"You're really cute when you smile, you know?"
"Compliments, as charming as they may be, won't get you anywhere, Parker."
"But you promised," he whines, drawing out the last word while widening his eyes and pouting his lower lip out slightly.
There was no point in trying to avoid him. He'd hounded you all day, conveniently materializing as if out of nowhere whenever you thought you could escape him. You'd successfully managed to dodge his comments all day, hastily changing the subject and rambling endlessly about something dull and dreary and utterly mundane whenever he'd bring it up, which at this point had become every given moment. Right now, however, the two of you were about to start your regular walk home, and successfully distracting him from the topic of discussion was no longer a possibility.
"It's been almost a week since the party, Y/N. MJ bet that you wouldn't be able to catch all that popcorn in your mouth and your cocky ass was convinced otherwise. She was right, of course, and now you have to kiss me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a flake."
"A flake? How-so? Care to elaborate?"
"Well, people who aren't flakes normally uphold their ends of an agreement," he said. A harsh metal clang sounds as he slams the locker shut and turns to face you. He shrugs nonchalantly, a flitter of excitement apparent in his eyes. It fades as abruptly as it appears, but you catch sight of it nonetheless. His apathetic exterior is good, practiced, even, but you see right through him.
"I guess you're right, except I don't recall there ever being a bet in the first place," you reply in the same unperturbed manner. "Besides, why do I have to kiss you? Didn't I bet against her?"
"Not remembering could have something to do with the state you were in. Maybe you shouldn't drink so much," he retorts, not before shooting you a smug smile. "Besides, there were witnesses other than myself, and you can't argue with them."
He follows the latter statement up with a wink, tinting your cheeks in a light pink shade. You duck your head and lead the way to the exit, worming through the swarm of cranky teens, Peter hot on your heels. Despite having delicately steered conversation away from anything to do with the party, the bet and kissing Peter for a nearly a week now, you can't deny that you wouldn't mind kissing him. In fact, you'd quite enjoy it. There had been an "unspoken thing" between you two for months, ever since you'd been acquainted at the start of the school year, and it was so blatantly obvious, especially to you. There had been a sneaking suspicion in the back of your mind for a little while now that Peter was beginning to catch on, but you never brought it up. Something about waiting for him to make the move was amusing, even though it seemed as though he would never do it at this point.
"That still doesn't explain why I have to kiss you and not MJ," you tease, bringing your eyes to meet his soft brown ones and shooting him an innocent smile. In spite of knowing exactly why it was him you had to kiss, it was all a part of the game. Drawing it out, whatever it was, just made him more frustrated, and you loved every moment of it. His irritated huffs in response to your feigned oblivion, the small blush that illuminated his cheeks whenever you called him by one of his nicknames, the ecstatic grin that would play out on his face if you displayed slight affection. It all made him so irresistibly endearing, but you were enjoying playfully provoking him way too much to admit it. MJ was aware of everything and took it upon herself to play cupid and lure you into betting against her while under the influence. Now, with the consequence of kissing Peter eternally looming over your heads, you'd have to go through with it at some point.
"I don't know, I guess she's just funny like that," he muses, although you're aware of just how much effort he's putting into making his voice sound as casual as possible. You can tell because he's glaring at the ground bashfully and stumbles his footing every so often.
"Yeah, maybe," you respond, averting your gaze to the pavement and concentrating on the soft crunching sound your footsteps are making.
"I think this is me." You nod your head in the direction of the paneled house surrounded by a fading white picket fence, reverting your attention back to him right after, awaiting his next move.
Peter strolls over to you and plants his feet on the sidewalk right in front of yours. His manner is somewhat serious, and you can tell because the close proximity between the two of you allows you to pick up on the tenseness in his frame. "I believe you still owe me a kiss, Y/N."
"I suppose you're right." With that, you reach your hands up and firmly place the palms on his strong shoulders, feeling his torso visibly relax against your touch. You tilt your head to the side and begin to close the short distance between the two of you. Underneath your hands, you felt him angle himself towards your head, desperate to speed up the action. Suddenly, you were close enough to feel his breath on your lips and his curls on your forehead. With one swift motion, you sharply twist your head to the side and fleetingly bring your lips to the apple of his flushed cheek.
You begin to ascend the driveway to your front door.
"What was that?" Peter shouts, undoubtedly stunned by your gesture. An adorable voice crack breaks up the last word as he pronounces it.
"A kiss. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"You're a tease, Y/N!"
"See you around, Parker."
