Cute.
After he thought it once, Peter couldn’t stop.
Cute.
Flash Thompson does things that are cute.
Flash Thompson is cute.
Cute. Cute. Cute.
It wasn’t a real word anymore.
***
There was an incident near Midtown on Monday. Not much information was released, but there were rumors that it had to do with a super-powered person. School was cancelled and Peter couldn’t have been more grateful. He didn’t get much sleep over the weekend between the energy that was thrumming in his muscles, since he didn’t get to expend as much over the weekends when his aunt was home and expecting him to be as well, and his swirling thoughts. No school meant he could be out web-slinging all day while May was working; avoiding Flash was simply another perk.
After a few hours in the city taking care of some petty crimes, Peter stopped to check his phone. He scrolled through his notifications, which included some texts between Ned and MJ (Peter and Ned had become friends with her a few weeks after Peter got bit by the spider — as such, Ned and MJ were closer than him and MJ, but she was cool nonetheless) in their group chat, a text from May with a short shopping list and reminder to be careful and stay away from Midtown, and a text from Flash.
A text from Flash?
Sitting on a roof’s edge, Peter looked at Flash’s name on his screen with furrowed brows. So much for avoiding him. Peter didn’t know how Flash got his number. He had Flash’s because the entire Academic Decathlon team shared theirs with each other at the beginning of the year, but Flash made a point of refusing to put Peter’s number in his phone. Peter had already added Flash to his contacts, otherwise he would’ve followed Flash’s example. At that point, he decided he would just be matching Flash’s level of pettiness by going out of his way to delete his number.
So, Flash Thompson was currently etched on his phone screen. Peter realized he was breathing so hard he was getting light-headed, which was honestly an accomplishment for his enhanced body. He supposed the breathing in combination with the tattoo of his heart against his ribs was making him feel so off. He read the text.
Flash Thompson 11:37 AM
hey
Well, that was anticlimactic, Peter thought. He looked at the text. He should respond.
Peter Parker 12:11 PM
Hi
What’s up
Flash responded within a minute.
Flash Thompson 12:11 PM
are you busy?
Peter Parker 12:13 PM
Kind of, why?
Peter wasn’t sure if patrolling counted as being busy, especially given that he wasn’t even out patrolling. He was just enjoying being in the city and stopping crimes when he noticed them. The butterflies were back in his stomach and he folded an arm across his abdomen while he waited for Flash’s response, as if that would calm their fluttering wings.
Flash Thompson 12:16 PM
i wanted to see if you wanted to hang out
and work on the english project
i just remembered that ice cream shop we went to that one time in sixth grade
if you have time
The butterflies zipped around inside him.
Peter Parker 12:19 PM
Yeah, sure, I guess I can
Meet there at 1:30?
Flash Thompson 12:20 PM
works for me
:)
Peter stared at the smiley face for a few minutes. It was so unlike Flash. He had absolutely no idea what to make of it. After some time, he got up, shot out a web, and made his way home to get changed and pick up his backpack.
***
Peter got to the ice cream shop over fifteen minutes late. He hadn’t texted Flash to let him know he was running late. He had spent… too long picking out an outfit and messing around with his hair, which got more unmanageable with every pass-through he made with his fingers. He kept thinking to himself, Why are you doing this? Why do you care so much? It’s just Flash. It’s just homework! He resolutely ignored a smaller voice, which responded, Just?
Through the window, Peter saw Flash sitting at a table alone. He had a glass of water and some homework, but he was looking sideways at his phone, which sat face down on the table. When Peter pulled the door open, Flash erupted into a flurry of movement. His eyes darted over to the door and his leg stopped its rapid shaking as he straightened in his chair, until he finally relaxed into a deliberately casual pose. He raised a hand to Peter.
“Hey,” Flash called.
“Hey Flash, sorry for being so late. I was out when you texted and I had to stop by my place to grab my stuff,” Peter said as he sat down, dropping his bag on the ground. It stuck to his hand. Alarmed, Peter looked down at the strap adhered to his skin before they separated and the bag fell with a thud.
Flash eyed Peter, a question in his eyes that Peter responded to with a nervous chuckle and a half shrug. “It’s fine,” Flash said.
When Flash didn’t say anything else, an awkward silence fell between the two of them. Flash picked up a pen and was rolling it between his fingers, eyes darting between his homework spread out over the table, Peter, and the other couples in the shop. Peter, similarly, was finding it hard to look at anything but Flash and a random spot on the wall.
Cute. Cute. Cute. You think he’s cute. Cute. Cute.
“Oh my god,” Peter hissed out under his breath, agitation at his thoughts growing.
“What?” Flash looked at Peter. He was wearing a soft-looking avocado-green sweater and dark denim jacket. He looked more approachable than usual, compared to when he was at school and sported a silly popped collar alongside a perpetual scowl. He got a haircut recently, Peter noticed. It was cropped close on the sides but left longer on top and his curls were more defined than they had been before. Peter thought that Flash probably straightened his hair, but he had also seen that there was always a wave fighting against Flash’s attempts to tame it. His hair looked better when he didn’t try to get rid of the curls, Peter decided.
Peter realized he needed to respond. He meant to say, “Nothing, sorry,” but what came out was,
“Did you get a haircut?” he asked, and then gulped.
Flash’s hand automatically reached to move a bit of his hair that had fallen in front of one of his eyes.
“Yeah, I did. This morning, actually.”
“It looks nice,” Peter said, against his wishes.
