◤ chapter nine: ❛ invincibility ❜ ◢
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SHE ALWAYS FELT LIKE A KID, GOING BACK TO THE BOARDWALK WITH HER FRIENDS. She remembered swinging from her parents' arms and dragging them to the different booths and the ferris wheel, eyes lit up in excitement at the attractions. Stuffing herself full of sugar until she felt like she was going to vomit, hands sticky from cotton candy, and her face hurting by the end of the night because of how much she smiled.
And now as a teenager, going to the boardwalk was a mix of nostalgia and melancholy because all those memories were just memories and not reoccurring events. It wasn't like Toni was close with either of her parents. Her dad was always working and never seemed interested in his growing child except for some weekends when her mom forced him to be interested. And now Eden Alderson was her greatest enemy – beside Harry, of course – because she wanted to control her daughter's life.
There were no more family outings to the boardwalk, only skipping out on doing homework in favor of having a night of fun. Atlas led the pack, always the one in charge, with an easy smile and relaxed shoulders. Mona Ryder followed behind him, her platinum blonde hair in a pony tail, and Colton Pride by her side. He was devilishly handsome, with curly brown hair and a laugh that could make the most depressed of people crack a smile.
Toni wasn't afraid to admit that she had the biggest crush on him freshman year and part of her partying life began to try and get him to notice her. It worked, kind of, and they slept together but then decided that it didn't work. He was just okay in bed, not the best but not the worst, and the crush faded even if she still grew wet thinking oh, fuck me sometimes.
The trio was closer than Toni was to them. She really only hanged out with Atlas, who entertained her at bars and got her laid many times, earning his spot as her second best friend (Sabrina refused to let him be called best friend because that's what she was, so Toni called him her second best friend). She sometimes hanged out with Mona and Colton, and they were fine, but she really only came to spend time with Atlas.
"I am so doing the strength meter!" Atlas exclaimed as they walked onto the pier, wide grin.
Mona snorted. "You think you'll actually make it move? Puh-lease!"
Atlas retaliated by hitting her lightly in the arm, making her laugh loudly. "You never know. Maybe I'll be able to break the whole thing," he teased, winking at his friends.
"I don't know, man. I mean, no offense, but you don't exactly scream strength," Colton lightly teased him. He was always more delicate with his jokes, never wanting to make anyone feel bad.
"Oh, come on," Atlas rolled his eyes before looking at Toni, "You believe in me, right?"
He had wide eyes that bored into her soul, making her cave because he looked exactly like a helpless puppy dog. She shrugged, "I guess you can try."
"Is that all I'm gonna get?" Atlas raised an eyebrow at them, "You guys know you've seen me do this before, right?"
"Yeah, but that was before the school year started and you were working out with Colin all the time," Colton said, "But things change, man."
"Fuck you guys," Atlas declared, "Come on, I'm gonna show you how strong I really am."
"You can try," Toni said carelessly, a mischievous smile on her face to let him know that she was only joking. Atlas responded by throwing his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close, releasing a pillar of laughter from her.
"Ha ha, you guys think you're soooo funny, don't you?" Atlas rolled his eyes.
"Only a little," Mona shrugged.
He sent her a look but broke out in a smile not long after, unable to keep a straight face. They reached the strength meter and Atlas brought his arm off her shoulder and gave the man there two tickets, as requested, and got ready. He took the overly large hammer and hit the tile, watching as the meter went up to MIGHTY MAN before letting out a cheer.
"I told you bitches! I am the mightiest fucking man alive!" He screamed at them, holding up a middle finger.
The man made a disgusted look at the crudeness of Atlas, but he didn't notice. Toni, Mona, and Colton cheered for him and laughter at his overabounding happiness and excitement.
"The mightiest man!" Toni agreed.
"With the strength of Captain America himself," Mona teased, causing them all to giggle more.
"Fuck yeah!" Atlas high fived them all before they walked away. "I fucking love doing that. What do you guys wanna do next?"
Mona gasped, eyes glistening, "The go cart race!"
Everyone nodded and added their own words of agreement before Mona ran to go find the go carts and the others were left chasing after her. "Different cars or team up?" Colton asked.
"I say boys against girls," Atlas suggested, "To see how good of a team Colton and I really are and see how much you guys suck."
"Fuck off, Atlas. Mona and I are a better team than you and Colton could ever be," Toni jeered back at him, all in good fun. He stuck out his tongue at her in response, she did the same.
"Wow, real mature guys," Colton rolled his eyes. Atlas and Toni made eye contact, mentally agreeing before turning to Colton and sticking up their tongues at him.
Toni giggled at the exacerbated look on Colton's face, loving to tease him. He was still hot and, although he wasn't the best fuck, he was still a good one. No one could deny Colton Price's hot body even if some girls were against stoners.
But the thought of sleeping with him reminded her of Harry, and her grin almost faded. As she practically beat into him, he actually had been taking a step away from her and hadn't talked to her since the day where she found out the identity of Spider-Man. He stayed with Mary Jane Watson and other people that Toni never talked to and really didn't know the names of.
And, yeah, she knows that she should be happy because she had been asking for him to stay the hell away from her since she met him and he called her a bitch, but she still found herself deflating a little in Spanish when he didn't even turn back to look at her. And again when she would look over to him at lunch and he seemed so engrossed with the conversation that it didn't even hit him that he should look over to her like he used to do.
