*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
( FOREVER )
ZERO━━ This isn't goodbye
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 恋人┊͙✧˖*°࿐(🚙🚦🏘)

( 5 YEARS AGO ━ MAY 30th, 2018 )

     BRIAR LANGFORD, with a MoMA gift shop souvenir in one hand and Peter's rough hand intertwined with the other, sat on the putrid smelling school bus on her way back to Midtown School of Science and Technology while she discussed her upcoming driver's test with her boyfriend.

Briar had been worrying about it for a while. She didn't react well to sudden change, and although she'd been hustling her ass off for the last few months to earn her driver's license, she certainly didn't feel prepared for the daunting responsibilities and milestones that came after this accomplishment.

"Don't worry about it, babe. You've got this, alright?" Peter reassured the curly-haired girl, rubbing soothing circles against the back of her hand. Briar's discouraged expression only pushed him to continue his attempts at calming her down.

"You shouldn't overwork yourself because we both know you're more than ready to ace that test. We can practice your parallel parking again this weekend if it'll make you feel more prepared, okay?" Peter spoke encouragingly.

He didn't like seeing her worry. After years of being in a relationship with Briar, he knew how anxious she could get. Whenever Briar set her mind to something, there was no stopping her until it was perfect.

Unfortunately, it was grueling being a perfectionist while feeling like she was never enough. Peter was aware that he couldn't solve all of Briar's problems or get rid of all her stress, but the least he could do was try to make her feel better.

He squeezed her hand delicately and lifted her chin up using his index fingers to meet her sullen amber eyes, "I love you. Okay? I don't like seeing you worry, you're gonna do just fine." His eyes shone with pride when he spotted a small grin grace Briar's lips, the corners of her mouth threatening to turn upwards. He leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead lovingly before pulling her into his chest.

"You're too good to me, Peter Parker."

Briar appreciated his support immensely. Not only because he was her boyfriend, or the fact that Peter was a whole ass genius who had faith in her, but because Peter used to be horrible at driving too.

The absolute worst.

He was an excellent driver now, but before, he would go out with May to practice in parking lots on the weekends and they would return with multiple stories of how Peter had almost gotten them in a car accident.

It wasn't until after returning Flash's incredibly expensive car as Spider-man when homecoming had wrapped up, that the realization dawned on him, he needed to start practicing more so he could learn to drive without crashing into everything in sight.

Peter wasn't a normal teenage boy, so learning something as common as how to drive felt refreshing and rewarding. To Peter, it didn't matter if he couldn't afford a car, he didn't mind that he would have to keep riding the subway to school. Regardless, he wanted to learn to drive. And maybe when he was older and could afford a nice car, he could surprise Briar and they could go on a road trip together, who knows.

He also loved learning to drive because when he was on the road, he was able to forget about his alter ego and his duties as Spider-Man. It made him feel normal again. He was beyond proud of himself when he got his license because his powers and senses didn't influence his score at all. That's why he was so eager to help his girlfriend learn to drive.

Briar cuddled up further into Peter's chest, ignoring the disgusted groans coming from the seat in front of her, where Michelle and Ned sat annoyed by the couple's display of affection. Harry sat alone in the seat behind the happy couple, pretending to gag at the sight of their snuggling.

"You guys are so immature. Would you guys prefer it if we broke up?" Peter inquired in a scolding tone, as if he was a parent being stern to his children.

Harry was the first to speak up, "actually yeah, we would. I don't think any of us would have a problem with it." With her free hand, Briar held her middle finger up towards Michelle and Ned while Peter glared at Harry who wore a proud smirk.

Briar chuckled mischievously and turned Peter's jaw to pull him in for a drawn-out, overdramatic kiss, purposely increasing the volume of their lips moving against one another to further annoy her friends. She giggled in between Peter's kisses as she heard Harry complaining in the background.

"Oh yeah, we're the immature ones. I will literally pay you both to stop kissing." Harry negotiated seriously, seconds away from pulling his vintage leather wallet out of his backpack, "name your price, my dad hasn't cut me off yet."

While Harry began to count his bills and Ned silently cheered for his best friend, Michelle covered her ears, revolted by the sight and exaggerated sound of her best friend practically swapping spit with Peter Parker—the boy wearing a t-shirt with lettuce on it.

