Sam realized he had been staring at Peter for quite some time now. The confused and mostly questioning look the boy was giving him was enough to jerk Sam out of his daze.
"Sorry." He muttered.
Peter grinned and replied:
"No need. Like I already said – let's put today's events behind us."
Sam fought the urge to chuckle. This kid appeared to be a bit dense. That was good. Sam didn't need someone who would be able to read him well. He needed someone he could get along with. No more, no less.
Peter noticed that the boy before him had spaced out once again. Things were starting to get suspicious. Perhaps Sam had forgiven him for acting the way he had and was now thinking about a different thing entirely. That thought piqued Peter's interest and he couldn't help but question just how much mystery there was around this sexy lifeguard.
Suddenly something registered in Sam's head. Peter had told him 'like I already said'.
"Wait. When did you suggest we put the past behind us?"
Peter's eyes narrowed slightly and he appeared to be contemplating what to say. After a few seconds a sheepish smile appeared on his face and he said a bit nervously:
"I said let's put today's events behind us, not the past. I wish it were that easy."
Sam's brows furrowed. He couldn't quite grasp what Peter meant with the last sentence. Unable to put the pieces together, he huffed and asked:
"You wish what was easy?"
Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. He hated it when he had to explain something simple. School hadn't begun yet and he had started to get annoyed. Perhaps after three years of being the nerdy, thorough student Peter had grown tired of it. After all, the last year had been filled with a lot of changes, one of which was quite dramatic.
"I wish it was easy to put the past behind us. Are you always that slow on the uptake?" Peter questioned.
Sam's eyes narrowed slightly. His fists clenched and unclenched and those small gestures made Peter regret asking him that question. It seemed that Sam had a short fuse, which surprised Peter because earlier that day the boy had appeared to be quite the opposite. Peter wondered what had happened to create such different traits in one person. Or perhaps it was only his imagination. After all, Peter did tend to look too much into things sometimes.
Sam sighed. He had managed to calm down but something inside him had riled up at that small innocent question. Something about the way Peter had added something else to it with his tone made his blood boil. Was this boy implying Sam was stupid? Did it mean that Peter was very intelligent or just had a huge ego or both? Sam didn't know but a part of him couldn't deny that it wouldn't mind finding out.
"Sometimes. I'm just tired."
That drew Peter's attention and he couldn't help but ask:
"Why?"
That question caught Sam slightly off guard. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked Peter up and down. He was aware that his scrutiny might have made the other boy feel uncomfortable but right now Sam didn't care. There was something suspicious about that question. It seemed as though Peter was trying to find something else with it. Perhaps he was just a curious idiot that didn't know when to bite back his tongue and stay quiet or maybe he enjoyed prying into other's people lives? Honestly Sam didn't know and he didn't want to find out.
Suddenly a thought stroke him. When had he become so dubious and distrusting? Had what happened three years ago made him so defensive? Was it normal to behave in such a way? Sam knew that it was reasonable to be guarded and not naïve but it was a whole different story to be cynical or skeptical. And Sam didn't want to be either of those two. With a sigh he decided it would be best to try and be semi-honest with Peter. Perhaps they could even form some kind of friendship as time passed.
"You forgot I saved you ass today web-head." Sam said before he could rethink his words and mentally cursed himself. He had done it again – skillfully change the subject without the other person noticing. Damn it! It seemed that old habits did die hard.
Peter's cheeks turned a bright red color, probably from anger, and he couldn't help but huff.
"Where did that stupid nickname come from?"
Sam smirked and explained:
"You chose to call me bucket-head and seeing as I couldn't understand how you could've come up with that, I decided to call you web-head because you have webs for a brain. That and your swimsuit was blue and red, reminding me of a certain underrated superhero."
Sam then took a sip of his beer and smirked at the surprised yet slightly intrigued expression on Peter's face. The mix left Sam slightly bewildered. He was well aware that he had just insulted the boy in front of him and yet all he did was ask:
"Did it remind you of Spiderman?"
The question was strange and Sam couldn't comprehend how Peter's brain had analyzed the words said boy's ears had heard. It had probably only chosen to decipher the last bit of neural signals. What? Even Sam listened to what the teacher had to say when he desperately needed to pass the class. He had just chosen to listen the day his biology teacher had taught them the wonders of the nervous system.
"Kind of. I mean it was only blue and red. It didn't have any…" Sam tried to explain but Peter cut him off:
"Do you like Spiderman?"
Sam was obviously taken aback by that question. He didn't know what Peter meant by 'like'. 'Like' could mean a lot of things – that Sam was a fan or something deeper, for example, having a not to innocent crush on the superhero. Of course, Sam knew there was no way in hell he would ever meet Spiderman face to face, literally that was.
