I Think I Love You

The first day of school was never fun. The first day of school in a completely new state was even less fun. Y/N hadn’t really given much thought to it, trying to avoid the anxiety that comes with moving. This wasn’t the first time they had moved, either. Their parents always had to move around a lot, thanks to work, so they had been through this far more times than he would care to admit. 

Midtown High. It was fairly unassuming on the outside, if not one of the bigger schools they had been to. It looked to be fairly old, so they were quite surprised to see that the inside was quite modern. The school was massive, they quickly learned. Four floors and a basement with three separate pods would be enough for anyone, but to make things better, each floor had “secret hallways” that contained other, separate classrooms. 

Y/N’s first class was somewhere on the fourth floor, they knew that. As they walked up the stairs, they checked their schedule, the photo being his lockscreen. It was Calc A/B, which they weren’t excited for. He wasn’t a big math person, despite being good at it. Most of the time they could scrape by without studying, but there were times when they did actually have to take notes. They supposed they were lucky they even knew the basics, with how much they moved and how all over the place their education was.

After a little bit of searching (and getting lost,) Y/N found the room. They scanned the area, looking for an empty seat. They found one in the middle, next to the window, and claimed it. A textbook and syllabus was sitting on their desk. They glanced at the whiteboard, which had a little note reading “Welcome to Calc!” Written on it in green ink. It was a cozy classroom, to be sure, with the lights off and string lights illuminating the area. They looked at the syllabus, picking up the sheet of paper. It had some basic material requirements written on it, along with some expectations. The late work policy was outlined as well, along with the weightage of the tests, quizzes, and homework. They sighed, seeing the homework expectation of two hours underlined and bolded. This was going to be a fun year. 

Their next class was photography, on the first floor, where it appeared all of the arts classes were. They enjoyed it substantially more, given that they were actually interested in photography. They did street photography as a side hobby, and with how much they traveled, they had gotten many, many interesting photos of people, places, and strange things they encountered. They preened with joy, trying to hide it of course, when the teacher complimented their DSLR. They had spent a lot of money on it, saving up for months, to buy a good lens and camera. Overall, all of their photography equipment had to be over a thousand dollars. Attendance for the class went by just as the class was about to end, given that the teacher appeared to be a little bit air headed. Still, that was probably what Y/N liked about arts teachers. They were always relaxed, something more people could really stand to be. 

“L/N,” The teacher called, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Y/N L/N!”

“Here,” they responded. 

“Parker!” The teacher moved on. “Peter Parker!” 

Their eyes turned to the brown haired boy sitting a few seats in front of him across the aisle. 

“Here!” He responded. 

As soon as the bell rang, Y/N picked up their stuff, beating everyone out to head to his next class. Today was a half day, so all the periods were shortened. Still, that meant that passing times were also shortened, something they found themselves cursing. Chemistry was their next class, and they had gotten lost three times trying to find it. They had climbed up two flights of stairs, ending up on the third floor, then made their way down to the basement, then back up to the second floor. Still, they hadn’t been able to find it. Panicking a little as they noticed the hallways beginning to empty and the classroom doors beginning to close, they checked their phone one more time before glancing up to see a familiar head of hair. Praying they weren’t wrong, Y/N speed-walked toward the figure. 

“Hey, Peter, right?”

The taller looked down at them, surprised, an expression which was quickly replaced by a smile. 

“Yeah! You’re in my photography class, right?”

“Yeah, Y/N. Say, Peter, I’m new here, and I was wondering if you could help me get to,” they glanced at his phone, “Chem 108? I have been up and down and all over and I can't find it,”

“Chem 108? With Schadler? That’s actually my next class!” 

“No way, awesome. Mind if I walk with you?”

“Yeah, of course,” 

The two walked in silence for a moment, before Peter broke it.

“So, you’re new here, right?” Peter directed Y/N to the staircase, holding it open for them. 

“Yeah, I'm actually from Michigan,” they responded. “I moved here over the summer,”

“Yeah, cause I was thinking, I hadn’t seen you around before. Most kids who choose STEAM have been in this program since middle school,”

“Isn’t Midtown a STEM school?”

