Ned Leeds

The rest of the dance went by without any trouble. I was glad. For a little while I was looking around in case Brad tried to pull anything else. But I couldn't spot him. Maybe he went MIA? I didn't know and I didn't care as long as he stayed away from MJ.

Anyway, we were at the final song of the night. So, I danced with Betty, swaying slowly to the beat of the song.

Call him on the weekend (Weekend)

All her girls are goin' out, ragin' 'til Sunday (Sunday)

She just want some private time, company ain't boring (Boring)

This is just a love game, tonight she'll be scoring (Scoring)

"I hate to sound cliché, but what a long strange trip the last several weeks has been, huh?" Betty said.

"You can say that again," I replied with a nod. "We reunited with a lost friend."

"We ended up befriending superheroes."

"We travelled to the other side of the country."

"We did go clubbing a little bit."

"We also got acquainted with Pepper Potts."

"And we saw MJ fall in love," we both finished. We both laughed a bit.

"I'm glad she did," Betty continued. "I'm not going to lie, though. I did feel a bit awkward for her whenever she was a third wheel on our hangouts."

"I don't think she cared all that much," I mused. I scoffed. "Okay, maybe she did. But I don't think she was jealous or anything, even when we did try to keep it a secret."

Betty shook her head as she smirked. "Yeah, tried and failed. Even Craig and Kitty knew we were dating, and we barely met them the hour before. I guess that's our fault, though. We can't keep our hands off of each other."

I smiled. "I can think of worse problems to have." Betty chuckled as she shook her head. I raised my eyebrows. "…What made you want give us another go?"

"Well, I was lying down in my room and looking up at the ceiling, remembering all the great times we had in Europe. And… I realized we moved pretty fast at that time. I got to thinking, wondering if we really gave what we had together a chance to grow and how things would go if we moved at a… more normal pace. So… there's that." She tilted her head. "Do you think we're moving okay?"

"I think we're moving more than okay, mahal ko," I assured her.

"Good," Betty replied with a smile.

She's lookin' for me, she's lookin' for me, oh, oh

She's lookin' for me, she's lookin' for me, oh, oh

Can she save the night? Can she save the night in time?

Can she save the night? Can she save the night in time?

After the song ended, everyone in the auditorium cheered. Betty and I hugged each other tight before we shared a quick kiss. After that, we looked over at DJ Veras as she spoke into the microphone.

"And that's a wrap!" Veras announced. "Midtown High School, thank you for having me! You all have been awesome!" She stopped her speech for a bit as everyone cheered out loud and gave a round of applause. She smiled and nodded. "Once again, shout out to Craig Pierre, Jr., my number one gunner. You can actually catch us on Saturday nights from 10 to 2. Just look up The Hours of Truth on Audacy. Now, before I go, I got two things to say. First of all, I understand you guys probably got after parties to go to. Or maybe you just want to go home and sleep – ain't no shame in that! But whatever you do after this dance, make sure you get home safe! Second and last thing… for my seniors… Prom Season ain't too far away!" All of the seniors – me and Betty included – cheered. Veras chuckled before she continued. "Now, I don't know if you guys have a DJ yet. But if y'all need one, tell your principal that I'm the one he should get! Once again, thank you Midtown High School, and good night!" She put away the microphone before she waved at us, taking in the cheers.

While other people left, Betty and I waited with Kitty, Peter, and MJ as Craig helped Veras with the breakdown. Once Craig found us, Betty suggested we go around campus and take pictures. So we did. We went to the lab, grabbed a few lab coats, and posed like we were doing an experiment. We went to the pool, where MJ and Betty reenacted that famous Michael Phelps/Chad le Clos meme. From there, we went to the football field. Peter actually set up an artsy shot that showed him, MJ, me, Betty, and Kitty cheering as Craig ran down the field. Finally, we all took a few pictures on the roof.

After that was done, we made our way to Craig's SUV.