"If by 'like' you mean whether I appreciate what he does for the city and mainly the people, then yes, I do. He is one of the very few superheroes that continue to help us despite the fact that they get hardly any gratitude in return."
"Tell me about it." Peter said before her could stop himself. The curious look Sam was giving him set alarming bells ringing inside his head and he quickly came up with a way he could explain what he had said by adding, "I-I work for J.J as a photographer and I hear him make scathing comments about Spiderman every single day. I mean the guy has it bad as it is, no need to rub his failures in his face."
"What do you mean he has it bad as it is?" Sam questioned. He knew that recently the crime rate had risen and Spiderman was finding it hard to battle on at least four fronts nearly every night, but that didn't quite mean that he had failed. It only meant that despite the superpowers, underneath the mask he was only human. And like one he had his ups and downs as well.
"He does have problems in his own life. After all, though he has superpowers, he is a civilian and probably has other things to face in his personal life." Peter elaborated, hoping he didn't sound as though he had taken the matter too personally.
Sam was shocked at how well Peter had grasped the difficulties that came with having a secret identity and mostly how hard it was to be a superhero during the night and a civilian during the day. He soon got over his shock and that left room for other emotions to set in – confusion and suspicion. How did Peter know all that? And more importantly – how had he described it that well?
Sam sighed. Perhaps he was just looking too much into things. There was probably nothing out of the ordinary in knowing and being able to explain the troubles superheroes probably faced without their mask on.
The rest of the night passed quite well. Peter and Sam had been talking for a few hours now and so far they had found out quite interesting pieces of information about each other. For example, they were both seventeen and went to the same school: Abbervail High.
"That means we'll probably see each other now and then." Sam said with a chuckle, but then his brows furrowed and he couldn't help but ask, "Wait. Why haven't I seen you before?"
It was odd for Sam not to have come across Peter before. The school was quite small and there were around three hundred people, not counting the freshmen and sophomores. And despite the changes that had occurred, Sam was still communicative and managed to withhold a conversation with nearly everyone he knew.
"I'm new." Peter said all too quickly.
"Oh. I see. That makes sense. Where did you go to before?" Sam questioned, blind to how much impact that simple question could make.
Peter's eyes widened slightly. His head then bent down and he muttered something. Sam's eyes narrowed and he tried to figure out what Peter had said but was finding it hard to do so. When silence followed and it became apparent that no answer was going to come, Sam scratched the back of his head and decided not to pry. Instead he asked:
"Where are you from?"
"I was born here. You?"
Just as Peter asked that question old memories were evoked and came crashing back. They tied themselves around Sam's neck and made him start suffocating yet again. The pain spread through his veins like poison and burned the inside of his mouth and eyes. His limbs felt as though they weighed a thousand tons and couldn't be moved no matter how hard one tried. His mouth opened but his voice died down in his throat, crushed by the impact of the collision with the past.
"I was born in Arizona but my family moved here when I was ten." Sam said and was grateful that he hadn't choked or started crying.
Peter's eyes widened slightly at the change of tone in Sam's voice. It felt weary, cold and distant. It even seemed forced as though Sam was trying to swallow a lump in his throat that had no intention of leaving.
"I see. Was it hard?" Peter asked trying to find out what exactly had happened. Damn him for being so curious. But if Sam didn't want to answer, he would let it go. After all, when Peter hadn't uttered a single word, Sam had respected his privacy and hadn't pried into his life. Now if needed, Peter would do the same.
"Not really. It felt like a fresh start." Sam said and found that it wasn't that hard to open a crack of those hard walls he had built up around his heart. Perhaps he really could start over with a little help from Peter. He could only hope that with time Peter would open up a little to him as well.
"Something happened, didn't it?" Peter asked.
Sam nodded but said with his eyes downcast:
"Yeah but I'd rather not talk about it." He then added while looking Peter directly in the eyes, "Some other time, though."
Peter understood the message and couldn't help but smile. Without looking away, Peter said:
"Same goes for me."
And just like that the promise had been made, but there was a deeper meaning to it. It wasn't just to tell each other one day a secret or two. It wasn't a promise of life long friendship because neither of them had the luxury to make a promise of that kind. It was a promise to try and move on even if it was only slightly. It was a promise to try and become more faithful and less cynical and defensive. It was a promise to simply give the other a chance and see where this newfound acquaintanceship would lead. It was a promise to risk it and gamble with their trust once again.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
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Until next time I update and/or post a story my fellow readers,
~ QueenofRhymes
