PARTNERS? PARTNERS.

Finals came and went and with them winter break as well. The prep schools only gave the students two weeks off for Christmas and New Years, but those two weeks had packed themselves full of visits from family, ham and stuffing, and a sudden appearance from a new superhero.

Tess and MJ had done nothing but watch the video over and over since it went viral. A masked man in a homemade costume made up of blue athletic wear and a red hoodie had stopped a black SUV from ramming headlights first into a city bus with nothing but his bare strength before swinging away from the scene.

That was the first week of Winter Break, quickly followed by the same man stopping a car theft by spraying the thief with something and swinging away again the next week.

Now school was starting up again, and the new spider themed hero (someone on twitter had managed to isolate a single shot to discover a poorly painted black spider on the chest of the hoodie) was all anyone could talk about.

"He's gotta be like a new avenger or something," Betty Brant giggled as she passed Tess's locker with Liz, "You know like that one girl they picked up in Sokovia."

"Do you think he has a name yet?" Someone else asked, "Like what do you think they're gonna call him? Spiderling? Spiderboy?"
Flash scoffed, "He's clearly older than us. I say Spider-Man's a pretty cool name."

"Is that what he's calling himself–?"

"-It's what Jameson called him on yesterday's podcast."

"You actually listen to that crap–?"

"He actually has some good content if you pay attention–"

Tess tuned the rest of the conversation out, mentally checking out at the mention of J. Jonah Jameson and his ridiculous podcast. Thankfully, most of New York didn't believe his lies and those that did were the same people who would've voted for Ronald Reagan if they had the chance.

She paused and bobbed her head in thought.

Actually they probably already did.

Grabbing the necessary materials from her locker, Tess jumped as it slammed shut, suddenly facing the last person she wanted to see.

"Hey, Tess," Peter's hands tugged on the edge of his sleeves, his blue sweater rumpled and creased due to the collared shirt underneath it. All she could do was stare. "You're taking AP Chemistry next year right?"

Her eyebrows knit themselves together. That was almost eight months from now, why did he care?

"...Yeah?" She asked tentatively, shouldering her schoolbag until it sat more comfortably on her shoulders. Peter's face burst into an annoyingly cheerful smile.

"Great! That's great! I just…I know Cobbwell places a lot of stress on summer projects and I'm kinda nervous–"

Tess let out a sigh and crossed her arms, "Look, Peter, I need to get to class or else I'm gonna be late so can you just…"

"What? Oh right!" He ran a nervous hand through his hair, smile fading slightly, "I just meant that…I'm trying to…will you be my partner for the summer project?"
The ringing in her ears sounded a lot like the school bell and she couldn't even give him an answer as her mouth fell open. Without so much as a goodbye, she spun on her heels and strode off toward homeroom, leaving Peter alone in the hallway as everyone else scattered.

Her boots tapped against the tile like rain on a window, hurrying into Mrs. Webber's homeroom class and taking her seat next to Betty Brant as the second bell rang.

"You look like you're going to throw up," The blonde popped her bubble gum with a judgmental look. Tess sent an equally disdainful look back and pulled out her physics book, ignoring the pseudo popular girl that had made her first semester hell.

Betty rolled her eyes and adjusted her headband.

"Ah Miss Jones," Webber's sarcasm dripped like honey from her mouth as Michelle finally entered the room, "Glad you could find time in your busy schedule to join us."

Michelle sent her a saccharine smile and waved what looked like a protest sign in response, "Sorry Mrs. Webber, had to run here from Stark Industries, protesting the rise of capitalism and all that, you get it."

The class stifled as laugh as Webber crossed her arms in disapproval, "Just take your seat Miss Jones."

Michelle's demeanor instantly changed when she caught sight of Tess, waving her sign proudly before shoving it in her backpack. She could barely make out the words BILLIONAIRE, PLAYBOY, WAR CRIMINAL, scrawled on the white posterboard before they disappeared from her vision. "Hey, you missed a great protest,"

Tess leaned forward, "Yeah, anyone get arrested?"

MJ shrugged, "Zach and Garrett, as usual, but other than that it was pretty mellow." she dropped her voice slightly, "I think I even caught sight of Captain America leaving the scene."

Tess's brows jumped up at that statement, "Really? What was he doing?"

MJ shrugged and pulled out her chapstick, "I don't know, probably visiting old friends, but he looked pissed."

Tess had to stifle the chuckle that left her mouth, "I'd pay good money to see Captain America angry."

"Me too," MJ laughed.

