Wicked Game || CURRENTLY EDITING

Chapter 26: Newfound Feelings

The school day is finally over and MJ and I walk through the halls. We meander over to Peter and Ned, who are invested in a conversation at Peter's locker. "Hey, guys," I greet.

"Sup weirdos," MJ says.

The boys whip around, looking at us shocked. "What?" I question. Peter just stares at me while Ned smiles really big.

"Nothing. We were just talking about... life... and- and- you know, things that happen in life," Ned stammers. I raise my eyebrows as I look between the two. Peter just smiles awkwardly at me. These two are so strange.

"Okay..." I dismiss, giving MJ a skeptical look. All of a sudden, we hear police sirens pass by. Peter and I exchange a knowing glance and I immediately excuse myself. "Uh, I have to go, I'm supposed to go shopping with Pepper. Bye, guys," I mention as I back away.

"Uh, yeah, I gotta go too. I have to help Aunt May with this thing... so- yeah... bye," Peter voices, rushing out after me. We run out of the school and into the nearest alleyway to suit up. I make him face the opposite way as we rapidly change our clothes and turn around when we're done. "You ready?" he asks, gripping my waist, getting ready to take off. I cock an eyebrow at him.

"You know I can fly, right?"

"Oh- oh, right. Yeah, sorry," he stumbles over his words, letting go of me. I laugh and shake my head before taking off into the air. He fires a web and starts swinging from building to building. We arrive on the scene and see a line of cop cars surrounding a bank. I land beside one of the officers and ask, "what's the situation?"

"Four armed men. They're holding hostages."

I nod and go straight to the front door. Spider-Man swings down from the roof and lands next to me. We look at each other and nod before I bust the doors open with my powers. One of the men points his gun at a hostage on the ground. "Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!" he threatens. We raise our hands, feigning surrender until Spider-Man shoots a web at the gun, snatching it out of the man's hand. The other men start shooting at us but I create a barrier, catching all the bullets. They gape at me in shock and my eyes glow purple as I take over their minds, making them drop their weapons and kneel. A blank expression appears on their faces as purple surrounds their eyes. Spider-Man takes this opportunity to web them up and I finally let go of my telepathic hold. The purple swirls disappear from their eyes and they glance down at their webbed-up bodies in confusion.

"Well, this was fun but we've got places to be so..." I mock, shrugging. "Have fun in prison!" I call out to them before Spider-Man and I spin around and walk out, high-fiving each other.

"They're all yours!" Spider-Man shouts out to the police, making them lower their weapons. The captain orders a few officers to go in and arrest the culprits before approaching us.

"If you keep it up like this, I'm gonna be out of a job soon," he jokes. Spidey and I laugh at this.

"Oh, please, we're just trying to help," I reply.

"Hey, isn't this a little below your pay grade? I mean, I've never seen an Avenger handle something like this before," the man addresses me.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. I'm going to help whoever I can, even if it is categorized as a 'small threat," I answer, shrugging. The police captain nods in understanding.

"Makes sense. I'll be seeing you guys," he acknowledges us before walking off. Spidey and I shrug at each other before taking off. We land on the roof of a random tall building and pull our masks off.

"Man, we are on fire," I claim as I high-five Peter.

He laughs and responds, "yeah, we are. We make a good team." I beam at him and nod. He runs his fingers through his disheveled hair and I can't help but admire him as he does so. I never noticed how attractive Peter is. I rip my eyes away when he glances at me. I walk to the edge of the roof and sit down. He follows and copies my actions. "How are you feeling lately?" He suddenly inquires.

I know exactly what he's referring to. He's been very attentive with me in these past few months, making sure I'm doing okay after the whole defrosting thing. "I feel okay, actually. I'm trying to stay on the bright side and focus on the things I have to look forward to."

Peter nods his head. "Like what?"

I take a moment to think about it. "Like this," I answer, gesturing around us. "I have to admit, this new life is pretty exciting. I mean, I never imagined myself as part of a superhero group that saves the world but it's very cool... and you know, even though I lost a lot, I also gained a lot." He gives me a questioning look, urging me to proceed. "My powers don't wear me out anymore and I love that. As an Avenger, I can help so many people and I get to play around with Tony's high-tech toys," I giggle. "I don't think any of that would've been possible back then... and I survived 2017 and now get to experience a new year as a teenager, and I can't wait to see how different that will be from the 80s... and I met some incredible people. I mean, now I have Tony and Pepper, and MJ, Ned... you," I speak. He smiles fondly at me, which makes my heart leap. I need to calm down, this is Peter in front of me.

"It's nice to see you so optimistic... I like it when you're happy," he utters. His words cause butterflies to erupt in my stomach. I love how sweet and considerate he is with me. He constantly shows how much he cares about me.

•~•~•~•

One month later

I pace back and forth in my room as my nerves eat away at me. "Okay, y/n, please stop moving around and come back to the camera," MJ's voice sounds through the laptop's speaker. I pause and turn to the computer screen. I called her on FaceTime to vent about my newfound feelings for a certain spiderling. I wish I could pretend that I'm not falling for him but I know the feeling all too well and it truly scares me.

"I just feel so guilty because of-"

"Because of Jonathan?" MJ finishes for me. I sit down on the bed in front of the laptop. I sigh and nod, making MJ give me a stern look.

"Jonathan remade his life a long time ago... and he told you he wants you to find someone else, to be happy. Now it's your turn to remake your life," she states. I stay silent as I think about what she just said. It hurts a little but I know she's right.

"I guess, but I don't even know if Peter sees me like that," I mutter. MJ bursts into laughter, taking me aback. "What's so funny?"

"Girl, have you seen the way he looks at you? He so likes you!" she claims.

"What are you talking about? No, he doesn't," I scoff. She rolls her eyes.

"You are so blind. It is so obvious. He's always staring at you with this lovestruck expression, he practically drools whenever he looks at you. He gets so awkward around you- well, more than usual," she mentions. "Haven't you noticed how tense he gets whenever someone brings up Jonathan?"

I let her words sink in. I have noticed how weird he acts when I talk about Jonathan. Maybe MJ is right. "Okay but even if we were to date, I don't think it'd be really fair to him," I voice my concern.

"Why?"

I play with my fingers, not knowing how to answer. She sighs loudly. "Y/n, I thought you were finally moving on from Jonathan... Didn't you say that it gets easier every day to accept that he's out of your reach?" she comments.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am. It does... but I never said I was 100% over it."

MJ sends me a sympathetic gaze. "I still think that you should go for it with Peter. You're really happy around him and I think you guys would be good together," she opines. I consider her words. Perhaps she's right. I can't dwell on the past forever, it's time that I actually fully move forward.

"You know what... Yeah, I think I will."

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It took her long enough to finally notice Peter 🙄✋🏼