Whatever It Takes

Chapter Twenty Two

Peter had more than expected the enthusiasm of his best friend the next day. Now that he was their less than official 'guy in the chair', Peter woke up that morning prepping to never hear the end of it. They walked down the halls, and of course, Ned talked aloud past students taking down homecoming banners.

"It looked so insane! That whole... Like, it was just crazy! He was all BZZZZ and you guys were all AH!-"

"Shh!"

Peter, past his shushing and shifting eyes, still smiled at his friend. Ned may have not treated this entire situation with respect, but even Emma would admit that without him, their mission may have failed. Although, she would never admit that. Not a day in her life.

"And then I just hit him with the PEW! It was so... oh my god!" Ned's eyes dazzled, his sound effects follow the beat of his step. Peter smiled, "you saved us," he saved his sister the trouble, "it was awesome."

"Pete!"

Speak of the devil, Peter thought as he turned to find his sister and Rachel Heathers. Their hands were intertwined, a brilliant smile on his sister's lips and a blush in her cheeks that wouldn't quit. He smiled widely at them and held back a sigh of relief. "Hey!" he called back. Rachel carried Emma toward them, bouncing in every movement. Ned stared at their hands. "So..." the boy stammered, "you two?-"

"Yes, yes, I know, I'm not totally made of ice," Emma laughed, her eyes rolling playfully. Rachel looked to her girlfriend, The truth was, there wasn't a cold bone in Emma's body. She was warm as summer.

"She squeaks when she sneezes," Rachel smirked. Emma gawked, "I do not!" she defended.

Rachel's face was triumphant, "yes she does."

"Yes she does," Peter confirmed. Emma gave a warning look to her brother when the sweet reunion was ruined. None other than Damon Haddock announced himself loud and proud - for whatever reason there was to be proud.

"Hey, baby!" Rachel's face twisted like she had caught the scent of curdled milk, and Emma hardened. The girls turned, still hand in hand, and not six feet away was Damon with a huge, dumb grin on his face. Even dumber, he dared to step closer. "Oh c'mon," he snorted, "you aren't actually leaving me for Has-Been-"

"It's Hansen," Rachel seethed. Emma put some space in between her girlfriend and Damon's ego, which stood much taller than the jock himself. She stared up at him, anger in her eyes but a smirk on her face. "Damon, I'm going to lay it down for you like this in four syllables or less so hopefully you won't have to clap along to understand, yeah? The only reason anyone knows your name is because you write it all over bathroom stalls which is the only place it will ever hold in this school, the only reason you're here is because daddy could pay for you to throw a ball seeing as there is no big enough bribe in the world to put you in a room with beakers and chemicals in it, and I know for a fact that the only time you have ever seen an inch of side-boob in your life is when you were a kid and walked in on your mom changing. And while I would love to tell you to go fuck yourself, I doubt you could manage to work a pair of tweezers without your circle-jerk jocks or your girlfriend Flash to help you read the instructions to do so. You come near MY girlfriend again or bother her, and I will photoshop shit you will have no way out of. Clear?"

Peter, Damon, Ned, and Rachel all finally had one collective thing in common: their jaws on the floor. Ned beheld the power flowing off Emma and billow down the halls like her aura were made of smoke. Peter finally broke into a satisfied grin, and the entire hallway stopped to stare at Damon Haddock finally getting what was coming to him since middle-school. The boy stood there defeated, and taken down at least ten pegs. His face twisted and reddened, and as Emma waited for him to throw a punch or an insult, he couldn't. He was too busy watching as Rachel Heathers grabbed Emma's face and kissed her in front of everyone. Emma had fought the Avengers and now had Peter's girlfriend's dad to add to her superhero resume, but Damon had to be the most glorious win under her belt to date.