Author's note: Hello again, readers! So after a while of working on this between work intervals, I've finally come out with what has to be my favorite chapter so far! See, the idea was for me to combine aspects of Spider-Man with the scenarios present in the game Choices (specifically High School Story). Fans of said game may recognize some scenes as being direct tributes to Book 1 of said series. Seeing as that story also made me nostalgic for a high school life I never had, I wanted to incorporate elements of that into this story. Hope you Choices and Spider-Man fans enjoy and keep on reading!
Things were starting to hype up as school continued throughout the week. Office staff eagerly announced the beginning of extracurriculars while the many cliques lined up to practice their respective niche. Band students practiced with their instruments and marching band routines, the cheerleaders, led by cheer captain Elizabeth Allan - Liz for short - held tryouts and perfected their performances, and the football jocks gave it their all in practice, especially Flash. Little did everyone know of the plans the big jock had to invite them all to a party later in the week.
By Thursday, Flash started handing out football-shaped invites to his party titled "The Flash's Pool Party" for everyone he deemed "cool". He had been hyping this up all week and only just now found the means to produce physical invites. It was only a matter of time before he reached Peter's clique if at all.
From his cafeteria clique table consisting of himself, Gwen, MJ, and Harry, Peter stared up from his meal, peering across the way to eye Flash handing out his specially made invites. With the help of the physically imposing Asian halfback, Kenny Kong, as well as Rand, Flash seemed to know what he was doing, especially since they had a tendency to stick to him like glue no matter what. With his advanced hearing, Peter could just barely make out the words he was uttering to the punkish-looking kids sitting at the table nearest to them.
Bringing your cronies with ya to send out invites, eh, Flash? Well, I doubt you have the decency to hand-deliver anything to our group, Peter thought pessimistically.
While he would have loved to find a way into Flash's party, he knew for a fact he might not have been allowed based on Flash's attitude toward him.
It didn't take long for Flash, Rand, and Kenny to reach his vicinity, their imposing figures looming over them like clouds about to block out the sun.
"Yo, nerds!" Flash exclaimed. "I know this may seem against my nature, but here! Two invites! One for Osborn, the other for his lovely redhead friend!"
He handed out two separate invites to Harry and MJ, the two of them taking them eagerly to stare at. Peter leaned in to get a good look at the writing imprinted on it.
The Flash's Pool Party
7401 S. Hall St., Forest Hills, Queens
September 9th, 7:00 p.m.
Be there, or else!
"Wow, Flash! I'm happy you're willing to invite us to parties at your place if you know we're friends with these guys," Harry stated plainly, not wanting to single out his friends.
"Hey, I gotta have some sort of rich friend on my friend's list. Who's to say you won't grant me access to the latest gadgets in town?" Flash stated pridefully.
"No promises, but if my dad's okay with it, I'll let you know!" Harry said, giving a half-hearted thumbs up.
As Harry and Flash were talking, Gwen reached for the stack of invites, Flash immediately yanking them away.
"You two don't get any!" Flash spat at Peter and Gwen, breaking the former's concentration.
While Peter chose to remain silent, Gwen spoke up. "Hey!" she projected to Flash. "Don't I qualify as someone of importance in your sorry life? I am your tutor after all!"
"Doesn't matter, geekette! Can't have too many smart folks telling me what I can and can't do at my awesome place! You and Puny Ass Parker can go find some other party to get your geek sweat all over!" Flash huffed insultingly as he walked away with Kenny. Before Rand could speak up, Gwen got up and ran away from the table hiding her face from everyone she passed by. Seeing this concerned Peter. He really cared about her and would give anything to not see her hurt.
Oh no. Gwen must've taken that one pretty hard. Should I go check on her? Peter thought.
Just then, almost as if having his answer laid out in front of him, Rand Robertson spoke up for him. "Yo, dude, you probably should go check on her. I have a feeling she didn't take that very well," the cool jock stated plainly. Hearing his words sparked some reassurance that he ought to follow her wherever she went.
"Thanks, Rand," said Peter. "I'm sure she'd appreciate it."
