Work Text:
Peter sat on his bed, typing up a week-late essay on his school Chromebook. Mr. Fritz was really annoying when it came to late work, and he had to do it at some point, didn't he? Still, he couldn't believe he already had to do an essay, but that's just how AP courses go, he thought.
After finishing his second paragraph on English colonization, he decided it was time for a break and reached for his phone.
A missed call from Ty, 2 from Andrés, and 5 from Adam. Five?
There were tons of missed texts on Snapchat, as well as multiple missed calls, all from the same groupchat.
There was no fucking way he was reading all that.
Peter 🇵🇱: Wtf is happening
day one: peter u wont believe ts
...the fuck was Ty saying?
dumbass 1: Yk tht confess pg?
ginger: i lwk feel bad fr u
dumbass 2: ppl r fucking idiots
Peter 🇵🇱: what abt the page?
Then "dumbass 1" (Andrés) sent an Instagram link.
In the screenshot, there was a single sentence and a link:
I'm starting a creative writing project. Here's a link to my first work!
Peter was still getting notifications, but ignored them to click on the link (which was copy-and-pasted in the caption of the post). It took him to a website that was all too familiar...
"Wattpad?"
Peter hadn't seen that website since his 2020 era. However, the second thing that caught his eye was much worse...
A True Love's Kiss: Book 1: Peter and Darcy
Peter dropped his phone onto the bed, and barely stopped himself from screaming. What the fuck!? Whothe fuck!? That HAD to be illegal.
He slowly picked up the phone, and opened the groupchat.
Peter🇵🇱: wtf did i just see
dumbass 2: id rather die than date u lol
dumbass 1: you gotta read it bro its so bad
ginger: dude hop on
Peter turned on his Airpods and went on call.
Peter and the others conversed about this tragedy in the call for a bit...
On the call, all of them (except for Carlos, who was inactive for some reason) read through the trope-filled fanfiction. Every damn line got a laugh out of Ty, it seemed, and even the more serious Andrés was laughing his ass off at some parts.
Right as chapter one finished, Peter had a... realization.
Shit. Do they know?
"That shit was fucking insane. I gotta head out, though. Gotta finish my fuckass essay."
Ty nodded. "Yeah, man, I gotchu. See ya, man."
But Peter couldn't do his essay now. He could only think about that.
Did they know? Did they know he was... gay?
It seemed like a stupid question, but Peter had been closeted since he transferred Sophomore year.
There's no way they know. It's a joke, it's just a joke. Joke. And Darcy? Darcy is definitely straight.
Shit.
------+------+------+------
It's been a couple of weeks since that fuckass fanfiction came out, and Peter couldn't get it off his mind.
The more he read it, the less he laughed, until he could read it with a straight face.
He would also stay up late, rereading the story, until he was on Wattpad more than Tiktok.
Why was he rereading it? To wallow in his anxieties about being outed, of course.
Well, there was another reason, but Peter couldn't quite identify it. It was an addiction of sorts.
He also understood the reason why the anonymous writer chose to write him and Darcy specifically: They acted VERY gay in school. Still, surely everyone knew it was a joke, right?
The occasional joke was made about it, but everyone had mostly gotten over the fanfiction. Oddly enough, the author didn't upload any new entries, either. Peter and Darcy remained the only victims.
Still, it couldn't leave his head.
------+------+------+------
It was psychology class, the one Peter decided to take for the easy A. It was also the class where he sat right next to Darcy.
About a month had passed since the fanfiction, and something had changed. The two no longer acted gay at any capacity, for example. The two nearly flinched everytime anyone giggled when they were walking or something, even if it wasn't directed at them.
However, in psych, the two could act relatively normal.
Except for that day.
Darcy's dark brown hair had a new red streak in it, and Peter couldn't help but spend his time looking at his hair.
And then that led to looking at his eyes. It's a natural pipeline, right?
Darcy's eyes matched his hair in color, and that only drew the blonde-haired blue-eyed Peter in.
Now, this was the same day of lecture on love's effects on the brain, which went GREAT for Peter.
While Mrs. Michaels spoke about romantic interests, Peter tried to take it in without thinking of the boy next to him. However, he couldn't get him out of his mind at all.
Safe to say, it sent Peter into a spiral.
Wait a Goddamn second. Do I have feelings for that dumbass? Fuck. No way, I'm not into him, even though I'm gay. But I did read that story a lot... And why can't I get him out if my head while on the topic of ROMANCE? Shit, this isn't good. It must be the fanfiction messing with my head. Yeah. Yeah...
That defense didn't last long. Peter had come to terms with it shortly after, as he already knew about his sexuality. He was just more worried about how others, especially Darcy, would react.
Well, Peter was never one to hold on to feelings for long. He'd likely get over it soon.
------+------+------+------
It's been several months now, and he, in fact, did not get over it. He was pining, BAD.
Peter loved Darcy, a straight guy, and he was DYING. He felt like he was going to fucking explodeeverytime he saw him.
Peter had to turn on his Airbuds ghost mode everytime he would listen to music to hide the very gay songs he was listening to while going insane, laying in bed. It got so bad, he was searching up "boyfriend scenarios" on TikTok. He was down bad.
Anyway, the semester was almost over, and it was time for the psychology group project! Peter and Darcy, as friends, obviously worked together to make the shitiest project that could still be an A possible.
While Peter insisted working at their own homes, Darcy insisted on going to his house. It'd be easier, according to him.
Peter gave in, hoping he doesn't fucking embarrass himself at his gay crush's house, especially since said gay crush was likely not gay. It was stupid, because he had quite literally been at Darcy's house before, but who could blame him?
However, at Darcy's house, shit went crazy.
"Hey, uh- Peter, listen. So, uh. I don't know how to say this shit, but... ugh, fuck. Come here."
Peter got off the floor and sat next to Darcy on the bed.
"What's up?"
What happened next scared the shit out of Peter.
Darcy looked at Peter for a moment.
"I'm gonna do this, alright?"
"Do whaAAAA-"
Darcy kissed Peter on the cheek?????? What?????
Peter was out of his fucking mind, confused as fuck. What the hell was Darcy doing?
Well, he wasn't going to waste this opportunity, was he?
He leaned over, to kiss him on the lips. He stopped before doing so, making sure it was okay. Darcy smirked.
And then he did it.
"I'm... I'm not... gay... but-"
"Shutup, fag. Just kiss me."
"Fuck you, Peter. you're the fag here."
Peter couldn't even be mad that he was just called a slur, because he was kissing the brunette boy of his dreams.
The psychology project stayed open on the Chromebooks while the boys kissed. It was no longer a priority, and it fell substantially on the list.
Nothing went further than that, of course, which Peter was happy with.
Things were silent for a few moments, and then Darcy spoke.
"I'm not a fag, Peter. I just wanted to kiss your gay ass."
"Kissing a boy is pretty fucking gay, man. ...Did'ya like it?"
"I... Whatever. We have a project. Get to work, queer."
Peter was much more confident knowing that he could actually do this with Darcy. It was a drastic change from his hopeless pining before.
"You're not changing the subject. Wanna kiss me again?"
"Fuck, maybe I do."
And so they kissed again, this time being shorter than the first.
"You're not gay, huh? You know, at least I acknowledge that I'm gay, dude."
"You're actually gay? Holy shit."
"I literally just kissed you, how the fuck did you not realize?"
"I kissed you and I'm not into guys, man. You're the only boy I wanna kiss, anyway. Doesnt count."
"I can't be assed to have this conversation right now."
Peter paused, before making another bold move.
"Wanna get dinner?"
"Whatever, alright. I'll pay."