Adventures in Babysitting ↠ Peter Parker [1] ✓

09 | Weird Question

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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
ix. WEIRD QUESTION

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  PETER PARKER KNEW HELL. He knew what it was like to be in hell fully well. He had been orphaned as a child, been bitten by a radioactive spider, watched his uncle die, was beaten up by some of the Avengers, discovered his homecoming date's and future wife's fathers were murderous villains, had buildings dropped on him, fought aliens, and one time, he literally died. So when Peter Parker said he knew what it was like to be in hell, he wasn't kidding.

   Today was Friday, July 28th, and Peter still hadn't talked to Riley. He knew she was busy, and he couldn't blame her for that. Maybe he could blame the universe, but never her.

   Peter knew that he would wait for Riley Stark until the end of time, but the end of time was far away and he was growing impatient.

   Peter was restless. He had never felt this way about someone before. Sure, he'd had crushes on people before, but he had never felt the way he felt about Riley ever. Something about her made his stupid little heart soar.

   Peter Parker could be found in his cabin that afternoon. While Ned was getting lunch, Peter had decided to do some cleaning to take his mind off of things. He had been up to his elbows in cleaning products when Michelle Jones barged into the cabin in a state of absolute fury.

   "Alright, that's it!" MJ roared. She slammed the door shut behind her prior to marching forward. "I've had enough of this shit!"

   Peter furrowed his eyebrows together. "Hi, MJ, come on in...?" he trailed off. He took note of the frustrated look on her face. "What's wrong?"

   "What's wrong?" mocked MJ. "What's wrong is you! And Riley!"

   "Me? Wait, Riley?" echoed Peter. Worry rippled through his whole body as he dropped his cleaning wipe. "What's wrong with Riley? Did something happen? Was it Roman? I swear—"

   MJ rolled her eyes and hit his arm. "You guys like each other!" shouted MJ. "Did you both manage to forget that? You like each other a lot!"

   Peter's breathing became hitched in his throat. "How...?"

   "Oh, don't try to play stupid with me, Peter Parker," MJ reprimanded. "Riley's my best friend, and I've known you since middle school. You guys make heart eyes at each other all day long, and then pretend you don't like each other when it's obvious!"

   "...Is it that obvious?"

   "Yes!" confirmed MJ. She sighed, trying to calm herself down. "I know she told you that she likes you. ...She did, didn't she?" Peter mutely nodded. "Then, why the hell haven't you told her you like her, too?"