"Extra pickles please?" I asked. The lunch lady rolled her eyes and nodded in exasperation. I moved on to the next part of the lunch line, Ned following behind me.
"Why do you always ask for extra pickles? The pickles are nasty! These school sandwiches are really good as is, but you have to deny yourself perfection by adding more pickles everyday." Ned argued.
"Are you kidding? You have to add more pickles to drown the bread that's otherwise so crusty that it's like biting into a rock. They should just order from Mr. Del Mar. His sandwiches are way better." I countered.
"I still have never been there, but you talk about it all the time! When am I going to get to meet the famous Mr. Del Mar?" Ned said, shaking his head slightly.
I picked up my lunch when I got to the end of the line, talking to Ned as we started walking towards the cluster of lunch tables.
"Sometime really soon. I can't believe I've never taken you there before. The place is just..." I trailed off, my eyes falling on a certain someone. "Perfect." I finished quietly.
Ned followed my gaze, his eyes finding the only person in the room I could see.
Kenzie.
She and Lucy were sitting at a table not far from where Ned and I normally sat. That's not where she normally sits, I thought to myself. Cringing inwardly, I made a mental note not to be such a creep.
Kenzie laughed at something Lucy said, making Lucy look rather proud of herself before joining in. Although I couldn't hear her laugh over the ruccus of the lunchroom, I found myself entranced by how beautiful she was when she was genuinely happy. She was stunning no matter what mood she was in, don't get me wrong, but something about seeing her laughing made my insides want to melt.
"Peter. Peter. Earth to Peter!" Ned waved his hand in front of my face, startling me into reality. "Are you going to to go talk to her?" he grinned. I felt my cheeks grow hot, nervousness bubbling up in the pit of my stomach.
"If I go talk to her, will you promise not to say anything mortally humiliating? Because I just might die if you do." I asked, trying to make myself sound sarcastic. However, I didn't feel like what I said was far from the truth.
Ned rolled his eyes, smiling at me. "Go on already. I promise not to make you die."
I started walking towards Kenzie's lunch table, trying to look calm and collected. With every step I took, I became more and more uncertain of what I was about to do, but Ned kept pushing me along anyways.
I tried walking back in the other direction, but Ned blocked my path every time. I ran into him once on accident, my lunch tray digging into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I felt jabs of pain in my stomach and head, not having been fully healed yet. I felt okay walking around and stuff, but apparently my injuries were still fresh enough to be reopened.
"Peter, you okay there?"
I spun around to see that I was right in front of a grinning Kenzie. So much for a smooth entrance.
My face flushed bright red, heat spreading rapidly throughout my body. "H-hi Kenzie. I'm Peter. I mean, I'm good. Yeah, I'm good. How are you?" I spluttered. My voice cracked at the end, making me want to bang my head on the table.
Kenzie smiled widely. "I'm doing good, Peter!" She gave me a quick once-over, her elbow resting on the table, her chin resting on a closed fist. "Would you like to sit?" she said, nodding at the seat right next to her.
I felt my eyebrows raise and my eyes widen, and a little smile crossed my face. "Yeah! Yeah, that'd be great." I hovered in place for a second before moving and sitting next to Kenzie, being careful not to spill my lunch all over her. I'd had enough embarrassment for one day.
Ned sat next to me, so it was the four of us- Lucy, Kenzie, Ned, and I, sitting at the table. I looked over to my right, where Kenzie was sitting, and I saw her try to hide a grin, her face flushing when she saw me looking at her. She was probably trying to hide a laugh— I'm positive I looked like an idiot.
"Peter, I'm glad you're at school today. I figured you would be home, resting up. You still have a little bruise under your eye and on your hairline, but other than that, you look perfectly okay. How do you feel?" Kenzie questioned, the anxious look that I saw so frequently on Saturday crossing her face once more.
