She was eagerly waiting for this party. It was a long time since she had some fun. School was keeping her busy for weeks especially chemistry. Piper was a great engineer, Math and physics came naturally to her, but not chemistry. She simply couldn't wrap her head around it.
She pushed school to the back of her mind. This wasn't the time nor place to think of her lack of understanding. She came here to have fun.
The house that the party was in was enormous. Nothing like the tiny apartment Piper and her family inhabited.
The long path leading to the entrance was littered by cars. She recognized some of them, especially the grey-colored expensive Audi cabriolet. She couldn't stop it and rolled her eyes. Of course Flash would be there, how great.
Piper wouldn't mind him if he wasn't so insufferably rude to everyone. His jokes were just plain arrogant and not funny at all. She didn't see why her classmates laughed at them. Probably to remain at his good side.
He had never bullied her but Piper still hated his guts. She had little tolerance for jerks like him.
She texted MJ if she was already inside. They were good friends and respected each other. Michelle was cool and didn't care what others thought of her. Being near her was refreshing, she was honest and Piper never felt judged.
"Yeah. Where are you?" Piper smiled at her reply. She insisted on going alone after she finished something. She had been quite secretive about the thing but Piper suspected she was just reading a book on oppression or something along those lines.
Piper let her know she would be by the entrance door in a minute or two and put the phone back into her pocket.
Loud music was blaring from the house and grew only more intense when she walked through the door. Some muscular guy in a basketball jacket shouted 'Welcome' at her as she passed him. He must have been the one who hosted the party and whose parents owned this freaking mansion. Piper had no idea what his name was.
Someone grabbed Piper's hand, forcing her to forget the guy and turn around, her short dark hair getting into her eyes as she did so.
"Follow me," Michelle said as she dragged Piper behind her, the order just a waste of time. She clearly had no other option.
Piper went along with it and was pleasantly surprised to find herself by the rich sortiment of junk food. Of course Michelle would decide to nest around here.
She listened to music, watching people dance. A great majority of them were terrible at it, but then again, so was she. They were having a blast and that was what counted.
Piper got bored of eating pretzels fairly quickly. She put the bowl frown and turned to face Michelle to propose some dancing but she was gone. Very typical of her. Piper knew she'd return eventually or text her, so she stood up and looked around.
Even some under-aged students were moving around with red plastic cups tightly grasped in their hands. She followed them with her sight. They quickly led her to the table with liquor.
Piper contemplated what to do. It was only once in a while that she dragged herself to a social gathering like this. Drinking one beer wouldn't hurt her.
She emptied her cup in minutes and before she knew it, Piper was past three beers and having a shot of vodka with some girls she didn't even know. Or maybe she did, but her mind was already clouded.
Finally a song she liked started to play so without a second thought, Piper staggered to the dance floor - or more like a part of living room set up as a dance floor.
She was having some well-deserved fun, her tan skin already shining with perspiration, when the whole place went silent. Dozens of swear words echoed at the lack of music.
Piper, along with everyone else present, searched for the reason behind the sudden quiet.
Some guy stood by the cable work, pale as the white wall behind him. His eyes shone with distress. He backed away from the cables slowly.
She shook her head, this was ridiculous. She couldn't dance without the music! Piper strode confidently towards him, seeing him flinch as he awaited his ordeal.
"Move," she ordered and waited for him to step away from the delicate piece of technology.
Cracking her fingers in anticipation, she gave it a look. The cute brown haired boy probably tripped on it and disconnected the circuits.
Piper looked up at him. "Go plug it out of electricity," she ordered him around again as if it was nothing. He seemed a little terrified of her bossy attitude but all her alcohol driven mind cared about was how to get the music to play again.
Luckily for her, her engineering skills were far too advanced so she had no problem fixing the cables in her intoxicated state. It was easy. At least she still had an ounce of common sense and told the boy to cut the power so she wouldn't electrocute herself.
"I can help you with that. I mean- if you need it," Piper heard a stranger's voice over her head. She lifted her gaze only to be head-butted by someone who she suspected to be the owner of the voice.
"Ouch," she mumbled as she touched her forehead. There would be a bruise and probably a bump, too tomorrow.
