The Next Morning.
Peter and I are walking down the street with Ned, he was carrying a huge stack of thick books in his arms due to the loss of his backpack. "You got bit by a spider? Can it bite me? Well, it probably would've hurt, right? You know what? Whatever. Even if it did hurt, I'd let it bite me. Maybe. How much did it hurt?"
"The spider's dead, Ned."
"And you were just born with your powers? Were you able to control them at first? How is Asgard?"
"My Father is dead and Asgard is terrific besides my grandma dying and that I haven't seen my uncle in forever." Peter cuts the conversation short noticing how uncomfortable I felt answering those questions, allowing no room for further discussion on the subject. Ned shrugs and looks ahead. His eyes go wide.
"Whoa." We stop short, examining Delmar's Sandwiches. It was almost burnt down, the store name almost illegible. Police tape and barricades surround the shop. Various police officers and crime scene investigators are working around it. "You two were here?" Peter warily eyes the agents standing near the scene.
"Yeah."
"You guys could've died."
"I've almost died a couple of times now, so I think I have an idea on how to protect myself." I spoke. As we all stare at the badly damaged building. Expressions completely serious.
"Do you lay eggs?"
"What? No." Peter and I laugh at the absurd and anticlimactic suggestion.
---
In the middle of a chemistry lecture. A torch is boiling a dark-coloured liquid on the desk. Peter, Ned and I are wearing safety glasses. Ned rolls over in his chair towards Peter and I. Peter was scribbling in his notebook as I read the textbook.
"Can you spit venom?" Ned asks in a low voice.
"No."
"Can you bring back the dead?"
"What? Hell no!" I whispered back looking at Ned with wide eyes. "Who do you think I am?"
"Can you summon an army of spiders?" Suppressing a sigh, Peter looks up in the guise of concentrating on the lecture and bends down again to take some notes.
"No, Ned."
"Can you turn water into rum?" Ned asked.
"I think I can?" They both looked at me. "What? It's probably not that hard."
---
"The Sokovia Accords were put into place..." The history teacher spoke droning on. I swear this was the most boring class out of all of the ones I had. Ned leans towards us and engages in a whispered conversation with Peter and I.
"How far can you shoot your webs?"
"It's unknown. Shut up."
"...to begin regulating..." The History teacher spoke.
"If I was you, I would stand on the edge of a building and just shoot it as far as I could-"
"Shut up, Ned." My voice rises a little in volume. The girl sitting in front of us turns around and shoots us an irritated glare. I give her a glare back and she stands down and looks back to the front. "I swear to Odin.." I mumble.
---
A small, old television is set up beside Coach Wilson, the PE teacher, who is standing with a bored expression. Captain America's Fitness Challenge is playing on the screen. Captain America, in his full uniform, smiles pleasantly, standing in a locker room.
"Hi. I'm Captain America. Whether you're in the classroom or on the battlefield..." Steve spoke on the small television. I thought it was funny, never knew that he did this, he must have been embarrassed. Midtown High students are sitting in neat rows on the bleachers, watching Captain America give a speech on screen.
"Do you know him too?"
"Yeah we met."
"What Peter means by met, is that he stole his shield, got a thing dropped on him. I on the other hand..." I hesitated for a moment before I cleared my throat. "He was my older brother, but we saw different opinions from one another and then we drifted apart.."
"Oh man, I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"It's alright."
"Today, my good friend, your gym teacher..." Steve continued. Captain points to his right. Coach Wilson, who is apparently standing on the wrong side, waves his hand to the students. "...will be conducting the Captain America Fitness Challenge." He raises his hand in a salute. The screen transitions to 'Station I: Sit-ups'.
"Thank you, Captain. I'm pretty sure this guy's a war criminal now, but whatever. I have to show these videos. It's required by the state. Let's do it." Coach Wilson blows his whistle. Midtown High School students are engaged in various exercises. Climbing ropes, doing chin-ups, push-ups, and etc. Michelle is lying on a mat by herself and wielding her book like a weight, still immersed in its contents. Ned then starts to interview me, since I knew more stuff about the Avengers then Peter did since I lived with them before we all split up like My Chemical Romance.
"Do Avengers have to pay taxes?"
"I think so? They are people. Well besides Uncle Thor, but that's because Tony pays for everything."
"What does Hulk smell like?"
"Like a storm of Anxiety, I always feel super anxious when I'm around him, but he's pretty neat."
"I bet he smells nice."
"You two have to shut up." Peter half whispered at the both of us.
"Is Captain America cool, or is he like a mean, old grandpa?" Ned continued.
"Steven? He's not mean, but he is basically an old grandpa. I had to watch all of the Harry Potter movies with him once so I can properly make Harry Potter references with him."
"Ned, just, shh, okay?" Peter spoke, I could tell he was annoyed with us.
---
Peter is lying on a mat and doing sit-ups. Ned is holding his legs in place for him. I was on the mat beside them, I had made an illusion of a girl in a different class that would hold my legs so I could still talk to them.
"Hey, can I be your guy's guy in the chair?"
"What?"
