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Words: 2,862

"You guys are disgustingly adorable," Ada lazily props her head against her head while she stares across the table at Peter and MJ. The two were finally together.

"You started this," MJ gestures between both herself and her boyfriend. Ada rolls her eyes but smiles. It falls as soon as they look away.

"I didn't think about the fact that'd I'd be a third wheel," The thought honestly never crossed her mind. But Ned is usually with them, so she wouldn't be alone, at least. She's just gotta wait for him to get back. To bad his trip was extended.

"Yeah? You don't have to be."

"What do you mean? How?" Peter questions his girlfriend's words, looking between her and his friend with furrowed brows.

"Nothing," Ada says through gritted teeth, her glare doing nothing to deter MJ.

"The boy Ada's talking to," Peter's gaze shoots towards her, his eyebrows raising now. Ada doesn't offer an excuse as to why she hasn't told him, she only sighs and buries her face in her hands. "Payback."

"What do you mean 'payback'?" Ada lowers her arms to ask. "That doesn't make sense, you want to be with Peter."

"So you don't like him?"

"I never said that," Ada shakes her head and she sees Peter move the slightest bit away from them.

"Let me see your phone,"

"What? No," Ada shakes her head and pulls the device to her chest.

"Let me see it," MJ reaches over the table and easily snags it from the girl's hands. Ada tries to take it back but fails and looks to Peter for help. The boy only raises his hands in the air. Ada falls back into the booth in defeat.

"Sorry," Peter apologizes sheepishly but Ada shakes her head before looking to MJ as the girl places her phone back on the table.

"Look at that, we got a double date."

"I can't believe you did that," Ada groans and drops her head onto her arms.

"Well, you better start believing because it's tonight."

"What!?" It's too early for this, is all Ada can think as her head whips up to stare across the table with wide eyes. "Tonight?"

"Yeah, well, he's working the rest of the day." MJ shrugs casually and Ada squints her eyes.

"You learned all that in ten seconds?"

"He responds quickly. Anyway, stay here, I'll be back." MJ gives no other explanation before she climbs over Peter to escape the booth and disappears, leaving the two friends alone. Ada blows out a breath and picks up her phone to read the messages MJ had sent and rolls her eyes before dropping the device into the seat next to her.

"You okay?" Peter watches her movements closely, taking note of the dark circles under her eyes.

"I'm fine," Ada answers a little too quickly and shakes her head. "Sorry, caffeine hasn't kicked in yet." She gives him an apologetic smile and leans her head back.

Peter opens his mouth to say something else when MJ returns, unintentionally cutting him off. "Done? Let's go." Ada lets the girl pull her from the seat with a hand on her wrist. Peter scrambles to follow after them.

An agonizingly slow trip later finds the trio sitting around MJ's room as the girl herself sorts through her things. Peter's attention is captured by an unsolved Rubix cube while Ada tries to catch every shirt thrown her way.

"Choose," MJ motions towards the new pile of clothes. Ada sighs but does as she's told and picks a plain, loose, but cute shirt. She waves it to MJ before stepping into the bathroom to change into it.

She tells herself to avoid the mirror but ignores her own thoughts. Her eyes roam over the scars lining her torso. Surgery scars and a few faint ones from deep cuts. One on her right side a piece of something pierced through her skin. She grimaces and reaches for the shirt, noticing for the first time that her hands are shaking.

Clenching her jaw and her fists, Ada closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before pulling the shirt over her head. She nods to herself before exiting the bathroom. MJ does her hair but Ada still wears her hat. Neither of her friends comment on it.

The group wastes the rest of their day doing whatever before making their way to Manhattan. Ada text Tony that she doesn't know when she'll be back, sending a picture of the three of them together. He'd never admit because he doesn't want her to think he doesn't trust her, but she knows proof that she's with them will ease his mind. She doesn't tell him about Jamie.

Speaking of the boy, Ada feels the most sincere smile of the day pulling at her lips when she sees him. He's outside his work, apron gone. "I'm going to apologize now," She tells him when she approaches. "For them and anything else."

Chuckling, Jamie ducks his head and removes his hands from his pockets. "I work customer service, I'm sure they're not so bad."

"You'd be surprised," Ada whispers but Peter hears her.

"Offense taken," He says before offering the other boy his hand. "Peter."

"Jamie," The taller boy shakes his hand and nods to MJ. They haven't met in person but they know who each other are.

"What are we doing, by the way?" Ada turns to MJ and furrows her brows questioningly.

