Chapter Text
You really should have stayed in bed today.
You're not sure what possessed you to take a walk in the park during the beginnings of spring, knowing full well the zertec you took this morning was like a bandaid on a severed leg. You could already feel the itch creeping into your nasal cavities as pollen and other annoying plant matter flies through the air gracefully.
The trees around you swayed in a gentle breeze, taunting you with endless suffering as you sniffle and continue down the pebble path. Depsite mother nature attempting to assault your immune system, it was a pleasant day. The temperature was perfect, just enough clouds in the sky to overcast cooling shadows from the warming sun. Birds chirped a melody of new beginnings, and you could hear a few squirrels chatting up an oak tree a few feet away.
All in all, it was the best time to come to the park. And, lucky for you, it was your day off and no chores or errands needed to be done. The perfect day to get some fresh air and think of new content for your utube channel.
Your mind sifts through ideas as your sneakers crunch rocks and sticks beneath you, Your f/c water bottle bouncing at your hip with sloshing noises. 'A new game review? Or maybe another q&a, haven't done one of those in awhile' you ponder as you make your way through the park.
The park benches come into view now, revealing the perfect spot for you to settle down and begin writing your thoughts out, a notebook and pen patiently waiting in your small book bag that hung from your shoulder.
But, unfortunately for you, fate has other plans for you today.
Because a scene breaks out on one of the benches at the corner of the open area. A tense scene that has you immediately halting your movement on the path and hesitantly backing up to a tree to seem less conspicuous.
There, on the bench, were two people- well, one of them was freakishly pale, damn near grey, so at least ONE human for sure. Said human had an unreadable expression on their face, but even from this distance you could see a twinge of something...sinister... in the way that they stared the other down.
You couldn't see the grey ones face, but from the way their body was slouched over and trembling, your guess is that they are uncomfortable in this situation.
You tried to listen in on their conversation. You weren't necessarily one to eavesdrop, but something about the way the body language is playing out has you curious, and honestly a bit concerned. Plus, they WERE being pretty loud, so it's only natural someone would hear. That someone being only you it seems.
"You really expect me to go on a date with you when I don't even know you?!" The smaller one, with the striped jacket, exclaimed with a mocking smile. Their voice sounded, extremely annoyed and...almost... excited? The grey one flinched.
"I-i mean.. I was just... I'd love to-" they tried to get out but stripey cut them off with a hand up, snickering bordering on laughter as they tsk'd.
"I'm messing with you, chill out. Sure, I'll bite, you've already bothered me enough as it is, might as well get something out of it. You gonna pay for it?" They ask matter of factly, as if it was expected and not a courtesy.
"O-oh yes! Of course! I would never make you pay for it, if I had it my way you'd never pay for anything again haha!" The taller one answered, seemingly timid and...awkward.
You gaped, wondering why this (guy?) Was giving stripey even a second of his time considering how he's getting treated. Love is blind AND deaf it seems. Not only that, but he's willing to pay for everything?? Is he loaded? Maybe that's his love language. Seems a little overboard if they don't even know each other yet.
You decide to cut off your snooping there, maybe they're just weird. There's someone for everyone in this world you suppose. So you shrug and make your way to the farthest bench away from them, on the otherside of the clearing. They don't seem to notice you as you sit and begin settling your things on the bench beside you. That is.. until stripey says something that catches your attention once again.
"Cool, don't be late. Oh, and can you, like, wear sun glasses or something when you come. Your eyes seriously freak me the fuck out."
What? That was.. unbelievably harsh. You thought for sure that the golf ball looking dude would change his mind after that, or at least retort back. But to your surprise, he answers calmly, no amount of venom or disdain in his voice. "Of course darling, anything for you."
However, you don't miss the small amount of somber in his tone.
"Greaaat, welp I'll see you around toothpick" yikes, you flinch at that yourself. What a shitty nick name, but if it bothers the guy, he doesn't show it. Thankfully, neither of them acknowledge you as stripey gets up and leaves, the other deciding to stay at the bench. Once the offensive little shit is out of view, mr. Sleeveless hoodie slouches against the bench, utterly deflated.
He finally turns fully straight forward, allowing you to see part of his face. It was downcasted, staring at a few robins that settled at a puddle nearby for a morning bath. His smile flattens to a well used frown, and the light that shown in his eyes seemed to fade like a cartoon.
Your heart clenched for him. He looked so happy to get a chance with that person, but the way he was treated was clearly affecting him, or at least that's what you gathered. Sure, he kinda seemed like a creep for asking out a stranger like that, but maybe he was the type to get too nervous to approach strangers as is. Maybe it took weeks to build up that courage, perhaps they went to school together or something and stripey forgot?
Social anxiety aside, you decided to get up and see if you could make his day a little better. Gathering your things, he doesn't move an inch, most likely not even noticing you still, as you make your way over behind the benches, come around to plop down beside him.
He visibly jumps, most likely lost in thought til you decided to interrupt it.
"Heh, you're a jumpy one huh?" You ask, a small smile on your lips as you settle down next to him. He's stiff, staring at you like a deer in head lights. You cock your head to the side 'maybe he's not used to people approaching him' you think as you take him in. He's definitely super pale, buzz cut hair so small he's basically bald. A small nose, wide mouth, and his eyes...
Holy shit his eyes were huge, bluer than the sky above you. You could get lost in them easily. How could stripey ever want to cover them up? He looked so innocent, so captivating, so- alright calm down, are you some kind of freak? The poor guy is shaking.
