Chapter Text
Will was having a peaceful dream where he was in a faraway land with three waterfalls when suddenly he was being vigorously shaken awake.
“Will.”
“Will.”
“Will!” It’s Mike. He is currently being shook to death by his roommate, complaining about being late for something.
Oh. Will’s heart sank and he immediately rose to check the time. 7:53. Fuck. It’s his first day of college and his class starts at 8 a.m. sharp. He is so utterly fucked.
Will rushes past Mike, pushing him along the way to the bathroom hoping he can get ready in time, calling out a sorry and thank you to him.
By the time Will finishes getting ready he goes to go say bye to his roommate and thank him for waking him, but his room was empty. He tried calling out, but gave up quickly as he’s still running late.
He’s happy he finally made it to class but it looks like someone else isn’t.
“Will, what the hell? Why are you ten minutes late on the first day!” Said man scolded.
“I’m sorry! I must’ve forgot to set my alarm.”
The other male let out a deep sigh.
“Chance, come on,” Will made his best puppy dog eyes, “Forgive me?” He asked in the softest tone.
Chance rolled his eyes and chuckled, “Of course. I can never stay mad at you.” He smiled.
Will was about to say something else when their professor started going on about how she hates people speaking over her while staring straight at the pair.
When their first class was over, Will and Chance were sitting in the cafe on campus. Will finally asked the question he’s been dying to ask.
“Did you get the photo?”
Will was shaking with excitement when chance pulled a frame out of his bag, “Boy did I.” He smirked, handing the photo to Will.
“Oh my god, you did! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I owe you my life!”
“Not too much now, it’s just a photo dude.” Chance laughed at his eagerness.
Will looked offended by what just came out of his friend’s mouth, “It is NOT just a photo. Like I could seriously kiss you on the lips right now.”
Chance redirected that statement back to the photo, “Anyway..shouldn’t you go to that hero award ceremony? Spider-man is going to be there. Instead of making me take a picture, you can just go meet him.”
“What? No! Are you crazy?” Will set the picture down and honestly looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown, “If he sees me, he’s going to hate me! I can’t even imagine that.”
“Bro, he’s not going to hate you. Atleast just go see him you don’t even have to talk to him.” Chance lets out exasperated.
Will was pretty adamant about not going but now…he does want to see him.
On his walk home, he heard a commotion down the street. He normally would just ignore it since something is always going on in New York, but he wanted to see if he could help this time.
It sounded like the commotion was coming from an alleyway, so he walked towards the sound without thinking. It’s very dark and he’s now thinking he should’ve kept walking home.
Next thing he knows, he’s being slammed against a wall with a knife resting on his lower back.
“Give me your wallet. Now.” The deep voice of this stranger is ringing in his ears. Hes genuinely terrified reaching for his pocket, but then he hears it.
“Step away from the kid.” It’s Spider-Man.
‘Oh my god. What. No. It can’t be…God this is so fucking embarrassing.’
He feels the knife retreating and turns around as the criminal starts running for his life.
“Are you okay?”
“Uh—Spider-man,” Will visibly flinched when Spider-Man spoke and his brain is now short circuiting, “Oh! Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. I think.”
Spider-Man giggles. Something Will never thought he’d hear.
“Let me take you home?” Will can hear the smile in his voice. ‘Why would Spider-Man be smiling?’
‘He looks so good.’ His eyes are very wide, he’s very tall, looks a little lanky, exactly Will’s type. He stands there just staring for a few seconds, not even realizing until his brain finally caught up and let out an oh yeah.
Spider-Man’s getting closer. Will’s heart is racing. It should impossible for his heart to beat this fast.
Spider-Man tilted his head slightly, like he was studying him.
“You with me, kid?”
Will swallowed hard. “Yeah. Sorry. I just—uh—never been mugged or rescued by a superhero in the same five minutes before.”
That earned a soft laugh. “First time for everything.”
