Chapter Text
"Can you repeat that?" (Y/N) asked with a nervous giggle. He didn't need to repeat himself, that's the sad bit.
(Y/N) heard him loud and clear.
As soon as the question had been asked, her heart shattered and tears stung her eyes but she put on an act, as she always did, as she always would.
(Y/N)'s best friend, Peter Parker, mutters a few curse words under his breath and she can see him clearly as if he was sitting right next to her. In reality, he lived a few streets down and they weren't anywhere close at all to the other person.
The two were best friends and knew plenty of the other person's reactions and body language. They were inseparable, two peas in a pod, if you will.
More than likely, right now his face was the same exact shade as the bubblegum wrapper that lay next to her on her desk.
He was probably pulling on his hair as stress and anxiety bubbled in the pit of his stomach.
Peter's lower lip would be tugged between his bottom teeth as he'd pinch the bridge of his nose, annoyance clearly written across his facial features. She can see it - she knows he's doing it right now.
That's why it takes him a few minutes to reply.
"C'mon..... Just for one weekend, pretend we're dating, please?" He begged.
"You trust me, right?" He continued, filling up the awkward silence that hung heavily in the air.
(Y/N) sighed and looked down, a tear rolling down her cheek as she bit back a sob which was desperate to escape from the back of her throat.
"Sure." She answered finally, "What's in it for me, though, Parker?"
"You get to date me." He answered in a 'duh' tone. She flushed with heat, rolling her eyes at his joke.
If only he knew...
"Kidding! Of course... obviously. I'll do all of your assignments and homework for the rest of the semester and I'll throw in a free pizza . I'll pay. You can even choose what kind and the dessert, too. Then, we can go to our favorite place."
The heat continues to build, pouring in on her cheeks, spreading throughout her body like a fire.
Our place.
Can you believe that?
No, seriously.
(Y/N) (L/N) and Peter Parker had a place. A hidden getaway, one that only they knew about.
Surely, more people possibly knew about it but... they liked to pretend only they were the ones who found it. It was in Central Park. Back behind the playgrounds and pathways for those who take their daily jogs or walks in the park, there was a hidden garden.
A stone bench in the middle of the area with thousands upon thousands of delicate, fragile flowers blossoming.
When Peter and (Y/N) first discovered the place, the flowers were dying, it was as if those who had planted them there were merely forgotten. So, (Y/N) and Peter decided to go there together, any chance they had, to water the plants and even feed the ducks that'd wander through. They'd always go there to talk about anything or nothing in particular.
It was something out of a cheesy movie. And if this life were a movie, Peter would confess his undying love for (Y/N) at the garden and with happy tears rolling down her cheeks, (Y/N) would admit she's had those feelings all along too and they'd kiss each other with so much passion and so much lust -- they both would feel electricity bolting through their system and through their veins. Of course, they weren't two main characters in a movie... This was real life.
And.... with that being said, Peter didn't want (Y/N).
He wanted MJ.
"(Y/N)? Hello? Are you still there?"
"Yes.. yeah, I'm still here..." She muttered.
"So....?"
"Fine, okay? Fine, I'll be your temporary girlfriend. I'm not in theater for nothing, that's for sure... I think I can put on an act."
"Great! Fantastic! Thank you so much, (Y/N)! I love you! I owe you big time."
'I love you.' She scoffed and rolled her eyes as she hung up the phone.
Sure, he loves her but... not in that way.
Not in the way she wanted him to love her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*
The dates weren’t much different than the two of them were used to. Everyone knew the pair as those of a pod. Still, the heat rushed to (Y/N)’s cheek with any small interaction. “Sorry, MJ.” Peter faked a frown, “I promised (Y/N) I would be her lab partner for the week.”
Michelle was good at hiding her feelings, instead of her face faltering she nodded, and waited until she got to her seat before her smile fell.
Peter turned towards (Y/N) instantly, causing her to almost spill the liquid in her hand.
“Peter!” She groaned jokingly, but he didn’t notice.
"Are you trying to give me a chemical burn or something!? Have me out here, looking like Freddy Krueger or something." She said, giggling as she shook her head.
“Did you see? Her face fell as soon as she had to partner with Flash– do you think she likes me?”
