#locker notes

***

Chemistry period came and half the class were almost dozing off. It was when the doors burst open all the students woke slightly, making them jump in their seats, as well as the teacher. Peter pushed the drawer and hides away his stock of web fluid, attention now at the door.

“Sorry, Sir. The Student Council had an urgent meeting.” Y/n said in heavy breaths. Her forehead was glistening with sweat and her hair was a bit of a mess. She held her books, papers, and binder in one arm. Peter could feel her heartbeat beating loudly from where he was sitting.

“Do you have your permit?” She fished out the piece of paper from her binder and hands it her teacher.

“Alright. You can go ahead and take a seat beside Parker.”

Peter’s ears perked up at the mention of his name. He met her eyes and just how he first saw her, her eyes were unreadable. Everything on the outside was unreadable. But he could feel her heart race faster and louder once he saw him. And he could’ve sworn that he caught her tighten her grip on the books and binder.

Y/n mumbled a silent ‘Thank You.’ and made her way towards his table. Setting down her things and taking the seat beside him. She purposely moved it a bit farther from him and this did not go unnoticed by Peter. He somehow got hurt by this little action, and he didn’t know why.

The teenage boy tried to distract himself from looking at her. It already made him nervous about the thought of bringing up their recent conversation and the fact that she was right beside him was not helping at all. Peter bounced his leg, stared at the board, and tapped his pen against the desk, anything just to distract his unanswered thoughts.  

“Stop that.” A voice pulled him away from his mind. His neck craned a bit towards the source. Y/n’s brows were furrowed, and she wore a frown. Her eyes remained on the board as she wrote on her notebook. “It’s fucking annoying.” She mumbled the last so she wouldn’t be heard by the teacher in front. 

After her cold warning, Peter kept to himself. He could feel the embarrassment rise to his ears. Great, how exactly am I gonna talk to her now? Peter could only wish they were still on that rooftop, conducting their little Parker Therapy. Back then it was easier to reach out to her, seeing as she was vulnerable and transparent. But the Y/n he was sitting with now? She was this intimidating block of ice who doesn’t have any intention on making contact with him.

Because of her cold exterior, Peter wondered even more about how she came to like him when she doesn’t even show it? Peter had only felt her heartbeat now, but he could’ve sworn he also felt it during their first encounter. He knew Y/n was good at hiding her feelings, so it wasn’t a surprise when he hadn’t notice it right away. 

But are his suspicions correct? Does Y/n Toomes like him? He had to know the answers, or else the thoughts would be plaguing his mind for weeks. 

The bell rang, and as soon as Mr. Nelson dismissed the class, Y/n shot up from her seat and quickly gathers her things and headed straight for the door. If Peter didn’t know any better, he would’ve assumed that Y/n was avoiding him like the plague. 

“Y/n, wait.” He called out and reached for the sleeve of her beige sweater. But it slips from his hand as she tugs it away from him.

“I have to get to class.” She replied blandly and leaves the room. 

And with that simple act, it confirmed Peter’s assumption.

***

“Why don’t you just write her a letter again and slip it into her locker like the last time you did with Liz?” his tanned friend suggested, ripping out a piece of paper from one of his notebooks and started folding the corners. 

“First of all, you slipped it in her locker. Second, she’ll probably think someone is playing a sick joke on her.” Third, she’ll easily know that it was him

“Then how about you wait for her after school? She always stays late for Student Council and Homecoming planning.” 

“I’ll come off looking too weird.”

“Text her?”

“I don’t even have her number!”

Ned huffed, “I don’t know dude. I’m all out of ideas.” He finished folding the paper and threw the plane out of boredom. The paper airplane glided across the classroom and crashed pathetically at the corner of the room. Peter eyed the origami and he lit up at the idea that came into his mind. 

“Ned, that’s it!” he jumped up from his seat.

Ned, confused by his sudden outburst, “What did I do?”

And before he could even question his best friend again, Peter was already out the door, his shoes squeaking against the newly polished floor.

***

Y/n Toomes wasn’t a difficult person to find, despite being a busy girl who had a lot on her plate. If Y/n wasn’t at the Student Council room, she would either be in an empty classroom, the rooftop, or the library. 

Peter found her at the library. 

She was hunched over a book and like the sight from the cafeteria, notes and midliners scattered her table. Nobody dared to sit with her, even though the library only had a few students in it. The librarian walked over to her table and conversed with her for a bit. The girl smiled as she nodded at the old woman and she gladly returned the gesture to her.

