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Harley clenched the napkin in his hands underneath the table, staring down at his plate. His eyes were burning, something like tears or anger, he didn’t know.
“Hey, you okay?” Ned, always the mediator, laid a comforting hand on Harley’s shoulder, and it took a considerable amount of self-control not to senselessly rip it away.
Harley swallowed, took a breath, and spoke. “Yeah, fine, just- this night is not going how I wanted it to go.”
“I know, right. They’ve hardly played any good songs all night,” Ned said sympathetically. “At least the food is good, though.”
Neither of those was the problem, though. The problem was that they had gone to prom as a group of five friends, and two of their group had been missing for some time.
Movement at the entrance caught Harley’s eye, and he jerked up, sure that it was the missing pair. But the two were nowhere to be seen, so his head drooped again.
“Is it Peter and MJ?” Betty said kindly from across the table. “I know, they’ve been missing for quite a while now. I wonder where they went off to?”
Harley sort of wanted to scream. This was supposed to be the night, the night he was going to convince Peter to dance with him and confess that he had feelings for Peter, but he and MJ were nowhere to be seen, which was leaving a bitter taste in Harley’s mouth.
“Does Peter still have a crush on MJ?” he asked suddenly, words coming out clipped and sharp. Ned looked at him in surprise.
“No, man, Peter hasn’t had a crush on MJ ever since-” his eyes widened. “He hasn’t liked her for a while now, he likes, uh, someone else. At least, I’m pretty sure.”
“Are you sure?” Harley grumbled. “The two of them have been gone for a while now. Maybe they’re-”
“Oh my God, you’re jealous,” Betty squealed. “Ned, he’s jealous.”
Harley crossed his arms, the sleeves of his jacket tightening around his shoulders. “I’m not jealous, I just really wanted to talk to Peter tonight, and he’s not here, he’s with MJ.”
“Dude, you’re definitely jealous. Trust me, though, it’s all going to work out okay.”
“What are you talking about?” Harley’s head rose again as Ned inclined his head over to the entrance.
Peter and MJ had entered, sides pressed close together, faces flushed. They were laughing, Harley felt a gross twist in his stomach, and he felt forced to admit to himself that yeah, he was jealous.
“Hey! Hey guys,” Peter said. His eyes landed on Harley and softened. “Hey, Harley.”
Harley felt his face warm, and continued picking at the napkin in his lap. MJ broke away from Peter and spread her arms wide. “While you three were wisely not dancing to this lame-ass music, Peter and I have finally come up with foolproof ways to ask out our respective crushes. I am feeling lucky tonight, and no one can stop me, not even God.” With that, she turned and marched to another set of tables on the other side of the room, heels of her boots just barely visible underneath her long blue dress.
Peter’s grin was wide, his eyes sparkled. “We made a deal. She’s finally going to ask out Andy Simmons.”
Ned’s smile matched Peter’s. “Oh my God, finally. They’ve been pining over each other since- what, sophomore year?”
Peter nodded. “Yep.” Harley caught a flash of nervousness across the brunette’s face, a hint of apprehension. “But we agreed to do this together, so she’s waiting for my signal.”
Harley huffed a laugh, amused but still slightly annoyed. “Your signal? You guys have a signal?”
“Well, it’s not really a signal as much as it is I lost the coin flip, so I have to ask my crush to dance first.”
Harley’s eyes widened, and he felt the familiar squeeze of jealousy encircle his chest. “Great. You should, uh, go do that.”
Peter exhaled heavily, shifting from foot to foot. “I know. I’m just- I’m worried he’s going to say no. I don’t think he likes me the same way.”
“I don’t think anyone could say no to you, Peter.” Least of all me .
The DJ called for a slow dance, and a familiar soft pop tune began playing. Ned and Betty quickly rose from their seats and headed toward the dance floor, leaving just the two of them at the table alone. Turning his head, Harley caught MJ’s briefly panicked expression from the far side of the room. Other couples began pairing up, and Harley felt resignation come over him. “So who’s the boy who’s got your heart tonight, Peter?”