"Don't mention it, little dude," Rand replied coolly to which Peter smiled. His nickname for him was the least insulting of all the jocks that he frankly didn't mind.
Pushing all thoughts aside, Peter got up from where he sat and left the cafeteria just in time to witness Gwen run into the girl's restroom down the hall. As uncomfortable as he felt about heading into such a vicinity, he knew, from the bottom of his young heart, that just being there for a friend would make all the difference. Taking a deep breath, he strode down the way and entered the girl's restroom to the sound of Gwen's sniffles; cautiously, he inched his way in and rounded the corner to find her standing by the sink, tears trickling down her cute face. Seeing her this way caused Peter's heart to ache so much he knew he ought to say something. He searched for the words to comfort her sensitively.
"Gwen, are you okay?" he asked, plain and simple.
She sniffled, wiping her eyes. "It's okay, Peter. I'll be fine. This isn't really the place for us to discuss this."
"I'm not going anywhere," he proclaimed lovingly. "Not when my best gal pal in the whole world is looking like this."
"I…" she stopped herself at a loss for words. "Thanks, Pete."
"No problem. Now if you don't mind, what's the biggie?"
Gwen knelt over the sink, trying to compose herself to talk through her swelled up throat. "Well… You know it's always been like this. Every year some big guy like Flash hosts some kind of party and… I just feel like a loser for never getting invited. Sure, I may be the one who's always putting her nose in a book, mastering homework and tests, and doodling pictures of my crush in my notebook, but… I just need a chance to push my boundaries. Fit in with the social norms and just be amongst the popular crowd. And if I don't do it now… I may not ever get to before high school ends."
A tear streaked down her face. Peter couldn't help, but feel ounces of sympathy for her. He was in the exact same boat as her after all. Moreover, after the tragedy of losing Uncle Ben, Peter knew he needed to experience something positive for a change. Whether that be going to a party or participating in a school activity, hopefully either one could take his mind off of things and help him refocus.
He would give anything to not see anyone else be sad, even about petty things.
"Trust me when I say Flash just isn't the type of jock for us. He just… He really sucks if you think about it. And, Gwen… You're not a loser. You are the sweetest person I know by a long shot. You have more than what it takes to go to a party in the first place."
She looked up from the sink, drying another tear and staring at Peter. "You really think so?"
"Sure do! I mean, you and me both, we're looking for opportunities to push our social boundaries. Since you really wanna go, I'm willing to stand by you in that."
"Thanks, Pete," she said smiling and walking over to him, arms spread. "That's really sweet of you."
She pulled him into a hug, Peter accepting her warm embrace. They had hugged plenty before, but her soft touch still made him the giddiest schoolboy in the whole world. "You're welcome… Now what do you say tomorrow we crash Flash's party? We'll experience some quality time together and do something fun, not worrying about what others think of us."
They pulled apart to talk to one another. "I hate to admit it, but that sounds like a great idea! For all we know, it could teach him a lesson in rejecting us."
"I wouldn't say we're going that far, but at the very least, it'll show them we don't care what they say."
"You're right. Sorry I got so upset before," she said sniffling. "You won't tell anyone I cried, will you?"
"I won't. It's okay," he said, smiling warmly at her.
He couldn't help, but admire her as a person. She had the whole package he could ever want: beauty and brains. A girl like her was rare to come by. Hopefully, he'd never waste another opportunity to get to know her.
In a moment's notice, he had his thoughts broken up by another pair of footsteps entering the girl's restroom.
Oh, shoot! Is that…? Peter thought anxiously.
He turned around to face the mysterious intruder who turned out to be a brown-skinned, black haired, brown-eyed beauty of Puerto Rican descent: Liz Allan - aka head cheerleader, aka Flash's girlfriend. As much as her and Flash were close together, she was not one to be messed with. On top of that, she seemed like the last person Peter wanted to get caught in the girl's restroom with.
"Um, you are aware that this is the girl's restroom, right?" she asked somewhat condescendingly.
Peter shuffled around his thoughts for a smooth answer. "As much as I wish I knew how to answer that, I really have no excuse."
"It was just… something private, that's all," Gwen stood up for him.