Peter found her smile contagious, it also made the corners of his lips tug upwards. God, he felt like creep.  Snap out of it Peter! He takes out the paper airplane he made beforehand and smoothing out the wrinkled corners. His head peeks out from the bookshelf and aimed it towards her table. He really hoped this would work. With a deep breath, he throws the paper and quickly hides behind the shelf, taking cover. 

The paper glided swiftly across the room and successfully landed on Y/n’s table and immediately caught her attention. Peter watched silently, his heart pounding in anxiety. He couldn’t bear to watch, so he left the room and decided to wait for tomorrow to come. She held the origami in her hand and looked at her surroundings, curious and wary of a possible stalker. 

The paper airplane had her name written on it, and she could’ve sworn she had already seen the handwriting before. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that someone threw this at her, it was done on purpose. Her curiosity getting the best of her, Y/n unfolds the paper and reads the scribbled note. 

We need to talk. I need to know something, and you have to clear it out for me. If you don’t mind, I wanna do another therapy with you. We can talk at one of our classes together or at the rooftop.

 I’ll be waiting, Stranger. ;)

The note crumpled in her hands. Y/n could feel her face become red; either from embarrassment or annoyance, she didn’t know. Hadn’t she made herself clear to him that she didn’t want to interact with him at all? After their conversation at the gates of the school, Y/n wanted nothing more than to disappear from his line of sight, become invisible to Peter Parker and forget about every interaction they made. Even their little “Parker Therapy” that still held a place in her heart and mind. 

Peter was the first person she felt comfortable around with in a long time. Sure, Liz’s Mom was a dear, she felt a bit comfortable with her, and she was thankful for her, but she never really felt close to her, despite everything she does just to make her feel at home and loved like how her parents did. 

Peter Parker was the first person who felt a bit like home, even though she had only met him personally on that first encounter. God, what has become of her? Getting attached so easily to a guy she barely knew? Y/n had started noticing the little things Peter did during class, lunch and after school. She was everything she thought he would be; a soft nerd with a heart of gold. And it only made her fall for him even more. 

 What happened to her? She fell into a dark abyss, that’s what. 

And in a span of a few months.

Y/n needed to forget about having feelings for him. She realized that as soon as her feelings dawned on her. He was already interested in someone anyway. So why bother with trying to get his attention or confessing? She has too many things to prioritize anyway. And dealing with a broken heart or having any romantic feelings for a softie nerd is not on table. It has to be locked away and thrown to a trench- never to resurface again.

But another problem resurfaces: She was going to have to confront Peter Parker tomorrow.

***

To say that Peter Parker was worried was a little understatement, he was actually terrified. How long has it been since they had that first heart to heart session? Months? Probably. And their last conversation didn’t at all go smoothly. He could still remember her flushed cheeks, her hot tears falling, and her hiccups. And deep inside Peter he felt hurt seeing her like that. Why though? Was it because she was crying or because he was guilty?

Why the hell would I be guilty? Peter was confusing himself even more. 

He was pulled away from his thoughts when he saw Liz walk through the halls. She was beautiful, and Peter couldn’t tell himself to stop staring. They briefly made eye contact and she smiled at him, making his heart go thump thump thump. Peter woke again from his daze when he saw Y/n following behind her cousin. She wore a yellow-knitted sweater, mom jeans, and a pair of white Converses that were a little bit worn out. He saw that same style on countless of girls he would pass by, it was ordinary.  But why did she stuck out of the hundred of students that were passing by?

Her eyes flick towards him and he held the eye contact. There was something unreadable in her eyes but he could hear the familiar beats he heard yesterday. Gradually increasing in pace as they held the eye contact even longer, and Peter could feel his own heart beating too. Y/n gave him a sullen glance before walking away in a much faster pace. Peter stood there, feeling his heart. 

What was happening to him?

  Y/n dumps all her textbooks inside her locker then takes out her notebooks and other things needed for the day. She could feel the little organ inside her rib cage jump up and down in excitement. She placed her hand to calm it down- and it helped, but just a tiny bit. Why was he staring? Why the hell was he staring? Secretly, she peeks from the door of her locker, just to make sure if he was still there.

 He was, and Peter was also looking. 

The slam of her door made the passerby students and the ones beside her jumping at the sudden sound. Y/n walked fast, not caring if she were to bump in some students every now and then. She had to get away from Peter Parker. There was no way in hell she was going to have that conversation with him.

