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PETER PARKER WAS SIMPLY AN ORDINARY BOY TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. But to Alissa Caverly, he was absolutely everything. He was her joy, her happiness, her tutor, her first crush, and her first love. Maybe he wasn't everything to her exactly—such as her first love because she didn't love him in that special kind of way—but Peter was still one of the most important parts of her life ever since she could remember.
Only he had no idea how he meant so much to her.
Even Alissa didn't know how much he actually meant to her, only thinking it was just a silly little crush that had continued on from their youth when they first met. But it was from the minute that he helped her back up after she'd been pushed off a swing set in preschool that she began to get a fluttery feeling in her chubby belly anytime she was around the boy.
At first, she hadn't understood what meant as she was so young when her crush began to form, but that bubbly feeling only grew stronger and stronger as she got older and spent more time with him in the classes they had together and at parties.
There were all of these little things he'd do that make her think, 'He looks so cute when he smiles,' or "Is that a new top? That shirt looks good on him.' There were so many other thoughts that she had throughout the long years, but she constantly thought about it more as each school year passed them by and they (somewhat) began to mature in not just their attitudes, but their looks.
In elementary school, Alissa was just a little schoolgirl with a crush and her heart beating faster each time she looked in his direction. She would giggle at all of the little things he did, blushing madly when his attention was focused solely on her. Peter had seen the reddening of her cheeks, but he didn't think much of it. He just continued playing with his LEGO's while Alissa played with her Princess Leia doll, every so often bringing it back over to Peter as he had a Han Solo LEGO man and they would make them interact as if they were on a mission in outer space.
Then, in middle school, Alissa began to wonder if her strange feelings towards him meant something more than just a friendship, but as she began to make new friends such as Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy, she pushed the lingering thoughts aside and didn't think about it that much during that rather awkward phase of her life. However, by the end of their eighth grade year, she finally figured out that it was an awful and dangerous thing called a crush.
It might've even been a little more than just a simple crush, but it still existed after so many years flew by, and Alissa's friends and family finally knew all about the crush—even Peter's Aunt May and Uncle Ben were a little suspicious. Though, they knew better than to mention it to Peter.
However, The only person who didn't seem realize that she felt something towards him by the way she constantly rambled about him or stared in his direction was Peter himself, who was completely too oblivious of her secretive actions to notice anything out of the ordinary; Alissa was thankful for that.
She didn't need him to know about the crush until she figured out how to get rid of it for good, or how to tell him; she was hoping that she would be able to grow out of it rather than step up and confess her feelings, though.
It would just take some time for either of them to do anything.
"Hey, Al," a familiar voice suddenly greeted the dark haired girl.
Alissa playfully rolled her eyes at the nickname, offering a warm curl of her lips to Flash Thompson who was lazily stood in the doorway of her bedroom with his body resting on the doorframe. The sudden sound of his voice had taken her out of her train of thought, making her finally notice him. Of course, her mind had drifted back to thinking about Peter Parker when she was meant to be doing her homework that was due the very next day. The boy brightly grinned, lightly laughing as he realized he'd caught her off guard; at least he was one of the only other person who hadn't picked out her crush on Peter either.
But, there were times Alissa wished he did—maybe then he'd stop lay off of Peter.
Flash shifted on his feet, folding his arms over his chest and casually stepped further into her room. "You know where your mom and dad are? They were supposed to give me a ride home before they went to work. . ."
Alissa deeply frowned, heart sinking in her stomach. "They're already at work. Sorry, Flash. Can't Carter just give you a ride or something?" She questioned curiously, resting her laptop to the side of her legs, taking a quick pause from doing her homework that was due tomorrow to give Flash her attention.
Flash shook his head as he leaned more against the doorframe, puffing out his cheeks. "He's at Liz's house for a tutoring session, I think," he replied glumly, glancing to his dark socks he wore on his feet and then back to Alissa, hoping that she could help somehow him get home even though he knew that she wouldn't be able to do it no matter how much they both wanted; Carter was the only one with a car and he rarely let anyone else use it.
Alissa softly sighed, her eyes dropping to her comforter, trying to think of how she could possibly help Flash, but her mind was completely blank on any ideas that she could actually use.
Flash took notice of her pondering expression, pursing his lips before he spoke with a nonchalant shrug of his broad shoulders, "It's fine. I'll just call my mom and see if she's not at work, or if one of Jesse's friends' parents' can—"
"Why don't you just stay the night again? You can go to school with us and then ride the bus home," Alissa offered kindly.
