Walking the Wire | PETER PARKER [1]

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Luis sets down his empanada with a look of shock. Contrary to Eloise's appeal of Friendsmas, he doesn't think it's a good idea. "Wait, I'm going too?"

"Yes," Lucy says, rolling her eyes. "And if you don't show up, I know where you live and I will burn your house down before 'ole Saint Nick can crawl down your chimneys." She raises her brow at her groaning friends, and smiles when she sees Eloise's face with no traces of disgust. "Good."

"Wait," Alev says, pushing her straight jet black hair behind her ear. "My mother and I are having plans for dinner on the Eve of Christmas."

"Fine," Lucy says, finality in her tone. "You all are coming to my house on Christmas Eve at noon, no matter what. No excuses." She turns to Eloise. "You can invite your nerdy friends from that nerdy school if you want."

Ned and Peter? Eloise wonders if they'd like to come; Peter and Cliff have gotten acquainted before, and he met Elena and Lucy when he helped them study once, but besides that, they aren't that familiar with them. Ned hasn't even met any of them before. Ned and Peter aren't exactly the most social butterflies, but they aren't anti-social, either, so Eloise can't decide whether or not they'd have fun at this Friendsmas. She'll just have to ask to find out.

A thought pops into Eloise's mind. "Wait, will everyone be able to fit in your house?" It's no secret the house Lucy and her mom share isn't a mansion.

Lucy waves it off. "Everyone will fit," she assures with a smile. "It's going to be great, just you wait and see."

🕸

It's snowing again. The crystallized flakes drop from the sky carefully and pile up on each other, packing together white drifts on the sidewalks and on the sides of the roads. The roads that have racing cars zooming up and down them don't have the same white snow, but rather the gross brown slush Eloise has grown to despise. She's not sure anyone really likes the stuff; it's slippery, dirty, and an eyesore.

Luckily, the sidewalks aren't slushy yet and still have the gentle snow flakes piling up. This of course means that her socks are getting damp, but she'd take that over slipping in the slush again.

Ned and Peter tell Eloise about something funny that happened in one of their classes they have together before Peter suddenly blurts, "Oh, Mr. Stark offered me to be an official member of the Avengers, by the way."

Eloise's eyes go wide. Did she hear him correctly?

Peter doesn't notice her shock as he continues. "He even made me this new suit for me. It's metal, and it's really cool."

Eloise turns to him. "Wow," she says, unable to really figure out how to put my excited and shocked thoughts into words. "That's—wow. Congratulations, Peter."

"He turned him down," Ned says flatly, clearly annoyed.

Eloise's brow furrows. "Wait, what?" She turns to Ned, expecting him to be joking, but sees his serious expression. She turns back to Peter. "Really? Why?"

Peter looks away and shrugs. "It's just that—" He hides his hands in his long sleeves of his coat and glances at Eloise. "Someone needs to look out for the little guy. I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

At first, she assumed Peter was crazy for letting an opportunity like that slip right through his fingers, but his reason causes her heart to swell. Someone needs to keep the people of Queens safe while the Avengers are facing larger problems. Plus, it's safer being a neighborhood hero than an Avenger who saves the world (and possibly beyond). Call Eloise selfish if you want, but she would prefer a safe Spider-Man than a dead one who saves people in other parts of the world. It's a nice feeling, knowing that Peter's isn't going to be fighting off any aliens across the world anytime soon.