️
𝒶
◀

smrtst‌:

image

gwen  takes  the  device  ,  quickly  putting  in  her  number.  ❛  it’s  cool  ,  don’t  sweat  it.  is  this  a  new  phone  ?  ❜  she  asks.  ❛  don’t  worry  about  it  !  between  school  &  work  ,  i  have  to  literally  schedule  my  days  to  the  minute  some  weeks.  although  ,  i’m  definitely  expecting  that  playlist.  ❜

she  gives  him  back  his  phone  &  laughs  with  him.  ❛  parker  pride  ?  i  like  that.  ❜  her  grin  widens  at  the  suggestion.  ❛  yeah  ,  totally  !  when  are  you  available  ?  i  know  between  the  both  of  us  ,  we’re  probably  super  busy.  but  i’d  love  to  hang  out  with  you.  i  don’t  think  we  have  ever  spent  an  extended  period  of  time  together.  ❜  they  probably  haven’t  —-  gwen’s  a  busy  bee  ,  mostly  floating  around  here  &  there  in  the  midst  of  her  own  personal  chaos.  ❛  you  failed  ap  biochem  ?  i  totally  could’ve  helped  you.  that  was  one  of  my  favorite  classes.  ❜  she  shrugs  again  ,  her  smile  finally  faltering.  ❛  i  hope  so.  you  would  think  with  heroes  like  spider  -  man  out  there  ,  it  would.  but  it  just  gets  worse  —-  anyways  …  now  that  you  do  mention  it  ,  what  do  you  think  of  spider  -  man  ?  ❜

image

peter offered a slight smile in response as he took his phone back, ❛ it is, yeah. i sort of lost my other one. ❜ it wasn’t a full lie. it may be somewhere atop a building in the city. ❛ i’ll definitely be sure to send it. i’d pinky swear on it. ❜ he laughed lightly.

the reaction is well taken, ❛ seems to run in the family, what can i say ? ❜ the boy laughed, that was certainly one thing his uncle ben had passed on to him. a slight pang of worry followed because even he didn’t know when he was available. between patrolling, work, and school, he hardly ever had time to even sleep. ❛ i’ll have to check my work schedule. i uh, i don’t have much going on today and the next few days if you have time. ❜ it was offered though, sure peter could sacrifice a little bit of spidey time to hang out with a friend, right? ❛ it was like … freshman year? i definitely don’t plan on retaking it. i don’t even need it. ❜ it happened right near the end, right when things started spiraling out of control. he’d never openly say that. ❛ i mean —— he’s doing not too bad, right ? i think he’s pretty cool. but i mean, that’s just my opinion. ❜

smrtst‌:

image

❛  you  want  to  send  me  that  playlist  ,  parker  ?  ❜  gwen  quips.  ❛  do  you  even  have  my  number  ?  i  can  totally  give  it  to  you  —-  only  if  you  want  it  ,  of  course.  ❜

her  expression  remains  soft  ,  a  bit  apologetic.  ❛  sorry.  for  bringing  it  up.  sometimes  ,  i  put  my  foot  in  my  mouth.  but  i’m  glad  to  hear  she’s  doing  fine.  aunt  may’s  a  sweet  woman.  ❜  her  eyes  light  up.  ❛  yeah  —-  i’d  love  to  talk  to  her.  ❜  she’s  only  interacted  with  aunt  may  on  a  handful  of  occassions  ,  but  she  likes  the  woman.  likes  the  warmth  she  brings.  ❛  that’s  also  false  &  you  know  that  !  you’re  so  smart  ,  peter.  i  highly  doubt  you  could  fail  a  class  ,  even  if  you  tried.  ❜  gwen  shrugs  ,  sighing.  ❛  the  rise  of  vigilantism  is  linked  to  the  rise  of  crime.  more  criminals  are  becoming  risky  ,  you  know  ?  &  between  my  own  internship  &  my  dad’s  job  ,  i  feel  like  i  never  see  him.  ❜

image

he blinked, having to reach down for his phone and searching his contacts for validation. ❛ i guess i don’t have it. i swore i did at some point. ❜ peter remarked, though offering the device for her, ❛ go ahead, but um … i do sorta suck at texting. i’m busy a lot. but i can send you the playlist if you want me to. ❜

a shake of his head was given for further reassurance, ❛ don’t worry about it, seriously. we’re coping. we’ve got our parker pride going strong. ❜ a brief laugh followed, though it trailed off upon his next statement, ❛ i mean if you ever wanted to hang out some time or study, she’d be there. probably bombard you with pinterest recipes but she means well. ❜ it wasn’t a lie. though he’d never admit most of those recipes ended in disaster. maybe a smoke alarm or two going off. ❛ you give me way too much credit. i have failed ap biochemistry, so your assumption is wrong. ❜ his laugh followed, though a hand fell from his pocket, ❛ that sucks, like really sucks. maybe things will slow down soon, i mean with people like spider-man helping. ❜

smrtst‌:

image

❛  house  of  the  rising  sun  ?  i  love  that  song.  ❜  she  takes  a  glimpse  at  his  phone  ,  mentally  cataloguing  it  away.  ❛  i  should  send  you  my  favorite  version  of  that  song.  but  anyways  ,  i  bet  their  version  is  great.  ❜  brown  eyes  glance  at  his  features.  she  still  sees  the  embarrassment  on  his  face  —-  he  has  nothing  to  be  embarrassed  about  ,  but  she  has  no  idea  what  goes  through  his  mind  —-  &  she  smiles  wider  ,  hoping  the  gesture  is  comforting.

