A/N: I appreciate every one of you that still support this story even though I update so rarely! A special thank you to my newest supporters, 1andonlyjack, Random65, DarkHeartJK4, A Novel and Anime Addict, Iysner, PortgazDAdz, OpheliaMagenta, tbbbtbbb, Puff1997, Brakkado, Lolosh70, Da legand40, Miczi, ideasthatican'twrite, Jeytrops, and Felipe Imal! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
A long Soundtrack for a long chapter!
Five More Hours - Deorro, Chris Brown
Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
Levels - Original Version - Avicii
I Don't Care (with Justin Bieber) - Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber
Astronaut In The Ocean - Masked Wolf
Porsche (feat MØ) - Charli XCX, MØ
Post Malone (feat RANI) - Sam Feldt, RANI
Auld Lang Syne - Denmark + Winter
Chapter 17: New Beginnings, Part 2They could not talk him out of it.
Her stomach was twisting as the four of them made their way down Flash's ridiculously long, winding driveway. Hopefully they wouldn't need to make a quick getaway. And hopefully they wouldn't be staying long!
"Maybe we'll get kicked out right away and we can leave," Peter murmured next to her, echoing her thoughts. Quickly they both looked to make sure Ned hadn't heard. Briefly Michelle entertained the idea of getting noticed and thrown out on purpose, but only briefly. For one, it meant too much to Ned. And for another, it would mean that all their effort on their outfits would go to waste.
Not that Michelle could ever imagine blending in anywhere dressed as she was! Glitter, stylish updo, dramatic makeup, they had all gone the whole nine yards. She was having a hard time not ogling Peter, though she'd denied it fiercely when Betty brought it up. It was the principle of the thing!
Inside it was even worse than she'd imagined. Bodies wall-to-wall, music thumping so loudly she was surprised the windows hadn't blown out, strobe lights, kids stumbling around fall-down-drunk, the whole shebang. Dear God. She gulped and without even thinking about it she reached for Peter's hand. Before she could yank her hand away Peter's hand squeezed hers reassuringly. She was glad the light was too dim to see her blush. She took a deep breath. Get a grip, Michelle. She could do this.
A little ahead of her, Ned fist-pumped. "This is gonna be great!" She and Peter traded exasperated looks, both remembering the last party they had gone to. And that party wasn't even hosted by Flash! She wished Liz or even Megan could've gone with them, but Liz was visiting family during Winter Break and Megan, showing excellent taste, never hung out with Flash when she didn't have to. A wise girl Betty had!
Peter seemed to be searching for someone. It was pretty early for his disappearing act, she thought worriedly.
"Who're you looking for?" she asked, trying to sound less curious than she felt.
"I recruited some other kids from Decathlon and Robotics to meet us here. Strength in numbers, ya know?"
"And they agreed?!" Michelle asked in some disbelief. She liked her Decathlon teammates. Besides being smart, most of them weren't afraid to be individuals, and weren't much for conforming with the popular group, which put them just a step below her and her friends on Flash's 'dislike' scale. Peter shrugged.
"It meant a lot to Ned," he replied, and Michelle tried to hide her smile. Peter and Ned were well-liked in their groups, as they should be, and hearing that it didn't surprise her one bit that they had shown up. She smiled at Abe, Cindy, Seymour, and Sally. It was so strange seeing everyone all glammed up!
The surreal feeling continued as they pushed their way through the crowd. The whole scene looked more like a movie than real life. And since Flash had decided it would be uncool to DJ at his own party, the music was actually really good, if about 50 decibels too loud. The knot in her stomach started to loosen.
"Let's get a drink!" she shouted to Peter. Every room in Flash's house was enormous, but the mass of people was so great that it still felt like a thousand degrees inside. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Peter ladling punch. "You're really going to drink that? God knows what's in it."
"It's probably not spiked," he replied confidently, sipping from the cup. She didn't even try to mask her laughter when he immediately sputtered and spit it out. "It is very, definitely spiked," Peter declared.
"Shocking," she drawled sarcastically, though smiling, and handed him a soda. He smiled back and they pushed their way through the crowd. "Huh, did we lose Betty and Ned already?" The duo was nowhere to be seen.
"Looks like it," he shrugged, much too nonchalantly in her opinion. He (poorly) hid a smile at her expression. "Don't worry! They'll be just fine."
"I still don't like it. We should stick together," she muttered. "What if they get kicked out?"
