New chapter! The ASL thing is my nod to the fact that Hawkeye was deaf in the comics. Idk if I'm gonna include it in the story somehow yet, I haven't decided. I just thought it seemed like something that MJ would randomly know and it would be something they could connect with.
As always, please review :)
Kate got held back in English for a moment to discuss her most recent paper. She had gotten an A on the assignment and the teacher wanted her to enter it for a scholarship competition that was starting over the summer. As cool as the idea was, Kate declined. If she was fortunate enough to go to college with all the craziness in her life, she was in a good position to be able to afford it. Let the scholarship go to a kid that could really use it.
As she walked out, she saw Michelle walking towards the cafeteria as well. Catching up, she said hi and they started walking together. It had taken a minute for them to get use to each other, but Kate and Michelle had become good friends based on a mutual respect. Also, they were the only two kids in the school that knew American Sign Language, so they conversed a lot together.
Once they were in the cafeteria, Kate and Michelle went to the table that Peter and Ned were at. Michelle didn't sit with them a lot, but occasionally she did. While the girl was a loner, and a bit weird and chilly at times, Kate suspected that Michelle did consider the three of them her friends.
…
"Next question." Liz said as they ran through practice drills for decathlon. "What is the heaviest naturally-occurring element?"
Charles buzzed in. "Hydrogen's the lightest." He paused. "That's not the question. Okay."
Abraham buzzed in. "Uranium." He said.
"Correct." Liz smiled. "Thank you, Abraham. Okay, please open your books to page 10."
Kate was sitting off to the side, splitting her attention between the questions being asked and the conversation that Peter was having with Mr. Harrington.
"Peter, it's nationals." Mr. Harrington was saying. "Is there no way you could take one weekend off?"
"I can't go to Washington." Peter was saying. "If Mr. Stark needs me, I have to make sure I'm here."
Kate furrowed her brow. She had been seeing Peter do this more and more lately. He was dropping out of school clubs and he was devoting all his time to being Spider-Man.
"You've never been in the same room as Tony Stark." Flash, who was listening in, called out.
"Wait." Liz said looking over. "What's happening?"
"Peter's not going to Washington." Sally said.
There was a chorus of 'no' and questions about why.
"Really?" Liz asked. "Right before nationals?"
Peter looked a little at a loss for words at the moment. He met Kate's gaze and she gave him a look saying, 'what the hell'?
"He already quit marching band and robotics lab." Michelle said, which drew a lot of eyes to her. "I'm not obsessed with him. Just very observant."
Mr. Harrington sighed. "Flash, you're in for Peter." He said.
"I don't know." Flash said. "I gotta check my calendar first. I got a hot date with Black Widow coming up."
Abraham hit his buzzer. "That is false." He said.
Despite her annoyance with Peter quitting decathlon right after she agreed to join, Kate shared a secret grin with Peter over the comment about Natasha.
"What'd I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes?" Mr. Harrington said.
Once school was out, Kate caught up to Peter quickly. They walked together every day, but Peter seemed like he was trying to avoid her since decathlon practice.
"Are you serious?" She demanded as they got far enough away from the school making him jump. "Literally as soon as I agree to join the team, you quit?"
Peter held his hands up in an appeasing manner. "It wasn't my intention. Sorry." He said sheepishly.
"Peter, why are you quitting all of your school activities?" Kate asked seriously as they walked.
Peter furrowed his brow in thought as they continued on. "I just…" He paused and then sighed quietly. "I just feel like I'm supposed to be doing so much more than just school."
"But this is all important Peter." She said gently.
"Look at you though." Peter said. "Look at all of the cool things that you've gotten to do without being in school."
Kate sighed. "Look, I know I'm the last one to talk to you about making things normal." She said. "But keep in mind that my childhood wasn't all just cool action movie scenes or peaceful farm life. Also, I'm here at school now. Don't rush to get to the superhero job Pete, it's not all that you think it is."
They lapsed into silence as they continued to Delmar's Deli. Though it didn't say anything in protest, Kate could tell that she hadn't gotten through to him quite yet, but she really didn't want to go into detail about the things that she had witnessed. She didn't want to scare him, but he needed to see that what he was doing could be dangerous.
…
Peter had been in a weird headspace the last couple of weeks. He had been listening to the stories that Kate told him about recent Avengers missions, and he was itching to be able to go out and do more for the world despite just stopping petty crime in New York. Don't get him wrong, he loved what he did, but he just felt like he was ready for more things. Kate's warning did give him a bit of pause, but he brushed it off.
Reaching the Deli, he held the door open for Kate. "What's up, Mr. Delmar?" Peter said as they walked in.
"Hey, Mr. Parker." Mr. Delmar said looking up. "Miss. Bishop. Number five, right?"
Peter and Kate smiled. "Yeah, and with pickles, and can you smush it down real flat? Thanks." Peter said to the guy assembling the sandwiches behind Mr. Delmar.
"You got it, boss." The guy said.
Kate walked over and picked up Murphy, Mr. Delmar's cat orange, smush faced cat, off the counter. The cat purred contently in her arms as she stroked his long fur. Peter actually found himself envious of a cat.
"How's your aunt?" Mr. Delmar asked.
Peter paused at that, looking away from Kate to Mr. Delmar. "Yeah, she's all right." He said.
Mr. Delmar turned back to his employee. "She's a very hot Italian woman." He said in Italian to the guy.
"How's your daughter?" Peter asked in Italian.
Kate laughed lightly, having heard the exchange.
Mr. Delmar's smile vanished, and he looked sternly at Peter. "Ten dollars." He said.
Peter laughed. "It's 5 dollars." He said.
"For that comment, 10 dollars." Mr. Delmar said.
"Hey, come on. I'm joking." Peter said. "I'm joking." He pulled out his wallet. "Here's 5 dollars." Mr. Delmar took in and put it in the cash register as Peter walked over to where Kate was. "What's up, Murph? How you doing, buddy?" He petted the cat before Kate put him back up on the counter.
"So, how's school?" Mr. Delmar asked as they walked back to him, waiting for their sandwiches and Kate paid for hers.
"It's boring." Peter said. "Got better things to do." He valiantly ignored the look that Kate was giving him.
"Stay in school, kid." Mr. Delmar said shaking his head. He motioned around them. "Otherwise, you're gonna end up like me."
"This is great." Peter said with a smile.
"Best sandwiches in Queens." Kate said as they got their food and left.
They walked out of the Deli and they ducked down an alley. He was going to go on patrol for a while. Kate looked away while he changed into his suit but before he could stick his backpack to the wall, she grabbed it from him.
"You're gonna lose your backpack again if you do that." She said zipping it up. "I'll bring it over later."
"Okay." He said just thinking that she meant bring it to school in the morning. "Thanks Kate. You're the best."
Kate smiled and shook her head. "Well, I don't want May getting mad at you if you lose another backpack." She said. "Go get 'em Spider-Man."
He sent a web up and pulled himself off the ground.
"Peter, don't forget about—"
He was too far away to hear the last thing she said, but he assumed that she was reminding him of their conversation.
…
"Peter, don't forget about Ned and I coming over tonight!" Kate called after him, but sighed, unsure if he had heard her or not. Leaving the alley, she headed back to the Tower to drop her stuff off.
As she walked into the Tower, she went to get Lucky and take him out. The dog sniffed her and immediately gave her the stink eye. "What?" She laughed looking at him as the big fluff ball huffed in annoyance. "I can't just avoid cats. Come on, don't give me that look, let's go outside."
Attaching his leash, and rubbing his ears, the dog forgot his temporary annoyance and happily followed her to the elevator, tail wagging.