Peter Parker walked across the parking lot, music playing in his ears, hands gripping his backpack straps, and eyes on you - the new girl.
You had been going to school at Midtown for barely three months. He saw you often at decathalon practice and had two classes with you in the morning. You also sat near him at lunch.
You were quiet and softspoken, mostly communicating with gentle smiles and shy waves. He loved the way your cheeks lit up red when someone called your name from across a room. It was clear you weren't used to the attention you got at Midtown, with your solid group of popular friends.
Peter looked at you and just knew that you were a good person.
He watched you from your spot on a bench, headphones pressing your hair down and book in front of your face. He slowed his pace to observe you longer (which wasn't creepy, he assured himself).
A car horn honked and the sound of a whining engine made him jump. Flash Thompson sped up his car to get Peter to move. Peter hurried to the curb and Flash laughed loudly.
Peter sighed. When he looked back to your bench, you were gone.
He sighed again.
...
You sat next to Flash and a girl you didn't know the name of. Your tray of grilled cheese squares and bowl of tomato soup was mostly untouched. You nibbled on a couple of saltine crackers, worry on your mind. You worried a lot.
"Hey, _____," Flash said, nudging you.
You jerked out of your thoughts, cracker breaking in your teeth, crumbs covering your shirt and skirt. Flash was blinking at you.
"We were talking about the Halloween party. What were you going to go as?"
"Oh," you said through a mouthful of half chewed crumbs. You brushed specks of white off your shirt and skirt. "Um. Halloween party?"
"Midtown throws one every year," the girl said.
"Oh."
"So what're you gonna be?" he asked.
You scratched the side of your head. "I don't, uh, know if I will be there-"
"Aw, come on!" Flash said. "You have to be there. You don't need a date or anything - you can hang out with us!"
A warm sort of feeling settled in your stomach. Several pairs of eyes stared at you, waiting for your answer. Waiting to hear if you were going to hang out with them at a party.
A friend group was a luxury you were not used to having.
"When is it?" you asked.
Flash picked a paper off a stack you hadn't noticed. He handed it to you. The page was black with a slime pattern around the edges. In elaborate, spooky themed font, a date stared back at you.
"I'm the president of the dance-slash-party planning committee," he boasted, "and it would be awesome if you could come."
You nodded. "Okay," you said. "Okay, I'll come."
Flash grinned. "Awesome."
You nodded and looked around at the group, finally feeling accepted. You picked up a triangle of grilled cheese, dunked it in your soup, then took a big bite. Worry wasn't gnawing at your stomach anymore.
On the other side of the table, Ned and Peter observed you quietly. Peter pulled the crust off his grilled cheese, getting grease all over his fingers.
"___'s going to the dance," Ned said.
"Uh-huh."
"Guess we need to go then, huh?"
"Uh-huh." He dropped his grilled cheese and frowned. "You think she likes Flash?"
"It's literally impossible for anyone to really like Flash," Ned said.
"No, I know," he replied, "but does she like him? Like... does she want him to ask her out?"
"I doubt it," Ned said.
Peter frowned again. With you being you, so nice and sweet to everyone, he wasn't sure.
...
On the way to the party, your mom gave you tips. You had never been to one before - not as much as school dance or a birthday party (aside from the usual ones for cousins when you were small).
"Just find your friends, get a drink, and dance," she said. "Don't be afraid to dance, okay? It makes the party so much more fun if you dance-"
"I don't know about that," you mumbled.
"Well, I think it does," she said, smiling. She pulled into the school and parked at the front. "I'll pick you up at eleven thirty. If you need me, call me. I might not pick up until ten or so though because I have to pick up your father from work."
"Okay," you said, unbuckling your seatbelt.
"So have fun!"
"I will."
"Be safe," she added.
"I will, Mom." You opened the door and swung a leg out of the car.
"Your first party," she sang, moving her shoulders. You laughed and got out. "I'm so happy you found friends this year! I told you moving would he a good thing."
"Yeah."
"Oh! And sweetie, you look cute," she said, looking at your costume - which was a simple white dress, a flower crown made of daises, and a pair of small brown boots - your attempt at a hippy (a costume you could create out of things in your possession that didn't require any money to be spent).
"Thanks, Mom. See you tonight. Love you!" You shut the door.
The glass doors of the school showed that no lights were on inside, but as you ran up the steps and into the main hallway, flashing green and white lights flickered across the hallway, coming from the gymnasium.
You walked in, a few students behind you, and stepped into a humid room that smelled like pizza and sweat.
Students were crammed inside, some dancing, some snacking, some taking pictures of their costumes - most of which were less extravagant than even yours.
You walked through the crowd, eyes open for Flash or any of your other friends. You grabbed a cup of green punch on your way. It tasted like someone dumped mountain dew over ginger ale. You swallowed the vile taste, mostly drinking it to give yourself something to do and calm your nerves.
You walked along the perimeter of the dance floor, the speakers booming This Is Halloween and shaking the entire floor. You made it halfway around before someone bumped into you, making the sugary punch in your cup slosh. You gasped as it spilled over the rim and-
Completely miss your white dress.
A hand had shot out and grabbed it. You looked up and saw Peter Parker, wearing a t-shirt that said THIS IS MY COSTUME across the front. His other hand grabbed your arm briefly, steadying you as he ran right into you, his knee knocking against yours.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" he yelled over the music. "Oh crap. My bad! I'm such an idiot-"
"It's cool," you assured him. "None of it got on my dress. Nice save."
"Yeah," he breathed, relief in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Totally," you said. "Nice costume, by the way."
He looked down at his shirt and blushed, a smile coming along with it. "Uh, thanks. I like your costume too."