“Yeah, but we do offer some arts classes,”

“Oh, yeah,”

The slightly awkward response ended up letting the conversation die out a little. Eventually, the two arrived at the third floor doors, with Y/N holding the door for Peter this time. 

“See, here’s the way,” Peter said. “You gotta cut through the secret hallway, otherwise you’ll get stuck in first pod with people heading downstairs,”

“Wait, what the fuck does that mean?”

He laughed lightly. “You’ll get it. For now, just go through this hallway and you’ll be right at the classroom,”

“What the hell is this pod shit anyways? None of my old schools were like this?”

“Oh, here, I'll show you in class,” 

Peter held the door open for Y/N, and they entered the class. 

“Ah, good of you to join us, Parker,” The teacher, who was apparently named Mr. Schadler, turned to Y/N. “You must be the new student, right?”

He nodded silently. All eyes were on him, and he suddenly felt self conscious. 

“Well, take a seat,” Schadler spoke, breaking the awkward pause. 

“Oh, yeah,” Y/N murmured. He followed Peter to the back of the class, where there were two seats available. 

Thank goodness, they thought. They didn’t want to be sitting alone, especially not after that entrance. Face slightly flushed, they avoided eye contact with the other students. 

“Anyways, as I was saying,” Schadler began. “Syllabus is online, and the code to the textbook is written on the board,” He pointed to a link written on the board. “I don't have much else to say, we only have around ten minutes left in class, so I’ll give you this time to get to know your peers. If you have any questions, I’m at my desk,”

The sounds of chatter began to fill the room, and they turned to Peter, only to notice that he was talking to a girl. She was gorgeous, with dark curly hair that was red in the sun beams. Looking away, they put their head down, trying to catch a few minutes of sleep. Honestly, it was the best way to pass the time. He didn’t really feel like talking to anyone, talking to Parker was enough. Besides, it didn’t look like he was going to explain what the pods were anytime soon. 

“And this is Y/N,” he heard a snippet of conversation. “Y/N?”

“I think they’re sleeping, Peter,” a girl's voice, presumably the girl he was talking to, chimed in. 

“Oh, yeah. They’re not going to have a very nice nap, though, class is about to end,”

“Yeah. Anyways, did you…”

Y/N zoned out from the rest of the conversation, allowing the ambient chatter to lull them into sleep. Right as he was about to fall asleep, though, the bell rang. Cursing, they grabbed their stuff. Just as he was about to make his way out, though, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

It was Parker. 

“Hey, wanna trade schedules?” He asked. “We might have more classes together, and I can show you around,”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, sure,” they pulled out their phone as Peter pulled out a sheet of paper.

They scanned each other’s schedules, before looking up. 

“Wait, do we have all the same classes?” Peter asked. 

“I don't know, are you in Calc A/B?”

“Oh, no, I have a different math. And you have psychology instead of engineering. Other than that though,”

“Yeah, hey, that’s pretty cool,” Y/N was a little bit excited. Parker seemed nice enough, and while they had no expectations of becoming friends, it would be nice to have someone they knew in most of his classes. 

“Cool, yeah. Hey, by the way, this is MJ,” he pointed a thumb towards the girl he was talking to. 

“Hey,” she waved. 

“Well, we should get going,” Peter rubbed his hands together. “Um, I have math now, but you both have psych, right?”

“Oh, wait, really?” MJ asked. “Cool,”

“Yeah,” Y/N responded. 

The three of them had reached the stairwell, and MJ and Peter said their goodbyes. MJ and Y/N walked to psych in silence, something they were content with. They didn’t really want to get involved in Parker’s inner circle, something that MJ seemed to agree with. 

The day went by fairly fast, with Peter and Y/N sitting next to each other in most of their classes. Peter introduced them to a blonde girl named Gwen Stacy, an outgoing girl who seemed intent on engaging him in conversation. They found out that she loved photography, making them promise to take photos with her sometime. 