"Bowling,"

"Bowling?" She repeats, her eyebrows now raising. "Alright," She shrugs after looking at the others who also shrug. She falls in step beside Jamie as the others take the lead. "This is not a date, by the way." She whispers to him, leaning over a bit to make sure he hears.

"Of course," He nods but smiles down at her. Ada shakes her head and bumps his arm with her shoulder.

When they arrive outside of the building, one Ada didn't even know existed, the teenager grabs the two closest people to her and pulls them around to corner. "Peter, get back here!" She whispers shouts at the boy, snapping his out of his confused stupor. "So, let's just hang out for a second." She tells everyone when they give her questioning looks. What are the odds that she'd run into Chris here? Like, really, universe? Why?

"Why?" Peter is the one to ask. He tries to look around the corner but Ada grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls him back.

"Uh, no reason," Both her friends give her unbelieving looks while Jamie looks concerned and amused at the same time. "Okay, fine," She groans reluctantly. "I saw someone I don't want to see leaving, that's all. They're leaving so let's just chill until they're gone."

"Who?" Peter questions while MJ asks. "Why don't you want to see them?"

"You don't know them and it's not important." Ada peeks around the corner and sees the blonde standing next to a car, talking. "I didn't know people actually bowled. You know, it always kind of felt like something people just say they want to do but they don't. I don't know." She shrugs and MJ goes with it, leaning against the wall next to her. "Sorry," She apologizes to Jamie but the boy just smiles and shakes her head.

"Don't be, this is great," He leans against the wall on her other side. "And it's not my first time avoiding someone."

"Oh, really?" She turns her head to look up at him. He's pulls his lips into a thin line and nods his head. "Interesting." Once again looking around the corner - and now Jamie - Ada releases a breath when she sees Chris drive away in his car. "Coast is clear."

MJ pushes off the wall and Peter follows after her as if everything that just happened was completely normal. Once inside, the four teenagers rent shoes and a lane. Pick out a ball, blah blah, all that bowling stuff.

Ada sits back in her seat, watching MJ step up to go. She doesn't mention Peter's unfair advantage but she doesn't. She's not even sure if spider-powers give him good bowling skills, he could've been good before.

Jamie drops into the seat next to her and lets out a big sigh, drawing her attention. "I know this isn't a date but," He says and looks down at her. "But will you share a pretzel with me?"

Snorting in surprise, Ada covers her mouth to muffle her laughs. That wasn't that funny, why is she laughing? "Uh, yeah, sounds like a plan," She gathers herself and nods, internally wincing at her word choice.

But Jamie continues to smile and says a quick. "Alright," Before leaving to get said pretzel. Ada watches him go for a moment before her eyes turn and catch onto Peter's. He sends her a smirk and wiggles his eyebrows. Ada flips him off.

Nearing the end of the game, Ada squints her eyes at the scoreboard before leaning towards Jamie to ask. "Why are you so good at this?" He and MJ are holding the lead.

"I'd like to say it's because I bowled a lot as a kid, but I honestly don't know," He shrugs helplessly.

"Hidden talent?" Ada suggests with a shrug and Jamie nods thoughtfully.

The rest of the game goes by slowly. It feels as if the later it gets the slower time goes for Ada. The constant moving around, sitting, standing, throwing the ball, it's starting to feel like she's moving through molasses. MJ is the one to call it but everyone agrees. All for different reasons. Peter for Spider-Man. Jamie has to get back home to see his mother. Ada's reason changes when she receives a text while they're returning they're bowling shoes.

"Thanks for...doing this," Ada weakly gestures around herself while saying goodnight to Jamie.

"You say that like it was bad," He chuckles. "Tonight was great, I haven't been out, much less bowling, in forever."

"Well, I'm glad you had fun," Ada likes Jamie, she does, but she really needs to go now and after he's gone, she needs to ditch the other two.

"Yeah," Jamie shoves his hands into his pockets and takes the smallest step back. "So, I'll see you around?"

"...Yeah," Ada offers him a tight-lipped smile, waving when he turns to walk away. "Thanks for tonight guys," She rejoins the others, trying to make her hurried escape not looked...hurried. "I'll uh, text you?" Why did that sound like a question?

MJ just looks at her before looping her arm with the shorter girls and starts in the direction of her apartment. Ada opens her mouth to protest but when Peter takes up her other side, she decides there's no point and just goes with it.

Small talk is passed between them but mostly between the new couple. Ada focuses more on not stumbling while taking steady breaths rather than their words. When they stop outside her apartment building, MJ wraps her arms around her in a quick hug before stepping back to allow Peter to do the same.

"Get some sleep, okay?" He whispers into her ear, running a hand over her back, and Ada nods. Though it's small, she feels bad for the lie.

