A little drawing I did of the of Pine Twins! I also decided to include a quick 30sec time-lapse of the process as well. I like to try out different styles and this one was very cute and easy to do.
Synopsis: after a friendship afflicted by mutual pinning, you make an unsuccessful attempt to become more
Masterlist
Staying friends is safe.
But he made it so hard.
It was the first nice weekend in New York, so your friend group was taking advantage and heading to a lake. MJ drove while you, Peter, and Ned crammed in the backseat of her car. Your knees were touching Peter’s from how full the backseat was, but you liked it that way. The passenger seat was full of towels, a cooler, and various recreational activities for your day at the lake. You stared at the way the wind from the open window lifted Peter’s hair off his face and felt an ache in your chest. Staying friends was safe. But did that mean you should?
“What were you thinking about?” You asked when Peter turned from the window to look at you.
“Seeing you in your bathing suit.” He signed back in response before pulling his shirt back and forth to fan himself, his way of saying you looked hot. You smacked his arm but couldn’t hide the smile that put on your face.
“It’s the red one.” You informed him, making his face turn a color nearly identical to the suit in question.
“I remember that one from Spring Break last year. I don’t stand a chance.” He signed back. You shared a smile with him before making eye contact with MJ in the mirror. She’d been watching the whole exchange in a rear view mirror with a knowing smirk.
“What?” You asked her, but you already knew what she was thinking.
“Nothing.” She shrugged. “I just think you guys are cute.”
“I second that.” Ned chimed in from your left side. You looked over at him for butting in, and he stopped mid chew of his gummy bears to stare back at you.
“Both of you be quiet. You know how well Peter can read lips.” You said out of the corner of your mouth.
“He’s not looking.” MJ replied after checking on Peter in the rearview mirror. He was back to looking out the window and letting the sun warm his face.
“Still. I don’t like taking about him as if he’s not right here.” You reminded them.
“Okay. You’re right. We’ll stop.” Ned said and held up his hands in defense. He held his gummy bears out to you as a peace offering, and you took a few while narrowing your eyes at him. The car was silent for a moment, aside from the quiet music MJ was playing from her phone.
“But you should probably just date him, right?” Ned said to break the silence. You threw a gummy bear at his head in response, catching Peter’s attention.
“What are you guy talking about?” He signed to you and Ned.
“How MJ and I want you two to date.” Ned said out loud while signing. He then pointed to you and Peter so there was zero confusion about what he was talking about.
“Were you really?” Peter signed to Ned in your peripheral vision.
“No. He’s joking.” You signed to Peter before turning back to Ned to throw two more gummy bears at his head.
Ned pelted one back, and soon a full on war started in MJ’s backseat. Peter pulled you closer to him and wrapped an arm around you to swat the bears away from your face. You laughed and leaned closer to Peter to get away from the flying bears, all while very much aware of how good it felt to be close to Peter.
As soon as MJ parked at the dock of the lake, you were out of the car to stretch your legs. Peter scooped up your things, despite your protests, and carried them to the lake. Ned dropped his stuff on the sand and ran straight to the water, with MJ and a boogie board right behind him. You and Peter hung back to set up your umbrella and towels, sneaking glances at each other in your bathing suits the entire time you did.
“Can you rub this on my back? Can’t reach.” Peter signed to you before handing you a bottle of sunscreen. Your eyes dropped to the bottle and a loud gulp escaped your throat. He had that cocky look in his eye he had from time to time when he knew he was being cute.
“That depends. Can you ignore how turned on I’ll be while I do it?” You signed back, making sure your face conveyed the teasing manner of your response.
“Why would I ignore that?” Peter teased back before turning his back to you.
You began to rub the lotion into his skin, which was already warmed from the blazing sun. The quiet intimacy of touching his skin in this way gave you a rush of emotions. Part of you yearned to turn him around and tell him that you longed to be more than friends, but the other part of you was grateful to have him in your life the way things were. Unbeknownst to you, Peter’s face was flushed from having your hands on him. A lack of communications and a mutual desire to preserve your friendship led to you and Peter never admitting your feelings to one another. You finished applying sunscreen to Peter’s back, taking a little longer than needed.
“If I get a sunburn, you’re getting sued.” Peter signed to you once he turned around. You rolled your eyes at him and started applying sunscreen to his chest. He could do it himself, and you both knew that. And yet, neither of you did anything to change what was happening.
“I’ve seen you get a sunburn inside. You have no grounds to sue me.” You signed to him after setting the sunscreen bottle down in the sand.
“Maybe I’ll get a tan this time.” He signed back and gave a sarcastic shrug.
“That’s a sight I’d like to see.” You answered with the smile.
“Then put your towel next to mine.” Peter signed with his signature flirty smile. You smiled back and flung your towel out to lay next to where Peter had put his.
“Where else would I put it?” You signed before laying down on the towel.
You laid on your front and Peter on his back, heads turned respectively so you could look at each other. You played a few games of tic tac toe in the sand and beat Peter each time. He focused more on blocking you than getting three in a row, so he always lost. After a few games, you both laid back on your towels to get warmed by the sun. Like a perfect movie cliche, you played a game of eye tag and snuck glances at the other, but only when the other wasn’t looking. On your fourth stolen glance at Peter, you noticed a couple waking up to you.
“Excuse us?” One of the girls asked. “Would you mind taking our picture?”
“Oh, of course.” You said and sat up to take the phone that the other girl was holding out. You snapped away and gave them a variety of camera angles and orientations before giving the phone back.
“Thank you so much.” The girl said. “Do you and your boyfriend want a picture?”
You smiled at her mistaking you two for a couple and gently tapped Peter to get his attention. He opened his eyes and sat up on his towel.
“Want a picture?” You asked Peter. He nodded his head and moved over to your towel. You handed the girls your phone while Peter wrapped on arm around your shoulders. You smiled and leaned into him while wrapping two arms around his waist. The girls snapped a few pictures before handing your phone back.
“You guys are a sweet couple.” One of them said, making you smile once again.
“So are you two.” You returned the compliment instead of correcting them. They waved goodbye to you and Peter, unaware of how happy their mistake made you.
“What’s funny?” Peter asked once they were gone.
“Those girls thought you were my boyfriend.” You signed to Peter before pretending to throw up. His jaw playfully dropped and he gave you a gentle shove.
“If I was your boyfriend, you would have let me win at least one game. Out of your love for me.” Peter signed back before pointing to one of your games of tic tac toe.
“And yet, I love you despite how bad you are at games meant for children.” You replied. Peter rolled his eyes at you and looked towards the water before you could catch his blush.
“I’m going in the water. Are you coming?” He signed to you before standing up.
“I don’t know. It looks cold.”
“It does. Let’s find out if it is.” He signed and then promptly scooped you up from your towel. You tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he was too strong. He carried you to the edge of the water and gently dropped you on the sand before running in. He motioned for you to follow him as the frigid lake water lapped over your feet.
As cold as the water was, Peter looked too good not to join him. And so, you gingerly stepped into the water and made your way to him until you were both waist deep. Peter wasted no time in grabbing you by the waist and pulling you deeper into the water. You laughed and splashed him until he let go of you. Ned and MJ weren’t far from you, but neither of you felt inclined to leave the little bubble you’d created. You intertwined both your hands and faced each other in an attempt to overpower the other. Peter ultimately won and you fell backwards into the water, making sure to take him with you. He collided into you and you both went under, feeling his hands on your skin the whole way down. When you came up for air, you rested your hands on his shoulders to catch your breath.
“Are you cold?” He asked you as his teeth chattered.
“Not at all.” You signed back and then promptly put your hands back on his shoulders. You were too busy admiring the way droplets of water clung to his eyelashes to feel the chill of the lake.
“Me either.” He signed, but you knew from his face that he was joking. You smiled at him and stayed in comfortable silence for a moment, just enjoying each other’s company under the beating sun.
“I’m excited for this summer. There’s a lot I want to do together.” He signed to you, making your heart skip a beat.
“Together?” You signed with a smile.
“Yeah. I like seeing you in the sunshine.”
“I like seeing you in all kinds of lighting. I think I just like seeing you.” You responded with a soft smile. To your relief, Peter returned the smile, giving you hope that maybe he felt the same.
“I like seeing you too.” He signed back, making your hope grow just a little more. He was so close to you now and the rest of the world was miles away. You gulped and tightened your grip on his shoulders, wondering if you were finally going to ruin the friendship and be something more. Peter’s face suddenly changed as if he remembered something he didn’t want to. He gulped and backed up a little, causing your arms to limply fall off of him.
“I’m getting cold. I’m gonna dry off.” He signed and quickly swam back to the shore. You watched him in confusion, wondering what went through his mind that made him pull away. You shrugged it off and went to going MJ and Ned, but the sight of his face falling stayed in the back of your mind.
A few hours later, you and your friends were at an outdoor bar populated by the other college students with the same idea to escape the city. You were sat next to Peter as Ned tried to convince the DJ to play Katseye and MJ danced with a local girl. You drummed the beat of the song playing on Peter’s arm while you both surveyed the crowd. No matter the setting, you both had more fun when it was just the two of you.
“Can I try a sip?” Peter asked you after watching you take a sip of your drink. You handed it over to him and laughed when he gagged after one small sip.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know. But I think it would take my nail color off if I dipped my finger in it.” You signed in response. Peter took your hand to examine your nails before ultimately shaking his head.
“Don’t try it. Your nails look too pretty to be floating on top of that battery acid.” He signed once he let go of your hand. You narrowed your eyes at him as you wracked your brain for the meaning of one of the things he signed. You sighed “again” and shook your head to let him know you didn’t understand. Peter finger spelled “battery acid” out for you and you laughed when you realized what he had said.
“Thank you for teaching me.” You signed to him.
“Thank you for always wanting to learn.” He signed back and then squeezed your shoulder affectionately. You had another one of those moments where you stared at each other with dopey smiles, only interrupted by a waitress coming over to your table.
“Can I get either of you anything?” She asked while looking at both of you. You asked Peter if he wanted anything to drink and he nodded.
“Could I please have a diet Coke with a lemon in it?” Peter ordered and you translated it for the waitress.
“Is a lime okay?” The waitress asked you. Once you asked Peter the same question, he nodded and smiled at the waitress. But much to your irritation, the waitress was no longer looking at him now that she realized he was Deaf.
