No Strings Attached

4

"I have the high ground." Ned said.

Smirking, Angela replied, "You underestimate my power." She cleared her throat. "Tis but a scratch."

"A scratch? Your arm's off." Peter replied in an English accent.

"I've had worse." Angela said.

"You liar! You've got no legs!" Ned joined in.

"It's just a flesh wound!"

"Great, there's another one." Someone said. Angela looked to her right to see a girl with her nose in a book.

"MJ? When did you get here?" Peter asked.

"Long enough to know we have another dork in the group."

Angela glanced at the title of the book and smiled brightly. "I love the Bane Chronicles!"

"You do?" MJ raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Cassandra Clare is one of my favorite fantasy authors. Have you read the Infernal Devices series yet?"

MJ set her book down and the boys began whispering to each other about "conspiring against them" or something like that.

"I just finished it. Who's you're favorite, Jem or Will?" She asked.

"Honestly, I like them both. Tessa deserved to be with someone who loved her and the fact that the story ends with Will dying next to Tessa and their grandchildren is heart wrenching. But I guess being immortal worked for Tessa since Jem was still alive after leaving the Silent Brothers, so in the end she could be with both of the men she loved." Angela explained, going into more detail than she intended to. "Tessa is such a badass."

Someone cleared their throat and the four friends looked up to see Mr. Harrington staring down at them. "If you don't hurry, you four will be late for your next class."

Angela thanked him for the warning and dragged her newfound friends behind her to the locker rooms, letting them go once they reached the split. MJ and Angela entered the girls locker room and went their separate ways. While MJ changed into her uniform, Angela had to find the teacher to receive her own uniform.

Parker Luck must have rubbed off on her because the only uniform the teacher could find was two sizes too big. So she was forced to wear the uniform shirt and a pair of shorts that she brought with her.

Once out in the gym, the teacher forced the students to run laps around the gym without stopping as an endurance test. MJ dropped after taking the first few steps and instead, sat on the bleachers reading her book. Ned managed to keep up for four or so laps before he had to stop. Peter had to stop a few minutes after, opting out after 9 laps. Angela just jogged, focusing more on her thoughts than her burning lungs.

Peter and Ned cheered Angela on from the sidelines, watching as she ran lap after lap. The number of people dwindled down to just three. Angela, a kid named James, and Flash.

Peter watched as Flash taunted Angela as he ran next to her, spitting insults and curses. Angela however, didn't seem to notice him and instead, kept running. James quit after another lap and it was just Angela and Flash.

Funnily enough, Flash had to quit running because he spent too much energy calling Angela names.

After another lap, Angela stopped, hunched over breathing. Peter and Ned walked over to her and that was when Flash thought it would be a good idea to trip Peter. The poor boy was sent flying forward, his face connecting with the hardwood floor.

Angela rushed to his side, helping him stand on shaky legs. She glared at flash as she dragged her injured friend to the bleachers. Ned ran off to find the teacher while Angela fished out some tissues from an emergency bag the gym instructor kept against the wall.

"Here." She handed him the tissues. Peter leaned his head back and she quickly pushed it back down. "Lean forward. If you lean back, then you'll make yourself sick swallowing blood. Put pressure here." She moved his fingers up a bit to the bridge of his nose. "It'll help."

By the time Ned and the teacher returned, the bleeding had stopped and Peter was left with a bruised nose. Flash received a scolding for his actions and the rest of the period was spent playing a game of volleyball.

Peter and Ned sat out, choosing to watch instead of play. Angela however, actually enjoyed playing sports.

The teams were made and they were allowed to pretty much do whatever. They were separated out over the court into quadrants, the left side being competitive while the right was just.. whatever.

Angela chose the left side.

The ball was served several times before she finally got to hit it. Being the shortest on her team, her teammates didn't give her many openings. The person who served it had only played volleyball once or twice before, so they didn't have much control. So, when she hit it, the ball went flying to the right. No one wanted to go diving for it, but Angela did. When the ball came down, she slid on her knees and hit the ball into the air, almost smacking into the wall.

Ned and Peter's jaws dropped when she stood back up, and continued playing. The ball was hit to her side again, and this time, no one dared to stop her. She leapt into the air and brought her hand down hard onto the ball, spiking it.

"She looks happy." Ned commented.

"Yeah..." Peter mumbled, not looking away from Angela.

"You like her~" Ned teased.

"I do not!" He defended. "Besides, do you not remember what happened with Liz? I don't want another supervillain dad coming after me again."

"I don't know, dude." Ned crossed his arms. "She looks pretty normal to me."

Angela high fived one of her teammates and Peter looked at Ned. "Maybe."