A/N: Thanks for reading my fanfiction! The cover art to this fanfiction is what my OC, Paisley, looks like in her spider-girl suit, just so you know. Oh, and I don't own the cover art. (I found it on Pinterest.) Hope you enjoy!

Paisley pulled her hoodie over her head, doing her best to hide her face. The highschool hallways she was walking through were crowded with teens, all older than her. Being only thirteen and in her freshman year of highschool, she was naturally shorter than everyone else and had probably way lower self-esteem. Being the youngest kid in highschool had its disadvantages.

As she walked through the hallways, people bumped into Paisley without bothering to stop or say sorry. Most of them towered over her, making her feel small and unimportant - but she was used to feeling that way.

She arrived at the door of her last class of the day - Literature. Sighing, Paisley opened the door and walked in to a million pairs of eyes on her. She was late, and she knew it.

Paisley smiled sheepishly. "Hello."

Ms. Kelm shook her head and sighed. "Somehow you manage to be the smartest thirteen-year-old I've ever met and yet still be late to class. How is that, Paisley?"

"Um… I don't know, Ms. Sorry."

Paisley sat down at her desk, which was between two very odd kids - one she suspected was Spider-man and the other who was the dumbest kid in the freshman year. Their names were Miles Morales and Emma Lone. She wasn't friends with either of them, but it's not like they were enemies either. They just didn't really talk to each other.

Miles side glanced at Paisley and smiled. She smiled back as she sat down and unzipped her backpack, pulling out her grammar book. She glanced at Miles. Something about him just screamed… spider-man! She didn't know what or why or how, but it was always on her mind whenever he was around. And, besides, he did a terrible job of hiding the spiderwebs always on his hands.

"Let's review our vocab from yesterday, shall we?" Ms. Kelm said. "First word: appease."

Paisley was the first one to raise her hand. Ms. Kelm called on her and she responded with, "It means to make peace with."

Ms. Kelm pursed her lips and nodded. She didn't like the fact that Paisley was the smartest kid in the class, but she couldn't change it. Neither could Paisley, no matter how much she wanted to. Sometimes being book smart sucked, especially when everyone relied on you for their homework.

By the time class was over, Paisley's brain hurt. She sighed with relief when the bell rang and shouldered her backpack like everyone else, heading towards the door. As she was reaching for the door handle, she noticed a small spider crawling up her arm. It was all black with neon orange legs and cyan eyes and fangs.

Paisley gasped. A small pinch of pain hit her when the spider bit her arm - but it was nothing. She'd been bit by spiders all the time. She blew the spider off her arm, rubbed the spot on her arm where it'd been bit, and reached for the door handle again. She opened the door and rushed out to her locker.

When Paisley got home, the sun was already setting. She dumped her backpack on the floor of her bedroom and flopped down on her bed. Cool air breezed in through her open window. Her desk was a mess, piled high with books and homework, most of which weren't even hers. She was earning a great profit off doing other people's homework, though. It made her popular - not that that was necessarily a good thing, but it made her feel special. Wanted. For homework needs, she reminded herself every day after school.

Paisley's room was small but comfortable. On one side of the room was her bed, with messy blankets and a bag of chips sitting on it. On the other side, across from her bed, was her desk. Next to her desk was a bungee chair. On the third wall across from the door was the window, complete with clear and clean glass and white curtains. The walls were painted light grey and the floor was wood tiles.

Paisley changed out of her uniform into a sweater and black leggings. The sweater was also black and short-sleeve, with neon reflective outlines on everything - the zipper, the sleeves, the hood, the buttons which were only there for decorations.

"Paisley!" her mom called. "Dinner's ready!"

Paisley shut her bedroom door and walked into the kitchen. Her mom clicked her tongue disapprovingly when she saw Paisley in the sweater. "You wear that sweater too much," she said.

Paisley shrugged innocently. "How can I not?" Then, without saying anything else, she grabbed a slice of pizza and walked straight back into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. Her mom never got mad at her for eating alone in her room.

Paisley tried to take a bit of the pizza but found her hands stuck to it. She tried again. And again. She pulled harder, but the pizza would not unstick. Or rather, her hands would not unstick. Did Mom put some kinda super glue on this, as a joke or something? Paisley grunted and tried again.

She ended up tearing the pizza in two, smearing the slimy red sauce all over her hands.

Eventually, after Paisley calmed down and started death-staring her pizza, it slowly slipped off her hands and dropped onto the floor. Paisley sighed and reached for the pizza, then thought better of it. Instead, she washed her hands of the pizza sauce in her bathroom, using her elbows to turn the water knobs on and off. She didn't bother to dry her hands with the towel.

As Paisley was walking back into her room, she tripped through the doorway. Without thinking, she rolled onto the ground in a somersault. What!? Since when do I know how to do those!?

Shook, Paisley pushed herself off the ground slowly and stood up. She was trembling.

Paisley didn't know what to think. She was… spider-man? Spider-girl? Was that it? After all, she had been bitten by a neon spider, had weird sticky powers, and somehow knew how to do a somersault without even thinking about it. It might just be chance.

Paisley kicked the pizza into the garbage. She hadn't taken a bite, but she wasn't hungry. She pulled her hoodie over her head and slipped her feet into her black hightops. They reached just above her ankle and had neon outlines just like her sweater. She also put on her black gloves, which she wore every time she went outside in the fall and winter. Paisley grabbed her backpack and yelled "I'm going out! Be back soon!" Then she hopped out the window.

The air was warm outside, the sky slowly becoming darker and darker. Paisley landed on the roof and started crawling down. She found herself moving with more speed and agility than she ever had - what was going on with her?

She slid off the roof easily and landed perfectly, with one hand on the ground and the other in the air. She stood up and started running down the alleyway like she did almost every day, searching for a fresh spot on the wall. Paint cans rattled in her backpack.

From somewhere in the distance, a scream pierced the air. Paisley stopped running abruptly and strained her ears to hear what was going on. The sound, screaming and yelling and grunting and fighting, was near her. Within a five-minute radius. She sped up her running.

WC: 1241