She was met with a wave of apologies and a pair of dark chocolate brown eyes.
Piper hadn't registered his words but she laughed nonetheless and ignored him, turning her attention away from him and her throbbing head and back to the cables.
He was muttering something to himself along the lines of 'crazy girl' and 'will get herself killed' but Piper focused on her work and with one last move of her careful hands, the music was back on, its full blast catching her off guard as she winced.
A feeling of dismay hit her at the sudden realization that the longer she stayed by the loud music, the more would the pain in her head increase. Piper groaned as she reached out for a help with standing up. The boy held out his hand for her almost immediately and pulled her up with a surprising strength.
She lost her balance even before she straightened to her full height and came crashing at him for the second time that day.
Piper noted that his lean figure was actually firmer than she had imagined under that layers of shirts. Not like she had imagined it in too much detail previously. It was merely an observation, she assured herself but blushed crimson red nonetheless.
"God, I'm so sorry," he started with the apologizing again, but Piper effectively silenced him by putting her hand over his lips.
"Sh, don't talk." She nodded once, then twice and let go of him.
Michelle. She had to find Michelle.
Her thoughts mixed together as she walked away from the awe-struck boy. Piper was not in her right mind and the party no longer held as much shine as it did before. The headache was worsening with every passing second and she wanted to leave.
As a good friend, she had to tell Michelle she was leaving, she might even give her a ride home.
Piper couldn't see her anywhere so she followed her intuition and approached the door that led out to the big terrace.
There weren't many people out there and the slightly chilly breeze did wonders to her head. Unfortunately, the person that was walking towards her wasn't Michelle.
"Olala Piper! You saved the day back there, why are you not enjoying the music then? Did that nerd do something weird? Tried to kiss you maybe? I wouldn't be surprised, he is so embarrassing to even look at." Piper squinted her eyes at Flash, confused. Why the hell was he even talking to her? And what nerd? Piper hadn't met any nerd here, at least she couldn't remember meeting someone like that.
"What?" she stated plainly. Flash looked amused but didn't say anything else. Piper shrugged, not having the willpower to deal with him now and asked if he had seen Michelle.
To her surprise, he wasn't a dick about it and told her he had seen Michelle leave few minutes ago. She sighed heavily, sudden exhaustion filling her body.
Piper pushed through the thick crowd once again since it was the only way out. Michelle had left so she had to walk home alone now.
The party took place far away from the busy parts of the city so the majority of her way was spent in utter silence and she barely met a soul. Once she got closer to the rush of the city, the number of people around grew.
She was still drunk but thanks to the fresh air, her mind was getting clearer.
Piper hummed a song that played at the party. It wasn't something she had heard before but it was so damn catchy, the melody not leaving her head for a second.
She forgot to look at the traffic lights, not realizing how dangerous that was and walked right into the road.
A strong pair of hands wrapped around her torso as she was lifted into the air. Piper shrieked as the dark asphalt disappeared under her and the cold wind hit her bare shoulders.
In her state of panic, Piper desperately clutched the person holding her and shut her eyes, no longer screaming.
She still had her eyes closed and was hugging the person tightly when she realized that her feet had already hit the ground. The person literally had to start talking to make her snap out of it and let go.
"You okay Miss? Last time I checked the red light signaled stopping," the person told her in an odd voice. Piper could have sworn it was a teenager who tried to fake a more muscular voice.
She ignored his question entirely and laughed at the voice. She didn't mean to make fun of him, but her drunken mind found his effort hilarious. If she were sober, Piper wouldn't do that, after all, what if that really was his normal voice?
Her laughter died suddenly when her eyes landed on the thick outline of a spider on his chest. She disliked insects, feared them actually but this particular spider appeared especially cute.
Piper outstretched her hand, trying to touch the symbol. She had thought she was quick but the guy was way faster than her and snatched her wrist when she was barely an inch away from it. His grasp was gentle as he put her hand back to her side.
