Work Text:
2 years and 6 months ago:
--🪐--
Pete Boggs was a normal kid teenager. He played Minotaurs and Myrmidons every Saturday, was a proud member of scout troop 426, and was a straight A student. He also loved school and learning. Well… for the most part.
He couldn't breathe, not with how hard he had been punched in the stomach. At least they didn't break his glasses..
He could do without this . The bullying that made mornings, hallways, lunch and afterschool hell.
He could tell he was bleeding from somewhere, probably his nose, and he had to stop himself from crying from the pain or for help. If he told, it'd be worse. He was hoisted up by the front of his shirt, able to smell the breath of the leader of the group that made his life hell.
Which also gave him an excellent view of said leader getting punched. The leader whipped around, clutching his cheek. “Who the hell-!?” The perpetrator looked annoyed about this whole situation. Hand on her hip, bored expression. “A girl punched me?!”
“I'll do it again if you need a refresher.” She didn't seem too animated; but her tone told that she was serious. “Leave him alone.”
The leader just spat, glaring at her. “Wow Boggy, didn't know you needed a girl to solve your problems.”
She responded before he could. “Shut up Jackson, get out of here before I break your nose.”
Jackson rolled his eyes, almost hiding the clear fear in them from her threat. “Let's go boys. I want a soda before the lunchroom closes.”
She shook her head and turned to him. “Come on Boggs.” Despite her annoyed tone, she was gentle as she helped him to his feet. “Let's get you to the nurse.”
She knew his name, and he didn't know hers, though he was pretty sure it was Tree or something nature-y. So he just nodded and allowed her to assist him as they walked to the nurses. He kept glancing at her, trying to figure out how hard he had hit his head that someone this beautiful was willing to help. Short dark hair, dark make up, ripped jeans all clearly showed off her rebellious streak. But her eyes, a brown that reminded him of the good hot chocolate that they had every Christmas, showed a clear hint of concern for him. She didn’t leave him until the nurse had come in.
He hurried home, grabbing the first yearbook he could find. She was familiar, he just couldn't place her name and he was about 99% sure it wasn't actually Tree. He cringed a little when he realized it was his 7th grade yearbook, but he pressed on. Figuring out her name was more important than the embarrassment of that particular photo. He didn’t care that his mom liked it, his hair looked awful . Thankfully he didn't have to search too hard to find her as her photo was right after his own.
Granted, she didn't look the exact same. In her photo she had longer hair and a clear lack of dark makeup, but it was still her. Same dark hair, same bored expression, same brown eyes.
And her name? Willow Branch.
He was mad at himself for forgetting her name. They had been locker neighbors since 6th grade as Boggs and Branch were right next to each other alphabetically. He'd seen her every day for the past four years. It wasn't even like she was forgettable. She wasn't! There weren’t that many goth kids at their school, and even if there was, Willow was distinct.
He realized as he sat there, staring at her picture, something that made him groan.
He didn't even thank her.
Goddamnit.
--👽--
Willow wasn't sure why she did it, not really.
Usually she didn't care. Usually she just ignored people when they were getting bullied. Not because she liked being a bystander, but because she was smart enough to know getting involved was a bad idea. She already had a track record, she didn't need more trouble. She was already a regular in detention, already got lectured by her mother every day, she did not need bullying added to it even if it was her stopping a bully.
But when she saw Boggs being bullied… She needed to do something . He was kind, helpful. She knew he helped tutor her friend Alex in English when she fell behind (which was often, she was dyslexic what the hell were they expecting) and he was a godsend in math as he would volunteer so no one else had to answer. She figured there would be some light teasing, she was teased for her style, but not honest to god punches .
Yet here she was frozen in place as she saw Jackson Smith, the principal's son and one of the football players, punch Boggs in the stomach so hard the blonde doubled over. She had the sinking feeling that if she didn’t do something Boggs would be in even rougher shape.
She moved fast, punching Jackson before she could even think properly. Boggs seemed surprised, at least she thought that was his expression, that anyone was helping him. Which was both sad and understandable. Her knuckles hurt, not used to actually punching someone. Punching her brothers was never to actually harm them, and while her eldest brother insisted she learn how to protect herself it wasn't like she needed to.
Not until now, anyway.
It was a surprise that Jackson ended up leaving them be, which meant getting Boggs to the nurse. Thankfully, he wasn't in that bad of shape. Punched, bleeding and in pain, yes. But nothing was obviously broken. Which meant she could help him walk to the nurse instead of having the nurse come to him. Of course the nurse was on her lunch break when they got there, thanks budget cuts, and she was tempted to rummage through her stuff to find pain killers and band aids to help Boggs. Her mom was a nurse, she knew the basics. Thankfully she showed up, and Willow was able to leave.
She did her good deed for the week, she could pat herself on the shoulder and move on.
2 years ago:
--🪐--
Pete was an early riser. His mother had drilled it into him at a young age. “The earlier you wake up, the more in a day you can do!” she had told him.
Right now? He was not happy that he woke up first.
The case was comfortable he guessed, the foam holding him exactly in place like a nightmare of a memory foam bed. He was able to pull himself up and look around, surprised to see that he wasn’t alone. Three other teens were asleep next to him, each in their own little cut out. He looked around, taking in that they seemed to be in a brief case in a cave of some sort.This just meant more questions, more confusion and there were no answers.
How did he even start with this?
Thankfully, the others were waking up as he panicked. A girl he recognized from the pep rallies for the basketball team, a boy he’d seen in passing a few times and… Willow. The same Willow who had helped him a few months ago. Brief introductions were had, and the four teens hesitantly left the cave.
--👽--
It was bad enough that they were shrunk, bad enough that this was a nightmare, bad enough that she didn’t remember shit .
She drew the fucking line at heights .
“I’m not doing this.”
“Aw come on Willow, it’ll be fun!” Hoops tried to encourage. “Its just a quick little zipline.”
“I can just wait here.” She crossed her arms, hoping it hid how she was shaking.
“We aren’t leaving you alone. It's better to stay as a group.” Pete insisted.
“It’s safe!” Max yelled from the next branch. “I got over in one piece!”
“No.” She remembered the last time she had used a zipline, it had not gone well. Her brother got grounded for the summer and she had to get 10 stitches on top of her concussion.
Pete sighed and looked at Hoops. “You and Max go on ahead. I’ll stay with Willow.”
