of the sticky notes he had left and you had saved, you still didn't, couldn't work up the nerve to talk to him. To say that they could try.
You spent Saturday night on the roof of the complex, wanting to get away from the chaos that was currently happening in your apartment, and to enjoy the cool air and to look at what stars you could see in the sky.
Somehow, your thoughts had drifted back to Peter, and for some reason, you found yourself crying, and you sat down to try and calm yourself, but that only seemed to make it worse.
You stifled your light gasping when you heard a light thud a couple feet behind you, followed by small footsteps.
Without hesitating, you reached to your right and grabbed a discarded piece of pipe that was on the roof with you and twisted around as you raised it above your head, ready to strike whoever was up there with you because you were scared.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! I'm not going to hurt you!" You heard a familiar voice, although you couldn't place it, frantically shout out, and watched as a guy in a red and blue bodysuit took a step back and hold his arms out in defense.
"What— who are you?" You asked, ignoring how your voice cracked from crying.
"I'm Spider-Man." He dropped his arms to his sides as you lowered the pipe, but not yet dropping the pipe. You had just remembered that New York was notorious for it's superheroes, and that Queen's had it's very own.
Wiping your eyes, you asked another question. "What are you doing here? Don't you have other things to do?"
Spider-Man stepped froward and dropped to the ground, sitting next to you. And you saw how he noticed you inch away from him. "I was just swinging around, heading home actually, when I saw you crying. I just wanted to ask; are you okay?"
You let out a dry laugh. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." You didn't know that he had already heard that answer before, and you were still trying to figure out why his voice had that hint of familiarity to it.
"Are you sure? You don't look or sound fine." He paused for a moment. "No offense."
"It's nothing. Just a stupid thing."
"I have time."
You turned your head to look at him. Well, his mask. "You expect me to tell you what I'm crying about when you literally just snuck up on me?" You shook your head. "I don't really talk to people in general, and I'm not too sure if I should trust you."
"That's true," He stated slowly. "But you technically caught me. I promise you can trust me though. Plus, I'm a good listener."
You didn't know what it was, but after sitting a couple minutes in silence, you felt like you could tell Spider-Man what was going on.
"I just feel like I ruined what could've been a perfectly good friendship." You started softly.
"Oh?" He asked. "Did something happen?"
"More like nothing happened." You looked out to the city skyline and it was quiet for another second before you spoke again. "There was this boy at school, and he went up to me one day and tried to cheer me up and offered to be my friend because he knew I didn't have any."
"He sounds nice,"
"He is. And he's really sweet. That day though, I really didn't know how to tell him that I really can't be friends with someone that easily. He started leaving me sticky notes, I found them on my locker. Some would tell me some positive stuff, others complimenting me, which was new."
"He also sounds like he has a crush on you,"
Peter had actually said that without really thinking it, and tightly shut his eyes under the mask, grateful that you didn't know it was him under there.
You scoffed and shook your head. "I really doubt that." Then your voice got quieter. "He stopped giving me notes." You didn't notice Spider-Man tense up next to you, or how he started to wring his hands.
He wanted to tell you why.
"That's why I'm crying, I guess. It's my fault. Because I never took the chance to speak to him, tell him how much I appreciated his notes, they really did make me happy, to tell him that I liked him too and that I wanted to be friends, maybe..." You took a shaky breath, feeling the tears threatening to spill again. "It doesn't matter anymore. I missed my chance. I really did enjoy it while it lasted."
It was quiet other than the sounds of the city as Peter say there in shock. You like him? When he noticed the silence had been going on slightly too long, he spoke up.
"I wouldn't be worried if I were you."
"What?" You turned your head back to him.
"I mean," Spider-Man rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "The thought had to cross your mind that maybe he just ran out and needed to get some more? And that he still really likes you?"
“Uh," You let out a short breath and smiled as the thought ran through your head. Of course you had thought of that, but you were too busy placing the blame on yourself to even begin to think it was something as trivial as Peter just simply needing to buy more sticky notes.
"You're smiling!" The masks eyes widened and Spider-Man scooted back a little to get a wider and better look at your face.
"Yeah," You shook your head and laughed a little, wiping your eyes and biting your lip to stop from smiling any more. "I guess I'll find out on Monday."
"Trust me," Spider-Man stated. "I have a feeling I'm right."
"Can you tell the future, Spider-Man?"
