I apply hairspray all over my hair, making sure I use enough so my hairdo stays in place. I set down the bottle and touch and examine my hair, smiling in satisfaction. I grab my perfume next and sing along to the song playing on my radio while spraying the fragrance on myself. Then I fetch my heels from my closet and slip them on before checking my appearance in the mirror. I know it's just the Snow Ball and I'm only volunteering, but why not look good for that? I spin around and grab my camera before heading to the door, leaving my room to go show my mom.
I hear a voice when I pass by Lucas's room, making me halt and walk back, peering through his open door. Lucas paces in front of his mirror, mumbling incoherent sentences before he stops and stares at his reflection. "Hey... wanna dance?" he asks his reflection with a dorky smile and his hands on his hips. "No," he murmurs, shaking his head. Oh, my God, how cute. He's practicing how to ask Max to dance. He mutters to himself again, thinking of another way to ask her before looking into the mirror once more.
"We should, uh, you know, get out there, like, do our thing... stop," he phrases, dancing a little before he cuts himself off. I try my best to not laugh out loud so he doesn't see me. I continue to watch him struggle. At one point he points at the mirror and opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. This is too amusing, it's getting harder to hold in my laughter. Suddenly, Erica appears at my side and peeks in, immediately looking weirded out when she sees Lucas. Oh, no, she's going to make me break. Lucas smiles at his reflection and says, "I love this song. You?"
"Yeah, I love it. But not as much as I love you, Lukey," Erica teases in a fake innocent voice, making him turn around. I immediately burst into laughter and high-five Erica. Damn it, I knew she'd make me break.
Lucas storms over yelling, "get out of my room!"
He slams the door in our faces and I turn to my sister. "Nice one," I chuckle. I place my hand on her shoulder and guide her away. All of a sudden, Lucas swings his door open and calls my name.
"Wait, y/n."
I stop in my tracks and turn around while Erica keeps walking. "What's up?"
Lucas fidgets with his fingers, seemingly nervous to say what's on his mind. "Uh... if you were a girl- I mean, not that you're not a girl," he starts. I just nod and cross my arms, amused by his awkwardness already. "How would you want to be asked to dance?" he asks.
"Mm," I hum, unfolding my arms and placing my hands on my hips. "I would just want the person to simply ask: 'hey, would you like to dance?" He looks at me as if I just grew a second head.
"Really? That's it?"
"Yup. Look, Lucas, you're overthinking it. If you just clearly and respectfully ask, I'm sure Max will say yes. Okay? None of that extra stuff, just keep it simple," I advise. Lucas nods as he takes in the information.
"Keep it simple, got it. Thanks," he responds. He says he's got it, but I already know he's still going to mess up.
"No problem. Now, come on, get your coat. I want to take some pictures," I reply. He nods and hurries into his room, grabbing his coat before heading downstairs with me. We find our parents sitting in the living room and walk up to them.
"What do you think?" I ask, twirling around to show off my dress.
My mom gasps. "You look beautiful, baby! Jonathan's going to drop dead when he sees you," she compliments. I giggle at her words.
"You look great, sweetheart," my dad notes with a proud smile.
"Thank you!" I turn to Lucas and back up. "Okay, stand right there. I want to take some pictures," I claim, holding up my camera. He obeys and smiles for the camera and I snap a few photos. "Aww, you look so adorable! Max is very lucky," I comment in a singsong voice.
"Y/n!" Lucas scolds, getting embarrassed.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," I apologize before addressing my mom. "Hey, mom, can you take some pictures of us?"
"Sure, baby," she responds, taking the camera. I show her how to use it before going to stand next to Lucas. We pose and smile together, and mom takes a few photos.
"Okay, thanks, mom. Lucas, let's go," I voice, taking the camera from my mom.
"Oh, don't you want a few more?" she asks, obviously wanting to take dozens more. I giggle at her reaction.
"No, mom, we've got enough but thank you. We have to go now," I tell her before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Erica, can you take this to my room? Oh, and bring me my purse, I left it on the bed," I address my sister. She nods and takes the camera, running upstairs. I approach Lucas to make sure he's ready to go and Erica returns a few seconds later, handing me my purse. "Thanks, sis," I say, giving her a side hug.
"How come you do things for her but not for me??" Lucas questions her with an offended look on his face.
"Because she's not a nerd like you," Erica fires back. Lucas is about to respond but I stop him before he could.
"Okay! That's enough, you two. Come on, go to the car." I shove Lucas out the door while waving goodbye to everyone. "Bye, we'll be back in a few hours!" They return the goodbye and I shut the door behind me.
My eyes shoot open and dart everywhere. It was just a dream. At least it was a nice dream this time. I sigh as I think about it, wishing I could go back to that night. My life was a lot simpler back then... but oh, well. I can't dwell on the past. I rub my eyes and feel something holding onto me. I turn my head and notice Peter's sleeping face about an inch away from mine. My back is pressed to his chest and his arm is wrapped firmly around my waist. I smile fondly and turn back around, relishing this moment. There was no Peter Parker back then and now that there is, I wouldn't want to live without him. I close my eyes, not falling asleep but just resting in his arms, the most comfortable place to be right now.
About 20 minutes later, I feel Peter begin to stir. His grip on me loosens so I turn my body to the other side to face him. He flutters his eyes open and a small smile forms on his face when he sees me. "Good morning, sleepyhead," I softly greet.
"Morning," he returns. I can't help but notice how attractive his morning voice is. "How'd you sleep?" he asks.
"I slept okay. You?"
"Yeah, me too," he responds. I nod and comfortable silence falls over us as we lie here. He suddenly furrows his eyebrows, having realized something and lets go of me. He stretches his arm out toward the nightstand and grabs his phone, checking the time. "Shoot, school starts in two hours," he states, sitting up. He turns to me and questions, "Are you going to go today?"