Hoops hesitated. “You sure?”
“Yes. We’ll look for another way to the lab.” He reached into his backpack, pulling out some dandelion tufts. “Use these if you need a quick way down.”
Hoops took them and nodded before leaping on the zipline and joining Max. After the duo had disappeared further into the hedge, Pete spoke again. “Should we look on the ground?”
“Sure.” She wasn’t looking forward to the awkward trek back to the ascent, but she’d take that over the zipline. Imagine her surprise when Pete held out one of the tufts. “Why are you handing me this?”
“We can just jump down from here?” She hesitated and glanced down, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought. He noticed. “Or we can walk back, it's up to you.”
“Walk back.” She insisted, but he insisted she took one of the tufts.
“Just in case.” He had told her.
Turns out! He had the right idea as she almost instantly fell down after she took it. She’d never screamed so loud in her life. “Willow!” Pete shouted down to her, panic clear in his face as he looked for her.
“I- I’m okay!” She called up. Upon hearing her voice, Pete was quick to leap down to her.
“What was that?”
“I just… I misstepped.” She somehow got out. “Damn branches.”
He rubbed her shoulder sympathetically. “Are you okay to keep going?”
“Yeah. I should-” She was cut off by a hiss and they both turned to see two orb weavers getting ready to attack them. Usually she’d jump at the idea of seeing a spider up close, but right this second? Seeing them bare their fangs ready to kill them? Yeah, no. “We should run.”
He didn’t reply, too busy grabbing her hand and booking it.
--🪐--
To say he was excited that they had more chips to collect would be a bit much. He was excited to continue the adventure, but the idea that they had three more labs to go through, one of which being underwater? No thanks. He knew how to swim, but he couldn’t hold his breath long and he also couldn’t see underwater even with goggles. Unfortunately, that was the lab the others had agreed to go to next. “The black ant hill is like, on the other side of the yard if you look at the map.” Max pointed out.
“And I don’t want to know what the Haze is.” Hoops added.
“So the pond it is.” Willow seemed like she didn't care either way. “We'll probably have to prepare a bit. Unless you guys can hold your breath for like, 10 minutes.”
Part of him wanted to speak up, to mention that he didn’t feel comfortable with it. But he also knew they were right. The black ant hill was incredibly far away, and the Haze sounded awful. If they wanted to get home, they'd have to go through the pond anyway.
What could go wrong?
--👽--
She owed her mother an apology.
She had always assumed her mom forcing everyone in their family to learn CPR (and keep their certification) was some bullshit she did just to look good in front of the other nurses. She had always assumed she’d never need it.
She was wrong.
Seeing Pete’s lifeless body as they dragged him out of the water and into the dry Pond lab made her feel sick. When Max declared that he wasn’t breathing she launched into action. “One of you, sing Staying Alive!” She snapped at the other two as they watched helplessly as she started compressions. “The other, help me count to thirty!”
“What?”
“Just do it Max!”
Max hesitated, but started singing as Hoops counted. At the first thirty, Willow paused and gave Pete two breaths before continuing her compressions. “Come on Pete…”
It took three sets total, but eventually Pete started coughing and Willow rolled him on his side to spit out the water. Max stopped his singing. “Holy shit Willow! It worked!”
“No shit.” She deadpanned, rubbing Pete’s back. “Welcome back.”
“You… You know CPR?” He managed to choke out, his throat probably burning from coughing up the disgusting water.
She shrugged. “My mom made everyone learn it. I’ve got my certification in my backpack.”
“So Petey knows survival stuff, Willow knows CPR-”
“I know basic medical care.” She cut in. “Again, my mom.”
“Willow knows basic medical care.” Max amended. “Hoops, you got any cool shit we should know? I don’t.”
“I know how to properly wrap sprains?”
“So I’m the lame one, got it.”
“Enough with the pity party Max.” Willow looked unimpressed. “We need to clear this place.”
“I concur.” Pete murmured. “I want to get out of here.
“I don’t blame you.”
--🪐--
They watched Max and Hoops go on ahead, checking to see if there were any other diving sections while Pete sat up and recovered a bit. It was quiet for a moment, the pair listening for any commotion. “This is the second time you’ve saved me.” His voice was still rough, still hurt, but it was getting better after he drank some clean water.
“Second?” She seemed confused.
“You stopped Jackson from beating my face in.” He reminded. Did she really not remember doing that? It wasn’t like Willow was known for fighting. General trouble making, petty vandalism, talking back to teachers, sure, but not fighting people.
“Oh.” She murmured.
“I never did thank you.”
“You never needed to. I was paying you back.”
“What?”
“You’re the reason Alex passed 8th and 9th grade English.” She explained. “She’s been my best friend since 4th grade.”
“Oh.” He didn’t think too much about it, honestly. The girl just happened to sit near him, and when she asked he helped without question.
“Plus, you made it so Mrs. Peterson didn’t do random calls in math.” He just laughed a little; ignoring how it hurt, the pain was worth seeing her slight smile. She eventually spoke again. “...Why didn't you say anything about being a shitty swimmer?”
He shrugged. “We needed to do this lab to go home.”
“We could have prepped better. Maybe found more familiar locations so we knew when to turn and where to go-”
“Its okay.” He insisted. “We did what we could.”
“...How are we going to get you back up?” Her voice was soft and his heart hurt a little. She was worried about him. “I'm not letting you go the way we came in after you nearly died .”
“We'll find a way.” He swore he saw an entrance on their way down. Granted, it could have been something else entirely.
Hoops trotted over to them, and Willow got up. “So, there was another water section but we cleared it and opened the door.” She held up a little koi fish statue. “I found this too! Isn’t it cute?”
“Reminds me of my Minotaurs and Myrmidons figures.” He chimed. Now that he thought of it, a koi fish would make an interesting boss…
Willow looked at it a bit closer. “It’s kind of like the aphid statue I found in the Hedge Lab.”
“Thats what I thought too!”
“Hey guys?!?!” Max’s voice was panicked. “A little help here!!”
Shit, Max! The three of them hurried over to him, Willow insisting on helping him as they ran.
--👽--
Her lungs burned as they ran into the lab. “What…the hell is this ‘haze’?!” She gasped.
Pete handed her his canteen, which she took a grateful sip. “I don’t think we want to know.” He murmured. “Thats why we were supposed to wear gas masks.”
