#spiderverser

pavitr prabhakar had always been a ray of sunshine. he was always affectionate with his friends and family, always smiling and laughing.

it was that smile that made you fall in love first. the first day you had seen him, you were eleven years old. you had been sitting alone at recess on the swings, watching every other kid run around the playground. a boy had come up to you and smiled.

"do you want me to push you?" he offered. he looked about your age, with brown eyes and shiny hair that fell perfectly into place. your heart skipped a beat and you nodded.

as he pushed you, he laughed and asked what your name was.

"y/n," you replied. "i just moved here."

"really? that's so cool! i'm pavitr prabhakar, and i've lived here my whole life." you could practically hear the smile in his voice.

after that, you two had become inseparable. your family loved him and his auntie absolutely adored you. the two of you spent hours together working on homework, laughing at inside jokes, teasing each other out of love. it seemed that his love was more on the platonic side though, compared to the way you felt towards him.

it was as if every time he talked to you, cupid would waltz into the room, nock an arrow, and aim directly for your heart. there were times that you felt like you had to tell him how you felt. how the light catching in his eyes, turning them to melted gold, made you want to pull him close. how the way he laughed was so charming you were sure any fairytale princess would have ditched her prince for him.

and sometimes, sometimes it felt like he might feel the same. the lingering touches, the way he gazed at you, the way he always was there for you.

but soon enough you realized that the longing gazes weren't meant for you.

too often you glanced behind you to see her. gayatri singh. now, you had nothing against her. she had been partnered up with you multiple times for projects, and she was incredibly nice. she was caring and smart, and she was gorgeous. it seemed like the whole world knew it. including pav.

one night, the two of you were sitting on the roof of your apartment building, eating some empanadas your mother had made.

you and pav had been sitting in a comfortable silence for a while, chewing on the delicious food, when he swallowed hard and asked you something.

"you're good with advice, right?" he glanced at you, and your heart skipped a beat.

swallowing, you shrugged. "depends on the kind of advice you want."

he put his plate down next to him, and you could see him start to fidget with the hem of his shirt. "so. uh. theres this..." he paused, taking a breath and exhaling into the starry sky. "there's this girl."

it took every ounce of your willpower not to express your disappointment. "oh?"

"yeah," he chuckled softly. "she's... the most amazing person i've ever known. and you know, i want to ask her out, but... i don't know if she'd say yes."

your heart sank down into your stomach and kept sinking till it reached the core of the earth. "well, i mean, why wouldn't she say yes?" you forced yourself to smile and playfully nudged his shoulder with your own. "any girl would be lucky to have you, chamo."

"that's the thing. she's just so incredible and i don't think.. i don't think she feels the same about me. ever since i met her i've had this big crush on her... she's so freaking pretty and smart and witty and kind and just." he sighed, reaching up to tug on a strand of his hair, a nervous habit that he'd picked up when he was thirteen.

you blinked back tears. without thinking, you took a sip of your drink and blurted out, "it's gayatri, isn't it?"

his head whips around to face you, big brown eyes wide. "gaya- gayatri? no! why would i have a crush on her?" he stammered. "i mean, she's great and all but... she's not.. it's not her."

you turned away, staring down at the traffic below. cars filled up every inch of the road, lights reflecting off of all the surrounding buildings. "oh... i thought it was her," you murmur. you feel pav's hand cover your own.

"y/n," he whispers. "look at me." slowly, heart pounding, you turn to face him.

your lips are centimeters apart. your gaze flickered to his soft looking lips and back up into his beautifully dark eyes.

"it's you. it's always been you," he breathed.

"me?"