Peter's P.O.V
"He was running his mouth like usual, insulting you in the same breath as complimenting Spiderman without realising that you're the same guy, god, the moment you say that I can tell people, I am smacking him down with that information." Y/N scoffed and shook her head, making Peter laugh and look at his best friend as she talked about Flash.
"His mind will be blown if he ever finds out. Which, hopefully, he won't." he shrugged as he unlocked his apartment door and let himself and Y/N in.
"You never know, you might decide one day that you're ready for the world to know. I mean, you told me, May, Ned and MJ." She returned. Peter sighed, thinking about her words as the two of them sat down on the couch and his hand instinctively moved to hold her knee, something that he knew that she liked.
"I know, but the four of you knowing is so different to the whole world knowing, the four of you are the most important people in my life. If I tell the world, I never have privacy again, I never have full safety again. My future wife, or husband, and kids can never be fully safe. I'm not willing to put you in danger in order to tell people." He shrugged as he looked at Y/N. She nodded and bit her lip, giving him a small smile for his words. Suddenly, her eyes widened slightly.
"Ooh, I forgot, I have something big to tell you." She squealed, making Peter's eyes widen slightly at her excitement as she got up on her knees on the sofa and turned to face him.
"Okay..." He chuckled nervously. Y/N looked at him.
"Brad asked me out today." She admitted. Peter's eyes widened, his heart starting to thump quicker.
"A-and what did you say?" he gulped.
"I said yes, obviously, Pete. Have you seen Brad?" she scoffed and shook her head. Peter's eyes wavered, a sick feeling forming in his stomach. Without even realising it, his best friend had just broken his heart into a million pieces. After all, he'd been practically in love with her since they were kids since they had grown up only a few doors down from each other.
"O-oh, wow...that's, um...a-amazing, that's great, I-I'm happy for you." Peter lied, forcing a smile back onto his lips so that his own face wouldn't give away how hurt he felt.
"Isn't it? We're going out for pizza on Friday. It'll be good." She nodded and smiled. Peter returned it, looking down at his hand that was still on Y/N's knee as he tried not to think about how sick he felt with his heart in his stomach.
"Maybe it'd be fun to find you someone too. We could double-date and stuff." She chuckled, completely unaware that each word was like another shot to Peter. He shook his head and forced himself to keep the smile on his lips as he looked at her.
"Nah, it's okay. The girl I want doesn't want me anyway, so...what can you do?" he shrugged. Y/N's smile dipped slightly, and she nodded.
"Oh, well, that's a shame, Pete. But don't worry, you'll always have me." She smiled before leaning in and hugging him. He sighed and returned the hug, burying his face into her hair.
"That's just it, though. No, I won't." he whispered, sighing again as he pulled away from the hug and forced the smile back onto his lips.
~Six months later~
Y/N's P.O.V
I leant against my locker, Brad's hand on my waist as he talked at me about fuck knows what. Not that it mattered, I had learned about a month into the relationship that I favoured zoning his voice out and thinking about Peter instead over actually listening to him. I didn't know why I was still with him, not being able to find the right time to break up with him being a predominant reason. But I needed to, and I knew it, especially as I often found myself comparing Brad to Peter, and always favouring what Peter would have done over Brad. I often found myself looking at Brad smiling and picturing Peter in his place instead. Or when we got more intimate, Peter would be what filled my mind as I kissed or hugged Brad. I knew that it was wrong, but I was stuck.
"Babe? You listening to me?" I snapped back and looked up at Brad as he said something.
"S-sorry, I zoned out. I haven't been sleeping well recently." I mumbled as I looked down.
"That's always the fucking excuse. What, did you stay up too late jacking off to a photo of Peter or something?" he muttered. My eyes widened as I looked up at him.
"What?" I scoffed.
"Look, I know that you were thinking about Peter just then. Everyone knows, Y/N, so fuck knows why you still deny it." He spat. My eyes widened further, and I shoved his hand off of my waist, making him scoff.
"Fuck you, Brad." I nodded, making him roll his eyes as I turned and walked away.
Peter's P.O.V
Peter leant against his locker, jaw clenched and his heart in his throat as he watched Y/N and Brad talk, Brad's hand on his best friend's waist. It had been six months and there was no end in sight for their relationship, which only made Peter hurt more, especially as Y/N constantly talked about Brad and was always showing Peter photos of the two of them together. What made the situation worse was that half of the time that Y/N talked to Peter about Brad, it was to cry on his shoulder about a fight that they'd had. Peter was glad that he could be there for her, but it made him upset knowing that his best friend was upset, and knowing that he would never make her cry like that. It had gotten to the point where Peter had started to actively avoid her, even going as far as extending his patrol by a few hours to have the excuse of why he couldn't see her. He knew that it was wrong, he knew that Y/N wanted her best friend back, but it hurt too much sometimes. Well, all of the time.