❛  i’m  glad  to  hear  that  ,  peter.  i  know  things  have  been  rough  since  …  ❜  her  voice  fades  off  &  she  mentally  kicks  herself  for  that  ,  desperately  trying  to  change  the  conversation.  ❛  i’m  not  surprised  you  aced  it.  you’re  super  smart.  ❜  she  states  in  a  matter  -  of  -  fact  tone.  ❛  me  ?  i’m  doing  fine.  the  oscorp  internship  is  tiring  ,  but  rewarding.  &  my  family’s  doing  great.  although  ,  dad’s  been  working  a  lot  more  —-  the  rise  of  vigilanteism  calls  for  more  shifts ,  i  guess.  ❜

image

❛ yeah, their variation is great ! ❜ he mused, a smile forming as he glimpsed just briefly at his phone at the mention of the tune. ❛ i have a whole playlist of their stuff, it’s great. but yeah, totally, you should send me the version. sounds good. ❜  something in the back of his head kept reminding him of his crunch on time if he wanted to get some patrol time before dinner. yet he ignored it for the time being, not wanting to be suspicious.

eyebrows rose just a bit at the mention of it, though peter was able to muster a bit of courage to smile reassuringly, ❛ she’s doing good for uh … everything that’s happened. she’d be happy to talk to you, it’s been a while. ❜ the mention of such events was still a sore spot, but he knew it’d be brought up time and time again. he’d grown used to it. ❛ yeah, maybe at physics. throw biochem at me and i’d totally fail. ❜ peter laughed, bringing hands to his dingy jean pockets. the word gives a slight alarm bell in his head, yet he pretends to be confused, ❛ that’s great. i have an internship with uh mr. stark, i can relate to all the —— intern-y stuff. ❜ smooth one, pete. ❛ what do you mean by vigilantism ? ❜

smrtst‌:

image

peter  parker  is  not  someone  gwen  stacy  ever  missed  in  the  corridors.  she  likes  the  way  he  carries  himself  ,  the  energy  he  exudes.  she  never  misses  an  opportunity  to  greet  him  &  even  tries  to  engage  in  small  talk  with  him  when  she  can  !  but  even  for  someone  as  observant  as  gwen  stacy  ,  she  doesn’t  see  his  earbuds  or  hear  his  music  right  away.  she’s  already  babbling  a  greeting  before  she  realizes  that  alt  -  j  is  blasting  from  his  earbuds.  before  she  could  even  get  his  full  attention  ,  he  nearly  crashes  into  her.

gwen  gives  him  a  small  smile  ,  one  that  reaches  her  eyes  ,  &  replies  ,  ❛  just  a  few  minutes.  ❜  her  finger  grasp  her  books  tighter  &  she  sways  a  bit  in  her  spot.  ❛  i  just  wanted  to  say  hi  ,  see  how  you  &  your  aunt  were  doing.  you  were  listening  to  alt  -  j  ,  right  ?  i  don’t  listen  to  his  music  a  lot  ,  but  from  what  i’ve  heard  of  it  ,  it  is  pretty  cool.  anyways  ,  how’re  you  doing  peter  ?  ❜

image

❛ uh yeah ! i was listening to them, house of the rising sun. ❜  he offered a glimpse of his phone, though it dropped back to his side clasped by his fingers. one of the peers of his he could actually say he got along with. other than ned, of course. gwen posed to be a good friend, at least in peter’s mind. he’d never had a negative thing to say about her, plus she was extremely smart. even smarter than him if anyone asked.  embarrassment is still fresh on his face, though a hand comes to brush back his curls.

❛ aunt may is good. ❜ a basic answer, though nothing ever changed with may, not even her love life. ❛ i’m definitely uh … doing okay. aced my physics test. ❜ useless information followed as he attempted to shake off his annoyance at himself for being terrible at talking, or just being social in general. ❛ what—— what about you ? how’s your parents, or your entire family ? ❜

❛ i’m sorry i can’t make it. ❜ an excuse, of course. it was what he was good at, making excuses. that seems to be all he ever did anymore. despite how badly he didn’t want to flake out, as usual, it just became a habit peter couldn’t break. ❛ i have um——the internship, you know? ❜ and there it was. a pang of remorse followed his own words.

image

❛ maybe take a raincheck? ❜ his voice carried every source of remorse, arms coming up to hold himself as he wanted to simply fold in on himself. ❛ seriously, i’m really sorry. i just … can’t. ❜

@hcpefell // starter call