PETER.
;;party for the ages (a friendly push is all you need)
Sitting down in the circle next to Glenda, he tried not to get too close. He left enough room that not even their knees could accidentally touch or brush up against each other. He knew he had to stay focused on James and Gladys, any thoughts about him and Glenda getting too close or the fact that there was a chance they could end up having to kiss would be too much of a distraction. Peter looked like was hyperfixated on the bottle every time it spun around, he was sure he looked either crazy or like he was drunk but pretending not to be. Either way, he was staying focused on this task.
When Greta Catchlove spun the bottle and it landed on Gladys, Peter knew this was the time for them to get ready. It would be her turn to spin and they would be able to get her and James to kiss. He sat up straight instead of hunching over watching the bottle intensely and looked over at Gladys. “I actually choose Glenda to be the next one to spin!” She announced excitedly and Peter was completely thrown off guard. What that a rule? Could she do that? As Gladys called her name, Peter turned to look at Glenda who seemed to not be present until the girl on the other side of her snapped her out of it.
Oh god, she was going to spin the bottle now and Peter didn’t know how to feel. It was just a stupid game, right? If she kissed someone else it wouldn’t matter, right? But they did think this would get James and Gladys together…what if Glenda kissed someone and he lost his chance? His mind was running a mile a minute, for once he was putting a lot of thought into his situation. It wasn’t enough time however cause when the bottle stopped and pointed at him, he hadn’t even considered what he would do in this situation.
People were cheering them on but Peters brain had been fried. He looked at Glenda who looked so shy and awkward, it was adorable but he felt this overwhelming fear that he was not ready for this. He couldn’t screw up his chances by being a terrible kisser! For a moment he turned to look over at James who gave him a look as if to say just go for it and Peter’s eyes widened as he realized what was going on. It was a setup! They wanted this to happen! While Glenda and Peter were thinking about getting James and Gladys together, they were doing the same thing for them!
This made things even more stressful for him. When he turned back to Glenda and she asked if he was okay with this, he panicked. “Uh…yeah, I’m fine but uh…I-I’m parched, I’ll uh…I’ll be right back!” He stammered as he did his best to pick himself up and scurry over to find drinks. The group of players groaned, probably all there as part of James and Gladys’ plan. He heard Gladys call out his name but he just continued on as if he hadn’t heard her.
The thing is, Glenda logically knew she had no chance with Peter. He was older and a lot cooler than she ever could be, and just to be hanging out with him these last few months and getting to be his friend was so amazing. They were awkward, sure, but there was a sort of understanding between them. They were awkward together. But sometimes she liked to think that the chaste way he looked away or the way he sometimes stumbled through some words meant that he felt something similar for her, that maybe, just maybe she had a shot. She knew it was just pointless hope, but she was allowed at least that.
But the way Peter looked at her - it left no room for hope. He looked like a deer in a headlight (technically she knew she must have looked like a deer in a headlight, too, but she’d like to imagine she looked like a kind of scared, anxiously optimistic deer in the headlight). And just a couple of moments later he not only just simply refused her, he ran away from her. He was so uninterested in kissing her, he actually ran away.
She could hear commotion around her, somebody running after Peter (which she later realized was James) and maybe it was Gladys’ voice calling after him, all while Glenda just stared at the empty seat next to her.
She wasn’t sure how long it took her to get out of the daze she felt herself to be in, but suddenly she was way too aware of everyone around them, probably looking at her and judging her and pitying her and her face flared up and she suddenly wanted to get out of there.
“I-- I shou-- I--“ she was stuttering, not finding the words, feeling like an idiot and like before when she couldn’t speak a single word around people (except for the very few exceptions, Gladys being one of them). In the end, she just pushed herself up to her feet and scurried away. She felt more hurt than she thought she would be and she wanted to just go back to the Ravenclaw Tower and bury herself under her blanket and not come out of there for days, but if she just left the party, that would have felt like just running away, and it felt like she would have given more reason for people to judge or pity or feel sorry for her, or all three at the same time, and that was the last thing she wanted.
She somehow ended up by the drinks and snacks table and she found herself reaching for the firewhiskey. People drank when they were upset, right? She could be one of those people. She liked firewhiskey, when Peter and her tried it. “Gladys, heeeeey!” she turned with a fake cheerfulness towards her friend when she noticed her coming after her and took a big gulp of the firewhiskey.
“I’m sorry spin the bottle was such a doozy, I know you were hoping to kiss James and hopefully he will be back later and maybe not spin the bottle, but somehow you guys could... you know, go there. I guess. Why did you not tell me you liked him, by the way? I would have helped! I mean, not really sure how exactly, but we could have figured something out, or you could have just talked about it and I would have listened.” She said all of this super fast and without any air, so she finally stopped and took a big breath of air and then decided to take another big gulp of the alcohol in her hands. She definitely did not want to talk to Gladys about James so openly, but anything to make sure Gladys wouldn’t bring up... the Peter situation.