“Can you ask him if he wants any alcohol in the coke?” She asked you.
“You can ask him. I know I’m the one interpreting, but you should look at him if you have a question for him. You know, since he’s the one you’re talking to.” You said in as polite a tone you could muster. The waitress gave you a fake polite smile and repeated her question to Peter. You signed after she spoke and he shook his head no in response. He had a half smile on his face because even though your back was to him, he knew exactly what you had said to the waitress. When she walked away, he gave you a knowing look. You pretended not to know what he was talking about.
“You totally told her off.” He signed with a teasing smile.
“No, I politely corrected her. Just because you can’t hear her doesn’t mean she can’t look at you.” You signed with a prolonged roll of your eyes.
“At least she didn’t shout at me and think it would magically make me hearing.” Peter replied, making you laugh. That was something you’d witnessed people do more times than you thought possible. You gave Peter’s leg a pat and stood up from the table.
“Where are you going?”
“To pay our tab. When I start to think about the scene in the beginning of Titanic when they show a dog boarding the ship and I get emotional about how he probably died, I know I’ve hit my drink limit.” You told him. Peter reached for his wallet and tried to hand you money to cover his portion of drinks.
“Put that away. I’m buying.”
“No way. Pretty girls are not supposed to buy drink. Pretty girls should have drinks bought for them.” He signed to you, making you smile at the indirect compliment.
“Then what do the pretty boys get?” You questioned.
“Flustered when the pretty girls compliment them.” He responded with a pink blush now present on his face.
“Stay here.” You instructed and left for the bar. As you waited for a bar tender to come over so you could settle your bill, a guy in Bermuda shorts and a tiny tank top approached you.
“Hey.” He said, and you politely returned the greeting.
“Can I ask you a question?” He asked, making you frown a little at the thought of what he could possibly ask.
“Um, sure.”
“Did I get a sunburn?” He asked before turning around. Sure enough, the man’s back looked like a red Starburst.
“Oh. Oh wow.” You said through a laugh. “That is pink.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He sighed. “My back feels like TV static.”
“Well it looks like you just escaped the air fryer. Did you wear sunscreen at all?”
“Yes. Everywhere on myself that I could reach.” He said and held out his unburned arms.
“Looks like you’re gonna be sleeping on your front for the next few weeks.” You clicked your tongue.
“Damn it. At least I’ll have a really tan back afterwards. Girls like that, right?” He asked, making you laugh.
“Maybe some of them do.” You shrugged and turned back to the bar.
“Let me buy you a drink.” The guy said, the very words you were hoping not to hear. He seemed nice enough, but you were too enamored with Peter to entertain anyone else.
“Thank you, but I’m okay.”
“That’s cool. Self-sufficient. Could I trouble you for a dance then?”
“Maybe later. I’m with my friends right now.” You answered and nodded in the direction of your table. You could see that MJ and Ned had returned to the table and were all staring at you. You gave them a little wave, and Peter was the only one that didn’t wave back.
“That’s okay. If you change your mind, my sunburn and I would love to have a dance.” He replied and then left you alone. You paid your tab after that and headed back to your table.
“Thank you for the drink.” Peter signed and then held up the Diet Coke with lime the waitress had brought him.
“I only paid because I’m trying to take you home.” You signed in response.
“It’s working.” He replied, and you pretended to fan yourself.
“What did that guy want?” Ned asked you and pointed his thumb back towards the bar. You stole a glance at Peter, but he had an unreadable expression on his face.
“He asked me to dance. But I said I wasn’t interested.”
“Why not?” MJ asked you. “He’s cute and he’s been looking at you all night.”
“I hadn’t noticed.“ You answered, which was the truth. You’d been too busy hanging out with Peter to notice the guy.
“If MJ thinks he’s cute, then you know it’s true.” Ned snorted. “Only the finest men can penetrate her lesbian field of vision. She doesn’t even register men are around half the time.”
“That’s true. I didn’t know Ned was here until five minutes ago.” MJ shrugged.
“Not a good enough reason to use the word penetrate.” You said while shaking your head.
“I think you should go for it. Go dance with the penetrative lake guy.” Ned told you.
“But I’m here with you all.” You insisted. You all signed as you spoke so Peter was included in the conversation, but he didn’t choose to participate until he signed, “I think you should go for it.”
You blinked a few times in surprise while Ned and MJ made faces behind Peter’s back. You were stunned and a little hurt that he would suggest you dance with another guy.
“You do?” You signed with a forced smile.
“Why wouldn’t you?” He questioned. “He’s interested in you and you don’t have a boyfriend. You should go for it.”
You knew you had to get out of there before you made it obvious how upset you were by his encouragement. You had too many drink to keep your subtly, and Ned and MJ were looking at you like the could read your mind.
“Okay. I guess I have no reason not to dance with him. I’ll go.” You signed and promptly stood up. You left quickly and went right up to the sunburned guy, whose name you soon learned was Eddie.
Eddie brought you to the dance floor right as the DJ decided to play a slow song. You wrapped your arms around Eddie’s neck, careful not to touch his burnt skin, but left enough room for Jesus between you. As you danced with him, all you could think about was your interactions with Peter from the day. You had tried to brush off his sudden departure from the water earlier, but now he was actively encouraging you to dance with other guys. It just didn’t make any sense to you. Over Eddie’s shoulder, you caught a glimpse of Peter at the table. His eyes are locked in on you, which only made you more confused. You quickly looked away and did your best to focus on the guy you were dancing with.
“Why did you tell her to go over there?“ Ned signed to Peter back at the table.
“She can do whatever she wants. It’s not like we’re together.” Peter signed back with a pout on his face.
“Aren’t you, though?” MJ asked him, making Peter look away. He looked back at you and Eddie, and his heart nearly shattered when he saw that you were laughing. Ned and MJ could see the look on Peter’s face and exchanged a sympathetic look.
“She didn’t want to go dance with him.” Ned reminded him.
“Then why is she?” Peter signed with the angriest expression his friends had ever seen on his face.
Back on the dance floor, previously friendly Eddie was getting ahead of himself. He leaned in for a kiss right when you least expected it, but you were too quick. You pulled away with expert timing, but not fast enough to go unnoticed by your friends. You shot a panicked glance at their table, just in time to see Peter leaving the bar area. You looked at your friends curiously, but they just gave you unhelpful shrugs.
“Excuse me.” You said to Eddie and made a quick escape. You headed in the same direction you saw Peter leave in but didn’t see him anywhere. After a few minutes of searching along the shore of the lake, you found him sitting on a hill of sand. He didn’t look up at you when you sat down beside him, but you knew he knew you were there.
“I was looking for you.” You signed to him, but his distant expression stayed the same.
“Here I am.” He unenthusiastically signed back.
“Why did you leave the party?”
“Too loud.” He signed with a sarcastic but weak smile on his face. You gave him a tight smile in return before turning to watch the moonlight dance in the lake. You decided to leave him talk to you when he was ready. After a few minutes, he turned to face you with a sadness is his brown eyes.
“Did you kiss that guy?” He asked you.
“No way. I pulled my head away so fast that I think I pulled a muscle.” You responded, making an involuntary smile tug at Peter’s lips.
“Why didn’t you let him kiss you?”
“Because I didn’t want him to kiss me. I didn’t even want to dance with him.”
“Then why did you?”
“You didn’t give me a reason not to.” You signed back as you stared at him with furrowed eyebrows. In the heat of your conversation, you hadn’t realized how close you and Peter were to each other. His eyes dropped to your lips just long enough for you to notice. All his weird behavior from the day could be excused if he finally crossed the line and took your relationship beyond a friendship.
“Did you want a reason?” He asked you before resting his hand on your knee. You looked down at his hand and then up in his eyes. If he wasn’t going to cross the line, you were. You finally made the move you’d been waiting to make and leaned in to kiss him. But just like you’d done to Eddie, Peter pulled away.
Peter looked horrified at his own behavior while you just looked stunned. You were almost positive you saw the moonlight reflecting off tears that had welled in his eyes, but you didn’t point them out.
“I’m so sorry.” He signed to you, and then ran away.
It was awkward on the car ride home. MJ hadn’t been drinking and no one wanted to stay in a hotel room, so you made the two hour drive home. You kept your head straight the entire way, never once looking at Peter.
It was awkward at school too. Peter had decided to take the route of pretending nothing ever happened between you. He seemed perfectly content to operate as if the day at the lake was just that and nothing heartbreaking or life altering had taken place. You didn’t dare tell Ned or MJ what transpired on that little hill of sand, but they could sense there was an iciness between the two of you. On top of pretending nothing ever happened, you and Peter were the most distant you had ever been. You felt like strangers more than ever before and it was killing you slowly. What killed you most of all was how okay he seemed to be with it. After a week of dancing around each other, you reached your limit. When you passed him in the hallway at school, you grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him into the nearest supply closet.
“What is wrong with you?” He signed with tight knit eyebrows. “That was a hate crime.”
“Are we seriously going to pretend like nothing happened?” You furiously signed back.
“What do you mean?”
You stated at him in bewilderment and he instantly looked guilty. He knew his behavior was wrong. He’d known it since he left you in the water at the lake. Standing in front of you now, neither you could ignore the question that was begging to be answered. What would happen if you were more?
“I think we should just be friends.” Peter signed without meeting your eyes. It sent a wave of mixed emotions through your body. Part of you was relieved to finally know how he felt, but the other part of you was flatlining. You both stayed quiet for a minute and looked at anything but each other.
“This whole time, I was worried if I finally went for it and kissed you, it would ruin our friendship. Now it’s ruined anyway, and we never even kissed.” You signed as you looked up to try and beg the tears in your eyes not to fall. Now that all these things were coming out, you could never put them back in.
“I know. I’ve been worried about ruining what we have too. But I should’ve kissed you anyway.” He signed, piquing your interest. Your eyebrows knit together as you stared at him. Once again, he was being as clear as a jar of ink.
“Why would you kiss me if you don’t feel the same?”
“I do feel the same. I think I fell for you the day we met.” He confessed. A second wave of mixed emotions washed over you. You were so confused by the discrepancy in Peter’s words and actions, but he had finally told you how he felt about you. It was a start.
“But you just said we should just be friends.”
“I do think we just be friends. But that’s never been what I wanted.” He answered. You gave him a look that told him you had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
“Staying friends is safe.” He signed, making you a little fearful that he could read your mind. You’d thought the same thing yourself many times.