"So," Craig spoke up after everyone was inside. "Whereto?" He looked up at the rearview mirror at Peter, Betty, MJ, and I. The four of us looked at each other for a few moments. We then looked at Craig.

"Flash's house," we replied.

After giving Craig the address, we drove over. During the drive, Peter told the story about how he had to steal Flash's car and everything that led up to that.

"Wow," I muttered. I looked at Peter. "Sorry about that, man."

"Don't worry about it," Peter said with a smile. "You were just trying to help. And it almost worked."

I nodded. "In hindsight, it's probably best it didn't. I like you with MJ better, no offense to Liz."

"Speaking of Liz, has anyone stayed in touch with her?" Betty asked.

"I did for a while," MJ replied. "But, she got into a bad accident sometime late last year. Her mom says she's getting better, but apparently she needed some time get herself together."

"I don't know who this Liz is, but I hope everything's okay with her," Kitty said sympathetically.

"What she said," Craig added.

"Ditto that," Peter finished.

The car ride went quiet for a moment. The air felt a bit heavy. Betty spoke again, changing the subject.

"So, on a less depressing note, Peter, I have a couple of questions," she began. "So, Night Monkey… was that you?"

"Yes," he confirmed with a nod.

"How did you come up with that name?"

"It wasn't me who came up with it." He turned his head and looked at me with a grimace. I cringed.

"I need to come up with better aliases," I groaned out.

"It could've been worse," Betty assured.

Kitty scoffed. "How?"

"Peter could've been black when you called him that," MJ deadpanned.

As Craig cackled, I turned towards MJ with wide eyes. "Dude!"

MJ smiled wickedly as Peter sunk in his seat.

We arrived at Flash's party. Once inside of his house, we grabbed drinks. Kitty took time to swipe a bottle of Hennessy. We were about to leave the kitchen to find a room of ourselves before we ran into Flash.

"I didn't expect you losers to be here," he said, looking us up and down.

"What can I say?" Betty deadpanned. "We decided to fill your house with some Valentine's Day cheer. Lord knows you need it."

At that, Flash scoffed. "Whatever. This place is poppin' and all the bitches I have are not even here yet!"

"Really, is that what you call women?" Craig spoke up. MJ glared daggers at Flash.

Flash looked at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Craig, the guy who doubts you got some women coming to the crib."

"I got a whole bunch coming! As a matter of fact, I got so many that I could even let you have five of them."

"I'm happily taken, but I got no problem waiting to see you get caught cappin'."

"Well they'll be here tonight!"

"Sure."

"For real!"

"Wonderful."

"I'm being – "

"I'm pretty sure it's been established that he doesn't believe you," Kitty spoke up, getting annoyed by the exchange. I covered my mouth with my hand to hold back my laugh.

Flash looked Kitty and smiled. "Well, new topic then," he said as he looked her up and down and ran his right hand through his bleached hair. "The subject is your name, which I didn't catch." Betty and I looked at each other. Oh, this was going to be good.

"Well, you can't catch what hasn't been thrown," Kitty pointed out as she raised her eyebrows.

"Well, mystery lady, I'm Eugene. But the ladies call me Flash."

"Do they now?" Kitty tilted her head. "And you let them?"

"Yeah, I do. Why?"

Kitty cringed. "Oh, nothing. Just, if I were you, I wouldn't let someone give me a nickname that implies that I finish quickly and leave my lovers unsatisfied." Flash's smile faded away and the realization donned on him. "Bye Flash!" Kitty walked away, and the rest of us followed suit, holding back our laughter as we did so.

After that, MJ led us to the attic. There were some beanbag chairs there, and nothing else.

"So, is he really friends with you guys, or do y'all just tolerate him?" Craig asked.

"More Column B than Column A, really," Betty replied as she took the Hennessy from Kitty and poured it into her red Solo cup. "In all honesty, we feel sorry for him."

"Why?" Kitty scoffed out. "He seems like an asshole."

