secret confessions
it all started on monday, when peter opened up his locker to grab the books he needed for the first three periods of his day. a piece of paper - with a typed message - had fallen out, and peter had grabbed it as quick as possible. at first, peter had thought it must have been a note that he wrote to himself, reminding him about some homework he had to do, and he'd forgotten that he'd written it. but after closer inspection, peter realised that this sheet of paper had absolutely nothing to do with school work.
you looked cute last friday. i mean, you always look beautiful, but friday's outfit was just... woah. and you should 100% keep your hair curly more often. i'd love to run my fingers through it - and not even in a dirty way.
peter blushed after reading it. he still got surprised when any of his friends complimented him, so when he found out that he had a 'secret admirer', or something along those lines, it took him a while to process it. who would like him? peter parker? the message was typed, it's not as if he could work out who it was through the handwriting. in the end, peter decided to keep it to himself, in case it was some sick joke played on him by brad - peter didn't think that flash would sink that low.
~~~~~
peter found another note in the same place after lunch, when he was collecting his chemistry textbooks. he wasn't expecting another one. either this person genuinely liked peter, or someone was intent on carrying on with this prank. peter still hadn't mentioned it to ned, mj, harley, or betty over lunch. and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to.
i saw you while you were reading the note i gave you this morning. i was unsure whether to give it to you - cheesy gestures aren't my usual thing, you know? but i know you like them. and i'm too much of a coward to talk to you in person, so i settled for this. i suppose your blush after reading it was satisfactory enough for me. so now i'm going to keep doing them.
this note made peter blush again, a small smile on his face. if peter were to tell any of his friends, it would probably be mj - seeming as she was the best at keeping things from other people, and she was always the best at giving advice. if he told ned or betty, everyone would know by this evening. don't get him wrong, peter loved his friends, but those two just couldn't keep a secret. if peter were to tell harley, he'd joke about it, and tony would definitely find out, and would tease peter about it. so peter settled for telling mj if this carried on.
~~~~~
and it did carry on. peter found a note in his locker once again that afternoon, when he was putting his things from his previous classes away and taking any books home that he needed for his homework. this one was shorter, but it still had the same effect on peter as the other two did.
you always have this cute little expression on your face when you're concentrating.
peter put all three notes from that day into an empty section in his folder, deciding to keep them. he didn't know who was writing these, and in some way, it was a good thing, because peter only had eyes for one person. if this mystery person wasn't that specific boy, he'd have to reject them, and he hoped he wouldn't have to do that any time soon. besides, peter tells himself, this is probably a joke. no one would do this willingly, would they?
~~~~~
the notes carry on for the rest of the week. three notes a day, all five days of that week. peter decided to tell mj, so he'd invited her over to his and may's apartment that evening. peter had also invited harley, ned, and betty, but he made sure that they arrived an hour after mj. of course he hadn't told them that mj would be there earlier. a part of peter felt mean - leaving his friends out - but he wanted some rational advice, and mj would give him just that.
"okay, so what do they say?" mj said, sitting opposite peter. the boy went to hand her the notes, before she stopped him. "read them out loud to me. it's easier for me to tell if they sound genuine. don't give me that look, parker. it might not make sense to you, but do you want my advice or not?" peter just nodded, deciding against arguing mj - which was probably the best decision.
"okay, so the first one says: 'you looked cute last friday. i mean, you always look beautiful, but friday's outfit was just... woah. and you should 100% keep your hair curly more often. i'd love to run my fingers through it - and not even in a dirty way.'" peter looked up at mj after he finished.
"cheesy, but sounds legit. next one?" the girl replied straight away.
"uh, second one: 'i saw you while you were reading the note i gave you this morning. i was unsure whether to give it to you - cheesy gestures aren't my usual thing, you know? but i know you like them. and i'm too much of a coward to talk to you in person, so i settled for this. i suppose your blush after reading it was satisfactory enough for me. so now i'm going to keep doing them.'"
"okay, so they're obviously watching you, seeing if you found the note. this means that they were most likely waiting for your reaction. if it was a joke, i doubt they'd stand there very long. and you're nearly almost late. so yeah, i'm starting to think that this is more likely to be someone who has feelings for you. also, they're clearly writing these throughout the day, and if this was some sort of prank, they'd probably have them all pre-written at home. or they'd be handwritten while the person was bored in class. whoever's writing these has definitely put in effort. next one."
"this one's really short. 'you always have this cute little expression on your face when you're concentrating.'"