“What does that mean?” You asked him. Peter pulled his bottom lip between his teeth before letting out a deep sigh. He looked widely uncomfortable, so much so that you nearly stopped him and told him to forget the whole thing. But you’d already gotten this far and did not want to turn back now.
“Do you remember when I told you about my ex girlfriend from high school?” He asked, making your stomach do a flip. You remembered a brief mention of her, but you were never given many details.
“I never told you why we broke up.” He continued.
“What does this have to do with us?”
“It will make sense. Let me explain. Please?” He requested, so you nodded your head.
“When we were together, my ex invited me to dinner with her family to celebrate her birthday. It was my first time meeting her family and I could tell she was getting very irritated that she kept having to translate. She eventually stopped. She just turned her body from me and pretended I wasn’t there. Most of her family did the same.”
It was hard to keep a straight face as Peter relayed this to you. You wanted to cry for him. The thought of him sitting alone at a table full of people with no one making an effort to include him, not even his own girlfriend, made you sick.
“I hate her already.” You signed. “But go on.”
“At one point, I started to tell a story to her family. She asked me to slow down so she could keep up and translate. And then asked me again. And then again. Then she slammed her hands on the table and yelled at me.”
“What did she say?”
“I have no idea. I wasn’t that good at reading lips yet.” Peter signed with a sad smile. You could tell he was reliving the memory of that night, so you put a hand on his cheek to comfort him. He leaned into your hand and wrapped his fingers around your wrist. He wasn’t crying, but looked very close to it.
“You never told me this before.” You signed to him.
“It’s hard for me to talk about.” He answered, but you could see that without him needing to tell you.
“I appreciate you telling me now. Are you okay telling me happened next?”
“She realized the whole restaurant was staring at her since she yelled, so she ran out. When I went after her, she told me she didn’t want to be a translator for the rest of her life. She said it would be too hard to stay together because we were too different. Then she said some other things, but I couldn’t read her lips and she stopped signing. I guess I’ll never know. I did understand when she told me to leave the restaurant. We have not spoken since.”
You both sat with his confession for a long time. Finally, you pulled him into an even longer hug. He held you tightly and nestled into your shoulder. You held him as long as he needed it.
“I’m not telling you this to excuse my behavior towards you for the last week. There is no excuse for that. I am truly very sorry.” Peter signed to you once he let go. You waved your hand to show him that that was in the past now. Even though it didn’t justify his behavior, you had a deeper understanding of him that helped you understand his hesitation to enter another relationship.
“There are words I want to say right now that I don’t know the signs for. And they are really bad words.” You told him, making him laugh softly.
“I can guess.”
“Do you want me to kill her?” You asked him, and he pretended to consider it.
“No. That’s okay. I have forgiven her. Just not to her face.”
“How can you forgive her? She was horrible to you. That story just kept getting worse.”
“She should have done a lot of things very differently. But I can understand feeling frustrated by not being able to communicate with your partner. We were too different. So I forgive her.”
“You can forgive her, but I’m hunting her down and jumping her as soon as we leave this closet.” You informed him. He halfheartedly laughed but there was still a sadness in his eyes.
“I feel horrible for how I’ve been treating you. You must be so confused. I meant it when I said I fell for you the day we met. And I have always wanted more with you. I was just so afraid that if we dated, I would make you feel the same way she did. And now, I have.”
“I’m not her. I know we are different. That does not matter to me.”
“But what if one day it does?” He asked. “What if you get tired of having to translate everything for me the rest of your life?”
“What if a meteor hits the earth right now? What if I discover I’m a secret genius and invent a nasal spray that actually works and doesn’t just make you cough? What if I kill your ex and make it look like an accident? Where you did you say she lived?”
“I am being serious.” He insisted. “I care about you too much to hurt you.”
“The only time you have hurt me is when you dodged my kiss. Because it was going to be a really good one.” You signed with a slight teasing smile on your lips to lighten the mood. It was enough to break through Peter’s melancholy and smile back, even if it was just a little.
“I bet it was.” He signed back with his eyes on your lips. You were feeling highly inclined to forgive Peter for his behavior and took a step closer to him.
“You’ll never know.” You signed with a look on your face that said “your loss.”
“I want to know. But I don’t want to subject you to a life of not understanding each other every time.”
“Does any couple understand each other every time?” You asked him. This seemed to stump Peter and you felt proud for asking such a thought provoking question. Since you could tell you had the upper hand, you decided to double down.
“Even when I don’t understand you, I understand you. Even when you don’t understand me, you understand me. And if we have moments where we don’t understand each other, that would make us no different from any other couple.“ You continued. Peter’s face showed that he was thoughtfully considering what you were saying. You knew he knew you were right, but you wanted to see if he was going to do anything about it.
“But maybe you’re right. Maybe staying friends is safe.” You signed and then reached for the door. You were quickly pulled back by your waist, which Peter had wrapped one arm around. He used the other arm to press the door shut behind you, pressing you up against it in the process.
“That doesn’t mean we should.” He signed before finally and officially ruining your friendship with a long-awaited kiss.
Synopsis: after a friendship afflicted by mutual pinning, you make an unsuccessful attempt to become more
Masterlist
Staying friends is safe.
But he made it so hard.
It was the first nice weekend in New York, so your friend group was taking advantage and heading to a lake. MJ drove while you, Peter, and Ned crammed in the backseat of her car. Your knees were touching Peter’s from how full the backseat was, but you liked it that way. The passenger seat was full of towels, a cooler, and various recreational activities for your day at the lake. You stared at the way the wind from the open window lifted Peter’s hair off his face and felt an ache in your chest. Staying friends was safe. But did that mean you should?
“What were you thinking about?” You asked when Peter turned from the window to look at you.
“Seeing you in your bathing suit.” He signed back in response before pulling his shirt back and forth to fan himself, his way of saying you looked hot. You smacked his arm but couldn’t hide the smile that put on your face.
“It’s the red one.” You informed him, making his face turn a color nearly identical to the suit in question.
“I remember that one from Spring Break last year. I don’t stand a chance.” He signed back. You shared a smile with him before making eye contact with MJ in the mirror. She’d been watching the whole exchange in a rear view mirror with a knowing smirk.
“What?” You asked her, but you already knew what she was thinking.
“Nothing.” She shrugged. “I just think you guys are cute.”
“I second that.” Ned chimed in from your left side. You looked over at him for butting in, and he stopped mid chew of his gummy bears to stare back at you.
“Both of you be quiet. You know how well Peter can read lips.” You said out of the corner of your mouth.
“He’s not looking.” MJ replied after checking on Peter in the rearview mirror. He was back to looking out the window and letting the sun warm his face.
“Still. I don’t like taking about him as if he’s not right here.” You reminded them.
“Okay. You’re right. We’ll stop.” Ned said and held up his hands in defense. He held his gummy bears out to you as a peace offering, and you took a few while narrowing your eyes at him. The car was silent for a moment, aside from the quiet music MJ was playing from her phone.
“But you should probably just date him, right?” Ned said to break the silence. You threw a gummy bear at his head in response, catching Peter’s attention.
“What are you guy talking about?” He signed to you and Ned.
“How MJ and I want you two to date.” Ned said out loud while signing. He then pointed to you and Peter so there was zero confusion about what he was talking about.
“Were you really?” Peter signed to Ned in your peripheral vision.
“No. He’s joking.” You signed to Peter before turning back to Ned to throw two more gummy bears at his head.
Ned pelted one back, and soon a full on war started in MJ’s backseat. Peter pulled you closer to him and wrapped an arm around you to swat the bears away from your face. You laughed and leaned closer to Peter to get away from the flying bears, all while very much aware of how good it felt to be close to Peter.
As soon as MJ parked at the dock of the lake, you were out of the car to stretch your legs. Peter scooped up your things, despite your protests, and carried them to the lake. Ned dropped his stuff on the sand and ran straight to the water, with MJ and a boogie board right behind him. You and Peter hung back to set up your umbrella and towels, sneaking glances at each other in your bathing suits the entire time you did.
“Can you rub this on my back? Can’t reach.” Peter signed to you before handing you a bottle of sunscreen. Your eyes dropped to the bottle and a loud gulp escaped your throat. He had that cocky look in his eye he had from time to time when he knew he was being cute.
“That depends. Can you ignore how turned on I’ll be while I do it?” You signed back, making sure your face conveyed the teasing manner of your response.
“Why would I ignore that?” Peter teased back before turning his back to you.
You began to rub the lotion into his skin, which was already warmed from the blazing sun. The quiet intimacy of touching his skin in this way gave you a rush of emotions. Part of you yearned to turn him around and tell him that you longed to be more than friends, but the other part of you was grateful to have him in your life the way things were. Unbeknownst to you, Peter’s face was flushed from having your hands on him. A lack of communications and a mutual desire to preserve your friendship led to you and Peter never admitting your feelings to one another. You finished applying sunscreen to Peter’s back, taking a little longer than needed.
“If I get a sunburn, you’re getting sued.” Peter signed to you once he turned around. You rolled your eyes at him and started applying sunscreen to his chest. He could do it himself, and you both knew that. And yet, neither of you did anything to change what was happening.
“I’ve seen you get a sunburn inside. You have no grounds to sue me.” You signed to him after setting the sunscreen bottle down in the sand.
“Maybe I’ll get a tan this time.” He signed back and gave a sarcastic shrug.
“That’s a sight I’d like to see.” You answered with the smile.
“Then put your towel next to mine.” Peter signed with his signature flirty smile. You smiled back and flung your towel out to lay next to where Peter had put his.
“Where else would I put it?” You signed before laying down on the towel.
You laid on your front and Peter on his back, heads turned respectively so you could look at each other. You played a few games of tic tac toe in the sand and beat Peter each time. He focused more on blocking you than getting three in a row, so he always lost. After a few games, you both laid back on your towels to get warmed by the sun. Like a perfect movie cliche, you played a game of eye tag and snuck glances at the other, but only when the other wasn’t looking. On your fourth stolen glance at Peter, you noticed a couple waking up to you.
“Excuse us?” One of the girls asked. “Would you mind taking our picture?”
“Oh, of course.” You said and sat up to take the phone that the other girl was holding out. You snapped away and gave them a variety of camera angles and orientations before giving the phone back.