"Oh, yeah, I wouldn't do that," he said tensely, his voice filled with panic. He laughed at himself awkwardly and Piper noted the way his voice changed. Like he forgot to adjust its height when she had surprised him. If she knew that touching the symbol would deactivate the costume, she wouldn't dare to even look at it. But of course, Piper had no idea, as her furrowed eyebrows indicated.
His voice felt familiar. Piper should really stop analyzing the voice of this stranger, it was getting creepy.
"Well, I thank you good sir," she saluted and turned around to continue on her way.
If she hadn't come from a party with a clouded mind, she'd probably be fangirling right now, or maybe not. It was a great story, being saved by the New York's very own superhero - Spider-Man, but then again, she had been almost hit by a car. Once her mind was back to its normal state, she would realize what might have been and how it would change or end her life if it wasn't for that guy.
He didn't say anything back and let her go. Piper made sure to stop at each red light after the encounter, but she had a feeling that even if she stepped on the road again with a truck coming her way, Spider-Man would save her again.
It might have been just her imagination or some kind of fantasy but the feeling of being watched hadn't passed until she got home.
And once Piper closed the door to her room and switched the lamp on her bedside table on, she could have sworn a flash of red and blue flew right in front of her window.
Piper smiled to herself before adjusting the pillow and the last thought in her mind before she drifted off was that after everything that happened, she wasn't left alone.
The whole weekend mixed into a blur. The party on Friday did start in the late evening and Piper was sure she hadn't been there that long but it was actually several hours. She got home just few minutes after midnight. The Saturday was spent with sleeping off the hangover. At least her mum didn't bother her about it since she was sleeping, too and her dad was away on business.
Sunday morning rolled around. It was her mum's day off so a sweet smell of pancakes awoke her. Piper didn't mind the early hour, she had slept a lot the previous day.
"Smells delicious mum," she said instead of a greeting.
"What about some proper hello? Have some manners girl!" She scolded her playfully. There was a stark contrast between the two when it came to mornings. Piper could barely keep it together while her mum was cheery and smiling from ear to ear.
"Why don't you get us plates, Piper."
Piper nodded and did as asked. After the table was served she seated herself and waited for the pancakes in front of her to reach an edible temperature.
"How was work yesterday?" Her mum always had some crazy stories. Working in New York's hospital was rather busy but she couldn't claim it was boring. Working night shifts at ER certainly wasn't.
"The usual, three suspected heart attacks, believe it or not, that's actually a low number," she said through the bites. "Um, nothing special, really, though there came one boy, probably your age. He had a bruise on his forehead, kinda like you do now, and this huge gash on his arm. He was bleeding a lot so I treated him straight away but when I brought the forms to fill back to him, he was gone. Pretty mysterious if you ask me. He must have been doing something illegal. That happens from time to time."
Piper pondered the reason that got the boy to the hospital when her mum bombarded her with questions about school.
"How's chemistry going? You know I can always help you Piper, I know some stuff," she winked at her but it didn't do anything as Piper cringed and crouched her shoulders miserably.
"It's ... work in progress."
"Okay, I can see how much it's getting you down, but it's just grades, honey."
Piper nodded. Mum was right but she still needed to pass it. She would even accept her help but her mum couldn't explain things even if her life depended on it. Piper tried it once only to be left more confused. Maybe if she just moved back to the base of the current topic, it would start to make sense. Although she planned to study the whole day today, she doubted it would do much difference on tomorrow's exam.
The day progressed to a lunch and Piper was already super anxious. She had a bad feeling about the test but as the Sunday went on, she could no longer hold her eyes open. The letters were blurring together in front of her as she decided it was enough for the day and shut the textbook forcefully.
Piper walked to the kitchen to make herself some tea to calm her growing nerves. As she reached for the red mug, memories of Friday night appeared in her mind.
She had been fairly drunk but over the course of the last two days, she recalled most of it.
She wasn't angry with Michelle, as it turned out, she hadn't left without her, Flash had lied about it and Piper was already planning on confronting him about it first thing Monday morning.
Flash's weird words weren't so odd anymore. He complimented her skills and then proceeded to bully their classmate without him even being there. The nerd who he had been talking about was none other than Peter Parker. She did meet the boy, but didn't see him as a nerd, if being smart labelled one a nerd, then every student in their school would be considered nerd - Flash and Piper included.
