Chapter Text
I stood leaned against the wall, a red solo cup lodged between my hands. Exactly one foot away leaning against the same wall is Harry Osborn. My best friend, I think?
Honestly it's been awhile since I’ve seen him, I can’t believe he’d even come to this event. Music blasts through the school gym. On the tables stand signs I can barely read and people sit there eating the garbage food they provided.
MidTown High Class of 2002 Reunion!, reads the banner draped over the gym. I look over at Harry before going back to staring at the people dancing. I scooch over towards Harry, attempting to start a conversation.
“Does it smell like a school gymnasium in here?” I start, speaking a bit loudly to get him to hear me over the loud blasting music.
He looks at me, and I look at him. He smiles, “It’s funny how they are all the same.”
“It’s funny how you always remember.” I say, pointing out the people dancing. He was right, these people are the same, they always have been. Flash stands dancing with who I assume to now be his wife, and people I’ve seen millions of times before look and act the same they did when we were in highschool.
Harry laughs, “We’ve both done this a hundred times before.” I look back at him, he’s staring at the crowd like I did before. Watching people have fun at a highschool dance, it was kind of our thing. It was all too familiar.
“It’s funny how I still forget.” I say, taking another sip of sprite out of my cup. Harry looks at me, this time he has a sorrowful face. “It would be a hundred times easier if we were young again.” he squeezes his cup.
I look down into my own cup, the carbonated bubbles float around and I can’t help but feel sad. Harry grabs me by my wrist. I look up, staring at him in the eyes.
“Peter, do you wanna… dance?” He asks.
“Yeah sure.” I say. He lets go of me and we walk together towards a table to place our cups down. We then walk towards the open area of dancers. Just as our feet hit the floor the music slows. I laugh a bit at the sudden change of music. Harry on the other hand looks a bit mortified. He squints at me before grabbing me by the waist.
Jesus, he’s bold. I guess this is how you dance. My hands shake before I raise my arms to wrap them around his neck. Our feet move together, almost like we are moving in the same pace. Harry is looking straight down at our feet. I attempt to do the same, but a part of me wants to look at him in his eyes.
We stay like this for a few minutes, trying our best to keep our distance from each other, but as more people rush onto the dance floor, the space gets more cramped.
Harry, pulls me in. I felt myself pushing up against him, our bodies touching. It was a strange, odd feeling. I wasn't in love with Harry, but this feeling was magical. He stopped looking down at his feet, this time opting to look at me directly in the eyes. Mega awkward style.
Harry looked the same as he always had. He has a beautiful face, I’ve always thought that, but I guess it was kinda weird to say about your best friend. At this point, Harry being attractive was just a fact. His grasp on my waist tightened, taking me out of my thoughts for a moment. Maybe I was staring at him too hard. Instead he pulls me in even closer, now my chin is resting directly on his shoulder. We are as close as we could possibly be on this dance floor.
“Sorry.” I say whispering in his ear.
“What are you apologizing for? We’re dancing.” Harry says, I assume he’s smiling. I can hear it in his voice.
I smile, “I don’t know this just felt a bit awkward.” Harry nods in agreement.
“It is a bit strange,” Harry says, “You know, for us to be dancing like this.”
I shrug. I can feel Harry sweating, he’s nervous. I hear him gulp, and I hear our shoes scratching against the wooden floor of the gym even over the music. His hands start moving off my waist, and up my back. He takes a moment to rub, but in that moment he accidentally fingers a bruise that lays there. I wince, pushing our bodies closer together.
I can feel his heart race.
“Sorry.” He says.
“It’s okay.”
Our legs continue to move to the soft sound of the music. It’s still awkward, two guys dancing and feeling each other like this is mega freaky… but we’re best friends so maybe it’s okay.
Harry pauses, his phone is ringing.
“I’ll be right back.” He says, stepping back and letting me go. I stand in the middle of the dance floor by myself.
I push through the crowd of people on the dance floor, making my way back to the table where we left the cups. I look down, the cups are knocked over and spilling over the table. Man, this really is a highschool party. I grab one of the spilt cups, which I presume to be mine, and shake it off. I grab the soda and pour me a new glass of sprite before walking back to the wall.
I take a few sips, looking back at the dance floor. I look over, Harry isn’t there. I sigh. What’s wrong with me? For a moment, being so close to Harry like that felt… good? I groan, rubbing my hand on my temple. I stand like this for a few moments before I notice Harry approaching me.
He grabs me by the shoulder and speaks into my ear, “I gotta go! I’ll see you later?” he says.
I nod, “Alright.”
Harry smiles and turns around to leave, I think for a moment, before grabbing him on the wrist on his way out. “Wait Harry!” I shout.
He turns around, “What is it?”
“Do you wanna… come over to my apartment tomorrow?” I say.
He smiles and nods, “Yeah! Sure.”
I smile and let him go. Then I just stand. In the middle of the party by myself.