"No, but I'm good with people." Happy, he jumped up and held out his hand for you to take and helped you up. "What's your name?"
You sighed, and you figured you were never going to see him again. "Y/N. I'm Y/N."
"Well Y/N, I think you should get back inside. It's getting late and colder, wouldn't want you sick on Monday."
"No, I guess not." You finally released your grip on the pipe and it clattered to the ground. "Okay,"
"I'll drop by later? And maybe you could tell me how it went?" Spider-Man climbed up onto the ledge and faced you.
"Maybe give me a heads up? I won't hesitate to hit you with a pipe."
"I know that now, yeah." He gave a joking salute before jumping off, doing a small spin in the air before webbing a nearby building and swinging away.
You watched for a couple of minutes as she disappeared into the horizon before turning around and heading back down the fire escape back into your apartment.
When you got to your room, you stared at the wall above your desk. It was where you had started keeping Peter's notes, taping them up there for extra measure. Your eyes skimmed over all of them before you got ready for bed.
You were filled with hope on Monday as you took a deep breath and walked through the halls of Midtown Tech to your locker.
For the first time, you smiled in school as you stared at three different colored post-it notes stuck there.
Hey! I had to buy some more. Did you miss me?
You let out a breath of relief and read the next one.
Your smile is really pretty. I wouldn't mind seeing it more.
Confusion crossed your features, but it didn't last long because your heart nearly stopped as you read the last one.
I wouldn't ever stop. I really really like you.
With a grin, you took the notes down and safely tucked them away in your binder after you had put your bookbag away.
At lunch, you decided that you would finally find him. And you tried. But you didn't know that Peter had promised Ned that they would study together in the library for their Chemistry test.
You were slightly sad, but your happiness outweighed that, and thought about what you would actually say to him.
Anxiously awaiting the end of 9th period, the final bell of the day finally rang, and you rushed out of your class, wanting to get to your locker as soon as you could. Of course, another note was there, the words squished to fit all of them on the small square.
Do you want to grab a sandwich? I'll pay, all you have to do is meet me at Delmar's after school? Best sandwiches in Queens. I hope today works.
Did Peter Parker just ask you out on a date?
Trying your hardest not to rush too fast, you grabbed the note and put your stuff away, calling your parents to make tell them where you were going to be. You walked by Delmar's everyday on your walk home, so you knew exactly where it as.
The second you walked in, you saw him.
"Is that the girl you're waiting for?" Mr. Delmar asked Peter as you walked in. With a grin, Peter fully turned around, and it only widened when he saw you.
"You came," He sighed happily.
"I came," you smiled and walked forward to meet him at the counter, seeing the light in his eyes get brighter.
"I hope I didn't scare you, going through a pack of Post-It notes went by so much faster than I thought it would."
"Not gonna lie, I thought I had messed this up." You admitted, to both him and yourself. You were slowly accepting that Peter was one of the people you could trust and could talk to.
"You couldn't."
In the moment of silence, Mr. Delmar spoke again, a soft smile as he turned around.. "So what'll you kids have?"
"You know my usual," Peter said. "Y/N?"
You cocked your head to the side for a moment in confusion until your eyes widened and realization hit you like a Nerf bullet. "Nothing too special, I'll have a number two please."
"On it."
You turned to Peter with a small smile. "Hi."
"Hi."
After getting your sandwiches and a pack of gummy worms, you and Peter said goodbye to Mr. Delmar and his cat, Murph, and the two of you walked until you found a bench next to a small park.
You ate your sandwiches as you talked, and when you were done, you started sharing the gummies.
"So," You stared carefully. "I'm assuming being a superhero pays well?" You tried to ask as casually as you could.
You watched, stifling a laugh as Peter's eyes widened, and after he finished chewing, he shook his head and gave you a nervous smile. "I kinda gave myself away, didn't I?"
You thought about your conversation with Spider-Man, how he was so sure of himself, and how Peter left a note about your smile even though he hadn't seen it, and how you hadn't told Peter your name, but you had told Spider-Man. Now why the hero's voice sounded familiar made sense.
"Just a little," You laughed. "Thank you." You said softly after the pink had faded away from Peter's cheeks.
"For what?"
"For not giving up on me."
"I knew you'd come around." Peter grinned again. "Besides, I meant what I wrote. I really like you."
"I like you too," That was the first time you had said it, believing it, but you had meant it. Swiping away some crumbs, you turned your body to face him even more. "You know a lot about me; tell me about you."