What Flash had insinuated about Peter made her blush when she thought about it now with a fresh mind. She had always considered Parker cute but they hardly ever talked. It was a big school and they only shared a portion of classes. Not to add that Parker suddenly halted all of his extra school activities.
Piper tried immensely to forgot the part where she danced and then fixed the cables, because of course, the clumsy her collided with Peter. Twice. And she made a show for everyone at the party, but it kind of saved Peter the embarrassment and mocking. Piper had really stolen all the spotlight.
There was also the Spider-Man meeting part. Piper couldn't tell her mum or she would freak out because Piper was drunk and almost got herself killed.
The superhero wasn't quite what she had expected but that wasn't necessarily bad. He was kind of funny and surprisingly young.
Piper didn't bother concealing the bruise with make up as she was preparing to school. She didn't bother with anything much anyways. She was filled with dread and thoughts of chemistry. Piper shouldn't have given up like that. She should have studied more.
The exam was over. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders but the feeling would last only so long. She would receive a grade soon and then she would face the consequences, hopefully it was at least C.
Seeing Michelle in the hall reminded her of the conversation she needed to have with Flash. He went too far last time. He better not get used to lying like that.
"Hey! Thompson!" She yelled his name as she approached him and his little gang of sycophants. To her surprise, they all stood around Parker. She shouldn't be really surprised, Pater was Flash's usual victim.
Few heads turned her way but not the one she was addressing.
"... what you wanted to do? You were basically all over her. That's pretty pathetic even for you, man." Flash continued talking, probably to Peter. Piper had no idea who Flash was referring to, maybe something happened at the party after she had left.
"Flash, look at me when I talk to you!" She warned him, signaling that she meant business.
He seemed amused for some reason unknown to her but didn't interrupt her.
"What you did at that party? That was too much Flash! You can't outright lie to people! There are consequences so next time you freaking lie to someone, think of where that could lead," Piper finished the rant.
"Consequences, Piper? That's your excuse for getting drunk and losing your drive home?" he asked with a cocky expression. Her cheeks turned red but she stood her ground.
"Are you kidding me? The only reason-" she started but was cut off by Peter.
"You did what Flash?!" All eyes instantly landed on Peter, Piper's included.
The fight in him died a little at the sudden attention. "That's- I mean- Something dangerous could have happened, you know."
Flash laughed throatily, causing Peter to flush red. "Now you start talking? Piper's knight in a shining armor."
"This has nothing to do with Peter, and besides, he is right. I almost got run over by a car!" Her patience was wearing thin.
"Almost - a key word," Flash pointed out.
"You're a jerk Flash, you know that?"
He merely shrugged. "I prefer the word honest."
"Nah, I think jerk is more fitting," Piper refused to stand down.
He didn't argue with her further and walked away, bumping into Peter's shoulder in the process. To Flash's dismay, Peter barely moved.
After Flash was gone, his shallow companions quickly followed and Piper was left alone with Peter. Recalling the Friday night events, she approached him.
Peter looked almost intimidated by her and Piper had to wonder if she had scared him off with her drunken behavior. Did she make such a bad impression?
Peter was as great with technology as she was but Piper hadn't recognized him back there. If he wasn't so stunned, she had no doubts he would fix the cables himself. Piper was about to apologize for ordering him around when her eyes landed on the yellowish bruise on his forehead, mirroring her blue one. Her brows furrowed in confusion.
"How is yours almost healed already? I'll look like a brawler for another week!" She couldn't believe her eyes. There was no way his bruise was already turning yellow after only two days.
"Uh, I heal kinda quickly." Piper still had doubts visible on her face, so he added: "Quick metabolism."
"Oh, okay. Cool, I guess." She didn't know what to say to that. Maybe she should apologize, but she didn't really feel up to it now and the silence between them stretched.
