Boys surround us as we work at a table in the corner of the shop class. I got a special permission slip to come to class during this study period, telling people it was for the internship. Peter and I work very carefully on the glowing rock, trying to remove it from within the metal frame that contains it.
"Hey, thanks for bailing on me." Ned grunts at Peter, making his way over to our table.
"Yeah, well, something came up." Peter mutters, gesturing to the rock I work on. Ned walks over towards it with wide eyes, "What is that?"
I work meticulously and carefully as I start to undo the wires and screws surrounding the glowing orb. Peter leans down next to me and shrugs, "I don't know. Some guy tried to vaporise me with it."
"Seriously?" Ned gasps and Peter sighs, "Yeah."
"Awesome." Ned cheers.
Both Peter and I look up and give him a look, to which he quickly back tracks, "I mean, not awesome, totally uncool of that guy. So scary."
I shake my head and I turn back to the rock, "I think it's a power source."
"Yeah, but it's connected to all these microprocessors." Ned says, walking forward and pointing to the root of the gun, "That's an inductive charging plate. That's what I use to charge my toothbrush."
"Whoever is making these weapons is combining alien tech with ours." I murmur, pretty impressed with the technology in front of me.
"That is literally the coolest sentence anyone has ever said." Ned states and I look up, giving him a wink. He smiles and turns to Peter, "I just want to thank you for letting me be apart of your journey, into this amazing-"
I step back as Peter picks up a hammer, hitting the gun and the glowing orb flies out creating a surge of energy that shakes the table. We all freeze up and look over to the shop teacher, who doesn't look up from the book in his hand, "Keep your fingers clear of the blades."
I let out a breath of relief and the three of us turn back. Peter picks up the orb and turns it in his fingers, "We gotta figure out what this thing is and who makes it."
"We'll go to the lab after class and run some tests." Ned suggests and I nod in agreement.
Without looking at each other, the pair perform a handshake that I've seen them do way too many times in the last four years. I roll my eyes but smile though, happy to be apart of this journey.
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Shop class is over and we are walking down an empty hallway. Ned stands on the other side of Peter and looks between us, "First, we put the glowy thing in the mass spectrometer."
"First, we gotta come up with a better name than glowy thing."I chuckle and Ned nods, "You're right."
"Crap." Peter mutters, grabbing my hand and pulling me against him as he jumps out of the hallway.
I gasp at the sudden movement and he looks down at me, his breathing quick before we pull apart. Peter gesturing towards Ned to follow us, "Come on, come on, come on."
Ned scurries after us and we all look around the corner to see these two adult guys coming forward. They look incredibly sketchy, holding a small box in one hand as they are dressed in all black. The smaller of the two looks around the halls, "High schools creep me out, they got that funny smell, you know?"
"Hey, that's one of the guys that tried to kill me." Peter states, causing mine and Ned's eyes to widen, "What?"
"We gotta get out of here." I state, grabbing his hand to go down the hallway, but Peter shakes his head, "No, no, no. I gotta follow them. Maybe they can lead me to the guy that dropped me in the lake."
"Someone dropped you in a lake?" Ned questions and Peter nods distractedly, "Yeah, it was not good."
He starts to go, but I grab his hand and hold him back as fear comes through me, "Peter."
He turns and looks me in the eye pleadingly, "Stay here. Please."
He let's go of my hand and follows after them as they head towards the shop class. I stare on worried, when suddenly there's a tap at the window behind us. Ned and I turn and see two people playing chess in the room. The boy at the window looks at us curiously, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing. You good?" Ned asks casually, almost too casually,a she leans against the wall. The guy in the window turns and gestures to the table, "Chess."
I look away from them and back down the hallway, "Come on, Ned."
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Ned, Peter and I are back in the latter's apartment, all holed up in his room. I'm laying on the bottom bunk, Peter leaning against the frame with Ned in the desk chair. He holds a piece of tech from Peter's suit, it showing a hologram of the progress of a tracker that Peter put on one of the bad guys.
"This is so awesome." Ned murmurs in awe. Peter plops down on the bed beside me and looks just as excited, "I know, right?"
Ned pokes it and I tilt my head to the side as I analyse it, "They're in Brooklyn."
Time passes and we all grow bored, doing different things. Peter is hanging upside down from the top bunk of his bed while we all munch on some Doritos Peter pulled out from the cupboard.
"Staton Island." Ned murmurs, his eyes on the hologram.
The sun begins to set and I'm laying on Peter's top bunk, doing some homework. Ned is playing on his phone as Peter plays with the web shooters of his suit. I glance up at the hologram and call out, "They're leaving jersey."
What seems like hours later, the sound of Ned's voice wakes me up with a start, "They've stopped."
I feel something hard under my cheek and I look up seeing Peter waking up underneath me, his arm wrapped around my waist. We both exchange a wide eyed look before shuffling away from one another. Peter hangs from the top bunk and looks over, "Maryland?"
