The next morning came around and Peter found himself meeting up with Ned as he did every other day. However, this time, Peter had a lingering smile. It was soft but there. Peter almost looked like a little kid with little puppy eyes.
"How'd your project go?" Ned asks as they pass 21st Station.
"Good." Peter nods, looking to his friend, hands gripping the straps of his backpack.
"I can tell." Ned snickers, keeping his stare in front of him.
"Shut up." Peter rolls his eyes, the smile just faltering.
"So, she talks?"
"What?" Peter snaps his head to look at Ned with furrowed brows. "Dude, of course she talks."
"I've never heard her say a single word and I've had classes with her since freshman year." Ned muses to try and get Peter to give him some details.
"She talks, a lot." Peter nods. "She knew a lot about our project already and she knew about the stuff we were doing in mythology. Dude, she even knew about our pop quiz."
"Good to know she knows what's going on in school." Ned gives a soft chuckle with his sarcasm.
The boys make the rest of the walk talking about Peter's Spider-Man routine, him explaining the encounter he had with a guy that was robbing a woman walking home. The attacker only got one hit in and it was because Peter was ushering the woman away. Ned found Peter's retelling just as entertaining as every other Spider-Man thing that happened.
Peter and Ned get to the school and the conversation switches to what the cafeteria was serving for lunch, both unamused. They stop at Peter's locker first and head to Ned's where they meet up with Gwen. Peter's attention went to straight to her and stayed on her, his heart finding a different rhythm with the words she spoke. But, while Ned was swapping out books from his school bag, Peter spotted Ajax down the hallway, eyes looking to the ground with her white earbuds sticking out her hoodie and into her ears while her blue sketchbook was clutched to her chest.
"Peter?" Gwen asks, pulling Peter's attention back to her.
"S-sorry. I-I what?" He shook his head, confusion sweeping over him. He never got distracted when Gwen was talking to him. It was Gwen.
"Why don't you go talk to her?" Gwen muses.
"No, no. It's fine." Peter shakes his head, glancing to Ajax.
"She doesn't have friends, you know? You could invite her to sit with us at lunch."
"Do it, dude." Ned urges.
"Go on, I know you want to." Gwen teases, making Peter's cheeks turn a vibrant red.
Ned looks to Peter with a knowing grin and the shake of his head. Gwen didn't have to listen to Peter talk about Gwen for the past year and she didn't have to listen to Peter try and explain the odd knot he felt in the pit of his stomach when he was with Ajax the night prior. Peter didn't want Gwen to know anything of that. She was his best friend.
"Alright, yeah." Peter says, taking a deep breath and straightening himself.
"Go." Ned encourages, turning to lean against his locker.
Peter takes in a deep breath and starts closing the few feet that were left between him and Ajax. Just as he was getting closer, a senior bumped into her. In an instant, Peter went from being in front of her to the side, catching her before she hit the floor. Ajax's heart stopped with the sight of Peter and him touching her. She wanted to scream from being touched by anyone, but all she did was stare at him as her blood coursed with fire.
Peter quickly helped her regain her footing and took his hands off her, her skin settling from the lack of contact. She said she hated being touched but reflexes got the best of him and he wasn't about to let her hit the floor. She was grateful, of course, but it still made a lump form in her throat.
"Shit, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" The senior questions as Peter helps Ajax stand properly.
"Uh, ye-yeah. I'm fine." Ajax shakes her head, looking to the senior, her earbuds now dangling in front of the Adidas logo of her hoodie.
"Nice reflexes, man." The senior looks to Peter and nods.
"Uh, thanks." Peter licks his bottom lip, his eyes carefully looking over Ajax.
"Are you sure you're okay? I should have been watching where I was going." The senior's attention goes back to Ajax.
"Yeah." Ajax nods. "It's fine, really. Wasn't really paying attention myself." She shakes her head and moves a strand of hair behind her ear.
"If you're sure." He says hesitantly before Ajax nods. "Alright, I gotta go but maybe I'll see you around." He gives a kind smile before heading back down the hall, this time much slower.
"T-thanks, Peter." Ajax looks to the ground before meeting his stare.
"Uh, d-don't thank me." Peter shakes his head. "Are you okay? You, you don't, uh, you look a little pale?" Peter hesitates not wanting to offend her.
"Oh, uh, yeah. No, it's fine. Uh, ya know, just almost fell and stuff." Ajax's cheeks turn red as her blood immediately cools.
