°°°
A FEW MONTHS LATER
"SO?" MJ INQUIRED, SITTING across her best friend. Eleanor quickly lifted her eyes from her tray to MJ, then back to her food.
"So what?" Eleanor replied.
"Are you and Parker a thing now?" She asked lowering her voice. "You two sure are stuck to each other's hips."
Eleanor knew she was right. Ever since the event at the movie theater, she'd got significantly closer to Peter. They always flirted around, stayed up late patrolling the city, but never actually had the time to brand themselves as a couple. Eleanor felt uneasy talking about it, MJ wasn't the only one asking her that lately: it was also her mother, Ned, Betty sometimes, Cindy, Abe, the teachers, Mr. Stark, it seemed that everyone wanted them together. Eleanor didn't mind, though. She felt things were perfect just the way they were. Plus, patrolling the entire city by themselves kept them quite busy. She just knew she loved spending time with him, and that was enough for now. Heck, the pair hadn't even kissed yet, holding hands made them equally nervous.
"I don't know. He's my best friend." The girl being questioned answered, eating a grape. She chewed on it, swallowed and continued talking. "I don't know why it worries you that much."
"I just hope you don't ditch me for him." Michelle responded in a dry tone, and Eleanor knew she talked from the heart.
"I won't, MJ." Eleanor promised. "I won't."
"But still, you gotta admit that it's obvious he's head over heels for you."
Eleanor smiled to herself. Looking at her friend, she stayed modest. "Nah, I don't think so."
"Whatever you say." MJ returned when she saw both Peter and Ned entering the cafeteria, slowly approaching them.
"Hey guys." Ned neared the table first, Peter following behind. Before the two love birds could meet, Ned kept talking. "Hey, El, did you give your essay to Mr. Hastings?"
Eleanor raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not due until Monday."
"Uh, didn't you get the email saying he wanted it today?"
Eleanor's plastic fork fell from her fingertips and she picked her backpack from the floor quickly, muttering curses under her breath.
"Shit, I've got to talk to him, bye!" She bid her friends goodbye and ran through the exit doors, towards the teacher's lounge.
While Ned and Peter took her seat, MJ pulled Eleanor's tray near her and finished eating the rest of her fruit.
"Ned, you and I both know that essay's due Monday. Now she's gonna have a mental breakdown I'll have to take care of." MJ said, eating a grape.
"It is due Monday, we just needed to talk to you without her around," Ned commented, looking at Peter, who had been fidgeting the whole time.
"Yeah, we- I-I need your help, Michelle," Peter commented, moving his hands repeatedly in a nervous manner, making MJ raise an eyebrow. "I-I, I-I-I'm gonna-"
"He's going to ask El out." Ned finished the sentence for his friend.
MJ looked at them unamused. "Thought you guys were already going out."
"I-I mean, we kinda are, but this is more- we're not a couple yet, and I'm going to ask her more formally tomorrow."
MJ smiled at Peter. If he really knew how much Eleanor liked him, and how long she had.
"Nice bud, how can I help?" The girl asked, piling both empty trays one on top of each other.
"Peter told me he wanted to buy her something that meant a lot to her," Ned commented.
"Yeah, and since we're going to MoMA tomorrow, I wanted to ask her there. But we need a girl who knows her well helping us out, that's where you enter."
"Okay," Michelle started, pushing the trays a bit away. "Here's the thing, Pete: Eleanor's not that big on cheesy shit, you know she isn't that talkative about her feelings. But, she does have a soft spot for that type of gift. It's going to be hard." The girl smiled, before continuing. "I'm in."
°°°
After classes ended, Eleanor quickly headed home without Peter, since he seemed busy with Ned and MJ. They agreed to meet on the apartment building's rooftop at 4, giving Eleanor enough time to talk with the guy in her mask, which she hadn't named yet. As she arrived home, she threw her backpack on the couch and approached her room. She took out her mask, and placed it on, sitting on her desk chair.
"Eleanor, welcome back." The voice said, the English accent present.
"Hey... You." The girl replied. "Any news?"
"Police radio transmissions seem to be in order, Eleanor. There's no danger in the area."
"Nice. Hey man, I think it's about time that I name you. You have a British accent, so you deserve a British name." The teen talked, as she walked to the kitchen. She knew her mother would be back in an hour or so.