Y/n found herself at peace in English class. Sure, the teacher was a like a fly when discussing the lesson and it kinda bored her classmates out because of the pieces of literature and the constant discussion on proper grammar, but Y/n enjoyed it. Chemistry and English were her fortes, besides being (a little bit) bossy. She was about to take a short nap, after not getting any no thanks to the paper airplane she received yesterday. The lesson was easy after all, and Kevin Mullan, who was twice her size, was perfect coverage for her nap session.

She was about to lay her head on her desk when something pointy poked her arm and landed on her desk. It was another paper airplane. In her head, Y/n was screaming fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! While on the outside she was staring at the folded paper like a bomb waiting to explode. Her eyes calmly searched the room for a familiar mop of brown hair and puppy-like eyes. Lo and behold, there he was, Peter Parker, who was sitting at the farthest seat with a sheepish smile and an awkward wave. 

Since when did he take this class?

  Her sleep-deprived state wasn’t helping her at all. She was starting to forget the littlest things to avoid him at all cost. Peter had more than one classes with her this year compared to last year.

His face egged her to unfold the paper airplane, and slowly she did.

Did you get the other one? I really have to talk to you. There are some things on my mind and you’re the only one who can answer them. It’ll just be another Parker Therapy, so it’ll just be the two of us. What do you say, Stranger?

She turned to him and finds that he had been looking at her the whole time with an expectant look on his face, his knee bobbing up and down, and his habit of playing with his pen. He only did that when he was anxious about something.

Deep inside, Y/n wanted nothing more than to go up on that rooftop with him and spend the rest of the day talking more about their experiences and relating to each other. But she knew what she had to do, or else it would be even harder to forget about the feelings that were building up.

And so, she writes down her response, crumples the piece of paper and throws it back to Peter, who had easily caught it even though he had been taking notes. Y/n didn’t wait for his reaction, so she turns back towards the front and laid her head on her palm and started to doze off. 

No. That was a one-time thing, I’m not doing that again. And stop calling me with that nickname. It pisses me off. 

Peter gulped and the slightly threatening note. He could hear her menacing tone and the icy spit by just reading her response. He kind of expected it though, like last time. She wasn’t an easy egg to crack, so it was going to take a lot more than just two paper airplanes to get the response he wanted. Peter was sure he was gonna get more than just spiteful words coming out of her mouth after this. 

She felt another poke on her left arm, and the familiar texture of paper resting above it. Y/n’s head was starting to boil. And not getting desired sleep plus Peter Parker’s constant letter sending was surely to drive her to her wits’ end. 

I’m not gonna stop sending these if you don’t say yes. :) 

God how she hated him. Her eye twitched while reading the taunting note. The smiley face at the end almost look like it was laughing at her vexation. Who was he to think he can do this to her? They weren’t friends, not even acquaintances. They just happen hit it off at the rooftop and know a little more about each other than other people who surrounded them.

  What the fuck do you want from me, Parker?

  Again, like before, she crumpled the paper and threw it to his desk a little bit more harshly, and he had caught it perfectly, with a smug little smirk dancing on his lips. All the more reason for Y/n to get pissed off. This little shit! Peter knew he was really gonna get it this time. The nerve that appeared on her forehead said so and how she was now harshly writing on her notebook, tearing it, and crumpling it into a ball. It was too late for him too notice the incoming paper, and this time - it had already hit him in the face.

“Ms. Toomes!” the teacher yelled. 

Her voice boomed throughout the classroom, catching the attention of everyone. Peter winced at the sound of her shrill voice and the pain on his nose that he was sure would leave a small mark. What was in that paper? Rocks? he rubbed the sore spot.

“I didn’t start this, Ms. Warren!” Y/n’s voice loomed over the now silent room. “Parker was passing notes during the discussion.” 

Ms. Warren raised an accusatory brow. “And what was in the paper?”

Her lips sealed shut and stared silently at the adult. She didn’t want to tell the whole class what Peter was up to, but she wanted him to finally stop. Should she tell her? “Go on, tell us. What was in the paper that had you two throwing it back and forth?” the teacher pressed. She could feel his anxious stare drilling at the back of her head while Peter waited for a reply.

“N-nothing, Ms. Warren.” she mumbled quietly in shame.

 The teacher didn’t say anything, instead, she takes the pink pad from her table, takes her pen, and gives the pink slip to her. Repeating the action, she gives one to Peter also. He didn’t protest, just silently took the paper and bowed his head in shame. Y/n was the first one out of the door, pushing through the doors to get to detention before he does.