As soon as the final bell rang, they grabbed their stuff, making a dash for the door. They were itching to get home and take some photos, New York being one of the most beautiful places they had ever seen. Sure, it was cramped and crowded, but it was nice. The crowds offered them lots of chances to get good, candid photos of people. And besides, the biggest reason they were excited to be in New York was Spider-Man. 

Spiderman. Y/N had heard so much about him. Living in mostly rural areas meant that they didn’t even have a chance of meeting him, but now that they were in the big city? Well, they were hoping to at least get a few good photos of him. That would surely help them get a position in some photography studio.

Y/N didn’t know what they wanted to be after graduation. If it were up to them, they would be a photographer. But they knew, firsthand, that being settled could only come if you had a stable job. Their parents had been working hard to secure a job, but they had moved over 20 times over the last 17 years. They were tired of it. Thankfully, New York seemed to be permanent. Their parents had found a decent job, and it looked like they were finally ready to settle.

They made their way back home, which wasn’t too far from the school, to grab their camera. Their  parents weren’t home, as usual, so they didn’t even bother announcing their arrival. Instead, they ran up the stairs, grabbed his stuff, and carefully walked back down. The lighting today was perfect, and they were ready to hunt for Spider-Man. 

They did not find Spider-Man. 

Sure, they had several photos of the neon lights, the alleyways, and the strange, perpetually grumpy people who lived there, but they had not even a single shot of Spider-Man. Spider-Man was a hero of sorts, and New York was a big place, so it was unlikely that they would find him on the first day of their trying. Still, they were disappointed. 

They began heading home, seeing as how it had started to get pretty dark, snapping a few nighttime photos along the way. The cool night breeze wasn’t unwelcome after the warmer day they had had, but nonetheless, they shrugged their jacket a little closer, and headed home. 

The next day was warmer than before, something Y/N was glad for. It was probably around 70 degrees, making it perfect summer going into fall weather. 

The school hallways, however, were freezing. They were shivering inside of first hour, and were honestly grateful when it came time to go to lunch. Every school had access to the rooftop, and Midtown was no different. The old fashioned building still had a fire escape with a ladder, and that was what they used to climb up. The weather had only gotten warmer, and they were ready to eat then sleep in the warm sunshine. 

Upon climbing up they realized that they weren't alone. Gwen, MJ, and Parker were already sitting up there. 

“Oh, hey, Y/N! Didn’t expect to see you here,” Peter called. 

“Yeah, sorry man, didn’t realize this spot was already taken. My bad,”

“No, no, c’mere,”

Y/N froze. On the one hand, they didn’t want to intrude, but on the other, they really wanted a nap. It would be fine. They just didn’t have to contribute to the conversation. Besides, the three would wake them up when it was time to go back in, so honestly, this was a blessing in disguise. Slowly, they finished climbing up the ladder, and hopped over the ledge. They walked over to where the group was and sat down a little ways away from them, close enough that an outsider would say they were all together, but far enough that hopefully they wouldn’t be too engaged with. 

“So,” Peter began. “How’s your second day?”

“It’s been alright, I guess. I like the teachers and stuff, and content isn’t too bad. Although,” they smiled, “It is only the second day, so,”

“How do you like Williams?” MJ asked. 

“Williams… psych?”

“Yeah,”

“Oh, she’s nice,”

“Yeah,” MJ scrutinized them, narrowing her eyes. 

“We were actually just talking about Williams, actually,” Gwen chimed in. “Do you know a kid named Flash?”

“Flash? Uh,” Y/N had to think about that one for a second. “Thompson?”

“Yeah,” Peter responded.

“No, not really, I mean, I saw him in class but like, I don't know the guy or anything,”

“You'll get to know him a lot better,” MJ nodded. “Don't worry,”

“MJ!” Gwen exclaimed, laughing. “That’s so mean!”

“Oh, come on,” MJ giggled. “It’s true!”

“Uh,” Y/N turned to Peter. “Should I be worried?”

