~~MJ~~

I power off my phone and sigh happily. Oh god, no, I think, hearing myself. I will not get all happy-sighing over Peter Parker, resident nerd of the world. I turn off the light and flop onto my bed, suddenly very, very tired. I put my phone on the bedside table and am dead to the world in about five seconds.

Beep. Beep beeeeeeeeeep. Beep beep BEEEEEEEEEEEP!

I roll over, groaning. Why did I ever think this ring tone was a good idea? Because it wakes you up, idiot, a voice inside my head whispers. "Ugh, whatever," I tell it, reaching over for my phone.

It's Peter, and I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. Hey, we still on for tonight? He asks.

Of course. God, I sound like a total dweeb.

Oh, great. I just thought he cuts off before he finishes, and I wonder what he was going to say.

You thought…? I ask.

Stuff. I thought stuff.

Stuff is a good thing to think.

Ha. Yeah :)

We both wait for the other to text, but for at least a minute neither of us do.

Then, Peter texts again. Sorry to text so early. Just was doing something, decided to check

Early? I ask, then check the time. Wait, what the heck? I think, seeing that it's two thirty in the morning. What the hell was he doing up?

Yeah, it's like two o'clock. Didn't you notice?

No, just sorta grabbed my phone.

Haha

Yeah. See you tomorrow then? I'm already excited for our… not a date. No way would I ask Peter Parker on a date. Right? Wrong, a small voice in my head answers. Damn it, it's not a date! It's just two friends meeting up after practice. It happens all the time.

Yup. Tomorrow. Or, today, right?

Ha, yeah. I guess so. The thought makes me smile more. Oh my god, MJ. He's just a weirdo from your school, I chide myself.

Well, sorry again for the timing. See you after Decathlon.

See you, Parker.

I flop back on my bed, arms and legs spread out like a spider as a happy sigh escapes my lips. Betrayal, I think, but can't really be angry at myself as I fall asleep.

I wake up (for the second time, *eyeroll*) and roll out of bed, thankful that I'd laid out my clothes for today last night. I sigh and put them on. Why school? Really, I could take an online course and be done in, what, two months? The thought is tempting (it always is) until I remember that taking an online course would basically mean never seeing Peter again. I groan as I realize that this insignificant nerd is going to keep me at an annoying school for at least the remainder of high school. I pull my clothes on and walk downstairs for breakfast, curtsy of yours truly.

I'm already at my locker by the time Peter gets to school, and I watch as he runs his hand through his hair (which is completely messed up- not that I'd notice). I look on as his hunched form walks down the hallway, his eyes barely staying open enough for him not to trip, and my mind drifts back to our conversation earlier this morning. He'd said he was 'doing something' before at least 2:30 am, and I wonder what the hell could've been going on for him to be awake and using his phone at that time in the morning.

For some reason, I notice that instead of being drowned in the cloth of his hoodie as he usually is, his body and muscles showing through the thin cloth, victim of too many washes. The hoodie is looking almost—might I say formfitting?

I blush despite myself, wondering why on Earth I thought that about possibly the most unusual high schooler on the planet. Not exactly a bad characteristic, that annoying voice in my head whispers.

He's gone before I can it to shut up.

…

Decathlon has been going on for an hour, and Peter is a no-show. I'm beginning to stop feeling worried and start feeling absolutely pissed after 32 texts and five calls have gone unread and unanswered. Where the hell are you, Parker? I type.

"Michelle!" Liz says sharply, eyeing the phone in my hand. "We're already short a member, and state championships are only three weeks away. I swear to god, if you think I'm going to let you check Snapchat or something, you have got me wrong. Very, very wrong."

Usually Liz wouldn't call me out like this, but we're all on edge. As she said, only three weeks 'til state championships, and not everyone's giving their all. We've got a long way to go if we want to win.

"I'm just trying to figure out where Peter is," I sigh, shoving my phone into my back pocket.

"He said he was going to do something with his uncle after school today, and that he might be late to Decathlon," Ned explained. I didn't tell him about our (that is to say, me and Peter's) little- uh, meet-up tonight. It would just make things weird, especially if Peter hadn't told him about it.

I make it through Decathlon without completely losing my mind over Peter bailing out, and even though I'm so pissed I can barely speak to my parents without getting in trouble for my tone, I'm in my room and hanging out on my bed on my phone.

I click on a pop-up BREAKING NEWS article. "Man Shot and Killed by Armed Robber While with Nephew," Reads the title. My eyebrows crease as my eyes follow the words of the first paragraph. "While on an errand with his nephew, Ben Parker…" That's all I read before I slump down on the bed frame. No, no, no… Ben Parker only has one nephew.

I don't have to read the rest of the article to know his name is Peter Parker.

Oh my gods, I'm soooo sorry this took so long. I've only gotten a few hours of sleep each day for the past like two weeks, and I'm just trying not to fall asleep on my feet. In at least the next few chapters I'm going to try an idea I saw a favorite fanfiction author use. LeiaHestia, an author from this site (Check out her story 'Loners, Losers, Love, and Other Things that Start with the Letter 'L''!), does a soundtrack for each chapter, and I'm waiting to see if I can use that idea. Anyways, thanks so much for your patients (I think I spelled it right- if not, the version that keeps you kind while you wait). Hope you're enjoying the story!

-Lover of everything books