Flash snorted out a bitter laugh that made Alissa deeply frown.
"Right, sorry. I know your dad doesn't like you or Jesse away. . ." Flash heavily sighed as Alissa's voice dragged off before she could finish her sentence, both wanting to drop the subject of Flash's father rather quickly.
Luckily, Alissa did just that.
"Maybe I could call someone for you?" She nervously bit her lip, staring in his direction unsure. "I know someone who might be able to pick you up, but you'd have to tell him a fake—"
"I'll just walk home," Flash interrupted her faintly, nodding firmly in an attempt to reassure Alissa of his choice. "It'll be fine. I might get home before my Dad."
Alissa silently stared over at the boy, lips turning downward into a deeper frown than what had already been on her lips.
She knew how hard his home life was for him, his mother, and his little sister, and she hated how there wasn't anything she could do to really help. She had told him she'd call the police if he ever needed her to, but it didn't help that his father was considered the police. She didn't think the police would even help when it was one of their own being called on. Just the mere thought of the awful Thompson man made Alissa roll her eyes and clench her fist together, knuckles turning white. She wanted to convince Flash to stay longer, but he couldn't. He had to face his father, and he would much rather get it all over with so he could face school the next day, even if it took a toll on him, mentally or physically.
Flash always looked so tired and beaten down when his father was around, and sometimes, there were bruises on his skin after shouting filled the Thompson home for hours straight. No one batted an eye to the extensive noise, thinking nothing more than it just being a family feud over something silly.
If only they heard what else went on inside the house that many weren't even allowed to enter.
Most people brushed his bruises and cuts off as markings from fights he'd gotten himself into like he was known to do, but Alissa knew what they were really from, and she deeply hated Flash's father for it.
She had only met him once, and he didn't give a very good impression from the minute she laid eyes on his drunken self as he stumbled out of the house. She had already known about his abusive behavior before then, but actually seeing him made her blood boil when she saw the man behind most of Flash's pain and misery.
No one should ever hit their own flesh and blood, or their partner no matter what. They were meant to be shown love, not hatred. They were meant to hugged, not beaten or screamed at, and that wretched man didn't do anything he was meant to. Alissa wished she could say or do something to help, but she was just a teen, and as much as she wanted to help him, she had no idea how. Flash appreciated her efforts and friendship, though, often assuring her that he was fine and he was happy to have her around as often as she was.
"Are you sure? My mom or dad might stop by for lunch or something and then they can drop you off," Alissa suggested, trying to sound more hopeful than she felt. It didn't sound so assuring, and she and Flash both knew it. Though, her caring attempt did make Flash's smile widen, nonetheless.
Flashs lips curled upwards again, his teeth showing through his smile. "It's okay, Alissa," Flash said, "I'll be fine. Always am."
Alissa faintly nodded, smiling at him one last time. "Okay. Will you text me when you get home?" Flash nodded in response and stepped backwards, heading towards the oldest Caverly's room to gather his belongings from spending the night on their last night before they had to return to school from their three day weekend for Labor Day, which happened to be that day.
Then Alissa grabbed her laptop once more and began finished up her Physics essay she'd been working a majority of the morning, having just a few sentences left to write and edit before it could be submitted.
Alissa wasn't paying too much attention to her surroundings as she working, but she did say a quick goodbye to Flash when he poked his head back into her room to tell her that he was leaving. She hadn't even seen the dark, curly haired head of her brother's best friend hurriedly bounce into her room and then scamper back out of the door, giggling to himself.
It was only when she heard her brother scream in terror that she remembered her little brother, Brian, was also home with her.
She carelessly tossed her laptop aside, having finally finished with all of her homework and was searching for unique Halloween costumes. She hurriedly slid out of her bed, ignoring the chills that eerily shivered up her spine as the cold wooden floor met her bare feet. She shuddered, scampering out of her room and down the hall towards Brian's room.
Alissa froze in the doorway, tilting her head to the side at the unusual sight she witnessed.
Brian was laid on the floor in the fetal position, face terrified and petrified while his longtime best friend, Xavier Michaels, just loudly cackled, his eyes shut and hands hitting his knees in amusement. Alissa made a face at the middle schoolers and went to turn away when she noticed something very familiar dangling from Xavier's bony fingers. She gasped in astonishment, stomping into the bedroom to snatch it back.
