"peter, you can't just stand there and expect me to have a good time," lucy smiled at him.

since the moment they'd entered the gym, peter had clammed up. too nervous to ask lucy to dance, and too scared to be distracted from the task at hand.

the crazy vulture dude, he's gonna cause a lot of issues tonight, he thought, wringing his hands. and i've gotta stop him.

"petey," lucy persisted. "are you feeling okay?" now she was looking him straight in the eye, her lips turned down with concern.

he blinked. "yeah, i'm fine. do...do you wanna dance?"

his heart swelled at her smile. "um, yeah," she replied and hooked her arm through his, pulling him out to the dance floor.

for a few songs, everything was perfect, even if he couldn't dance for the life of him.

"huh," lucy pondered, "you'd think spiderman would be able to dance." careful to make sure no one heard, she'd gotten incredibly close to his ear, her lips touching his skin with the movement of the crowd around them.

peter swallowed nervously. this was the moment. he could kiss her if he wanted to, all he had to do was turn his head. it was perfect, but he couldn't stop the nagging presence in his head, keeping him from completely enjoying the moment.

he couldn't forget about what really mattered. something bad was going to happen, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't get distracted.

with his eyes wide, he turned away from her. "i'm so sorry, luce," he said, "but i have to go."

"what? peter, what are you—"

"i'm gonna be right back, i promise!" he called over his shoulder, but his stomach clenched as he realized he was probably lying. the vulture was vicious. a fight with him wouldn't allow him to return to the dance without a scratch.

leaving his date on the floor, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and disappointment, he ran from the room. it was time to suit up.

[a/n: hehehehe this wasn't even supposed to be a chapter but i didn't put this in the last one soooo woop! i'm following through on my promise!! only a few more chapters left, people!]