DISC: I don't own Spider-Man or Marvel. Warning for minor swearing.

Summary:

Mo Macdonald's moved enough times to know that making friends isn't supposed to last. So her plan to make it through her final years of high school at Midtown Tech is pretty clear - keep her head down and keep out of sight.

Until Spider-Man almost squashes her with his backpack - and somewhere between late night swings, dodging her dad's texts and plates of pasta, she ends up making the most dangerous friend of all.

But Mo's seen what a superhero's life can do to a person, watched her uncle try to put himself back together like an uneven jigsaw. As she falls even deeper for the webslinging hero, she'll need to choose between protecting her heart or risking it all.

Or everything changes when Spider-Man almost squashes his classmate with his backpack.

Suggested Listening: Wait For Me (Reprise) - Hadestown

PART ONE: THE PATH TO PARADISE

'You got a lonesome road to walk

And it ain't along the railroad track

And it ain't along the black-top tar

You've walked a hundred times before

I'll tell you where the real road lies:

Between your ears, behind your eyes

That is the path to Paradise

Likewise, the road to ruin'

Wait for Me ~ Hadestown

Chapter One

It's been nearly a year since Margaret Macdonald was upped and moved to New York. A full year of wandering the corridors alone, cautious smiles reserved for teachers, and of lying to her parents when they asked about her non-existent friends. Margaret used to be a big fan of school, in a life of being bumped from one high school to another she's learned to find comfort in the constants; long winding corridors piled high with red brick, square classrooms with four walls and wide windows overlooking cityscapes, even the teachers that grumble at students and makes bad jokes in thick accents.

Midtown School of Science and Technology is a much better school than the last one was, even if the students intimidate her.

Except for Michelle.

But even then Michelle spends most of their lunch period growling at any nearby students or with a nose in her book.

Margaret sighs as she spots her across the cafeteria, a massive tome in front of her face so that only the edges of her curls poke out behind the cover. She starts to make her way over to their regular table, sidestepping the goth nerds and arching around the Techs' latest robot toy. She likes Michelle, she really does. She just wishes that she was a bit more friendly at times.

"Hi Macdonald," Michelle greets as Margaret sits down beside her.

"Hi Michelle."

Margaret opens her packed lunch, pulling out her cheese and pickle sandwich from inside. A bright pink post-it note is stuck to the outside of its wrapper.

'Have a wonderful day, sunshine.'

She folds it and slips into her rucksack. When she turns back to her sandwich, Michelle is eyeing her over the tome with a raised eyebrow.

"My Da thinks he's cute," Margaret says.

"Uh-huh," Michelle nods, then buries her head back inside her book.

Margaret takes a bite of her sandwich. American cheese tastes weird to her, more smooth and less crumbly than the mature Scottish cheddars she has always known. They taste good, just not as good as the fresh cheese her Grandda got from his friend's farm up the lane back home. The pickle is also nice, although she had the sneaking suspicion it was one of those new relishes her mum picked up at the supermarket the other day and not real pickle.

She lifts the lid of her sandwich to peer at its contents.

"What are you doing?"

Margaret looks up at Michelle, who stares at her, "I, uh, I was trying to figure out what my mum put in my sandwich?"

"Why?"

"She's been experimenting with replacements for pickle?"

"Hm."

Margaret quickly closes the sandwich. She is restless today, agitated. Her dad is supposed to be coming over later. That is probably the one upside to moving halfway across the world to a new school with no friends, no social life and none of her Grandda's cheese.

She bites into the sandwich, pulling out her phone. No updates. She isn't sure whether to be relieved about that or not. Her dad said he would pick her up around dinner time with the promise of real American cheeseburgers, but doubt is already starting to creep in. In the eleven months she has been living in Queens, she has only seen him on three separate occasions; twice for lunch, and once outside the old Avengers Tower driving. It has been difficult, but even those three occasions are more than she has seen of him in at least a decade. And he is trying, which meant more to her than anything else anyway.

Margaret pockets her phone and continues to eat her cheese sandwich in silence. Michelle burrows herself further into her book, her shoulders creeping towards her ears. She is poised to ask the girl about what she is reading when she spots him across the cafeteria. Peter Parker.

A hot flush spreads across her face, her head slipping onto her hand with a sigh. Michelle eyes her over the top of her book and rolls her eyes. Margaret pretends not to notice. She only has eyes for Peter.

He has such kind eyes, a great laugh, he fumbles through his words when he gets flustered.

"Macdonald."

"Hm?" Margaret says dreamily.

"You're drooling over your sandwich."

Michelle's words break through her reverie and she drops her sandwich. A hand flies up to rub at her mouth. When she finds no drool, she narrows her eyes at her lunch partner.

"That was mean."

"I thought you would want some time to compose yourself before they came over."

"Came over?...what do you mean-"

"Michelle." Peter drops into the seat next to Michelle with a smile. His friend Ned hovers awkwardly behind him before taking the seat on his other side. Margaret freezes, watching them with wide eyes.

"Dorks."

"We need your help...or rather Liz needs your help," Peter says.

"If this is about Decathlon…"

"Yes, well no, but kinda, yes?"

"No," Michelle says, sticking her nose further into her book.

"Oh come on, please?"

"Pretty please? We just need one more team member," Ned pipes up behind Parker. "We can't compete otherwise."

"I said no."

"Please? You won't even have to do anything."

"No."

"I-I can do it."

Three heads swivel to face Margaret. Her blush brightens under their scrutinising stares, "I mean if you just need one more team member. I haven't joined any clubs yet…"

Ned and Peter share a look, before a bright smile spreads across Ned's face, "Really?"

"Uh, yeah, I suppose…"

"Awesome, yes, this is great. Liz is gonna-"

"-totally be thankful for your contribution." Ned finishes Parker's sentence, elbowing him in the side. Parker blinks at Ned and then Margaret, who stares at them confusedly.

"Ah, yeah. She-she will be."

"Ok…"

"Ok, you got what you wanted. Get lost," Michelle turns back to her book with a sigh.

"Right, yeah, I suppose we better, yeah…"

"Let's go, man,"

Margaret watches the two of them walk away towards Liz's table, talking animatedly. Her chest flutters and a small grin takes over her face.

"You're a dork."

"Yes, but right now, I'm a happy one," Margaret grins at Michelle. She picks up her sandwich and bites into it happily. Then a thought strikes her.

"Hey Michelle?" The girl looks up, "What is Decathlon?"

Michelle groans, closing her book with a thump. She throws it into her satchel with her other books and stands.

"Wait, Michelle!" Margaret shoves the last of her sandwich into her mouth, gathering her belongings quickly so she can follow the girl.

"Hurry up, Macdonald, I haven't got all day," Michelle replies, wandering towards the exit.

Margaret grins as she rushes to catch up with the girl.

"I have a first name, you know."

"I know."

"My friends call me Mo or Margo," she says.

Michelle glances over at her, her gaze almost hesitant, before she says, "Mine call me MJ."

"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship, MJ."

"I still think you're a dork."