Peter scratched the back of his neck while clearing his throat quite loudly. His sleeve rolled up a little, revealing the rim of something that could be only a white bandage. Her mind wandered back to the boy mum told her about but that couldn't be Peter. He was on that party the other night. Though, her mum didn't mention the time of the boy's arrival, she still didn't think it was him. It couldn't be, right? But then again, she said the boy had a bruise, too. No, she was thinking too much into it, Peter probably burned his hand with tea or something and Piper knew the cause of the bruise - her.
"I owe you-"
"I'm sorry-"
They both started talking at the same time and blushed. What was it with her lately? Peter was handsome, Piper admitted that much, but they had talked with each other five minutes tops in the last three years they had shared school. There wasn't a real base for any kind of infatuation. She hardly knew him.
As a proper gentleman, Peter motioned her to go first.
"I owe you an apology," Piper cringed a little and searched for right words. "I wasn't really myself on Friday, so sorry if I said something wrong."
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're okay."
You smiled at that. He didn't judge, that much was obvious.
"You wanted to say..." Piper reminded him.
"Oh, I was saying that um, sorry for the bruise. That was kind of my fault." He laughed a little. It really wasn't his fault. It took two people to bump heads. Piper just waved it off, it was nothing and didn't even hurt that much anymore.
The bell announced end of the break. They both had no option and had to part ways for the lessons.
"Well, see you around."
"W- we actually have classes next to each other," Peter said sheepishly. You had no idea.
"What do you have?"
"Physics."
"Lucky you, I have administration next. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Morita is a nice person but the lessons are so damn boring," Piper complained, but not in a very serious tone. She was just keeping the conversation flowing because she would rather avoid silent awkward walk.
"Can't argue with that." Peter smiled as she reached the door to the class where she knew physics took place. They exchanged proper goodbyes and she hurried to her own class.
In the next few days, she hadn't met Peter, Michelle was home sick and Flash seemed to decide on leaving her alone for the time being.
It was Thursday already. Piper hated this day, all the worst classes combined on this particular day, starting with chemistry and test results.
She took her usual seat at the front - not the ideal position, but when the school year started she was slow enough to provide her classmates with good spots. Some of them were sitting in the classroom a full hour before the school started. What a bunch of vultures.
She was flipping a pen in her hand anxiously, waiting for the teacher, when she was interrupted by a loud commotion.
Peter, along with his inseparable part Ned, stormed inside. Peter managed to flash her bright, albeit a little hesitant smile that Piper returned.
The two of them barely sat down when Mr. Cobbwell walked in. He gave Peter a suspicious look and sat behind his desk.
"Alright, let's get the worst part over with." He fished the exam sheets out of his satchel with a miserable look.
"You really tried on this one, I can tell, especially Ned and Betty. Good job guys." He handed them their works. Ned had a big grin on his face which made Piper wonder if he had copied from Peter.
"Flash, not bad, maybe revise the periodic table some more," the teacher continued and placed the paper in front of him. Piper shut her eyes, praying that she scored enough to get C or even D.
"Piper, Piper, not your kind of a topic, eh?" She dared to open her eyes but he hid the paper from her sight.
"No, not really," Piper said gloomy. She didn't feel like joking now.
"Well, the results are clear, it's an F." Her shoulders sagged. This was what she had feared the most - not being able to keep up. She had been on Cs and now it was F. From now on, her grade would only decrease. Piper sighed.
"No need to worry, it's only one test. Why don't we make sure that this doesn't repeat?" He patted her back and sat behind the desk again.
"So who's willing to tutor Piper here?" Only one hand shot up and she watched with a red face as Flash volunteered. He didn't...
"Nice try Flash, but you have enough already on your plate, but Parker on the other hand..." Mr. Cobbwell saved her but Piper wasn't sure if proposing Peter was a good thing.
"I can't Mr. Cobbwell, I have to... do things." Here it goes, Piper thought bitterly. Of course he didn't have time, there must be a reason why he had quit all the school projects.
"Now Peter, imagine that in future, your supervisor asks you to do something, do you make excuses?" Peter stared with his mouth hanging open, speechless. "That's what I thought. You can either help Piper or I will give you both a detention to make you study together."
"That's not necessary," she piped in. Even if Peter wasn't very willing, she would hate to make him stay in detention because of her.
