Chapter Text
- peter, clark, and gwen attended school together when clark moved to new york city during his junior year. he stayed with his extended family while his parents got through tough times
- tall, kind, new, and handsome, clark turned lots of heads at midtown, and it only intensified when he was practically forced onto the football team by the coach
- being too big and too timid to do much on the field, clark kept the bench warm most games, watching from the sidelines as his peers slammed into one another
- that was where gwen first noticed him… like, really noticed him
- the blonde was bouncing around in her white sneakers, waving her yellow pom poms around as she and the rest of the cheerleaders led the crowd in a chant, when she realized she couldn’t stop staring at him
- it was hard not to notice clark with his large frame and charming, ever-present smile
- gwen knew that clark had moved from the midwest and that some kids at midtown were giving him a hard time for his thick-framed glasses and his country twang
- clark was in gwen’s gym period where the two of them were out on the field practicing with their respective teams, where the cheerleaders would fawn and giggle over him in gwen’s ear while she steamed angrily over an argument she had with the cheer coach… again…
- for being such a big guy, clark walked around and spoke as if he were much smaller. the one time he had spoken to her, just earlier that week, gwen had to ask him to repeat himself, which made his already pink cheeks and the tips of his ears burn red
- he was asking her about the pep rally they had coming up, the one they had earlier the day of the game, knowing that the football players were expected to do… something… for the cheer team during it, but not what that something was, and gwen was the only other person in the gym
- “oh, it’s just a thing girls who date guys on the team put together… they have everyone on the team bring the cheerleaders flowers and things. it used to be a couple-by-couple basis, but the coaches made it a team thing a few years ago, so no one feels excluded…” she had told him
- “okay,” clark had nodded with a shy smile, which made gwen’s stomach flip at the sight of his dimples, “and… what’s your favorite flower?”
- and that’s why gwen was staring at clark now and how she noticed that the times she didn’t catch him staring back at her, his eye was caught by someone in the crowd
- gwen wondered restlessly about who the person could be and tried to smother the vicious jealousy crawling up her throat, her round blue eyes scanning the crowd meticulously for who clark could be looking at
- the only constant she noticed was peter parker, a student photographer who was meekly snapping shots of the field during play for the yearbook which made her pause
- was clark…? surely not… but if he was… gwen thought it was sweet that the gentle giant football player with blue puppy dog eyes had a crush on the skinny photography nerd with brown puppy dog eyes
- for the rest of the game, gwen watched the two boys play tag with their longing gazes. just as clark ripped his eyes away from where peter took shots of some of the cheerleaders, peter would glance up from his camera to look over at clark
- she reasoned with herself that she was watching them to make herself get over whatever feeling she had previously felt blooming for clark before she burned hot with embarrassment at the revelation that she really liked peter too
- peter had gone to school with gwen since they were kids, although they had never really interacted outside of the few times they’d been assigned group work together over the years
- even then, they didn't converse much and gwen feared it was because of their long-standing and unspoken competition of who would be the very top of their class. once in a while, peter would overtake gwen’s spot as number one and he’d blush bright red when she’d nod at him as they passed one another in the hallway, only to reclaim her ranking mere weeks later
- but now, back at the game. gwen had a scowl on her pretty face as she willed for the night to end, as she felt emotion well up from deep inside
- after smiling at clark back in the gym and telling him she loved daisies, she figured he was just asking for an idea of what non-rose flower would be a good idea to bring the girls, so she didn’t think anything of it
- but then, the pep rally came, and she was caught completely off guard where she was standing and clapping for her cheermates as they got gifted beautiful bouquets of roses from their football player boyfriends or sweet wildflowers from their football player friends in front of the whole school when clark approached her, too tall and too broad for her to see past him, with a pretty bouquet of daisies in his big hands
- he hadn’t said anything as he offered them to her, the dark red blush going from the tip of his ears down to where his neck disappeared into the neckline of his football jersey, the feral sounds of his teammates hyping him up fading in the background
- gwen had taken the flowers from him with a smile before getting on the tips of her toes to grab him by the back of his neck and force him to lean down to her level so she could press a sweet kiss to his cheek to the sound of roaring cheers and applause from the crowd, “thank you, clark… they’re very beautiful.”
- “just like you,” he had said meekly before following the rest of his team off the court, where the cheerleaders were standing, and back to their seats in the stands with the rest of their classes
- the blonde had playfully rolled her eyes when her fellow cheerleaders crowded her, their teasing oooh’s and wagging eyebrows made her blush and miss the sound of peter parker taking a photo of them from the sidelines before the girls had to put their flowers down so they could go through their routines for the pep rally
- so now, gwen was left wondering if the whole thing was just a show… a ruse for clark to hide behind at gwen’s expense. while she wasn’t particularly thrilled about it, she could understand why he would do that without telling her the truth… she couldn’t blame him
- gwen was popular and sweet, smart and beautiful, the perfect girl to fake a crush on to prove something. it made her think of her twin brother, philip, and how he fake-dated his best friend to pass as straight which made gwen soften
- maybe she could do for clark what lily had selflessly done for philip, just in her own way…
- in fact, once she decided she wasn’t going to cry about it, gwen hatched a plan to help him
- once the tigers claimed their victory, gwen watched as clark allowed one of his teammates to pull him up and off the bench before they all made their way to the locker room
- knowing that clark was always the first to leave, given that he didn’t play and didn’t really need to change or freshen up or anything, gwen bid her team goodbye before grabbing her duffel bag and bouquet of daisies in one hand as she tried tugging her warm-up jacket on with the other as she sped toward the locker room
- she was startled by a gentle tug easing the duffel bag from her hand, her eyes glued to where she was getting tangled in the arms of her jacket
- “hey,” clark breathed when she jolted in surprise and looked up at him and then her duffel bag in his grasp, “need a hand?”
