New chapter!

As always, please review :)

"You got bit by a spider?" Ned asked as the three of them walked to school. "Can it bite me? Well, it probably would've hurt, right? Whatever. Even if it did hurt, I'd let it bite me. Maybe. How much did it hurt?"

"The spider's dead, Ned." Peter cut his friend's rambling off.

Ned took the hint and let it drop before he turned to Kate. "And you're Hawkeye's sister?!" He said. "You're like some superspy?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yes, announce that a little louder please." She said to which he at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Remember, Ned, you can't tell anyone about this. It's way too dangerous, that's why we kept it a secret from you."

"I get it, I won't say anything." Ned said a little more serious.

The three paused at the corner where Mr. Delmar's deli had been along with the ruined bank, stopping as they saw all of the professional looking people milling about.

"You were here?" Ned asked.

"Yeah." Peter said somberly looking at the wreckage in the daylight.

Ned spoke quietly. "You could've died." While Peter and Kate stared at the scene before them, feeling the weight of their lifestyle, both missed the change in Ned's expression. "Do you lay eggs?"

"What?" Peter cried as both he and Kate started laughing. "No."

Ned's line of questions continued throughout the day, most of them ridiculous and at times rather awkwardly timed. By the time they got to gym, Kate was trying to figure out exactly how many possible questions in the English language Ned could come up with, that could be left.

"Do Avengers have to pay taxes?" Ned asked as Peter did sit-ups, Kate sitting beside the mat passively doing stretches. "What does Hulk smell like? I bet he smells nice."

"You have to shut up." Peter said.

"Is Captain America cool, or is he like a mean, old grandpa?" Ned asked.

Kate hung her head.

"Ned, just...okay?" Peter said in between sit-ups.

Ned was quiet for a long moment that Kate started to believe for a second that the questions had ended. "Hey, can I be your guy in the chair?" He asked.

"What?" Both teen superheroes asked.

"Yeah." Ned said. "You know how there's a guy with a headset…telling the other guy where to go? If you're in a burning building, I could tell you where to go. There'd be screens around me, and I could swivel around. I could be your guy in the chair."

"I don't need a guy in the chair." Peter said in a raised whisper.

"Looking good, Parker." The gym teacher said as he passed, reminding Peter that he had to pretend to struggle more.

While they sat there, a voice reached Kate's ears.

"Now, see, for me, it would be F Thor…marry Iron Man and kill Hulk." It was one of Liz's friends. They were all sitting together in the bleachers.

"Well, what about the Spider-Man?" One of the girls asked, drawing Peter, Ned, and Kate's attention.

"It's just Spider-Man." Liz said. "Did you see the bank security cam on YouTube? He fought off four guys."

One of the other girls laughed. "Oh, my God, she's crushing on Spider-Man." She said. "No way."

Kate tuned them out a little, feeling disappointed that the source of Peter's crush was actually crushing on him, though Liz didn't know that.

"Peter knows Spider-Man."

Kate went completely rigid as she heard Ned call this out and she and Peter looked at him in absolute horror as everyone in the gym turned to look at them.

"No, I don't." Peter said standing up quickly. "No. I—I mean—"

"They're friends." Ned said to which Kate pinched his arm, signaling for him to shut up.

Flash, who dropped down from half-ass attempting to climb a robe, overheard. "Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends." He said.

"I've met him, yeah." Peter said ignoring Kate's gaze. "A couple times. But it's…"

"…through the Stark internship." Ned said.

I give up. Kate thought putting her hand to her face.

"Yeah, well, I'm not really supposed to talk about it." Peter said looking back at Ned and giving him a 'shut the hell up' look.

"Well, that's awesome." Liz commented, smiling.

"Hey, you know what?" Flash said and Kate's stomach was in her throat. "Maybe you should invite him to Liz's party. Right?"

"Yeah, I'm having people over tonight." Liz said. "You guys are more than welcome to come."

If Kate could have any power, she wished for telepathy (or mind control) to stop this whole thing from continuing.

"You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man." Flash said.

"It's okay." Liz said trying to diffuse this. She probably didn't believe that Peter 'knew' Spider-Man. "I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway, so..."

"Come on." Flash said not willing to let it drop. "He'll be there. Right, Parker?"

Everyone started to file out of the gym as Peter turned back to them. "What are you doing?" He demanded of Ned.

"Helping you out." Ned said, defending his choice. "Did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on you." Kate swallowed the lump in her throat. "Dude, you're an Avenger. If any one of us has a chance with a senior girl, it's you."

Peter looked at Kate, but she was determined not to meet his gaze.

…

Kate skipped out quickly once school ended, brushing off decathlon practice, though she knew that Peter was looking for her. Peter may have super senses and reflexes, but Kate had been at this a lot longer and she was easily able to slip out of school unnoticed.

Walking home, Kate just had the day on repeat in her head. The whole thing with Ned and then Liz was messing with her, but more than anything she was upset with Peter and the way that he had been behaving.

If he's so desperate to impress, what happens if he reveals my secret to the wrong person?Shaking her head, she sighed quietly to herself. Who was she kidding? She knew that Peter would never put her in danger, nothing that she couldn't fix anyway. She was more upset about who he was trying to impress.

Stopping at the East River to look out at the water, taking a break from walking, she sighed. "It's so stupid." Kate muttered to herself. There's no reason for me to be jealous.

"Kate!"

Tensing in surprise, Kate turned at the unnoticed person walking towards her. Feeling relief flood through her as she saw Sam walking towards her, she smiled but inside she was a little unnerved that she hadn't noticed him coming. "Hey, I thought you and Steve were going to DC today?" She said to hide her unease.

Sam shrugged. "It got postponed until next week." He said. "I'll probably head back a little early though and check on my house." He looked around as if expecting to see someone. "Where's the Spider-Kid at? Doesn't he normally walk you back to the Tower?"

Now that she thought about it, most days Peter walked her home. This was the first time she had gone home on her own in a while. "He's busy today and I didn't want to wait." She replied easily. As she said that, her phone buzzed. Glancing at it she saw there was a text from Peter. Speak of the devil. "There's some big party tonight."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "And you don't want to go?" He asked. "I would have jumped at a party when I was fifteen."

Kate laughed. "I bet you were quite the heartbreaker." She said lightly trying to change the subject.

"Well, you know." Sam played along, straightening his leather jacket. Kate laughed brightly. Sam smiled, but he looked at her knowingly. "What's wrong Kate?"

"Nothing—" Kate stopped and quickly looked away, her senses screaming at her. Looking around, she tensed and moved a little closer to Sam. "We've got company."

Sam looked up and noticed the few men in dark clothing walking closer to them. "You guys looking for something?" He asked.

"More like someone." Kate froze at the voice as a man stepped forward in front of the others. "Hello Katie."

Oh boy...