"But it is Piper, and we already made a deal, didn't we?" The teacher wasn't willing to discuss the matter any longer and started the day's lecture. Piper sunk deep into her chair and hadn't turned around once. She didn't dare glance at Peter who was few rows behind her.
When chemistry ended, Piper was usually the first person out of class but this time she stayed behind.
Peter passed her desk in the front and as he did, she quickly outstretched her hand to catch him so he would stop. However, it didn't play out as she had expected.
Peter spun around before her hand reached his wrist, like he had sensed she was reaching out for him. He even caught her hand, surprising even himself. He dropped it in an instant.
Piper pushed away the images of Spider-Man catching her hand the exact same way and focused on flushed Peter.
"Sorry," she started, "you really don't have to tutor me, I can just find someone else."
Peter opened his mouth to talk when Ned appeared next to him and jabbed him on the side, giving him what Piper interpreted as a warning look. There was some kind of silent conversation. Her eyes travelled from Peter to Ned but she couldn't decipher it.
With one last threatening look, Ned left and Peter turned back to her. "It's got nothing to do with you Piper, nothing personal. I didn't mean to sound harsh. I can make some time after school. Well, if you still want to?"
She smiled and nodded eagerly. Knowing that he wasn't against spending time with her specifically, was reassuring.
They planned a meeting for tomorrow at his place after school, because her mum would be sleeping off her night shift and his aunt would be away.
"Hey, Piper! You ready to go?" Peter asked her with a grin the following day after school. Piper wasn't looking forward to the chemistry part but spending time with Peter sounded nice. He had always struck her as a kind and funny guy.
The apartment where he lived with his aunt was probably as big as the one she shared with her parents, if not smaller. Since it was just the two of them inside, Peter decided to study in the living room, claiming there was more space and better lighting. It made her wonder what he hid in his room since he seemed like he didn't want her stumbling over there.
Piper sat down on the sofa in front of the television while Peter got his textbook, some papers and two glasses filled with lemonade. The last part was rather thoughtful.
He sat down next to Piper, hunched over the formulas she couldn't even dream to decipher. His warm breath tingled her neck as he looked over her shoulder.
"This is a rather complex one. We should go back to basics, find out how much you actually know and see where that gets us." Piper was quick to agree with his plan, glad to leave the formula for later.
Half an hour later, she had learned more than during the weeks of school combined. Peter was a great tutor and he knew so much about the calculations, formulas and just everything. He was smart and Piper hoped some of that would rub on her eventually.
His explanations varied from Mr. Cobbwell's and she found herself liking his better. Peter made it all sound so easy and for a moment, chemistry wasn't so terrible.
"I- I have it somewhere... um," he said quickly, standing up and wrecking his brain about some textbook that contained a table that would help her.
"I'll be right back." He dashed for his room in a speed Piper didn't think possible.
She shook her head with an affectionate smile, he was really trying to make this easy and approachable for her.
As Piper turned around to face yet another formula, she accidentally knocked one of Peter's books down. She hurried to pick it up before he came back but of course, she managed to mix the sheets of paper he had stuck inside.
Piper hated to pry and invade his privacy in such a way but once the drawing caught her attention, she couldn't get her eyes off of it.
There was no text to explain the parts or what it was but with her keen eyes and engineering tendencies, Piper came to a conclusion that it was some kind of a shooting mechanism.
She studied the picture, momentarily forgetting about Peter and how out of line she was.
"What is- Oh my god! That's-" he stumbled over his words after he noticed the paper in her hands. He moved to take it away from her but Piper had something to say and only tightened her grip.
"I know what it is," his face paled instantly. "Sort of," she added after glancing his way.
"Wouldn't it - whatever it is supposed to shoot - be more effective though, if you changed the position of this part a little? I mean..."
He looked at her with big eyes and then at the paper still clutched in her hand. Then back at Piper and to the paper.
He jumped over the back of the sofa and landed gracefully next to her. Piper was too shocked by the stunt to fight back when he took the paper from her.
He held it close to his face.
"Pen, pen, pen," he muttered as he rummaged through the papers on the table. Piper showed one into his face before he made a complete mess of her studying material.
