ENOUGH FOR YOU « PETER PARKER

1. silent tears

2 years earlier

—SILENT TEARS

"LOSE THE SHADES, TERMINATOR," Flash Thompson teased her, halfheartedly taking a swipe for her sunglasses as she passed him. The boy with the buzz cut was leaned against a wall, probably blocking some poor freshman's locker.

Juliette dodged his hand. "Not in the mood, Flash," she murmured, weaving a path through the crowded hall and to her own locker where she planned to drop off her books. Her hands splayed over the gray metal, coaxing the old thing open and shoving her belongings into the disorganized space. She shut it, but not before catching a glimpse of herself in the small mirror inside.

Her dark, curly hair was still piled neatly at the top of her head, and her brown skin was mostly clear aside from a few stray blemishes. Her eyes were hidden from the world by a pair of black sunglasses.

Juliette knew that behind them, her brown eyes were tinted red from relentless tears. After an argument with her aunt, she just couldn't stop them from falling. If she thought about it much more than that, they would've started again. Doing so had already made her impossibly late for school.

The locker door shut with a satisfying click, and she nearly shouted in surprise when she saw the girl waiting on the opposite side of it. Gwen Stacy was a sight for sore eyes in her pencil skirt and expensive coat. The pretty blonde held her notebooks close to her chest as she watched Juliette with wide green eyes.

"Tell me what I can do," she said in greeting, worry lacing her words.

The girl in question sighed. "You don't need to do anything, Stace. I'm okay, and I don't wanna rehash any of it right now."

"Are you sure you still want to go to Flash's party tonight?" Gwen asked after a moment, obviously giving her that privacy she so so desperately needed right then.

No, she thought, but she did not voice as much. "I'm not missing another one of his end of year parties," she said instead. Last year she'd been stuck at home, and she wasn't going to let that happen again.

"There's always next year," Gwen reminded her.

"Stace. I'm okay, really."

Gwen seemed to relent then. "You missed it earlier," the blonde began, changing the subject as they began their trek down the hall and to their shared class. "Flash was terrorizing another underclassman."

Juliette felt for the boy because he had his own parental problems, but he could really be an asshole. "Did anyone try to stop him this time?"

"Peter Parker," Gwen answered, a smile tugging at her lips.

Juliette hummed, thinking of the tall, messy haired boy. He was quiet, and he mostly kept to himself. "I knew I liked him." Then she paused. "Did Flash kick his ass?"

"Oh, totally," Gwen answered, "but I didn't let that go too far."

"That's good." They turned down another hall. "I hope Flash stops with that shit soon. It's getting—"

"Take off the sunglasses, Ms. Jones. You're inside," Mr. Warren called to her as they passed him.

"Will do," she murmured, though she had no intention to do anything of the sort. She looked to Gwen. "Don't forget to text me when you leave OSCORP today. I'll bring over some clothes."

"I told you that I'm fine wearing something from my own closet," Gwen said with a groan.

"I love your style." Juliette glanced down at her own clothes, her jeans blue and baggy and her shirt black and fitted. Not bad, but she'd definitely seen better days. "Like seriously, you're probably the best dressed here, but not a single item in your closet is party material."