The two boys finally took notice of the teenage girl when they heard her heavy feet stomping into the room. Brian quickly stood up while Xavier frightfully sank into the bed as Alissa headed his way. He thought about trying making a run for it, but he was already trapped. Brian smugly smirked at Xavier, his arms folded over his chest triumphantly.
"I told you she'd see you," Brian said knowingly. "You're not slick, Avi."
"But she didn't even see me take it!" Xavier protested defensively, throwing his hands up in the air for emphasis. "I was stealthy—like a ninja."
Alissa rolled her eyes at him in annoyance and roughly yanked the black bra out of the boys grubby hands, shaking her head with a stern expression obvious on her face.
"You little. . .creep!" Alissa angrily snapped at the dark haired boy, anger seeping into her loud voice. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to steal a girl's bra?"
Xavier simply blinked. "No, they told me the opposite actually," he replied truthfully, shrugging as if it was nothing. Alissa let out a huff in annoyance, grumbling and rolling her eyes. "What? It was funny!"
"No it wasn't!" Alissa protested. "That's wrong, and just plain weird! You're not allowed in my room anymore under any kind of circumstances. . .Except extreme emergencies."
Xavier laughed, though, he was trying to hide his true terror. "I only did it to scare B."
Brian offensively scoffed, shuffling over to his desk and plopping down in the rolly chair, pouting like a little child who didn't get what they wanted; he didn't deny the fact that he'd been scared by a mere bra.
Xavier then continued. "It worked, Al. You only came in here because you heard him scream, didn't you? You didn't even see me take it. Admit it. I got you, too."
Alissa didn't respond, but she did send him a deadly glare that made him nervously gulp and look away from her. With a turn of her head towards Brian, she changed the topic. "I'm going to the park. You wanna come?" Alissa pointed her finger at Xavier when he opened his mouth, ready to answer her question that wasn't for him. "Not you, creep. You're not invited this time."
Xavier held his hands out at his sides offensively. "What the hell did I do?" He demanded to know. Both Brian and Alissa gave the boy dirty looks as he pretended to play dumb. His eyes widened and he readjusted his glasses that were perched on his large nose, clearing his throat and cautiously scooting back on the bed. "Right, uh, I'll. . .Just head home then." Brian suddenly frowned, wishing his friend could tag along, but he didn't want to say anything to make his sister more pissed than she already was.
Alissa dramatically sighed as she peered back, seeing the sadness looming on Xavier's face as he packed away his things after having spent the night. He appeared to be genuinely upset, and a feeling of guilt settled in the pit of Alissa's stomach despite her not needing to be guilty. A few moments past before stomped her foot at what she was about to do.
"Fiiine," she dragged out breathlessly, capturing both of the boys' attention. She rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand, wondering if she was going to end up regretting her decision. Xavier stopped packing all of his video games, turning to face Alissa with a glint of hope shining in his eyes, though he tried hiding it.
Despite what he had just done, he looked so innocent, and Alissa felt bad even though he was a little— "You can come too, but don't be weird, okay? I'm meeting my friends at the park and I don't want you to creep them all out."
Xavier's frown turned into a cheeky grin, eagerly nodding his head in agreement. "I won't, I promise."
Brian excitedly beamed, grinning at the fact Alissa was allowing his best friend to tag along. Alissa sent a faint yet friendly smile at the two young boys. She was secretly happy they would both be tagging along so she wouldn't have to go all by herself.
"We're leaving in 10 minutes, so, start getting ready."
Brian and Xavier both nodded and began finding different clothes that weren't their dinosaur or cloud pajamas they were both currently wearing. Alissa rolled her eyes in a playful manner before walking back into her bedroom to begin getting ready herself, hoping to see Peter there as well.
Once they were all ready to leave and had a few outdoor games and food packed into the medium sized travel book bag Alissa was bringing along, the three ventured out on their bikes and headed toward the park.
The ride was nearly an hour and a half long considering they were going from Queens all the way into New York City to meet at Central Park, but it felt so much shorter to them from all the fun that they had on the way there.
The majority of the ride was spent with them singing along to the music Alissa played from her Bluetooth speaker, giggling whenever the two boys' voices cracked and then they would then pretend to deepen their voices to hide any embarrassment while they belted out the lyrics. Alissa softly sang to herself most of the time, only shouting when the notes were impossible to match, and so did the boys. She really ended up enjoying it, forgetting all about what Xavier had done with her bra as she handed over her phone for him to choose a song for them to listen to.