“It broke.” She hissed. “Hopefully there's some supplies to repair it here.”
“Willow… Don’t take this the wrong way but you look awful.” Hoops rubbed her shoulder. “Like, pale .”
“You look like shit.” Max chimed, ignoring how the other three gave him an annoyed look.
“I should be fine.” She insisted. “Just… give me a second.” She wasn’t fine. Something was wrong . Her eyes burned, her lungs burned, and her heart felt wrong. Maybe one of those strangely tasty smoothies would soothe her lungs when they got back to their base…
Pete didn’t leave her side, keeping a watchful eye on her. “If something's in here, you aren’t fighting it.” he declared.
“I’m not letting you three fight something without me.” Sure, her daggers weren’t the best weapons, but the backup was what mattered. Hoops gave aerial support with her bow, Max had that club fashioned from ant parts, Pete had a sword and shield like a classic hero, and she had her shitty daggers. Combined they were a force to be reckoned with. Without her, she worried they wouldn't last.
“If you can’t breathe-” he started.
“I can breathe!” she cut in.
“We aren’t letting you die. I’m not letting you die.” he insisted. He seemed worried, but she wasn't going to let him stop her.
“I won't die.” She insisted, pushing him away. “Now let’s grab that chip and get out of here.”
No, she didn’t die. But she did get her ass handed to her by that nightmare of an infected ladybug. By the time she woke back up, she was at the base. Everything hurt, and she started to cough the second she tried to sit up. Pete was by her side in an instant, gently pushing her down by her shoulder. “Easy…” He gently held a canteen up to her lips. “Take a sip.”
She did as he asked. “How…how long have I been out?” Her throat felt like sandpaper, even with the water. When he hesitated she knew it was bad. “Pete…?”
“...A week.”
“What?!” That just made her cough again, harder than before. He gently rubbed her back as she wheezed. The noise just made her panic, which made it harder to breathe.
“Willow, it’s alright.” He soothed.
“Somethings…somethings wrong-” She barely got out.
“Breathe with me.” He insisted, making a point to breath slowly and deeply. She wanted to protest but did as he asked. Slowly, the pain lessened. Once he could tell she had calmed down a little he spoke again. “The haze… We figured out what it is.”
“And?”
“It's weed killer.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “We thought it had killed you at first.”
“Shit…” She sighed, making a point to ignore the pain. “When we get big again, I need to go to the hospital.”
“I think we’ll all need to go to the hospital.”
“Probably.”
He was quiet for a moment, gently rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. It was nice. “I told you to be careful…”
“Pete…”
“You could have died .”
“But I didn’t.” she promised. Sure, it hurt to breathe, but at least it was only her.
--🪐--
He couldn't breathe.
Not from fear, or from injury, no. He couldn't breathe because he might wake Willow. Willow, who had saved him from a black ox beetle earlier that day by being a distraction. Willow, who had made dinner for all of them. Willow, who was fast asleep on his shoulder, using him as both her pillow and something to hold onto as her arms were wrapped tightly around his arm.
They'd been in the yard for a few months at this point (he was dreading trying to return to school now that it was early December) and now that they had rescued Dr. Tully, as raisined as he was, they had a real chance to return to normal. Which he did want. He wanted to hug his parents and see his friends… but he also didn't want this to change. He liked hanging out with Max, Hoops and Willow. As scared as he was when they first woke up, he liked the adventure they had. Change was nice, and the other three looked at him like he was a genius when he could start a fire without matches and knew how to make decent shelter. 3 months from that first night in October, and they still came to him for advice when it came to survival.
He liked Willow trusting him. Liked how they had fallen into a routine, how she would hold his hand randomly. How she (and the others) always had his back.
He just…liked Willow. Being around her, talking to her-
Though he wished he could kiss her-
No, stop that brain. Willow was just a friend. A new friend. One that he was not crossing that line with.
Even if he wanted to.
--👽--
Apparently Boggs, no, Pete had survival experience. A godsend in this absolute nightmare. Great, wonderful, at least they wouldn't starve or freeze.
That didn't help with her nightmares. Nothing did.
Well, actually, it kind of did.
Not his survival instincts, but Pete himself. He was calming to be around. Calming, grounding and real . Just what she needed to make it through the worst of the nights. Now that they had rescued Tully and they had an actual chance to get home, she wondered what she'd do without him.
That was a problem for future Willow, present day Willow was going to enjoy sleeping on Pete's shoulder next to the fire. She was comfortable, she was safe .
“Oh!” Dr. Tully’s voice woke her. “I didn’t know you two were-”
“We aren’t!” She cut in, still kind of groggy as she sat up abruptly.
If he had hands, he’d probably be holding them up. “My apologies.” She ignored how she wished that she had been lying as he continued. “I’ll leave you two be.” He floated off before she could reply again.
“Willow?” Pete’s hand touched her shoulder. She slowly moved back against him, returning to her spot on his shoulder. At least, she did until she realized she had basically trapped him there.
Still groggy, but not wanting to be a bother, she moved back. “Sorry.” She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “You probably want to do…whatever.”
“It's alright.” He gently tugged her back, which she didn’t protest. “Go back to sleep.”
“Mmm…okay.” she didn't have the energy to care, even as she heard Hoops barely bite back a laugh next to them.
1 year and 7 months ago:
--🪐--
It had been a few weeks and he still felt weird being tall. At the very least, he was still friends with the other teens. Not to mention everything the bullies tried didn't do shit to him anymore. He'd faced down a giant spider that came back to life three separate times , someone punching him was nothing. He was thankful they weren’t shrunk anymore.
Well, he was for the most part.
He missed part of it. He’d grown to like camping, grown to enjoy their little base in the lantern on Tully’s pond. On the other hand, he was glad he could now squish spiders and fire ants under his heel, and that if he saw a black widow or wolf spider he could grab some bug spray and that was that.
Mainly he missed being around the others so often. Missed the fireside chats, missed the strange contest they’d made up to pass the time, missed the team work and the adventures…
Missed Willow.
He still saw her and the others, just it wasn’t as frequent. As soon as they were unshrunk and no longer missing they (well, mostly himself) had been under constant supervision from parents. Which was fine, he understood their hyper vigilance. If his kid had disappeared randomly he too wouldn’t let them out of his sight when they were found again. But because of that, he was rarely able to see the others. Really he only saw them when they met with lawyers about their case against Ominent.
