𝐴𝐿𝐼𝐾𝐸 - Peter Parker

8.

It wasn't that late when she left, so May had just finished dinner. "I thought she would be having dinner with us tonight. What happened?" May asked, while stirring something around in the pot. I sat down at the table that was set with the same set of plates, the same set of silverware and the same glasses I had drank out of, ever since I was four. 

"Her parents wanted her home," I simply replied, while she carried the pot to the table. 

"Oh okay... So what's the deal with you two?" she had that look formed on her face, that meant she definitely wanted there to be something between us. There wasn't, and therefore I was forced to use the cliché.

"We're just friends May," I started pouring the soup into my bowl, while she looked at me. I handed her the ladle. "Here," I said to let her pour up something herself, but she just starred at me. "May come on, I'm telling the truth," I forced the ladle closer to her. She finally took it, and started pouring up soup. 

I was tired, when we had finished cleaning up, so I just went straight to bed. Kinda sad going to bed at nine o'clock on a Friday, but I didn't have any other plans, and I was indeed exhausted. Probably because of doing all that math. 

"Peter I'm going to work, don't sleep all day okay?" May said as she opened the door slightly to my room, letting in a sliver of light. 

"Alright have a good day," I uttered, still in the process of waking up. She closed my door carefully, and I heard the apartment door open and close shortly after. I rubbed my eyes, and got up from the bed. I was almost blinded by the sun streaming into my room, when the I rolled up the curtains. I cracked my window open to let in some fresh air, and walked up to my closet. I took a pair of boxers out of the closet, and continued into the bathroom. I took a short shower just to wake up a little more. I dried myself off, and put on the boxers I had brought with me. I put the towel to my head, and started drying my soaked hair, while walking to my room. 

"Hey Peter," 

"FUCK!" I jumped back and hit my foot in the doorway. Rue was sitting on my bed, with a smirk on her lips. 

"Rue what are you doing here?!" I was breathing rapidly, from the chock she had given me. She stood up from the bed, and leaned her back up against the ladder on my bunk bed.  

"I figured we could do some training today," her gaze turned down to my stomach, and then awkwardly back up to my eyes. "Uh sorry," she uttered, and turned around. I walked up to my closet, and opened it up, meanwhile keeping one eye on her.

"You could have texted me you know," I tried breaking the silence, by a fact she probably had an excuse for anyway.

"I don't have your number... and I didn't exactly imagine you'd be shirtless," she explained, still turned away from me. I quickly threw on some training shorts and a hoodie. She was wearing black sweatpants, and an unzipped hoodie over a sports bra. 

"Alright you can turn around now," I said, and she turned. 

"Alright let's go," she walked right by me, and headed out the apartment. I grabbed my keys and phone, and followed after her. We walked through the city, until she turned a corner into some dark alley. I slowed down my pace, questioning the place. "Come on," she smiled, and waved me over. We stopped in front of a door, she apparently had the keys to. We walked into a big gym looking room, with a boxing ring in the middle, and some other workout machines here and there.

"What is this place?" I asked as I looked around. 

"I know a guy that let's me use the place when he isn't," she articulated, while walking into the boxing ring. "Come on," she reassured as she had done earlier, and I started walking up to her, and into the ring. "Alright you need to learn some hand to hand combat." she stretched out her arms, and her neck shortly. 

"I mean I know some, but-"  I didn't get to finish the sentence, when she grabbed my arm and threw one leg up behind my neck, with the other on the front, forcing me to fall down to the ground. She crawled off me, and stood up. I coughed and put a hand to my neck, probably looking redder in my face than a baboons butt. She then took my hand and pulled me up from the ground. "I did not see that coming," I coughed out. She chuckled at me, still trying to catch my breath, from having had my lungs basically punctured. 

"I would say we're warmed up now right?" she joked, and patted me on the shoulder. I coughed one last time and chuckled. 

"Yeah pretty much..." 

It was hard to keep up at first,  but two whole months went by, and we had trained almost everyday of the week. I still hadn't gotten my strength, and I was starting to get a little frustrated over it. I mean she got it after three months? So why didn't I? 

"Peter it's gonna come I promise," Rue said in between breaths, from boxing on a boxing pillow. 

"I know I just want to beat you in a fight for once," I chuckled and took a sip of water, and sat down on one of the leather benches. She sat down next to me and sipped out of her own water bottle. 

"Like that's ever gonna happen," she smirked with the tip of the bottle in between her teeth. I pushed my shoulder into hers, and chuckled myself.

"Shut up," I said and took yet another sip. She wiped her forehead from sweat while smiling a little. 

"You sure you don't just want to impress Liz or something?" she said while getting up from the seat. I froze up at her words. How could she possibly know?

"I have no idea what you're talking about?" I tried defending in a snicker, to make it sound more believable. She turned with raised eyebrows and her lips slightly parted. 

"Please! Every time you get a chance you look at her. You'd think having superpowers would make you more subtle but-"

"Alright alright... I'm not that obvious," I leaned my head slightly back, and she pulled out her phone. She then walked over to me, and held it out in front of me. A video played of Rue filming me, sitting in the cafeteria, totally in another reality. In the video she even said my name to get my attention. Even though she was right next to me, I didn't change where I was looking. I pushed the phone away, and got up from my seat. "She's really pretty okay," I uttered under my breath, while walking to the boxing gloves. 

"She's a real bitch," she then uttered back behind my back, and I stopped up. I was so into Liz that it made me angry Rue would say that. I walked over to my bag and grabbed it off the bench. 

"Really Peter?" Rue yelled after me. The door opened in a hard swing, and I was out on the street headed home. I don't know why it made me so angry. It was just mean to say something like that, about a person I really cared about.

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Already working on the next chapter <3