"I didn't, like, hurt you when I caught you right?" Peter asks, realizing he might have gripped her arms a little too hard.
"No." Ajax laughs lightly. "Perfectly fine."
"Cool." Peter smiles and Ajax returns it, completely unable to do anything but smile when Peter smiles. His smile really was contagious. Peter looks down the hall and sees Ned still leaning against his locker, enjoying the scene that was out in front of him while Gwen stood next to him holding an expression he'd never seen before, one that sent a pang to his heart. "Right," Peter looks back to Ajax. "Do you, maybe, do you want to maybe sit...with us at lunch?" Peter asks, gesturing to Ned's locker where Ned started to adjust himself when Ajax looked towards him.
"Okay." She blushes, shocked and immensely happy he invited her.
"Really?" Peter asks, his eyes going wide as the bell rings.
"Yeah." She shrugs, not wanting to give away her excitement. "I sit alone anyway."
"Awesome, uh, I'll see you there, then?"
"Mhm." Ajax hums, tugging her sketchbook right back to her chest, wanting to combust with excitement.
"Okay," Peter beams, taking a few steps away. "I gotta-"
"Get to class." Ajax finishes.
"Yeah." Peter says, red cheeks flowing.
"Don't run into the door this time, please." Ajax muses as she bites her lip.
"Right." Peter nods, turning on his heels and heading back to Ned and Gwen.
Ajax turns down the hallway to her class, more pep in her step just like the day before. She assumed that maybe it was just the project. That's why Peter was getting along with her so well the day before, not that Peter seemed to actually have a mean bone in his body anyway but that wasn't the point. The point was that Ajax was invited to sit with him and to go over to his house to work on their project again.
Ajax couldn't remember the last time she felt giddy, or if she even felt it at all when it came to another person. The last few years, the only thing she's felt is pure anger. Anger at Asshat, her uncle, her mom, the entire world but Peter cools her blood to a temperature she never thought she'd experience again. She was warned before what could happen but she didn't care. Ajax couldn't hurt him because he was the silence in her storm. It was easy around him. And, besides, Ajax knew once he saw the real her, he'd run for the hills so she figured she could enjoy the time with him while it lasted. Before the storm hit.
"Joining us for lunch?" Ned asks as he takes an unusual seat beside Ajax.
"Huh?" Ajax asks, snapping from her thoughts.
Ned chuckles a bit as he takes out his homework the teacher would be collecting the second the bell would ring. "Peter said you were gonna sit with us today. Ned, by the way." Ned says, almost sticking out his hand before remembering Peter mentioned her thing about touching on the way to school.
"Ajax." She gives him a smile. "And only if it's okay with you and Gwen."
"Yeah, of course." Ned's brows furrow with the shake of his head. "It's just us anyway and I think Gwen will appreciate a break from the both of us." He jokes.
"Cool." Ajax says softly as the bell rings and their teacher shuts the door.
"Pass your homework to the front." He states, walking to his desk to take roll.
"He really doesn't waste any time." Ned whispers as he passes his homework to the person in front of him, Ajax doing the same.
"I know. Which is moronic considering he doesn't even spend the period actually teaching. He's too busy talking about the damn Yankees." Ajax mumbles with the roll of her eyes.
Ned stares at her, a little surprised she said a full sentence. "As if anyone here really gives a shit about baseball." Ned picks up.
"Or when he goes on some rant about Spider-Man." Ajax rolls her eyes again, tired of hearing her teacher complain about the teenager superhero every time he did anything. "Like, let the kid do his thing."
"What do you think of Spider-Man?" Ned inquires.
"Uh, I don't know." Ajax shrugs. "It's cool what he does and he shoots webs and climbs buildings and it'd be super cool to like, figure out how he got his powers." Ajax stops herself from going into a huge ramble about her actual interest in his powers alone, not actually him. "But," Ned quirks a brow with her word, thinking she wouldn't have anything bad to say. "I saw the YouTube videos last year and he was working with Iron Man. He's working with Tony Stark so ya know," Ajax shrugs, looking to the front of the class as their teacher finishes collecting the papers, ready to actually start class.
"Not a Tony Stark fan?" Ned asks, his voice laced in surprise as their teacher demands their attention be brought to the front.
"Eh, don't know him." Ajax shrugs, glancing to Ned and back to the form of the class.