"Then we text," Peter shrugged again. Huh. That was a good point, though she was loath to tell him so. "Honestly, I think we're all dressed so differently than normal that hardly anyone will realize who we are."
"Oh, come on," Michelle scoffed. "What, are we superheroes with secret identities?" She watched him carefully, but he didn't flinch.
"Nah, it's more like when you see your teacher at the grocery store and they're in such a different environment than you're used to that you don't make the connection. Who would expect a bunch of losers like us at the hottest party of the year?"
"Speak for yourself, loser. I'm fabulous," she flipped her hair sarcastically. He gave her a blinding grin.
"Yes, you are," he agreed, not a smidge of sarcasm in sight. Damn him, she nearly walked into the wall at that.
"If you're so confident that we'll blend in, care to make a wager on it?" she challenged him once she got her brain back.
"Ha! I bet, by the time we leave or by midnight, whichever comes first, no one outside of Decathlon will recognize us at first glance. Honor system.".
"And what will you give me when I win?" she asked, smirking.
"When I win, I get to ask you to do anything, within reason."
"And when I win, I get the same," she blurted before she had a chance to chicken out. He stuck out a hand, and she shook it. "Lead the way, Clark Kent," she said serenely. He laughed, and she tried to calm her suddenly racing heart. She couldn't believe she had basically made a blank-check bet. There was a lot of freedom in 'within reason'. Well, she'd just have to try extra hard not to lose. Which...holy crap. In order to win, she had to be recognized, which meant that she couldn't fly under the radar. Which meant that she'd have to mingle. At a wild party full of drunk people.
She was so, so stupid.
Her panic escalated even more when, weaving through the masses of people, she lost Peter in the crowd.
"I AM SO STUPID!" she shouted in frustration, which would have been embarrassing except that she could have had a megaphone and people would have trouble hearing her over the chaos. She tried to take a deep breath and organise her thoughts. First things first, get out of this crowd. Then text the gang. Then…? Well, she could figure that out after step two. After ten endlessly frustrating minutes she finally pushed through the last of the crowd and headed upstairs, thinking that there had to be less people up there. She passed a couple of locked doors before she found an open one and ducked inside. Her jaw dropped as she took in the gigantic home movie theatre, complete with recliners and a snack bar. Sheesh. She sat down and took out her phone to text Betty.
MICHELLE: WHERE ARE YOU?
BETTY: IDK HONESTLY. DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?
MICHELLE: MOVIE THEATRE
BETTY: WHICH ONE?
Michelle briefly wondered if you could sprain anything by rolling your eyes too hard. She knew Flash was rich (he made sure of that) but which home theatre? Sheesh.
MICHELLE: 2ND FLOOR
BETTY: OK I'LL TRY TO HEAD OVER THERE!
MICHELLE: NED WITH YOU?
BETTY: NOPE
Dang it! This had been a really, really bad idea. Well, nothing she could do about it at the moment, except for texting the guys, which she did. 10 minutes later, they hadn't replied and Betty still hadn't shown up.
MICHELLE: ALMOST HERE?
Betty: NO I THINK I'M LOST
"AAAAGH!" Clearly this was not going to be her night.
"Need any help?" a voice said behind her. She nearly jumped out of her skin, twisting abruptly around. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The speaker was a tall guy with dark blonde hair and an easy smile. She relaxed when she recognized him; it was Nick Miller. He was wildly popular and, subsequently, in a completely different social circle than Michelle. They didn't have any classes this semester but had been in several of the same classes since kindergarten. She managed a smile back.
"It's okay," she replied. "It's just that my friends and I got separated and this place is a freakin' maze." He chuckled.
"Oh, for sure. Do you know where any of your friends are? This is my third party here so I'm getting pretty good and finding my way around." Michelle checked her phone again.
Betty: AT THE POOL
"There's a pool?" she said in disbelief.
"There are two pools." Of course there are. "Do you know which one?"
"No," Michelle sighed in frustration.
"Well, it's a 50-50 shot. We'll go to the closer one first."
"Sounds good, thanks."
They started walking down a different hallway on the second floor that seemed to go on forever. Michelle was really, really regretting her shoes.