Peter sighed. “Flash is probably the biggest douchebag ever. He loves to bully people, which is fucking stupid, but he loves to pick on “nerds,”” he made air quotes, “the most,”

“Oh,” A pang of slight hurt shot through Y/N. They knew that they and the other three weren’t really friends, but still. They were so used to being an outcast and not having any friends that anyone showing any kind of friendly behavior really made them attached. 

Whatever. They didn’t want to be friends with them anyways. 

“Yanno what,” they spoke. “I gotta go anyway. It was nice talking to you guys,” they stood to leave, ignoring their expressions. 

“Wait, Y/N!” Peter called, but they didn’t turn around. 

They climbed down the ladder and the stairs, jumping down the last few steps. 

They made their way back inside, heading back to their fourth hour class. They didn’t feel like eating in the lunchroom, and honestly, that entire thing had killed their appetite. They threw away the apple they had brought for lunch, and made their way outside his classroom. 

Oh, wait. They shared this class with Peter, so they would end up seeing him again. 

Fuck. 

Maybe they should skip? They didn’t really feel like interacting, and besides, they hadn’t skipped once the entire year. That was technically true. 

They had almost got kicked out of a school once because they skipped so much. That hadn’t been fun. Thankfully they were going to be moving anyway. It wasn’t like their grades were bad, though. Still, if they were here to stay, Y/N figured that they should probably not be skipping on the second day of school. 

The bell rang just as they finished their thought, so they sat up, dusting off their pants, hearing the sounds of steps beginning to come closer. The teacher opened the door, so they made their way inside, feeling a lot lighter. 

Wait. 

Lighter?

Oh. 

They had left their backpack up on the roof. Shit. 

They groaned, putting their head down, at least until a tap on their shoulder pulled them out of their negativity. 

“Y/N?”

They lifted their head up, finding a familiar face holding a familiar backpack. 

“Hey, man, I’m really sorry about MJ’s comment. Flash comes after me too, and honestly, she’s a tough love kind of girl,”

“Thanks for bringing me my backpack,” 

“Yeah, no problem. Are we good?” 

They looked up at Peter and found they really didn’t want beef with anyone. They had had plenty of people not like them before, and it wasn’t fun at all. They had no intention of having issues with someone, especially in a place where they were going to be living permanently.

“Yeah, we are. Sorry about storming off,”

Peter smiled, tension leaving his shoulders. “No problem, man. I get it,”

He sat next to Y/N, setting his own bag down next to him and pulling out a notebook. 

“You ready for Bio?” He asked.

“No, not really. I'm more of an art person myself,”

“Really? Why Midtown then? Most art people tend to go to South,”

“My parents don't really want me to be an artist. And besides, most artists don't make much. I'm hoping to get some really good photos, that way a studio will hire me. But otherwise, I don't have much of a plan and I figured joining a STEM school would be good, yanno?”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Say, if you like photography-” Peter was cut off by the teacher starting class. “If you like photography,” he whispered, “there’s a schoolwide competition for a hundred dollars right after spring break. A lot of people sign up but I think you could definitely do it,”

“You think?” Y/N whispered back. “I'll give it a shot. Thanks man,”

“Yeah, any time,”

The rest of Y/N’s classes flew by, with nothing too exciting happening. They and Gwen caught up a little bit, and they came to realize that she was actually pretty nice. She shared psych with them and MJ, except she sat in the back next to her. She invited them to join her, which they gladly accepted. MJ was still avoiding them, but that was fine by them. They had no reason to want to be friends with someone who didn’t want to be friends with them, as long as she stayed civil. There was no reason for them to have any issues with anyone. 

They began heading home, when a familiar voice called out to them. 

“Y/N!” It was Gwen. “Y/N! Hold on!” 

They stopped and turned around, seeing her dashing toward them. 

“Hey, Gwen,”

“MJ and I are going to go watch Peter practice for quiz bowl. You think you’d be interested?”

“Um- I’m not sure,”

“You totally don't have to, but you never know, it might be fun,” 

“Alright, yeah, why not,” they agreed. It wouldn’t do any harm, and it wasn’t like they had anything better to do. 

