Dancing Around // peter parker

23

I zipped up the back of my red dress before looking at the long mirror in my mother's room. Usually, I wouldn't dream of going into her room, but she had sent me a text during class saying that she was traveling out of the state and she wouldn't be home for about a few weeks. Her mirror was a lot better than the one in the bathroom. A golden border surrounding it made anything reflecting from it beautiful, even my frown.

I owned a lot of red dresses, but none of them looked right on me. The bright red of my dress made my eyes look dull or maybe that was just my attitude. I forced a smile while looking at myself, trying to practice for when I saw Peter and Ms. May.

Peter told me to just come over once I had finished getting ready. Ms. May was going to drop him off at Liz's house before driving me to the dance. Ned was supposed to meet me there. It was a solid plan. If only I could stretch my lips into a generous smile, I would feel so much better.

I flatten the skirt of my dress to make sure it wasn't sticking up in any way. Approving my appearance, I walked out of my mother's room and back to my own. I slip on my black heels before grabbing my camera and a small handbag that would be holding my phone and pepper spray. It was attached to my keys.

I stepped outside my apartment and waited to hear the 'beep' that meant it was locked before turning around and looking at the Parker's door. I took a deep breath before forcing that smile on my face. My knuckles hit the wooded door.

Only a few seconds went by until Peter opened the door. He had a tie hanging around his neck, but it wasn't tied yet. His brown eyes looked at me casually, a kind smile on his face. "Hey, you're early. Come in." He opened the door wider, gesturing me to enter.

I walked in feeling like something was missing. I reached the living room just as Ms. May came from a hall with a look of determination on her face. "Peter, I think I finally got it. It's supposed to go over not under." She stopped walking once she saw me in the living room. Peter moved to stand beside me as Ms. May placed her hand on her chest. "Marina, you look stunning," she said.

It wasn't until she said something that I realized what was missing. "Thank you," I said quickly before I narrowed my eyes at Peter. He didn't compliment me. That was what was missing. People usually complimented me. They stare at me in awe. They swoon at my appearance. Peter didn't seem to swoon. There was no swooning.

He didn't even compliment me until Ms. May said something. "Oh yeah, you look nice," he told me once he noticed my expression. He then looked back at his aunt, walking up to her. "So, how do you do it?" he asked.

I watched from afar as Ms. May started to tie his tie for him, telling him each step as she did it. My hands were shaped into fits as I looked at Peter. Anger grew in me. How could he not say anything until Ms. May did? Didn't he notice how my hair was curly rather than straight like I usually had it? Did he not notice the small necklace I added to try to make my eyes pop? Why didn't he notice?

Wait, why did I care so much?

I looked away from the Parkers, ending up staring at their wooded floor. What exactly was my problem? Why was I getting so worked up over it? Peter never really compliment me before. He usually only pointed out things about my appearance when there was something wrong, like when my baby hairs defined gravity or when there was something stuck in between my teeth. It wasn't weird that he didn't notice my appearance and it was even less weird that he didn't say anything about it. What was going on then? Why was I so offended?

"Ta-da," Ms. May shouted, making me look back at them. She turned Peter around so I could see him. He smiled at me while stuffing his hands into his pockets. I never noticed it before, but looking at him with his full outfit on, he actually looked pretty handsome. I opened my mouth to try to say that but, for some reason, the words weren't coming out of my throat. "Now, let me teach you some moves," Ms. May said. She walked over to her record player.