Biting the inside of her lip, she nodded, “Could. Or maybe she just isn’t crazy about being stuck with Flash for the next week.”
Was it rude to crush Peter’s dreams? Maybe, but (Y/N) didn’t care.
The only reason she agreed to the plan in the first place was so maybe, just maybe, Peter would see what he was missing, what he needed all along.
Y/N.
At first, it was hard.
Peter wouldn’t touch her like a boyfriend was supposed to, but the more dates the two arranged the more comfortable he became. Calling her cute nicknames every time he could, holding doors open for her, locking hands while they walked to their ‘fake dates’.
It was almost as if the two of them had forgotten their idea altogether.
As they continued to act their parts and play pretend, (Y/N)'s feelings for the boy only blossomed.
She couldn't help it.
She also didn't no how much longer she could take at playing a fraud and putting on an act when all she wanted was to REALLY be his girlfriend.
This particular date they were going on was made immediately after school.
Peter insisted he had somewhere to be, so instead of eating at the diner and heading off to their special place, he slipped her a twenty dollar bill and promised he would meet her there.
A double cheeseburger meal, a family size order of fries, and a pair of strawberry milkshakes.
The two of them ate like gluttons.
Not eating much for lunch, (Y/N) was excited to get there and tell Peter about the hell of a day she had, not knowing as she turned the corner, it would get much worse.
As she made her way through the park and down the narrow, zig-zag passageways, she stopped, as did the beating of her heart.
Standing in front of her was the one thing she was afraid of.
Peter and MJ.
Wiping a half smile onto her face as a tear escaped, she muttered an apology.
“Oh, my bad. I didn’t realize you two were-” A voice crack, loud enough for everyone in the park to hear, caused Peter to turn his attention to (Y/N) immediately, but it wasn’t enough.
She already had her back turned, trying to stop herself from throwing the bag of food right in his stupid face.
"I'll just... I'll leave." Her vision already becoming blurry with tears as she slipped through the trees.
"Wait! Don't go, (Y/N)! Listen-"
(Y/N) spun around, mascara tears painting her cheeks black; she knew she looked horrid.
Didn't need a mirror to see that.
She could see it crystal clear without one.
Her hair was even tangled up with leaves and tiny twigs as she had to zig-zag her way through bushes and trees to make her way over to the designated area.
A smile she had been wearing all day fell into a frown within a matter of seconds at the scene that played out in front of her.
Peter was with MJ.
Which, yeah... it makes sense.
Peter's plan to get with MJ worked. He told her a few days ago that it worked and as he babbled on and on, gushing about his excitement, (Y/N) toned him out and forced a fake smile, mumbling how happy she was for him and how he deserved to be happy.
It was a success.
Peter Parker was now dating Michelle Jones and Michelle Jones now was dating Peter Parker.
(Y/N) wasn't surprised to find them together.
They were always together.
Just like how she and Peter were always together.
Until he decided he no longer wanted her around.
No longer needed her around.
And this proved that.
Peter, after weeks of not answering her calls or replying back to her text messages, had made plans.
"Hey, (Y/N)! Sorry I've been so busy. I promise I'll make it up to you.
Especially with everything that's happened in such a short span of time. I owe you.
Meet me at our place? Around noon-ish?"
And, being the dumb, silly girl she was, (Y/N) agreed.
She was happy for Peter, honest.
She was happy for Michelle, really.
It's just.... she sometimes wished she was the one holding his hand, kissing him, making him laugh, being the reason for the smile that played out across his lips.
(Y/N) just wished she was the one Peter was in love with.
At least, he still cared, right?
The text message proved he still thought about her and still wanted her around as a friend.
(Y/N), other than Ned, was his best friend.
Standing where she had been and seeing Peter and MJ in front of her crushed what little hope she had been holding onto.
He didn't care.
Since when did he stop?
When did (Y/N), the one person he couldn't live without, became the person he could so easily ditch and throw aside as if she were nothing but trash?
A twig beneath her had snapped and caused Peter and MJ to glance up, Peter's smile matching with her own as it fell into a frown.
He instantly got up on his feet, dropping MJ's hand as he stood.
"(Y/N), hey, wait a minute, it isn't what it looks like-"
She shook her head, scoffing as she turned around, dropping the food she had brought for them to share.