"He's just overcompensating," I explained.

"For what?"

I paused for a moment before I sighed. "Flash is extremely lonely. He would often go days without seeing his folks, from what I heard. So, he hosts these parties, he brags, he's big on Social Media." I left out the part about his followers likely being paid for. "He does all this stuff to seek attention since he's probably not getting it from his folks. I'm not saying it's an excuse for his behavior or anything – an asshole's an asshole."

"Words to live by, I say," MJ cut in. I chuckled as I nodded.

"But at the same time, it must suck when home don't feel like home anymore," I finished.

"I guess I can understand that," Craig admitted, waving off the bottle when Betty offered it up to him. "If my family didn't have my back when my power emerged, I probably would've cut ties with Florida altogether."

"Swap Florida with Illinois, and I say 'ditto'," Kitty stated.

"Yeah, about that," I spoke up. "You guys' folks didn't say anything? They just accepted you off the bat?"

"…My parents are…" Kitty trailed off. "…I wouldn't say they were anti-Mutant. But they weren't pro-Mutant either. When my powers emerged, they didn't know what to do. So, when the Xavier Institute reached out to me, they were eager to ship me off. There was some resentment there for a while, but, over time, we patched things up and gotten closer."

"Yeah, with me, the Institute was the last resort," Craig said. "My parents wanted me back in school, but not a single school in the county wanted anything to do with me. They were literally about to move out the county – the whole entire state even – for my sake. But, Professor Xavier came a knocking." He leaned forward a bit. "You know, I asked my pops why he or any of my family never raised a stink over me being a mutant."

"And what did he say?" Peter asked.

"He said 'I don't think our ancestors would've appreciated it if we did'." He smiled a bit. "My family roots run deep in The South, you see." After that, he stood up. "I'm about to go grab another Coke. Y'all need anything?"

I looked over at Betty. "You want anything, Sweetie?"

"I could use a Sprite," Betty replied.

"Okay." I stood up. "I'll go with you Craig."

"A'ight."

I walked with Craig as we made our way down. We made our way to the kitchen and checked the fridge.

"I see a Sprite," I said as I reached into the fridge and grabbed the green can. "And I see… I see Coke, but it's Dreamworld."

"I don't mind it," Craig said as he continued to look. "…But I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for it, though."

"Well, I see a Pepsi."

"Ugh, nah, I'm good on that. I guess I'll stick with the – "

"Excuse me, but can you guys hurry up?" a voice said behind us. "I'm trying to grab something to drink." Craig and I looked at each other for a moment. I felt myself becoming angry. I knew… I just knew that voice didn't belong to who I think it belonged to. Slowly, Craig and I turned around and… our eyes landed on Brad. Brad looked at us, his mouth ajar. He recognized Craig, and he definitely recognized me. He cleared his throat before he chuckled. "You know what? I don't think I'm thirsty anymore, so I'll just…"

"Brad, is it?" Craig said coolly. "You need to come with me, bruh."

"I really don't think that's a good idea, so I'm going." Brad turned around to walk away. Unfortunately, that's when Craig stepped up and grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"That wasn't a request. You're walking with us, and we're going to have a chat."

"Dude, you think MJ would be okay with this?" I asked. I was afraid that Craig would do something he might regret. It was one thing to be at the dance. Back there, Craig wouldn't have pulled anything. I knew he wouldn't risk getting arrested and fired from his job with DJ Veras. But here, he didn't have to really worry about that, I don't think.

Craig looked at me. "I'll take full responsibility." He looked back at Brad, who gulped. "Let's walk."

And walk we did until we found an empty bedroom. Craig practically shoved Brad inside before he beckoned me in. After I stepped inside, Craig walked in and closed the door.

"Sit down, Brad," Craig ordered.