Their teacher went on, partially teaching and getting distracted and off topic every few minutes. He went on a rant about how the school should go year-round, then went on to complain about something about the Knicks, and somehow that was brought to a student asking about a random fire being started a few towns over. The fire destroyed all the local businesses.
That got Ajax's attention.
Her teacher pulled up the news to see the main street of the tower on fire. Every building was in flames as firemen were trying to put them all out. Fire Trucks from different counties were there. According to the news anchor, everything was nearly burned to the ground beside two businesses. The cameras to all the buildings weren't working and they didn't see who could have done it and as of what they know at the moment, they don't know who would want to set half the town on fire.
Ajax sinks in her seat as memories play back, knowing how damaging fire can be. She dug out her sketchbook and her pencil. Her hand moved lightly against the paper, her full concentration being on her sketch in order to block out the news and whatever her teacher was saying about it. She didn't want to hear it anymore. It didn't affect her and that's the only thing she'd be concerned about.
"Ajax?" Ned's voice falls on deaf ears as Ajax continues sketching. "Hey, the bell rang." Ned raises his voice a little and waves a hand.
"Huh? What? Sorry." Ajax shakes her head, slamming her sketchbook shut.
"The bell rang." Ned chuckles. "You and Peter actually get work done?" He jokes as Ajax gathers her things.
"What?"
"Peter never pays attention and I always have to repeat myself."
"Oh." Ajax says, her shoulders dropping slightly. "I was just lost in thought, doesn't happen much actually."
"It's cool." Ned brushes it off as Ajax and him walk through the classroom together. "It's kind of nice to know you can talk though." Ned jokes.
"Funny." Ajax shakes her head, giving him a little laugh. "Only to you and Peter, now." Ned looks to her with questioning eyes making Ajax sigh. "I have to work with Peter and," The corner of her mouth tugs into an uncontrollable smile. "He's Peter. And you're cool, you understand that no one gives a shit about what Mr. Right was saying."
"Thanks." Ned holds his head high with Ajax calling him cool. "Cool is not a word people use to describe me."
"You're cool to me. I don't think that says much, but it's something." Ajax gives him a reassuring smile. "Well, I've got pre-calc so I'll see ya later." Ajax says before heading off in the opposite direction.
Ajax pays attention in pre-calc, far more attention than in her english class. This teacher actually taught what they were supposed to and there are no side-discussions about the fires that took place counties away. Ajax wasn't a math fan but she was good at it so she sat content until the end of class.
Her nerves spiked as she realized she'd be facing gym. She hadn't thought it out. Questions were sure to stir if she took her hoodie off. So, she took a day.
When Ajax reached the girls' locker room, she told her teacher she needed the class period to catch up on homework. Her teacher eyed her with suspicion knowing Ajax was anything but a procrastinator but nodded, explaining she'd be getting a zero for the day. The one zero wouldn't hurt her grade and she knew it. So, she walked to the library and opened her sketchbook, using the period to finish her drawing.
Before Ajax knew it, the class was ending and she was off to physics, one of her favorite classes. The class went by without a hitch and flew by. Now, she was making her way to the lunchroom with her hands starting to sweat with nerves. She'd never sat with people at lunch, not since she came to Midtown freshman year. It'd be weird to be sitting with people and conversating. It was nerve-racking but also exciting.
Ajax spotted Ned, Gwen, and Peter already seated and eating their lunches. She walks over and sits beside Gwen and in front of Ned, Peter in front of Gwen. It was a slightly different view for Ajax which just made her more nervous. Her back was no longer against a wall so anyone could come up from behind her without any warning. She knows it's stupid but paranoia isn't always logical.
"H-hey." Peter says, a timid smile playing at his lips.
"Hey," Ajax gives the same smile as Ned nods, his smile confident.
"Wh-where, uh, you weren't in gym." Peter states.
He noticed she wasn't around and Ned said she was fine in english. Peter found himself worrying as to why she wouldn't be in that class. As far as he knew, she didn't ditch. She wasn't late, to his knowledge anyway. Ajax was what seemed to be a perfect student. Something told him there was something wrong and the only thing he could do was complain to Ned about it while Ned held his feet for sit-ups.
"Uh," Ajax's eyes widen, surprised Peter even noticed her missing. "Uh, y-yeah. Uh, just, I wasn't really, wasn't really feeling gym." Ajax shakes her head as she digs through her bag for a little baggie of goldfish.
"Are you okay?" Peter's voice comes rushed.
