Chapter 2
Though not known by either party, Otto was feeling the exact same way you were. He didn’t know why either. He had taught thousands of kids but none quite piqued his interest like you did. There was something about you he just couldn’t put his finger on. Was it your kind aura? Your shyness? Your interest in his work outside of class? He had barely held a whole conversation with you and yet, you plagued his mind. So much so that shortly after you left his room, he had to stop working on his blueprints because he couldn’t come up with a singular coherent thought that wasn’t about you.
He let out a frustrated sigh. Whatever he felt for you would have to be quickly discarded but he knew that would be nearly impossible considering the circumstances you fell under. He knew he’d be spending so much time with you in coming weeks that it would be hard to catch a break from your presence. He almost regretted taking you into his class late, it was something he rarely did but he saw the circumstances you were under and decided to be nice about it. Tutoring you was going to be Otto’s own personal hell, and not because he hated you, it was quite the opposite.
It had been a few days since your first encounter with Otto. The previous night, like clockwork, you fell asleep thinking of your professor. The night came and went, you woke up to your alarm clock blaring. It was four o’clock in the morning, your shift started in two hours. You worked at a small coffee shop just two blocks away from where you lived. You had been working there for a couple years, having got a job as soon as you were old enough to do so to help begin paying bills with your parents.
Your morning went by slowly though you weren’t complaining, you put on the usual work attire, some form of a white shirt, and any kind of black pants you could fish up that day. Your uniform would be completed when you got to work, the last piece missing was an ugly, tan apron that you despised wearing, but hey, as long as you were getting paid, did the attire really matter? Besides, the job wasn’t all that bad and was quite calming for the most part. You made coffee for people, gave them snacks, got tipped, all the while being able to listen to calming music.
After scrolling on your phone for quite a bit after getting ready, you stood from your bed and headed out the door. You began your walk to the coffee shop, keeping a firm grip on the pepper spray that was on your keychain, you always hated walking alone and it was something you never got used to. You kept your head down as you took the short walk to your work. While doing so, you bumped into someone, they were taller than you so it caused you to fall flat on your ass, keychain falling from your hand.
“Oh shit!” The voice called from the man that just bumped into you, finally giving you the chance to look up at him. It was a younger brunette boy, who quickly, after noticing he had knocked you over, shot his head out to help you back up. You grabbed it, groaning a bit at the pain that soared through your body. “I’m so sorry, miss! I wasn’t looking where I was going!” He said, words spewing out of his mouth, almost faster than you could keep up with.
“No, no, it’s okay. It happens.” You gave him a light smile, picking up your keychain that had fallen to the floor, this caused the boy to shoot his hands in the air at the sight of the pepper spray. “Now watch what you do with that.” He said with a light laugh, joking with you.
You giggled at his joke. “I’m Peter, Uh.. Peter Parker.” He smiled, holding his hand out once again for you to shake, which you complied. “I’m Y/N.” You greeted back, pulling your hand back from the young man’s grip. He was adorable, but in a dorky way.
“You look really familiar,” He looked down for a moment, you could almost see the gears turning in his head, then he clicked his tongue. “You’re the new girl in Doctor Octavius’ class!” He smiled at the realization.
Your face went bright red at the mention of Octavius. How had you forgotten about the man who stole your heart at first sight? You quickly snapped back into reality. “Oh? You’re in his class as well?” You tilted your head to the side a bit, smiling at the thought of finally having a friend in one of your classes.
Peter nodded his head quickly, “yeah! We should totally sit together and I can help you with all your homework and everything. I’m one of Octavius’s favorite students. The brightest there is!” He said, a proud smile on his face. “Where are you heading?”
Oh shit. You had gotten so caught up in talking to Peter you forgot you were heading to work. You pulled your phone out quickly, only two more minutes till you had to be there. “Work!” Your eyes were wide. “I gotta get going, quickly, or I’m gonna be late!” You pushed past Peter quickly, to which he followed. “I’ll come with you, make sure you don’t actually have to use that pepper spray.” He smiled, syncing perfectly with your footsteps as you walked together.
You arrived and quickly clocked in, getting everything ready for your customers. Your first one actually being Peter. The coffee shop was never actually that busy, hell it probably wouldn’t have mattered if you clocked in late or not but you had a thing for being punctual. You and Peter were talking when you heard the bell on the door jingle. You kept talking to Peter, giggling and smiling with him, giving whoever it was time to figure out what they wanted. That’s when the man cleared his throat causing you and Peter to turn to him. It was Doctor Octavius. Peter lit up even more than when he was talking to you, greeting the professor. Your face was red as you watched the two talk for a moment.
“Morning, Y/N.” Otto said, slight annoyance in his tone but you didn’t push it. “Hi, professor,” You smiled shyly at him, “Um.. What can I get for you?” You asked, looking at him, though his eyes were covered by dark, rounded shades.
Otto pretended he was reading the menu, all the while seething. He wondered why you were blushing while talking to Peter. Little bad he knew that your face was only red because you caught a glance of him. His thoughts berated him. What was so special about Peter? Though it had been a complete coincidence to walk upon the shop that you worked at, he regretted coming here and seeing the sight of you and Peter talking and you giggling at his jokes. “Professor?” You spoke softly, which caused Otto to snap out of his thinking. “I guess I’ll just have a plain black coffee.”
Otto was never the jealous type so why was this happening? Hell, he still didn’t understand why he was pining over you in the first place. Once he paid, he turned his attention back to Peter as you made his simple order. “You and Y/N?” Otto gave a fake but convincing smile, nudging Peter. He wanted to see what he could get out of him. How deceiving the professor truly could be when he wanted to.
Peter only chuckled and shook his head. “Oh no, Otto. She is pretty but I don’t think we’d ever be anything like that, I mean look at her compared to me!” He said quietly, gesturing between the two. This confirmed Otto’s suspicions of Peter already thinking greatly of you, so he wondered if you felt the same about Peter, despite having just met.
Soon, you called Otto’s name, smiling as you handed the coffee off to him. You had written Otto’s name with hearts instead of O’s, not thinking clearly while doing so. You hoped he wouldn’t notice while he was still here. Peter had scurried off to the bathroom, leaving just you and Otto in the shop. Now was his time to dig into you about Peter. If you had any type of feeling for Peter, Otto was going to stop it no matter what. “So what’s up with you and Parker?” He smiled at you, taking a sip of his coffee. You looked taken aback for a moment. “Oh, Peter?” You tilted your head and laughed, a sound that was like angels singing in Otto’s ears.
“Nothing at all,” you chirped, “He knocked me over today and he uh.. helped me get up and said he’d be helping me in your class. That’s all.” You smiled, playing with the ring on your finger. “Besides, I just got back into school and after a really shitty high school relationship, I think I’m kinda over things right now.” You sighed as the thoughts from your highschool lover filled your mind. Oh how things had gone so wrong.
Otto felt a tang of guilt twist in his stomach at the mention of this. He hated that he felt the way he did about you and was jealous over nothing. He also hated the fact that someone had treated you badly. “Oh, darling,” A smirk played onto his face at the nickname he called you, “I’m sorry to hear.” He gave you a small frown. “Know I am here if you’re ever in need of someone to talk to.” He gave a small nod, turning around to leave the shop.
You called out a quick thank you before the man could leave, your body filling with joy. You had gotten better at talking to the man over the past few days and you were so proud of yourself for that. You were glad to see him outside of school, things were different that way.
Otto made his way to the college building, finally looking down at the cup you had handed him. A warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart as he saw his name scribbled out in your handwriting on the side of it and the hearts instead of O’s. All Otto could do was think about how absolutely adorable you were.