Occasionally, like now, their parents would let them go to the park. Granted, they had to stay within view which made them all feel like toddlers again. Still, they'd take what they could get, even in the freezing cold. So while their parents talked in hushed tones at a covered picnic table, the four of them were messing around on the playground. Hoops and Max were playing a game of Speed, Willow sat on the swings and he ended up joining her. The chains creaked with the movement, not expecting any weight with how cold it was. “Hey.”
“Hey.” she seemed deep in thought.
“Whats on your mind?”
“Just thinking about how much of a nightmare this place would be if we were still tiny.” She dragged her boot in the woodchips and snow. “We'd have to make a staircase for the staircases. And the static from the slides would probably kill us.”
Good to know he wasn't the only one who kept thinking about what they'd do if they were still tiny. “Kids would probably step on us. Or whatever bugs hiding in the woodchips would get territorial. This is assuming that the cold didn’t kill us.” He noticed Hoops had scored, and Max was insisting on a rematch. “Hoops would probably try to make baskets with that awful berry ball she made.”
She snorted. “I forgot about that. We were lucky it didn’t attract ants.” They sat in silence for a moment, the only sounds being the wind, the swing chains and the distant chatter of Hoops and Max. Willow eventually spoke again. “Do you think… we'll ever get used to being big again?”
“I think so. It'll just take some time.” he glanced at the parents again. “Just like it'll take time before they let us out of their sight.”
She sighed. “ That can't come soon enough. My mom keeps opening my door at night to check that I'm still in bed.”
“My mom is the same way. The first week she slept on my floor.”
“As annoying as it is, it's not like we can blame them…” she sighed. “And here I thought my parents wouldn't even notice.”
He looked at her, alarmed that she could even suggest such a thing. “Why wouldn't they?”
She looked annoyed. "Don't look at me like that. I'm the exact middle of seven kids. My house is always chaotic. It's easy to be forgotten.”
He remembered being in the hospital after they un-shrunk. He had heard a lot of voices coming from Willow's room. “You've never mentioned them before…”
“Kinda on purpose. If people don't know, I don't have shoes to fill.” she shrugged. “Come to think of it, do you have siblings?”
“No.” That was part of why his parents were so protective. “Though my parents did want me to have siblings. It just….didn't happen.” He didn't know much about his conception, but he did know his parents had spent a lot of money and his mom went through tons of experimental treatments just to have him.
“Just means you get to have your own space. I'm a bit envious.”
--👽--
She said she was envious, but part of her wasn't. As much as it sucked having to share a bathroom with 6 other people, as awful as it was constantly arguing over whose turn it was on their computer, as much of a fight it took to get the slightest sliver of privacy… she wouldn't change it. Sure, her siblings got on her nerves all the time, but she still loved them. When they found out that she had developed asthma (thanks Tully and his leaking weed killer) her older sisters went to grab her inhaler from the pharmacy without being asked, dealing with the icy streets. Her baby sister had apparently asked Santa to bring her home. Her stoic oldest brother had cried when he saw her.
She'd seen Pete's house, a two story doll house with massive bay windows and a perfect lawn and garden, and knowing it was just the three of them… he had to have been lonely. That was something about her house, someone was ALWAYS there. Be it her parents or her siblings.
“Well. If you ever want to experience chaos you could come over.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them.
He seemed to light up at that. “Really?”
No. Not really. Ash would tear him to shreds . Pete was too nice. “Really. Just… wait for a time when my brother isn't home. He's an ass.”
He just laughed at that. “If you say so.”
She was about to insist she was right, maybe tell him about the zipline incident when they heard a crash and looked up. Max had slipped on a patch of ice. His mom was already getting up and ready to run over when he waved his hands. “I’m fine! Promise!”
There was doubt, but she sat back down. Her and Pete headed over though, catching the end of Max and Hoops conversation. “-told you to keep an eye out. There’s ice everywhere ”
“You're the one who wanted to play basketball!’
“So?”
“Next time we should try a little harder to convince our parents to pick something inside.” Pete crouched and offered a hand to Max to pull him up. “Less chance of falling.”
“Aw man, now my pants are soaked.” Max whined.
“Next time, don’t be an idiot.” Hoops told him before turning to her and Pete. “You two should play. Beating Max is starting to get boring.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Aw come on Willow! We can do girls against boys!”
“Not fair! Hoops is on the basketball team!” Max whined. “And I’ll have to carry Petey.”
She crossed her arms. “Let’s do everyone against Max.”
“Sounds like a great idea. Max doesn’t want Petey on his team, we'll take him.” Hoops grabbed Pete’s arm.
Immediately Max started to back track. “Wait, wait! I didn’t- Petey help a guy out.”
Pete grinned and her heart fluttered. “Nah, I think I’ll team up with the girls.”
“Damnit!”
1 year and 6 months ago:
--🪐--
This was the first time he was going to Willow's and he didn't want to mess it up. He took a deep breath and knocked. He waited, hearing the commotion going on behind the door before it opened.
“Hey Pete.” Willow was clearly out of breath, still holding back her siblings.
“Hi. You ready for movie night?”
“Yep. Come on in.” She moved to let him in, still trying to hold back her siblings.
“Hey Peter.” Aspen, Willow's oldest sister, called out from the dining room where she had been helping someone with homework.
“Hi Aspen.” The first time he'd met the eldest Branch he'd felt intimidated. She didn't seem to like him or the others. He couldn't blame her, tensions were high in that hospital. Slowly, he must have gotten on her good side. He was about to ask her about college, as he was prepping for the ACT and SAT (he knew it was a bit early but he wanted to be prepared!) but he was cut off by the youngest Branch grabbing his leg.
“Petey!! Will you come play dolls with me?”
Unlike Aspen, Tilla had decided from day one he was her best friend and was constantly trying to tag along with Willow when they met up at the park. Willow complained about it every time, but she still pushed her sister on the swings when asked.
“No.” Willow cut in before he could answer and her baby sister pouted. “Pete and I have plans. Why don't you ask Ash?”
“Ash is mean.” He had to agree and he hadn’t even met the guy. Willow told him about the zipline incident and he wasn't a fan. “Besides, he's not even home yet.” Tilla's eyes locked on him again. “But Pete's here! So Pete can play!”