"Yeah." Ajax gives him a soft laugh. "Still fine. Just, ya know, didn't feel like doing sit-ups."
Peter's stare lingers on her, the feeling in the pit of his stomach not letting up. Something was off, something was wrong but he didn't want to call her a liar and he didn't want to intrude but he knew.
"Anyway," Gwen raises her brows and looks to Ajax, holding a sweet smile. "How's your sketch coming? You chose New York right?"
"Oh, yeah." Ajax nods. "It's coming. It's kind of a hassle, ya know? How's Houston coming?"
"I hate it." Gwen rolls her eyes, both boys watching the girls interact without any nerves between the two. "There are so many straight lines! How is anyone supposed to get them all perfect?" Gwen laughs.
"Right?" Ajax agrees. "Buildings are so fucking hard. Even with a damn ruler, half my lines are crooked. And the windows!"
"Don't get me started!" Gwen continues to laugh with Ajax until they notice the boys staring at this with furrowed brows and agape jaws. "What?" Gwen asks.
"We have art together." Ajax states.
"Right." Ned says, looking to his plate.
"I-uh, I didn't know you guys had art together," Peter says.
"Yeah," Gwen shrugs, looking to her lunch tray. "You've been busy." Gwen's kind voice etches in ice.
Ajax looks to Ned for answers but he just shakes his head and rolls his eyes. The tension was building between the two and all it did was confuse Ajax. Her attention was always mostly on Peter, not really Ned or Gwen so she hadn't picked up on anything between the entire trio. But, by the looks of everything, she wished she had.
"So, uh, anyway," Ajax raises her brows, sighing. "Still working after school?"
"Oh, yeah." Peter says, breaking eye contact with Gwen and going back to his lunch. "If-if you're okay with it."
"Of course." Ajax smiles, the mood shifting to ease.
"What are you guys doing anyway?" Ned asks.
"World's Fair Hotel." Peter answers.
"Nice." He nods his head with approval. "Got the Monticello." Ned's voice goes bored.
"Thomas Jefferson." Ajax inputs, tossing a few goldfish into her mouth. Peter and Ned both look at her with raised brows. "I read." Ajax shrugs.
"Is there anything you don't read?" Peter asks, figuring there has to be something Ajax doesn't know a little about.
"Geology." Ajax answers plainly. She shifts in her seat with the word thanks to its relation to her father.
"Oh." Peter says, feeling a little embarrassed for asking.
"And the paper. I don't read the paper or the news article online." Ajax says quickly.
"What?" Ned chuckles.
"Yeah," She shrugs one shoulder. "I just don't. It's depressing."
Just as Ned was about to counter her statement, Flash came strolling up to them, his hands pressing against the table beside Ajax. "Well, looks like Penis Parker trapped another girl into sitting with him. How'd you do it?"
Ajax was ready to set Flash on fire. She balled her fists and clenched her jaw, questioning mentally what Flash's big issue was with Peter. Flash's hatred, while understandable to an extent, was tiring and needed to be stopped. Someone needed to put him in his place.
"We're friends." Peter answers, his words defensive.
"I don't get who'd want to be friends with you. Why?" Flash's attention turns to Ajax who was glaring at Flash.
"We're juniors." Ajax stands from the table, her eyes meeting his, matching Flash's stance. "So, why don't you fuck off with your Penis Parker routine. It's not funny."
Flash lets out a scoff as his friends start snickering from behind him. "Gotta have some freak defend you now," Flash pauses as he looks to Ajax and back to Peter, taunting Ajax. "Penis Parker."
"Hey, what's that?" Ajax explains as she points behind Flash making the three boys and Gwen all look in that direction and within a split second with a gust of wind, Flash was planted on the floor like he was the day before.
"What the hell?" He asks, the wind nearly being knocked out of him.
"Karma hits you quick." Ajax snickers as she sits back down, Peter and Ned staring at her with utter confusion.
"I slipped!" Flash yells as he gets back to his feet.
"Still karma." Ajax mumbles, going back her goldfish.
Flash mumbles something before he walks over to his friends who were again laughing at his clumsiness. Once Flash was out of sight, Ajax noticed Peter, Gwen, and Ned still staring at her.
"What?" She questions.
"What was that?" Ned asks, almost demanding an answer.
"What was what?" Ajax asks innocently.
"You pointed to something?" Peter says.
"Thought I saw something." She shrugs and looks to the table.
