I woke up to the sound of the rumbling of tents. I quickly changed into my outfit for the day and started putting away all of my things, careful not to wake Lucy up. She did about as well without enough sleep as I did without a book to read.
After my side of the tent was put together enough, I stepped out, the cold air and gentle breeze whipping my hair into my face.
I quickly ducked into my tent and grabbed Peter's sweatshirt, the warmth of the material and the memories instantly warming me.
I went and sat by the lake again, unsurprised to see that nobody else seemed to be moving at all. The sound of the gentle waves and the chirping of the birds calmed all of my senses, leaving my mind to wander where it wanted to go— right back to Peter Parker.
I replayed last night in my mind a thousand times, twiddling the sweatshirt beneath my fingers as if to check and make sure it was real. The smell of Peter's perfect cologne wafted out from it, just strong enough to be constant but not overpowering. It smelled as if Peter were sitting next to me again.
I closed my eyes. The world inside my brain became my reality, and suddenly I was living last night and Friday night all over again. Each time I replayed them in my mind, they became more and more real. I could feel Peter's arms around me, protecting me from nothing and everything. I could sense the beat of his rising heartbeat as if I were leaning up against him again. I almost thought I could hear his quick intakes of breath. I heard him say my name a thousand times, and it felt as genuine as if he were saying it to me right in that moment.
I opened my eyes, surprised to find that the feelings didn't vanish. I thought I heard Peter intake a huge breath, thought I felt his arm tighten around my shoulders. Was I going crazy?
Then I realized everything I was feeling was real. Peter was sitting next to me again, his arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders. I looked up at him in momentary shock, my heart beating a mile a minute. He was looking down at me, a terrified smile stuck on his beautiful face, as if he were worried I would be angry at him for some reason.
"G-good morning," he stuttered. "Sorry. I can move if you want, I just saw you sitting here and thought I would, um, I don't know, give you some company? I'm sorry, this is a bit much, I should have just—" Peter put his arm back to his side, looking extremely embarrassed and angry at himself.
"Peter, you are totally fine. Everything about that was fine. You are totally good," I assured him. How powerful was my imagination that I literally couldn't tell it apart from reality for however long Peter had been sitting here?
Tentatively, he raised his arm back up, and I scooted a little bit closer and settled into his strong form once more. I felt his heartrate quicken, mine joining right alongside it.
"So, Kenzie, there is something I've been meaning to, um, talk to you about. Ask you, I guess." he amended, his voice shaky. His heartrate continued to rise, as if he were nervous to talk to me about it.
"It's just me, Peter," I laughed. "Ask me anything."
"Okay. Okay. Wow. I really don't know how to do this, so here goes absolutely nothing." he started. I felt my nerves build up, curiosity eventually overwhelming them. I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, waiting in angst to see what he had to say.
Seeming to have remembered something, Peter looked down to his side. Using his free arm, he picked up a small clump of various pre-gathered flowers that could be found around the campsite. He had used a long piece of grass to tie the stems together, making the different colors, shapes, and sizes of the flowers blend and cross. I saw reds, blues, and whites most prominently in the mix. Smiling sheepishly, he handed the small bouquet to me, and I lost any control over my breathing that I had previously had.
"Kenzie, you were there for me when you didn't have to be. You have always been there for me, even before these past two weeks where we have really gotten to know each other really well. At least, I think we have gotten to know each other really well. Anyways, that's not what I came here to say." he sighed in frustration, and I nodded, encouraging him to keep going. So he continued, "I want to find a way to thank you for that. I want to do something for you, but I have no idea how to repay you for everything you've done for me. But here I am, about to ask you for something again. I'm not very good at this," he said slowly. I held my breath, waiting for his question. Peter opened and closed his mouth a few times, seemingly unable to find the right words.
"Kenzie, will you go out with me? Like on an actual date somewhere?" Peter fumbled his tongue, his words coming out jumbled. But I knew exactly what he had said. The expression on his face made it seem like he was simultaneously hating himself and feeling proud of himself. His wide eyes searched mine, but my tongue wouldn't work. Neither would my lungs, or my heart for that matter.
