A/N: A whole lot has been accomplished this week, guys.

We have hit OVER 50 REVIEWS! We are almost at 50 followers, and we currently sit at 30 favorites! WOOHOO!

I especially appreciated the comment someone made about how I do a good job of balancing teenage sweetness and awkwardness, because that's exactly what I was trying to nail, so thank you to that individual :)))

As always, all of the comments you guys send are so motivating, so thank you so so much for continuing to comment on and review my work!

A little bit of bad-ish news- now that things are starting to open up again amidst this season of quarantine, I have started working again, so my updates will probably be a little more irregular moving forward. I will do my very best to keep them weekly, but I can't guarantee it anymore :/

Additionally, I feel the need to address the Black Lives Matter riots that are occurring across the U.S. (and other countries as well)- now more than ever we need to be open-minded, compassionate, and accepting of one-another. It's a dark time we're living through right now, but we can only hope that this will lead us to a new era of progress and understanding.

As always, thank you guys for sticking with this story! Hope you all have a great week!

"What's your name?"

"Penny Parker."

"Middle name, too."

"Penny May Parker."

"Good. What day is it?"

"Sunday."

"What's 9 times 12?

"108. MJ, I'm fine. Can we ease up on the questions?" Penny looked at her friend with pleading eyes, taking her hands into her own. "I'm more than fine, actually. I'm great! I could stand up and do a cartwheel if you'd like."

MJ glared at her, sending a shiver down her spine. "Yeesh, I was just kidding about the cartwheel."

The glare didn't subside. "You sure you're fine? No problems with that big brain of yours?"

Penny nodded enthusiastically. "No problems whatsoever! Watch, I'll recite the entire periodic table-"

MJ dismissed her with a wave. "No need. I know this is technically a science trip, but I'd rather not think about chemistry right now." She leaned back, inspecting Penny for the millionth time that night. "...Fine. Walk across the room in a straight line three more times and I'll release you as my patient."

Penny bit back a sigh and raised to a standing position, this time without wobbling an inch. She started walking, taking care to keep her lines as straight as humanly possible to escape MJ's wrath.

It was embarrassing, really. Spider-Man, the hero of Queens, was hopeless against the water monster. While some stranger took over, she was taken out by a bell. A bell.

Of course, no one but Ned knew that she had gotten injured attempting heroics as the masked vigilante. Everyone else had seen Penny Parker, a fragile 16-year-old girl, disheveled and concussed after a traumatic event.

So, naturally, people were low-key freaking out.

Initially, everyone had been paying her a heartwarming (but also unsettling) amount of attention upon their return to the hotel. Water and a hot meal was fetched, as well as a bundle of warm blankets to wrap her in once she changed her clothes. She peeled off her soaked leggings and T-shirt in exchange for her fleece pajama bottoms and a thick sweatshirt.

Part of her wanted to pull back on the sweatshirt Flash had lent her, which was dry and luxuriously soft (and also smelled really good), but she banished that thought to the back of her brain, instead neatly folding it on a chair and setting a mental reminder to return it to him later.

After she reassured Mr. Harrington for the fifth time that she wasn't going to sue the school, they all demanded her story, and she stuttered through a lame, but pretty believable lie. She had gotten separated from Ned in the crowd, lost sight of him, and huddled with some locals under an arch. She explained her soaked clothes and concussion by saying she had slipped and fell into the canal while running, knocking her head into the pier in the process.

"You said you hit it twice," Flash reminded her, his tone more concerned than accusing.

"Yeah… I hit it again trying to climb out of the water." She shrugged, pulling her best Penny Parker is a clumsy but harmless buffoon who definitely does not have superpowers face. "What can I say? The stones were slippery."

Within the first thirty minutes of arriving back at the hotel, her speech, hearing, and vision had returned completely to normal, and she was no longer trembling or teetering off-balance. She attributed it to the warm meal and blankets (because no, of course she didn't have super healing, what are you talking about?), which everyone readily accepted.

The hype had eventually died down. Once she was generally deemed back to normal, people lost interest in her tragic tale, instead crowding around the small T.V. that was broadcasting the disaster and chattering about the different theories that were swirling around.

They were also being flooded with texts and calls from concerned parents, and Mr. Harrington made sure every family was contacted and consoled. MJ had texted May for her, insisting that screen time was dangerous for concussed individuals.

"I'll let her know that you'll give her a call once you're no longer at risk," she promised sternly.

