flicker // peter parker

- birthday boy and longing girl -

With her hand on the frame of the car door, Elenora looked back to listen as her dad said, "I love you, Ellie."

Elenora smiled. "Love you too."

And then Elenora was in the arcade.

At first, all she saw was a bunch of eleven-year-olds fighting over some shooting game, yelling out cuss words that they didn't know the meaning of, and the only thing running through Elenora's mind was: where were their parents?

The swearing intensified as she passed them, and by the time she heard her fourth F word, Elenora was ready to give them a piece of her mind, but Ned calling out, "Elenora! Come here!" distracted her.

Ned, Peter, and Jade were in the corner of the arcade, playing air hockey. Well, Ned and Peter were playing; Jade was just observing from the counter she was sitting on. When she was first getting ready to come, Elenora was nervous about what to wear; then she realized that it wouldn't matter since Peter liked Jade anyway. And now, Elenora was glad she didn't worry about it- Peter, probably by request of Aunt May, was wearing a sweater over a dress shirt, while Ned wore khaki pants and a blue polo. Jade was wearing a black skater skirt with leggings and a red shirt. As she stepped forward, Elenora wiped her hands on her light blue jeans and adjusted her blouse. Yeah, she dressed up a little bit, but only for herself.

(In the words of Natasha Romanoff: "Yeah, okay.")

Peter glanced up from his game with Ned, letting his friend hit the puck right into the goal. He didn't even notice as he said, "Hey, El!" Smiling shyly, Elenora tucked her hair behind her ear. Peter swallowed before saying,

"Happy birthday!" she said, offering the gift to him.

Peter's cheeks rose pink as he told her, "You didn't have to get me anything."

Elenora rolled her eyes. "It's your birthday." There was a moment of silence, and Elenora's palms rolled on the box. "So where should I put it?"

Peter opened his mouth to say something, but Jade interrupted him. "I'll show you where we're putting everything," she told Elenora, hopping off the counter she was sitting on, and with a nod and pursed lips, Elenora followed her suit, glancing back at Peter before looking forward.

As she led her to the backroom, Jade explained, "My uncle knows the owner so he's letting us use the table in the back for our backpacks and stuff until we head out."

Head out? Elenora thought, but then remembered; Peter was talking about going out to dinner after they hung around for a little bit. "Right," she told her, setting down Peter's gift and card before going back to Peter and Ned, who were going head to head again doing air hockey.

Jade asked, "You wanna play something?"

Honestly, Elenora didn't, but she thought back to the conversation she had with herself in the bathroom this morning- Jade is your friend before she is Peter's crush.

So instead of no, Elenora said, "Yeah!"

And the two of them played a racing game, and Elenora, who had only played a handful of times before, kept bumping into the walls and curbs of the streets and placed 12th, and Jade held a strong 2nd.

Laughing it off, Elenora admitted, "Wow, I mean, I suck."

Jade laughed with her, "You get better with practice, " she promised, hopping off the seat and leading Elenora to another game, less coordination oriented. The whole time, Elenora tried not to keep looking back at Peter, who turned her direction quite a few times. Of course, he was turning to look at Jade- the expression she made when she was focused on ski ball was adorable. How could he resist?