"What's there?" Ned questions and Peter shrugs, "I don't know. Evil lair?"
"They have a lair?" Ned asks and Peter gives him a look, "Dude, a gang with alien guns run by a guy with wings? Yeah. They have a lair."
"Badass." Ned smiles impressed before frowning, "But how're you going to get there if it's like three hundred miles away?"
My eyes drift over towards Peter's cork board and I see a poster for the academic decathlon and I smile, "It's not too far from DC."
"Yeah, but Peter quit the team." Ned states and I roll my eyes as I begin to climb down the bunk, "Flash is in rotation, they'll gladly take Peter back with open arms."
Ned chuckles and shakes his head, "Flash is so stupid."
"Yes, he is." I state my feet hitting the floor.
I reach up and stretch my arms up, closing my eyes and yawning. I feel my shirt ride up, revealing my burn scars and soon Ned speaks up, "Woah, how'd you get those?"
My eyes snap open and I reach down, pulling my shirt back into place as I turn away in embarrassment. I usually always wear covering clothing so no one can see my scars. It's not worth the stares.
"Dude." Peter says in warning and Ned speaks quickly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. They just look badass."
"Well, they go with a badass girl." Peter states and I glance at him, seeing his kind eyes. I smile and turn away, reaching for my phone in my pocket.
There's about fifteen missed calls from Vanessa and Mark, plus a few from Tony. It reads nine o'clock at night and my eyes widen, knowing I was supposed to be home for dinner two hours ago.
"Oh crap, I gotta go." I hiss, searching around for my jacket, bag and laptop. Peter jumps off of the top bunk and looks at me apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise how long this would take."
"It's fine. But I gotta run." I state, slipping my jacket over my arm along my bag and laptop. I rush to the door when Peter calls out hopefully, "I'll see you tomorrow?"
My heart warms up at the expression on his face and I give him a small nod, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."
Ned clears his throat from his spot and I turn to him, giving him a smile, "Goodnight, Ned."
"Goodnight, Lexi." He says, looking between Peter and I.
"Bye." I say to Peter and he replies breathlessly, "Bye."
I turn and rush out of the room, closing it behind me before going to the door. Aunt May sits on the couch, a glass of wine in hand and a book to go along.
"Bye Aunt May!" I call out, rushing for the door.
"Lexi!" She calls out and I stop, turning back to face her, "Yeah?"
"It's been good having you around here again. Don't tell Peter, but he was really bummed out these past few weeks not seeing you." She explains in a hushed voice.
"Really?" I ask, surprised by this new information.
She nods her head and whispers quietly, her eyes glancing towards the door, "I think he likes you."
A frown forms on my face and she gives me a knowingly look. I'm startled for a moment and don't move, until I feel a vibration from my pocket. Reaching down I pick up my phone and see it's Vanessa calling me.
"Crap, I gotta go Aunt May. See you!" I call out, throwing open the door and her response is barely heard before the door closes, "Bye Lexi!"
Rushing down the hall, I soon reach my front door and open it up, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"Where the hell have you been?" Mark demands, looking at me with wild eyes.
Vanessa let's out a breath of relief before anger crosses her face, "We have been calling you for two hours Lexi. We rang Tony, asking if you were with him but he said you weren't there."
"Tell us where you were." Mark demands.
"I'm so sorry. I was down the hall at Peter's place." I state quickly and Mark frowns, "Peter Parker?"
"What other Peter does she know?" Vanessa says, giving him a look.
"I went over to do some homework with him and Ned, and then we watched a movie. I didn't hear my phone ringing from my bag and we lost track of time. I'm so sorry." I apologise, feeling really guilty for the grief I put them through.
"Lexi, you gotta let us know when you're out somewhere." Vanessa says and I look down guiltily, "I know, it was stupid of me. I should have messaged you."
"I was ready to call the police and put a search warrant out for you." Mark declares, before he walks over and cups my face in his hands, "Kid, I never want to feel like that again. Okay?"
"Okay." I whisper emotionally and he sighs, "Come here."
Pulling me against him, I wrap my arms instinctively around his waist and bury my head into his strong chest. He hugs me back and rests his head in mine, his arms holding me tightly to his. I soon feel Vanessa's body behind me as she hugs us both and I move an arm behind me, wrapping it around her.
We stay like this for a long time before we pull apart and I'm sent to my room. Walking in, I dump all my stuff on the ground and flop onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Now that all that is over, my mind can't help but drift to the revelation of what Aunt May told me.
Peter likes me? I question myself. Something about that makes it hard for me to believe when he is head over heels in love with Liz. But he has been looking at me funny and I did just fall asleep on his chest. My brain swirls and I let out a groan, burying my head in my pillow.
What am I going to do?