"Yeah. You know how there's a guy with a headset telling the other guy where to go?" Peter's face contorts into a weird expression. He is doing sit-ups faster than any other student, well except for me, but that was normal for me. I was known as the class athlete even though I never played any sports here for obvious reasons. "Like, like if you guys are stuck in a burning building, I could tell ya'll where to go. Because there'd be screens around me, and I could, you know, swivel around, and... 'Cause I could be your guy in the chair."
"Ned, I don't need a guy in the chair."
"But it'd be cool Peter! Think about it."
"See? She gets me."
"Nice job, Parker. Looking good Stark." The teacher points at Peter as he passes the mat that Peter and Ned are working out on. Peter glances at him, then frowns and takes a huffing breath, trying to look as if the exercise is really taking a toll on him. I smile before I overhear some of the girls talking on the bleachers.
"Now, see, for me, it would be F Thor, marry Iron Man, and kill Hulk." That's gross... I can't believe Betty would sleep with My Uncle, He already has eyes on Jane anyways but still!!
"Well, what about the Spider-Man?" Charles asked, I quickly tuned to see Peter doing sit ups much slower than before.
"It's just Spider-Man." I softly tap Peter's arm and he hears what I hear and so does Ned as they both stare at the small group of friends on the bleachers.
"Did you guys see the bank security cam on YouTube? He and Goddess fought off four guys." Liz spoke. I notice Peter's eyes go wide.
"Oh my God, she's crushing on Spider-Man." Betty gasped.
"No way!" Charles spoke. Liz shrugs.
"Kind of?"
"Ew Gross!" Betty teases. Ned and Peter exchange a look, surprised at the turn of events. Then they look back at Liz and her friends, still listening in on their conversation. I glared at Liz, I wasn't jealous, just defensive. No way I had feelings for Peter, he's my best friend. That's just be weird. He's too much of a nerd anyways. I then glare at the water bottle beside her.
"He's probably like, thirty."
"You don't even know what he looks like. Like, what if he's, like, seriously burned?"
"I wouldn't care. I would still love him for the person he is on the inside."
"Peter and Kara know Spider-Man!" Ned shouts. Peter and I stare at Ned, shocked. Mouth comically agape. Everyone in the gym simultaneously drops their assignments and stares at Peter and I. Peter hurriedly gets up and walks to the bleachers. Ned and I scramble to our feet to follow him.
"No, we don't. No. I... I mean..." Peter stuttered.
"What he means is-"
"They're friends" Ned spoke cutting me off, while I tried to fix the situation. Flash, who was climbing up a rope, slides down to the ground.
"Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends." I glare at Flash, I never liked him. He was a bully and a jerk.
"Yeah we've met him. A couple times actually, but it was through the Stark Internship." I let my anger get the best of me, I was supposed to fix the situation, but I just made it worse.
"Yeah, well. We're not really supposed to talk about it."
"Well, that's awesome. Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz's party. Right?" Flash spoke getting closer to me.
"Yeah, I'm having people over tonight. You're more than welcome to come. You're still coming right Kara?" She asked, Liz had invited me early on to her party, but I never gave my answer cause I didn't want to go without Peter.
"A Party?" He spoke before he looked to me obviously offended that I didn't tell him.
"Yeah, it's gonna be dope. You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man." Flash spoke staring at me, I stood straight at 5'8.
"Um..."
"It's okay. I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway, so..." Liz comes to Peter's rescue, saving Peter from embarrassing himself even further. Flash saunters closer and walks by Peter.
"Come on. He'll be there. Right, Stark?" Flash teased. The bell buzzes. Tilting her head toward Peter in a tiny nod of farewell, Liz walks off. Man, Flash really knows how to push my buttons. I watch as Peter throws his hands in the air and swivels to glare at Ned. He moves closer.
"What are you doing?"
"Helping you out. Did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on you." Peter hesitates, searching for words. I cringe at Ned's choice of words. "Dude, you're an Avenger. If any one of us has a chance with a senior girl, it's you." Ned walks away. Peter stands rooted in place, considering the idea.
"Peter you seriously can't be actually thinking of doing this! What happens if you reveal your identity? Or even mine!" Peter says nothing as he watches Ned walk away. "Peter are you even listening?!" Everyone in the gym had left so it was only us. I turned to look at Ned, tears running down my face.
"I guess I don't matter to you huh?" I then teleport out of the gym to the abandoned girls washroom. It was locked from the outside so no one could enter, well besides me. I cast a soundproof barrier around the room itself so no one could hear me. I screamed at the top of my lungs, my telekinesis destroyed the room, the wooden stalls were tearing apart, my hair was floating upwards as I began to position myself into the fetal position. "Why am I like this.." I sobbed into my knees as I floated, the washroom was a complete mess. My mascara was running down my cheeks.
"I shouldn't be jealous of her! It's stupid! Utterly stupid! Peter should be allowed to like other girls, he's not mine." I looked up at the window, I slowly unravelled myself and floated towards the window to look out of it. I saw the main entrance, kids were leaving, I then notice the familiar brunette, I looked away and slid down the wall, my back against it.
"He's not mine."