requested by: @gaylien_girl5
Everyone has a quote written somewhere on their body, it being the very first thing you hear your soulmate say—one quote that can either bring two people together or tear them apart. The universe can't help it. It gives you what it wants to give you and never what you want to be given. The quote on Peter's arm, when he was old enough to know what the words meant, made him smile a lot, but he didn't think much of it. He was in high school, of course, and looking for his soulmate wasn't his first priority. It certainly wasn't his second or third, either. Peter had goals and ambitions for his future—love could wait.
"Lemme read it again," MJ yanked the sleeve up over his right arm and scanned the words before busting out with laughter.
Peter hadn't shown anyone his soulmate quote except Ned and MJ's first reaction made him scowl at her.
"What? It's funny." She said defensively. "Plus, she sounds tough. You think you could handle her?"
Ned joined in this time as they cackled at their friend who pulled his hoodie over his head and yanked at the drawstrings, leaving a hole big enough for him to breathe out of.
"You guys are annoying." He mumbled.
"We were just joking, Pete."
Ned nudged him playfully and the boy grinned despite his friend's teasing.
"Look, why don't we just talk about something else?" He pulled his hoodie back a little to look at them. "How's that art project coming along, MJ?"
"Let me get you right now," she whipped out her drawing pad, "I'm loving the sense of mortal distress so early in the morning."
"That's it."
Peter stood up from the cafeteria table and made a face at his friends as he walked away, the both of them laughing their heads off. After taking a few books out of his locker, he made his way to his first period and stopped at the sight of a girl he had never seen before, the only one in an otherwise empty classroom.
You were staring at him in an unsettling way and as he moved towards his chair, your eyes never left the door just as Peter's never left you. He noticed there was a long white cane resting against the wall next to you and his mind put two and two together when MJ pranced in just then, shooting him a dirty look as she collapsed in the seat right beside him.
"Thanks for leaving me."
"You deserved it."
She poked her tongue out at him and he did the same when a gaggle of their classmates walked into the room and one that MJ knew always liked to make trouble—Candace was her name—immediately zeroed in on you.
"Heeyy, a new girl. Who are you?" She said, drawing the attention of her friends to you as she tapped on your desk. You didn't respond, much to Candace's irritation, and she nudged your shoulder.
"Did you hear me? Are you deaf?" Candace demanded.
Still, you said nothing, your E/C eyes focused on the door as MJ and Peter glared at them.
One of Candace's friends whispered something in her ear and her face twisted with a sort of cruel realization. She leaned close to your face and tilted her head.
"You're blind? Is that true? You can't see?"
Candace poked you hard in the forehead and you scowled.
"I know you heard me." She snapped.
"Hey, leave her alone."
She turned to look at MJ.
"Oh, the sociopath wants to speak up?"
"The sociopath is gonna do more than just speak up if you don't get out of her face." MJ raised her eyebrows daringly and she scoffed before going back to prodding at your shoulders.
"What? You can't defend yourself?" Candace demanded. "If I were like you, I'd be ashamed to leave the house. What a total loser—"
"I said...leave her alone." MJ's voice was sharp and although the girl leveled a glare at her, she straightened and turned her back on you.
MJ watched her talk to her friends for a few minutes before taking out her drawing pad and starting on an unfinished piece when Candace, realizing that MJ was occupied and not noticing that Peter was eyeing her angrily, quietly turned back around.
Amused, she put a finger up to her lips to silence her giggling friends and began to wave her hand as close to your face as possible. Peter's chair scraped on the floor as he stood to yell at them when she yelped in surprise as you suddenly snatched her wrist out of the air and viciously bent it, slamming it against the table. Candace fell to her knees with a cry and her friends quickly backed away from your desk.
You leaned forward, your expression unchanging.
"I may be blind, but I can smell a bitch a mile away."
"Let go, you're hurting me!"
"Don't start something you can't finish." You snapped.
MJ stood up as one of Candace's friends moved to grab you by your hair.
"Touch her and I'll literally chop off your fingers."
Peter looked at her in shock.
His mind was completely reeling at the situation and wasn't processing it properly as he stared at you. His heart was racing and his arm, right where the words were permanently inked into his skin, was tingling warmly. You shoved Candace away and her friends hurried to pick her up before rushing her out the door. MJ moved over to your desk and sat down in the one next to you.