"Like what?" Gwen huffs.
"Looked like there was gonna be a fight."
Peter, Gwen, and Ned look at each other, completely lost but deciding it must have been nothing. The rest of their lunch period was Ned mostly asking Ajax questions. Ajax saying she's gone her entire life without seeing Harry Potter immediately freaked all three of them out and demanding she watch them. Ajax laughed and Peter blushed before offering his place for them to watch the films over the weekend. It was ballsy for him and even Ned was staring at him in shock when he offered, but something about Ajax gave Peter a little more confidence. With a simple nod, not wanting to sound over enthused, Ajax agreed without hesitation.
Lunch ended and Peter and Ajax walked together to their history class. Mrs. Bing notices Ajax smiling with Peter as she walks in and smiles at her. Ajax returns the smile and goes right back to conversating with Peter. This time, Peter joins Ajax in the back of the class, saying that if they were to work on their project, he wouldn't have to move if he just moved his seat next to her then. Of course, it was just an excuse. He just wanted to be close to her.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Bing had another assignment with another lesson so the two were unable to work on their project together in class but that didn't stop them from stealing glances every now again. Ajax always smirked with tinted cheeks while Peter quickly turned away with glowing cheeks. The two had opposite reactions but that's part of what made them so intrigued.
"Notes?" Ajax offers Peter her pink spiral once the class was over.
"Thanks." Peter said, gently taking the notebook from her hands. "Is-is there a quiz today?"
"Nope." Ajax shakes her head with confidence. "All good."
"You have to tell me." Peter urges as they finish gathering their things and head for the door.
"Peter, it's a secret." Ajax giggles as they enter the crowded hallway.
"Who am I gonna tell?" Peter counters.
"Ned and Gwen." Ajax retorts, amusement in the name. "Okay." She sighs. "I'll tell you, but," Peter hangs onto every word as Ajax pauses for a few seconds. "You have to try and figure it out first."
"What?" Peter's brows furrows, Ajax not making a bit of sense.
She chuckles before continuing. "Pay attention to her and I'll let you know in gym if we're having a quiz. You have to try first; I'm not just gonna tell you."
"So, sh-she has a tell?"
"Uh-huh. A few of them but you gotta try and figure them out."
"What if I do?" Peter quirks a brow as they reach his classroom.
"Uhh, okay," Ajax holds her head up high. "I will do the powerpoint presentation but if you don't get it, then you have to do it."
The corner of Peter's mouth tugs up with the shyest smile. "Deal."
Ajax nods, her heart pounding as hard as it possibly could. "I'll see you in Mythology then, Peter Parker." Ajax turns on her heels and bites her lip, heading to her art class.
Ajax found herself taking a seat beside Gwen in their art class. The girls were right back to talking like they did at lunch, not skipping a beat. Gwen was kind and easy-going making it obvious to see how she got along with Ned and Peter. Both boys just the same, only Ned more sarcastic and Peter twitchy. Regardless, Ajax liked talking to Gwen and brushed off everything she was told to do, everything she was told would be a bad idea. Teenage rebellion at its finest.
"So, just out of curiosity, is everything okay with you and Peter?" Ajax asks as she touches some of her lines.
"Oh, yeah, it's fine. He's just always really busy with the internship." Gwen says, resting her pencil beside her yellow sketchbook.
"He has an internship?" Ajax looks to Gwen with quizzical eyes.
"Yeah, with Mr. Stark. Figured he'd have told you. It's all he ever talks about most the time." Gwen rolls her eyes.
"Like, Tony Stark?" Ajax scrunches her faces, not caring at all why she originally asked about Gwen and Peter.
"Yeah," Gwen nods.
"Do you know what he does for T-Mr. Stark?"
"Not really. I think he runs errands or something." Gwen shrugs and shifts in her seat.
Sensing Gwen becoming uncomfortable, Ajax doesn't push for more answers. "Do you want me to knock some sense into him after school?" A sly grin comes to Ajax's face with the question.
"No," Gwen giggles. "It's fine. Thanks though."
"Of course."
Art came and went, as did Homeroom. Homeroom simply consisted of Ned switching his seat and sitting beside Ajax, the pair now finding common ground in their interest with computers. Her passion laid in the arts but she was quite fond of tech. By the end of homeroom, she'd felt she was becoming a real part the trio and to them, she was.
Mythology came by and Peter returned Ajax's notes when he strolled in. "I, uh, still gotta watch her, right?"