I think about his question. Is today really the day I want to make my comeback at school? I shake my head. "I don't think I'm ready for that today. Maybe tomorrow," I answer. Peter nods in understanding.
"I could stay here with you if you like? Go back tomorrow," he offers. I smile at his kindness, he's the sweetest thing ever. I immediately sit up.
"No, it's okay, you don't have to do that. You already missed enough days because of me, you don't need to lose one more."
"Y/n, it's just one day. It's not a big deal-" he starts to counter before I interject.
"One day in which you could miss a lot of important things. You're going back today," I argue. He sighs, giving me a disapproving look. "I'll be fine here... Besides, it'll give me a chance to talk to Pepper," I claim, suddenly becoming anxious. Peter's look of disapproval turns into one of concern.
"Hey, don't worry so much. Just tell her what you told me. I don't think she'll get upset at you," Peter voices.
"What if she does?" I worriedly ask. Peter gives me a sympathetic look.
"I doubt it. If anything, I think she'll be grateful," he opines. I shoot him a puzzled expression, which inspires him to continue. "She didn't get to say goodbye properly... and Mr. Stark's last words to her were 'hey, Pep.' I think this will give her some closure," he explains. I consider his words, maybe he's right. This is something Pepper needs to hear.
"Maybe you're right. If I were her, I'd want to know."
Peter slightly smiles and squeezes my hand. "I need to get ready. Do you still have my clothes?" he asks, standing up. After I blipped, Pepper and Tony kept all my stuff, including the clothes I stole from Peter.
"Yeah, hold up," I reply, scrambling out of bed and going to my dresser. I open a drawer and take out a few of his clothing items, tossing them on the bed. He looks through them and chooses a shirt and jeans to wear. He thanks me and is about to walk off when I stop him. "Wait," I call out, rummaging through the drawers. I pull out his blue sweater, plaid shirt, and black jeans. "Wear this." I hold the folded articles of clothing out to him.
He walks up to me and takes the sweater. "I knew you took it!" he claims, unfolding the sweater and holding it in front of him. I giggle lightly, watching him study the sweater. "Thanks," he says, taking the rest of the clothes from me and walking away. He suddenly freezes and turns to look at me with a quizzical expression. "Wait, why do you want me to wear this?"
I shrug and smile shyly at him. "I like how it looks on you," I timidly admit. His cheeks go pink as he returns the shy smile.
He looks down at the clothes in his hands and mutters, "this is what I was wearing when we first met." My eyes slightly widen in surprise.
"You remember that?"
He glances up at me and flashes his classic soft Peter Parker smile. "Well- yeah," he breathes out. The corners of my mouth slowly curl up into a grin. I can hear my heart pounding in my ears... oh, shit, he probably can too with those advanced senses. Well, that doesn't help me calm down.
"I remember that too," I respond. He shoots me another soft smile and we just stare at each other for like five seconds before he excuses himself to go change. I change into some comfortable clothes before he comes back, and go to the bathroom when he finally gets out to do my normal morning routine. Once I'm done, I walk back to my room and see Peter ready to go.
"I'll give you a ride," I offer.
"Okay," he responds, following me out of the room. "But can we stop at the apartment first? I need to get my backpack."
"Yeah, that's fine," I reply. This will give me the chance to apologize to May for keeping her nephew away from home. I hope she doesn't hate me. We walk into the living room and I grab my keys from the key holder by the front door. As I'm about to open the door, a voice stops me.
"Y/n. Where are you going, sweetie?" I turn around and see Pepper standing there.
"Oh, I'm just taking Peter to get his backpack and then dropping him off at school. I'll be back soon," I answer, twisting the doorknob.
"Why don't I take him?" Pepper suggests. I close the door and fully turn to look at her. "I'm taking Morgan to preschool right now anyway," she finishes.
"No, it's okay. I can do it. As I said, I'll be back," I respond. I touch the doorknob again and Pepper speaks up once more.
"No, no. I got this. You just go back to relaxing," she voices, approaching the key holder to grab her keys. "Morgan!" she yells before addressing Peter. "Come on, Peter. I'll drop you off."
"Uh..." he murmurs, giving me a questioning look.
"I-it's fine. Go with her," I tell him. He nods and grins awkwardly at Pepper.
Morgan walks through with her backpack and she smiles when she spots me. "Bye, y/n," she says, waving at me as she passes by.
"Bye," I reply, watching her and Peter follow Pepper out the door. I sigh and near the couch, plopping down on it. I know why she doesn't want me to take Peter. She thinks I'll disappear again and enslave another town. Man, I wonder when everyone will stop thinking that of me. I highly doubt I'll have another chaotic mental breakdown.
I grasp the remote and turn on the tv, opening Netflix. I see the profiles page and sigh. I would watch a sitcom but I think it'll remind me of Westview and I'm going to die of guilt, so I'll opt for a different genre. I click on my profile and the first thing I see is "Cobra Kai" at the top. My jaw drops to the floor and I instantly click on it.
"WHAT?? There's a show now??? And there are three seasons??" I watch the season one trailer to see if it looks good and become super excited. Damn, Ralph and William look good. So they made The Karate Kid II and III when I was in the ice and now they made a show continuing the story when I was blipped??? Oh, I gotta watch this. I hit play and excitedly sit back to watch the show while I wait for Pepper to come back. I better enjoy myself now because the conversation I'm going to have with her later is most likely not going to be pretty.
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I made y/n a Ralph Macchio simp/Karate Kid stan, I HAD to make her fangirl over Cobra Kai LMAO 😭😭