"You are literally the worst liar in the entire universe." Talia knew she was being slightly hyperbolic but she was too stubborn to move, her eyes boring intensely up at against the boy currently standing across from her.
Peter Parker, to his credit, was equally as stubborn. As sweet and good hearted as the boy seemed, his hazel eyes were staring back at hers, slightly narrowed as he waited for her to budge. "I am not lying," he shot back, his jaw tensing slightly, a clear sign that he was indeed lying. It was a pity he couldn't see his own reflection right now literally giving everything away, from his tense jaw to his flickering eyeline as he attempted to avoid any possible eye contact while still trying to look natural. Talia had been only friends with Peter for a few months, ever since the second week of freshman year when she'd had an abrupt transfer to the fancy Midtown School of Science and Technology.
But despite knowing Peter for only a few weeks, Talia could read him like an open book. "You're telling me that in the whole time you've been on your internship you haven't even met one Avenger yet? Not even Iron Man? You haven't even seen Mr Stark at all?"
Peter let out a huff, clearly refusing to give anything away. "No, like I said, Mr Stark is way too busy to deal with the interns."
"Whatever," Talia sighed as she closed her locker shut a little harder than she intended, the metal rattling slightly with the unexpected force. "I guess that just means I'm cooler than you," she shrugged as she nudged him to start walking, her eyes already scouring the busy corridor for any sign of the final member of their trio. "Because I totally saw Spider-Man the other night."
Her casual reveal caught Peter slightly off guard as he moved to follow her and he stopped in his tracks, choking slightly as she caught him mid-inhale. "What?" he asked, staring at her with wide eyes as he attempted to compose himself.
"Yeah, he swung by my apartment," Talia said, biting back the gleeful grin threatening to spill across her face as she twisted on her heel to face him again.
Peter nodded slowly, processing Talia's smug revelation as he inhaled sharply. There was something simmering behind his eyes, several questions and answers he was clearly struggling to hold in. It was odd and Talia was tempted to push for clarity but something else in Peter's eyes made her bite her own tongue. Whatever he was withholding was probably for a good reason. After all, Peter was a good person. She hadn't known him very long but she knew that to be true, without a doubt.
Peter seemed to collect himself fairly quickly, stepping forward and nudging Talia's shoulder as they continued their walk down the corridor. "So did Spider-Man see you? Did he reveal who he really is?" he asked as Talia nudged his shoulder right back.
Talia shook her head reluctantly as she readjusted her backpack over her shoulder. "Ugh, no. He literally swung past and he was gone before I could say anything. But who knows, maybe my apartment is part of his nightly route when he's out saving the citizens of New York so I might see him again."
"See who?" Ned's voice appeared from beside Peter and Talia, sidling up beside them as they crossed the corridor he was entering from. He gave Peter a quick fist bump in greeting as Talia rolled her eyes from between the boys.
She still couldn't get over how the boys were so determined to be cool while also constantly discussing things like Star Wars, but she indulged them anyway, reaching up to ruffle Ned's hair and letting out a laugh as she watched him frantically smooth it back down.
"Talia was just telling me about her latest Avenger sighting," Peter interjected before Ned and Talia could break into a mock-squabble in the middle of the corridor. "She saw Spider-Man last night." His voice had a hint of false joy in there, like he was still dwelling on something else, perhaps on that lie from before. But Talia ignored it for now, rolling her eyes instead.
"Way to spoil my exciting news, Parker," Talia huffed, nudging him. "But yes I totally did and it was awesome." She turned to grin at Ned, appreciating the way his eyes lit up in excitement for her. This was not the first time she'd caught sight of an Avenger so she wouldn't blame the boys for rolling their eyes but instead they both usually joined in her excitement, Peter's current weird attitude aside. The last time she'd spotted Black Widow and almost made eye contact, Talia had rambled about it for two weeks before she let it drop.
And then there was Tony Stark, Iron Man himself of course. Not that she'd ever talk about that particular interaction with Peter and Ned because it meant revealing too much about herself, but Tony Stark was the entire reason she'd managed to score a place at the Midtown Academy despite her rather vague transcripts, a result of moving between foster homes and shelters for the last few years.
Her stubbornness and relentless determination had managed to wear his assistants down, finally allowing her to meet with him so she could her small favour. It had been one brief meeting full of doubt and suspicion on both sides, but at least Mr Stark had been willing to help a little, even if his idea of help was just getting her into a secure home in New York while she continued her eternal search for her brother. Still, that had been months ago and Talia hadn't been able to get in contact with him ever since.
But maybe Spider-Man was the hero she'd been waiting for instead. He wasn't too busy dealing with Accords and government politics. He was out there nearby, helping people in need.
"So what's the plan now, T? Are you switching from star gazing to Spider-gazing?" Ned asked, a cheeky grin on his face as he jostled her shoulder lightly.
Talia rolled her eyes as she walked, her backpack bumping against her back as she tugged on the straps. "I can do both at the same time," she said raising one eyebrow. "And maybe next time I can ask for an autograph."
"I think you should ask him how he could fight Captain America," Ned suggested, narrowly avoiding a crowd of Biology students carrying their dioramas through the hall. "Like he literally fought a hero of America. That's crazy. Maybe he's not a hero, he's just some crazy spider-dude fighting superheroes!"
"Yeah, that was wild. If I was up against Captain America I'd tap out, no question. Maybe if Spider-Man swings past I'll give him a little interrogation over that." Talia pursed her lips as she bobbed her head at her own declaration.
Peter had been quiet up until now as they walked, his brow slightly furrowed, but he shot his head up at that. "I'm sure Spider-Man had his reasons though. I mean Captain America did sort of break government protocol…" he said suddenly.
