A/N: Here is the next part (with a new book cover too :D)! I was able to post this quicker than usual cause it was already written when I published part one, but my other imagines won't be posted this quickly, sorry about that! I start school on Monday and that will be my priority because I bombed last year due to procrastination (lmao) and I need to focus a lot this year. So again, I apologize for any delays in requests! I hated how I ended this but I usually hate how I end fics so what's new lol.
Warnings: Angst, Language
Immediately you froze at the sight of a red and blue figure perched on your fire escape, waving at you through the window. What the hell was Spider-Man doing at your apartment?
After a second of shock you stood up stiffly, figuring he wouldn't leave without you answering him. You unlocked the window and slid it up, staring at the masked man with an annoyed expression.
"Hey," he said in a nervous, familiar-sounding tone. You frowned a bit at that, wondering why you recognized the voice, but you couldn't place a name to it.
"What are you doing here?" You asked in a tense tone, glancing back toward your door to make sure it was shut. "How did you even know where I lived?"
"Um, last night, I saw you walk home," he said in that same familiar tone. "I just-I came to apologize."
You raised an eyebrow, crossing your arms. In all honesty you didn't expect him to come at all, much less to say sorry. You didn't think he had even thought twice about the shop.
"You came to apologize," you repeated flatly, shaking your head with a short laugh. "Okay. Go ahead."
The whites of his large eyes widened slightly, making you wonder if it was connected somehow to his real eyes and he was giving you a wide-eyed stare. "Oh, well, I wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened last night, with the bank. I feel really bad about it-"
"Do you feel bad?" You questioned, feeling the anger from earlier returning. "Do you really feel bad? Because last night it didn't seem that way."
He paused for a moment. "I did, I just had to leave...quickly. The police were coming."
"Ah," you tapped your temple, "The police. Alright. So you had to leave cause, technically, you helped cause the damage, right?"
"That's not why," he protested, then cut off for a minute before continuing. "Look, I know you're upset, but I had to leave because I have an identity to protect and the police aren't exactly on my side right now."
You just shook your head, folding your arms around yourself and looking to the left, not saying anything. He tried to apologize and it seemed sincere, but it wasn't like he could change the situation.
"I really am sorry about what happened," he said again in a stressed tone, and you believed him. But it didn't make it any better.
"Sorry doesn't change anything," you said coldly as you looked back to him, "You saved me, and I appreciate it. But I wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't interfered where you didn't belong."
"I was just-"
"It doesn't matter!" You threw your hands up, "I don't know how you got your hero complex or whatever, but there are consequences to your actions. And the sucky part is that you aren't the one that's paying for the mistakes you make. My family is."
You took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears out of your eyes. "Please, don't come back here. You're not helping."
Before he could reply, you shut the window with a slam, drawing the blinds so you wouldn't see him and he wouldn't see you. You watched his shadow move a hand toward his head, like he wanted to run his hand through his hair and didn't realize he had the mask one. You heard him huff in frustration before finally standing up straight, raising his arm and shooting a web, swinging away.
As soon as he was gone you let out a sigh, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at your eyes a bit. You hated that he came here, even if he was trying to apologize. It didn't change the fact that your family would be struggling now, and it certainly didn't change your feelings toward him.
You stood up abruptly, grabbing your things and deciding to head to Peter's early. At the moment you could really get out of the house in case Spider-Man, for some reason, decided to come back. Plus, even if Peter wasn't there, his room was always a comfortable setting for you to relax in.
"I'll be back late Dad!" You called out as you left, not waiting for a response as you shut the door.
It took you a little over forty minutes to reach Peter's house via the subway that you hated. You tried knocking but figured he was out and about still so you used the hidden key to get in, deciding you'd wait in his room until he got home. You had sent him a text but he never replied, so you assumed it would be a while - but you didn't care.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, you scrolled through your phone for a bit, biting your lip as thoughts of Spider-Man and Peter and your shop flooded your brain.
You wanted really badly to tell Peter how you felt. Every day you got a bit closer to accidentally letting it slip. How had the boy not noticed by now? It was insane how much you pined over him, you thought it was ridiculous, but you couldn't help it. He was so sweet and funny, and a nerd just like you, so how could you ever think that you wouldn't fall for him?
And of course, you couldn't tell if he felt even remotely the same. Sometimes he was awkward around you, but he had always been awkward around everyone - so you couldn't tell if he was different much around you.
Besides, most everyone suspected that he had a thing for Liz, since he stared at her a lot. He never really told you if he liked her, but sometimes you would see him give her a dreamy gaze and feel your heart drop, and your worst fears would feel like they were coming true.