"Thanks," you said. A moment of stiff, awkward silence went by before you finally decided it was enough. "Well, I'm going to go find my friends."
"Okay," he said, nodding.
"I'll see you around, Peter," you said.
"Uh-huh. See ya."
Before you could turn completely away, you saw Ned Leeds grab his arm, a surprised grin on his face.
You shook your head and kept on.
You still hadn't found Flash, but all your concerns were settled when he stepped up on stage and grabbed a microphone. The music faded away and he tapped the top of it, the sound of static fuzzing up the speakers.
"Good evening students of Midtown!" he greeted loudly, causing an eruption of clapping and cheering from a bunch of sugar crazed, sweaty teens. "Alright. Before we kick this thing off with our costume contest, I just want to say a few things. This is our third annual Halloween party, and dare I say, the best one yet. So much went into this party this year - and I, as president of the committee, feels like I need to introduce to you one of my newest, most amazing friends. It's her first party, ladies and gentlemen. ___ ___!"
You gaped at Flash, squinting as a spotlight was turned on you and everyone clapped. Clapped for you.
"Come on up here, ___!" he invited.
You weren't sure why he was asking you to get on stage, but you didn't have much time to think about it.
Flash was at the edge of the stage, taking your hand and helping you up the stairs. A microphone was thrust into your hands. You smiled shyly as he turned you towards the crowd and everyone clapped continuously.
"Um," you said, looking at Flash. He grinned. "I-I... don't know what to say. I don't know why I'm up here... but-" You shrugged. "Happy Halloween, I guess-"
You hadn't noticed Flash had walked several feet away. You barely noticed how he grabbed a thick rope that hung from the ceiling and yanked-
And then something above you tipped and, with a rushing noise, you were drenched in lukewarm liquid.
You gasped, microphone dropping from your hands, eyelids squeezing shut against the warmth dripping into your eyeballs.
At first you thought, water. It was water.
But then you opened your eyes and, in the drips coming off the ends of your hair, you saw the crimson. It smelled heavily of vinegar and stained the white of your dress.
Everyone laughed.
You lifted your head, tears filling your eyes as everyone held up their phones and snapped pictures. Embarrassed and humiliated, you looked at Flash, who was doubled over with laughter.
You turned and hurried off the stage, already crying, slipping and falling in the puddle of fake blood around you. You gasped and sputtered as everyone laughed again, taking more pictures as you struggled to get up and go to the stairs.
You got on the floor and ran, lucky enough to make a crowd clear for you. You held a hand over your eyes as you rushed to the doors.
"Aw, come on, ___!" Flash said into the microphone. "It's just a joke! Lighten up!"
You didn't turn back.
Outside, you were freezing. The blood was equivalent to water, and the cold air made it unbearable to sit in. But you tried to call your mom again and again and she did not amswer.
You were stranded outside, sitting on the steps, crying nonstop.
Your first party had ended in a disaster.
And your friends weren't even really friends. Flash, the guy you had trusted most, had betrayed you. He didn't care like you thought. You weren't welcome. You were just a joke.
You flung your arms out, trying to get the fake blood off of you, but it was staining your skin.
The doors behind you opened. You grabbed your phone and got up, ready to run before another round of paparazzi came, but a voice stopped you.
"Wait!"
You didn't. It was Peter Parker.
"___, hang on!" he shouted again.
You finally turned, sniffing. "What?"
He ran up to you, a roll of paper towels in his hands. He handed them to you. "Here."
"T-Thanks," you mumbled, shocked. You stared at him and waited.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
"You're... not making fun of me," you said.
"No. Why would I?" he asked, genuinely confused.
You were blinking away tears. "B-Because-" You dropped your head, tearing off a few squares of paper towel. "I trusted him."
Peter nodded. "What Flash did was the suckiest thing anyone could do, but that is just how he is." He frowned. "I'm sorry this happened."
"Me too," you said. "This was my first party. And I thought-" You cut yourself off, dabbing the towel around your face. "I thought I might actually be popular enough to be somebody." You turned back around and sat on the step.
"You are somebody," Peter said, sitting down next to you. "You are more of a somebody than anyone else in this school. You treat people so kindly, you're smart, you're just... everything these people need to be. I think that's why they're mean."
"You think?" you asked.
He nodded.
You smiled a little. "Thanks, Peter."
The doors opened again. Someone laughed and you stiffened. Peter looked back and grabbed your hand, blood and stickiness and vinegar and all, and stood up.
"C'mon," he urged, tugging on you.
"I don't-"
"I'm gonna get you somewhere safe," he told you.
Not wanting anymore pictures of you out there on the Internet, you stood up and followed him.
He asked if you had a way home and when you told him no, he called his aunt. He told you all about her as he dialed and even let her talk to you after he explained. She was as kind as he was.
Peter still held your hand as she drove you home. He walked you to your door.
"Thank you for taking care of me," you said. "You didn't have to do any of that."
"Please," he said. "I know how lame Flash and his friends can be. The least I can do is help you out." He smiled. "And hey, if you need somewhere to sit at lunch... Ned and I are happy to let you."
"Thank you," you breathed. "Well, I'm, uh, going to get all this off me. It would be cool if I had your number though."
He blinked. "Oh. Yeah! Yeah, just a sec." He took out his phone and read his number out. After you added it, he put his phone away and smiled. "You can text me whenever. And if you need anything..."
"Thank you, Peter," you said. "Really. Thank you."
He left and you went inside, hurrying off to the bathtub before your parents could come home.
While you showered, you thought of how earlier today, you had a group of many friends, and now you had only two friends - and yet felt more secure and happy than before.
Your dream of having a group of loving friends had come true, and it only took you months to find them.