"Oh, I love this song!" Xavier cheered as the song he chose began to play. Alissa abruptly slammed her feet down on the hard pedals, the black tires screeching to stop that made Brian and Xavier do the same, staring at her with wide eyes and concerned expressions. "What?"
Alissa promptly took her phone back from Xavier and turned off Get Low by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. A few of the bystanders that were walking on the sidewalk next them stared at the trio suspiciously while most of the startled ones glared hatefully after having heard the lyrics of the inappropriate song.
Alissa nervously smiled, turning on Easy Street by The Collapsable Hearts Club when a woman with a sleeping toddler snarled in her direction. "Sorry, ma'am," Alissa apologized, timidly nodding. The woman rolled her eyes with a humph and turned on her heel, hurrying away while covering her unbothered child's ears. Alissa tiredly sighed, her head turning so she could glower at Xavier.
He sheepishly grinned, hands innocently held out at his sides. "Sorry, but it's a good song," he weakly said. Alissa didn't say anything, she just continued forward, glad that they weren't too far from Central Park.
From there, she made sure that Brian or herself checked the song Xavier chose before he was allowed to actually play it. However, Alissa soon realized that Xavier was making the inappropriate songs he liked be the song to play up next so he still got to listen to part of it. After that, Alissa just stuck to picking the music she and Brian liked, much to Xavier's dismay. As much as she was annoyed by the time they reached the park, she still had fun with the two, as did they.
Not long after that, they finally reached the park with their bikes in tow. Of course, they were late as most of the group was already there and nestled by some trees so they were in the shade, but at least they were fashionably late. Well, Alissa was.
She couldn't say the same for Brian and Xavier.
Brian had opted to wear his pink dolphin vacation shirt and blue board shorts while Xavier chose a Hawaiian styled shirt and bright red shorts that reminded Alissa of the Kool-Aid Man. It kind of hurt Alissa's eyes to actually look at the two of them together, but she managed to deal with it for the most part.
Alissa chose to stay causal with a cozy maroon shirt that was tucked into the waistband of her high waisted jean shorts, and so did her friends when she caught sight of them all seated on a blanket in the middle of the park. Alissa's hair softly fluttered in the wind, a smile working its way to her face as she finished up lacing up her converse again. Alissa motioned to the group so Brian and Xavier saw them as well.
Alissa quickly turned off the music and the three began making their way towards the group with their bikes; Xavier didn't trust the slots due to his bike getting stolen every year when he used them. Alissa tried to persuade him to just leave it, but the boy was too stubborn. So, they just biked their way to the group, ignoring the strange looks and annoyed shouts of park officers that were walking the sidewalks, pointing out that bikes weren't meant to be ridden on the grass but the sidewalks.
"Alissa!" Gwen Stacy happily cheered, ecstatic to see that Alissa could finally join them for the Labor Day picnic. Her bright eyes trailed behind the dark haired girl, smiling sweetly at the sight of Brian and Xavier.
Gwen was quite familiar with the two boys, being so close to Alissa and her siblings. Harry Osborn beamed as well, Brian catching sight of the blond boy which caused his chunky cheeks to slightly redden. Xavier nudged his best friend in the ribs when he noticed the blush tinting his friends usually pale face, making Brian unflustered and more aware of their surroundings.
However, as Alissa gently nestled down beside Mary Jane Watson and Brian, she couldn't help but wonder where a certain boy was. The entire group seemed to notice her peering around the packed park for any sign of Peter Parker, all sharing knowing looks with one another.
"Don't worry," Mary Jane patted Alissa's leg comfortingly, "Peter'll be here soon enough."
Alissa faintly shook her head, tucking her hair behind her ears. A faint blush crept on her cheeks, but it went away as quickly as it came when she turned her focus back to her friends. "Oh, I wasn't looking for—"
"Yes you were," Harry Osborn confirmed, nodding adamantly. Alissa pursed her lips into a thin line, narrowing her eyes in his direction. He only smirked. "Pete's on his way. He had to help May with something for Ben before she could drop him off."
"Speak of the devil," Mary Jane stated suddenly. Everyone followed her gaze to the opposite side of the park where a Peter Parker was jogging their way, a basket of muffins that Aunt May just had to make for the picnic swinging in his hand. His hair was free of any gel, his small and soft curls bouncing with each step. His glasses constantly slid down his crooked like nose, making him have to reach up and push them back into place every few seconds, but his smile remained the entire time he made his way over to the group.