"I'm Nick, by the way," Nick said suddenly. She gave him a startled look. They had known each other, for, what, ten years? But he misinterpreted her expression, giving her a rueful look. "I figured it was a better opener than 'hey, I know who you are!". She just stared at him. What was going on? "Sorry," he continued on, "I know you must get that a lot, with how big of an influencer you are." What. The. Actual heck? "My little sister Kelly really loves your Instagram - ugh, sorry, I'm rambling. But would it be weird to ask you for a selfie? Kelly's not going to believe this." I don't believe this, Michelle thought, completely and utterly baffled. "I wouldn't post it anywhere, if that's what you're worried about."
"Sure, of course," her mouth was moving faster than her brain could, "It's no problem." It's no problem? Well, whatever was going on, she could hardly say that she was Michelle Jones from school. They were long past the point of no return there. Grinning, Nick took out his phone to snap the selfie, which she actually had no trouble smiling for, seeing as she was on the edge of bursting into hysterical laughter. Nick looked at the photo and beamed.
"Thank you so much! I can't wait to tell Kelly that I met Veraminta Laurier." Veraminta. Laurier. Michelle didn't even know who that was.
"I'm really much more normal than you think I am," she croaked. "Though sometimes my life is extremely, extremely strange." Like right now, for example.
"Oh, I bet! Hey, we're here," Nick said, sweeping his arm in a voila gesture. Thank God. Especially because Betty was here, and not at the (apparently existent) second pool. She told a classmate of 10 years that it was nice to meet him (so, so strange) and thanked him for helping her find her destination (for which she was legitimately very grateful). She thought she had never been so happy to see someone in all her life than she was to see Betty.
"Hey, you're here! Are you okay?"
"No. Who's Araminta Laurier?"
"Do you mean Veraminta?"
"Probably."
"She's a fashion influencer on TikTok and Instagram, why?"
"Nick thinks I'm her."
"What? Wait, Nick who?"
"Miller. Do you know where Peter or Ned are?"
"Who's Nick Miller? And Ned said he'd meet me here but I think he's still coming."
"Never mind, I'll tell you later. I'd just really like to go home now. Except I haven't won that stupid bet yet."
"What bet? Oh, there's Ned."
"The bet I made with Peter."
"Hey, Ned, over here!" Betty waved at him vigorously. He finally spotted them and waved back. Two down, one to go. "You made a bet with Peter?"
"He thinks nobody outside of Decathlon is going to recognize us before midnight, or whenever we leave the party." Betty blanched.
"And you bet against him? Somebody from school thought you were Veraminta Laurier."
"Who's Veraminta Laurier?" Ned chimed in.
"Don't ask," the girls chorused. "Anyway," Michelle continued, "I made the bet before that incident."
"What do you get if you win?" Betty asked.
"Anything I want." Betty looked shocked. "Within reason," Michelle added. Betty looked relieved at that, and then thoughtful, and then -
"Stop smirking, Betty!"
"If you know why I'm smirking then you were also thinking about it!"
"What were you thinking about?" Ned asked cluelessly.
"Nothing," the girls chorused again. Ned looked up slightly and shook his head.
"I do not understand girls. I really don't." Betty burst out laughing and Ned just gestured to her like 'proving my point!'. Michelle rolled her eyes, smiling.
"Alright, time to get back on task. Where's Peter?" The three of them stopped, now in some hallway on the first floor, and checked their phones.
PETER: I'M ON THE ROOF! COME ON UP!
"Ugh." They both looked at her. "He's on the roof."
"What's wrong with that? At least it should be easy to find."
"You're not wearing death shoes about to climb five flights of stairs," Michelle sniffed.
"So take them off!" Both girls looked at Ned, then at the floor, and then back at Ned. "You're right, never mind. You know there's an elevator though, right?" You could definitely sprain something from rolling your eyes too hard, Michelle decided.
"I don't do elevators." She made for the stairs, then realized Ned and Betty weren't following her. "What's the hold up?"
"Oh, we're not coming with you," Betty replied matter-of-factly. "Have fun on the roof. Alone. With Peter." She started dragging Ned away. Michelle blinked in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me? I spent the past, what, two hours trying to find you guys!"
"Yep. C'est la vie."
"I hate you!" Michelle shouted at their retreating backs.
"Love you, too!" Michelle strode up the first staircase furiously, though her angry mask did crack a little when she heard Ned say to Betty that if she was up on the roof with Peter, Michelle would be with him, not alone. Honestly.
Michelle could only stare in disbelief. First of all, she'd paused on the fourth floor to take a breather, and the stairs spit her out into a freakin' ballroom. Like the Sound of Music. This place was just unreal.