“Thank you so much.” The girl said. “Do you and your boyfriend want a picture?”
You smiled at her mistaking you two for a couple and gently tapped Peter to get his attention. He opened his eyes and sat up on his towel.
“Want a picture?” You asked Peter. He nodded his head and moved over to your towel. You handed the girls your phone while Peter wrapped on arm around your shoulders. You smiled and leaned into him while wrapping two arms around his waist. The girls snapped a few pictures before handing your phone back.
“You guys are a sweet couple.” One of them said, making you smile once again.
“So are you two.” You returned the compliment instead of correcting them. They waved goodbye to you and Peter, unaware of how happy their mistake made you.
“What’s funny?” Peter asked once they were gone.
“Those girls thought you were my boyfriend.” You signed to Peter before pretending to throw up. His jaw playfully dropped and he gave you a gentle shove.
“If I was your boyfriend, you would have let me win at least one game. Out of your love for me.” Peter signed back before pointing to one of your games of tic tac toe.
“And yet, I love you despite how bad you are at games meant for children.” You replied. Peter rolled his eyes at you and looked towards the water before you could catch his blush.
“I’m going in the water. Are you coming?” He signed to you before standing up.
“I don’t know. It looks cold.”
“It does. Let’s find out if it is.” He signed and then promptly scooped you up from your towel. You tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he was too strong. He carried you to the edge of the water and gently dropped you on the sand before running in. He motioned for you to follow him as the frigid lake water lapped over your feet.
As cold as the water was, Peter looked too good not to join him. And so, you gingerly stepped into the water and made your way to him until you were both waist deep. Peter wasted no time in grabbing you by the waist and pulling you deeper into the water. You laughed and splashed him until he let go of you. Ned and MJ weren’t far from you, but neither of you felt inclined to leave the little bubble you’d created. You intertwined both your hands and faced each other in an attempt to overpower the other. Peter ultimately won and you fell backwards into the water, making sure to take him with you. He collided into you and you both went under, feeling his hands on your skin the whole way down. When you came up for air, you rested your hands on his shoulders to catch your breath.
“Are you cold?” He asked you as his teeth chattered.
“Not at all.” You signed back and then promptly put your hands back on his shoulders. You were too busy admiring the way droplets of water clung to his eyelashes to feel the chill of the lake.
“Me either.” He signed, but you knew from his face that he was joking. You smiled at him and stayed in comfortable silence for a moment, just enjoying each other’s company under the beating sun.
“I’m excited for this summer. There’s a lot I want to do together.” He signed to you, making your heart skip a beat.
“Together?” You signed with a smile.
“Yeah. I like seeing you in the sunshine.”
“I like seeing you in all kinds of lighting. I think I just like seeing you.” You responded with a soft smile. To your relief, Peter returned the smile, giving you hope that maybe he felt the same.
“I like seeing you too.” He signed back, making your hope grow just a little more. He was so close to you now and the rest of the world was miles away. You gulped and tightened your grip on his shoulders, wondering if you were finally going to ruin the friendship and be something more. Peter’s face suddenly changed as if he remembered something he didn’t want to. He gulped and backed up a little, causing your arms to limply fall off of him.
“I’m getting cold. I’m gonna dry off.” He signed and quickly swam back to the shore. You watched him in confusion, wondering what went through his mind that made him pull away. You shrugged it off and went to going MJ and Ned, but the sight of his face falling stayed in the back of your mind.
A few hours later, you and your friends were at an outdoor bar populated by the other college students with the same idea to escape the city. You were sat next to Peter as Ned tried to convince the DJ to play Katseye and MJ danced with a local girl. You drummed the beat of the song playing on Peter’s arm while you both surveyed the crowd. No matter the setting, you both had more fun when it was just the two of you.
“Can I try a sip?” Peter asked you after watching you take a sip of your drink. You handed it over to him and laughed when he gagged after one small sip.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know. But I think it would take my nail color off if I dipped my finger in it.” You signed in response. Peter took your hand to examine your nails before ultimately shaking his head.
“Don’t try it. Your nails look too pretty to be floating on top of that battery acid.” He signed once he let go of your hand. You narrowed your eyes at him as you wracked your brain for the meaning of one of the things he signed. You sighed “again” and shook your head to let him know you didn’t understand. Peter finger spelled “battery acid” out for you and you laughed when you realized what he had said.
“Thank you for teaching me.” You signed to him.
“Thank you for always wanting to learn.” He signed back and then squeezed your shoulder affectionately. You had another one of those moments where you stared at each other with dopey smiles, only interrupted by a waitress coming over to your table.
“Can I get either of you anything?” She asked while looking at both of you. You asked Peter if he wanted anything to drink and he nodded.
“Could I please have a diet Coke with a lemon in it?” Peter ordered and you translated it for the waitress.
“Is a lime okay?” The waitress asked you. Once you asked Peter the same question, he nodded and smiled at the waitress. But much to your irritation, the waitress was no longer looking at him now that she realized he was Deaf.
“Can you ask him if he wants any alcohol in the coke?” She asked you.
“You can ask him. I know I’m the one interpreting, but you should look at him if you have a question for him. You know, since he’s the one you’re talking to.” You said in as polite a tone you could muster. The waitress gave you a fake polite smile and repeated her question to Peter. You signed after she spoke and he shook his head no in response. He had a half smile on his face because even though your back was to him, he knew exactly what you had said to the waitress. When she walked away, he gave you a knowing look. You pretended not to know what he was talking about.
“You totally told her off.” He signed with a teasing smile.
“No, I politely corrected her. Just because you can’t hear her doesn’t mean she can’t look at you.” You signed with a prolonged roll of your eyes.
“At least she didn’t shout at me and think it would magically make me hearing.” Peter replied, making you laugh. That was something you’d witnessed people do more times than you thought possible. You gave Peter’s leg a pat and stood up from the table.
“Where are you going?”
“To pay our tab. When I start to think about the scene in the beginning of Titanic when they show a dog boarding the ship and I get emotional about how he probably died, I know I’ve hit my drink limit.” You told him. Peter reached for his wallet and tried to hand you money to cover his portion of drinks.
“Put that away. I’m buying.”
“No way. Pretty girls are not supposed to buy drink. Pretty girls should have drinks bought for them.” He signed to you, making you smile at the indirect compliment.
“Then what do the pretty boys get?” You questioned.
“Flustered when the pretty girls compliment them.” He responded with a pink blush now present on his face.
“Stay here.” You instructed and left for the bar. As you waited for a bar tender to come over so you could settle your bill, a guy in Bermuda shorts and a tiny tank top approached you.
“Hey.” He said, and you politely returned the greeting.
“Can I ask you a question?” He asked, making you frown a little at the thought of what he could possibly ask.
“Um, sure.”
“Did I get a sunburn?” He asked before turning around. Sure enough, the man’s back looked like a red Starburst.
“Oh. Oh wow.” You said through a laugh. “That is pink.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He sighed. “My back feels like TV static.”
“Well it looks like you just escaped the air fryer. Did you wear sunscreen at all?”
“Yes. Everywhere on myself that I could reach.” He said and held out his unburned arms.
“Looks like you’re gonna be sleeping on your front for the next few weeks.” You clicked your tongue.
“Damn it. At least I’ll have a really tan back afterwards. Girls like that, right?” He asked, making you laugh.
“Maybe some of them do.” You shrugged and turned back to the bar.
“Let me buy you a drink.” The guy said, the very words you were hoping not to hear. He seemed nice enough, but you were too enamored with Peter to entertain anyone else.
“Thank you, but I’m okay.”
“That’s cool. Self-sufficient. Could I trouble you for a dance then?”
“Maybe later. I’m with my friends right now.” You answered and nodded in the direction of your table. You could see that MJ and Ned had returned to the table and were all staring at you. You gave them a little wave, and Peter was the only one that didn’t wave back.
“That’s okay. If you change your mind, my sunburn and I would love to have a dance.” He replied and then left you alone. You paid your tab after that and headed back to your table.
“Thank you for the drink.” Peter signed and then held up the Diet Coke with lime the waitress had brought him.
“I only paid because I’m trying to take you home.” You signed in response.
“It’s working.” He replied, and you pretended to fan yourself.
“What did that guy want?” Ned asked you and pointed his thumb back towards the bar. You stole a glance at Peter, but he had an unreadable expression on his face.
“He asked me to dance. But I said I wasn’t interested.”
“Why not?” MJ asked you. “He’s cute and he’s been looking at you all night.”
“I hadn’t noticed.“ You answered, which was the truth. You’d been too busy hanging out with Peter to notice the guy.
“If MJ thinks he’s cute, then you know it’s true.” Ned snorted. “Only the finest men can penetrate her lesbian field of vision. She doesn’t even register men are around half the time.”
“That’s true. I didn’t know Ned was here until five minutes ago.” MJ shrugged.
“Not a good enough reason to use the word penetrate.” You said while shaking your head.
“I think you should go for it. Go dance with the penetrative lake guy.” Ned told you.
“But I’m here with you all.” You insisted. You all signed as you spoke so Peter was included in the conversation, but he didn’t choose to participate until he signed, “I think you should go for it.”
You blinked a few times in surprise while Ned and MJ made faces behind Peter’s back. You were stunned and a little hurt that he would suggest you dance with another guy.
“You do?” You signed with a forced smile.
“Why wouldn’t you?” He questioned. “He’s interested in you and you don’t have a boyfriend. You should go for it.”
You knew you had to get out of there before you made it obvious how upset you were by his encouragement. You had too many drink to keep your subtly, and Ned and MJ were looking at you like the could read your mind.
“Okay. I guess I have no reason not to dance with him. I’ll go.” You signed and promptly stood up. You left quickly and went right up to the sunburned guy, whose name you soon learned was Eddie.
Eddie brought you to the dance floor right as the DJ decided to play a slow song. You wrapped your arms around Eddie’s neck, careful not to touch his burnt skin, but left enough room for Jesus between you. As you danced with him, all you could think about was your interactions with Peter from the day. You had tried to brush off his sudden departure from the water earlier, but now he was actively encouraging you to dance with other guys. It just didn’t make any sense to you. Over Eddie’s shoulder, you caught a glimpse of Peter at the table. His eyes are locked in on you, which only made you more confused. You quickly looked away and did your best to focus on the guy you were dancing with.
“Why did you tell her to go over there?“ Ned signed to Peter back at the table.