"And what if I don't want to?" Brad replied with some heat to his voice. My eyes went a little wide before I looked at Brad and shook my head. I then looked at Craig, who had his head bowed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"Okay, let me put it like this." Craig lowered his hand looked back at Brad. "I got some things to tell you. In all honestly, I want to use your face as a speedbag. But hey, there's a part of me that's thinking 'You know what? This could be a great opportunity to use what Brad did as a teachable moment'. So, you're gonna get this lecture tonight, whether you like it or not. The way I see it, you only have three options. Option A, you sit down, actually listen to what I got to say, digest my words and, after I send you on your way, you meditate on them and hopefully become a better person because of it. Option B, you pretend to listen, you get out of here, you end up making the same mistakes you made leading up to and at the dance and get turned into a pack by the next person or group of people you piss off. Last option, Option C, you try to walk away now, I beat the brakes off of you, and you end up sitting there with your eye blacked out while I say what I need to say." Craig leaned in forward. "How you want to play this, bruh?"

"If I were you, Brad, I'd take Option A," I urged. Brad looked at me. "Please believe when I say this – fighting him is not what you want. And considering what you did back at the dance, you should be glad that he's giving you the option of just being talked to."

Brad stared at me for a few moments. He then raised his hands in defeat before he backed up and took a seat on the bed.

"So you can be reasoned with," Craig said with a nod. "Good to know. Anyway, you did some things I didn't appreciate." Craig started to pace. "You stalked two people close to me and snapped a picture so you could try and make them look bad. You tried to use that same picture to break up MJ and Peter, the former also being also close to me. And you did all of that for what?" Craig stopped in his tracks. "What were you thinking, man?" Brad didn't say anything at first. "…That wasn't rhetorical."

"Look, all's fair in love and war, right?" Brad replied. "I didn't know MJ had a boyfriend. So when I found out, I made a move and – "

"And you proved yourself as a scumbag," I finished for him.

Brad glared. "Now, hold on!"

Craig cut in. "Nah, he's right."

"Look, I'm not a bad guy!"

At that, Craig scoffed. "My dude, you are. You most definitely are."

Brad suddenly stood up. "So what would you have done in my position?"

"I would have taken the L and move on. That's something you should've done." Craig pointed at Brad. "MJ already made it clear that she don't like you like that. She made that clear multiple times, from what I can understand. But what did you do? You insisted on going on a fool's errand. And what happened? MJ turned you down, put you in your place, and ended any semblance of a friendship she had with you. If you had just taken the hint, you wouldn't be in this position right now."

Brad scoffed. "So I wasn't even supposed to try?"

"Dude, you did try," I pointed out. "You tried multiple times, and you failed."

"And despite what some movies and shows would lead you to believe, that kind of thing isn't healthy," Craig added. "You may not believe me when I tell you this, but I've seen some stuff, dog. I've seen people like you before. And people like you? At best, they become even bigger scumbags that go online to learn how to be a pickup artist or an 'Alpha Male'. At worst, they become stalkers and…" Craig trailed off as he took in a breath. "The point is, this ain't the path you want to be on. You keep on going on like this and you'll find yourself in a situation where you'll either end up in jail or in the hospital and you'll have next to no one who wants anything to do with you. And that's assuming you don't mess around and get killed." Craig turned away from Brad, who had a look of shock on his face. "Let's go Ned."

The two of us walked out of the room, as he made our way back to the attic, I looked at Craig.

"You think you got through to him?" I asked.

Craig shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "I hope so."

"I'm not going to lie, I thought you were going to drag him out back and stomp him out."

Craig chuckled. "Tempting as that is, I'm not messing up this suit if I can help it. Besides, I try to avoid violence whenever I can."

Craig and I made it back to the attic. The six of us just shot the breeze for a long while. After we finished the bottle, we left Flash's house. While we were out on the road, I spoke up.

"You know, I don't want to go home yet," I said.

"Neither do I," Peter replied.

"Well, it's not a school night," MJ pointed out. "What do you guys want to do?" Peter and I looked at each other. MJ's eyes went wide. "…No…"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Ned?" Peter asked.