Liz facepalmed, clearly annoyed by their responses. "Look, I don't care what you were doing back here, all I know is that you ought to go be creepy somewhere else."
"Sorry, Liz!" Peter said, walking Gwen out by the shoulder. "Gwen, and I were heading back to lunch anyway. It's all good!"
Unwilling to look back at Liz, Peter led Gwen out and the two headed back to the cafeteria together. Awkward encounters with the opposite sex aside, he knew for certain they had hatched a brilliant idea in hopes to have some fun together. Seeing as all the popular kids would be there, they would finally have a chance to show themselves amongst the many people they considered "cool". Nothing could top the feeling of bliss they were about to experience.
The following day, Peter and Gwen rode together to Flash's party - as opposed to Peter's alternative where he would arrive as Spider-Man and meet Gwen there. Since Gwen was the only one with her driver's license, it made sense for her to pick up Peter who didn't have his for reasons he would not tell. As much as he wanted to rock the Spider-Man identity, he felt it was his for safekeeping in case anyone got into danger because of it. For that matter, he was glad he did not have to perform it as a party act for he would rather enjoy it on his own time. For that matter, he was glad no one suspected he knew Spider-Man - not yet anyway.
The drive there made for great interaction and conversation between the two of them. Once Gwen pulled up to the street packed with cars for what seemed like blocks, the two of them knew they were in for a real treat. Whether Flash or anyone else hated them for it was the least of their worries.
"This must be the place," Gwen noted, stating the obvious.
"The hell it is! Either you have great navigating skills or the place sticks out like a sore thumb!" Peter joked, attempting to build on the chemistry he already had with her.
Gwen giggled, rubbing her fist into his shoulder. "Stop! You know it's the former!"
"If you say so!" Peter complied. "Did you bring your swimsuit?"
She reached into her shirt, pulling up her pink bikini top she wore underneath to show him. "Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I'm wearing it underneath."
"Alright then, it's our little secret. Pinky swear!" Peter whispered sarcastically, holding out a pinky. Seeing this, Gwen held her pinky out and wrapped it around his, the two firmly shaking hands with them tied together. This was their signature handshake they had invented since late middle school.
The two then proceeded to exit the vehicle and stroll toward the front door. On their way there, a pair of headlights pulled up on the opposite side of the street, Peter noticing they belonged to a green convertible. Without a doubt, they knew this was Harry and MJ.
He waved and called out to his best friend and next-door neighbor. "Harry, MJ! Fancy meeting you here," he stated sarcastically.
"You knew we were coming, Pete," Harry retorted, shutting his headlights off with his car. "Who could resist a party like Flash's?"
Harry and MJ exited the car and crossed the street to approach them.
"Giving the party life a go aren't you, sister?" MJ spoke specifically to Gwen.
"This would be my first time," she stated shyly. "No doubt Flash will try and kick us out before we get a chance to stay though."
"Is there any chance you could get us in at all?" Peter asked.
"Believe it or not, Flash knows my style so if I just say you're with me, he'll roll with it," Harry explained.
"Sounds like you have a plan. Be our guest!" Peter said, smiling.
The four friends proceeded across the lawn and up the front patio. They reached the front door to the sound of muffled music inside the place and rang the doorbell. Given how loud it seemed from the inside, it would be a wonder if anyone heard them at all. To their surprise, Flash eventually opened the door all decked out in a white tank top and swim shorts with a towel sitting on his shoulders.
"Welcome to Casa del Flash-" he caught himself mid sentence, noticing who was at the door. "You nerds aren't supposed to be here! Did I not make myself clear before?"
Peter and Gwen paused, at a loss for a good comeback. Fortunately, Harry immediately stepped in to defend his friends. "Actually, Fred, they're with me!"
"Doesn't matter, they're still not allowed!" Flash retorted.
"Your invite had no rules against the amount of guests we bring. And since I didn't use it last year, I still have a pass where I'm allowed to bring all of my friends to at least one of your parties."
Flash slumped, clearly defeated by Harry's ability to play into his "cool side". "Fine," Flash admitted. "But only because you still owe me for not making tryouts this year."