Ned had wanted to stick by her side longer to make sure she was okay, but Penny convinced him to go back to Betty, promising quietly to spill all of the gory details later. "She needs you right now," she had said, gesturing towards the girl, who was staring at the T.V. screen in horror. "Betty's not used to seeing literal monsters. This is just a regular Sunday afternoon for me."

Brad had also lingered, refilling her water whenever it ran dry and gently coaxing her to eat more when she had pushed her plate aside.

When her head started throbbing again, he had tried to distract her with jokes, which worked until she laughed so hard that she nearly choked on her pasta. MJ asked him to step away after that.

And Flash… Flash was something else. He had physically left her when the rest of the class dispersed, watching the T.V. in the lobby with the group, but she frequently sensed his worried gaze falling back in her direction.

She finished her third lap across the room and returned to MJ. "See? I'm okay now."

"Quick recovery," MJ muttered suspiciously, but she handed over her phone anyway. "Let me know if any of your symptoms return."

"Will do, sir," she said with a salute, and then she ducked to the back corner of the lobby, hastily dialing May's number.

She picked up instantly. "Penny?"

Penny closed her eyes, letting the sound of her voice wash over her. It hadn't even been a full day yet, but she already deeply missed her aunt.

"Hi, May," she greeted, her voice a little wobbly. "Uh… how's it going?"

There was a deep sigh on the other end of the line. "Oh, you know, just being worried sick and growing gray hairs. You know, normal aunt of Spider-Man stuff."

She chuckled. "I'm fine, May."

"Mr. Harrington said you had a concussion. How hard did you hit your head?"

Grimacing, she replied, "if I weren't who I am, I'd probably be in a coma. Or dead."

There was silence on the other line. Penny quietly wished she hadn't been quite so honest.

"But luckily for me, I'm genetically enhanced, and I'm totally fine now," she continued, forcing a little extra optimism in her tone. "All symptoms are gone. Good as new!"

"... Good." Her aunt took a shaky breath, steadying her voice. "Okay. That's good. And it's a good thing I packed your suit, huh? I can't believe you forgot it."

"Yeah," she said glumly. Even on vacation, she couldn't totally escape her Spider-Man duties. "Definitely a good thing."

"So, who was that guy you were with? Was that Mister Strange?"

She bit back a laugh. "Doctor Strange, May. Doctor Strange. And, um... No. I don't know who that was. He was a new guy." She sighed. "I was trying to help him, but-"

She was cut off by May. "Hey, Happy- No! That's my lunch. Don't eat that one."

Penny froze. "...Happy's there?"

If she caught the disbelief in her voice, she didn't let on. "Sorry, yeah. It's Happy. He's here. He came by to volunteer. And he's hanging around the office. And he wants to say hi!"

Penny sadly did not have the power to be in two places at once, but she could easily visualize what was happening over at the volunteer center. May was probably waving him over, forcing him on the phone while he rapidly shook his head no, mouth full of May's carry out stir-fry.

There was a scuffle, some quiet coaxing from May, and then: "... Hi, Penny."

"... Hi, Happy."

This is weird. This is very, very weird.

She heard the deliberate shuffling of papers, and then, "I'm sorry. I'm working real hard here. I gotta do a leaflet drop."

She rolled her eyes. So all of a sudden he was too busy to chat? He was just fine eating her aunt's lunch a second ago.

"What're you-"

"I'm glad you're having a good time. Don't worry. I'm really taking care of your aunt."

Penny blanched. "I'm sure you didn't mean it like that, but you realize that sounded a lot like an innuendo, right?"

"...Yeah." He cleared his throat. She stared at the ceiling. A moment of silence passed between them. "Uh, stay safe out there, kid. Try not to run into any more water monsters."

She snorted. "Okay. Will do, Happy."

Aunt May's voice returned, and she heard footsteps as she moved away from Happy. "So how's the plan going?"

With a jolt, Penny realized that she had completely forgotten about her plan with Brad. "Uhh… good, I guess? I actually ended up sitting with Flash on the flight though-"

"Flash Thompson? The kid who knocks books out of your hands?"

"The kid who used to knock books out of my hands," Penny corrected. "We actually had a good time on the flight. And he helped me out after the whole concussion thing."

"Huh. That's nice of him."

"Yeah. Anyway, we spent the whole day in Venice before the water monster appeared-"

"You and Flash?"

