"Oh, come on," You pulled Ned's anxious hands away from his hair. "You look fine."

He took a deep breath and assessed himself in the mirror. "I'm so nervous."

"Don't worry," You said. "Betty really likes you. You have nothing to be afraid of."

The doorbell rang.

"She's here." Ned fled from the bathroom and you could hear May greeting your friend at the door.

"Hey,"

You turned.

Peter stood in the hallway, a hand on the wall. "You wanna help me find the movie?"

You shrugged. "Sure."

He led you over to the cabinet beneath the television. "I know it's somewhere here, but obviously I can't tell which one."

You knelt down and began thumbing through the DVDs on the shelf. "Empire Strikes Back, right?"

"Yeah," Peter sat down next to you.

"So are you two..." May's voice carried over from the kitchen. "Dating?"

"Yes." Betty said, her giddy smile evident. "It's official."

"That's wonderful." May exclaimed. "You know, I've been trying to get Peter to ask a girl out but he refuses every time."

You shook your head and kept sifting through the movies.

"Any word from MJ yet?" Peter asked.

You pulled your phone out and flipped it open. "Yep, let me see..." You read her message. "She says she's with the decathlon team, studying. She wants to know if a few of them can come as well." You glanced up to read Peter's face.

"Sure," he shrugged. "Double check with May though."

You turned and called to May, asking her permission.

"As long as none of them smoke in the house! We just got rid of that smoker Mr. Geyser from next door. I'll lose it if I have to smell that again."

You reassured her that the decathlon kids were all well behaved and would be sure to avoid smoking anywhere near this apartment.

Peter chanced a smile as you gave MJ the go sign.

"Okay, where is this movie?"

After finally locating the disc in question, you and Peter joined Ned, Betty, and May in the kitchen until MJ and the team arrived.

May greeted everyone at the door as always, and asked their names in turn. MJ, Abraham, Jason, Cindy, and— to your indignation— Flash, all smiled and thanked May for letting them come.

Right as you and Betty met MJ with a hug, Flash caught your eye and winked. You put on a dramatic show of rolling your eyes.

You noticed a few things about each person as they interacted with each other. Abraham and Cindy seemed very familiar with each other. You would have to ask MJ if they were a thing later. Jason kept glancing at Betty and Ned with a dark look of jealousy in his eyes, and you wondered how long it would take for Betty to realize she had more than one option.

Flash and MJ seemed to be strangely civil with each other. Reflecting on it, you figured her attitude of not taking anyone's dirt would come in handy when dealing with Flash. He was probably too bothered by other things to pay attention to MJ's dismissive reactions to him. You guessed that friendship wasn't too strange after all.

Though you wished she hadn't brought him still.

Eventually, everyone grew accustomed to the plan for the night, and someone started up the DVD player.

"I'll pop you guys some popcorn and bring out some early Halloween candy." May called while you all settled in the living room.

Before you could find a seat, the couch filled up.

"Here, we can squeeze." MJ said, nudging Betty's leg.

Betty raised an eyebrow and the look on her face told you she was quite comfortable where she was, nestled right next to Ned.

"Hey, ___, come sit with me." Flash said. He indicated to the triangle of space between his legs on the armchair.

A few people laughed and you strictly declined, settling instead for a patch of the floor by MJ's arm rest. Peter was already sitting close by, so you inched a little nearer to him.

"Couch is only so big." He remarked.

You grinned.

"Obviously I don't need a close-up seat, I just listen. It's hard to picture the scenes now though. I swear I've seen this movie a thousand times but every day it gets harder to remember just how cool it looks."

You frowned and watched the screen as the trumpeting theme music started and the introduction to the movie began. You turned back to Peter. "I could describe it to you?" You offered.

Peter's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

You looked back up at the television and leaned towards Peter. "It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy." You whispered the words on the screen.

Peter's face lit up with joy and you couldn't hold back your smile. So you kept going.

~~~

"They kiss," you whispered. "But then the little helpers drag them apart."

"I love you." The Princess Leia on the screen said.

"I know." Han Solo replied.

You yawned, turning your head into the side of the couch.

"Tired?" Peter asked.

You swallowed and cursed your parched throat. "I've been talking for an hour and a half. My throat is dry, and yes, I'm pretty sleepy."

"Okay, hold on." Peter pushed himself up off the carpet and walked away into the kitchen.

You closed your eyes and listened to the movie.

"Here," Peter whispered as he knelt down once more to sit beside you.

You opened your eyes to see him holding out a glass of water. You took it from him.

"Thanks." You gratefully took a sip.

"It's the least I can do. I haven't relived this movie since I went blind. I'm having a blast."

You smiled. "Well I wish I could keep going but I'm about to pass out. My parents fought all night. Didn't really sleep much."

Peter scooted a little closer then and patted his shoulder. "Here, you can lean on me. It might be a little comfier than that armrest."

Blushing for no reason, you set your drink down and leaned into Peter. He was right, it was much more comfortable than the side of the couch.

After a few minutes of composed, close-quartered, friendly snuggling, Peter moved his arm around you and held the side of the couch. You figured it was purely for him to keep his balance. Why else would he move to be closer to you? Before you could come up with an answer, however, you found you were asleep.

~~~

You awoke to the sound of cluttered chatter and a light switch being thrown. You squinted, disoriented and confused.

"Morning." Peter laughed from beside you.

The movie was over. Everyone was in the process of finding their shoes and thanking May for the snacks.

You shook yourself awake and realized you were still leaning against Peter. You detached yourself and stood up.

"Thanks," You told him. "Feels like it's been hours."

"Nah, only about twenty minutes." he stood next to you.

Grabbing an empty bowl of popcorn kernels and throwing a few pillows back onto the couch, you made your way to the kitchen and began helping May clear away some stray candy wrappers.

"Thank you so much, May." Ned was saying.

"Oh, any time." May smiled enthusiastically. "The more the merrier, right?" She pulled him in for a hug and then he and Betty walked out.

"Bye Peter!" Ned called as the door shut.

Peter half smiled and felt his way to the kitchen sink where he began scrubbing the dishes for May.

"___, it's half past eight, will your parents mind?" May wrung her hands anxiously.

Your mother hadn't given you a curfew for tonight, but you didn't want to risk getting on her bad side. "I should probably go." You said, throwing away the last bits of trash.

May helped you locate your bag and shoes and opened the door for you. "And here, this week's pay." She held out an envelope.

You moved your arm to take it from her when you remembered how you had felt in Peter's room earlier that evening. You paused and then lowered your hand.

"I can't." You said quietly.

May half smiled. "Why ever not?"

"I just... can't take it." You said, finding confidence in the truth of those words. "You don't need to pay me anymore."

May frowned then, worried. "But... I don't understand. ___, he's changed so much since you started coming around. I can't risk losing that." She swallowed. "I can't risk losing you." She held out the envelope even more fervently.

Squaring your shoulders, you smiled reassuringly, looked past May at your friend Peter, bubbles from the sink in his hair, and said: "Don't worry, May. I'm not going anywhere."

___
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