Harry nodded, turned back to Peter, and smiled mischievously. MJ followed, gesturing a thumbs up to Gwen who did so back to her. Flash stepped aside, allowing them to enter the modern Queens home to the sound of guests mingling coupled with the booming pop music. They kicked off their shoes and made their way across the living room, past all the guests who made various comments toward each other. Some of them looked up from their conversation, noticing the presence of the so-called "nerds".
"So my chemistry teacher made a lot of pink jelly… Pink jelly, can you believe it?!"
"What's this? Flash just let in the nerd herd?!" exclaimed cheerleader, Sally Avril - a blonde girl with a valley girl accent.
"Just wait until Liz hears about this," commented another cheerleader.
Peter couldn't help, but admire the amount of attention he was getting all of the sudden. And yet somehow, Gwen seemed to be trembling as if stricken with stage fright.
"You okay, Gwen?" he asked concerningly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, rubbing her shoulder. "Just, early party jitters is all."
For a moment, he was almost certain she was just brushing off the issue. Immediately after, he noticed the pile of refreshments at the dining room table ahead and hatched a bright idea for himself and her. He hadn't really eaten anything besides cold pizza since he got home from school. "How about we grab a bite to eat? Maybe that'll calm ya down."
Gwen paused for a moment before giving a definitive nod. "Sure."
They meandered through the crowd of people gathered dancing to the music in the doorway connecting the living room to the dining room. Peter looked behind to notice Harry and MJ talking with Flash and his cronies, but decided to leave it be, not wanting to necessarily impede on their conversation. As soon as he reached to grab from the platter of meat, cheese, and crackers Flash had laid out for everyone, he bumped Gwen's hand accidentally, the two of them shyly exchanging glances at one another.
"Oh, sorry," Gwen apologized.
"No, I insist, after you!" Peter playfully incited.
After Gwen complied and grabbed her plate, Peter was suddenly met with the likes of a familiar voice popping in next to his eardrums.
"Sure you're not hungry?" the Puerto Rican accent of Liz Allan asked.
"Nah, just thought I'd let my lady friend have first dibs," Peter said, turning to Liz.
"Oh, I see how it is," Liz said teasingly.
"No, I swear, it's not what you think-" Peter replied, embarrassed by her accusation.
"You just love the way she does things, don't you?"
Peter paused, clearly revolted by her choice of words as well as the fact that she even bothered to talk to him. "Yeah, that's why I let her go first," he ultimately said, hoping Gwen didn't hear it over the party noise.
"If you think that's cool, watch what I can do," Liz offered. "Stand back."
Peter stood back and watched Liz, putting his hand onto Gwen's shoulder to get her attention. Next thing they knew, Liz picked up a cracker, tossed it into the air, did a pirouette twirl, and caught it solidly in her mouth to chew. The two of them along with most of the other party guests watched and cheered in amazement at Liz's skills she loved to show off.
"See? Years of dance practice has prepared me for this moment!" Liz boasted.
"Well, Liz… great job!" Peter complimented.
"Yeah, really snazzy!" Gwen added.
"Thank you!" Liz exclaimed cheerfully, taking a bow.
Peter was so distracted by her little twirl that he almost forgot to get food for himself. Once Gwen stepped out of the way, he gathered his share of the hors d'oeuvres and pointed Gwen outside in hopes to get some face-to-face time with her. Once they stepped into the backyard, they came into contact with the in-crowd football players seated around the pool in their swim trunks. Gwen and Peter sat at the sun table near the pool, the umbrella folded out in case someone decided to do a huge cannonball and soak the area. Before Peter could ask Gwen how she felt about this party, suddenly a familiar African American voice called out to them from the edge of the pool.
"Yo, Einsteins!" called Rand Robertson. "Feel like taking a dip with us?"
"Not yet, Rand!" Gwen replied. "Let us eat first!"
"I wouldn't eat too slow if I were you. King Kong over there's all ramped up to take a dive!"
Rand pointed to the large, muscly, East Asian dude making his way up to the pool's diving board, his feet hitting the concrete like heavy slabs. He boarded the diving board, prepared to make his move.