“Cool beans! C’mon, it's this way,” and she led them back to the school, taking them down to the basement. 

“Alright then, anything else before we start?”

Y/N could hear a male voice calling in the room at the end of the hallway. 

“Nope,” a vaguely familiar voice responded. 

“Parker? Evans?” 

“Nope,”

“Alright then, lets go,”

Gwen and Y/N sat down in the vacant seats next to MJ. 

“Hey, I brought Y/N, I hope that’s okay,” Gwen murmured to MJ. 

“Yeah, no, of course,” She flashed a tight smile to them, which they returned.

“Alright, we’ll start off easy,” the teacher at the front of the room called. “This empire completely annihilated the Saka, who were Scythians ruling the Western Satraps. Its founder consolidated power by marrying a Lichhavi princess. Attacks led by Mihirakula, a ruler of the Hephthalites, spelled the end of this empire, whose zenith occurred under the rule of Samudra. Contemporaneous with Rome, this empire fell to the White Huns. For 10 points, name this empire which included the "Golden Age" of Indian culture and was founded by Chandra,”

Almost instantaneously, a blonde kid that Y/N recognized as Flash threw his hand into the air. 

“The Gupta Empire,”

“Very good, Flash,” The teacher called. “Alright, next question. According to this text..” 

Y/N lost interest nearly immediately, though in the back of their mind, they were silently answering the questions. 

“And finally, the last question of the day. This was the 2014 nationals final question. In one of this artist's paintings, a limp arm emerges from a pile of rubble on which the title personification kneels with out-turned palms. This artist of Greece Expiring on the Ruins of Missolonghi depicted an Ottoman atrocity in The Massacre at Chios. He commemorated the July Revolution with a painting in which a bare-breasted woman brandishes a tricolor. For 10 points, name this French Romantic painter of Liberty Leading the People,”

The room was silent. No hands, no nothing, just pure silence. 

“Anyone?”

“It’s Delacroix,” Y/N murmured to Gwen. 

“Say it,” She encouraged. 

“What? No, I don't want to-”

“Y/N knows it!” She announced. 

“You do?” The teacher turned around, looking at him with surprise. 

“Um, yeah, his name was Delacroix. Eugene Delacroix if I remember correctly,”

The teacher checked his sheet. “That is correct. Impressive! You said your name was?”

“Y/N,” they responded. “Y/N L/N,” 

“Well, L/N. We sure could use you on the team. We have plenty of openings but not enough people, and that was a pretty tough question. How many of these other ones did you know?”

“Most of them,” they replied sheepishly. 

“Well then!” He clapped his hands. “Practices are here, every other Thursday. If you’re interested, give it a shot. No pressure, no commitment needed,”

“I'll keep that in mind,” Y/N responded. They turned to look at Gwen, who was smiling at them. 

“Alright guys, that wraps it up for today!” The teacher announced. “Parker, Thompson, King, great job today. Keep it up,”

Flash preened. 

The sounds of chairs being pushed across tile filled their ears as everyone began filling out of the classroom. 

“Alright, then,” MJ picked up her bag, followed by Gwen. “I gotta head out, I've got some shit to do at home. See y’all later,” 

“Yeah, I gotta go too, dance is about to start. I'll see you tomorrow!” And with that she left too. 

“Hey,” Peter caught up with Y/N. “Good job on that question! That even had me stumped,” 

“Thanks, man. You were pretty good too,”

“Heh, thanks,” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I've been doing this for a while, since probably seventh grade,”

“Really? They allow seventh graders in quiz bowl?”

“No, not really. We kind of lied on the age thing, don't tell anyone,” he grinned, mischief dancing in his eyes. 

“Who would I tell,” they scoffed. 

The two of them walked up the flight of stairs to the first floor, where they stopped at the entrance. 

“Well, it was pretty cool seeing you at quiz bowl practice. I really hope you join the team,” Peter smiled. 

“Yeah, it was sweet seeing you answer those questions and piss off Flash,” Y/N laughed. 