"Me and Brad," she corrected again. "And he carried me back to the hotel on his back when I couldn't walk, but I was too loopy to really enjoy it."

"Well," May laughed, "it sounds like you've definitely had an eventful evening. Good luck in Paris- I know you were looking forward to spending time with him on the Eiffel Tower. And whatever you do, don't overthink things. Just trust your instincts and you'll be fine."

"Thanks, May. I hope it works out. I really, really like Flash." She frowned. "I mean Brad. Ugh, now you got me all confused."

"Genuine mistake or Freudian slip?"

"Mistake, May, c'mon."

"Okay, okay," she chuckled. "Love you, Penny."

"Love you too, May. Bye."

"Bye, hon. I'll talk to you later."

She hung up the phone, joining the rest of the class in the main lobby area. Brad jumped up and moved a chair out for her, which she gladly accepted.

"Feeling better?"

She nodded, sitting down and resting an arm on the table. He followed suit, angling himself towards her. "Much better, thanks. I feel totally back to normal."

"Good. You had us worried there, Penny." He took her hand in his and squeezed it, sending a fresh surge of butterflies in her stomach. Their eyes locked, and she felt her mouth get dry.

Flash coughed and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like get a room, and Penny quickly broke eye contact, clasping both hands in her lap while Brad turned to glare at Flash.

She turned towards the screen, which was displaying the fishbowl-helmet hero that had swooped in and saved the day.

"Who is that guy?" Betty asked, breaking the silence that had filled the room.

Brad stopped the weird glaring-contest that had broken out between him and Flash to look back at the screen, saying, "I don't know, but he's like Iron Man and Thor rolled into one."

Flash scoffed. "He's all right. He's no Spider-Man."

She smiled despite herself. He really was her number one fan.

Even though, in this case, fishbowl head totally had her beat.

MJ, who had been lurking by the stairs, joined them, arms crossed over her chest. "Seriously, what is it with you and Spider-Man?"

"What? He's just awesome, okay? He protects the neighbourhood, and you know, he's inspiring. He inspires me to be a better man, and- hey, move your head, dickwad!" Flash gestured angrily at Brad, who had very intentionally angled himself to block Flash's view of the screen.

MJ and Penny glanced at each other and both rolled their eyes.

Boys are so weird. Why the heck are these two fighting all of a sudden, anyway?

"Sounds like his name's Mysterio," Brad said, shifting even closer to Penny to make room for Flash. He didn't seem appeased.

"L'uomo del misterio," MJ said, repeating the newscaster's phrase, "is Italian for man of mystery. They don't actually know who he is."

"Mysterio…"

"Cool name," Ned and Betty murmured simultaneously. They gasped, turning towards each other with loving eyes. "Babe!"

"What do you think, Penny?"

She turned to look at MJ. "Think about what?"

"Who would win in a fight, Mysterio or Spider-Man?"

This fully captured Ned's attention. His whole face brightened, and he looked at his friend with wide eyes. "Oooh, good question! Yeah, what do you think, Penny?" He bounced his legs eagerly. This seemed to annoy Betty, who had been poised to sit in his lap a second ago.

She leaned back in her chair, taking a second to think. If she said Spider-Man, Ned would be the only one who'd know what a giant narcissist she was being, and of course she wanted to root for herself, so that was the answer, right?

But she had to admit that Spider-Man would've been toast without Mysterio's help today. That didn't necessarily mean that he was stronger, but it did mean he was a very capable hero.

"I don't know. I think I would need more information about Mysterio's powers before deciding," she admitted.

Ned's face fell. "Oh." His legs stopped jittering, and Betty took the opportunity to place herself on his thighs. His face brightened again.

Ah, young love.

"Boo. Cop out," MJ mock-yelled with an exaggerated thumbs-down.

"Well, I for one think Spider-Man would win," Flash muttered.

"And I think Mysterio would," Brad interjected, resuming his glaring contest with him.

"And I think the witches are behind all of this."

The students all looked at Mr. Dell, who had been quietly researching on his laptop for the past conversation, with expressions ranging from bewilderment to annoyance. He stared back at them intensely.

"You'll see. You'll all see."

"God, I hope not," MJ muttered.