You clear your throat as you realize youre staring, and sheepishly scratch your neck as you look away, "u-umm, I'm sorry if it's rude of me but I-I heard some of your conversation with that person and.. well it didn't sound very smooth. A-and you looked kinda sad after so I thought i'd come see if you were ok?" You finished, hands practically fusing together as you wrung them around nervously. He twitches, then settles, shoulders sagging and eyes drooping a bit as he frowns deeper.
"I'm fine, thanks" he says quickly after his pause, making it pretty clear he wants to be left alone if his tone was any indication. You look at him for a second before shrugging and getting back up, not wanting to push into a space you aren't wanted. You did your best to hide the feeling of disappointment bubbling in your stomach, 'He's not obligated to accept your help y/n, cool it' you chide bitterly to yourself.
"Fair enough, just wanted to be sure you were ok." You say nonchalantly as you begin to walk back to the other side of the rest area, but as you pass him, you feel his eyes burning holes in your back.
You shudder and sit back on your previous bench, silently apologizing to it for your betrayal as you get comfy again. Still feeling like his eyes are on you, you begin to turn abit away from him, pulling out your notebook again to begin writing. You don't notice, however, when he gets up and exits the park.
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"Cool, don't be late. Oh, and can you, like, wear sun glasses or something when you come. Your eyes seriously freak me the fuck out."
'O-oh' Peter's chest tightens. He knew it would take some convincing for them to like him, knowing attraction isn't always at first sight. But he didn't think they would be so bold about their distaste for him. Maybe he can get contacts? Eye surgery? He'll do it, fix anything they asked him to. He's already starved himself to stay skinny, shaved so they could decide his hair styles. He would do anything for them, ANYTHING.
And they took full advantage of that it seems. He doesn't mind paying, hell, he never wants them to worry about anything financially ever again. He'll take care of everything, all of their needs. As long as they wanted him and only him, he would move mountains.
"Of course darling, anything for you" He says easily, like he'd rehearsed being their doormat from the start. Because if that's what they wanted him to be, he would be it. They could walk on him, hurt him, insult him. It was all ok, because in the end they would be his and his alone and nothing else mattered more than that...Not even himself.
"Greaaat, welp I'll see you around toothpick" they said swiftly, getting up to leave as he waved them off. He wouldn't show them how that cut into him, no. He would never let them feel his pain. If they knew their words hurt, they'd get upset and never let him in again. No he can't have that. He'll put up with it all, no matter what they say, if only to have them keep talking to him.
Once they left his eyesight, he allowed himself to relax, his muscle aching from how tense he gets. He can't help it, the mere thought of them got him so excited, so pent up, he couldn't help but to clench up in anticipation. He's going on a date with them! Finally, after months of pining and planning, he finally has a date with them. They would be his completely before long.
But.. a small amount of self preservation clawed at his mind. Begging him to see where this was headed,for him to understand that no matter how much he tried, this was only going to end in pain.
'They don't want you, will never want you, they only want to use you, don't you see? They could never actually love you-' It pleaded, trying to convince him to take care of himself- NO!
no...
They were more important, always will be. It didn't matter what he wanted, his needs never mattered, and they never will. Only his beloveds did.
His inner turmoil was haulted when a weight shifted the bench, a person sitting next to him. It startled him to say the least, causing him to jump and scoot away. Why in the world would someone approach him???
"Heh, you're a jumpy one huh?" She- he- they? Asked, light amusement in their voice. Peter gawked at them, completely thrown off and slightly creeped out at the fact he didn't see this person enter the bench area AT ALL. How much did they hear???
What if.. what if they want MC too? W-what if, they're here to tell him he's too late, that MC already belongs to them?? He begins to tremble at the mere thought. 'If that's the case, I'll just kill them heh.' He thought maliciously.
But then, they appear to get a little sheepish, scratching their neck in what looks to be a nervous habbit as they glance at the park around them and clear their throat. "U-umm, I'm sorry if it's rude of me but I-I heard some of your conversation with that person and.. well it didn't sound very smooth. A-and you looked kinda sad after so I thought i'd come see if you were ok?"
'Huh? Wanted to see if... I was ok? So they don't want MC' Peter thought, for the first time in his life, he could say he was officially caught off guard. They were shuffling their hands together, obviously nervous and probably using every amount of courage they had just to come over here. A small, tiny part of him thought it was kind of sweet- NO ABSOLUTELY THE FUCK NOT. THEY AREN'T MC, THEYRE NOTHING, THEYRE WORTHLESS TRASH-
He sagged, his muscles once again unclenching as he looked at this new person with annoyance. 'The only concern I want is from MC, not some useless side character. Besides, what are they trying to say, that MC is bad? MC isn't bad, they just don't know that we're meant to be yet is all. I need to nip this in the bud so I can go find them before they get too far' He internally growled.
"I'm fine, thanks" he put every amount of 'fuck off' into his tone as he glared down at them. And to his surprise, it worked beautifully. The person looked put off, and a bit hurt, before shrugging and getting up with their things.
"Fair enough, just wanted to be sure you were ok." They said as they walked passed him, going to sit down at the farthest bench. But even as they walked away, he couldn't take his eyes off of them.
'Why do they care about someone like me anyway?'
He looked at their frame, the way they held their notebook as they wrote down small sentences with bullet points. The way they pushed some of their hair back behind their ear to get it out of their face, the way they pushed their glasses up their nose to readjust them... the way they lit up as they found more words to jot down. A college project maybe? He wasn't sure. But as he got up to leave, walking towards the exit of the rest area, he knows one thing, an absolute.
He needed to punish himself tonight, because his eyes were never meant to fall on you.