“Yeah, believe me, he does not like me. I don't even know why, I've literally never done anything to the dude in my life,”

“Well, some people are just assholes. Back in Cali, I used to have people push me every time they saw me for literally no reason,”

“Seriously? That’s fucked up,”

“Tell me about it, I had to deal with it every single day. After a while it got more annoying than anything,”

“Ugh, I can imagine,”

They stood there for a beat. 

“Well, I need to get going, Aunt May probably needs some help around the house. See you tomorrow, dude!” And with that, he walked out.

Y/N adjusted their backpack, smiling slightly. As they were about to leave, they caught sight of Flash out of the corner of his eye. Remembering what MJ had said, they ducked behind a pillar and began walking as fast as they could. 

Apparently they weren’t fast enough, because Flash’s voice boomed through the empty hallway. 

“Y/N!”

Oh, shit. 

They froze like a deer in headlights. Turning around slowly, they plastered their most friendly smile on their face in hopes of making sure the situation didn’t escalate. 

“Hey, Flash, right? What’s up, man?”

“Nothing much, nothing much, heard you might be joining quiz bowl soon, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Y/N chuckled sheepishly. 

“That was a good question you answered. I was totally stumped,”

He stood there, eyes boring into Y/N. 

“Um, yeah, I'm just gonna,” Y/N motioned to the door. “I gotta go, yanno,”

“Oh, yeah, don't wanna hold you up, little dude. Just wanted to let you know,” he leaned in. “Friendly advice. Don't join quiz bowl. Or I will make life a living hell for you. I don't need some new kid coming in trying to one up me, you feel me?”

Y/N tried not to gulp audibly. They had a habit of getting into fights, sure, and could hold their own, but Flash? Flash had at least over half a foot on them, and was built like a goddamn linebacker. He could crush Y/N with his pinky and not even bat an eye. This was someone they didn’t want to piss off. And yet, yet they had the desire to laugh in his face. To show him that they weren’t some nerd that he could bully around. 

“That's real nice, Flash. Thanks for the advice,” they nodded. “I'll see you in class tomorrow, yeah?” Y/N turned to leave. 

“See you around,”

Y/N could hear Flash laughing but didn’t dare turn around. They were ashamed to say it, but they walked home a little faster that day. 

The days came and went, and soon enough, it was time for their very first quiz. It was in chemistry, specifically, and quite honestly Y/N hadn’t studied at all. Still, it was fairly easy, just basic information about bonds that they had never really had an issue with. It appeared that Peter didn’t have any issue with it either, because he submitted his test just seconds before they could get up and submit theirs, which was a little frustrating. Still, Y/N was second, which wasn’t too shabby. 

“Hey,” Peter whispered. “Hey, Y/N,”

“Yeah?”

“Did you ever figure out how the pods worked?”

“Oh, that? I mean, not really, I kinda just follow people around,”

“Ok, here,” Peter pulled out a sheet of paper, which looked like an old test. Y/N caught a glimpse of 110% written on the front side in red ink. They turned away for a moment, taking a deep breath. It wasn’t even in the same subject, so it didn’t really matter. Still, they felt this inexplicable urge to prove that they were the top of the class, no matter what the subject was. More often than not, they were, but chemistry had always been their weak point. 

Turning back to Peter, they watched as he drew three squares inside a larger rectangle. 

“Ok, so,” he began. “This is Midtown. This here,” he pointed at the paper. “This is the main road. When you enter, there’s a hallway with two staircases. To the left of the left one is first pod, the one in the middle is second pod, and the rightmost one is third pod. So when you see, like, 304-3, that means third floor, room number four, third pod. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, no, that’s pretty easy. What about the secret hallways?”

“Ok, so,” he leaned in. “Do you remember the,”

“Parker, L/N, you better not be talking back there,” the teacher interrupted. 

“No, no, sorry Mr. Schadler!” Peter called back. 

I’ll tell you later, Peter scribbled in messy handwriting on the paper. 

Ok, Y/N wrote back. 

Class ended shortly thereafter, with Peter, MJ, and Y/N racing out. 