Alissa's body noticeably straightened when her eyes fell upon the boy, a smile appearing on her lips at the mere sight of him. Her heart began to beat faster in her chest, eyes shimmering brighter than ever before. She could feel her smile widening as he got closer and closer, a little tap of her fingers on her thigh keeping her heart from going any faster than it already was.
Brian snickered at Alissa's reaction, mocking her by making oohing sounds and sighing dreamily with his hands clamped together and resting against his cheek, swaying his body from side to side. Xavier chuckled, scrunching his nose and holding onto his stomach from laughing so hard.
"Oh, Peter! I—Ow! What the hell was that?" Brian abruptly shouted, suddenly rubbing his cheek where something had hit him.
Xavier did the same a few moments later. "Son of a bitch!" He loudly hollered, having felt the same pain Brian had as it bounced off of Brian and then hit him. Luckily, no one out of their group heard either of the middle schoolers.
Their attention turned to Alissa when they heard her snickering. Her eyes were still trained on Peter's approaching figure, but in her lap was a bag of grapes—the thing that had hit both of them. She was softly munching on them as if she wasn't paying any attention to them, but as she let her gaze fell upon Brian and Xavier, she smirked, casually winking at them.
Brian annoyedly puffed out his cheeks, but he sourly contorted his face as Xavier ate the grape once he found it in between his and Brian's lanky legs.
Brain gagged in disgust, watching Xavier eat it without any kind of hesitation. "Oh, gross, dude. Do you even know where that's been?" He shuddered, pushing his glasses up again.
"They've been washed. I watched your mom do it last night, and plus, they're still in a bag," Xavier nonchalantly replied, motioning towards the bag.
"Hey, B," Harry's cheerful voice sounded. Brian instantly looked to the older boy. "I got some Muddy Buddies. I didn't know you were coming, but I was going to give them to Alissa to give to you, anyways. So, here ya go."
Brian's eyes widened and his lips parted, reaching out to take the bag from the boy wordlessly. He kindly smiled, still gaping at Harry in surprise. "T-Thanks, H-Harry," he thanked the older boy. Harry nodded, catching Mary Janes watchful eye. She approvingly nodded. Harry just waved his hand at her, grinning warmly as their eyes lingered on one another for a few extra seconds.
Brian's lips turned up as he opened the bag, loving the sweet smell of Muddy Buddies. Xavier reached out to take a handful, but Brian instantly smacked his hand away, pulling the bag into his chest.
"Dude!" Xavier groaned, rubbing his hand. Brian cackled, stuffing his cheeks full of the food. Xavier was finally able to take one, though, sweetly smiling when Brian saw. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Brian grumbled, but he didn't try to stop Xavier when he reached into the bag again. Harry discreetly watched from across the blanket, feeling happy to see that he'd made Brian's day just by giving him the food, and by giving him some of his attention.
It might've been known that Alissa had a crush on Peter, but it was also known that Brian also had a crush on someone there, too. The difference was that his crush was on Harry, and Harry knew about it. Brian didn't know that, but it was more special that way. It was more sweet.
But so was Alissa's crush on Peter.
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07/29/2020 EDIT: This book was originally published on my old account, but I'm transferring it here so some of these notes might mention certain things that are irrelevant to now, but I'm not going to delete them all because some of them are still important! So, I'd advise not to ignore them!
Yes, I've restarted this story for the third time, but only because I want to do this story justice. I don't want to just wing it, I want to actually know where I'm going with the plot, and be even more motivated to write it so I make all of you happy!
I finally have each act planned out now, and I'm still working on the details of each chapter, but I feel like this is finally going to go in the right direction! I'm working very hard, and I hope it will go smoothly and you all will enjoy what I have in store for this :)
Also, I'm not going to rush this. I feel like I rushed this the last time with having so many events happen in the matter of one week, and I'm going to go slower with this which means it's gonna be a slow burn, but hopefully the wait will be worth it!!
Lastly, I really hope that over 4500 words made up for restarting this!! It took me so long to write, and I hope it turned out okay. My goal used to be 2000 words, or at least somewhere close to that, but I'm starting to want 2500-3000 words, at least. I know some chapters won't be able to reach that amount, but I'm really going to try.
Other than that, I hope you enjoyed and leave some feedback in the comments please!