"Mhm." Ajax hums.
"That's it?"
"Yep." She gives off a soft giggle as Peter seems confused.
"I-uh, I'll totally figure it out."
"We'll see." Ajax holds her giggle in as she bites her lip.
The bell right after and Peter went to his assigned seat on the opposite side of the room. This class period, Peter paid close attention to the teacher, the way she walked, talked, even how she held the pen to the Promethean board. The boy had never paid so much attention, well, to a teacher anyway.
Ajax only stutters around him besides a few 'uh's to other people. He noticed at lunch. Even if something hurt, she forced a smile and she shrugged with just her left shoulder. He knew he gripped her too hard when she almost fell. She did the same shoulder shrug the day before when asking about her side. Peter could pay attention if he was interested.
The class went on and the teacher talked about another mythological creature, Peter and Ajax giving the teacher their undivided attention. Ajax only looked away from the board once when she caught a glimpse of Peter taking his own notes. It was the most he'd paid attention all year and she couldn't help but smile. He was adorable when he was focused and trying. But, then again, Peter was always adorable.
The class came to an end Peter left with Ajax yet again, triple checking they'd be hanging out and working on their project after school.
"Same spot?" Peter asked.
"Yep." Ajax nodded, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"O-okay." Peter grinned ear to ear. "I'll see you."
"Okay." Ajax chuckles as she watches Peter just barely dodge the doorframe.
"I-I uh, missed it this time." Peter points at the frame with his thumb.
"Good job." Ajax says, trying her hardest to bite back her laugh before walking off.
The final class came and went as it did the day prior and Ajax found herself leaning against the same spot she did the day before, sending her uncle another text to remind him she wouldn't be home until later that night.
Peter's shadow cast over Ajax, his timid smile showing when she looked to him.
"How, uh, how was your class?" Ajax asks as they start walking, her handing him one of her earbuds as ISSUES played through.
"I-it was, uh, yeah pretty good." Peter shrugged, not exactly remembering much of his class.
"Good, good." Ajax says.
"So, uh, you're sure there'll be a quiz by Friday?" Peter quirks a brow.
"Oh, yeah." Ajax nods quickly. "We're gonna fly by Scottish mythology so we'll have lots of quizzes. Why?"
"Just, uh, well, uh, our bet kind of only works if there's a quiz by Friday." Peter rubs the back of his neck as his words come out broken.
"Don't worry," Ajax starts to reassure, "There'll be a quiz and if not we'll just have to take turns presenting."
The pair continue their walk with smiles and red cheeks. It was an odd feeling for the both of them, not bad but odd. They both felt completely connected to each other after a day. That's insane and something only heard of in books and movies but here they were, walking in sync in complete and total comfort.
The baggage Ajax was carrying didn't matter, not to the point where she wanted to air her dirty laundry, but enough to where she didn't need her guard up. And she always had it up. Peter on the other hand, his stutter wasn't nearly as bad as it was, still there but it got better the more he talked to her. Ajax made it easy. Peter didn't feel the need to bullshit her and lie like he did with everyone. She accepted his answers as he did hers. Simple. Easy. Comfortable. Non-Judgemental.
When they arrived at Peter's apartment, May greeted the both of them happily, just as she did the day prior and offering them a snack and something to drink. This time, the both of them taking up her offer. Peter grabs a bag of Doritos and two water bottles for them before they went into his room.
Ajax turned on her laptop and pulled out her textbook as Peter handed her a water. He sat in front of her, the red bag being tugged open and rested between them. She handed Peter her phone and allowed him to pick the music to which he chose one of the charts playlists and let music fill the air.
An hour passed before they decided a break was needed, both just wanting a break so they wouldn't finish their project any quicker than need be.
"So, you know Tony Stark?" Ajax asks as she takes her hoodie off.
The question had been eating at Ajax since Gwen told her about the Stark Internship and now was as good a time as ever to ask him. But, Peter barely heard the question when his attention was pulled to her bare forearm where a blistering burn covered her skin.
"What, what..." Peter's voice is quiet before he finds his voice. "What'd you do?"
"Huh?" Ajax quirks a brow and follows his stare. "Shit." She mumbles, rolling her eyes, dropping her question.