However, nothing was as unreal as what was going on right now. She'd whipped out of the stairwell only to come face-to-face with the person she least wanted to see tonight: the host, Flash Thompson. She'd flinched and braced herself reflexively. Then, she realized that though things were about to rapidly go south, she would at least be winning the bet. But then-
"Hey, girl," Flash grinned at her, making what he probably thought was a come-hither expression. "I haven't seen you at my parties before, have I? I think I'd remember a girl as cool as you." Michelle stared at him in shock.
"I give up! I'm giving up!" she threw up her hands and continued up the stairs. Finally, she reached the roof, where, as promised, Peter waited. His hands were in his pockets, facing away from her, taking in the view. "Peter! Finally!" He turned and gave her a grin that made her stomach flip-flop.
"What do you mean, finally? Long night? Veraminta Laurier?" he teased. She crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed. How had he even heard about that so quickly?
"I'll surrender the bet to you now, on one condition." Peter raised an eyebrow questioningly. "We leave right now." He burst out laughing. She scowled in response.
"Are you sure you want to leave?" he teased. "I mean, the night is young. We should-" abruptly his voice and his face changed "-we should leave right now." She glanced out at the horizon and her stomach dropped at the many, many police lights visible in the darkness. They were tiny now, but getting bigger and closer by the second.
"Oh, shit."
"Yep," Peter agreed. "Call Betty?" Michelle whipped out her phone.
"Betty, you're on speaker," Michelle said urgently once Betty answered. "The cops are en route. We gotta get out of here."
"Okay, let's meet downstairs-"
"No, Betty," Peter interrupted, "In this chaos it'll take too long to find each other. You and Ned should get out and if we can't meet you at the car then Michelle and I will find another way home.
"But-"
"Peter's right, Betty," Michelle interrupted now. "Go, and we'll meet you at your house." Somehow. "We'll be fine." Michelle hung up and turned to Peter. "Do you have a plan?"
"Of sorts," he replied. He gestured at the edge of the roof where, Michelle saw now, there was a metal ladder to the ground. Five stories down. Her vision swirled in a moment of vertigo.
"No."
"Michelle, we have to. You've seen what it's like downstairs. Once people realize the cops are on their way, we'll never get out in time." She continued to stare at the ladder, unable to say anything. She jumped when she felt his hand on her arm. "I'll go first; you take off your shoes and follow. I'll make sure you get down safely." She took a shaky breath and nodded. Really, after the night she'd had, what was one more crazy thing? When he was about ten feet below her on the ladder he motioned with his head for her to join him. "Just hold on tight, and don't look down!" Don't look down. She could do that. Just don't look down and descend down a ladder for five stories, barefoot, in December. Yep. No sweat. Shaking from fear just as much as the cold, she gritted her teeth and started down the ladder very, very slowly. "You're doing great, Michelle!" Instinctively she turned to look at him, just a couple of feet below her at the moment, and nearly fainted. Peter reached up and put a hand on her back to steady her. "Look up and take some deep breaths." Between the wind, her heart pounding, the blood roaring in her ears, and her heavy breathing, she could barely hear him. Adrenaline made her flush hot, cutting through the winter chill. "Think about something else," Peter advised from below her.
"Like what?" she croaked.
"Hmm...I don't know," Peter mused. "Seen any good movies lately?" She snorted, having started her descent down the ladder again.
"That's the best you've got? That's so lame. Loser." she muttered the last part quietly enough he might not have heard it over the wind.
"Lame, huh? You want to talk about something else? Ooh, I know. We can brainstorm what I get for the bet I just won. The bet that you lost."
"I'm familiar," she grumbled.
"I get anything I want," he gloated. Michelle didn't look down this time, but she could imagine his smug facial expression.
"Within reason," she reminded him, gritting her teeth.
"Still a lot of room for me to work within that area." She didn't dare look back down again, but she could imagine the smirk on his face. Her annoyance distracted her from her fear.
"So, what is it, then?" she braced herself.
"Hmm, you know, I haven't decided yet."
"For all those theatrics, you haven't -" Michelle shrieked in panic as her foot suddenly slipped. Before she had too much time to freak out, Peter was there (had he moved supernaturally fast or was she just not paying attention?), wrapping one arm around her waist while the other held on to the ladder, until she regained her footing.