MJ's head snapped towards Peter. "No! No! Absolutely not!"

"I am thinking what you're thinking!" I replied.

"Oh, God, no!"

"What are they thinking?" Kitty asked in concern.

"Star Wars night!" Peter and I exclaimed in unison. Next to me, Betty sighed.

"Don't I get a say in this?" MJ interjected.

"I mean, I guess, but you're likely going to be outvoted," Betty pointed.

MJ glared at Betty. "Oh really?"

"Honestly, it has been a while since I've seen a Star Wars flick," Kitty mused.

MJ groaned. "Not you too, Kitty!"

"Okay, how about this?" Peter offered. Everyone except for Craig looked at him. "We watch a Star Wars film, and then we can watch any film you want."

MJ looked off to the side in thought. "Even if it's a documentary?" she asked.

Peter chuckled. "Yes."

MJ was quiet for a moment. She then sighed. "Okay, fine." She looked at Peter. "Dork."

In response, Peter placed a kiss on her cheek. "But you love me for it."

"Psh, whatever."

We got to the X-Men's apartment. Once we stepped inside, we took off our shoes. As Kitty and Craig went to the kitchen, the rest of us took our seats in the living room. Betty and I took the couch as Peter and MJ sat on the sofa.

"Let's see what we have here," I heard Craig say from the kitchen. I heard the fridge door open. "We got leftover fried rice, along with some rather large steamed buns and some… Huh, that's odd."

"What's up?" Kitty asked.

"There was a whole bunch of Gatorade in the fridge, but now it's gone. Maybe I'm just buggin'."

I was about to say something, but then MJ spoke.

"Peter, are you okay?" she asked.

We all looked at Peter. There was a look of embarrassment and his face was pink, almost red. From the corner of my eye, I saw Craig and Kitty walk into the living room.

"My man, you good?" Craig spoke.

"…Guys," Peter finally said. "I don't think we should be here."

Craig tilted his head. "Why?"

That's when I heard it. It was a weird sound – it sounded like something was being slapped over and over. I looked up. "…Guys, do you hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what?" Kitty replied. We all went quiet. Kitty tilted her head. "…Yeah, I hear that, too."

"So do I," Betty added. "It sounds like… dough being pounded over and over again."

"Something's being pounded alright," Peter sputtered. "Or rather… someone."

We all looked at him again. Then we slowly looked at each other as we realized what the source of the sound was.

"Do you think Scott is here with Joanna?!" Kitty whispered out.

"I'm 100 percent sure he is," Peter answered. "Can we go now?"

"I mean… can you tune them out?" Craig asked.

As if to answer that question, the sound became louder. And then came the yelling.

"Yes!" Joanna growled out. "Yes! Yes! Give it to me, Slim Give me everything!"

"Oh, you like that?!" Scott grunted back. "You're going to get it all!"

Craig took in a deep breath. He then looked over at Kitty. "Rockaway?" he asked.

"Rockaway," Kitty replied. "Okay, let's go, fellow idiots. We're going to Queens and we're never speaking of this ever again!"

"Heard," Betty replied as we stood up.

We made our way to the door as quickly and quietly as we could and put on our shoes. Kitty opened the door. One by one, we walked out of the door. After Craig locked the door, we made our way to the elevator and stepped inside once the doors opened. Craig hit the button for the ground floor. The door closed and the elevator descended. I nodded, my lips pressed together.

"Craig?" I said.

"Yes?" Craig replied.

I looked at him. "…This is your fault."

Craig sneered. "How?!"

"You pushed for Scott and Joanna to be a thing!"

"Oh forget you!"

"Guys!" Kitty cut in. "Like I said, we're not talking about that! Ever! Again!"

Craig smiled. "Thank you, Kitty!"

"…Even though Ned is right."

Craig crossed his arms and grumbled, but didn't say anything back. The rest of us laughed.