"As you please, Eleanor." The voice responded.
"Paul?" She asked, thinking of a singer of her favorite British band. "Nah, that just sounds off. And I don't like the name Ringo. How about George?"
As she argued with herself, she poured orange juice in a glass. "I don't like that one either. Voice, can you look up a list of common British male names?"
Eleanor lifted the bottom red half of her mask, drank her orange juice, and pulled the mask back down as her AI did the research.
"Charles." The voice spoke.
"Too royal." Eleanor replied, placing the glass in the sink and walking back to her room.
"Harry."
Eleanor pondered. "Interesting, but it just doesn't fit you, voice."
"William."
Eleanor stopped in her tracks, a meter away from her bed. She coughed lightly. "No uh, not that one."
"James." The voice spoke again.
The teen now laid on her back, staring at the ceiling.
"James." She repeated. "I like James. Voice, now you're named James."
"It's a great name, Eleanor." James's robotic voice replied.
"Yeah," she replied. "I like that one-"
"You're receiving a call from Peter Parker." James noted, and Eleanor looked at the time at the top right corner of her view. 4:10 pm.
"Shit!" She cursed again, and got into her suit rapidly, to meet Peter at the roof of the building.
A few hours and two armed robberies later, the two teens found themselves sitting on the edge of a tall building. Both of them had their masks off and were gazing out, looking at the city lights as the sun descended.
"Hungry?" She heard Peter say and when she turned her head, she saw he was handing out a sub.
The girl smiled and took it in her hands. "Thanks." She unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite of it, grunting slightly. After the flavors of all the ingredients kicked in, Eleanor realized Peter had ordered her oddly specific sub perfectly.
"No mayo, no pickles, no mustard, but sour cream, and double cheese." He spoke as he saw her eat, unwrapping his sub. "I have that written on my phone. At this point, Delmar already knows the drill. "
Eleanor chuckled, chewing. She swallowed, and then she spoke: "Pete, can I ask you something?"
The other teen was about to take a bite of his sub, but stopped, nervousness flowing all around him.
"Uh, y-yeah, go for it."
Eleanor looked out at the city. "What did Mr. Stark tell you at the compound? I mean, if you don't want to tell me, it's okay, I'm just curious."
She remembered how Mr. Stark had told him he'd wait for his answer. The girl took another bite of her sub as the boy was lost in thought for a moment. It wasn't the question he was scared of.
"Oh, he invited me to live in the compound, and he wanted to make me an avenger." He replied, finally eating some of his sub.
Eleanor swallowed her food and looked at her friend, shocked.
"What?" He asked, his mouth full.
"Tony Stark, Iron Man himself, invited you to live in the compound? And to be an avenger? Why are you here then?" She asked, dumbfounded. She knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime, and she didn't know how he could miss that. It seemed oddly weird to her that he didn't take it.
Peter finished chewing, and he swallowed his food. "I-I told him I wanted to stay on the little ground for a while. Enjoy school, my friends, you."
After the last word, he immediately turned to look out to the city, Eleanor's gaze on him making him blush. Eleanor smiled at him, and simply laid her head on his shoulder, looking at the city. He felt tense for a second, but finally, he placed his head on top of hers. A small gesture that said everything.
Eleanor closed her eyes for a moment. Savouring every single bit of this. If she could just freeze time, she'd stay in this position forever.
Eventually, both teens headed their way home. An hour later, they both landed on the fire escape outside their buildings, trying to not make much noise.
"You excited for MoMA tomorrow?" Eleanor asked before she headed towards her window.
Peter seemed to hesitate. "Uh, y-yeah. Actually, I really really am."
Eleanor smiled at him. "Honestly, me too, I love museums. I didn't know you liked art that much."
He laughed lightly, but with a nervous hint to it. "Y-yeah, art."
"Well, goodbye, Pete." She said, adrenaline shooting through her veins as she leaned in and kissed Peter's cheek.
Peter stood there, surprised, as Eleanor opened her window and jumped in, later closing it. Peter's gloved hand traveled to his cheek, his skin warmer than usual. He jumped into his room through his window and dropped the mask he had in his hand onto the ground, eyeing the earrings he had bought for Eleanor on his desk.
°°°
a/n: bit of a filler but oh God brace yourselves for the next chapter it's gonna hurt
tell me what you think! leave it in the comments!
-a.