A/N: you guyss i just realized i completely forgot to upload a chapter yesterday!
honestly, my day was so busy yesterday, but luckily i just remembered so here's the new chapter + a gif! i know you guys have been dying for a gif so here you go lol
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"I mean, they don't know that we know."
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When Ned looked up from his notes, he found Vivian, MJ, Betty, and Flash all surrounding his table.
He frowned.
"Uh...everything okay, guys?" he asked wearily. He didn't like the looks they were giving him. Especially the one his girlfriend was giving him. It was a smile, but he knew her well enough to know it wasn't a friendly one. "Babe? What's going on?"
"Oh, I was just wondering..." Vivian said, putting her hand on his arm. Ned looked down at it, swallowing. "You'd never lie to me, right?"
"R-Right," he said, beginning to break into a sweat.
"Right, babe?" she insisted, leaning closer. Ned squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't do this.
"Okay, I lied!" he exclaimed, abruptly standing up from his seat, "I'm sorry, but I lied!"
"So is Mr. Harrington really homeless?" Flash asked him. Ned looked at his girlfriend apologetically. She was looking at him, waiting for him to answer. He sighed, admitting defeat. He couldn't keep up the lie.
"No, he's not. I made that up," he mumbled.
"And Adelaide and Peter aren't drug dealers?" Betty asked. Ned shook his head. He couldn't believe how ridiculous the lies sounded, even to him. He really was the worst liar ever. Homeless teachers and teenage drug dealers?? Maybe he needed to change the kinds of tv shows he was watching lately.
"And they really are dating?" Vivian asked, holding her breath. Ned nodded after a beat.
"Ah! I knew it!" Vivian grinned, jumping up. So she had been right this whole time. It was Adelaide in that picture, the girl had just been lying since the start! On one hand, she couldn't believe her friends were finally dating— it was about time they got together. God knows the tension between them had gotten palpable. But on the other hand, she wanted to get angry at them for hiding such a huge secret from her.
In her boyfriend's defense though, after he found out the truth, it was only a matter of time before they all found out too.
"Why did you lie?" MJ asked. Ned sighed.
"They asked me to. I-I found out about them and they made me promise not to tell," Ned said. He smiled a beat later, realizing something. "But I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore since you all know, right?"
"Wait a minute," Betty said and they all turned their heads to look at her, "What if...we didn't know?"
"Not following," Flash said, shaking his head.
"I mean, they don't know that we know," Betty said, grinning like an evil genius, "They lied to us. This is our chance to get back to them!"
Ned immediately shook his head.
"No. Absolutely not. No more secrets. Please. I'm begging you. I can't keep going on like this," he said tiredly. Vivian squeezed his hand comfortingly.
"Come on, babe. Just a little longer?" Vivian said and he sighed. He could never say no to her.
"How exactly do you plan on getting back to them?" MJ asked Betty. Betty's grin widened as if she was waiting for someone to ask her that. Before she could reveal her master plan, Ned threw his hands up in defeat.
"You know what? I don't even want to hear it," he said, "I'm gone." He quickly left the group alone to plan their revenge in hushed whispers. He sat down beside Abe on the other end of the auditorium, but his eyes couldn't help but wander over to them every few seconds. They looked way too excited. Ned frowned. They were probably planning something awful.
He turned away, forcing himself to focus on his work.
The last thing he wanted was to be involved in more lies.
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Dinner with Peter ended up becoming dinner with Peter and May after the woman insisted that the three of them eat at this new Chinese restaurant together.
Adelaide had no problem. She loved spending time with May. Except when May was interrogating Peter about his new 'girlfriend'.
"Come on, Peter, tell us," May insisted. She smiled at Adelaide, "We both really wanna know her name, right?"
Adelaide forced a smile, "Right."
Peter sighed, glancing at Ada sideways. He looked down at his plate again. Something told him that May wanted him to say her name was Adelaide.
"Her name..." Peter started. He looked at May who was watching him expectantly. "Her name's Liz—...Lisa."