Flash donned a small smile in response. Cute. “Thanks, Parker. Good to know the guy didn’t mess me up.”
Peter and Flash both laughed a little. It was weird, but not in a completely bad way. Peter felt desperately confused by his emotions and thoughts, and this was only the second civil conversation he and Flash had managed in over two years. This version of Flash wasn’t anywhere near Bully Flash, but it also wasn’t Old Flash or Spider-Man Fan Flash. It was something new, something different.
“Do you want to order?” Flash asked.
“Yeah! Yeah, sure,” Peter said, eagerly, nervously.
They stood and made their way to the counter to order their ice cream.
***
While they ate, Peter and Flash began discussing their English project. Their teacher said they could complete the work alone or with a partner; Peter guessed he and Flash would be partnering on it now. It occurred to him to ask why Flash wanted to work together, especially in light of his torment of Peter since they stopped being friends, but he found he didn’t want to bring it up. He wasn’t sure what answer he hoped Flash would have, but he had a feeling there was only one that wouldn’t disappoint him.
Their project was on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Peter wasn’t much of a fiction reader and opted to borrow one of the copies his teacher offered to students, meaning he was relegated to writing notes and observations in his notebook. Flash had his own well-read copy; the corners of the pages were worn into soft, rounded curves. Peter could see that the text was annotated in pencil and a variety of pen colors with some sticky note flags poking out, frayed with time and from being pulled in and out of bags and bookshelves. Peter found this discovery more surprising than he found Flash pretending they didn’t know each other.
When Flash saw Peter looking at his book, he pulled it closer to himself. After a beat, he moved the novel back to its original spot on the table and flipped to the first chapter. The spine bent easily.
“This is probably one of my favorite books,” Flash admitted, his voice softer than Peter was used to. His hair blocked Peter’s view of his face as he looked down at the words.
Peter cleared his throat. “That’s cool. I’d never actually read it before. At least one of us gets it, though, because I’m honestly not sure how much help I’ll be for this. The language kinda went over my head. What’s the prompt again?” Interrupting his own rambling, he reached and angled Flash’s laptop towards himself, peering at the assignment posted on the class website. He took a deep, steadying breath. Flash finally looked up and read with him.
First, identify a character that you feel reflects your personality and list this character’s traits and the plot points they are part of. This can be anything from Mr. Collins’ proposals to Lady Catherine visiting Elizabeth. Ideally, you would write down all of their most significant plot points, but I will accept a minimum of 5 for Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy, or Mr. Wickham (given that we discussed these extensively in class, this should be easy), and a minimum of 3 for all other characters.
Second, write between 250 and 500 words on how these perceived similarities influenced your reading. For example, think about how identifying with Elizabeth might have prejudiced you unfairly against some characters, or how relating to Mr. Darcy might have made you view him more sympathetically from the beginning. Apply the terms we have discussed in class.
Third, choose a passage to read out in class. This must feature your chosen character, but can include others. If you are working with a partner, pick a scene in which your two characters interact. If they don’t interact or none of the passages are sufficient, you must write a few lines of believable dialogue between these two characters and perform them in class. Once your reading/performance is done, tell the class who your character was, why you chose them, and explain the significance of the scene to both you and the character.
Peter groaned, “I forgot we had to read something out to the class.” He put his head in his hands.
Flash, ignoring Peter’s strife, asked, “Do you know what character you’ll pick?” Peter shook his head.
“Do you?” Peter asked. Flash looked down again.
“I think… I get Darcy. Like, I understand him the most.”
Peter laughed. Flash glared.
“Sorry, it’s just that I can see it,” Peter said and Flash glared harder. Peter laughed again.
Flash’s mouth turned up at one corner a bit — Cute. — and he finally relented.
“Yeah, I guess. I am shockingly handsome and rich,” Flash joked, smug and lighthearted at the same time.
Peter huffed and rolled his eyes. “Of course. Who’s the Lizzie to your Darcy, then?”
Flash looked away, out the window. Then he nodded, looked back toward Peter, and said, “Colin Firth.”
Flash had looked like he was casually considering his answer, but Peter couldn’t help but read deeper into it. As he spiraled, he laughed again and cut off his train of thought, collecting himself. He replied, “Good choice.”
“So, Parker, your character.”
Peter picked up his copy of Pride and Prejudice and flipped through the pages. “Honestly, I think I might choose Lizzie,” he said. “She’s funny, smart, independent.”
It was Flash’s turn to laugh. “And extremely modest.”
“She doesn’t tolerate idiots. Unfortunately, I have to,” Peter said, deadpan, staring straight at Flash.
After another, seemingly involuntary, bark of laughter, Flash said, “Okay, but that makes you the Lizzie to my Darcy.”
Peter froze (Again, he thought, wondering what was wrong with him. He had actual superpowers, yet Flash Thompson being kind of attractive could throw him off so badly?). The first thing he thought to do was play it cool, so he narrowed his eyes and responded, “Challenge accepted.”
They stayed in the shop for another hour, quietly selecting passages and working on the written portions of their project. The ice cream shop closed early on Mondays and the person working the counter politely encouraged the remaining customers to finish their desserts and leave. They headed outside into the chilly air. Flash offered to walk Peter home again. He tried to decline, but Flash said he was going that way anyway, so they headed off together.
The walk was nice. Peter looked at Flash as they walked and reflected on the dramatic change in his treatment of Peter recently. Peter had no idea what could have caused it, but he was glad. He had missed being friends with Flash. Friends, his mind emphasized. He got distracted by the soft material of Flash’s sweater. Cute.