"Deep breath," Peter reminded her. She tried to obey but her teeth were chattering uncontrollably. "Don't look down, but we're nearly halfway there." His tone was encouraging but she wanted to cry. Only halfway there? She was so cold she worried they would get hypothermia by the end of the night. She took another deep breath and set her jaw in determination. This night was not going to end with her and her friends getting arrested at a party she didn't even want to go to in the first place, never mind the fact that none of them had been drinking. She could do this. Plus, she had to do this. Her only option otherwise was to climb back up the ladder to the roof.
Later, she couldn't have told anyone much about what Peter said to her from then until they reached the bottom of the ladder, but he distracted her with stupid jokes until they were safely on the ground. Before she had time to overthink it she reached out and hugged him tightly, so relieved to be back on the ground and also, still freezing cold. Peter didn't hesitate and wrapped her in his arms, and they stood like that for what seemed like a long while. When Michelle's breathing was more or less back to normal she pulled away and pulled out her phone to call Betty. IN THE CAR COME TO END OF DRIVEWAY shouted Betty's last text. Michelle groaned. Flash's extravagantly long driveway was hardly the worst challenge of the night, but her ridiculous shoes, no coat, and now the snow that had begun to fall made it exhausting. Michelle and Peter put their arms around each other to keep the other from slipping as they slowly made their way to Betty's car.
"What did you do, climb down from the roof?!" Betty joked when she first saw them. She and Ned seemed to have gotten out of the house with no trouble. Judging from the (relative) lack of chaos, none of the other partygoers had realized the cops were on the way yet. When neither of them cracked a smile and she had a moment to take in their shivering forms Betty blanched. "You're not serious? You actually climbed down from the roof in this weather?!" Peter croaked, "Drive now, talk later?" Michelle's teeth were chattering too hard for her to say anything. Betty started out of her surprise.
"Yeah, of course. Ned, get those blankets in the back-" With the heat on full blast and wrapped in blankets in the back seat, Peter and Michelle finally started to warm up. Michelle checked her phone for any messages from her mother and instead found one from Flash.
FLASH: YOU GUYS WEREN'T INVITED TONIGHT!
Michelle: FINALLY FIGURED OUT WHO I WAS? YOU'RE A REGULAR SHERLOCK HOLMES. OF COURSE, YOU WERE BOUND TO EVENTUALLY RECOGNIZE A GIRL AS COOL AS ME ;)
As frustrated as she'd been at the time, she had to hold back her laughter now. The situation really was too surreal.
FLASH: YOU'RE DEAD WHEN WE GET BACK TO SCHOOL.
Michelle bit her lip in thought. Flash couldn't do much to her but he would definitely make trouble for Betty, Ned, and Peter. This was unacceptable. Suddenly, she had a brain wave.
MICHELLE: I DON'T THINK SO.
MICHELLE: I KNOW SOMETHING IMPORTANT THAT YOU DON'T. SOMETHING YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW. AND WHEN I TELL YOU, YOU'LL LEAVE US ALONE AND YOU'LL OWE ME A FAVOR.
It was a gamble, but a calculated one. Flash's curiosity was always getting him into trouble - he wouldn't be able to resist taking her bait. And though Flash could and would easily buy his way out of trouble with the cops, most kids couldn't, and Flash wouldn't risk the subsequent blow to his social standing. The three little dots popped up on her phone, disappeared, and then reappeared as Flash considered his answer.
MICHELLE: DECIDE FAST. THIS OFFER EXPIRES IN A FEW MINUTES.
She wasn't exactly sure when the police would show up at Flash's mansion, but they couldn't be too far out.
FLASH: FINE. WHAT?
That was probably the best she'd get from Flash.
MICHELLE: THE COPS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO YOUR HOUSE. I'D GIVE IT TWENTY MINUTES, TOPS. YOU'RE WELCOME.
With that, Michelle put down her phone. She was too tired to worry about Flash right now. The stress from the party, her escape from the roof, the warmth of the car and Betty and Ned's good-natured arguing lulled her into sleep. Some time later, she jerked awake when Peter nudged her.
"Look," he gestured to the horizon. Michelle gasped as brilliant multicolored fireworks exploded in the dark sky. She didn't flinch this time when Peter took her hand. "Happy New Year, Michelle." She smiled. The four of them oohed and aahed at the unexpected fireworks show, and Michelle grinned even wider as her phone buzzed with a new text from Flash.
I GUESS I OWE YOU A FAVOR.
Happy New Year, indeed!