Into the Light | Peter Parker x OC

Chapter Three

"You okay?" Ned asked, noticing his expression. Peter pressed his lips into a thin line, looking up to meet his best friend's eyes. He let out a sigh.

"It's...It's Ada," he said quietly.

"What? What happened to her? Is she okay? Is she hurt?" Ned rambled, suddenly very worried. Peter shook his head.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," he said.

"Then what?"

Peter hesitated, looking around unsurely. Ned noticed, realizing he probably wanted to talk somewhere in private and not in the foyer.

"Let's go to my room," he said and Peter nodded gratefully. He followed his friend up the stairs and into his room. Ned closed the door behind himself. Peter sat down in the chair by his desk, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. Ned sat down on the edge of the bed across from him, starting to get slightly worried. He could hear soft Christmas music coming from the downstairs kitchen.

"You have to tell me something, man. You're just scaring me at this point," Ned said. Peter groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"It's awful, dude," he groaned, "I have the worst timing."

"For what?" Ned pressed. Peter lifted his head up. His brown eyes looked sad.

"I'm in love with Ada," he finally said, "And...I'm afraid she doesn't feel the same way."

Ned couldn't say anything for a while so Peter continued rambling to fill the silence.

"What if I tell her and she doesn't say it back? What if she never feels like that for me? I-I just...god, I just feel like the biggest loser in the world. Sh-She keeps telling me she needs space, but then I went and fell in love with her like an idiot. I just know it, Ned. She doesn't feel the same way."

"Woah, woah, hold on," Ned said, shaking his head, "First of all, are you sure you're in love? Are you sure you didn't just get scared you were going to lose her?"

"No, Ned. This...This is love, I just know it. No matter what I do, I can't stop thinking about her. I talked to her just last night, but I feel like it's been days since I saw her last. When she's not there, I-I miss her a-and when she's around, I just...I can't think straight, man. She...she does something to me I just can't explain. My head gets all fuzzy when I'm around her and I physically can't stop smiling. She's...perfect, Ned. She absolutely perfect."

Ned smiled softly at his best friend. That sure as hell sounded like love if he could ever tell. It was Peter and Adelaide. Ned was sure that they had been in love since the moment they first saw each other. There was just something about them. Everyone could see it. Even if they just sat beside each other, everyone in the room could see that they were...a pair.

They were Peter and Adelaide. They belonged together.

"I'm really happy for you, Peter," Ned smiled, "I'm happy you both found each other."

"Yeah, well, don't get happy for me yet," Peter mumbled, staring at the carpet.

"Look— things are different now," Ned said, making Peter look up at him questioningly.

"How so?"

"Well, for one, Adelaide's different now. Can't you just see it on her face? She looks...happier," Ned said. Peter wasn't sure if he was right about that. He had been so busy feeling his emotions, he hadn'y noticed that Ada had changed. "I think she finally feels safe. If you two ever had a shot, it's right now."

"So what do I do?" Peter asked, "Do I just tell her that I love her? What if it completely freaks her out?"

"Just ask her where you both stand now," Ned said, "If there's anything I learned from Vivian, it's that it's always better to just ask girls how they feel instead of assuming."