"Hey, new girl. I'm MJ."
She smiled as you slightly turned your head to face her.
"Hey, MJ. I'm Y/N."
MJ waved Peter over and the boy, his foot tapping furiously on the floor, almost tripped as he went to sit next to you two. He was extremely on edge as his cheeks burned with the thought of embarrassing himself in front of you then when he realized you couldn't see him, he almost slapped himself in the face.
"Thanks for the save back there." You said, drumming your fingers on top of your desk. "I'm used to it, though."
"You shouldn't be. There's nothing wrong with you."
You laughed and held out your hand for MJ to take.
"Some people think there is just because I can't see. I let them think what they wanna think. You can't change the minds of the ignorant." You shrugged. "I've been bullied much worse than that and I don't expect anything to change, but it doesn't keep me from doing what I want to do."
"You're a beautiful person, ya know that, Y/N?" MJ patted your hand.
"I'd agree if I knew what I looked like." You said jokingly.
"Well, you've got a really pretty smile."
The words slipped past Peter's mouth before he could control himself and MJ smirked at him as he blushed furiously all the way up to the tips of his ears.
"I—I mean—"
"What did you say?" You demanded.
"I—"
You pushed up the sleeve of your left arm and showed it to MJ.
"He said this. He said this, didn't he?"
"Uh—yeah. Yeah, he did. But how—"
"My dad." You pulled your sleeve back down. "He likes to tell me that I have a pretty smile and whoever my soulmate is must know it, too."
MJ quickly punched him in the arm to get him to say something and he winced before clearing his throat.
"Nice weather we're having today." He tried weakly.
You laughed, turning to Peter by using the sound of his voice to angle yourself towards him.
"What's on your arm?"
"Um...I may be blind, but I can smell a—"
"Oh, you're kidding! That's your quote?" You groaned and buried your face in your hands. "This is embarrassing."
"It's not!" Peter said quickly.
You raised your head.
"Who are you?"
"I—I'm Peter. Peter Parker."
Your cane fell to the floor as you tried to grab for it and Peter quickly picked it up. He knelt in front of you and let you grab ahold it with a nod.
"Thank you," you mumbled.
"I really meant it." He said softly. "You do have a pretty smile."
MJ was fighting back a grin as she watched her best friend gaze at you in a way she'd never seen him look at anyone before.
"I'm Y/N Y/L/N. I didn't expect to meet you so soon." You twisted your hand around your cane nervously. "I actually...never really wanted to meet you."
"What? Why not?"
"I'm blind, Peter. Why do you think?"
"Is it okay if I hold your hand?" He asked after a moment of silence.
You nodded and he took your hand in his, squeezing it gently. An electrical current seemed to spark off of the physical contact, connecting a link between you and Peter as if you were both a missing puzzle piece to the other.
"I didn't think I'd meet you this soon, either." He admitted. "But, I'm glad I did. You may not be able to see yourself, but take my word for it, you're absolutely beautiful."
Your cheeks flushed at his forwardness as you were only used to your family calling you such and you put a hand up to your face. It was an exhilaratingly new feeling as your connection to Peter grew stronger.
"And just because we're...we're soulmates, doesn't mean we can't be friends first. Right?"
"Right." You nodded.
Peter grinned up at you before helping you to straighten yourself out in your desk and sitting right next to you.
"So, I guess we'll be sticking together now, huh?"
"Whoa, whoa. I was her friend first." MJ argued.
"Yeah, but I mean...soulmates get precedence."
You giggled as they began to banter with each other and Peter felt a fluttering feeling in his chest at the fact that you were smiling again. He really did like you—your fiery personality and your come-what-may attitude—and he thought that you really were beautiful. Peter hadn't prepared to meet you out of the blue like so and thought that he had most of his life ahead of him before he even got around to thinking about it, but seeing you in front of him now, he couldn't imagine meeting you any later.
And as much as you never wanted to meet Peter, a small part of you always wanted to be able to hear him...just once.
So to have him accept you as you are—something you had always wished for—made your heart soar. Being afraid of what could have been seemed so silly to you when you heard Peter's voice. You could tell by the way he talked that he was genuine in his want to get to know you better and you thanked every star in the universe for granting you with a sweetheart for a soulmate.
It didn't seem like such a bad thing to you now.
Wishing on a star.