Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

82. Backstage

"Daph," Peter whispers. Daphne spent her Saturday rehearsing with Alice and Peter used his time to blow off some steam on patrol. At eleven o'clock, he swung by Daphne's apartment and they ended up in her bed, dozing off to sleep while holding each other. Daphne's in Peter's arms, hiding her face in his chest.
"Mm?"
"You awake?" he asks quietly.
"Mm." She shuffles closer towards him, angling her head the other way and letting her hand roam his back. Peter's fingers find their way into her hair and he starts playing with it absentmindedly.
"Are you nervous for tomorrow?" he asks, gauging if his own nerves are justified.
"I try not to think about it too much," she mumbles back.
"So, you're really okay with being in front of hundreds of people tomorrow?" Daphne chuckles at his question. Her thumb rubs lazy circles on his lower back. He's tense, she can tell.
"As long as I dance, yeah."

They stay quiet for a bit until Daphne decides to counter his question with one of her own.
"You're more confident as Spider-Man than as Peter Parker, right?" Peter bites the inside of his cheek, but nods slowly.
"The mask hides everything. I'm whoever I want people to think I am." Daphne chuckles.
"Gotta work on your acting then, Spider-Guy."
"In theory, meanie." He nudges her softly and she can't help but laugh.
"Well, I'm more confident when I dance than when I'm... just Daphne." Peter presses a kiss on top of her head.
"You're never just Daphne," he mumbles into her hair.
"Oh, you're such a fucking flirt," she snorts as she looks up at him.
"Only for you," he says with a smile. She moves in to kiss him tenderly. His hold on her tightens slightly and she sighs against him when they break.
"You'll be fine, Pete," she whispers into him. "It'll just be us on stage. Pretend no one else is there. Just us..." Peter closes his eyes as he breathes her in and he nods slightly.
"I think I can do that."
"Think or know?" She asks cheekily, half referencing him asking her about whether or not she understood oscillation when they studied for the Midtown Tech application tests. Peter opens his eyes to look straight into hers. His hand creeps up to her face to caress her cheek and the corners of his mouth curl up.
"I know."

...

Peter found out that when you take away the science students on Stark's list, Daphne's not on spot nineteen, but on spot nine and with some higher performers not being there, she got up to spot five. The list is screwed up now anyways, with David no longer being part of it. However, no one moves up or down the list. There's simply a hole. The board will shuffle around performers at the end of the school year, when the new list is created. The change in spots has quite the effect on how everything's set up for them when they arrive at the theater. Daphne was surprised to hear she's one of the few performers with a dressing room for herself. They don't understand who arranged for them to be in the separate room, but they gratefully take the key.

Peter never expected everything backstage to be so vibrant and busy and crowded and rushed. Sure, he knew there would be about forty performers, as that's how many SASS students have signed up for this performance, but he didn't think being back there would overwhelm his senses as much as it actually did. Vocalists are warming up their voices by singing scales or belting sounds, dancers are stretching and poets recite difficult pieces to work on their diction. There are kids running and shouting and every dressing room plays different music. The musicians are preparing their instruments by playing bi-tonal and none of them play the same notes. The noises clash in an uncomfortable mix. It smells particularly strong in certain dressing rooms as well and Peter can practically feel which performers are nervous, which only affects his mood for the worse.

Peter drops himself into a big chair as he covers his ears and closes his eyes. Daphne shuts the door and looks at him worried.
"Are you okay?" She asks as she places down her bags with costumes. Peter slightly shakes his head and takes a deep breath.
"I mean, I will be, I just... This place is a little overwhelming... I gotta adjust." Daphne's face twitches when a few younger kids on the list shriek when they run past the closed door of Daphne's dressing room.
"Yeah, I can imagine." She pushes her tongue against her teeth and takes a glance at the paper on the vanity. It has the order of the performances printed on it and she moves to pick it up. She makes her way to Peter and squats in front of him. "Can I touch you?" she asks quietly. Peter nods once, but it looked more like a jolt than an actual nod. Daphne carefully places her hand on his knee and squeezes softly. Her touch relaxes him instantly.