And in that moment, I was the happiest person on the planet.
I adjusted my position on his shoulder so I was looking straight up at him. I smelled the flowers in my hand, trying to memorize the heavenly aroma that filled my nostrils. "Peter Parker," I started with a smile, "Nothing would make me happier then to go on a date with you." My heart seemed to be bungee jumping, jerking up and down so fast in my chest that I was sure it was going to fly out of me or explode at any second. A smile was stuck on my face, and my eyes must have been twinkling.
At my response, Peter's face exploded into a perfect, toothy smile. He seemed to stop breathing, something that had happened to me the moment he had asked me to go on a date with him. He looked down at me, an expression on his face somewhere between pure joy and utter shock. "Are... are you serious?" he breathed, his eyes wide.
"Absolutely serious." I assured him. There was no doubt in my mind that that was what I wanted more than anything else in the world.
"Okay. It would make me so happy too, I just thought you would say no," he whispered. His higher pitched voice cracked a little bit, cracking into my sanity and my heart all in one blow.
"Why would I do that?" I responded softly. It pained me to think that Peter thought so lowly of himself. The guy was perfect, and yet nobody seemed to notice it besides me.
"I'm an idiot. And McKenzie James, the most perfect girl I've ever met, is the one that I'm chasing after. How could I have expected a yes from you? I wouldn't go out with me, not in a million years." Peter laughed in embarrassment. His words reverberated in my ears and back into my heart, causing me to feel like I was going to die.
"I am far from perfect, but yet you still put up with me. How could I say no to someone who knows me and knows my imperfections, but seems to like me anyways?" I was unable to hide my smile as I said this to him, so my words came out stretched and deformed, but I think he understood what I was trying to say.
Peter looked down at me like I was a stained glass mural- beautiful and fragile. That look made me feel like it.
"So what's the plan?" I asked him, my voice almost coming out as a whisper because of how tight my throat was becoming. I had to remind myself how to breathe as the reality of the circumstance settled into my system.
"Honestly I didn't think I would get this far, but, um, maybe we could head up to New York City again first thing after school on Friday? I know you said you wanted to go back and sightsee, and I know my way. I was thinking I could maybe take you on a tour?" He ventured, his voice hesitant. "I'm definitely open to any other ideas if you have them. That's just kind of the first thing that popped up into my mind." he added quickly.
I do wish I could say that my response came out super smooth, and that I said something super romantic like 'All the tours in the world wouldn't be enough time with you', but ha. Nope. I'm pretty sure my response came out as gibberish. The only semi-clear part was "Yes. Yeah! Yeah, yeah. Awesome." And basically that repeated a thousand times.
Even though I'm pretty sure Peter couldn't understand anything I was saying, he must have seen my ridiculously large smile, because he looked relieved and happy. All of his muscles relaxed(and believe me, I felt it), and he looked light enough to float away. I was already floating away, the only thing keeping me physically on the ground was Peter Parker.
He looked at me, his eyes wide, eyebrows raised, and his jaw hanging slightly open. "Okay," he breathed. Im glad at least one of us was able to do so.
Off in the campground, I heard Ned groggily calling for Peter. Peter looked down at me apologetically, and I nodded, telling him it was okay to go. He stood up, running off towards his tent with a spring in his step.
I sat there by the lake, absolutely unable to do anything but smile. There was no other emotion I could have possibly felt than happiness.
I was going on a date with Peter Parker.
A/N: 7-12-18
Word count: 1718
Yayyyyy finally!!! Peter asked Kenzie out on a date. Like, officially. I'm so proud. He's growing up so fast.
This chapter is so cute. I'm kind of completely in love with Peter Parker, if you can't tell. The way he was sooooo nervous to ask her, I just- ahhhhhh. Kenz has Pete wrapped around her finger, and vice versa. That saying doesn't make a ton of sense, considering that neither of them could actually fit themselves entirely around a single finger of the other person, but since when does the English language make sense? Whatever.
~n.s.