I nodded, ignoring the nagging pain in the back of my head. "I'm good! The extent of the injuries and stuff has healed over, so mostly it's just annoying. Not bad enough for me to stay home or anything, but still there enough to where I can feel it. Most of the pain is gone, though, thanks to you." I assured her, glad to have a change in atmosphere from the awkard silence.
"Oh, it was no problem. I'm so glad you are feeling better." Kenzie resounded, her voice soft and gentle. Like she meant it.
Lucy poked Kenzie in the back, making Kenzie jerk and turn around in curiosity. Lucy gestured her closer, whispering something in her ear.
I turned over to Ned, and breathed, "What do you think they're talking about?"
He just shrugged and looked at me, clueless. Curiosity nagged at me, and I heard Kenzie whisper, "No, no. Not yet."
Lucy rolled her eyes, but evidently gave in. Kenzie leaned back over into her original position, taking a bite of her sandwich before changing the subject.
"So, are you guys ready for summer to be here?" Kenzie started.
I was desparately curious to find out what her and Lucy had been talking about, but I decided to leave it be. "Uh, I don't know. As weird as it is, I think I'm going to miss high school. I haven't quite figured out what college I'm going to. It stresses me out," I explained, ending with an anxious laugh.
"Peter Parker is worried about getting into college. The smartest kid on the planet with perfect scores on every test? I don't know if I believe it," Lucy teased, earning a playful punch in the shoulder from Kenzie.
"Lay off him," Kenzie responded with a smile, looking over at me. "Even guys like Peter are allowed to stress every once and a while."
"He has offers of scholarships from a thousand colleges, he could go wherever he wants. Peter is the smartest kid ever," Ned remarked in admiration. That earned him a kick in the shins from me.
"Ned is overreacting. I'm not some superstar or something." I responded quickly. "I mean, sure, I have a few offers, but that doesn't mean that—"
"No need to be so modest, Peter. There's nothing to be ashamed of, all of us admire you in that regard." Kenzie stated simply. My heart about exploded, looking around at the three of them, who were all nodding their heads. Hearing it from Kenzie made me feel ridiculously happy, however embarrassed I was.
"Thanks guys. I want people to remember me as Peter Parker though, not just the freak-show genius kid. A little bit of that is okay, but I get enough people only wanting to talk to me about finishing their homework, and help on exams and stuff. I like being around you guys and feeling like I can be Peter." I shrugged.
Kenzie's eyebrows raised, and a small smile spreading across her face. She glanced back at Lucy, and then returned her gaze to me. "Fair enough. We won't talk about the academic side of things unless you bring it up first, Peter. Sound good?" she suggested.
"We can talk about it, but I just don't want that to be the first thing we talk about." I requested, trying to sound nonchalant. I really didn't want to be remembered, especially not by Kenzie, as the genius kid.
Kenzie nodded, smiling. I felt my words catch in my throat, so I tried my best to portray gratitude through a look.
The lunch bell rang, and Kenzie gathered up the trash from her lunch, Lucy following behind her, giving her a knowing look. Kenzie stopped after she stood up, looking at me, a slight hesitation in her stance. She put her hand on my shoulder, sending a thousand sparks through my body. "I'll see you around?" she proposed.
After searching for a second, I found my voice. "Yeah! See you around," I babbled. She smiled and brought her hand back up to make support her tray, and her and Lucy walked off.
Ned and I gathered up our stuff a minute later, walking towards the trash cans. "I would say that was a successful lunch." Ned declared.
"I think so too." I threw my trash away, and Ned waved me goodbye and walked off towards his locker, leaving me to wonder what the heck Lucy and Kenzie had been talking about.
A/N: 7-11-18
Word count: 1563
Ned is the number one #keter shipper and that's that.
I'm indecisive on a ship name. Keter? Penzie? McPeter? Wait, no. McPeter sounds like a burger from McDonald's. But then again, Tom Holland is a snack so may as well
"Tom Holland looks pretty delicious, don't he?"
I'm done making references now. Feel free to move on.
~n.s.