Peter blinked rapidly, jaw clenching briefly before stepping closer to Harley’s chair and extending his hand. “Wanna dance, Harley Keener?”
Harley’s lungs had stopped working, he had forgotten how to breathe as soon as Peter’s mouth opened and asked that simple question. He gaped for a minute, staring at the brunette’s outstretched hand. “Wait, me?”
“Well, yeah.” Peter’s smile looked a little nervous, but his nose crinkled up a little bit and Harley was damned if he didn’t think that was the cutest thing he had seen all night. “Who else would it be?” There was a beat, and then. “So?”
Harley took in a breath and felt his pulse speed up. He reached out as he stood, grabbing Peter’s hand. “Yeah. Holy shit, yes. Let’s dance, spiderboy.”
Peter flushed and ducked his head, but led him out to the dance floor. Harley didn’t miss the not-so-discreet thumbs up over his shoulder, and he turned just in time to watch MJ begin to talk to the dark-haired girl next to her, hands fidgeting at her sides.
Harley shifted them so Peter’s hand was on his waist and his own rested on the other man’s shoulder. “You lead,” he said quietly. “I don’t really know how to dance.” Then, as Peter began to lead them forward, swaying side to side, he continued. “I can’t believe I was even jealous a few seconds ago, shit.”
Peter laughed. “You were jealous? Of what?”
“Well, I know you used to have a thing for MJ a couple of years ago, and so I thought that maybe…”
Peter snorted. “No, MJ’s a lesbian. I found out that fun fact the day I asked her to a movie.”
Harley cringed. “Oh, jeez, that must’ve been rough.”
Peter shrugged. “It’s all good now. Besides, whatever small crush I had on MJ back then-” Their eyes connected, and Harley felt a pleasant shiver down his spine he stared back into Peter’s eyes, intense and warm. “It was nothing compared to how I feel about you.”
Harley nearly choked upon hearing that, a warm rushing blooming in his core and spreading throughout his body like wildfire. “Oh my God. I mean, same, I-I’ve liked you for a real long time. I was actually going to, uh, ask you to do this. Tonight. But you beat me to it.”
They swayed back and forth, turning slightly as Peter led them around the dance floor. They ended up nearly chest-to-chest. It was the closest proximity Harley had ever been to Peter, and he hoped Peter couldn’t tell how hard he was blushing in the darkness of the dance floor.
“I can hear your heartbeat,” Peter murmured. “It’s really fast. Are you okay?”
Harley exhaled a shuddering breath. “I’m fine, it’s just- you know, prom night, dancing with the guy I like- it’s a dream come true, really. I didn’t expect it, especially after you were conspiring with MJ half the night.”
Peter hummed, taking a shuffling step so he was a little closer to Harley, closer than Harley would have thought possible. “Sorry for making you jealous,” he breathed, and it was only at this moment that Harley realized how close they really were. Space felt almost nonexistent between them, barely a breath could pass between their lips.
“Well,” Harley hummed. “I can think of a couple of ways to make it up to me.”
“Yeah?” Peter’s hand unclasped from Harley’s, rising to cup his jaw, and then he was kissing him.
It felt like floating, it felt like falling, it felt like he was drowning in everything Peter was. Harley could only feel Peter’s thumb brushing his cheekbone and the hand tightening on his waist, he could feel the way he slight stubble brushed against Peter’s chin as he tilted his head to get a better angle. Peter pressed back, his lips soft but unyielding to Harley’s insistent push for more, for everything he’d been dreaming about for so long now. Peter pulled back just a little, and Harley found himself leaning against Peter’s strong hand.
“Have I made up for it yet, then?” Peter whispered. The song was winding down, but Harley could hardly hear it over Peter’s hushed tone.
“Maybe. Kiss me again and I’ll tell you,” Harley demanded, though he leaned in to capture Peter’s lips before the other could so much as move.