"Watch out, Midtown!" Kenny Kong called out. "Here comes Kenny Kong diving into home! Cannonball!"
He sprung himself off the edge of the diving board, tucking his hands under his feet as he arched up into his jump. He came down with a huge splash into the drink, the water surging up like a tidal wave toward everyone sitting around the pool. It soaked the jocks as well as Peter's pant legs before he soon realized he was holding his plate in the splash zone. He looked down onto his soaking wet plate, his soggy food not looking appetizing enough to eat.
"Oh no, my plate!" Peter exclaimed. "Kenny, props to you and your cannonball, but damn you for getting my food all wet!"
Kenny came up out of the pool, spitting out the water he accidentally drank. "What did you expect, Puny Ass Parker? I'm a big guy; I make the biggest splashes known to this school!"
"That's not the only thing you're big on," Peter mocked under his breath, referring to his habit of helping Flash ruin his day like he almost did the other day.
"What was that?" Kenny asked curiously.
"Nothing!" Peter shot, feigning innocence. He turned to Gwen. "I'm gonna get some more food, be right back."
Gwen turned to watch Peter get up and walk away. Not that their time was already cut short, though he knew he wanted more than ever to spend quality time with her. So did she with him. As Peter walked past Harry and MJ heading outside, he thought to himself how he wouldn't pass up another opportunity to spend time with his friends amongst the in-crowd.
Once he went inside, Harry and MJ mosied up to the table to sit with Gwen.
"Party life treating you well, sister?" MJ asked her casually.
Gwen looked down, a bit nervous, but confident all the same. "It's a little overwhelming being around all these people and everything, but I'd say I'm handling it well. Hoping they don't get in the way of my time with Peter if we get the chance to settle."
"Not to worry, sister. I'm sure you'll get your chance," MJ assured.
"She's right, you know," Harry chimed in. "I mean look at us! We're standing hand-in-hand already like we've known each other, how long?"
MJ shoved Harry for being so playful. "Stop!" she spouted playfully. "You know I've known you since middle school. We practically have a solid connection, you and I."
"And that's special to you, how?" Harry asked sarcastically. Hopefully, she could tell he was being silly. "Just kidding! I know just how much this means to you."
Hearing this, MJ smiled knowing how sincere Harry meant it while Gwen watched how well they got along. She remained hopeful that, one day, her and Peter would get along on an intimate level just as naturally as they did.
Her opportunity arose as Peter returned complete with new food on a new plate. Thankfully, no huge cannonballs occurred in the while it took for the four of them to eat and chat as a friend group. Occasionally, a few other friends and party guests showed up to talk to them, diverting their conversation away from each other to whoever showed up. Soon enough, Flash, the main occasion, even showed up in his swim trunks to join the jocks in their pool pod, calling out to the "losers" on how chicken they must be to step into the pool.
Naturally, Peter saw this as a challenge and stood up to recommend his friends all to remove their clothes, revealing swim trunks, and make a splash. Each of them, Gwen, MJ, and Harry, complied and removed their outside clothes right away whereas Peter went inside to change in the restroom. Seeing as his Spider-Man suit was on under his regular clothes, he knew he could easily conceal his clothes in Flash's bathroom cabinet where no one at the party would dare to look. Hopefully, it would be safe there.
Peter darted out in his swim trunks, choosing instead the safe route of walking down the stairs as opposed to jumping in - something told him he would reveal his super strength by making a cannonball just as huge as Kong did. Wading through the water, he caught up to his friends.
"So, shall we make the most of tonight before Flash inevitably decides to rain on our parade?" Peter asked somewhat jokingly.
"I second that!" Gwen agreed.
"Wouldn't pass it up," replied MJ, her red hair accentuated by her black bikini.
"Dude, I'd give my left foot to have Flash not mess this up for us!" Harry barked somewhat sarcastically. He and Flash may have been on good terms, but they didn't always get along.