- “thanks,” gwen exhaled before finally pulling her jacket on with a huff and a puff to get the blonde curl out of her eyes and an audible zip of the zipper, “i wanted to talk to you… is right now okay? i know it’s late, but…”
- “oh, uh…” clark stammered and swallowed hard, his adam’s apple bobbing in a way that made gwen chew on the inside of her lip, “yeah, right now’s perfect… my grandma’s house isn’t very far so it’s not like i have a long way home”
- “after we talk, i’ll give you a ride home,” she promised, fishing her car keys out of her pocket and waving them at him, “as a thank you.”
- “for what?” he asked, his brow furrowed behind his glasses, “talking?”
- “and the daisies,” gwen smiled and raised the bouquet in her hand as a reminder, making him duck his head down and blush again, “c’mon… we can talk in the car.”
- clark said nothing, just allowed her to lead him back to her car like a lamb being led to slaughter
- he knew gwen was kind to just about everyone at midtown, staff included, but he was starting to sweat at the possibilities of what she wanted to talk about
- while he was too scared to ask anyone, clark concluded she didn’t have a boyfriend… not one that went to midtown, anyway… still, giving a girl he hardly knew flowers and telling her she was beautiful was daunting
- maybe she did have a boyfriend, or maybe she caught him staring and thought he was a creep
- clark was trying to convince himself that if it were either of those things, she probably wouldn’t have offered him a ride home
- one shiver from gwen’s glossy pink lips had clark insisting she get in the car while he put their bags into the back
- clark busied himself with hauling his and gwen’s duffels into her trunk when she popped it open for him, muttering to himself in an attempt to self-soothe
- “it’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine,” he heaved, shutting the trunk once gwen slipped into the driver’s seat to start heating it up so he could tug at his curls in peace, “gosh, she just makes me so…”
- with a huff, clark rubbed a hand over his face and made his way around the back of the car and ducked into the passenger seat
- “you can move the seat back,” gwen giggled at the sight of his knees practically in his chest, “sorry, i’m not used to someone so tall being in here.”
- “thanks,” clark exhaled as he got a little more comfortable, “for bein’ so nice to me… you’ve been very welcoming to me, gwen. i can’t tell you how much i appreciate it.”
- he swallowed hard when he looked at her and saw her studying him thoughtfully
- “we’re happy to have you, clark,” she said after a moment that felt like a century to him, “here at midtown, and in new york. i’m sure it feels like you’re not in kansas anymore…”
- “funny,” clark chuckled nervously, “it’s impressive that you’re the first person to make that reference to me… well, to my face anyway…”
- “it’s too easy,” gwen admitted with a sweet smile, “and i like seeing you smile…”
- “smiling around you is what’s easy,” he shook his head, his dimples practically threatening her, “you make it hard not to, if i’m honest.”
- “do you like peter parker?” she blurted out before she lost sight of the mission
- “pardon?” clark blinked, the rosy tint to his cheeks draining instantly.
- “peter parker,” gwen repeated, “the photographer? he’s cute, brown hair, pretty brown eyes… very smart guy.”
- “i’ve… met him…” he forced out breathlessly, “i, do you—“
- “this isn’t about me, clark,” she told him seriously, making his heart drop, “after you gave me the daisies, i started watching you… it’s obvious that you like him, you wouldn’t stop staring at him.”
- “gwen,” clark forced out, making her frown at the crack in his voice, “i, i don’t— i’m not—”
- “hey, clark,” gwen said with a gentle hand on his arm, making him suck in a shuddered breath, “hey, look at me… you’re okay… we’re in new york city, babe, it’s not that serious here.”
- “i don’t—”
- “listen,” she tried again and clark felt his heart pounding and his blood rushing all around when he felt her thumb rub circles on his forearm, “i’m bisexual, my twin brother is gay… you’re safe with me, i promise… i want to help you.”
- “hel-help me?” he choked out, “h-how?”
- “if you like peter…” gwen said softly, her fingers not stopping the comforting motion against his skin, “i think he likes you too… i could talk to him for you, just to be sure… then maybe, i could help you ask him out?”
- * “sweetheart, i like you,” clark insisted with wild blue yes and unkempt raven curls, “peter, he’s cool and all, but i—”
- “clark,” she interrupted softly, “it’s okay.”
- “i swear to you,” he continued desperately, almost with a whine, “i saw you for the first time and i thought you were perfect… i still do… there’s not a single thing about you that i don’t find to be admirable.”
- “but…?”
- “but, i met peter and he made me feel that way too,” clark sighed after a moment and gwen frowned at how defeated he looked and sounded, “both of you, and i don’t understand it. i, i can’t even explain it—”
- “you don’t have to explain yourself to me,” gwen shook her head, her hand moved up from his arm to cup his cheek to brush away the tears forming in his lower lashes, “i think i know exactly how you feel.”
- “r-really?”
- “yeah,” she giggled, brushing her glossy pink lips against his jaw, “that’s why i wanted to help you… i think you and peter are adorable and would be even cuter together, but i’d happily have either one of you for myself… maybe even both…”
- “oh,” he squeaked out, making her chuckle and kiss his cheek, right against his dimple and then at the corner of his mouth, “gosh, you’re somethin’ else…”
- “nothin’ like those country girls?” gwen teased and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips then below his jaw.
- “golly, not at all,” clark blushed brighter than she’d ever seen and she wondered how far down that blush went.
- “what if we could have both?” she whispered into his ear before slyly resting her hand on his leg, just below his knee with her pinky and ring fingers teasing his thigh, “you and me… and peter?”
- “w-what?!”