"Okay, kids!" Mr. Harrington stepped into the room, clapping his hands together twice to get their attention. Penny, turning to face him in her chair, couldn't help but feel a little bad for him- he had spent hours on the phone consoling terrified parents and explaining the whole situation to the school principal, and he was looking nothing short of exhausted. His hair was a mess, his clothes rumpled, and Penny didn't know if it was just the lighting in the hotel, but he seemed to have aged another five years. "It's been a long day, and we're leaving early tomorrow morning for Paris, so let's get a move on upstairs, alright?" He waved them to the stairwell, heading towards his own room himself.

Paris tomorrow. She was supposed to take Brad up to the Eiffel Tower and confess to him.

For some reason, the thought made her stomach turn. It was all happening so fast. Was her plan still worth sticking by?

Ugh, don't chicken out, Penny! Let's just get there tomorrow, feel out the situation, and trust your instincts, like May said.

She shot him a sideways glance, her little pep talk having calmed her nerves. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, definitely." They both stood with the rest of the students, slowly moving towards the stairs. He shot her another one of his heartbreaking grins. "I'll save you a seat on the bus."

She smiled back at him. "Cool. Sounds good."

He slowed his pace so they were the last ones to reach the stairs, and by the time they reached the top, everyone else had disappeared into their respective rooms.

Instead of heading to his own room, he turned towards her, stepping in so that her back ended up pressed against the wall. He placed one hand by her head, leaning in even closer.

Penny felt frozen in place. And she couldn't tell if she was enjoying his sudden forwardness or extremely uncomfortable by it. Either way, her heart was pounding.

"Hey… I just wanted to let you know that, despite the whole part where we could've died, I had a lot of fun today." He dipped his chin towards his chest so he could peer down into her eyes, lifting his other hand to tuck a curl behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her cheek. She had to resist the urge to flinch away.

"Uh, y-yeah, me too. Really good cannolis, and, um… other… stuff..." She trailed off as she suddenly became very aware of all the tell-tale signs that Brad Davis was about to kiss her.

She had done some hardcore WikiHow research back home in preparation for the trip, so she was basically an expert on the subject of kissing at this point. One, his eyes were half-lidded and staring straight at her mouth. Two, he licked his lips. Three, he was starting to lean in closer. Four-

AGH THERE'S NO TIME TO LIST OFF EVERYTHING BECAUSE HE'S GOING IN FOR THE KILL! DO SOMETHING, GIRL!

Instinctively, she turned her head to the side, and Brad's lips collided with her cheek.

He pulled back, dazed. "Wha…?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. What could she say? Hey, I swear I really like you, but I'm not about to have my first kiss in a moldy hotel with our classmates and teachers right there able to walk in on us at any second? You're really cute and sweet and pretty much everything I've been looking for in a guy, but I need to take relationships really slow and develop trust before falling in too deep because becoming close to me could literally put your life in danger because I'm actually Spider-Man? Also I may be starting to develop feelings for someone else?

That last bit nearly made her gasp out loud. Wait, what?

"Yo, Parker!"

Penny snapped out of her reverie, and both she and Brad turned to see none other than Flash freaking Thompson himself, casually leaning outside of his hotel room. If he noticed a weird vibe between the two teenagers, he didn't comment on it.

"I need my sweatshirt back. It's Burberry. Probably worth more than your entire wardrobe."

Penny blinked at him, still frozen. He rolled his eyes and started snapping his fingers at her. "Chop chop! I don't have all day!"

Normally, she would've shot back something snarky in response to his pompousness, but this time she felt a sudden swell of relief.

"Right! Coming," she squeaked, ducking under Brad's arm that was still propped against the wall.

His jaw was to the floor as she moved a safe distance away from him. With a wince, she realized that this looked an awful lot like a total rejection on her part.

Ahhh what do I say? What do I do? He's just standing there! Damn it, just say some words and leave!

"So I guess I gotta go! Good night," she said quickly, trying her best to smile like a normal human being, "and I'll see you tomorrow. On the bus. To Paris. Which will be fun! Haha…sorry. Yikes. Uh, bye." She spun on her heel and started walking away before he had the chance to respond, turning the corner of the hallway towards her room without bothering to check if Flash was following her. She exhaled once she knew she was no longer in Brad's line of vision.

Okay, Penny, let's practice some self-care and not replay that mess of a speech you just gave to Brad tonight over and over. Thanks.

"MJ, are you decent?" She knocked three times on the door to their shared room at the end of the hall. Flash jogged over to her, finally catching up.

"...So what was tha-"

"Not a word, Flash. Not. A. Word."