He redrew the picture and stared at it some more. "You're right! How did I not see this sooner? It's exactly what I was looking for my we-," he stopped himself abruptly. "Anyway, um, thanks."
It was nothing, she simply saw a better solution and provided it.
Peter put the paper away, and with a huge content grin still plastered on his face, opened the brand new chemistry book. Piper groaned, even if this was supposed to help her, it was still not super easy.
She scored a C on the next chemistry test. As soon as the teacher handed her the corrected test, she almost squealed with delight and turned to Peter. She lifted the paper into the air to show him. He held his thumbs up with a proud smile.
Piper then faced the front of the classroom again. She dropped her head a little, adjusting her hair so that no one would see her own smile. Only a portion of her happiness came from the improved results.
During a lunch break, Michelle sat beside her but hadn't addressed her ever since she came. She was intently watching some video on her phone, so Piper left her undisturbed and ate silently. She was comfortable with the silence.
"Watch this." Michelle slid her phone to Piper. She picked it up and hit the play button on the video Michelle must have been watching earlier. Piper had no idea what it would be about.
Piper almost choked on her drink when she saw it, but not at the person in it.
"That's Flash right there," Michelle pointed to the phone as if Piper didn't know what she meant, though to be honest, her attention was on someone else to even notice Flash, "are you listening to me Piper?"
"What? Yes. Yeah, of course I'm listening." She replayed the first seconds of the video and squinted her eyes. "Is he wearing a pink fedora?"
"Exactly!" she beamed. "Okay, you are as interested as Wilson is in the fitness challenge videos. Give me my phone."
Piper gave it back reluctantly since she wanted to finish the video. "Where did you get this?"
"It's everywhere. All news, youtube, you name it. Where have you been living Piper?"
She shrugged and took her tray. Michelle grumbled something about no goodbye, but her mind was too occupied with one particular hero to bother with goodbyes.
Piper found her phone in her locker where she left it for lunch. Using the slow school wi-fi, she was able to watch the whole video in less than seven minutes. And once it was loaded, again. Once. Twice. Three times. She kept rewinding the part where the web shot out of his wrist.
It was different in some way, she could tell, but she needed to see an older footage to make sure her theory was right. It would have to wait till she got home.
The movement of Spider-Man's hand to shot out the web didn't change. But the speed of the mechanism wasn't same. It was hard to make out since it was a minor change but Piper knew what had caused it. She made few calculations that only proved she was right.
"Mum! Mum!" She ran out of her room and jumped next to her mum on her bed.
"What is it Piper?" She asked groggily. Piper never woke her up unless it was important.
"Remember the mysterious boy you treated awhile back?" She nodded at Piper's odd question. "I need you to describe him."
"What? Piper, why? Did you wake me up for this?" She groaned but moved to a sitting position.
"Yes. You know what? Just listen and tell me if it's him, okay?" She nodded again while rubbing her eyes.
"Just few inches taller than me, lean but not much, like he has some firm muscle underneath all that clothes, brown hair that fall into his eyes if he forgets to brush them back and this dark brown eyes that are just so thoughtful and sincere and so easy to get lost in, like a pools of melted dark chocolate, and his lips..." Piper started describing Peter, nowhere near finished when her mum held a hand up.
"I admit, I'm not sure if you're describing your latest crush or the boy that came to the hospital, but I guess it could be him. Lean and brown hair, sounds about right."
Piper's cheeks turned crimson red. She hadn't really thought about the description, it just rolled out of her tongue naturally.
"Thanks mum," Piper got out of herself through the mirth and left her room, ignoring her questions about her sudden interest in her former patient.
Let's compare what she know about Peter and Spider-Man. Piper didn't know much about the later, only from photos, videos and the brief encounter.
Thinking back to that night, he had been trying to fake his voice and when she had surprised him, he sounded almost identically to Peter when she had found his drawing. And the drawing - Piper had a suspicion about what it could be and once again, she was right. It was his web-shooters, or whatever the thing was called.
Another thing was his healing factor or 'quick metabolism' as he had called it. It bugged her from the beginning that his bruise was almost gone while hers was blue and purple.