May frowned. She was so sure he was about to say Adelaide. When the woman glanced at Adelaide, she was sitting there with a tight smile on her face, trying to overlook the fact that the first girl whose name he thought of was basically his ex almost-girlfriend. May narrowed her eyes.
"And how did you and Lisa meet?" she asked. Peter sighed.
"May, I already told you. I saved from a couple of muggers and n-now we're dating," Peter knew he was walking on thin ice here. Too much or too little favoritism towards Lisa and at least one of the women at this table would be onto him. He nervously glanced at Ada who looked very interested in her plate.
"Well, tell me what she's like," May said. Peter bit his tongue. This was really the last thing he wanted to talk about right now, but he supposed that this was the whole reason that May wanted to have dinner with the two of them together in the first place.
"She's um...she's nice."
"Nice?" May said, "That's all you can say. We girls don't want guys describing us as nice, right Adelaide?" May asked. Adelaide looked pained to be a part of this conversation about her boyfriend's other girlfriend. She knew May was trying to make them both crack and admit the truth.
"Right," she said, glancing at Peter, "Come on, Pete, tell us about her." Peter glared daggers at her for throwing him under the bus. It was like they were taking turns being under May's scrutinizing gaze.
"Fine," Peter mumbled, "Lisa's the best. She's got really good hair and the best smile I've ever seen."
Adelaide gripped her fork more tightly. She knew Lisa wasn't real, but he didn't have to talk about her like she was. He especially didn't have to talk about her like she was Liz. It almost started to feel like his fake girlfriend was real. And if she was, Adelaide hated her guts.
And her smile. Especially her smile.
"Oh, I bet," May smiled, "She sounds beautiful, doesn't she, Adelaide?"
"So you're just dating her for her looks?" Adelaide scoffed, "That's shallow." She regretted it the instant she said it. What had gotten into her? Lisa wasn't even real. What the hell was she getting angry over?
"Oh, you want more?" Peter challenged with a smile, "Well, Lisa is brilliant at math. Seriously the best. Oh, and did I mention that she can speak in eight different languages?"
Adelaide glared at him, but Peter didn't back down. Now he was just being a jerk.
"That's very impressive," May said, taking a bite of her food and glancing at Adelaide, "Well, when do we get to meet her?"
"Soon," Peter said, looking down at his plate again, "She uh...She had to go out of town for a school thing."
"She sounds lovely. We can't wait to meet her, right Adelaide?" May said, giving it one last shot. She figured the only way to crack these two teenagers was to let their own lying get in their way. It was clear that Adelaide wasn't very fond of this Lisa character. Now if Peter could just admit the truth...
"I'm gonna go use the bathroom," Adelaide said quietly before leaving the table. Peter watched her disappear around the corner and then he let out a heavy sigh. He wasn't even sure himself about what just happened.
"I think I need to go use the restroom too," Peter told May, "I'll be right back."
When he turned the corner, he spotted Ada pacing the empty hall beside the girls' bathroom. She saw him standing there with his hands stuffed in his pockets and she sighed.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I honestly don't know what came over me. I know Lisa's not real, but I don't know...god, I feel so stupid."
"You're not stupid," he smiled, "I'm just weirdly good at creating fake people." That made her laugh for a second. "I'm sorry too."
"I just...I really, really hate even imagining you with someone else, you know?" she said, "Because I know you can probably do better a-and I just feel—"
"Hey, hey, hey," Peter said suddenly, stepping forward with a frown. He rested his index finger under her chin. "Don't ever talk like that. No one can replace you. I don't care who the hell she is, I know I won't ever be able to do better than you. Please don't talk about yourself like...like you're not worth anything. I want you to love yourself as much as I love you. More, even."
She swallowed at the intensity of his gaze, "You're right. You can't do better than me. Where else are you going to find a girl who puts up with you?"
Peter smiled, kissing her briefly.
