NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE ∙ Peter Parker

☆ Chapter Thirty-Nine: For The Record

The New Year was filled with stress over midterms, and the spring sports conditions underway. Even though she wasn't playing softball anymore, her body couldn't break the routine. Music played in her one headphone, strategically tucked underneath her hood to avoid falling out. Today's playlist consisted of music that would make her mother faint, but it faded when she heard a slight disruption in the usual bustle of noise on the street. A yell, along with a bike bell, followed with a panicked apology from a voice that sounded far too familiar.

Ahead was a mishap of a cyclist nearly crashing into a flying object hurtling into their path. Lizzie sighed loudly and turned back around, looking to find the first abandoned-and-not-utterly horrifying alleyway near her. When her location had been found, she walked in that direction and made no attempt to engage with the local hero.

Spider-Man appeared from above only a few seconds later, landing on his feet with an impressive finish. When the girl in front of him had no reaction, he ducked his head before standing up to full height and pulling his mask off. Peter Parker stood in front of her with a freshly-bruised eye, a laceration also splitting his brow suggesting the person was wearing a ring. He didn't miss her immediate interest in the new injury and tried to figure out which of the two current problems at-hand needed to be addressed first.

"I can explain," he started off with, which only led to her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Then, Peter knew he was a goner when she crossed her arms over her chest and waited for his response. "I don't know which one to start with."

"You having more than one thing to explain isn't a great start. What happened?" she directed her question with a focus on the left side of his face.

Peter reached up to touch his eye, wincing. "Oh, this? It's nothin'."

"And you being in Brooklyn on my morning route?"

"Friendly neighborhood-to-all Spider-Man?"

Lizzie's eyes narrowed as she took in his two excuses, and the only thing she was trying to figure out was whether or not standing here in the cold was worth calling Peter out for following her. Instead, she nodded once, and her arms fell back at her sides. Attention was drawn once again to what he didn't think would be the bigger issue of the two, and Lizzie stepped forward to tilt his chin so that she could see the left side of his face better.

Her hands were ice cold, not protected by gloves, and he hissed out when she made contact with his face. Peter wanted to pull out of it like he would if his Aunt May were checking his wounds, but Lizzie called that evasive maneuver already and secured her thumb to the other side of his jaw so he couldn't turn away. A sound threatened to escape his throat, and he met her eyes to give her a look.

Peter tried again with his usual. "I've had a lot worse, MJ."

She said nothing, but both of them became aware that they were in a similar position a few months ago. Peter didn't know if his face could even get more red when he remembered their kiss, and Lizzie released his chin while taking a step out from his comfort zone. If she noticed him looking a similar shade to a tomato, she (kindly, for his sake) ignored it. Peter cleared his throat. That did nothing to alleviate the silence growing between them the longer he waited for her to say something. Lizzie never did, forcing him to come to a million ideas on where her thoughts were at right now.

"Hey," he called for her quietly, clenching his mask in his hands as he did so. "Are...are we okay?"

Lizzie's brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"