Peter Parker loved being Spiderman.
He knew that, everyone who knew his identity knew that, and Violet definitely knew that. And dating Spiderman definitely did have it's perks, like rooftop dates and quick transportation when they were late to school, but it has it's downsides as well.
Peter Parker was late to graduation.
The thing that happened once in their lives, that they had worked twelve long years for, that they had spent hours and hours on every night. The thing that they had been planning everything for for months and had been stressing over for a week. The thing that his aunt and uncle and her mother had all come to for nice, couple-y pictures of the high school sweethearts.
Once her phone hit voicemail for seemingly the eighteen-millionth time since she had started calling her boyfriend frantically, Violet let out an extreme groan of frustration, wheeling on her heel to smack Gwen on the arm. The two had actually become best friends since the attack of the Lizard months ago, especially since the now-black-haired girl had saved the life of the blonde's well-respected father. She was excited to listen to Gwen's Valedictorian speech, and would smack the living hell out of Peter if he missed it.
"Can you try to call Peter? He's not answering me and I think he's doing it on purpose because he thinks I'm going to yell at him. Which I am, but that's not the point!" Violet snapped in irritation, more towards her boyfriend than the confused blonde in front of her.
Gwen chuckled lightly. "If I were him, I wouldn't answer either. Your face is so red, it looks like your head is about to explode. C'mon, it's starting, sit down and I'll call him." She ushered her friend into her seat before sitting down next to her, pulling out her phone and starting to call Peter.
By the way Gwen looked at her, Violet knew that he had answered her quickly, and it made her want to punch a chair. After a brief moment, the blonde spoke. "Your timing is terrible. It started already." Her knee bounced, more anxious that Violet would kill her if Peter took too long. "Where are you? Are those sirens? Peter? Peter? Peter. What is happening? Peter. Peter? Pe-"
The phone cut and Gwen gave a disappointed sigh, just as the microphone on stage gave a squeal of feedback before a voice cut into it. "This year's valedictorian, please welcome Gwen Stacy."
The blonde gave Violet a look before standing up, giving her friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder before putting on a bright smile, turning and making her way towards the stage.
Violet grunted in dismay, slouching down in her seat and crossing her arms like a pouting toddler. She couldn't have expected to bring Gwen down in the dumps with her, but the way she was reacting by herself made her think she was possibly overreacting. But at the same time, how could you overreact to your boyfriend possibly skipping out on graduation?
She looked up as Gwen tapped the mic, wanting to put all of her attention on the speech her best friend had worked on for multiple tireless nights. "Good morning, esteemed faculty and families of my fellow graduates." Her eyes found Violet, and she smiled. "It's an honor to be standing up here today."
"I know we think that we are immortal." Wow, a shot at Violet, maybe? "We're supposed to feel that way." Oh, okay. "We're graduating. But, like our brief four years in high school -" Wow, what world was she living in? "- what makes life valuable is that it doesn't last forever. What makes it precious is that it ends."
Violet knew it was aimed towards her. A near-death experience would do that to someone. Make everyone talk about you and how you almost died and how you should live your life to the fullest now that you almost died. But almost being killed by a mutant scientist-turned-lizard didn't make her want to live life like she was still dying - it made her want to lay in bed with Peter until she rotted naturally.
"And I know that now more than ever. And I say it, today of all days, to remind us that time is luck. So don't waste it living someone else's life. Make yours count for something. Fight for what matters to you. No matter what. Because even if we fall short, what better way is there to live?" Gwen gave a last bright smile before nodding her head, stepping off to the side. Violet blinked away the tears forming in her eyes before glancing at the empty seat next to her. Where was Peter?
The announcement of the graduates began, and Violet stood when her name was called, loud and booming through the speakers. "Violet Flynn." Her plans to go to college were announced as she walked up on the stage, shaking the hand of her principal and giving a beaming smile to the camera despite the worry brewing in her stomach at the absence of her boyfriend.
After officially graduating, she joined her fellow students on the sidelines. She knew that she should be happy, joyous, cheering loudly as the names of people she went to school with for years were called, but all she could do was worriedly meet Gwen's eyes. Her best friend gave her reassuring glances every chance she could, but it didn't reassure her at all.
As the alphabetical names neared scarily closer to Parker, her hair became more and more frazzled every time she ran her fingers through her hair. Where was he?