And Peter was strong, something she could confirm ever since the party, when she had unmercifully landed in his arms. He had quick reflexes, catching her hand before she could his and he was pretty agile, jumping over a couch like it was a piece of cake while she had troubles with basic athletics in school. All the attributes the superhero most likely possessed as well.
But how to prove her theory once and for all? Confronting Peter openly wouldn't do much. He could lie and if it wasn't true, just some strange idea of hers, Piper would never hear the end of it.
She had to catch him with the costume on, then. He would have no choice but to admit the truth.
She pondered the reasons why he wouldn't tell her, it was obvious. As much as she hated herself for it, they had been friends for barely few weeks. Why Piper hadn't approached him sooner was beyond her comprehension.
By the next Friday, Piper had formed a perfect plan. She packed her school bag lightly that day and added more snacks than usual. It would be a long day.
She sat with Peter, Michelle and Ned during lunch. The boys kept on talking with hushed voices. Piper and Michelle exchanged looks but left them to it.
Piper tried to hide that she was listening and thought she managed well. Piper didn't want to make it obvious so she couldn't get close enough to make out each word. From what she gathered, Ned was persuading Peter to ask someone something but Peter kept refusing by saying he had to be somewhere, because some guy told him it would be today. Without further information, she was completely lost, but hoped it had to do something with Peter's alter ego. That way, it would fit perfectly into her plan.
The school ended, Piper said goodbye to Michelle and hurried to the spot behind the corner where the trees casted an impressive shadow, and waited.
She scanned the groups of students until her eyes found a mop of brown hair. She walked out of the shadow and followed Peter - her plan in the motion.
While she waited for him, she put a black cap on and threw a dark flannel over her t-shirt so if Peter glanced back, he wouldn't immediately recognize her.
For next hour, she trailed behind him, hiding behind a corner or turning around whenever he stopped. It was boring but the walk was good for her. He stopped at a random convenient store, bought some food and then proceeded to eat it.
She was all but ready to quit it for a day and try next week when he stopped again.
Piper swiftly slid inside a small store that was right next to her and watched him look from side to side before he disappeared into an alley.
She wondered if she should give him a head start, it surely took some time to change into that form-fitting suit.
She counted to fifty before following his steps to the alley.
Peter was there, but not in a Spider-Man suit, instead he was stark naked except his boxer shorts.
She gaped at the way the muscles on his back flexed as he was taking out something out of his backpack. Piper saw a flash of bright red as she cleared her throat.
Peter spun around, shocked to see her. He tried to put the red thingy back inside his backpack. "Piper! What- what are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same thing."
"Me? Um, nothing!" She raised her eyebrows, amused.
"Okay, I know who you are. No need to hide it now," Piper said as she shortened the gap between them. "Just put the suit on already, you'll catch a cold."
"How did you-?" He didn't need to finish. Piper shrugged.
"I'm not stupid Peter. And that drawing, it was the webs right? Let me see, the thing is genius!"
He nodded slowly, and seeing he had no other choice, he took the suit out. Piper marveled at the complex design and tried to avoid looking at his abs as he pulled it on. He pushed the spider button and the suit copied his figure instantly. She laughed a little, remembering she had wanted to push it when she had been drunk.
"Piper, look, I'd love to show you all the mechanisms of the suit that I know you'll just love, but- but there's something I have to do now. It's- it's important," he placed his hands on her shoulders as he spoke. He seemed conflicted about something.
"I have to go." He reached for the mask.
"Wait!" Piper stopped his hands in a swift motion. "I- Just- Be careful, I don't want to lose you now that I'm just getting to know you."
In a sudden outburst of courage, Peter leaned closer and quickly brushed his lips over her cheek. They both blushed, goofy smiles adoring their faces.
"I promise I'll be fine." He put the mask on, ending their conversation.
Piper smiled at his retreating form. He was gonna save the day and then, he would be back - her superhero.
Thank you all for reading, guys. If you have anything to say, don't hesitate to leave a review ;) I have posted this on tumblr a while back, if you have, by any chance, read it there, please know that it's not stolen. By the way, I obviously own only Piper, everything else belongs to Marvel.