"Bye, guys," Ada waves and watches her two friends turn. She herself spins on her heels and enters the building only to stop around the corner. She pulls out her phone and glances at the time, waiting until five minutes pass. Just to be safe. Then she's back out the door, looking both ways before crossing the road.

It's not long before she's entering another apartment building. Climbing the stairs and walking down a hall until she reaches the correct door. She reaches for the handle before knocking, rolling her eyes when she finds it unlocked.

Slowly pushing it open, Ada peaks around the living space before making her way into a familiar bedroom. "You know your door was unlocked, that's like, not safe." She tells the blue-haired girl that's lying on her unmade bed. Her words seem to strike no concern. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I'm out of booze." Lexi lifts her head to tell her and Ada furrows her brows.

"Do people still actually say booze?"

"I do, " Lexi lets out a soft giggle. "Ha, that rhymed."

"Mm, no, it didn't," Ada mumbles, to herself she realizes when Lexi ignores her and sits up. "What are you doing?"

"Putting on my shoes?" Lexi pauses in her actions to look over at Ada as if the girl had lost it. Which probably isn't a far off assumption.

"I know what you're doing, I want to know why you're doing it." Ada rephrases.

"Did you not hear me?" Lexi stands and lets out a breath. "I need more alcohol." She throws her purse over her shoulders. "And my alcohol is your alcohol so, therefore, you need more alcohol."

"Last time I checked, neither of us are twenty-one," Ada says slowly and gestures between them both.

"And the last time I checked, that didn't matter," Walking past her, Lexi opens her bedroom door and looks back. "Not if you know the right people."

"Right," Ada smirks and follows after the girl. In a very cliché matter, she pulls her hood up over her beanie as they make their way down the street. No one pays the two teenagers any mind, to focused on their own lives. "Not sketchy at all," Ada can't help but whisper to herself at the mostly empty parking lot they enter.

"It's chill," Lexi hears her and says. "I know this guy, he's cool."

"Yeah, sells alcohol to kids, great, solid guy." Ada can make out someone next to a car. A silhouette of a man, the tiny light coming from near his mouth creating an even more ominous feeling to the entire situation.

"Hey, you're one of the ones drinking that alcohol, I don't you can talk." Lexi says but there's no heat in her words. Ada isn't sure the girl is capable of getting angry.

"Touché," Ada nods and folds her arms over her chest.

"Grant! Hey," Lexi greets the man leaning against his truck with a wide smile. "How are you?"

"Peachy," The man says, throwing his lit cigarette onto the ground before stepping on it. "Who's your friend?" He asks while opening the trunk, sounding as uninterested as Ada is in watching golf. Not that it's not a good sport-no she finds it very boring to watch. But she's never played so hey, maybe it's great.

"A friend," Lexi shrugs with a cheeky smile. Grant rolls his eyes and pulls a bag out of his truck. Ada watches the exchange of alcohol for money with an odd amount of interest. "Nice doing business with you."

"As always," Grant says, nodding before he climbs into his car, leaving the two teenagers alone.

"That was...anticlimactic," Ada states while he drives away. Lexi snorts and pulls her arm to follow her.

"What were you expecting?" She questions as they start walking again. "Did you want to get busted?"

"Well, no, but, I don't know, I've never bought liquor off some guy in a parking lot before." Ada lowers her voice even though she doubts anyone can hear her. "I was kind of hoping it would be a little more...exciting."

"Then you're looking in the wrong place, my friend," Lexi pats her shoulder.

"Let me guess, you know the right place."

"You're starting to get it," Lexi says as they enter her apartment building. "I'll show you sometime. Not tonight, you look like you're gonna fall over."

"Like you look any better," Ada thinks the girl is skinner than she is, though it strangely looks more natural on her. If that makes sense.

"Hey, you still got those pills?"

"Shh," Ada hushes her quickly but Lexi just waves her concern off.

"No ones here except us, relax," Dumping the bag onto her bed, Lexi pulls out a bottle and hands it over to her. "Here, this will help. So?"

"Yeah, still have a few," Ada removes the cap and takes a sip before falling onto the bean bag chair places in the corner of the room.

"Alright, just let me know when you need a refill."

"Sure thing," Ada whispers before taking another sip. She stares off into space and sits with a realization that she hates herself.

Any of you people have shady stories you'd like to share with the class? Anything like Ada and Lexi just did or maybe even unexplainable experiences? Any cool stories? Tell me things, I'm bored.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you think!

Teasers: "But that's not why I came here," / "Hey, can I stay here tonight?"

Not any good teasers this time.

'-'