In the comfort of Peter, the lingering pain of her arm seemed to have melted away and she forgot about the healing injury, the entire reason she took a day off from gym. She didn't give a shit about what the girls would think or any of the other guys. Her concern was fully set on Peter. What if he saw it? Would he believe her? Would he think she's lost her mind? The very last thing she wanted to do was screw up what could be her first friendship since entering high school, no matter the dangers.
"You should have that bandaged or something." Peter moves closer to her and looks closer at her arm, almost grabbing it without thinking.
Ajax pulled her hand away and went for her hoodie but Peter's hand found it first, a brow raised with curiosity and concern. "It's nothing, Peter." Ajax sighs.
"Half of your forearm is burned." Peter states.
"Yeah, I know." She shrugs, wanting more than anything to throw her hoodie back over her head and crawl into a ball.
"Come on, we have to get it bandaged. It's gonna get infected." Peter doesn't stutter once as his main concern was on her burn and how it even happened. The more he thought about as he walked Ajax to his bathroom, the more he started questioning how she didn't seem to be any form of pain. "What happened?"
Ajax sighs as she rests her hands on the bathroom counter going to push up and sit up, minding her left arm but she didn't get enough height with her first attempt. Peter stopped looking through the bottom cabinet and moved over to her, his hands hovering her waist while she jumped again, him just there to make sure she didn't fall. Their breath becoming hitched in their throats with their close proximity. Peter stood between her legs, leaving them only inches apart. Ajax smelled of coffee and honey while Peter smelled of peppermint and deodorant.The two found each other ridiculously intoxicating and not wanting to move.
"Uh," Ajax stumbles, her heart racing in her ears. "Uh, I just, I," She swallows and shakes her head, her fingers gripping the edge of the counter. "Hi."
"Right." Peter takes a shaky breath and moves back to the counter, both of them able to breathe again, neither knowing feeling so breathless could feel so good.
"Um, right, yeah." Ajax closes her eyes for a second, releasing her grip with white knuckles. "You're gonna think I'm weird."
Peter looks up to her as he pulls out some of the bandaging. "No," He shakes his head. "I-I won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Peter says as he stands up.
"Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I work on stuff in my room and I was trying some new art with fire and well, oops."
Peter eyed her with suspicion as he started running cool water. "Art?" He winced with the word. "That's what causes that?"
"Well," Ajax rolled her eyes. "Not the art itself. Fire did it." Ajax muses but Peter didn't find it funny. "So, you take fire, ya know like a lighter or whatever, and you use gunpowder-"
"You have gunpowder in your house for art?"
"Yes? See! I told you'd think I was weird!" Ajax groans as she puts her arm underneath the faucet.
"No, no, no, no." Peter says quickly. "I-I-I don't. Really." Peter defends and he helps make sure the water cleans the burn.
"You totally do." Ajax's voice grows defeated.
"Really, I don't. What were you saying?" Peter asks in attempt to reassure her.
"Just, you put it kind of in a landscape and it's just the use of the burn with negative space that creates an image and I got the powder off the canvas and it started a little fire and when I went to put it out, I got burned." Ajax hangs her head with her words as Peter hands her a soft towel to dry the burn,
"It sounds cool, if you didn't burn yourself." Peter forces a smile.
"It is." Ajax shrugs as Peter moves onto the bandages.
"It-it uh doesn't hurt?"
"Not really. Stings, I guess but that's about it." Ajax takes the bandage wrapping.
"Uh, can, can you please be careful?" Peter asks softly, the white bandage starting to hug Ajax's pale skin.
"I'm careful." Ajax defends. "It was an accident."
Peter shrugs as Ajax finishes wrapping her arm. "I know but, uh," Peter pauses as he licks his bottom lip, his eyes darting from Ajax's crystal blue eyes. "It, it sucks seeing you hurt."
"You're a good person, Peter Parker." Ajax gives him a grateful smile before hopping down but Peter stands in front of the door, his head tilted slightly to the side with raised brows. "What?" Ajax asks.
"Promise you'll be careful." Peter says, his eyes pleading.
"Promise." Ajax shrugs without hesitation.
She wasn't lying. She was going to be as careful as possible but only because Peter asked her to. The truth was that she didn't care about herself anymore but she cares about what Peter thought of her so, she'd be careful for him.
"I promise I'll be careful if you promise to be careful, too." Ajax says, noticing a small bruise just above his elbow. It was hardly even visible but Ajax was already looking Peter over for anything she could use to turn the conversation onto him.
With a soft chuckle, Peter nodded. "I promise."