You were interrupted of your thoughts when you immediately tensed because you heard Peter's window sliding open. Why was he coming in through the window?
Looking over in confusion, you heard the window close and almost gasped when you saw Spider-Man crawling on the ceiling toward the door. As usual when you saw him, you felt angry, but you were mostly wondering what the hell he was doing in Peter's room.
He dropped to the floor and shut the door silently, ripping the mask off and sighing in relief. You took note of the familiar curly brown locks and got a sick feeling in your stomach as you stood up from the bottom bunk.
You stared in shock as Spider-Man turned toward you, and you saw his face.
"Oh my God," you said numbly while your best friend stared at you wide-eyed, the mask almost dropping from his hands when he realized you were there.
"Y/N-" Peter tried to reach for you but you stepped back, putting a hand up.
"Don't," you said in a strangled-sounding tone, and he could hear in your voice how panicked and hurt you were feeling.
You grabbed your bag and tried to brush past him but his hand latched onto your wrist, his grip strong enough to hold you there.
"Please, just let me explain-"
"Stay the hell away from me, Peter," you hissed, your tone shocking him enough to drop your wrist. His heart practically broke when he saw the tears in your eyes and he couldn't say anything as you turned back around and hurried out of the apartment.
"Damn it!" He threw his mask on the bed, sitting down and putting his head in his hands, gripping his hair. Last night he hadn't checked first, and Ned had found out he was Spider-Man too. But this was so much worse than that was.
You had hurried home quickly, trying to keep the tears and panicked thoughts to yourself as you passed your dad in the living room. Luckily he didn't question it, probably too busy with paperwork to realize.
Shutting the door, you sat on your bed and put your head in your hands, letting out the sob you had been holding in. You felt sick at the thought that Peter was the one who unintentionally caused the your dad's shop to burn down. Peter saved you from the explosion. Peter came to apologize. The boy you loved was the one the entire time.
You wiped off your face, staring at the ceiling and biting your lip. Now you weren't sure how to feel. It was easier to hate Spider-Man when he was behind a mask, but now he was exposed and he wasn't just someone random, he was your best friend. He was someone you cared about deeply and would never want to see hurt.
You weren't sure what made you more upset - the fact that he was the one who caused the shop's destruction, or that he never told you his secret, when you were his best friend who always told him everything.
For the second time that day, you heard a tapping on your window. The noise caused you to break down again, not replying even when the tapping got louder. You didn't know Peter could hear you crying, making him even more guilty and desperate to talk to you.
"Y/N, please," his voice cracked, making you try to ignore the fresh tears in your eyes as you wiped your face off again, trying to rid of the damage.
You didn't know what made you do it, but you got up and went to the window, hesitating for a moment before yanking the blinds apart and opening the window all the way.
Both of you stared at each other a minute, you taking notice of his tired appearance, eyes red probably from crying, and the mask tight in his fist. At the same time he saw your guarded expression and tear-filled eyes that likely matched his.
"I am so, so sorry," he said in a hoarse whisper, watching as you shut you eyes and bit your lip. "I can't tell you how sorry I am."
"For what?" You asked tensely, opening your eyes but avoiding his gaze, "For the shop? For the lying?"
"All of it," he breathed out, shifting slightly on your fire escape. It wasn't comfortable to be squatting like that, but he knew better than to ask if he could come in.
"Is this it, then? The Stark internship?" You asked, already sure of the answer, but you didn't know what else to say to him.
"Yeah. I've been Spider-Man for months," he replied quietly, watching your face scrunch up.
"Does Ned know?"
He wasn't expecting that question. You were staring at him now, finally meeting his gaze.
"He does."
You sat on your bed, running your hand through your hair, hoping your voice wasn't trembling much when you talked. "So you don't trust me then, is that it?"
"What? No, God no, Y/N, I trust you more than anyone," he didn't think to ask before he came in through the window, sitting next to you on the bed. You tensed when he did so, but didn't tell him to leave, which he took as a good sign.
"He found out the night of the robbery," he said carefully, "The same way you found out, because I was an idiot and came in through the window without checking first if anyone was in my room. And the next day, he had convinced me to tell you too, but then you pretty much said you hated me."
You glanced at him, noticing the hurt on his expression. That was what you didn't realize - this whole time Peter listened as you complained about Spider-Man, just taking the pain and not saying anything while his best friend completely hated the image of his alter-ego.
"You just sat there while I told you how much I didn't like him," you muttered, feeling tears in your eyes again. "God, I'm an asshole."
"Y/N, it's not like you knew. And you had a right to be angry with Spider-Man, with me," he replied quietly, but you shook your head, taking a deep breath.