"Peter Parker!"
Dread. Utter dread. He was going to miss graduation. His aunt and uncle would be disappointed, he'd have to explain why he was out, his identity, uncovered. He'd be dead, because Violet would have killed him...
And just like that, he was rounding the corner quickly, panting hard. He dipped his head at the principal, shaking a few hands and mumbling an apology before turning to Violet, stopping in his tracks. Her eyebrows furrowed in anger, but he just tilted his head in the cute way that he did, before beckoning her closer. She shook her head, throwing a fit, but her classmates began to shove her and, soon, she was stepping up the stairs and running towards Peter.
He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her, supporting her back with his arms as he dipped her down, connecting his lips with hers in a way that was way too passionate to be in front of both of their families. He fixed her hat as he brought her to her feet, ignoring the loud applause and roar of the crowd behind them as he grabbed her hand, high-fiving an alumni before walking off with her, his fingers intertwining with hers as if magnetic.
As soon as the attention was brought onto another student, she wheeled on him, smacking him as hard as she could in his shoulder. "You fucking ditz, you almost missed graduation! Don't think that kissing me is going to make anything any better, moron, I will put bugs in your ears! Bugs, do you understand me?" Her threats came out as hisses through her teeth.
Peter gave her a broad-toothed grin, not caring about her anger as he leaned down to kiss her head, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "I love you." He whispered against her hair, and she reluctantly smiled as she leaned into him.
After the whole ceremony was over, she left him behind to find her mother, giving the woman a big smile as she walked up.
"Oh, my Violet! I'm so proud of you!" Lilah Flynn cooed, giving her daughter a hug so tight that she thought she'd forget how to breathe. "And that kiss from Peter? What was that?" She laughed, leaning back. "Am I getting grandkids before you even turn twenty?"
A dark blush settled on Violet's cheekbones, and she groaned as she shoved her mother. "Stop, Mom. He did it because I was mad at him."
"Was? So it worked, I presume?" The older woman wiggled her eyebrows, and Violet went to complain again before her eyes caught on the pair approaching them.
"Aunt May! Uncle Ben!" She cheered, running to hug the lady that had become like family to her and shaking hands with Uncle Ben. "Oh, it's great to see you!"
Aunt May chuckled. "You say that like you didn't see us last night at dinner, dear. Oh, where's Peter?" She looked around, before laughing as she saw the shape of her nephew sprinting at her. Violet watched adoringly as Peter ran to capture his aunt in a tight hug, grinning like a maniac.
"Peter, for Lord's sake, I almost stole a cap and gown to run up there myself." She chastised, but continued pulling out her camera to take a picture of him.
He chuckled, adjusting his hat. "I'd love to have seen that, that would've been awesome. No, no, this is for you." He held up his diploma to cover up his face, and she raised a hand to bat it down as she sung her praise. "You earned it."
"I'm so proud of you." Uncle Ben spoke, giving his nephew a hefty slap on the back. "Now, you know what to do. Don't just follow the path, my boy, make your own trail."
Peter pulled off his gown, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder. Violet took the time to shamelessly admire his toned biceps. "Ralph Waldo Emerson."
Aunt May gave him a look. "Ben told me he made it up!" She turned to glare at her husband, who sheepishly grinned.
Violet watched as her boyfriend laughed a laugh full of happiness, a lovestruck look dawning every inch of her features as she watched sweetly. His hair was all ruffled from the cap that had been on it, and his grin was so wide that laugh lines and dimples were pressed deeply into his skin, and he looked better than she had ever seen him.
She decided that she needed to tell him she loved him, just in case he forgot.
As she stared at Peter, he assumedly felt her eyes, turning to meet them. After some encouragement from his aunt, he made his way over, placing his hands on her waist and grinning down at her. "Hi, beautiful."
"I love you." She responded, leaning up to place a kiss on his lips. "In case you forgot."
In response, he chuckled. "I could never. Not with how much I love you."
"Okay, guys, get together, get together right now. A quick one. Alright." Aunt May ushered them together, and Violet laughed as she situated herself under Peter's arm, wrapping hers around his waist and looking up at him with a bright smile.
He glanced back down at her just as May cooed for them to say cheese. "Cheese." He cheekily cooed, and she laughed just as the camera clicked.