In the cafeteria at Midtown High, Peter was sitting at a table with Harry and Ned, talking as usual.
"So, you think Betty would say 'Yes' if I asked her to Homecoming?" asked Ned to the others.
"I don't know," answered Peter indifferently. "But, it doesn't look like she's dating anyone right now. You might have a chance."
Betty Brant was the girl that Ned had been interested in for a while. He hadn't made a move on her yet, because he assumed a girl like her would already have a girlfriend, but that apparently wasn't the case.
"I was thinking about asking Gwen," chimed in Harry.
"Really?" asked Ned. "That's a tall order, dude."
"You miss all of the shots you don't take, Ned," replied Harry. "Even if she's not interested in me, I could just ask her to go with me as a friend. And if that goes well, maybe she'll see me in a new way. My chances might be low, but if actually want something good to happen, I can't just wait for it. Not all good things come to the people who wait. My Dad always tells me that. Maybe if I actually take his advice, he'd actually be proud of me for once."
Gwen Stacy was a very popular girl. She had the brains of a nerd, but she had beauty of the sun, too, on the inside and outside. She got along with everyone at Midtown High, regardless of where they stood in the social rankings. Harry was just many of the guys attracted to her. Even Peter, who would always get a sudden sour taste in his mouth at the subject of girls, felt attracted to Gwen, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. He had been disappointed way too many times in his life to set himself up for another huge letdown and potential humiliation.
"You sure have the balls of steel, Hare," commented Peter.
"What about you, Pete?" asked Harry. "You thinking about asking anyone out? Homecoming's just two weeks away."
"Not really," answered Peter. "Up until last year, every time I tried having a conversation with any girl other than Gwen, and only just recently, Liz, it never went well. The only reason every other girl wants to talk to me is because I gained a few muscles, grown a few inches, and don't need my glasses anymore. I might be a little interested if they were interested in who I was underneath it all. If I actually do find a girl like that, it won't be in this place. I might have better luck in college. Maybe the girls there will actually like me for who I am."
Before Harry or Ned could respond, the bell rang, and all the students in the cafeteria walked out to get to their next class. Peter stopped at his locker to get his books and notes for his chemistry class. After turned away from his locker, he saw Liz facing him with a smile on her face.
"Petey!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Peter. "I got a B on my Biology test!"
Peter was completely taken aback by the hug. It wasn't that he didn't like it, but it wasn't something he could've seen coming.
"Oh, uh, that's great Liz," strammered Peter. "Nice job."
"Thank you so much, Petey," said Liz as she took her hands off him. "You're a really amazing tutor. Maybe you should think about being an actual teacher one day."
"Heh," chuckled Peter. "That's not exactly what I want to do with my life, but I might consider it at the right salary."
"What do you want to do once we're done with school?" asked Liz interestedly.
Peter paused at the question, amazed again at Liz's words. Her asking him about what he was interested in meant a lot to him. Even if she didn't share his interests, it felt nice that someone new outside of his regular group of companions cared about his goals.
"ESU has a good science program," answered Peter. "I was thinking about going there for college if I can afford it. I want to be a scientist, but I'm not sure what kind of yet."
"Yeah, I'm not sure what I want to do either," said Liz. "I probably won't know for sure until senior year. At least you seem to have an idea."
Peter knew he only had a few seconds to get to class. He couldn't talk all day, but he wanted to continue the conversation. I decided to say one last thing to Liz so it would show here he wasn't trying to bail on her.
"So, do you want to keep doing these meetups? Asked Peter. "If you think you're all set, I won't stop you from ending them."
"No, I want to keep doing them," answered Liz. "I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to my grades. Besides, I'll have an easier chance at getting accepted into college if my grades are high, and I won't have to worry as much about any of that stuff as long as I have you for help."
"Uh, alright," strammered Peter. "Same time, same place?"
"I'll text you the time and place," answered Liz. "Let me know if that won't work for you."
"Okay," responded Peter as Liz made her way to her next class.
As Peter walked to his chemistry class, all he could think about was just how much Liz about him. The fact that she actually valued and respected his goals were enough to assure him that she wasn't like the other girls in the school. Most would wonder about his sudden changes in appearance from over a year ago. Other than Gwen, Liz was the only girl who didn't think of his looks before anything else. Maybe not all girls were bad after all. Maybe he could actually have a decent platonic relationship with one who didn't judge a book by its cover.