How You Get The Girl ── Peter Parker [TASM] (On Hold)

𝟎𝟎𝟑 ⎯⎯ And So It Begins

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     Mary Anne had scared Peter Parker's heart, whether he liked it or not.  She was stuck to him, like chicken feathers to tar, like bears to honey.  Pieces of her still existed in him.  There was no getting rid of her.

     In the things Mary Anne had left behind for Peter, he had a collection of sadness, childhood memories plagued with a deja vu he was chasing, even if he didn't know it.  The high that he got on memories of Mary Anne alone was incredible and irreplaceable.  It wasn't just that, and he knew it.  Mary Anne herself was irreplaceable, and he had screwed up by not trying to make things right between them sooner.

     It didn't help that Mary Anne could hold a grudge.  He didn't know why he was surprised by this, he had known the girl better than anyone else in the world, and knew that she definitely in fact could hold a grudge to the end of the world and on.  She had done it once with his aunt and uncle for that week when they refused to refer to her as "miss rainbow sparkles" so he shouldn't be so surprised that she blocked him out once he hurt her feelings.

     It felt like just yesterday that Mary had coaxed him out of his hermit-like status and started getting him to talk to her more and more often, one of the things they bonded through as young children after Peter moved in next door was the game of hide and seek.  Even though she was young, Mary Anne noticed when his aunt May would nudge Ben every time Peter would crack a giggle, the brunette being one to try and make him smile since the day she met him.

     May and Ben being his parental figures since the disappearance of his mom and dad were extremely worried for a bit as Peter had closed himself off to everyone and remained a shy little kid.  May especially was happy once she realized Mary Anne's smile was infectious and proved to be a match for the guard Peter had built up.  No one really remembered exactly when Mary Anne and Peter became so close, but they became inseparable within a matter of days.  Days playing around in the sun, days debating which Star Wars character was the best, days where Peter felt like an actual child again.

     Memories of her plagued his mind, he saw her everywhere he went.  The bracelet she made herself that spelt out "princess" in alphabet beads she got from the crafts store down the road during the summer that they watched Harry Potter for the first time was still in his room, pinned against his bulletin board, forced to look at it everyday yet he didn't ever want to stop.  He was pretty sure he also had some of her old clothes, DVDs and stickers tucked away in his closet.    But despite trying to tuck her away, he didn't ever want to stop remembering her — her, the girl who taught him what love was.  Even if he didn't know, or understand it.

     He beat himself up for talking to her the way he did three years ago, and also two weeks ago when he got bit.  Peter hadn't been doing too well that night, his tall stature covered in a thick sweat as he walked out of his house with a bag of trash in hand.

     Mary Anne had just gotten dropped off by her friends, including Sammy Cohen and Nathan Walhberg (more on that later), causing Peter to already be irritated.  In the past year, he'd seen more and more of Mary Anne than he intended to, which always made him feel like shit.  The pang he felt in his heart at the sight of her with other friends, especially the brunet boy who seemed to always have his arm around her lately, was indescribable.

     She twiddled her phone in between her hands as she saw Peter, his jaw clenched as he dragged that bag of trash, slamming it harshly into the bin.  More so than usual.  "Ahem—" she coughed loudly, to which Peter barely noticed, only giving her the side-eye.  "Are you good?"

     For a moment it sounded like he was grumbling, but before Mary Anne could say anymore, he turned to face her, allowing her a look at his sweaty, grumpy self.  This was the first time they spoke in three years, yet all he could say was, "just leave me alone" before turning his shoulder, leaving her more hurt than before.

     More than anything, he wanted to tell her.  He wanted to get the weight off his shoulders, trust in someone his biggest secret, who better than Mary Anne?  She was more than just a girl, she was embedded into him.

     Peter turned the corner down the next hallway, waiting for the endless school day to finally be over.  He had more pressing matters; deciding he was going to smuggle his way into Oscorp and talk to a certain scientist slash doctor in hopes of finding answers... and closure.  To his delight, he was faced with Mary Anne and Samantha Cohen walking down the same hallway.

     Samantha Cohen was one of the last people Peter would have thought Mary Anne would be friends with a couple of years ago, but now looking at them, it made sense.  They were both the same height, and while Mary Anne was definitely trying to fit on the glam side of Tumblr, Samantha was rocking the Lana Del Rey—bow ties in the hair—bright sneakers aesthetic.  Mary Anne wore her hair in a messy low ponytail while Samantha wore her curls up in a messy bun with a small bowtie clipped on the side.  He didn't see it then, but he would later come to realize that Mary Anne just attracted people who were bright and bubbly.  Aka Peter.

     Approaching the duo, Peter tucked his lips into a tight smile, catching Mary Anne's attention.  She said something to Samantha, clutching her binder closer to her chest as Peter neared.  Samantha blew bubblegum and fixed the bookbag that was falling off her shoulder.  "Hey, Parker.  Watch where you're flying, eh?" Mary Anne chuckled.  

     Peter grinned.  "Sorry."

     Samantha popped a bubble.  "Are you saying sorry for rushing down the hallway?  Where are you off to, anyway, that knocking down two of the most gorgeous girls in the county would make it okay?"

     Peter tilted his head, turning to face Mary Anne with a humorous smile.  "This is my friend, Samantha," Mary then introduced her.

     "Yeah, yeah, Sammy!  I remember you, you used to braid your hair upside down on the monkey bars back when we were kids, right?"

     "It's Samantha to you."

     Peter ignored her and turned to Mary Anne again.  "I'm headed to this thing after school, but I would really love it if we could get together sometime."

     Mary Anne raised her eyebrow.  "A thing?"

     "Yeah, yeah, a thing.  I-I can't tell you right now."

     She licked her lips.  "Alright then."

     "Great, now bye!" Samantha crossed her arms over her chest.

     "Ladies," Peter clapped his hands before winking at Mary Anne, continuing down the hall in a rush, on his way out of the confining walls.

     She watched him go.  "Later, Parker." 

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ew i know this was like one scene but i wanted
to write something from peter's perspective