(Y/N) knew better than to be a litterbug but she couldn't help the emotions that overwhelmed her.
(Y/N) also knew MJ would pick it up, as she and (Y/N) would spend their free time on the weekends, cleaning up the park and streets of trash within their path.
It wouldn’t go just lying there, luckily. And she knew that.
Still felt awful for being hypocritical and dumping trash at her feet as she ran out but… she was too stressed by other emotions as is.
(Y/N) couldn’t see where she was going as tears burned her vision as she turned around and walked out the way she had entered, ignoring Peter's pleas and the footsteps that followed after her.
"(Y/N)! Please."
And that's where they were at now.
Tear stained cheeks with makeup running down her skin while her eyes grew red and puffy as she let out all of the anger, despair, disappointment and sadness out of her.
She was surprised she found herself crying, truth be told. She had done so much previously, she was shocked she hadn't run out of tears.
"Peter.... I can't do this." She said weakly, voice cracking as she spoke.
"I know you're upset. Just hear me out for a second, alright?"
(Y/N) interrupted his sentence by motioning him to stop with a wave of her hand.
"Peter, don't.. I don't want to hear it. I'm done. Do you hear me?
I. Am. Done.
I'm done, feeling used by you.
I'm done, feeling as if I'm nothing to you. I give up.
I have nothing against you and MJ dating, I really don't.... I'm happy to see both of you so happy.
All I wanted was my best friend back. And I thought this was going to be one of those days where we caught back up and regained that friendship we've had.
I can see now I was wrong. You took her to all the places we used to go. Even our special place.
That was ours, Peter.
That was the last thing we had that was special to me and you brought her...
I understand she's your girlfriend and I'm acting like a jealous best friend but that's because I am, alright? I'll confess. I'll admit it.” She took a deep, shaky breath. Words and words that she had been bottling up for years finally breaking, being talked about.
Whether or not she liked to admit the next sentence, it didn’t matter. She said it so she could be done with it and move on.
“I'm jealous.” She bit her lip and continued, voice barely above a whisper.
“I love you, Peter. I always have. And I'm not going to stand in the way of you, being happy or MJ's happiness, either.
So, we're done.
This can be you and hers spot from now on. I'll just go. Thanks for all the memories, and thanks for being the greatest best friend I could ever ask for, hell, thanks for being the best fake boyfriend I’ve ever had too…
“You know, those dates, whether they were us, playing pretend, actually meant a lot to me. I had never been out on a date up until then. They were fun… I just… I wish they were real, and I shouldn’t have agreed to them, to being your fake girlfriend or the whole dating scheme because… well.. I can't do this.
“Fuck… I love the both of you too much to ruin anything, to ruin everything. You and MJ deserve better than a shitty friend like me.
"And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything if I’ve already ruined it all. I guess it doesn’t matter since I’m leaving from here on out. But still.. I’m sorry, Peter and tell MJ I’m sorry too. You both are really lucky to have each other. Bye, Peter.”
Peter had to have a moment or two to have everything (Y/N) just said register in his mind but by the time he had, (Y/N) had already walked away, and out of his life.
*~*
Maybe (Y/N) was delusional for thinking their friendship would blossom into the ending of a lifetime movie, but it still didn’t stop the tears streaming down her face.
The pain she was feeling was unbearable, but no matter how out of breath she was in between sobs, she still couldn’t stop running.
Passing the subway, the diner she and Peter used to hang out after school, and numerous people stopping to ask if she was alright, she finally made it into her and her fathers one bedroom apartment, slamming the door behind her.
“Hi, hon! I made–” another slam of a door, causing the pictures on the wall to shake, “---dinner.” (Y/N)’s dad sighed, knowing that one day she would come through the door over that boy, not exactly sure on what to do or how to fix her broken heart.
Instead of barging in, he decided to leave her dinner in front of her bedroom door, and slid a note underneath indicating he had done so.
Within minutes of her laying in agony, she began to slip into a peaceful slumber.
The last thing on her mind was Peter. Softly, she mumbled something almost incoherent.
"Why couldn't I be the one he fell for.... Why couldn't I be the one he actually was in love with...? I wish, more than anything else, I was the one that could be with Peter Parker."
She should have been more careful with what she wished for...