"okay, so now this is showing that they actually pay attention to you. if it's any reassurance to you, this isn't something flash would do. also, flash doesn't have it in him to keep this sort of thing quiet for an entire week. so if this was a joke, it would probably be brad - let's be real. and he's not exactly got a massive reputation. at least, not as big as flash's. so you probably wouldn't be humiliated. still, it's funny to think about brad staring at you and trying to work out sappy things to write on a fake love note." mj smirked, seeing peter's look of disgust.
"ew. not helping."
"sorry. carry on."
and it went on like that, peter reading out the notes, and mj giving her opinion on it. there were a few that made mj consider the whole thing as a joke. but only one or two out of the fifteen that peter had received. she was trying to work out who peter's 'secret admirer' could be, and - although she wouldn't admit it to anyone - she had no clue. she couldn't even pinpoint a few people. the notes were so vague that it was unclear whether or not peter knew this person well. until the last note.
"this one's a little less, uh, pg?" peter started. mj just nodded, telling him to hurry up and read it. "'every time we hang out, i have to resist the urge to kiss you. it's stupid - i really should try and have some self contol. and not to be horny, but when you laugh and your head goes back... you don't have the right to leave your neck all exposed like that." peter was hardcore blushing and his voice had been to reduced to a whisper by the time he'd finished reading that note.
and mj knew exactly who was behind these notes, just from that final one.
"why are you looking at me like that?"
"those notes are definitely not a joke, parker."
"you know who it is, don't you?"
"yep!"
"and you're not going to tell me?"
"nope! work it out for yourself. the last note is a dead giveaway."
"at least give me a hint!"
"it's a guy."
"that's not helpf-" and peter was cut off by the doorbell. "nevermind, we don't speak of this. can you please put these away for me?" mj nodded, and started putting the notes into peter's folder and into the organiser on his desk. peter opened the door, revealing ned and harley.
"betty's going to be here in about ten minutes, is mj already here?" ned asked, walking into peter's apartment, harley coming in right after him.
"uh, yeah. she got here a little while ago. go through to my room, i'll order the usual pizza? then it'll be here just after betty arrives." peter said. harley and ned nodded in agreement, walking over to peter's room. peter heard them greet mj, and they dived straight into a conversation.
and peter forgot about the notes for the rest of that evening.
~~~~~
peter almost expected a small note to be placed on top of his school books the following monday. but there wasn't. a part of peter was disappointed, before he realised that he didn't even know who these notes were from.
during first period, mj had quirked an eyebrow at peter, asking him if he'd received a note. peter just shook his head. the girl just shrugged and went back to reading her book. peter wondered if she'd confronted the person - well, boy - who'd written those notes. knowing mj, she probably had. then peter started to wonder. if mj knew who it was, would she have told them to leave peter alone? besides, she knew that peter had a big-ass crush on a certain southern boy, so it would make sense if she'd told the author of the notes that peter didn't have feelings for them - which would explain the lack of a note this morning. some part of peter was grateful, but another part of him felt guilty. he still wanted to find out who was writing the notes, even if mj had told him to leave peter alone.
~~~~~
peter didn't receive a single note that week, and although he was disappointed, he was also relieved. the lack of notes proved his theory he came up with on monday - mj had told the boy to leave peter alone - but peter was still no closer to finding out who had written those notes.
however, on the friday afternoon, as peter was getting ready to go to the tower for the weekend, he saw a note - longer than all the previous ones - lying on top of his school textbooks. he grabbed it quickly and read it.
hey, i totally would've handwritten this, but i'm pretty sure you'd know who it was straight away. also, i can edit this easier if i type it. anyways, i'm hoping all of the other notes made you just a little bit happier. as cheesy as it sounds, i hate seeing you sad. as well as me trying to tell you all of the things i love about you, those notes were to try and cheer you up, because i know that flash's comments have been getting to you lately.
also, i apologise for making you consider that this could be a joke. i would never do that. i know that some people would, but i tried to make them as personal as possible, just so you'd think they were genuine - and they are. i like you a ton.
when i started writing these, i didn't know if you felt the same. to be honest, i'm still not sure - even though i have now received some information from a source that tells me that you do feel the same. which i'm surprised about. you could do a lot better than me.
i'll stop rambling now and get to the point.
i heard that you told mj about the messages i've been leaving you, and she's been pestering me everyday this week to confess to you. i tried to do it face-to-face, but i just couldn't form the words. so, here goes nothing, i guess.
i like you, peter parker, a whole damn lot.
- harley
after reading that, peter had the biggest smile on his face, and he ran out of the school, trying to find harley.
~~~~~
it took peter a good five minutes to get to the back of the school, where he found harley - who looked pretty anxious - just sitting there, fiddling with his fingers. the boy obviously wasn't paying attention, seeming as he jumped as peter sat next to him.
"i like you too, harley keener, a whole damn lot."