"Exactly. You're my one in a billion, love," he whispered. At that, she smiled.
"I love you," he reminded her.
"I love you too," she smiled, "So are we good?"
"Yeah, we're good. But let's go before May starts looking through my phone for Lisa's number," Peter said.
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Every time Phin had to meet with the boss, it made her skin crawl.
He looked terrifying. And today, she couldn't be sure if that was blood under his fingernails or something else. For her sanity's sake, she pretended it was strawberry juice.
They were in the usual poker room except there were two other men standing guard behind him today. They paid her no attention as if she didn't even look like a potential threat to them. She couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing.
"I heard about your uncle," the boss said, his silver tooth peeking out. "Fisk sent those thugs."
"He did," Phin said, "A-And they would have killed him if the officers didn't help."
"Mm," he said thoughtfully. He lit himself a Cuban cigar and began smoking it. "What're you here for? I know I promised I'd help you jailbreak your uncle, but I won't do it until I've got the girl."
"I-I know," she nodded, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I-I want to move up the plan a few days."
"You mean, you'll get me the girl earlier?" he asked, not amused. He honestly didn't think she could do it to begin with. How much grit did a kid like her actually have? He narrowed his eyes. "How?"
"Our team...we're going on a field trip to the New York Expo center o-on March 24," she said, twisting her hands together, "I'll get her to you then."
"You mean the expo center just by Rikers?" the boss asked with a smile, "Any hidden plans I should know about, Phin?"
"I-I want my uncle back. O-On the same day," she said, trying to sound as confident as she possibly could with a shaky voice. She was desperate. She hadn't slept properly in weeks. As long as her uncle was in that death cell, she wouldn't be able to sleep. She worried about him so much.
"Ah," the boss said, understanding, "Impatient, are we? Here's some free advice, Phin. Never let anyone see how desperate you are. Even if your life depends on it."
Phin swallowed. She wouldn't have been this desperate if her life depended on this, but this was her uncle. He was her only family and he had been for as long as she could remember.
"I guess we have a deal. Get me the girl on March 24, and I'll get you your uncle the same day," he said, leaning back in his seat, indicating that this conversation was over. The two guards behind him took a step forward and Phin stood up.
Her body felt heavier as the burden pressed her shoulders. If she didn't get Adelaide to the boss by March 24, then she wasn't sure what would happen to her uncle.
Her eyebrows furrowed in guilt and a lump formed in her throat.
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Phin walked home in the cold rain.
No one paid the strange girl walking in the rain any attention. Others hurried by with their umbrellas. People hurried into cabs. No one saw her. She was invisible.
By the time she reached her apartment, she was dripping rainwater all over the carpet. Even then, she couldn't find it in her to care.
She closed the door behind herself and slid down until she was sitting on the wet carpet, leaning back against the door. She stared at the wall across from her. Her lower lip trembled. The lump in her throat came back. She felt impossibly cold. It could be from the January rain or from the fact that she felt alone.
So, so alone.
She was scared and alone and hopelessly lost. She didn't want to hurt Adelaide, but she couldn't risk losing her uncle. He was all she had.
I'm sorry, Adelaide.
Phin hugged her knees to her chest and sobbed until her head hurt.
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A/N: this might be a slight trigger for some people, but in case you haven't already guessed, phin is in a depression.
she hasn't been clinically diagnosed bc she can't technically afford a doctor and it's not because her uncle was arrested, but it's been going on this way for years now. the thing is, she doesn't know that she's in a depression and she genuinely thinks this is just how life is supposed to be which makes me feel sad for her bc none of it's her fault :(
i usually wouldn't point this out in an a/n and let you guys figure it out by reading, but phin's never going to realize that she's in depression and i just want to make sure you guys understand her character. in my head, she almost feels like a ghost to me-- like she's there but she's not really living, just existing.
anyway, now that everyone knows the truth, the next chapter is gonna be explosive ;)
question: what do you think the gang is planning?
see you next week! (hopefully i don't forget lol)