(OR OTHERWISE KNOWN AS TWENTY QUESTIONS!)
WHEN JACKIE SEES SPIDER-BOY AGAIN HE ISN'T VISIBLY HURT BUT HE HAS HIS MASK ROLLED UP PAST HIS LIPS SO HE COULD EAT THE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES SHE'D LEFT OUT FOR ANY LOCAL HEROS PASSING BY.
"Hey Spider-boy," Jackie greets with a smile, "Wanna come in?" Her Abuelo was out for the night so she wouldn't have to tell him to keep his voice down.
"Sure," he said happily. "And it's Spider-man," he whined fondly, soundlessly climbing through her window.
"So what hurts?" She asks Spider-boy as she mostly shuts her window, leaving it slightly open so she could hear someone else if they found their way to her fire escape.
"Nothing," Spiderboy told her honestly. He'd pulled off his mask completely once the blinds were shut. Totally not causing Jackie's heart to speed up.
Jackie ignored the heat coming from her cheeks and instead asked, "Then why are you here?"
Spider-boy looked at his scuffed up rain boots as his gloved hand clamped itself to the back of his neck.
"Because I wanted to see you," he murmured. Jackie beamed. Sure Jessica stopped by every once in a while to check up on her but really the only person she helped that liked to stop by for no reason was Wade. Mr. Matt had this thing where he thought the more he came around the more she'd be in danger and he didn't want some evil dude or his henchmen to come after her so unless he couldn't move and she was right there he tended to not come around.
"Great!" She winced at her loud voice, "Shit-cool." Spider-boy smiled.
Jackie sat on the corner of her bed and motioned for Spider-boy to do the same. He sat down next to her and Jackie turned to him and cocked her head to the side,
"So what am I allowed to know at this point?" Jackie asked.
"What do you mean?" His eyebrows came together.
"I mean can I know your name?"
"No." Jackie huffed. "Alright, Spider-boy-"
"Spider-man."
"Spider-boy-" Jackie rolled her eyes fondly, "What am I allowed to know about you?"
"I'm fourteen?" Jackie smiled.
"I'm fourteen too. Are you a freshman too or are you some super genius or like have you been left back a ton?"
Spider-boy snorts, "I'm a freshman."
"Do you go to a school in the area or-"
"In the area, you?" Jackie refrains herself from groaning at his vague answer, not that she expected anything less, "I go to the Eleanor Roosevelt High School."
"Where's that?"
"Over on East 76th Street." Spider-boy knits his eyebrows together and pops his bottom lip out- and Jackie doesn't want to lean over and kiss him like she's in a bad RomCom -before a metaphorical lightbulb goes off above his head.
"That's the one by John Jay park right?" Jackie nodded.
"Are you on any teams or anything?" He wondered. Jackie nodded.
"So many," she said, "Okay so-" she started counting off on her finger, "I'm on the yearbook and the school newspaper but those two go hand-in-hand so it really only counts as one club, the Law Club and the Debate Team, GSA, Student Government-"
"What are you?"
"Secretary," she told him, "Okay so uh, I'm also-"
"There's more?" Spider-boy asked, looking both amused and horrified, "What are you Supergirl?"
"No, just Jackie," Spider-boy shrugs as if to say 'the same thing', causing her ears to burn red, "Anyway, I'm also on the Model UN, National Honor Society, and the Film Club." Spider-boy stared at her with a mixture of awe, pride and a hint of fear.
"What're your grades?"
"I have, uh," Jackie bit her lip for a second as she thought, "Eighty nine-point-nine average."
"How the hell are you able to do all that? I'm having trouble doing this-" he pulls at his jacket, "And keeping my grades up."
Jackie shrugged, "Well I literally get home at like seven every day, so there's that, but my last class is lunch so I just do my homework then and I'm free the rest of my day."
"Yeah but you're on like everything."
Jackie shrugged, "I have a lot of interests. And besides my college application is going to look great."
"Where do you want to go?"
"Columbia, I want to major in Law while minoring in Political Science, you?" Spider-boy blinked at her because holy fuck she had to be the most put together freshmen ever.
"Probably Baruch," he said, "I wanna do journalism."
"What like New York Times journalism or TMZ journalism?"
"I want to work at the Bugle." Jackie snorted, "I've read horror stories of people interning there, man. Spider-boy I know you can take on criminals and all that but James Jamesson? You want to deal with him on a daily?"
"He's a great reporter," Spider-boy defended.
"He talks shit about you every night." Spider-boy deflated. Jackie sarcastically pat his shoulder.
"There, there," she said. "Do you have any pets?" Spider-boy shook his head,
"My building has a 'No Animals' policy," He said, "Why don't you have any?"
"My Abuelo is allergic to pet dander. I mean I guess I could get a snake or something but-" she shrugged, "-I don't know I want a dog or something to cuddle at night. Ya' know?"
"You speak about your grandpa a lot," Spider-boy said, Jackie knew what question was coming, "If you don't mind me asking-"
"My parents died. They were at home when the incident happened." Spider-boy sucked up a deep breath, just as everyone did when they remembered the day everything changed. Before that day Captain America was just someone you learned about in History and Science, and aliens were something you imagined or watched on the X-files, but now the Star Spangled Man With A Plan and an alien who called himself a Norse God lived in Upper Manhattan.
"Mine," he said after a moment, "Died in a plane crash when I was a kid." Jackie reached over and grabbed his hand, he didn't jump or move it so Jackie kept her hand there.
Spider-boy looked at her and she smiled gently at him, "I know I didn't know them- and I know I don't know you very well -but honestly I think your parents would be pretty proud to have the latest New York vigilante as their son."
Spider-boy moved his hand do their fingers could be locked together, "Thank you," he said quietly. Jackie jerked her head back in a way that said 'No problem'.
"What's your favorite TV show?" He asked.
"Angie Tribeca," she said, "You- no wait let me guess! Is it uh," she bit the inside of her bottom lip, "Bones? CSI? Law and Order?" Spiderboy snorted and shook his head,
"Rick and Morty, Wrecked, and the Simpsons."
"Thank god you have good taste," Jackie said.
"What constitutes as bad taste?"
"Family Guys, American Dad, shows that depict violence against women and minorities funny."
"Do you have any allergies?" Spider-boy wondered.
"A ton," she said, "I'm allergic to pink and yellow dyes in processed food so I can't have-" she sucked in a deep breath, "-Hot Dogs, icing, whipped cream, American cheese, jello, marshmallows; like those make me break out into hives but an avocado will straight up kill me. So will Loganberries."
Spider-boy looked at her for a moment, the same way everyone does when they find out what she can and cannot have, "You're missing out."
"I know. But hey eat a second hot dog for me when you can, 'kay?"
"Sure. So what's your birthday?"
"October 6th, you?"
"August 5th."
"Are you in a relationship?" Jackie asked. Spider-boy shook his head.
"No, I'm single. You?"
"Same." Neither teen realized that they both tightened the grip on the others hand after that.
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Sorry for the slow update, but GUYS I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL LAST TUESDAY! I'M NOW A COLLEGE STUDENT!
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