"Miss Beck, Miss Jones!" Mrs. Webber chastised them into silence, causing the whole class to look at them, "Is there something you would like to share with the class?"
Tess could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and her lips tugged themselves down into a frown, "Uh, no ma'am, just catching MJ up on what she missed."
Mrs. Webber peered over her nose at the two of them before launching into what to expect from this semester.

The two girls shared another look and giggled, and Tess almost forgot about the events of that morning.

That was until she was promptly ambushed at lunch while heading to the lone table in the corner she and MJ always shared.

"Hey Tess!" Peter's flighty voice made her jump, nearly dropping her grilled cheese and spilling her water all over the floor, "I uh, know you're busy eating but I didn't get an answer and I wasn't sure if it was because the bell rang or if you didn't want to be partners. I understand if you don't, but I just thought since you're second in the class–"

She whirled around with an arched brow, "First." Tess corrected him, stopping in the middle of the cafeteria, her blue floral skirt whipping around as she did so. "I'm first in the class, you're second."

And there it was again. That stupid puppy dog expression that sent her chest panging. Peter took a step back, his mouth forming a soft 'o' as he did so. Silently shoving the guilt deeper into her gut, she cocked her hip and whipped a dark piece of hair out of her face, "Look, I usually do projects alone. It's nothing personal, I just…don't really get along well with others."

Peter's wounded expression shifted into something more akin to skepticism, "But you're friends with MJ, and didn't you date Harry Osborn last semester–"

"I never said I didn't have friends," Tess seethed, wishing more and more that Peter would just leave her alone.

His big brown eyes somehow grew wider, "Oh no, I didn't mean that, I just meant that for a loner, you seem to have a lot of connections."

Tess bit down on her lip, "You know, you're not helping your case, Parker."

"No, sorry, I just mean–"

She cut him off with a sigh, "Look, I didn't have breakfast today and I'm probably going to have a late dinner, so can we talk about this after school?"

Peter tugged on the straps of his backpack, grimacing slightly, "Well, see after school I have band practice for the pep rally, and then robotics club right after-"

"Five minutes Parker, that's all I'm giving you to make your case to me." She put her foot down. God, she was actually missing MJ's straight-to-the-point attitude. "You come up with an idea for the project and depending on how good it is, I'll give you my answer okay?"

She didn't give the kid a chance to answer, instead leaving him with his mouth hanging open as she quickly walked the rest of the way to the corner table, slamming her tray down before collapsing in her chair with a slump.

MJ looked up from her copy of To Kill a Mockingbird with a squinted expression, "What's your problem?"

"Peter Parker," Tess growled, her voice muffled by the fact that her face was firmly planted on the cafeteria table in defeat. "He wants me to be his chemistry partner next year and he won't leave me alone."

MJ smirked slightly and shoved the remainder of her grilled cheese over toward Tess.

"Thanks," the brunette pushed her hair to one side and dug into the processed food like it was the best thing she ever tasted. Given the state of the school lunches, Tess wouldn't be surprised if this was the best thing on the menu. "Ugh, why are boys so confusing?"

MJ shrugged and continued to read, "Don't ask me, you're the one who has the most experience so far."

Tess chuckled mirthlessly, a mouthful of grilled cheese slurring her words, "Believe me, it's not by choice."

MJ chuckled, and the two girls refrained from discussing the subject for the rest of the lunch period, instead catching up on the gossip they missed and discussing their English class that morning.

Tess usually looked forward to the end of the day, but she dreaded the end of this one. It wasn't as if she didn't want to work with Peter, it's just that most people knew that she preferred to do most projects either alone or with MJ. It was a mutual agreement.

She didn't like her classmates and they didn't like her.

Maybe she would've cared one way or another at the beginning of the year but after showing up to freshman homecoming with Harry, her classmate's opinions flipped as easily as a pancake. She talked to people if they talked to her, but after homecoming, she leaned further into the loner persona she and MJ had cultivated for themselves.

MJ was lucky to have a mom who told her not to give a shit. It was funny. Tess remembered hanging out with Betty Brant and Cindy Moon earlier in Freshman year, hell, even MJ was a part of their little foursome.

They were the popular group before Liz Allan came in and swept the two of them under her wing. Not that Tess could actually hate Liz, she was impossible to hate. The girl was too nice. Pretty, kind, intelligent, she really was the whole package.

But if it was possible to hate her, then Tess would.

But she couldn't. Because hating Liz would mean hating the nicest girl in school. Hating Liz would mean that Tess was actually a bitch and not just pretending to be one.

Ugh, everything was so confusing.

She really was not enjoying high school so far.

