You're my escape- A Peter Parker Love Story

Accidents

"You look tired," Ned noted as he sat beside her. The Academic Decathlon was in full swing. Schools from across the district were competing to see which students had the biggest brains. 

Eliza wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not that Midtown School of Science and Technology was fairing well against the competition. 

"I haven't slept," She hissed as she slumped further in her seat. 

Liz, MJ, and Abe were sitting at the table on the stage, representing their school for the third round of the decathlon. Ned would be up next, but until then he chose to belittle her. 

"Did you sleep when you came back to the hotel?"

She shook her head, then let it fall back to the top of the chair. "Liz found me and invited me to breakfast."

"Liz?" His voice rose several octaves, taking on a tone of fear and anxiety. 

Eliza found herself suddenly invested in their conversation. She lifted herself in her chair and turned to look Ned over. "Yes. We had a lovely chat over waffles and tea." Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Why does that scare you?"

Ned looked toward the stage. 

"Ned?"

"It doesn't!" He lied. 

She scoffed, then leaned close enough for her knuckles to brush his shoulder. "I can tell you're lying to me. I don't like when people lie."

"And- and I don't like when my friends try to manipulate me." He turned his head the barest centimeter to glance at her. "You shouldn't try to make me tell you Peter's secrets. They are his to tell. Not mine."

Her eyebrows shot up at the little bit of knowledge he had inadvertently given her. "You won't tell this secret of his? But our extracurricular activities you're nearly dying to spill to anyone who'll listen." She tilted her head condescendingly. "Which is it, Ned? You won't tell his secrets? Or you'll only tell the ones that benefit you?"

"I don't like this game."

"It's not a game," she told him quickly. "You and Peter have been keeping something from me. I do not like secrets." She leaned even closer until she could smell the hair products he lathered through his hair. "Friends don't keep secrets from friends. American television taught me that."

He let out a breath. His leg began to bounce, then his gaze skirted to every inch of the stage before them. He wanted to look anywhere but at her.

"Ned," she pressed on. 

"He likes you," He blurted out. It came out rushed and airy, like he fought to produce the sounds with all the air left in his lungs. With them, his shoulders sagged and his leg stopped bouncing. 

Eliza frowned and reared back from him. "What does that have to do with me talking to Liz?"

He looked up at her with none of the anxiety from before. "Because he says that anytime he tries to talk to you about how he feels you bring up Liz. He doesn't like Liz anymore. He hasn't in a long time."

She snorted and turned in her seat. "I don't believe that."

"See!" He screeched, then crouched lower as a row of students shushed him. Eliza bared her teeth at the academics and watched as they quickly turned away from her. When it was just her and Ned in their conversation she looked back to him. "You won't see that he likes you more than he likes Liz."

"I see the way he is with Liz," she argued. "He stumbles with his words and blushes and gets flustered. He's never like that with me."

Ned laughed, then stopped and slammed both hands over his mouth. She didn't know what was so comical but he seemed to have a riot with it.