Present Day
The moonlight glimmers off the rose-gold silk of her dress, as she waves to Tony, though she can't see him wave back through the blacked-out windows. Taking a deep breath, she spins around on her heel, so she's facing the school, and tilts her chin upwards. Holding her head high, she walks up the steps and through the doors. Down the corridors, she smiles politely at everyone she passes, who all rack their brains to know if they recognize this mysterious girl- after all, she's only been at the school for a few weeks.
She gets to the glass doors into the hall and pushes them open, stepping into the stench of sweat and fruit punch. That's homecoming for you, I guess. Immediately, MJ spots her and sticks her middle finger, smiling. Josie blows a kiss to her and walks over, grinning.
"Wow, MJ, I didn't realize you owned more than one outfit.", she jokes, "Seriously though, you look so nice."
"Thanks, you don't brush up too bad yourself. For real, that dress is... fancy.", MJ says.
She looks down at her outfit, "My stepmom picked it out for me, I'm glad she didn't pick something pink. Well... too pink. I feel like a princess."
"Actually, royals can't wear skirts above the knee.", MJ corrects.
She laughs and rolls her eyes, "I'd be surprised if you didn't come out with something like that."
They both go silent for a few seconds, "So, did you and Peter get into an argument?"
"Something like that."
"Shame, you two would have made a cute couple.", MJ says.
"Uh, we- We were never going to-", Josie stammers.
"Well, you kissed him, didn't you? Deny it all you want, I know love when I see it.", says MJ casually.
"That was really deep coming from you.", Josie gives her a funny look.
"Yeah, never again.", she shakes her head, "Did you know annually three kids in New York die at homecoming?"
"Wowzers. What a weird thing for you to know. Hopefully not me.", she laughs.
"Well, I wouldn't be that fussed.", MJ shrugs, "Kidding!", she adds on the end, "Kind of."
At that moment, Josie notices Peter enter, he looks as if he's about to wet himself. He still looks good though. The little suit, the rose tucked in the pocket. Cute. He walks towards Liz, in a daze.
Josie watches, as he walks towards Liz. As he walks towards her. Has his eyes set on her. His breath hitches for her. Not for Josie.
Josie shouldn't care. No, she shouldn't. But she does. She really does. She bites her lip, she didn't think she'd care this much. Boy was she wrong.
As Peter walks over to Liz, she turns around, "Hey.", Liz smiles, "What'd he say to you?"
He doesn't stop though, he keeps walking, without a word to Liz. He walks straight past her, and Josie realizes his eyes weren't locked on Liz, they were locked on her.
Immediately, she straightens but tries to play off her nerves. As if fate itself is pulling them together, the song changes to 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran. Illuminati confirmed. Why are they playing slow songs? The party only just started.
"Uh- J- Josie, you- You're- Uh-", Peter stammers.
"Peter.", she breathes, as he steps closer.
"I'm- I'm sorry. I wanted to-"
She glances over his shoulder, to Liz, who just smiles and nods to her, as if giving her permission to hijack her date, "Me too. About my dad and- There's no-", she doesn't really know what to say.
"Jos, I wanted to be here with you, I wanted to tell you about who I am, I wanted to do a lot of things."
"Well, there's a lot of that going around, ain't there?", she grins, stepping closer.
They're barely an inch away from each other, and she half expects a chaperone to intervene, but it's as if the moment freezes. Just the two of them. Maybe they aren't just Josie and Peter anymore. Maybe it's a moment between a billionaire and a superhero. Maybe it's a moment between a girl and her best friend's date. Or maybe it's a moment between two awkward teenagers. Still, no matter who they are, to hell with the rest of the world. For this moment, it's just the two of them.
They're so close, she notices the little things nobody but her could notice. Peter Parker smells like warmth and comfort. Apple pie, honey, cinnamon, wet earth, and peppers. Kind of the way a crisp Autumn morning smells; when the chilly air coats your insides and renews you, clears your mind, makes you smile and tingles at your cheeks. She notices how his hazel eyes have flecks of gold in the centre and how his suit has most definitely never been worn before. His smile is the sunshine and the birdsong, it is the silencing of the clocks, it is both the cage and the ever-open door.
He notices how her forehead crinkles as she studies his face. Josie Stark smells like brewing a mug of coffee on a winter morning, as you watch the snowflakes fall. Like a freshly baked batch of cookies; like melting chocolate. In her sweet smile is all the love he'll ever need. It's that she cares so very much about others that makes her so beautiful to him. That she sees everyone's beauty, that she shows how special he is to her, that's what's got him for life. She isn't just beautiful, she makes the space around her beautiful too, she affects others and brings their beauty out of them. And she does it with ease. It is who she is. She's a flower that makes others bloom, that makes him bloom.
Like magnets, they inch their faces ever closer. Until their lips collide and they're lost to one another. His kiss is not at all the same as those in the movies, but one steeped in a passion that ignites. It is the promise of realness, of the primal desire that lives in us all. And with it, he tells her that he is awake, connected within, that he embraces himself rather than hide as a copy of those romantic idols. In the emotion of the kiss a volume of passion is spoken that transcends the works of all the great movie stars combined. Reluctantly, they pull apart and just stare into one another's eyes, not wanting to look away for fear of losing one-another once again.
Some gazes are the promise of protection, his is all that and more. His is the promise of never being alone. The promise of no more lies. The promise of something nobody else could ever understand. The promise that he'd be there, she'd be there, no matter what. His hazel eyes were a radiating brown sun-warmed with inner gold. They were all hers. Nobody else's. For this moment, those eyes belong on her. Peter can never so much as imagine gazing upon anyone else, only Josie. Only ever Josie.
That fantasy, however, is broken as Josie looks away, at the girl a few feet behind him. He follows her gaze. Liz. It all rushes back to Peter, the Vulture, Adrian Toones, Liz's dad. The tower, Happy, he has to call Happy.
Without so much as a word to Josie, he slips off into the crowd, leaving her alone. Confused, and alone. She scans the crowd for him, but he's gone. Liz, he still loves Liz, that's it, right? Has to be. The second his eyes landed upon Liz, he left Josie, so that must be it. Not that Josie thinks she has any right to be mad. He had asked Liz to the dance. Liz is his date. Not Josie, Liz. So now Josie stands, alone, as the music blares and disco lights illuminate her emotionless face.
Alone in a crowded room. Because if having nobody isn't bad enough, try having nobody when everybody else has someone to call their own.
* * * * *
(a/n) Hey guys! Remember to vote, comment, and all that jazz!!! Wowzers, I felt like Shakespeare writing that. So dramatic... Also, it's almost midnight and I have school tomorrow, like actual school, not online. I apologize to everyone in my form who is going to have to take the brunt of my sleep-deprived, grumpy self (didn't like anyone of you anyway!). Anyways, don't get yourself killed, Spiderboy, you're too hot.
-Hannah(;
Coming up soon:
Present day:
So, are Peter and Josie a thing or...
2010:
The Avengers Initiative?
Also, Tony FINALLY apologizes!
Next chapter title:
Josie meets heart-to-hearts