“I’d walk with you guys, but I don't wanna be late to engineering. Dawson is already up my ass, and I really don't want detention. See ya!” Peter dashed off in the opposite direction, leaving Y/N and MJ to walk towards the second pod staircase. 

“So, Y/N,” MJ began. “How do you think you did on the test?”

“I think I did ok, this was just bonds and stuff,”

“That's good, that’s good. Ten bucks Peter gets a perfect score, again,”

“Really? Is he good at chemistry?”

“Oh, he’s good at everything. He's like one of the smartest people I know,”

“Really?”

“Yep, he’s been on the honor roll three years in a row,”

“Huh, good for him,” Y/N didn’t really see the point of this conversation. “But hey, I’m sure you did well on this last test too, you finished really fast,”

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure I did. Like you said, it's just bonds and stuff,”

Her confidence was refreshing, if Y/N was being honest. Most people would say that they weren’t smart, or that they weren’t good at things, so hearing someone say that they thought they did well was nice. 

“Hey, Y/N,” MJ spoke up. “Look, I know I haven’t been the nicest, but I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out with me, Gwen, and Peter after school. It’ll be at my place,”

Y/N paused for a moment, weighing it in their mind. On the one hand, they could do it, as they didn’t have anything to do. On the other hand, they weren’t sure about hanging out with them. 

“Gwen will bring her camera, too. My room has nice lighting, if you’re interested,”

Y/N was sold. “Yeah, sure, sounds good. I’ll probably be a little bit late, though, since I've gotta go grab my camera. Don't worry, I don't live too far,”

“Oh, that’s fine. I'll text you my address, yeah?”

“Cool, yeah,”

They walked into class together, and Y/N found a seat next to Gwen. They greeted each other, and while MJ and Gwen engaged in conversation, Y/N found themselves lost in thought. 

Why was MJ inviting them? They weren’t really friends with anyone, except maybe Gwen, who they had taken quite a liking to. But even then, they wouldn’t count them as close enough to hang out. Maybe they were going to haze them or something? If Flash was any indication of the kind of people that were here, then that was not a good sign. Still, though, Peter himself got bullied by Flash too. So maybe they weren’t going to haze them. But still, the idea of hanging out was a little intimidating. 

“Hey, MJ,” Y/N whispered. “Sorry I wont be able to hang out today, I just remembered I have to help my parents with unpacking. I’m so sorry,”

“That's fine,” MJ didn’t look at him. “Some other time, then,”

“Yeah, one hundred percent,”

Y/N went back to musing, while the sounds of the teacher talking and Gwen taking notes helped them zone out. 

School let out faster than expected, or perhaps their perception of time was warped. They regretted not going to hang out with Gwen, MJ, and Peter, but then again, they weren’t friends, and it would be better overall if they didn't get too involved. 

Home. Heading home was not something they were looking forward to, if they were being honest. Their parents were never home, making the house a dark, empty place. All they really had was their camera.

Today, Y/N figured they would be taking some photos to make up for the strange disappointment in their heart. They grabbed their camera, checking the lens. It was dirty, and they needed to swap it out anyways. They only had two lenses, a high zoom and a standard one that came with the camera. They swapped out the standard one and put on the high zoom. Heading out the door into the warm air, they began searching for photos. He found some lovely birds, interesting people, and fascinating trees, but nothing too interesting that they didn’t already have photos on photos of. 

Night was beginning to fall, but Y/N wasn’t done. They had just headed into the heart of New York, with beautiful alleys that had neon lighting hinting at basement bars. It was gorgeous, with string lights, music playing, and lovely neon lighting illuminating what would otherwise be a dirty alleyway. 

They stepped into the alley, crouching down to take some angled shots. They were so engrossed that they didn’t notice the sounds of footsteps behind him. It wasn’t until they felt a hand on their shoulder that they realized that the sound of the music must have drowned out the man who was behind them. 

“Hello, lovely,” a gruff, male voice spoke from behind. “Why don't you stand up, nice and slow, and we don't have to make this any rougher than it has to be?”