Before Will could process what was happening, Spider-Man stepped closer and gently placed a hand on his arm—not tight, grounding.
“So…where do you live?”
“Dorms. About…ten blocks that way.” He pointed behind him.
“Okay,” Spider-Man nodded. “I’ll walk you.”
“Walk?” Will blurted before he could stop himself. “I mean—don’t you usually, like—swing?”
Spider-Man snorted. “You want to throw up on my suit on day one?”
Will’s face burned. “No—no, walking’s great. Love walking. Huge fan.”
They walked in silence for a moment, sound broken only by the distant noise of traffic. Will could feel Spider-Man’s presence beside him—solid, warm, real. Way too real.
“So,” Spider-Man said casually, “college student?”
Will nodded. “Freshman.”
“Oh, rough day.” He winced.
“Yeah,” Will laughed weakly. “Pretty sure that guy traumatized me for life.”
Spider-Man glanced at him. “Hey. You were brave. You didn’t freeze.”
Will shrugged. “Didn’t feel brave.”
“Most people don’t,” Spider-Man said quietly. That made Will look at him.
They stopped in front of the dorm building. Spider-Man took a step back, hands lifting like he didn’t want to crowd him.
“This you?”
Will nodded again, suddenly disappointed, “Yeah.”
“Good.” Spider-Man hesitated. “Listen—if you ever feel unsafe, you don’t hesitate to yell. Or run. Or both.”
Will smiled, small but sincere. “Thank you. For…everything.”
Spider-Man scratched the back of his neck. “Anytime.”
He turned, took a few steps back into the shadows, then paused. “Oh—and Will?”
Will’s heart stopped. “Yeah?”
Spider-Man’s voice softened. “You’re gonna be okay.”
Then he was gone.
Will stood there for a long time, staring at the empty street, heart still racing.
‘Oh no
I’m in so much trouble.’
He doesn’t know how long he was standing there staring at the street, but it’s getting late and Mike is probably worried.
“Will, you’re finally home!”
Will startled slightly at the sound of Mike’s voice.
“Mike. Sorry—I lost track of time. I had the craziest day ever.” He dropped his bag by the door, suddenly very aware of how tired he was.
Mike stood up from his desk immediately.
“What happened?” he asked, eyes scanning Will like he was checking for injuries.
So Will told him the full story.
Well—most of it.
He skipped over how close the knife had been. He didn’t mention how Spider-Man’s hand felt on his arm. He definitely didn’t say how his heart had nearly beaten out of his chest the entire walk home.
“I just can’t believe it actually happened,” Will finished, staring at the floor. “Like…what are the chances of meeting my superhero crush and having him walk me home?”
He laughed, breathless and a little shaky.
Mike didn’t.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Mike said, voice tight. “Thank god Spider-Man showed up.”
Will looked up at him then.
Mike’s jaw was clenched, hands curled into fists at his sides.
“Just imagine if he hadn’t,” Mike continued. “What would you have done?”
Will frowned. “Mike—”
“That’s a serious question,” Mike snapped, then immediately softened. “I just—” He ran a hand through his hair. “You could’ve gotten hurt.”
“I know,” Will said quietly. “But I’m not a kid. I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can,” Mike said quickly. “I just—this city is dangerous, okay? And I don’t…” His voice dropped. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” His voice cracked and wavered.
The room went quiet.
“You’re my best friend,” Mike added, softer now. “I just want you safe.”
Will swallowed.
For a second, he almost told him. About the way Spider-Man had looked at him. About how safe he’d felt. About how warm. Instead, he just nodded.
“I know,” Will said. “I’m okay. He even said so.”
Mike looked up sharply. “He did?”
“Yeah.” Will smiled faintly. “He told me I was gonna be okay.”
Something unreadable flickered across Mike’s face.
“…Good,” he said after a moment. “He was right.”
Will didn’t realize it then, but the way Mike said it made his chest ache in the exact same way Spider-Man’s voice had earlier.
And that scared him a lot more than the alley ever did.