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Fine. But if you ask me, any guy worth his salt can tell when a girl isn't in the mood for a lip-lock fest. And you were clearly-"

"MJ!" She knocked harder, cutting Flash off. She pressed her ear to the door, even though she had already picked up on the sound of rushing water. "Sounds like she's in the shower. I'm going to go in first and make sure she doesn't bust in naked by accident."

She slipped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

She could've screamed. She really could have. But she preferred not to wake up all of Venice.

So she settled for throwing her pillow in the air and delivering an aggressive roundhouse kick. It exploded into a feathery mess against the wall.

Flash knocked on the door. "Parker, what was that? You okay?"

She placed her hands on her hips, staring at her prey with smug satisfaction. "Yeah. Just a faulty pillow. Don't worry about it."

"...Okay. Weirdo."

She shuffled over to the bathroom door. "MJ, can you hear me?"

Her voice was echoey and extra loud as she spoke over the sound of running water. "Yeah. Is my assistance required, dearest Penelope? Warning: I'm a little sudsy at the moment."

"Feel free to rinse and repeat. Flash is stepping in for a sec, so just don't come in here and accidentally… flash Flash."

"So are you saying to flash Flash or not to flash Flash? And if I flash Flash should I flash Flash in a flashy fashion?"

"Eh, you can do what you want," she said with a grin, and she heard MJ cackle on the other side of the door.

She swung open the main door, gesturing for Flash to enter. "Come on in. And don't step on my stuff," she joked, using the same line he did on the airplane.

Had that really been just this morning? This seriously has been the longest day of my life.

He rolled his eyes. "Hardy-har-har. Is that it over there?"

"Yeah. I even folded it because I'm feeling extra nice today."

"You know what would be nicer?" he asked, picking his sweatshirt up off of the chair. "Less running off and nearly getting killed. Could you do that for me?"

"No promises," she answered, smirking.

He frowned in response. "I'm only half-joking, you know. You could have died today. Imagine if you got knocked out completely when you hit your head. You would've drowned in the canal."

"But I didn't, so there's nothing to be stressed about. Besides, I doubt our science trip will be having any more run-ins with water monsters. I'll be fine."

Flash didn't look convinced. "Just keep close to the group, alright? No wandering off."

"Aye aye, captain."

He started towards the door, but paused before reaching it, turning to face her with a cautious expression. "How're you feeling, by the way? You sure you're alright?"

She waved him off. "Yes, I'm fine! Everything's back to normal- except I've lost my ability to see the color red, I can't feel my left foot, and I've forgotten every single childhood memory up to the age of 12, but I figured that's no big deal."

Flash made a choking sound, stumbling back a little. "What?! That is a big deal! We'll have to get a doctor right now-" He whipped out his phone and started dialing. Penny lunged across the room and grabbed it out of his hand.

"Woah, woah, woah, I was joking! It was just a joke!"

"What? Are you kidding me?"

"Kidding is a synonym for joking, so yeah."

"Well then you suck at making jokes!"

"It's called sarcasm, Flash-"

"How was I supposed to know it was sarcasm when you said it in your normal voice you dumbass-"

"Ugh, just take your phone and your sweatshirt and get out of here," she growled, tossing his phone back to him and practically shoving him out the door.

"Wait!" He quickly shoved a foot in the door frame before she could shut the door on her. "Geez, you got me all worried and I almost forgot to deliver a message. Ned told me to tell you he wanted to talk to you in our room real quick. Something about a fight he and Betty had. Needed a 'girl's perspective.'" He said the last part with air quotes, rolling his eyes.

"Really? A fight? They've been dating all of, what, 10 hours?"

"Something like that."

Of course, Penny knew that this was only a cover story so that Spider-Man and the guy in the chair could discuss what happened this afternoon.

At least, she hoped so. The idea of Ned and Betty as a couple was growing on her- fighting this early would not be a good sign for their future.

"I'm assuming he wanted to talk in private, though. How will we know you're not snooping from your side of the room?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Snooping in on a conversation about the adventures of Lego boy and Sandra Dee? Yeah, I'll pass. I need to take a shower anyway- wash off the stench of this hotel. Hopefully the water's clean."

"Hopefully. But I doubt it."

His expression turned grim, and Penny resisted the urge to laugh. "Yeah. I doubt it too."

"Alright, then. Lead the way."

And as they walked towards his room, she tried not to dwell on the last thought in her head before Brad tried to kiss her.

I may be starting to develop feelings for someone else.

And that someone, God help me, is Flash Thompson.