Tugging on the threads of her yellow sweater while her lace up booties tapped on the tile floor, Tess waited for the familiar high pitched voice that had been following her the whole day, only to be greeted by a cough that was deeper than she remembered.

Peter stood before her, his chest slightly puffed out and shoulders back like he was getting ready to face one of the avengers. "Look, I know you don't like me," he began, and the tone of his voice made Tess wonder if he'd practiced this before meeting her, "But I really want to be your partner. You're really intimidating but you have some really cool ideas and they always come out looking awesome, and I don't really know anyone else in AP Chem next year because Ned can't afford to sign up for the tests, and I had a really cool idea and I just thought…" He paused and took a deep breath, his hand uncurling from a fist, "I thought it'd be nice to partner up with you for a change."

Tess grew silent. She didn't really know what to say to that.

The knot in her stomach tightened and she uncrossed her legs, standing up to face the taller boy. Her throat dried up as she struggled to come up with the right words to say to Peter, who'd literally gone out of his way to make her feel included.

Fuck, that was what she wanted right?

Why she was so cynical and snappish? Because no one seemed to want her around anymore?

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Tess bit down on her cheek, "Okay, uh, alright. Um…what were you thinking for the project then?"

Peter's eyes shifted toward the floor, his face redder than it was before, "Does it matter? You don't wanna be my partner anyway."

"Now, I never said that." Tess chuckled, trying to diffuse the tension. Peter refrained from responding and the knot in her stomach twisted. "Look, I'm sorry I made it seem like I didn't want you around, I just…I'm used to only having MJ to rely on." She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, picking at the threads of her sweater again. "And I usually have an idea for projects before teaming up with someone. But I'm sorry I was kind of a bitch to you."

Peter looked up from the floor, his determined stare twisting into a small smile, "It's okay, I get it."

"But seriously, I'd like to hear your ideas," Tess's grip on her sweater grew tighter, a thread coming loose.

Peter's eyes lit up and his smile grew wider, "Really? Well it's not that unique but I thought it'd be cool to take what we learned from Oscorp, like their whole exhibit on tensile strength and lightweight cables and figure out how to make an organic version of it."

Already the wheels in her head were starting to spin. She remembered jotting down the dimensions of the cables they had on display, the company still in the process of moving to be completely fossil free by 2025. But if they could figure out an organic compound that could work, then maybe it could shorten that time.

"You're talking about combining engineering with organic chemistry."

Peter's eyebrows creased and his mouth flapped open for a bit, "Kind of? It's more like trying to come up with a possible organic alternative to steel cables. Maybe even a portable version that people could use when they need to fix something in their house."

Tess nearly smiled at that tacked on statement, "You mean when something like the Battle of New York happens again?"

Peter shrugged nonchalantly.

She couldn't help the way her lips twisted upward at the thought. It was a good idea, and honestly she was a bit upset she hadn't thought of it herself. Plus she felt bad for how she'd treated him earlier. "Well then, Peter Parker, I'd be honored to be your chemistry partner."

His face lit up, "Really?!"

Tess nodded and slipped her arms through the sleeves of her puffy coat, slinging her bag over her shoulder with a smirk. "It's a good idea. One that could be really successful nowadays." And I don't want to see those sad puppy dog eyes again, she tacked on in her thoughts.

Peter let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, uh, I don't know when you'd wanna get started…"

"Here," Tess pulled out a piece of paper from her notebook and quickly jotted down her number, "We should probably start meeting sometime after spring break just to do some brainstorming, but in case you get any other ideas…"

Peter stared at the folded up paper in his hand with a furrowed expression, "I uh, I already have your number remember? Mr. Harrington put it on the decathlon sheet at the beginning of the year."

Red flooded her cheeks and Tess nearly slapped herself. "...Right."

"I mean, I could put it in again–"

"Nah it's fine, I just forgot about…"

A moment of silence hung between them until Tess snatched the paper back from the boy, crumpling it up and stuffing it back in her bag. "I'll uh, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

With yet another heel turn, Tess scrunched her hands into fists and let out a deep breath. The walk to the train station felt agonizingly long, and she wished she was home already so she could forget about–

Her thoughts were cut off by a buzzing from her pocket and where she expected MJ or her dad, Tess was greeted with a series of emojis from none other than Peter Parker.

Partners. Huh.

Thank you guys so much for the love on this story! I've had this idea in my head for three-ish years and I'm so happy to see that people are enjoying it! Please let me know what you think of Tess, Peter, MJ, and everyone in a review and what you think might happen! Also Please favorite if you're enjoying it!