"Someone has been hanging around Stark Industries too much," Talia remarked with a snort, rolling her eyes.
"Hey you'll be jealous when my internship leads to a real job," Peter defended himself, bumping her shoulder with a grin. Talia had to admit she was jealous of the internship, if only because it kept Peter so busy that she barely got to see him. But that was another issue entirely.
"Well you're not at the internship after school, right?" Ned interrupted Talia's thoughts as he spoke to Peter, raising a hopeful brow. "Because I've got the new Death Star to build!"
Talia had to admire Ned for being chill enough to say that aloud without worrying about the judgemental eyebrows being raised around them by students passing by.
Peter shrugged though, a guilty expression flickering over his face. "Sorry Ned, but maybe later this week?"
"Dude, I cannot wait that long. Maybe I'll just build the base at mine and then I'll bring the rest to yours and we can do it later tonight, like after dinner!"
"Missing May's cooking. Smart move," Talia cut in with a smirk as she threw a sideways glance to Peter, only half joking. She did adore Peter's aunt, but May really was a hopeless cook if the burnt chicken last week was anything to go by. Peter didn't laugh though and Talia was about to nudge him when she realised what had pulled his focus.
Liz Allen.
The moment Talia spotted her, she suppressed a sigh, taking in the way Peter's eyes slowly glazed over. Liz was older then the small trio and she was gorgeous, graceful and had somehow managed to capture the attention of almost every boy Talia knew. It was almost infuriating if Liz wasn't such a kind person that it made it impossible to actually dislike her.
And Talia wasn't petty enough to succumb to that kind of girl hate. She just hated how Peter got so distracted by Liz. She hated how easily he tuned out of conversations just because of Liz's presence.
And she hated how it made her feel.
Ned was still babbling on about the Death Star model, seemingly clueless to his two friends currently deep in thought as he steered them towards their classroom, his shoulder brushing lightly against Talia's to keep her from walking into the doorframe.
"Peter? Is that good?" Ned asked as he finished his ramble, ignoring the cough from Talia beside him as she readjusted her books in her arms, her own mind pulling itself back to the present.
Peter gave a small hum of agreement to Ned, clearly only half listening as he led their little trio into the room, the three of them filing in quickly and moving towards their seats. Peter took his usual seat in the middle of the classroom with Ned beside him, while Talia slid into her spot in front of them, right beside Flash Thompson. Flash was lounging back on his chair, his dark hair pushed out of his face in what she assumed he thought was a cool style. It definitely wasn't.
Talia threw Flash a smirk as she slapped her books onto the desk, making him jump slightly. Flash and Talia definitely didn't get along but they had an understanding in that Flash didn't harass Talia because he knew she could throw a punch that would knock him out cold. Glancing up at Talia, Flash just scrunched up his face slightly in mock distaste as he resettled into his seat.
"Caught a whiff of your own cologne, did you?" Talia quipped as she slid into her seat. "What was it called again? Obtuse?"
"It's called Shut Up," Flash shot back, shaking his head as he watched Talia deliberately spreading her stationary across the desk. He didn't bother complaining though since he'd probably be needing to borrow some of it soon anyway.
By the time the two of them had settled down, Ms Warren was starting class, her firm attitude quickly shutting everyone up as she clasped her hands together. "Okay, so how do we calculate linear acceleration between points A and B?" she asked, glancing back at the chalkboard briefly to direct everyone's focus to the topic.
Talia's hand shot up, half a second too late as Flash's hand was already in the air beside her, knocking her in his attempt to catch the attention of Ms Warren.
"Flash." Ms Warren nodded towards him, indicating for him to speak.
"It's the product of sine of the angle and gravity divided by mass." Flash spoke with an irrational level of confidence for someone who was incredibly incorrect.
"Nope." Ms Warren shook her head, dismissing Flash instantly as Talia let out a huff of laughter, dropping her hand momentarily to cover her mouth.
"Peter. You still with us?" Ms Warren raised her voice slightly. Talia frowned as she spun around to look at Peter who looked like he was a million miles away. He snapped up though, his gaze brushing across to Talia quick enough for her to mime 'linear acceleration' with the hope that he understood. He gave a minuscule nod of appreciation and looked back at Ms Warren before she could notice.
"Yeah, yeah. Mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sine," Peter answered quickly, his head bobbing up and down as he spoke.
"Right." Ms Warren pointed towards Peter with a reassuring smile. "See, Flash, being the fastest isn't always the best if you are wrong."
"You're dead," Flash whispered under his breath to Peter as Talia suppressed a snort from beside him. But as class continued she felt her gaze drawn back behind her to where Peter was staring at his laptop, an strange expression on his face, a mix of longing and frustration. Maybe he was thinking about Liz, but Talia couldn't help remembering his odd reaction when she's mentioned spotting Spiderman. Maybe Peter had met an Avenger after all, despite what he'd insisted. Maybe he knew more than he was letting on. He was hiding something, the question was what it was. Well it was a good thing that Talia was excellent at getting secrets out of people. She was holding onto several secrets of her own so she knew the tricks.
Adjusting her headband, Talia withheld a sigh, pulling her gaze back to the front of the classroom, grabbing a pen to jot down the notes from the board. Now wasn't the time to think about that.
A/N: Hello readers! I'm so sorry for the delay between updates. Life has been a little overwhelming but I'm still super excited to share Talia's story with you all. I've got so much planned so get ready! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have a moment feel free to leave a review and let me know your thoughts/theories/feelings! Every review helps motivate me to write more! Thank you so much for reading :) xo