"When your dad buys you that 'brand new used car' for your birthday, can you guys just—drive far away from here and, I don't know, never come back?" Michelle quipped sarcastically, slapping away Briar's extended finger.

"You don't mean that, Em, you couldn't last a day without me." Briar teased cockily once she pulled  away from Peter—who was beyond flustered by the unanticipated yet passionate kiss to form coherent words.

She earned an offended gasp from her best friend. Refusing to go out of her way to deny a claim she already knew was true, Michelle shoved Ned's headphone back into her ear and grumbled about how stubborn and irritating Briar was. Peter chuckled at the girls' little banter and rested his head on Briar's exhaustedly.

He pulled out his phone and began to look through the pictures he took in the art museum, occasionally grabbing Briar's attention to point out someone's funny expression in the background or express his pride in the photographs he took.

It was silent after that, just enjoying each other's presence. Between school, hectic missions, and criminals trying to kill him at every second, Peter didn't have much time to just be a teenager, so he greatly appreciated this time off to spend with his girlfriend.

Sadly, their small moment of bliss was short lived.

They were rudely interrupted ten minutes later, when Peter's senses shot through his body like a lightning bolt, causing him to inhale a sharp breath.

Almost instantly, the hairs on his arms arose and his body ignited with what felt like fire pinching and burning his skin. His ears tuned out his classmates to zone in on the noise of chaos occurring in the city.

He inclined his head towards the window, where sure enough, there was a massive donut-shaped spacecraft hovering over the crowds of people that congested the streets of New York City below.

Shit.

"Ned, I need you to cause a distraction." Peter whisper shouted with urgency, frantically slapping the distracted boy's cheek. Ned peered up in a confused daze before spotting the giant spacecraft in the distance.

"Holy shit—we're all gonna die!" He shrieked over all his classmates, grabbing their attention and prompting them to shuffle worriedly towards the back of the bus to get a closer peek at the ship that was causing terror throughout the city.

Curiously, Briar glanced out her window and tightened her grip on Peter's hand instinctively, trapping him just as he was about to slip on his mask. Her eyes widened in fear as she caught Peter preparing to make his escape, "Peter, don't you dare get off this bus."

Peter swiftly slapped the other webshooter on his wrist using his free hand, ignoring the yelling from the back of the bus, "I'm sorry, I have to." He conceded with guilt hidden behind his soft tone.

The look of pure fear in Briar's eyes broke his heart. Tears sprung to her eyes making them glisten as she shook her head desperately, pleading for him to stay.

"God, please don't. You're going to get hurt, Peter—stop," Briar practically begged when Peter ripped his arm from his girlfriend's tight grasp. Her next words came out as a small whimper, "please don't leave me."

She knew a day like this would come where Peter would have to choose between her—the love of his life—and his city. She just didn't expect it to come so soon.

As she continued to ramble imploringly, Peter fought back the tempting urge to take his seat. In an attempt to distract himself from the loud, rapid hammering of Briar's heartbeat in his ears, he turned his gaze to the mayhem again.

Anger swirled through Briar's coffee colored irises as her idiotic boyfriend struggled to climb out the small window of the bus. She hopped over seats to get closer to Peter while the other students were still distracted by the alien spaceship.

Now completely outside the speeding school bus, he leaned his head inside and met Briar's eyes again. He wanted nothing more than to go back and comfort her, but he knew he had a responsibility to protect his people, his beloved city.

He briskly lifted his mask up a smidge to press a short, apologetic kiss to Briar's lips. "Hey Briar, sweetheart, look at me."

Briar met the black and white eyes of his mask weakly, fearful tears now streaming down her puffy cheeks, "This isn't goodbye. I'll see you soon, okay?"

Peter tried to hide the emotional cracks in his voice, but his sadness was evident in the way it continuously wavered, "I'll be back before you know it, and when I do we can celebrate you getting your license.. I love you."

And with that, Peter Parker leaped off the bus with fearful tears in his eyes and used his webshooters to swing himself off the Queensboro Bridge, straight towards the jaws of death—farther and farther away from his love.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
( RORY RAMBLES )

this was really messy and boring and short and straight to the point but things will pick up in the first chapter

before i get into the angst here are some pictures peter parker took of briar during their dates and adventures around new york part one:

okay bye give me your honest thoughts i
promise i can take constructive criticism