“She can do whatever she wants. It’s not like we’re together.” Peter signed back with a pout on his face.
“Aren’t you, though?” MJ asked him, making Peter look away. He looked back at you and Eddie, and his heart nearly shattered when he saw that you were laughing. Ned and MJ could see the look on Peter’s face and exchanged a sympathetic look.
“She didn’t want to go dance with him.” Ned reminded him.
“Then why is she?” Peter signed with the angriest expression his friends had ever seen on his face.
Back on the dance floor, previously friendly Eddie was getting ahead of himself. He leaned in for a kiss right when you least expected it, but you were too quick. You pulled away with expert timing, but not fast enough to go unnoticed by your friends. You shot a panicked glance at their table, just in time to see Peter leaving the bar area. You looked at your friends curiously, but they just gave you unhelpful shrugs.
“Excuse me.” You said to Eddie and made a quick escape. You headed in the same direction you saw Peter leave in but didn’t see him anywhere. After a few minutes of searching along the shore of the lake, you found him sitting on a hill of sand. He didn’t look up at you when you sat down beside him, but you knew he knew you were there.
“I was looking for you.” You signed to him, but his distant expression stayed the same.
“Here I am.” He unenthusiastically signed back.
“Why did you leave the party?”
“Too loud.” He signed with a sarcastic but weak smile on his face. You gave him a tight smile in return before turning to watch the moonlight dance in the lake. You decided to leave him talk to you when he was ready. After a few minutes, he turned to face you with a sadness is his brown eyes.
“Did you kiss that guy?” He asked you.
“No way. I pulled my head away so fast that I think I pulled a muscle.” You responded, making an involuntary smile tug at Peter’s lips.
“Why didn’t you let him kiss you?”
“Because I didn’t want him to kiss me. I didn’t even want to dance with him.”
“Then why did you?”
“You didn’t give me a reason not to.” You signed back as you stared at him with furrowed eyebrows. In the heat of your conversation, you hadn’t realized how close you and Peter were to each other. His eyes dropped to your lips just long enough for you to notice. All his weird behavior from the day could be excused if he finally crossed the line and took your relationship beyond a friendship.
“Did you want a reason?” He asked you before resting his hand on your knee. You looked down at his hand and then up in his eyes. If he wasn’t going to cross the line, you were. You finally made the move you’d been waiting to make and leaned in to kiss him. But just like you’d done to Eddie, Peter pulled away.
Peter looked horrified at his own behavior while you just looked stunned. You were almost positive you saw the moonlight reflecting off tears that had welled in his eyes, but you didn’t point them out.
“I’m so sorry.” He signed to you, and then ran away.
It was awkward on the car ride home. MJ hadn’t been drinking and no one wanted to stay in a hotel room, so you made the two hour drive home. You kept your head straight the entire way, never once looking at Peter.
It was awkward at school too. Peter had decided to take the route of pretending nothing ever happened between you. He seemed perfectly content to operate as if the day at the lake was just that and nothing heartbreaking or life altering had taken place. You didn’t dare tell Ned or MJ what transpired on that little hill of sand, but they could sense there was an iciness between the two of you. On top of pretending nothing ever happened, you and Peter were the most distant you had ever been. You felt like strangers more than ever before and it was killing you slowly. What killed you most of all was how okay he seemed to be with it. After a week of dancing around each other, you reached your limit. When you passed him in the hallway at school, you grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him into the nearest supply closet.
“What is wrong with you?” He signed with tight knit eyebrows. “That was a hate crime.”
“Are we seriously going to pretend like nothing happened?” You furiously signed back.
“What do you mean?”
You stated at him in bewilderment and he instantly looked guilty. He knew his behavior was wrong. He’d known it since he left you in the water at the lake. Standing in front of you now, neither you could ignore the question that was begging to be answered. What would happen if you were more?
“I think we should just be friends.” Peter signed without meeting your eyes. It sent a wave of mixed emotions through your body. Part of you was relieved to finally know how he felt, but the other part of you was flatlining. You both stayed quiet for a minute and looked at anything but each other.
“This whole time, I was worried if I finally went for it and kissed you, it would ruin our friendship. Now it’s ruined anyway, and we never even kissed.” You signed as you looked up to try and beg the tears in your eyes not to fall. Now that all these things were coming out, you could never put them back in.
“I know. I’ve been worried about ruining what we have too. But I should’ve kissed you anyway.” He signed, piquing your interest. Your eyebrows knit together as you stared at him. Once again, he was being as clear as a jar of ink.
“Why would you kiss me if you don’t feel the same?”
“I do feel the same. I think I fell for you the day we met.” He confessed. A second wave of mixed emotions washed over you. You were so confused by the discrepancy in Peter’s words and actions, but he had finally told you how he felt about you. It was a start.
“But you just said we should just be friends.”
“I do think we just be friends. But that’s never been what I wanted.” He answered. You gave him a look that told him you had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
“Staying friends is safe.” He signed, making you a little fearful that he could read your mind. You’d thought the same thing yourself many times.
“What does that mean?” You asked him. Peter pulled his bottom lip between his teeth before letting out a deep sigh. He looked widely uncomfortable, so much so that you nearly stopped him and told him to forget the whole thing. But you’d already gotten this far and did not want to turn back now.
“Do you remember when I told you about my ex girlfriend from high school?” He asked, making your stomach do a flip. You remembered a brief mention of her, but you were never given many details.
“I never told you why we broke up.” He continued.
“What does this have to do with us?”
“It will make sense. Let me explain. Please?” He requested, so you nodded your head.
“When we were together, my ex invited me to dinner with her family to celebrate her birthday. It was my first time meeting her family and I could tell she was getting very irritated that she kept having to translate. She eventually stopped. She just turned her body from me and pretended I wasn’t there. Most of her family did the same.”
It was hard to keep a straight face as Peter relayed this to you. You wanted to cry for him. The thought of him sitting alone at a table full of people with no one making an effort to include him, not even his own girlfriend, made you sick.
“I hate her already.” You signed. “But go on.”
“At one point, I started to tell a story to her family. She asked me to slow down so she could keep up and translate. And then asked me again. And then again. Then she slammed her hands on the table and yelled at me.”
“What did she say?”
“I have no idea. I wasn’t that good at reading lips yet.” Peter signed with a sad smile. You could tell he was reliving the memory of that night, so you put a hand on his cheek to comfort him. He leaned into your hand and wrapped his fingers around your wrist. He wasn’t crying, but looked very close to it.
“You never told me this before.” You signed to him.
“It’s hard for me to talk about.” He answered, but you could see that without him needing to tell you.
“I appreciate you telling me now. Are you okay telling me happened next?”
“She realized the whole restaurant was staring at her since she yelled, so she ran out. When I went after her, she told me she didn’t want to be a translator for the rest of her life. She said it would be too hard to stay together because we were too different. Then she said some other things, but I couldn’t read her lips and she stopped signing. I guess I’ll never know. I did understand when she told me to leave the restaurant. We have not spoken since.”
You both sat with his confession for a long time. Finally, you pulled him into an even longer hug. He held you tightly and nestled into your shoulder. You held him as long as he needed it.
“I’m not telling you this to excuse my behavior towards you for the last week. There is no excuse for that. I am truly very sorry.” Peter signed to you once he let go. You waved your hand to show him that that was in the past now. Even though it didn’t justify his behavior, you had a deeper understanding of him that helped you understand his hesitation to enter another relationship.
“There are words I want to say right now that I don’t know the signs for. And they are really bad words.” You told him, making him laugh softly.
“I can guess.”
“Do you want me to kill her?” You asked him, and he pretended to consider it.
“No. That’s okay. I have forgiven her. Just not to her face.”
“How can you forgive her? She was horrible to you. That story just kept getting worse.”
“She should have done a lot of things very differently. But I can understand feeling frustrated by not being able to communicate with your partner. We were too different. So I forgive her.”
“You can forgive her, but I’m hunting her down and jumping her as soon as we leave this closet.” You informed him. He halfheartedly laughed but there was still a sadness in his eyes.
“I feel horrible for how I’ve been treating you. You must be so confused. I meant it when I said I fell for you the day we met. And I have always wanted more with you. I was just so afraid that if we dated, I would make you feel the same way she did. And now, I have.”
“I’m not her. I know we are different. That does not matter to me.”
“But what if one day it does?” He asked. “What if you get tired of having to translate everything for me the rest of your life?”
“What if a meteor hits the earth right now? What if I discover I’m a secret genius and invent a nasal spray that actually works and doesn’t just make you cough? What if I kill your ex and make it look like an accident? Where you did you say she lived?”
“I am being serious.” He insisted. “I care about you too much to hurt you.”
“The only time you have hurt me is when you dodged my kiss. Because it was going to be a really good one.” You signed with a slight teasing smile on your lips to lighten the mood. It was enough to break through Peter’s melancholy and smile back, even if it was just a little.
“I bet it was.” He signed back with his eyes on your lips. You were feeling highly inclined to forgive Peter for his behavior and took a step closer to him.
“You’ll never know.” You signed with a look on your face that said “your loss.”
“I want to know. But I don’t want to subject you to a life of not understanding each other every time.”
“Does any couple understand each other every time?” You asked him. This seemed to stump Peter and you felt proud for asking such a thought provoking question. Since you could tell you had the upper hand, you decided to double down.
“Even when I don’t understand you, I understand you. Even when you don’t understand me, you understand me. And if we have moments where we don’t understand each other, that would make us no different from any other couple.“ You continued. Peter’s face showed that he was thoughtfully considering what you were saying. You knew he knew you were right, but you wanted to see if he was going to do anything about it.
“But maybe you’re right. Maybe staying friends is safe.” You signed and then reached for the door. You were quickly pulled back by your waist, which Peter had wrapped one arm around. He used the other arm to press the door shut behind you, pressing you up against it in the process.
“That doesn’t mean we should.” He signed before finally and officially ruining your friendship with a long-awaited kiss.
Synopsis: Peter can’t stop going to your basketball games, despite a rumor going around about you
Masterlist
“This is the last time you get to pick the group hang activity.”
“I think us watching women’s college basketball together can be fulfilling and make us grow closer as friends.” Ned replied between the sound of sneakers squeaking on the court. MJ just shook her head in response.