"Look out below!" Flash shouted while naturally into the pool in a cannonball formation. His splash literally rained down on their parade, soaking them from the top. Thankfully, they all had a good laugh over that and continued to have fun swimming and splashing around in the pool for a few minutes while Flash chased them around like a pool monster. He eventually caught up to Peter whom he dunked several times before Gwen and Harry told him to stop. Thankfully, his friends had his back and for that he was grateful. Peter eventually got out of the pool a few minutes before Gwen did and the others took a couple pool towels to dry off with. Some jokes and playful retorts were exchanged before Gwen put out a special offer.
"Hey, I noticed there's a spot between this yard and the next where we can lay down and go stargazing. Care to go with me?" Gwen offered eagerly.
Knowing they wanted to spend time alone apart from everyone else, Peter could hardly resist such an offer. "Lead the way!" he replied enthusiastically. "But first, let me get my clothes."
After Peter ran inside to grab his shirt - which thankfully hadn't been discovered with his Spider-Man suit - he met with Gwen back outside. Scanning her figure to realize she had thrown her normal clothes back on over her swimsuit, he reached for her hand and she took his rather naturally. She led him towards a small path leading to a small cluster of pine trees. Stationing themselves at the border between Flash's yard and the next, they took in the faint noise of the party behind them realizing that no one followed them and that they could be alone. They lied down on their backs and stared up at the starry sky above them.
The bright glows of all the distant gaseous orbs in the infinite black above them served as a reminder as to how infinite the universe was. To this day, they knew little of what was out there. Similarly, their futures were looking just as endless, even though they were about to embrace them before long. For now, though, they were content to have each other during this slow moment in time.
"Tell me, how cool is this view?" Gwen asked anticipatedly.
"Too cool to describe, just like you!" Peter replied lovingly.
"Peter, you are too sweet," she complimented. "I honestly couldn't imagine life with anyone besides you."
Peter paused for a moment. Whether this was a friendly nudge on the shoulder or a romantic offer was beyond him. Whatever the case, though, he knew he ought to take it slow. "You just can't get enough of me can you?" he boasted.
"Hard to deny it. The fact that the star light from years ago is just now reaching us here on Earth, it reminds me of how far we've come."
"I'm only certain you're about to recount our years since middle school?"
"Yep! Back then I was nothing, but a shy nerd girl who wore glasses, barely talked, and hardly ever looked up from my book. You, on the other hand, changed all that. Ever since they partnered us up in seventh grade science, I just wanted to know you. You gave me plenty of opportunities to step outside my shell and talk to someone. And now, look at us! Neither of us wear glasses and we're finally going to cool kids' parties after all these years."
"Couldn't agree more," Peter said, his hand falling by Gwen's in a moment's notice. To his surprise, she didn't shirk away. Her hand looks so soft, so squeezable… Should I?
He thought for a bit and figured this would be the perfect opportunity. With all the mental strength in his system, Peter reached out for Gwen's hand and she instantly took his, squeezing it and rubbing it softly. He couldn't have been more giddy and at ease all at once.
"I'm glad you came into my life, Pete. I never thought I'd have a reason to take risks like this," she said, turning her face toward him.
"Yeah?" he asked, facing her.
"Yeah."
The couple stared deeply into each other's eyes. Gwen's deep blue eyes resembled pools of water, calling Peter to dive deep into a love relationship with her. If they were any closer mentally and physically, he might as well kiss her. Even so, he knew to wait until their chemistry was stronger and the moment was more special.
Spider Sense suddenly crept up on Peter. An explosion fired off in the distance, startling Gwen while Peter barely flinched due to Spider Sense alerting him moments before it happened. Gwen gasped.
"What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed.
Peter broke eye contact, looking around to notice that the explosion resonated from what looked like the nearby park. He searched his brain to think of an excuse. "Oh, man. All that swimming after eating - my stomach. I really gotta go, don't follow!"
And just like that, Peter pulled his hand away from the one person he really wanted to get to know. This wouldn't be the last time he ever saw her, but hopefully she would understand his excuse and allow it to slide for now. Disappointing as it was to abandon his potential soulmate during an intimate moment, he simply could not allow danger to pour into his personal life, even while he was having fun.
So what was the explosion all about and what will happen next? Find out next time on Marvelous Web-head!