Slowly, Y/N stood. The instant they did, they felt a knife at their back, ready to pierce their skin at any wrong move. 

“See, here’s the thing,” A different voice spoke, belonging to a man who was walking around into his field of vision. “I don't think you’ve been here before, have you?”

“No, I haven’t,”

“Yeah, I figured. Now, I'm gonna teach you something. It’s nice and easy. You give us your money, and we’ll leave you alone. Simple, right?”

“Look, man, I don't have anything on me. I'm just a high schooler, I don't carry cash on me. All I have is my license,”

“Hmm,” The man behind him spoke. “What about that camera of yours?”

“What?” 

Oh, no, this couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening, their camera was all they had. 

“It’s not worth much, really,”

“Oh, but I think it is,” the man leered. “I think I want that camera,”

“C’mon, man, can we work something out?” Y/N pleaded. “This was a gift,”

“Shut up,” the man holding the knife growled. “Rip that camera off,”

Pain flashed on their neck and down their spine as they felt the camera be torn off their neck. 

“Ah!” They cried. 

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Y/N felt the knife leave their back. The instant it did, they turned around and decked the man behind them, feeling his fist connect with soft tissue. The knife clattered to the ground, and Y/N grabbed it, backing into the wall and pointing it at the two men. 

“Stay back!” They cried. “Gimme my fucking camera or I swear,”

“You little shit,” The taller of the men growled. He rushed forward, swinging, a hit that connected with Y/N’s face directly, causing them to collapse. 

“There we go, that’s how it should be, yeah? Don't ever try shit like that again,”

The two men, laughing, turned to leave. Y/N stood up, wiping their face, trying to run after them. 

“Hey!” They yelled. “Get back here!”

Just as they were almost out of the alley, a dark, shadowed figure jumped down from a rooftop.

“Hey, fellas, what's up? Yanno something? I don't think that’s yours. I think that belongs to that nice person behind you,”

Oh god. It was Spider-Man. It was Spider-Man and Y/N didn’t even have their camera. 

“Oh, shit,” they heard one of the men say. The sound of something falling to the ground and crashing rang through the alleyway. The camera. They had dropped it. 

The men began sprinting the opposite direction, back towards Y/N, who felt themselves  freeze. It was as though their legs were glued to the floor. They knew what was going to happen. The men would hold him hostage, Spiderman wouldn’t be able to do anything, and there would be nothing anyone could do. 

Just as the men were about to reach them, the sound of webs firing filled the air. The men stopped in an instant, and were pulled back by Spider-Man, who then glued them to the wall. The second that Y/N was sure that they were secured, there was no way that they could be stopped from racing to their camera. Sure enough, once it had been dropped on the hard concrete, the internal parts were all outside. Even better, there were undoubtedly pieces that had fallen into the metal grating that covered up a storm drain or a sewer. Y/N put the camera up to their eye, but saw that the mirrors inside must have been shattered. There was no saving this camera. 

“Fuck,” they swore. 

“Are you alright?” Spiderman had walked over to where they were. 

“No, not really, my goddamn camera is broken. I saved up for months to buy this,”

“I am so sorry,”

“Yeah, no, it's fine,” he turned to face Spider-Man properly. “Thank you for saving me. Lord knows what would have happened without you,”

“Yeah, of course,” Spiderman rubbed the back of his neck. “Im- uh, sorry about your camera,” He leaned in, cupping Y/N’s face and rubbing the spot where he had been hit. “That’s going to bruise,”

“Oh, this? Nah, its fine, I’ve had way worse injuries,”

“To your face?”

Y/N laughed dryly. “Yeah, well, you know how it is,”

“Unfortunately,” Spiderman huffed. Leaning back, he slowly dropped his hand, and clutched Y/N’s in his own. “I really hope that your face heals,”

Y/N found himself entranced by the warm words and the weight of the masked stranger's hand in their own. 

“Um, yeah, thanks,” they murmured, a little flustered. 

“Anytime,” Spiderman began moving back, still not letting go of their hand. “I'll see you around, yeah?” 

He finally let go, and with that, he swung away into the night.