Peter wasn’t paying attention to the conversation at all by this point. His thoughts were occupied entirely by you. You had captured his attention from roughly the moment he sat on the bleachers and held it without even trying. His eyes were playing ping pong as he watched you travel back and forth across the court. A sport he had never paid much attention to was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world to him. Peter only knew where the ball was if it was in your hands, which was always followed by you making a basket and the other girls on your team patting your back. You seemed to be pretty well known among the crowd, because Peter could hear your last name being chanted even when you didn’t have the ball.
“Wait, I don’t even know which team we are supposed to be rooting for.” MJ realized as you scored another basket. Peter clapped a little too loudly for you, making you look at him and crack a smile.
“Dude, it’s the second half already. Our school is the Raiders. You haven’t known that this whole time?” Ned asked her.
“You can’t expect me to pay attention to frivolous details when there are sweaty girls right in front of my face.” MJ dismissed with a wave of her hand. While they spoke, you were busy getting the rebound and scoring another basket. This time, Peter stood up to clap for you. You looked his way and waved your fingers flirtatiously at him. Peter felt his entire face up as he waved back to you.
“Dude, what are you doing?” Ned asked as he hit Peter on the arm. “Don’t wave her. You don’t want to be seen interacting with the college floozy.”
“Floozy? What are you talking about?” Peter snorted. “That sounds like a made-up Dr. Seuss word.”
“It’s real.” Ned insisted. “If you bothered showing up to AP literature in high school, you’d know that.”
“We were never in AP literature together. That was AP History, and you failed because you wrote a paper on how the Cold War wad ended by the invention of space heaters. And if you don’t recall, I was pretty busy in high school.” Peter replied without taking his eyes off you. You threw the ball from the three-point line and looked directly at Peter when it made it in. He smiled sheepishly at you before leaning over to MJ.
“What do you know about number 81?” He asked and nodded towards you.
“Not much. Just that she’s the captain of the basketball team and is said to burn through guys faster than Ned burns through chapstick.” MJ snorted.
“I always lose them. I always put them in my pocket and then they’re just not there anymore. It’s like they just disappear into the ether.” Ned said in exasperation.
“It’s not the ether, it’s the washing machine. I tell you this every time.” Peter sighed. “You need to start emptying your pockets before you wash your pants.”
“That’s just a theory.” Ned shook his head.
“It’s not, because you washed your phone twice and mine once, but okay.” Peter rolled his eyes and turned back to MJ.
“What were you saying about her?” He asked.
“Well, allegedly, she dates guys with expensive shoes, and then dumps them once they let her wear them.” MJ replied. “But then she doesn’t give back the shoes. That’s allegedly why she wears a different pair every game. I even heard that sometimes, she doesn’t break up with the poor guy and just starts wearing another guy’s shoes to let them know they’re over. Allegedly.”
“What?” Peter snorted in disbelief. “There’s no way that’s true. Who wears other people’s shoes? And how the hell did you know all that, but not the name of the team she plays for?”
“Because I pick and choose my areas of expertise.” MJ answered. “And the shoe thing is just something couples do sometimes. It’s like a cheesy romantic gesture. Same as wearing each other’s clothes. Only, she’s a sneaker stealer.”
“Wait, is that why our physics professor was wearing that one fancy black boot for a few weeks?” Ned asked.
“No. That was our Art History professor, and he broke his foot.” Peter corrected. “You really need to start paying more attention.”
Their conversation was cut short by the crowd erupting into cheers. Peter looked up and saw you cross over your defender and shoot the ball at the net. It went in, and you pointed directly to Peter once it did. Peter broke into a huge smile at the unexpected gesture and clapped loudly for you.
“Oh shit.” MJ chuckled. “She just marked you. Peter is next.”
“Marked me? She’s not a serial killer, MJ.” Peter said with a roll of his eyes.
“Maybe not.” MJ agreed. “But a serial dater. And a serial shoe thief.”
“Mmm. Cereal.” Ned hummed. “I’m out of here. You guys want anything at the dining hall?”
“You’re leaving?” MJ laughed. “This was your idea to come.”
“It’s not my fault you guys started filling my heads with thoughts of Captain Crunch.” Ned shrugged as he grabbed his stuff and stood up.
“Literally no one mentioned Captain Crunch in the past 10 years.” MJ mumbled and got up as well. “You coming?”
“I think I’ll stay and watch.” Peter said without taking his eyes off you. You had just scored a fast-break layup and got shot Peter another smile. He was so enchanted by you that he hadn’t noticed MJ had sat back down.
“Listen, Peter. I want to be clear here. I take no issue with her using guys to up her shoe game. In fact, I respect her deeply for the hustle. But I would take issue with her breaking my friend’s heart, and she’s kinda got a reputation for that.” MJ said in a rare moment of genuine concern.
“I second that.” Ned chimed in. “I don’t care who she’s dated, but I’ll care if she hurts my best friend. So just be careful, man. She is no better than the Wicked Witch of the West. She’ll stop at nothing until she has your shoes!”
“Who the fuck makes a Wizard of Oz reference?” MJ asked Ned as she led him off the bleachers.
“Um, it was a Wicked reference. What the fuck is the Wizard of Oz?” Peter heard Ned ask as they left the gymnasium. Peter turned his attention back to the game now that his friends were gone, but their words lingered in the back of his mind. He glanced at your red and blue shoes and wondered if there was any truth to the rumors. But when you shot him a smile as you dribbled past where he was sitting, he decided he just didn’t care.
After that day, Peter became a frequent attendee of your basketball games. He made sure he always got there early so that he could get a seat in the front. Because of his newly developed habit of going to your games, you formed a habit of pointing to Peter every time you made a basket. He felt like something of a fangirl every time you did it and couldn’t help but turn into a blushing mess. After the fourth game he attended, you ran up to him during halftime with your basketball balanced on your hip.
“Hey.”
“Hey? Me, hey?” Peter asked and pointed to himself. He probably should’ve figured you two would talk eventually, yet this unexpected interaction made his heart pound in his ears.
“Woah. Was that English?” You chuckled. “Because if not, I can pull up Duolingo right now. That little freaked out owl would like it, too.”
“It’s okay.” Peter said once he composed himself. “No need for the freaky bird. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Peter.”
“I know.” You smirked. “I asked around about you. Heard you’re kinda elusive.”
“That’s a nice way of saying you had to ask 20 people before anyone knew who I was.” Peter said with a timid smile.
“Only 12 people, actually.” You corrected. “And guess who knew you?”
“Who?”
“The janitor in the Whitaker building. Apparently, you always make it a point to say hello when you pass him in the hallway.” You said with a smile that told Peter you were impressed. Peter smiled back and felt his nerves slowly melt away.
“It’s true.” He told you. “I’m extra nice to him because my roommate and I accidentally started a fire in the bathroom freshman year, and he had to come put it out at 3 a.m.”
“Now, what were you doing in the bathroom with your roommate at 3 am that became a fire hazard?” You laughed and gently tossed your basketball at Peter. He caught it with ease, grateful to have something to nervously roll around in his hands.
“It’s a long story, but basically, we were trying to heat up a brown sugar Pop-Tart with the hand dryer, and the wrapper was a little too close for comfort, so it started making lightning, and then a fire started.” Peter answered, immediately feeling his face burn bright red over how long he had talked. He was just beginning to internally beat himself up over his answer when you started to laugh.
“That wasn’t a long story at all.” You said with a reassuring smile.
“You haven’t told me your name yet.” Peter said as he passed the ball back to you.
“Do I need to?” You asked him with a cocky smile and caught the ball.
“No.” He confessed. “Because I asked about you as well.”
“Did you?” You asked as your smile faltered. “What, um, what did you hear?”
Your tone was different now. It was a genuine question, with the implication you already knew what he had heard. All the confidence you had approached him with seemed to have fallen away.
“Well, I heard you’re the best small toward the Raiders have ever had. But I didn’t just want to take people’s word for it. I like to see things for myself.”
You stared at Peter for a moment, really looking into his eyes to determine if he was being truthful. Peter gave you a soft smile that said, “Yeah, I’ve heard about it, no, I don’t care.” And that was all you needed to know.
“Small forward.” You said finally. “And I’m glad to hear that about you. Cause I like to see things for myself too. But tell me, now that you’ve seen for yourself, what do you think?
“Well, I don’t know much about basketball, but I can confirm that you really are the best. You score a lot of the….” Peter trailed off when he realized he didn’t know enough about basketball to finish that sentence.
“Points.” You finished it for him.
“Right. Points. I was between that or “innies”. Because, you know, the ball goes in the net. A lot, when you have it. You’re, uh, you’re really good.” He felt shy again from the way you were holding his gaze. You sensed his timidness and tossed the ball back to him to give him something to fidget with.
“Thank you. Is that why you keep showing up at my games? Because you think I’m good?” You asked with a playful tone.
“Amongst the other things I think you are.”
“Woah. You answered that kinda like Yoda.”
“Yeah. I hoped you wouldn’t notice.” Peter laughed in embarrassment. Before you could answer, your coach blew a whistle to signal the end of halftime.
“Duty calls.” You sighed, feeling the same sinking feeling of disappointment that Peter was experiencing now that your conversation was over.
“Good luck. Or, break a leg? What do they say in basketball?” He asked and tossed you your ball back.
“Good luck is just fine. And I appreciate it. See you later, Peter.” You waved to him as the rest of your team flooded back onto the court. He watched some of the other girls come up to you and look in Peter’s direction, probably trying to find out why you spent all of halftime talking to some stranger. Peter felt a smile tug at his lips when he saw the excited reactions of your teammates as you told them something he couldn’t hear. But since they all snuck glances at him as you spoke, he could safely assume it was about him.
When your game finished, Peter watched as you celebrated your 5th consecutive win with your teammates. Since you’d scored most of the points, you were the center of attention in the room. Even so, you left the celebration early to run up to Peter.
“Congratulations. But is winning still exciting when you win every time?” Peter asked with a teasing smile.
“It’s gotten a little more exciting now that I have a cute boy cheering me on.” You said so bluntly that Peter almost choked.
“Well, this may be hard to believe, but I only started watching basketball when I found out the captain was really cool and pretty.” Peter returned the compliment, earning another smile from you.
“I’m glad the feeling is mutual.“ You told him. “And since you’re such a basketball fan now, I wanted to let you know that I have a game this Saturday.”
“I’m aware. I already cleared my schedule.”
