Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

6. First Position

"Oh, shit." Daphne scoots closer to Peter, staring at him awkwardly. "I'm sorry I don't have anything more meaningful to say." She frowns and looks down. A short silence settles between the two. "I've never met my mom."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay." He can feel her short breaths on his face and he feels like he's going insane. Why do his senses keep going into overdrive whenever he's around her? Up until now his heightened Spider sensitivity was never an issue, but with her next to him he can't contain whatever he's feeling.
"My dad takes good care of me and my scholarship keeps us well funded." Peter realizes he has to pretend he has no idea what scholarship she is talking about. She told Spider-Man, not Peter Parker.
"You got a scholarship?" Peter feels like it's the fakest thing he's ever said.
"Yeah, the Stark Arts and Sciences Scholarship!" He looks at her, feigned amusement on his face. She smirks before she raises her voice. "SASS!"
"SASS," he laughs.
"I've been told it's very much like him to call it that." Peter's eyes shoot towards Daphne's face, trying to read her. Should I?
"Who told you that?" A smile spreads across his face. She's quiet for a little bit, thinking over whether or not she should be saying this.
"Spider-Man." Peter can feel the blood running to his cheeks.
"Spider-Man? For real?"
"Yeah, it's a crazy story, to be honest."
"I got all evening!"

Peter is beaming with pride. The way Daphne talks about how Spider-Man saved her from David and the conversations they had on Brooklyn Bridge and the subway fills him with a newfound confidence he didn't even know he had in him.
"So, what's he like?" Peter asks. The playful glimmer in his eyes makes her laugh.
"Didn't I just tell you?"
"I mean, yeah, yeah, but what do you think of him? Like, personally?" She's a little taken aback by the question.
"I guess..." She pushes her tongue against her teeth and looks up, trying to find the right words. "He thinks he's funny." Wha- I am funny! "And sometimes he is." Just sometimes? "His heart is in the right place, though." Peter is very aware his heart is where it's supposed to be, as it's pounding fast and loud in his chest.
"Oh?"
"Don't think I'd be able to cope living a life like his." She pulls her knees up to her chin. "He told me he feels a lot of guilt for what he can do and that that's why he does all of that crazy stuff." Peter frowns and looks at his hands. He's fiddling with his fingers. "But he shouldn't have to worry about saving anyone yet. I don't think he's much older than us." Peter looks up to meet Daphne's worried face. "He's very brave." Their gazes stay connected for a little bit and before he knows it Peter sighs.

He's very scared.

"Let's warm up." Daphne gets up offers Peter her hand. "Can't tell Madame Touha that all we did was hang out." She walks to her phone and plugs it into the sound system. "What are we feeling today?"
"What?"
"Got most ballets on my phone, what music do you want to dance to?" Peter thinks.
"Do you have Giselle?"
"You've been studying!" Daphne grins, raising one eyebrow.
"I've seen most of the ballets you recommended!" Peter does a slight jog towards Daphne, who's scrolling through the endless list of music on her phone. He hovers behind her, glancing over her shoulder, to see what's up.
"And your favorite?"
"Would you call me cheesy if I said Swan Lake?"
"Maybe. But I like Nut Boy the most, which is also super cheesy."

There was a short pause while Peter tried to process what she just said. It starts with a snort, but then he nearly falls over laughing as he moves to Daphne's front side. He stops himself. Only barely.
"Did you really just call the Nutcracker 'Nut Boy'?!" A playful smile spreads across Daphne's face, which suddenly turns into slight terror.
"Oh, shit, that sounded funnier in my head." Her face turns bright red when she realizes the double meaning behind it. "A-and not as dirty." She stammers through the words, hiding her face behind her phone. "Sor-" Peter grabs her hands and brings the phone down and away from her face.
"Don't be sorry!" He reassures her with a kind smile. "I love bad jokes." He realizes how close their faces are together and he quickly moves back, taking a deep breath and clearing his throat. "I also really liked La Sylphide."
"Yo, I haven't seen that one in forever!" She tries to ignore what had just happened, even though her face is still the same shade as it was when she realized her error. "I know what I'll be watching tonight."

Before Peter can step in with a snarky 'Men in kilts?', Daphne does a little jump. "Found it! Giselle!" She puts her phone down when the music starts playing and she guides him to the barre.
"So, Madame Daphne, what will you be teaching me today?" Peter puts on the worst French accent Daphne has ever heard and she throws a leg warmer at him. He gets hit on his arm and laughs, sticking out his tongue through his teeth.
"Lesson number one: no bad French accents." Peter nods, pretending to look like he's thinking very hard about what she's saying.
"I'll work on that, then." The second leg warmer hits him in right in the face. He keeps his nose scrunched and eyes closed as the dance wear drops on the ground.
"Lesson number two!" When Peter opens his eyes, she's standing right in front of him, her heels touching and toes pointing outward. Her arms are low, but curved. Her fingers barely touch. Peter tries to mimic her as best as he can. "First position."