 Upon entering the room, Peter already sees her sitting at the farthest corner of the room with her head laid down, hair covering her face like a curtain. He felt guilty, partly because he was the main of cause of both of them getting detention. He noticed it before, that dark circles were under her eyes and the vibe she would give off when entering school was a little off. Peter can notice a stressed-out person when he sees one, and Y/n was in fact under the weight of it all. The guilt added more. I’m a horrible and selfish person.

Once Mr. Dell excused himself to go to the restroom, Peter moved to the seat beside her. He leaned close, close enough to hear her soft snores (which Peter found adorable) and smell her signature scent, which smelled heavenly. He carefully places the bottle of raspberry iced tea and the breakfast sandwich he had bought from Delmar’s on the way to school. There was barely any space left on her table, so Peter tried his best sneaking it inside her backpack without disturbing Y/n from her peaceful state. She shifted in her seat, and her hair uncovered half of her face. Peter froze at her sudden motion and studied her for a moment before proceeding to place the food. 

Y/n felt something move in her bag, either there was something inside of it or someone was stealing something from her. She stirred awake, eyes slowly opening, and a wave of soft brown tufts greeted her. She knew that wavy lock very well, and the signature scent that she had become hooked on. A part of her wanted to jolt up and make him back away, at least until after detention. But the other part was just keeping her, to just stay, pretend to sleep and maybe he’ll go away on his own. And whatever it was that he was putting inside her bag, she can throw it out any time. 

And so, Y/n stayed. 

The shuffling in her bag stopped, but his presence was still near. She wanted to open her eyes a little, just to take a peek if Peter had gone back to his original seat. But the hair in her eye made it difficult to do so and it was starting to itch her eyelids. She badly wanted to scratch it away. Planning to just go ahead and do it (he won’t even notice she’s awake anyway if her eyes are closed) she scratched away the itch, which relieved her for a bit, only for the sensation to come back. Y/n flinched when she felt her strand of hair move away from her eyes, and it caused her eyes to open.

She had expected Peter was the one in front of her, what she didn’t expect though was how close he was to her face. Close enough for her to see his freckles scatter on his face like stars that could be connected and make out constellations, see every strand of eyelash that she could count if she wanted, and the pools of chocolate brown. 

The same thing could be said for Peter. He didn’t know what drew him in to do what he did and lean in closer to observe her features. It was the first time he was examining Y/n’s features up close. His palms became sweaty, and he gulped at the proximity. Was he supposed to be this close? Her scent became intoxicating the closer her got and he was starting to get addicted to the smell of old books and a bit of jasmine

Realization dawned upon them as soon as they felt each other’s breath on their skin. Y/n jumped away from seat and had her back on the wall, Peter moving a seat away from hers with eyes blown wide at the sudden shock. Both teenagers were flustered, hearts pounding and heat rushing up to their faces. 

“What the hell were you doing?!” she screamed at him.

“I-I uhm...” he started pathetically. “I wanted to give you some snacks? You look like you haven’t eaten breakfast or slept, so- so I just thought I’d give you mine. I’m not even that hungry anyway, and I ate some cereal before I left. I mean oatmeal! Not cereal, ‘coz ah-uhm... Never mind.  A-And I noticed you were scratching your eye, so I moved your hair out of the way so you could sleep better, and you kind of just... woke up.” 

Y/n frowned. “That still doesn’t explain why you were literally inches away from my face, Parker.” 

Because I wanted to look at you. “Uhmm.. I-I was there because.. I-”

“You know what, don’t answer that. It was rhetorical. Just keep yourself on the other side of the classroom.” She zips her bag open, removing the contents Peter had placed inside. “And I’m not some charity case, so you can just go ahead and keep your food.” She slings her bag on her shoulder and moved three rows ahead of her previous seat. Hopefully the distance she placed was already clear to Peter that she doesn’t want him near her. But Peter only moves more, but just a row behind her so that he wouldn’t overstep the imaginary boundary she had placed for herself. 

“There’s also something I’ve been meaning to ask you about.” He started expectantly. “We can keep this to ourselves, so you don’t have to-”

“Whatever it is, Parker, I don’t want to answer it okay?”she cut him off easily. “ If it’s about Liz, you can go ahead and talk to Betty about that. If it’s something related to homecoming, approach anyone from the committee. If you want to talk about putting the both of us here in detention, I don’t give a flying fuck.” 