Aspen cut in. “Tilla. Let Willow go on her date.”
His face turned bright red, and he wasn't the only one. Willow looked a little murderous under the blush. “Aspen! That's not-! We aren’t-”
“YOU AND PETE ARE DATING?!”
“No!”
He hoped he hid how it hurt. Willow wasn't interested in him, why would she be? “Whats wrong with Pete?” Aspen tilted her head, grin on her face.
--👽--
Willow was going to kill her sister. She knew! She knew she had a crush on Pete! How fucking dare she pull this! “Nothing is wrong with him!”
“Then why aren’t you dating?”
“Yeah! Pete's great! Why aren't you dating him?” Tilla chimed.
She was going to kill both of them. “We're just friends! Good friends!”
Thankfully, her brother chimed in. “Come on you two, tease her anymore and she'll have an asthma attack.”
“Thanks Clove.”
“...That being said, they're totally secretly dating.”
“I take it back. I hate all of you.” She grabbed Pete's hand and headed straight for the basement. “If any of you come down here and bug us I'm dumping ice on you in the middle of the night.”
“Just keep the door open lovebirds. Or should I say, lovebugs.”
“Clove!” She gently pushed Pete so he’d start going down the stairs. “Shut up!”
They could hear laughing from the safety of the basement. “I'm going to bite their shins in their sleep.” She seethed. She had never been so humiliated in her life. Her face burned, and she couldn't look at him. This had been one of the things she had been worried about. “I'm so , so sorry Pete. Oh my god- I can’t believe they did that.”
“It's okay.” He put a hand on her shoulder, but she still couldn't look at him.
“It isn’t. They were trying to mock you.” She sighed. “I’m so sorry.” He probably wanted to go home now, away from this insanity.
“It’s alright.” Finally she looked at him, mainly to see if he was lying, and he was smiling. She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off. “Willow?! Can I bring you two anything?” Her mom called and she groaned.
“WE'RE FINE!” Willow shouted up the stairs before turning to him. “ This is why I avoided having you over…”
He just laughed a little. “I think it's nice. My house is always so quiet.”
“Its a nightmare. Sometimes I miss how quiet the yard was.” She headed over to the tv, opting to try and salvage the night. “I still can't believe you haven't seen The Secret of NIHM. That's like, my childhood.”
“Thats why I'm here.” He pointed out.
“Touche.” She had already put in the tape. “Will you get the lights? I'll run up and make popcorn.” She knew she had 8 minutes of advertisements before the movie actually started.
Her moms voice made them both jump. “Unnecessary, I made you two some.”
“...Thanks mom.”
“Of course.” She kissed Willow's forehead despite her complaining. “Enjoy your movie, I'll keep the others upstairs.”
“Thank you Mrs. Branch.”
“You're so polite Peter! Willow, why can all your friends be like him?”
“I thought you were going back upstairs.”
“Fine, fine.”
Her mom left, shutting the door behind her and she grabbed a blanket and sat down on the couch. “Are you ready to watch perfection?”
He laughed. “I guess we’ll see.”
--🪐--
It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t The Sword and the Stone, but it was good. The movie had ended, the vhs tape waiting for him to rewind it, but he was stuck. Willow was fast asleep, her head on his shoulder. She had dozed off around 30 minutes in. He didn’t want to wake her, she seemed to need sleep. If he pretended a little bit, then he could think of this as a date even with the teasing. Unfortunately his arm was asleep and cramping. He slowly adjusted, allowing Willow to tuck himself against his side instead. He carefully took off his glasses, setting them on the table beside them. If he was just going to sit here he might as well nap too. He tugged the blanket so it was around both of them.
--👽--
When she woke up, it was to giggling. Her eyes shot open, just in time to see her sisters trying their hardest to not laugh with a camera in their hands. She was confused at first, until she realized it.
She was curled against Pete, her head under his chin, his arms around her. He was asleep too. She didn't want to move, both because she didn't want to wake him but also because she was comfortable. She mouthed “I will kill you.” To her sisters and they just shrugged and left, Aspen being kind enough to turn off the TV and VHS player. Pete mumbled something, nuzzling his nose into her hair. She'd tell them off later; for now sleep was calling to her and Pete was a good pillow.
1 year ago.
--🪐--
It was simple, really . It was just a few words. “Will you go to Homecoming with me?” It didn't even need to be a date, as much as he wanted it to be, it could just be as friends. He knew Willow pretended not to care but she did want to go at least once , even if she complained the entire time. Max had mentioned asking Hoops as friends, so maybe the four of them could go in a group-
“Hey Pete!” River's hand clasped his shoulder. “Have you decided on who you're asking to homecoming?” His best friend had that look that meant he was planning something. “If not, you could ask Chloe and I could ask Zoe.”
“I do have someone I'd like to ask, and it's not Chloe.” River's face fell, and he continued. “That doesn’t mean you can't ask Zoe.”
“She won't go without her twin! Come on man, help me out.”
“I'll think about it.” He acquiesced, though he would only ask her if Willow ended up turning him down.
“Sick! Thanks man! I'll get our ride sorted-”
“That doesn’t mean yes.” He protested.
“Besides, Petey's going with my group.” Max cut in, catching both of them off guard.
“So Hoops said yes?” Pete tilted his head.
“Yep. Did Willow?”
“You want to ask Willow ?” River seemed incredulous.
“What’s wrong with Willow?” He tried not to sound so defensive.
“Nothing! It's just… She’s cool, you know? Like, super cool.”
“I’m aware?”
“She’s out of your league, man.”
“Petey’s cool though!” Max cut in.
“I know! He’s my best friend!” River defended. “It’s just. Willow’s a different kind of cool.”
He shut his locker, hoping he hid how much that hurt. “Thanks for reminding me.”
“You can still ask her! She’s still a friend.” Max patted his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll say yes.”
River’s comment aside, he wanted to still at least ask her. He figured his best chance to ask was to talk to Willow alone. Easy in theory, in execution not so much. He ended up asking to walk her home after robotics club, which while she questioned, “You live the other direction?”, she still agreed. They talked as they walked, discussing random club matters until they had made it to her house. “Thanks for walking with me.”
“Of course.” Now or never. She had already started up the steps when he spoke again.
“Willow.” He caught her hand, stopping her from going inside.
“Yeah?” She tilted her head.