"Hey, dude." Peter looked to the side and gave Ned a small smile as he walked up to the lockers.
"You okay? You look sad." Ned stated. Peter sighed and looked at the boy.
"Yeah, well, that feeling has been pretty much living in me since Brad asked Y/N out." He mumbled. Ned sighed and nodded, both of the boys looking at Y/N and Brad. Peter's eyebrows furrowed at Y/N's facial expressions.
"Does she look sad to you? Or at least fed up?" he asked.
"I don't know, man. She doesn't exactly look happy, I'll give you that." Ned nodded. Peter sighed and shook his head as he turned away from Y/N and towards Ned.
"Whatever. Me thinking that she looks sad is probably just wishful thinking. I'm going home, I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded, putting one of his arms through the straps of his backpack and holding out his closed fist to Ned since he wasn't in the mood for the full handshake. Ned gave him a sympathetic smile and bumped his fist, Peter giving him a small smile before heading out of the school.
Y/N's P.O.V
Tears rolled down my face as I walked up the stairs of the apartment building, to the floor on which Peter and I lived. I sniffed, wiping the drops of saltwater away from my eyes as I got to my door and pulled my key out. I raised it and put it into the lock, but something stopped me from turning it. Or rather, someone did. I looked up and down the hallway to Peter's door as I sighed and bit my lip. Since Brad had asked me out, Peter and I had gone from being inseparable, to barely seeing or talking to each other, and I suspected that it wasn't a coincidence that he had started avoiding me after Brad had asked me out. I gulped, knowing that I had probably gone to Peter with one too many fights with Brad, but I didn't know who else to turn to. I took the key out of the lock and let my feet lead me to Peter's door. I took a deep breath, trying to swallow my nerves as I raised my closed fist and knocked it against the dark brown wood. I continued to take shaky breaths as I heard shuffling from behind the door, telling me that Peter was on his way to answer it. After a moment, it opened to reveal the attractive boy, his stunning hazel eyes wavering as he saw me. He gulped, his eyes fixed on my wet face.
"You okay?" he asked quietly, though I knew that he already knew the answer. I shook my head. He sighed and nodded as he opened the door fully. I gave him a small smile as I walked into the apartment and past him, making him shut the door behind me. Both of us stayed silent as I moved to the couch and sat down on it, crossing my legs in front of me as I glued my eyes to the cushions that I was sat on. I didn't look up as I felt Peter sit on the cushion next to me, his body in the same position as mine as he looked at me.
"What happened?" he asked quietly. I shrugged and let my gaze remain glued to the cushions.
"We fought. Like we always do." I stated simply.
"Y/N, look at me." Peter sighed, making me gulp as he gently hooked his finger underneath my chin and raised my head so that I was looking into his eyes.
"Why do you do this to yourself? Why do you let him do this? In the last six months, I've seen you more unhappy than happy, and the common theme for all the times that you're unhappy is Brad. He always makes you unhappy. Y/N, I want to be there for you, I really do, but it's hard when you keep letting yourself be hurt." He scoffed and shook his head. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Peter, no one else will love me. If I end it with Brad, who do I have? No one else loves me." I choked and shook my head. Peter's face dropped and he gulped as he looked at my lips.
"I love you, Y/N." he nodded. I looked at him.
"You don't, not in that way-."
"You're wrong, I do love you in that way. I'm in love with you." He admitted. My eyes widened slightly.
"Peter, I..." I choked and shook my head, completely unsure of what to say. He sighed and nodded as he looked down.
"I know. I know that I've probably just ruined our friendship, but I couldn't sit here and bite my tongue whilst you said that you thought you were unloved. You'll never be unloved. Because I'll always love you." He mumbled. I gulped, my heart almost pounding through my chest as I tried to process what he was saying. I cupped his cheek with my hand, making him look up at me. I took a deep breath before leaning in and pressing our lips together. Peter's eyes widened, but he immediately returned it as his hands moved to cup my waist. I couldn't help but smile as Peter deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into my mouth as he pushed me back so that I was lying on the sofa and he was hovering over me. He broke the kiss and touched our foreheads, making me look up at him.
"I've been unhappy for the last half a year...and the whole time, I should have just come here and kissed you." I nodded, making him laugh.
"Yeah, sorry about that. But I couldn't risk losing you altogether for the chance that you wanted me too." He spoke.
"Trust me, Pete. You'll never lose me." I reassured. He smiled and nodded, making me return it as he leant down and gently kissed me again.