“It’s about you, actually.” he spoke softly. He hoped that saying this, it might intrigue her into talking to him. Openly, just how things were at the rooftop. “I didn’t mean to hear it, but I did. And... And it kind of- confused me? I wasn’t even sure if I heard it right but-”

“Peter, I really don’t wanna talk to you right now.” She exhaled tiredly. He was taken aback by her sudden change in tone, the change in the air, and the way he said his name. That was the first time he heard her say his name. “I know you’re trying to get me to open up to you just like in the rooftop, and that you have a lot of questions regarding me. But I really don’t want to, okay. I’m tired, and I’m hurting.” Physically and Emotionally, she thought.

 “Can you just... go back to how you were before we had that talk? Go back to being Peter Parker who knew me as Liz’s cousin, co-head for the homecoming committee, student council member, and the bossy foul-mouth sophomore, just like how everybody does. Just... give me the peace of mind, okay. I’m stressed, I’m tired, I’m drained and everything in my body hurts, and I just can’t deal with you.” 

Y/n panted once she burst it out. It was only half of the thoughts that kept her awake, but she figured it was enough information for him to know. She didn’t want to give out that she liked him, that she needed to keep her distance, or that she was hurting because of him. 

Peter stared at her dumbfounded. Had she always been super stressed out? Was he so caught up on knowing the truth that he hadn’t notice Y/n was already about to explode? He tried piecing everything together, he hadn’t fully understood everything that she said. The only thing he had caught on was that she was tired, in pain, and she doesn’t want to deal with him. That she doesn’t want to talk to him. Is this her closing herself off or was all the exhaustion finally hitting her and Peter had just set her off? He felt the guilt weigh down on his chest and he did not like the feeling. 

The ringing off the bell cut through the silence, and the heavy tension in the air went away. Mr. Dell hadn’t come back from his trip to the restroom (Peter assumed he went for number two). It was time for them to go to their next class, and Y/n took it upon herself to go and leave the room. 

“Whatever it is you plan on asking me, just forget about it, okay?” she lets out a tired sigh. “What you heard about me, what you heard me saying, or anything, drop it. I don’t really care how people look at me now, what they think of me, or what they think they know about me. Because honestly, I’m tired of everything, and I just want to finish this school year.” She took her bag and left the room, running into Mr. Dell, who had just returned from the restroom. Y/n acknowledged him before leaving the detention room and went on her way to her next class.

“Aren’t you leaving, Parker? You’ll be late for class.” Mr. Dell called out to him snapping him away from his thoughts. He fumbled with his response and quickly exits the room. 

Everything was a blur for the rest of the day. He saw her every now and then in the hallway and in lunch, but she would avoid his gaze and look on straight ahead. The stress was still clear on her face and body language, but she held her head high all throughout the day and managed to fool the people around her. Everyone but Peter. That was the thing he had acquired after seeing Y/n vulnerable  two times.. And he knew that she was keeping everything together just to get the day done. 

By the time Peter got home, he was alone. Aunt May was still at work and would be a little late than usual because of workload, so he was all alone with his thoughts. He was deeply confused. He didn’t get the answers he was hoping for, but something tells him that she had left crumbs in the middle of her sentences. He was piecing it together, but he couldn’t. Girls were hard to understand, he couldn’t grasp anything Y/n was trying to say, and it frustrated him not knowing anything. God, how he wished May was here to help him understand. 

He eventually became tired and wanted to just forget everything. Maybe then he wouldn’t be overthinking everything. Peter went out for patrol to clear his head. It eventually worked, but that was until he saw the familiar yellow sweater walking just below him. Y/n was walking down the street, with bags that held different kinds of arts materials for Homecoming. He couldn’t help but follow her with his eyes. She stopped by a black car and opened the back door, loading all of her purchases. Before getting in she looked around warily. Peter could tell that she must’ve sensed him watching her. Luckily enough, she didn’t look his way and went inside the car, driving out their parking and going home. 

Peter got back to his apartment and May was already home, cooking up meatloaf. He changes back into his clothes and went out to join his aunt for dinner. He ate, he did a bit of his homework, brushed his teeth and went to bed. It took him a while to finally get some shut eye, and once he did, he dreamed of getting lost again in pools of familiar e/c eyes and the smell of old books and jasmine on a rainy day.

Peter slept with a warm feeling in his heart despite his troubled mind about the girl in the yellow sweater.

-

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