“I…uh…um…Will you…” he took a deep breath. “Will you go to Homecoming with me?”
She blinked, digesting the information. He continued before she replied. “If not that's totally okay; no harm no foul.”
“I already have a date?”
“Oh.” He hoped he hid his disappointment and let her go. “I see. Well. Forget I said anything. I'm just going to go…throw myself off a bridge or something before the embarrassment kills me.”
She grabbed his hand again before he could run off. “ You already asked me. And I said yes. Did you forget?”
“I…did?”
“I knew you hit your head.” She shook her head, smiling.
--👽--
And Pete thought he hadn’t hit his head.
That was the only explanation for why he forgot they were already going to Homecoming together as each other's dates. As FRIENDS , stupid brain.
He'd asked her, she'd said yes, he'd done a little cheer and then promptly tripped and rolled down the yard. She was too busy laughing her ass off to be concerned at that moment.
Probably should have been a little concerned, especially after he didn't mention anything involving homecoming. “I’ve been waiting for you to tell me the plan for a few days now. I kinda assumed that's why you wanted to walk home with me.”
“Oh…” His face was bright red, it was so cute. “My bad… I’ll talk to Max and let you know.”
“Sounds good. And Pete?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t hit your head again. I’m looking forward to going with you.”
“I’ll try not to.” He smiled and headed towards his house, almost tripping over his shoelace.
11 months, 3 weeks ago:
--🪐--
The group “date” went well. They'd gone and seen a movie and to the arcade. It was relaxed, fun. Now they had to get ready, and as the clock ticked on he felt himself getting more and more nervous. Max shot him a look from where he stood at the mirror. “Petey, you look like you're about to puke.”
“I'm fine!” He insisted.
“Its not like she's not going to show.” Max went back to combing his hair. “Hoops is with her. Besides, it's not like this is a date-date, it's just friends.”
Right. Just friends. He'd asked her as a friend, to go with him as her friend. This wasn't a date. Granted, depending on how things went he was planning on confessing that he liked her but this was totally just a platonic date. “I’m going to head down now”
“Got it.”
Willow was there not long after. She wore a knee length black dress with fishnets and combat boots. Her usual dark makeup was missing, replaced with some that highlighted her eyes. Her hair wasn't in its usual style, instead it was much softer and less spikey. She looked so beautiful, and he felt like such a dweeb next to her. He fought the urge to run his hand through his hair, knowing that his mom would kill him if he messed it up. It was like picture day, her fussing over every little thing. Hell, she was still fixing his tie. Willow grinned when she saw him. “Looking good Boggs.”
“Thanks.” He was barely able to get out, only partially because his mother had decided to tighten his tie at that moment.
“Oh, you look so cute sweetie!” She coo'd. “You look lovely too, Willow.”
“Thanks Mrs. Boggs.” She smiled a bit awkwardly.
“Let's get some pictures!” Mrs. Branch insisted.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Max and Hoops?” He asked.
“We can take some with them once they’re ready. In the meantime.” She motioned for them to get closer. “Peter, put your arm around Willow. Sweetie, stop scowling.”
“Thats just my face, mom.”
“It is not. Now smile.”
He was so incredibly grateful his dad was the one dropping them off. He didn’t talk, he just left the four of them be. He only spoke when they were getting out at the country club that the school had reserved. “I'll come pick you up at 10:30.”
He nodded. “Understood. Thanks dad.”
“Yeah! Thank you Mr. Boggs.”
“Thank you!”
“Thanks.”
His dad smiled. “You kids have fun.”
The dance was like a breath of fresh air. Granted, it was stuffy and hot but at least there were no parents. It wasn't too crowded yet, but some people were already on the dance floor. Hoops seemed excited. “Come on! I see a chocolate fountain!”
“Dude, sick!!” Max looked at the other two when they didn't move. “You two coming?”
Willow shrugged. “I'm good.”
He felt like if he even tried to eat something he'd puke. “I'm good too. Go for it.”
Max shrugged and headed off. “Hey! Don't hog it Hoops!!”
Willow glanced at him and he felt self conscious. “Are you okay? You look really pale.”
“I'm fine!” He was thankful his voice didn't crack, and didn't expose how nervous he was.
She didn't buy it. “Come on, lets go get some air.” She gently grabbed his arm and led him outside. The outside was decorated too, lights strung up like stars above them. She guided him over to a bench and got him to sit before she sat next to him. “Whats going on?”
“Sorry; I just… I still can't believe you agreed to go with me…” he laughed, though it was a bit hollow.
“Why is that?” She tilted her head.
“You're just…”
“What?”
“...Beautiful. and cool. And I'm well, just Pete.”
“I like just Pete.” She countered.
He was just baffled. “Why?”
“I've got lots of reasons.” she defended. “You're smart, funny, sweet, kind. You never hesitate to do the right thing or to help someone. You're basically why we survived Tully's yard. You-”
He held up his hands, his face hot. “I-I get the point.”
“I don't think you do.” She crossed her arms, unamused. “You don't give yourself enough credit for all the good you do Pete.”
He was quiet for a moment, trying to ease his racing heart. “I never did tell you how beautiful you look tonight.”
“I'm glad you think so. Aspen spent ages fussing over my makeup.”
Another beat, both of them looking up at the stars. His voice was soft, barely there. “Willow?”
She turned to look at him. “Yeah?”
It was now or never… “May I kiss you?”
He watched as she digested his question. How she blushed a little and rolled her eyes. He was tempted to apologize, to walk away before he cried.
He didn't need to.
She moved fast, grabbing his lapels and tugging him down into a kiss. It was awkward, they bumped noses and the angle was wrong, but it felt so right. She pulled back a little, a grin on her face. “That answer your question?”
He smiled. “Yeah.” He leaned back in, and when she followed his lead he gently cupped her cheek and kissed her properly.
--👽--
Aspen was right, this look did get Pete to kiss her. She grinned when they separated, and was about to kiss him again when the door opened and some people came out. “We probably should go back in.”
A flash of disappointment crossed his face, but he nodded and stood. He offered his arm. “Shall we?”
She had never thought she'd enjoy a school dance. The music was just top hits, it was loud and crowded, and she was not a fan of the line dances the dj kept trying to start. All of these things did suck, even if watching Hoops and Max try (and fail) to start a mosh pit was hilarious, but there was something that she hadn't accounted for.
Pete.
