Sliding Doors ⧨ Peter Parker

21 | A Good Boyfriend

Y/N

_

Here goes nothing.

I slumped down into my seat on the jet, melting into the leather cushions. Even just touching the chair, I felt like I was a million times more cool. I was flying to Germany in a private jet, accompanied by Tony Stark, and....Peter Parker.

I watched as the boy clambered up the metal platform, hopping into the plane with an excited look on his face.

"Woah, Mr. Stark this is so cool!" he beamed, sliding down the aisle.

Tony was sitting near the front, but didn't respond when Peter mentioned him. Instead, he cleared his throat, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep. I was about to laugh, but I stopped when I saw the boy's confused face. He plopped down in front of me, biting his lip.

"Is he mad at me?" Peter whispered, his eyes widened, "why did he just ignore me?"

Maybe it was because he heard what Daisy said in the elevator. Or Maybe he was just being petty. Maybe it was both. I shook my head, deciding it was best not to tell Peter any of that.

"He's tired," I shrugged, "look."

I pointed over to where Tony was sitting, his eyes still closed. I knew he wasn't really sleeping, but Peter seemed to believe it. I sighed, crossing my arms and pulling out my phone. I just needed to distract myself, and let this whole thing about Daisy go. I needed to be the better person, right? Just move on, don't hate, and forget about it-

"I asked Daisy out," Peter said, a smile stuck onto his face.

I didn't look up from my phone, my mind spiraling now. Thanks a lot, you completely ruined my plan of being a good person and letting it go. How could I possibly ever let it go now, when it's obvious neither of the two lovebirds were going to?

"Congrats," I nodded, scrolling through Instagram. I wasn't focused on the posts, even though I tried to be.

"And I just wanted to apologize for leaving you yesterday night," he continued, "It was a jerk thing to do."

"I'm not going to deny that."

"Neither am I. Can you forgive me?"

I wish I could, but there will always be that infinitesimal pain living in my heart, and nothing can change that. Think about who's really winning, I remembered Tony saying, don't worry. He was right, I needed to suck it up and only worry about myself.

"Sure," I shrugged, setting down the phone, "you're forgiven."

"Thanks," he smiled, before widening his eyes, "this is totally off topic, but I need your help."

"With what?"

"This whole, boyfriend thing."

Cutting it close, Parker. If you take another step over my will-power line, I will probably combust. Watching him get all puppy-dogged eyes over my best friend, it hurt. He never looked at me that way, and he probably never will.

"I can't help you there," I frowned, "I've never been a boyfriend before."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Then what did you mean?"

He sighed, running a hand through his wavy, brown hair. Looking back up at me, his expression softened, sincerity written all over his face.

"I-I just want to get it right," he stuttered, "she said she's never had a boyfriend before, and I don't want to be the guy that screws it up for her."

Okay, stop right there. She told him she's never had a boyfriend before? She's had more flings than I can count on my two hands. Joey from summer camp, Tobias from middle school, William from math class, Damien from Midtown, and so many other names she's drilled into my head. I couldn't defend her on this one, even if she was my best friend, but maybe it was better to leave my own morals out of it. This was Peter and her problem.

Maybe by telling him what every one of those other boys got wrong, a relationship would finally work for her.

"Fine, I'll help," I said, sitting up, "what's her favorite color?"

"Yellow, she told me that when I met her."

Curse this boy and his freaking good memory and appreciation to the little things. Why couldn't he just appreciate me? I tried to play it off, asking another question.

"Favorite food?"

"Pasta alfredo, with extra sauce and cheese."

"Favorite movie?"

"Twilight, because she had this crush on Robert Pattison in middle school."

"Good," I nodded, "I'm surprised how much you know about her. It's only been what, three days?"

"We talk a lot on the phone," he stated, as if it was the thing he was most proud of.

"Right... she likes cliche relationships, so buy her flowers spontaneously."

"Okay!"

"Roses, not tulips."

"Roses, not tulips," he muttered under his breath, trying to memorize it, "got it!"

"And never leave her on read."

"I would never."

"Good, you should be fine then," I sighed, picking my phone back up.

Peter was silent for a while, mulling everything over in his head. I continued to look at posts, but none of them were interesting. Nothing seemed to be really interesting any more. I blinked, getting sucked into a pit of self-pity and confusion.

"Thank you," the boy said, breaking the silence, "for helping me."

"That's what friends do."

"I'm surprised nobody's snatched you up yet," he smiled, "you seem to know a lot about relationships."

"Yeah, well, I'm waiting for the right guy."

"The right guy?"

I nodded, my stomach churning. I thought I found the right guy, but turns out he's dating my best friend.

So no, I'm not good at relationships.