Once the lunch bell rang, I swung my backpack over my shoulder and headed down the hall to the back doors. I saw Peter leaning against the doorframe on his phone, and he smiled when he noticed me.
"Ready to go?" He opened the door for me.
"Yep!"
We walked to a nearby McDonalds in the sunshine, it seemed to always be sunny and warm here. On the way, we talked about our parents. Peter told me all about his aunt and how he become Spider-Man by being bitten by a spider, and I told him all about the orphanage and life with Tony. We also made fun of them, of course, we've got to have a little fun, right?
I ordered a cheeseburger with fries and a coke, and Peter got the same thing. He actually paid for my lunch, no matter how many times I told him he didn't have to. We sat down and dug into our food.
"So," I swallowed. "I auditioned for theatre, Beauty and the Beast."
"No way, who'd you audition for?"
"Belle, of course." I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "I hope I get it."
"When do you find out?"
"Tomorrow morning, they're posting the cast outside the auditorium." I hesitated. "Would you come see the play if I got a part?"
"Of course I would!"
I grinned. When we finished our lunch, we headed back to school.
...
"I'm home!" I yelled when I walked through the front door.
"So...?" Tony slid around the corner with a hopeful look on his face. "Did you get a part?"
I laughed, kicking off my shoes and throwing my backpack on the ground. "I won't know until tomorrow, but I tried out."
"That's great, who are you going to be?"
I chuckled again. "I tried out for Belle." I walked around him into the kitchen and sat on top of the island. "We're doing Beauty and the Beast."
He leaned against the island opposite me and crossed his arms. "Beauty and the Beast? Isn't that a romantic play?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"And you tried out for Belle?" I nodded. "So doesn't that mean you're gonna have to kiss a boy—?"
I cut him off. "Oh my God, Dad! It's called... acting." I did jazz hands. He huffed.
I angled my hand at the fridge beside him and opened the door, then levitated a can of coke toward myself, grabbing it with my other hand.
"I went out to lunch with Peter today." I changed the subject, taking a sip of my drink.
"Oh yeah, I forgot he went to your school. How was that?"
"It was really fun," I swallowed again. "He really likes you."
Tony smiled. "He's a good kid."
"He lives with his aunt, you know? His parents and his uncle were all killed." He nodded sadly. "I feel really bad for him."
"So do I." He agreed.
"Maybe I'll invite him over more often, now that we're friends. He doesn't seem to have many and neither do I."
"What about Lily?" He scrunched his eyebrows together.
I shrugged. "We're still friends, but all she ever wants to do is play."
"Well you are a kid." Tony laughed.
"I know, but I'm just more..."
"Mature?"
"I guess so."
He grinned. "I was the same way. I had friends my own age, but I always got along better with people who were older than me."
I soon headed to my room to do some homework. I laid on my bed with my books set out in front of me and some AC/DC blasting through my speakers. I'd come up with an easier way to write my math equations, by moving my pencil with my eyes instead of actually using my hands. I read the next question in the eighth grade math book and moved the pencil along the lined paper, completing it in no less than five minutes. My door opened, and I could see it was Tony in my peripheral vision, so I continued writing.
"Really?" He said, and I finally looked up, making the pencil plop down on the paper. "And I thought I was lazy." He laughed.
"If I have the powers, I might as well put them to use!"
"It's 10:30, you should go to bed soon. I'll be in the workshop if you need me." He kissed my forehead.
"Okay, goodnight."
He left the room, closing the door behind him, and I laid back and brought my phone to my face. I opened mine and Peter's messages and began typing.
'Hey'
I waited a couple seconds and, sure enough, three dots popped up.
'What's up, chicken wing?'
I laughed at his clever new nickname for me.
'Just finished some homework, what about you?'
'Same here. Want to go for lunch again tomorrow?'
'Sure, but I'm paying this time!'
We continued texting back and forth until I realized it'd be nearly an hour, and decided it was probably best to go to sleep before Tony found out I was still up.
As I drifted off I couldn't help but recall the day Peter and I had together. He was such a good friend, even though he was older than me, it didn't seem to bother him. I found it hard to relax, though, as I was constantly reassessing how I felt about him. I couldn't decide whether he felt like an older brother to me, or if I had feelings for him... no way, Tony would freak if I ever said that, and maybe Peter would too. I mean, I was only eleven years old, I hadn't even had any boy friends before Peter.
I continued rolling back and forth for what felt like hours, when it was really only about twenty minutes, and finally fell asleep with the thought of Beauty and the Beast and Peter Parker dancing around my brain.