And standing off to the side of the gym where there were less people, swaying to Every Rose Has its Thorn by Poison with her arms around his shoulders and his arms around her waist she decided:
Maybe dances aren't that bad after all.
10 months ago:
--🪐--
Pete and Willow were in a…weird situation.
Mainly, Pete didn't know what the hell they were.
He wanted to say they were dating. That the hang outs they did just the two of them were dates.
I mean, they spent a lot of time locking lips. Most of the time, actually. Pete was a simple man.
He still wanted to know what they were. If it was appropriate to call her his girlfriend. He hoped it was, he'd been calling her that in his head for weeks.
He could ask her right now, but they were a bit… occupied.
Hoops and Max had canceled, leaving the two of them alone. First they tried to study, then they had played some games on his super nintendo for a while before they got bored and put on a random movie (he was pretty sure it was Back to the Future but he didn't check). Not that they were watching the movie, both were too busy making out to pay attention. It had started off as just cuddling, something they did even before this started. What could he say? Willow was always using him as her pillow for some reason, and he didn't mind it honestly. He wasn't expecting anything else. Then Willow sat up and looked at him with a strange glint in her eyes…
Now, he was laying on the couch, ignoring how there was a book from their half hearted study attempt pressing into his spine as she laid on top of him kissing him. Eventually they separated for air. She glanced at the screen. “...what the hell is going on?”
He just kept looking at her, at her smudged lipstick that he was probably wearing more than she was. “I don't know.”
“You didn’t even look.” She pointed out.
“There's something much more interesting in front of me.”
She laughed and his heart skipped.”Smooth Boggs. Smooth.” She leaned down and kissed him again. “Dork.”
“Let me appreciate my girlfriend.” He joked, not realizing he'd said the quiet part out loud until she froze. “I-I mean-”
She moved quickly, sitting up. “Girlfriend?”
“Er… well… yeah?” he winced at how his voice cracked. “Un-unless you don't want to be? I just…” she stared at him and he wished he could shrink and hide.
She blinked. “Pete-”
“Forget I said anything.” He barely got out.
“I don't think I will.” She insisted, leaning down and kissing him. He didn’t stop her, in fact he melted into the kiss. When they separated again, she murmured against his lips. “Now I know I can gloat about my boyfriend.”
He smiled.
7 months ago:
--🪐--
He didn't know why he was so nervous.
His parents had met Willow. Multiple times, in fact. But they had never met her as his girlfriend .
Honestly? He wasn't planning on telling them. Not until he felt ready. Then his mom had found the spare lipstick and period products he kept in his backpack for Willow and an incredibly awkward conversation later his parents insisted on meeting her. His mom especially.
Granted; they didn't know it was Willow who was his girlfriend; just that he had one.
--👽--
“Okay. Breathe. You can do this…” The reflection in the mirror may have been her, but it didn't feel right. Mr and Mrs Boggs liked her well enough as a person, but as Pete's girlfriend? She groaned.
3 months, they'd been dating for 3 months (officially anyway) and she was meeting his parents not as a friend but as a girlfriend.
She knocked, and Pete opened the door nearly instantly as if he'd been waiting. “Hey.” He tugged her into a hug before she could reply. Good to know he was as nervous as she was. She hugged him back, melting into him.
“Is that her?” His moms voice was sweet, but it put her on edge.
“Yes.” he kissed her head and pulled back a little, gently taking her hand.
His mom all but ran to meet her, already talking. “Hello! I'm Peter's mom-” she froze when she realized it was Willow standing there. “Willow! What are you doing here sweetheart?”
“Mom.” Pete cut in. “Willow is my girlfriend.”
“...she is?”
She nodded. “We've been together for 3 months…”
“You hid her for THREE months!?” His mother's tone made both of them flinch.
“It just…never came up?” He tried, wincing at his voice cracking. She grabbed his hand to try and help him.
“I'm sorry to surprise you Mrs. Boggs…” she gave his hand a squeeze.
His mother had a strange look in her eyes, one that made her worry. “Do your parents know?”
“I haven't told them, but my siblings might have.” She had wanted to wait, mainly to spare Pete from the teasing.
“Excuse me.” His mom hurried off and they heard the distinct sound of a phone being picked up.
“...my parents are going to be coming here.” She sighed.
“Im so sorry…” he murmured. “If I had just hid it a bit-”
“It's okay.” She moved and cupped his face. “We'd have told them eventually. It's not like I was planning on hiding you forever.”
“Nor I you.” He kissed her forehead. “Let’s face the music, shall we?”
Surprisingly, the parents were more upset that they had hid their relationship then they were that they were dating in the first place.
3 months ago:
--🪐--
The fourth of July party was going off without issue. Well, burg.l kept trying to take over grilling from his father much to his chagrin, but overall everything was going well.
The Boggs had invited The Branches, Nguyens, Smalls’ and Tullys to celebrate the occasion as well as his extended family to their house for the party, and all of them had agreed to come. His parents had rented some bouncy castle type things that were entertaining most of the kids and teens. The older ones, like Aspen and the older Branch kids, were playing card games at one of the tables.
“It’s so hot out.” Willow complained, placing the water he’d handed her directly on her bare neck. She’d tied her hair up before she’d gotten there, mainly to show off her new undercut.
“You’re wearing all black.” He pointed out, sitting down next to her on the grass.
“I’m always wearing all black. I’m not always hot.”
“I beg to differ.”
She snorted. “Since when are you smooth?” He grinned, pressing a kiss to her cheek. She gently swatted him away. “Don’t. I’m all sweaty.”
“It’s fine.” His arm moved around her hip. “I don’t care.”
“I do.” She moved to lean against him but stopped. “Stupid heatwave. I can’t lean on you.”
“You can still kiss me.”
She grinned. “That I can.” She pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
“Ewwwww!!! Mom!!! Willow and Pete are kissing!!”
She pulled back and scowled. “Go away Tilla.”
“But Pete promised to play with me!” She whined. “You get to see Pete all the time!”
He started to stand, even as Willow complained. He didn’t want to go, but he knew as well as she did that Tilla would only get worse if she was ignored. “If we play now, you have to stay by your parents during the fireworks.” He told her in his best I’m-older-than-you-so-listen voice.
“Fine…”
He pressed a kiss to the top of Willow’s head. “What did you want to play?”