“Oh yeah?” You asked him. “Did you clear it enough to take me out after?”
Peter was caught off guard once again, but was determined not to mess up this opportunity. He quickly composed himself and shrugged in response.
“I can probably move some things around. Squeeze you in.” He said nonchalantly. Luckily, you appreciated his attempt at humor and laughed.
“Good.” You answered. “I’ll see you then, Peter.”
Peter watched you walk off before letting out the breath he had been holding in for the duration of your conversation. As his eyes fell down to your green and black sneakers, his smile fell a little. He couldn’t help but wonder where you’d gotten them from.
Saturday night took a painstakingly long time to arrive. Without your number or any classes together, Peter’s only way of seeing you was attending your games. He sat in the front row of the bleachers with a rose sat upon his bouncing knee.
“We should not be here.” Ned said into his ear.
“You should not be here.” Peter corrected. “She invited me.”
“A friend doesn’t let another friend go into the lion’s den alone. Especially not the den of the lion that breaks guys’ hearts and uses them for new shoes!” Ned whispered harshly.
“That is the most ridiculous rumor I have ever heard.” Peter rolled his eyes. “So, she owns a lot of shoes. So what?”
“Enough for a new pair every game? You know that’s weird.” Ned insisted.
“Maybe she just likes to shop.”
“Ask anyone, Peter. All the athletes at this school say they dated her and they all say the same thing about her. She dates you until you give her your sneakers, and then she dumps you. Is that the fate you want?”
“Well, my sneakers are from Walmart and there’s a security tag stuck in the heel of the left one that sets off every metal detector I walk through. So I sorta doubt she’s gunning for them.”
“It’s not about the price. It’s her trophy.” Ned told him. “She wears them to let everyone know she’s taken another victim. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“You make her sound like she’s some cartoon villain wearing the bones of her enemies as a necklace. They’re just shoes. And that’s just a stupid, misogynistic rumor. You don’t even know her.” Peter replied, starting to get irritated with his friend now.
“Exactly. I don’t know her personally, but even a random college NPC like me knows about her. You don’t get a reputation like that out of nowhere. There’s gotta be some truth to it. Aren’t you the least bit worried I’m right?”
Peter hesitated for a moment as he watched you run across the court in light blue sneakers. He didn’t care about the alleged boys of the past, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t starting to worry about getting hurt.
“No.” Peter said after a beat. “I don’t believe any rumors. My sneakers are safe.”
“Maybe.” Ned agreed. “But what about your heart? Is that safe?”
Peter was silent and felt grateful that the game started. Right away, you owned the court the way you always did. Nothing else could enter Peter’s mind as he watched you command the room and the ball. All the silly rumors faded away and all he could do was be awestruck by you. You pointed to Peter each time you made a basket, and the crowd was starting to take notice. Peter heard some snickers coming from behind him and saw guys pointing his way to mock you, but he ignored it.
“She’s coming. Be cool.” Peter whispered to Ned when you ran up to them during halftime.
“You are asking a lot to me right now.” Ned mumbled under his breath. Peter stood up to greet you and to his surprise, you threw your arms around him.
“Peter! I’m glad you made it.” You said as you squeezed him. Peter stumbled back in surprise for a moment and the hugged you back. He could once again hear people reacting to the two of you from behind him, but he tuned it out.
“Of course I came. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And this is for you.” He smiled sheepishly as he held up the rose he brought. You smiled softly at him in return and accepted the flower.
“That was very sweet of you. And seriously, thank you for coming. Pretty sure you bring me luck at this point.”
“And I’m pretty sure you were good at basketball before I started coming to your games.” Peter replied, making you laugh.
“Maybe. But it’s nice to have someone rooting for me for once.” You told him as your eyes wandered to the group of boys sitting behind Peter and Ned. When Peter looked over his shoulder to see what you were looking at, he saw the boys blowing you kisses and laughing at themselves. The normally confident look on your face was replaced by a zoned out expressed.
“Well, they confiscated my sign and giant cardboard cut out of your face that I made. But they can never take away my ability to cheer.” Peter said, brining you back to the conversation.
“You’re cute.” You chuckled. “Are we still on for later?”
“Yeah. Absolutely.”
“And will you be joining us?” You playfully turned to Ned to ask. Peter swallowed and looked to his friend, fearful of what he was going to say.
“Unfortunately, Peter said we can’t make this thing a polycule until after the Raiders make the playoffs so that you’re free of distractions.” Ned answered.
“How thoughtful of you, Peter. I’ll start ticking the days off my calendar immediately.” You replied without missing a beat. You and Ned smiled at each other before looking back at a very confused Peter.
“I don’t understand what’s happening.” Peter said as he looked between the two of you.
“What’s happening is your girlfriend just passed the vibe check.” Ned said, making Peter shut his eyes in embarrassment and hoped this wasn’t the moment you realized you were too cool to give Peter a chance.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to happen today. Who cares about this basketball shit? I only care if the friend of the guy I haven’t gone on a date with yet likes me.” You retorted. Ned laughed again and Peter felt himself relax. For some reason, you were still standing there, despite Ned’s attempt to scare you away.
“I should probably head back to my team. Hold this for me until I’m done?” You asked nicely and handed the rose back to Peter. Your fingers touched as you passed it and he felt sparks fly. You exchanged one last smile before you ran off to join your team.
When the game ended, Ned left Peter to find you after telling him how cool he found you. Peter wanted to roll his eyes and say the knew that the whole time, but he held his tongue. He waited with the rose near the locker room until you were ready.
You came out soon enough, clothes changed and skin still a little damp from your quick shower. Peter could smell your body lotion radiating off of you and found it hard to remember his own name.
“Are you ready?” You asked him with a nervous smile. This was a departure from the usual assured look you had on your face, and it gave Peter a glimpse into your more vulnerable side.
“I am. Let me get that.” Peter said and took your backpack off your shoulder. He accompanied you to dorm to drop off your basketball stuff and the rose, making easy small talk as you went. He did his best to not gawk when he got a glimpse into your room when you opened the door to put your stuff inside. When you shut the door, Peter got a look at your fully packed shoe rack. He hated to admit it, but it sparked his curiosity about where they came from.
“So how many games do you think you would’ve attended before talking to me?” You asked him, pulling his thoughts away from the shoes.
“Hm, let me think. When do you graduate?” He asked, making you laugh. You were heading off of campus now, hands bumping into each other every now and then.
“Really? You were never going to approach me?”
“And risk getting rejected? No way. I was happy to cheer you on for the rest of my college career and fantasize about lives would be like if I had a backbone and asked you out.”
“So, tell me.” You began. “What were our lives like in your fantasies?”
“They were great. You were drafted by New York Liberty, so I moved back home to be with you. I’m from Queens, by the way. You have a two great years before you’re promoted to captain. I attend every game.”
“Are you really from Queens? I would not have guessed that about you. And how did you know I like the New York Liberty?”
“Yep. Queens born and raised. I’m surprised you don’t gather that from my hardened bad boy disposition.” Peter joked, earning another laugh from you. “And I knew that was your favorite team because you always wear a bracelet with their colors. And I maybe saw a poster on your wall to confirm what the colors are for.”
“Wow. A Queens boy. Here I was thinking Kanas or something. You seem too soft and kind for New York. Especially because I’ve seen so many crazy videos of the subways. Like seriously, what is going on over there?” You asked as you toyed with the sea foam green and black bracelet on your wrist.
“I wish I knew. But you would never have to take the subway because we’re gonna live in a penthouse right near Barclays. I will be placing the down payment on it tonight, depending how our date goes.”
“You’ve really thought it all out.” You said with a pleased smile. “But what about you? What will your job be in this fantasy? Which is my indirect way of asking what your major is, by the way.”
“It’s bioengineering.” He replied. “So I’ll be working at Wendy’s and doing immoral science experiments in our aforementioned penthouse.”
“Bioengineering? You have a brilliant science brain and you thought I would’ve rejected you?”
“Of course I did. You’re the captain of the undefeated basketball team and I’m friends with the janitor.”
“Hey, don’t sell yourself short. You also started a fire in the bathroom.” You reminded him as you reached the frozen yogurt spot he was taking you to. He held the door for you on the way in, which made you give him an endearing touch on the shoulder.
“Oh yes. How could I forget? That’s totally way cooler than all those pictures of you holding trophies that line the walls of the gym.” Peter said sarcastically as he filled his cup with Cake Batter flavored yogurt.
“I hope you didn’t look too closely at those. I went through a fake freckle phase for a minute there. And then they would smear all over my face during my games, but I just kept doing it. No one stopped me.” You sighed and filled your cup with yogurt as well. Peter couldn’t help but admire you, unable to believe he was really on a date with you and not just watching you from court side.
“I hate to say it, but I think it would take a lot more than fake freckles to get me to not find you extraordinary.” Peter said shyly, You gave him a playful smack on the arm as you moved over to the topping station together.
“Wait, I take back what I just said. I’m trying really hard not to judge you right now.” Peter said as he watched you put popping bubbles onto your yogurt.
“What? These are so good. It’s like a little strawberry explosion in your mouth.”
“I’m telling you right now, I’m not seeing a second date in our future. And to clarify, it’s because of those little pink things you just put all over perfectly good yogurt.” Peter joked and pointed to your yogurt.
“And to think I held my tongue about your Cake Batter yogurt in hopes you’d put down that downpayment you promised me and take me on a second date.” You sighed wistfully.
“Woah, woah, woah. I’m just teasing.” Peter assured you. “If you’ll have me, I would love a second date.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I can squeeze you in. Move some things around.” You said to callback to what he said when you first asked him out.
“Damn. I hope I make the cut.” He played along and blew out a breath. To his surprise, you linked your arm with him and rested your head on his shoulder for a moment.
“I’m also just teasing.” You told him. “I would also love a second date. I love having you at my games, but it’s hard to get to know you when I’m on the court and you’re on the bleachers. And I want to get to know you.”
“I want to get to know you too.” Peter said softly. “Fake freckles and all.”
You left the yogurt shop soon enough, with Peter paying of course. You strolled down the sidewalk together, eating your yogurt, and making easy small talk. He was slowly coming out of his shell as you talked since you seemed genuinely interested in everything he said. It felt easy to talk to you. Despite your very different interests, you found a lot of common ground to link the two of you.
“Hold on. Your shoe lace is untied.” Peter said and handed you his cup of yogurt. Before you could respond, he bent down to tie it for you.