"It's not justified. You were trying to help," you looked back at him, "And I shouldn't have stormed out like that when I found out. I'm really sorry, Peter."
He smiled slightly, "I'm the one who should apologize. I wasn't careful, I should've been paying more attention-"
"Peter," you interrupted, "You're fifteen. I thought Spider-Man was an adult who was supposed to be more responsible, more practiced. We're kids and we make mistakes and it's okay. And I know you. I know you would never, ever do something like that on purpose. I feel terrible for making you feel guilty when really I should be mad at those bank robbers."
He took your hand in his, making you blush but luckily he didn't point it out as he stared at you, squeezing your hand. "I still feel really shitty. I mean, Delmar's was the best-"
"Best sandwich shop in Queens, you bet it was," you laughed lightly with him, "And it will be again, because us Delmar's don't just roll over when the bad things happen. We'll rebuild it, eventually."
"I'll help in any way I can," he promised, making you smile a bit.
"I can't believe you're Spider-Man," you took the mask from his hands, staring at it and running a thumb over one of the giant white eyes. "How long?"
"A little over eight months," he said quietly, watching your face as you held it, "That's why I've been bailing a lot. It keeps me busy."
"How do you do school and this?" You looked up at him, frowning, "Don't you ever sleep? And that's where the bruises come from, huh? I was really worried you were getting beat up every day or something."
"Aw, you do care!" he said in a teasing voice, making you roll your eyes. "But I'm okay, really. I heal fast, these powers help with that, and I don't mind getting hurt."
You gave him a look, "You don't mind getting hurt?"
"I do it to help people, Y/N, and if it means getting a few bumps and bruises to save someone's life, then of course I don't mind," he shrugged, making you frown.
"You better be careful out there, Parker," you said, biting your lip and looking down at the mask again, "I-I don't know what I would do if you got really hurt, or-or worse."
"Hey," he surprised you by reaching up and cupping your cheek in his gloved hand, shifting your face to look him in the eye. "You don't need to worry about that. I'll be fine."
"Promise?" You asked quietly, eyes searching his to make sure he meant it when he replied.
"Promise," he said sincerely, a small smile on his lips as he brushed his thumb along your cheek.
The gesture made you realize how close you two were, how delicately he held your face, how his eyes were now focused on your lips just as yours were focusing on his.
"Can I kiss you?" He asked gently, so quiet that you wouldn't have heard if he hadn't been so close to you. You managed to nod, not trusting your voice to speak without sounding like an idiot.
"Okay," he whispered and after a pause that felt like forever he finally leaned forward and closed the gap, pressing his lips to yours softly.
Your hands automatically dropped the mask and moved to his hair, pulling him closer to you as he deepened the kiss, moving a hand to your waist. You were pretty sure he could hear how fast your heart was racing but you didn't care; all you cared about was the feeling of his hand holding your face, the other gripping your shirt, his lips moving against yours in an almost desperate manner.
After a moment you had to break apart to catch your breath, the look Peter giving you making you weak in the knees while you smiled at him, hoping your cheeks weren't too red.
It was silent for a moment before Peter blurted a "wow", making you laugh and lean your forehead against his, smiling so wide it almost made your cheeks hurt.
"Why didn't we do that before?" He asked somewhat breathlessly, making you roll your eyes.
"You are so blind sometimes, Pete," you chuckled, reaching your hand up to adjust his hair a bit from where your fingers had messed it up. "You've had to know that I like you, as in more than a friend."
His eyes widened slightly, as though he actually thought you didn't, despite what happened just a second ago.
"You do?" He asked, making you give him a look.
"Was that kiss too subtle for you?" You asked flatly, now making him roll his eyes.
"I mean, if you want to do it again, just so I can be sure."
You shoved his arm as he laughed, but you laughed with him, your blush deepening at the adoration in his eyes when he grinned down at you.
"I really like you too," he replied, tucking some of your hair behind your ear. "I'm surprised you haven't caught me staring."
You knit your eyebrows, giving him a weird look. "You've been staring at me?"
"All the time," his cheeks reddened when he realized how that sounded, "I mean, not to sound, like, creepy or anything. Not all the time, just when-"
"I think that's sweet," you interrupted with a smile, "I thought you were staring at Liz."
He scoffed, "Why would I look at someone else when you're right in front of me?"
"You're a sap," you teased despite the words making your heart skip a beat, but he didn't seem to mind, only taking your hands in his with a goofy grin on his face.
"So, does this mean you'll go on a date with me?" He asked hopefully. You pretended to think about it for a minute, even though he knew what your answer would be.
"Of course I will, you dork."