Somehow, the game of Spies that Tilla had insisted on had turned into a water balloon fight with everyone that only paused because it was finally time to eat. Tilla insisted on sitting in between him and Willow.
--👽--
The best part of the fourth of July was easily the fireworks. Brookhollow usually put on a massive show, and it was pretty easy to get your hands on some decent fireworks if you knew where to ask.
The worst part, besides the heat, was waiting for the show to start. Having to fight off mosquitos from exposed skin always sucked and there was always a bit of a delay. At least this year, she was snuggled up to Pete and their parents and friends were leaving them alone.
“Which one is that?” He asked, pointed up at one of the constellations that he probably knew already.
“Draco.” She pointed to the north star. “So you see ursa minor's square? That star near it is part of the tail.”
“And that one?”
“Cassiopeia. It's the M shape.”
“That one?”
“Not a constellation. Thats…” she wracked her brain for the name of the star. “I can't remember, but it's just a star, no constellation attached."
He hummed. “And this one?”
She tried to see where he was pointing, as he was pointing at something behind her, but couldn't tell. “I'm not sure…?”
“Pretty sure that it's Willow.” He grinned.
“You dork.” yet she smiled all the same.
“I was running out of constellations.” He admitted.
“I knew you already knew them.”
“I like hearing you talk about them.” His arm went back around her waist and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“... Can you believe it's already July? School’s starting back up soon.”
“It went by too fast.” He agreed.
“It helped that we were finally able to drive places.”
“Don’t let my mother hear you say that, I wasn’t supposed to let you in the car.”
“She totally knew.”
“Probably, but if I don’t say it she can’t get mad at me.” He glanced at his watch. “Its really late this year.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “Hopefully they do it. It's always the best part.”
He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “They'll do it.” He promised.
She smiled. “I mean, I don't mind waiting since I'm with you.” She leaned in and kissed him.
For once, she didn’t pay that much attention to the show. There was someone much more interesting beside her.
1 week ago:
--🪐--
“I've got a weird feeling about this ceremony…” Pete told Willow as they cleaned up. It was movie night, and of course she had picked a horror movie so there was popcorn everywhere . For someone who enjoyed horror media, Willow sure was jumpy. Not like he was any better.
Willow looked up from rewinding the vhs tape. “Weird how?”
“I don't know.” He admitted, continuing his quest of picking up popcorn. “Something just feels…wrong.”
“It is a little weird that Ominent is so insistent.” She agreed. “I think it'll be fine though.”
“You do?”
“Well, I'll have you by my side right?”
“Obviously.”
“Then I'll be fine.” She insisted.
He smiled, and stopped to kiss the top of her head. “I thought I was the sappy one.”
“You are. I can be cute sometimes.” she put the tape back in its cardboard sleeve before standing up. “If it's bothering you, we don't have to go.”
He sighed. “I still want to. Dr. Tully needs our support. Besides, we already have plans after.” She had wrapped her arms around him as he talked and he rested his chin on her head. “Our ‘plans’ are to look at Halloween costumes. It's not a big deal if we don't do that.”
“Weren't you the one who wanted to make sure they were perfect?”
“If the ceremony is making you uneasy, it can wait.” She insisted. “The first week of October just means all the good costumes aren’t taken.”
“I just... I can't shake this feeling that something is going to happen…”
“Pete…”
“Sorry to be a downer.”
“I don't mind.” She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
“Why don't we change the subject?” He didn’t want to ruin the mood more, even if she swore she didn't care.
“...I still can't believe your parents are letting me stay the night.” It seemed like not that long ago that his mom would barge in as they were watching a movie and demand for them to remove their blanket to make sure they were still decent, as if watching All Dogs Go to Heaven put anyone in the mood for anything except crying. Yet now she was fine with her staying over without the others present. He didn't get it, but he knew better than to argue.
“You've done it before.”
“When they were home . And your mom kept making sure we were being decent.” She shook her head. “I get why , but we were snowed in and I couldn't go home . We were too busy trying not to freeze to do anything else.”
He shrugged. “You just proved they can trust you.”
“Wow, I didn't have sex with their son when it was in the negatives .” Willow's voice was deadpan. “So amazing, such responsibility.” He laughed so hard he couldn't breathe and she just grinned.
“You are ridiculous.” He told her, brushing a piece of hair out of her face.
“You love it.”
He rolled his eyes, but she was right. He did love it. He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before stepping back. “Help me clean up the mess you made.”
“ I made? Pretty sure you were holding the bowl, Boggs.” Despite sassing him, she did as he asked.
--👽--
Maybe Pete did have a point about the ceremony. Since he'd mentioned it, she couldn't stop thinking about it. It was weird for reasons she couldn't name. Eventually, as they were laying down and trying to sleep, she mentioned it again. “Hey Pete?”
“Hm?” He seemed to be half asleep, which seemed unfair because the pullout couch was not comfortable. He was like a cat, able to sleep anywhere. She couldn't see his face, only his back.
“I can't stop thinking about what you said.”
He didn't reply, not at first. He shifted so he was on his side and facing her, green eyes somehow bright even in the dark. “I didn't mean to worry you.”
“I know you didn't.”
He opened his arms and she moved so she was tucked against his chest. He waited until she was settled before speaking. “How can I help?”
“You're helping right now.” She murmured. “...Help me think of a plan? In case something goes wrong?”
“Okay.” He gently pushed some hair out of her face. This close, even in the dark, she could count the freckles on his face.
They spoke in hushed tones, coming up with scenarios and solutions that would most likely never happen. It made her feel better, even if some of his suggestions were absolutely ridiculous.
“I don't think beating someone with the player handbook for Minotaurs and Myrmidons would do that much…” she barely hid her laughter.
“It's a heavy book! It'd at least bruise them.” He was clearly grinning. “You'd know, you saw my bruised foot when my copy fell on it.”
“You just bruise easily.” She countered. “Also I thought it was the DM's guide that fell?”
“....It may have been the DM's guide.” She laughed, feeling a bit better. He gently played with her hair. “Do you think you'll be able to sleep?”
“I think so.”
“Good.” He kissed her forehead.
It was quiet for a moment, and she figured he was asleep. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and whispered. “I love you…”
Imagine her surprise when he opened his eyes and whispered back. “I love you too.”
She just smiled and closed her eyes.
As long as Pete was by her side, she'd be okay.