“God, I feel like Cinderella.” You chuckled. “But you shouldn’t have bothered tying them. They always come untied because the laces are so slick.”
“Why do you wear them then?” Peter asked as you handed his yogurt back to him. You took a bite of your own and looked over at him.
“Can I tell you a secret?” You asked, making Peter’s heart skip a beat. His mind immediately went back to the rumors Ned had told him about.
“Yeah, go for it.” Peter said with attempt to sound calm.
“I’m very superstitious.” You confessed. “I have to touch the top of the doorframe before a game, or I won’t play as well. I have to put my left sock on first, or I won’t run as fast. And I can’t throw out any pair I’ve won a game in, or I’ll throw out my good luck. No matter how old and sucky the pair is.”
“Wow. I was not expecting this.” He smiled in surprise. “How old are these, then?”
“Oh God. I think these were a gift for my 12th birthday, maybe? I can’t remember. I went through puberty pretty early. That’s how I got into basketball. I figured I’d put my height to good use, right? Anyway, my shoe size has been the same since I was like 11. Basketball has always been my thing, so anytime I was getting presents, it was shoes. But I’m not complaining. I’ve built up quite the collection over the years.”
“Yeah, I noticed that you always wear a different pair to your games.” He replied, making you let out a sad sounding laugh.
“Well, that’s because you’ve only been to 5 of my games. I only have 14 pairs of shoes.”
“Only 14?” He laughed. “I have these sneakers and my dress shoes.”
“No flip flops?”
“Men’s feet should never be out.”
“Good answer. I agree.” You chuckled. “But what do you do in the summer?”
“Sneakers year round, baby.” Peter insisted.
“I like that. And I like you calling me baby.” You said as you linked your arm through his again. Peter felt his face heat up and gave you a timid smile. As you walked together arm in arm, he let his eyes fall down to your shoes.
“I think it’s really sweet that you hang on to shoes so that you don’t throw your luck away. Clearly it’s working.” Peter said with sincerity.
“I think so too. I’m not sure why everyone turned it into something so weird.” You replied, catching Peter off guard.
“What do you mean?” He played dumb.
“Come on. I know you’ve heard the rumors about me. You’ve been staring at my shoes all night.” You said with that same sad laugh from before. Peter admittedly had stole a few glances at them, but none that he thought you noticed.
“I never believed them.” He said instead of trying to deny what you already knew to be true.
“Who told you?” You asked without looking at him.
“My friends.”
“Your friend who accompanied you to my game tonight?” You asked with a sad smile.
“Yeah.” Peter reluctantly admitted.
“Did he come to protect you from me?”
“I told him I didn’t need it. And that the rumors were the dumbest thing I ever heard.”
“I think so too. I don’t know why I became such a lightning rod for slut shaming at this school. I’ve never even dated one of the meathead athletes here. And if I did, who cares? I rejected one, though. A boy on the basketball team who didn’t like that I knew more about sneakers than he did. Or tha I had a bigger collection. Right after I turned him down, all the rumors started. Funny how that works.” You said with a calmness to your tone that Peter wasn’t expecting.
“Does it get to you? All the dumb stuff people say?”
“It used to.” You admitted. “But I have a great support system around me. My teammates know who I am. And dumb rumors don’t stop me from winning games. So at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what people who don’t know me say. I only concern myself with people who choose to see for themselves.”
Peter stopped walking and turned to face you. You stopped walking as well and tilted your head as you stared at him.
“You don’t deserve to be talked about that way. I’m sorry my friends ever believed that nonsense. And I’m sorry I ever entertained it, even for a second. I know how it feels to have a rumor going around about you and it sucks. I should’ve known it was bullshit as soon as I heard it.”
“It’s okay, Peter. You have shown me that you care about getting to know me. And I don’t blame you for wondering. I do wear a lot of shoes.”
“You do.” He admitted. “But I like it. I hope you never stop.”
“I don’t plan to. I’m not going to let some stupid rumor make me throw out my luck.” You said as you started walking together again.
“What was the rumor about you?” You wondered. “You said you know how it feels.”
“I do. In high school, people thought I was a male escort.”
“What?” You laughed in surprise. “What the hell did you do to make people think that?”
“Hey, I didn’t ask you questions about the origin of your rumor.” Peter pointed out.
“You’re right, you’re right.” You held up a hand in defense and squeezed his arm with your other one. You were back on campus now, walking as slowly back to your dorm as possible so that the date wouldn’t end just yet. As you walked, one of boys from the basketball team passed by. He looked you and Peter up and down and let out an obnoxious laugh.
“A new guy? You really go through them, don’t you? Looks like you ran out of athletes, though.” The guy said to you. You paid him no mind and kept walking, but Peter was less inclined to let him get away with speaking to you like that.
“What were those things called again?” Peter asked and pointed to your yogurt.
“Popping bubbles?”
“Can I try one?” He asked. You nodded and spooned three onto his open palm.
To your surprise, Peter pelted the popping bubbles at the guys head with such speed that they exploded in his hair. Before the guy could react, Peter grabbed your hand and took off running. You ran all the way to the football field and quickly tucked under the bleachers, laughing to the point of breathlessness as you went. You crouched down and made your way to the middle of the bleachers, staying silent until the coast was clear.
“Peter!” You exclaimed. “That was the point guard on the boys team. He’s gonna kill you if he sees you again.”
“I don’t care.” Peter insisted. “He doesn’t get to speak to you like that.”
“Thank you.” You smiled softly and put a hand on Peter’s face. He felt his face warm up under your touch and looked into your eyes.
“For what? Messing with that losers low taper fade?”
“That.” You chuckled in agreement. “And for taking the time to get to know me. It’s been a really long time since anyone did that.”
“I’m glad I did. Because you are worth getting to know. I like that you’re a superstitious shoe collector who knows exactly who she is. Even if she gets the nastiest possible topping on her-“ Peter was cut off by his shirt being pulled forward and his lips landing against yours. He welcomed the surprise and kissed you back, tasting the sweetness of your dessert on your lips. Kissing under the bleachers was the most cliche thing the two of you could possibly be doing, but he loved every second of it. You both did.
“Yogurt.” He breathlessly concluded his interrupted sentence when you pulled away.
“Wow, Peter. You just had to finish your sentence, huh?” You chucked and pecked his lips again. He happily kissed you back, not stopping until his lungs pestered him for air.
“This was a very unexpected but welcome end to our night.” You said as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “But I guess kissing you on the first date really doesn’t help me beat the promiscuous allegations, does it?”
“Oh well. Too late now.” Peter shrugged and cupped your face to kiss you once more. He walked you back to your for afterwards like the gentleman he was, and was given a room tour upon arrival. When he looked at you 14 pairs of lucky shoes on display, all he thought about was how lucky he was to know you.
The next time Peter attended one of your games, it was as your boyfriend. Your teammates dubbed him the official First Husband of the Raiders and welcomed him with open arms.
As Peter watched you make your third basket of the evening despite the game just starting, he felt a sense of pride. You had on his pair of beat up sneakers, so it was only fair that he wore a hoodie you leant him with your last name and jersey number printed on the back. Peter had Ned and MJ beside him, meaning you had the loudest cheers out of the whole gymnasium.
“Are we being too obvious? Is this too hard of a launch?” You shouted at him as you dribbled by. A member of the opposing team attempted the get the ball from you, but you didn’t even let them get close.
“It’s not obvious enough until there’s a ring on this finger.” Ned called back and held up Peter’s left hand. You laughed and made another basket, making sure to point at Peter afterwards.
“So if I start sitting on the stands during the girls swim team practice, does that mean I’ll get a girlfriend? Because it worked for Peter.” MJ leaned over to say to her friends.
“I wouldn’t count on it. I don’t think this has ever happened before in the history of the world and I don’t think it’s ever going to happen again.” Ned said to her. Peter was barely listening, too busy being enchanted by you.
When the game was over and you had successfully carried your team to another victory, you hugged your girls and then ran straight to Peter. He stood up to greet you, just like the first time you approached him, but this time, you threw your arms around him to kiss him. You could hear the crowd going crazy behind you, but neither of you cared.
“Hey, handsome.” You said when you pulled away. “Did you know these shoes have a security tag embedded in the bottom?”
“I do.” He admitted. “But I can’t throw them out now because you just won a game in them.”
“Uh oh.” You smiled. “Look who’s superstitious now.”
“Maybe you’re rubbing off on me.” Peter smiled. “Now can I take you and lucky pair number 15 out on a date to celebrate your latest win?”
You left the gymnasium with Peter, his friends, and a few of your teammates. And for the first time in a long time, you felt like you were being seen for who you were and nothing else.
commissions are now officially open!!!
finally, after millions of centuries i've finally got the motivation to do a comms sheet.
feel free to send me a DM and we can start! 💗
commissions are now officially open!!!
finally, after millions of centuries i've finally got the motivation to do a comms sheet.
feel free to send me a DM and we can start! 💗
Yesterday I had a dreamt Tumblr started drawing Perry the Platypus humanized and he became a Tumblr-sexyman even tho he doesn't have a Canon human design yet. Then Disney made it canon and married him with Doofenshmirtz on a theatrical movie. Everyone cried and called it the ship of all time, blueprints, etc etc. And even casual people started cosplaying them. And making weddings themed after them. A floating sans head was there for some reason, whispered "February 1" and I woke up in a cold sweat
If a website has a paywall, like New York Times, DO NOT use the ctrl+A shortcut then the ctrl+c shortcut as fast as you can because then you may accidentally copy the entire article before the paywall comes up. And definitely don't do ctrl+v into the next google doc or whatever you open because then you will accidentally paste the entire article into a google doc or something!!!! I repeat DO NOT do this because it is piracy which is absolutely totally wrong!!!
Also do NOT append "12ft.io/" before a URL ! Typing an URL like this https://12ft.io/<URL> will redirect to a site that would break the display of the page by removing the paywall !
Honestly it's kind of prohibited to mash CTRL+P before some paywall windows can load in to get a PDF of the article. Really shouldn't be done tbh very dangerous🤷🏿♂️ ❌️
The hero’s identity was accidentally revealed, but it turns out they are moderately poor, have no friends or family, and their civilian life is frankly…sad.
2087
prguitarman
turnnoffyourmind
areudirty
dailybridgerton