And it fucking sucks, because she doesn't like him at all – no, she really doesn't – and him not being a pain in her ass was exactly what she wanted. She didn't want him and his smirks, witty comebacks, and bit of a compassionate side anywhere near her – no sir. But still, she was being ignored, and for some reason she didn't like it. And even when she shouldn't be thinking about him, because here was Colton and she was at the boardwalk and there was no reason for her mind to even go to him in the first place, here she was; at the boardwalk with Colton thinking about him.
Fuck.
She really hated Harry Osborn. He was the absolute bane of her existence and she wanted him gone. She wanted to never meet him because if she hadn't met him, she wouldn't be conflicted like this. Fuck Harry Osborn, really.
They got to the front of the line and were allowed into the little rink. Mona took the spot with the steering wheel, which was probably good considering that Toni didn't know anything about driving in the slightest, even though it wasn't like she really needed to for the little rink. Really wouldn't be much of a race like Atlas was hoping, but it would still be fun.
She looked back to where Atlas and Colton were. Atlas made a funny face to her and she shot him back her middle finger, giggling in delight as he made an offended face at her for it.
"Ready?" Mona asked her, a steady smile on her face.
Toni nodded her head. "Oh, yeah." The two girls giggled to each other as they began, racing around the small rink – well, racing was a strong word, but it was fun nonetheless.
It was over almost as soon as it began and as they got off, Atlas frowned. "I thought there'd be more of a racing aspect. I was gearing up to leave you guys in the dust," he pouted.
"Well, tough luck, sweetie." Toni laughed in his face, moving some of her hair out of her face as he turned his pout to a glare directed towards her.
"God, if you weren't gay I'd think you two were a couple with how you treat each other," Mona commented.
"Well, we're practically married by now, so..." Atlas trailed off, an easy grin gracing his features as he wound his arm around her shoulders again, "She's my wife. My lovely wife who I will never, ever fuck."
Toni snickered at him but leaned into his touch to sell the act. Mona and Colton laughed at them and they continued around the boardwalk. They walked slowly together, just looking around with no rush because, honestly, they didn't have anywhere else to be. They had all night, and plenty of things to do.
"There's an arcade," Colton pointed somewhere to his right, "We could spend some time in there."
"Nah, I don't like arcade games," Mona shook her head.
"Well, fine then," he said, rolling his eyes before smiling at her so that she knew he was just joking. She still elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to gasp for air from the pain for a second. "Fuck, I think I need a strong hit after that."
"God, you're such a stoner," Mona jokingly complained.
"Says someone who is also a stoner," Colton pointed out and she shrugged.
"Touché," she conceded before looking over at Atlas, "Did you bring a blunt?"
"Okay, why does everyone expect me to be the one carrying drugs?" he asked and didn't wait to receive an answer before admitting, "I mean, I do, but it's still rude."
"Love you!" Toni told him to grovel, proving this by sending him an air kiss which he met with a face of disgust.
"Girl, keep your cooties away from me. I ain't getting hit with that shit," he shook his face and Toni scoffed, hitting his chest softly because unlike Mona with Colton, she didn't actually want to hurt him. She might be a bitch, but not to her friends.
Atlas led them to the edge of the pier overlooking the water. He dug into his point and brought out two blunts. "We'll have to share," he said before going back to get a lighter.
"That's fine with me," Colton shrugged, taking a blunt and waiting for Atlas to light it for him before taking a hit. Atlas did the same with the other and let himself breathe in the smoke before Toni snatched it from him. Fuck, she loved the sensation of being high.
She took another hit before Atlas took back his blunt and brought it to his lips again. They stayed at the edge overlooking the water for a while getting high before finally Mona was giggling without any reason and pointed up to the Ferris wheel. "I fucking hate heights," she told them out of the blue, "but we should go on that."
"Promise you won't throw up?" Colton asked her.
Mona giggled and shook her head, "No. I probably will, but I really wanna get up there."
"Fuck heights," Toni agreed, not liking them anymore herself, especially after the countless videos she had seen about the dangers of Ferris wheels and fair attractions in general, "Let's go."
Okay, so she doesn't have the best judgement, and the high makes her feel invincible. She's floating and the height doesn't look so bad and the dangers don't seem so dire.
Atlas takes one last hit before dropping the used blunt into the water, Mona following after him, and then walked into the direction of the Ferris wheel. They waited in line for a couple minutes before Toni was strapped into a cart with Atlas.
As they started upwards, Toni looked into the night sky, no stars in it – or at least none that she could see – but her eyes still held them. She could remember her young self, who was going through different nicknames as to not be called Antionette anymore (Annie, Tiny, Nettie before finally realizing that Toni was fucking perfect for her), with her mother by her side because her dad always hyperventilated when heights were involved.
She would lean too far out before she was so high up and it was beautiful and she wanted to stay fighting forever, before her mother would pull her back for her safety and scold her for being reckless. She felt invincible and incredible, high above everyone else.
Now, teenage Toni leaned back against her friend, looking up to the night sky and feeling utterly content with her life. There was nowhere else she wanted to be at the moment, and nothing could bring her down.