𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 | parker²

v. your friendly neighborhood starlight

Aster brought her water bottle up to her lips, taking a swig of her drink as the TV finally came to life. With her line of vision obscured by the bottle, she didn't see who was on screen until a familiar voice came from the speakers.

"Hi. I'm Captain America."

Spluttering, Aster choked on her water. Steve walked onscreen, straddling a chair in the middle of the locker room. She lowered her water bottle and coughed, attracting unwanted attention from her classmates. Peter patted her back a few times while Ned simply frowned at her. "You good?"

Once she got her coughing under control, Aster nodded with a tight smile. "Mhm. Went down the wrong pipe."

Peter grimaced and leaned closer to her. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you. We do Cap's Fitness Challenge in class every year," he whispered.

"His what?"

"Whether you're in the classroom or on the battlefield... fitness can be the difference between success and failure."

Her look of shock slowly morphed into an amused one. Man, she wished she could make fun of him right now. If only the rest of the Avengers could see. Natasha and Tony would never let him live it down.

When a sudden realization hit him, Ned leaned over Aster to question Peter, "Do you know him too?"

"Yeah." Peter shrugged. "We met."

Ned's eyes widened in awe and his jaw went slack. 

A small smirk pulled at Peter's lips as he tilted his head and added, "I stole his shield."

If possible, Ned's jaw dropped even further. "What?"

Aster rolled her eyes as Peter continued to feign nonchalance.

"Today, my good friend, your gym teacher..." On-screen, Steve pointed to his right. Apparently standing on the wrong side, Coach Wilson raised a hand and waved anyways. "...will be conducting the Captain America Fitness Challenge."

With that, Steve saluted the class. The screen transitioned to show the words, Station I: Sit-ups. Station II: Push-ups. Station III: Rope climbing, Station 4: Chin-ups, Station 5: Rest.

"Thank you, Captain," Coach Wilson drawled, eyeing the television wearily. "I'm pretty sure this guy's a war criminal now, but whatever. I have to show these videos. It's required by the state." He blew his whistle. "Let's do it."

Aster raised an eyebrow, sharing a look with Peter. If only he knew.

As soon as Coach Wilson dismissed them, the class split into groups and broke off into various exercises. Peter and Ned partnered together and were assigned to the chin-up station, leaving Aster to pair with the one person in the class who didn't have a partner.

She walked over to where a few groups were doing push-ups, putting her hands on her hips and staring down at MJ with an amused smile on her face. "That doesn't look like a push-up."

Michelle was lying on her back without a partner, lifting her book up and down like a weight. She didn't take her eyes off of the pages inside as she bluntly told Aster, "Good observation, Einstein."

Noticing how immersed she was in its contents, Aster leaned closer and read the cover out loud. "Human Bondage. Interesting pick."

When Michelle didn't respond, Aster shrugged and laid down on the mat next to her. She grabbed a spare book lying by Michelle's bag and opened the pages, mimicking her motions.

Even though she didn't elicit a verbal reaction from the girl, Aster caught Michelle smiling out of the corner of her eye. Just barely.

They rotated through a few stations, with Aster mainly doing the work while Michelle continued to read her book. When they finally reached the rest station, she scanned the class for her friends, holding back a laugh when she saw Peter and Ned arguing as the latter held Peter's feet down for sit-ups.