Maya Stark

Chapter 128: Yes, my Spider-Lord

Reading the newspaper was my new favorite past time. There was always some stupid thing in there about Peter or myself that usually made me laugh. Peter and I had snuck up to the roof of the school, our final attempt at getting away from the crowds. It was the best decision we made all day. I was reading the paper trying to find anything that could get him to laugh, and he was enjoying the peace and quiet. The sun felt nice on my skin, and I was calm for the first time since our phone call last night. It was the first time we had been alone together for a while; no May, no Happy, no Morgan, and no Pepper hovering over our shoulders.

'Can we just like, stay up here all day?' Peter asks. 'It is so crazy down there.'

I smile just as I find something funny. 'Wait, this one's good. Some suggest Parker's powers include the male Spider's ability to hypnotize females, which he used to seduce the famous Maya Stark into his cult of personality.'

'Stop!' he says, laughing. 'Stop.'

I make my voice go lower and say, 'Yes, my Spider-Lord.'

We both laugh as we look at each other. When our eyes meet our smiles dim slightly. Peter moves forward slightly, and I lean in to get close to him. Just when we are about to kiss, the door to the roof bangs open and we both let out a sigh as Ned comes into view, followed by an apologetic-looking MJ.

'Finally,' Ned said. 'Some privacy. It is so crazy down there.' Him and MJ sit across from us, and Peter and I sit up. 'So, I was thinking... when we get into MIT we should live together.'

'Yeah, for sure,' Peter says.

'I'm in,' I say with a shrug.

'Love that,' MJ said.

Ned pulls out his laptop from his bag, showing the website of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A picture shows some smiling young people playing frisbee. I crinkle my nose slightly at the fake happiness coming from the picture.

'This is gonna be us,' Ned said.

'Yes,' MJ said. 'Minus the frisbee.'

'And the smiling,' I add.

'MIT's obviously the dream...' Peter starts. 'But if we match-up our backup schools, either way, we'll all be together in Boston. New school, new town. Maya and I can superhero there and stuff. I mean they have crime in Boston, right?'

'Yes, yes they do,' MJ says.

'Yeah, wicked crime,' said Ned. I simply nod.

'Yeah, so it'll be like a fresh start,' Peter said. I nod again, but I can tell my expression isn't happy. I'm skeptical about us getting into college at all with everything that's going on. Nobody wants vigilantes who are suspected to be murders at their school. 'What's up?'

I look at him. 'I don't know. I just feel like if you don't... If you expect disappointment, then—'

'—you can never really get disappointed,' MJ finishes for me, sharing my expression. That's the one thing we have in common: the relentless need to be realistic, or in other words, pessimistic.

'Come on,' Peter said, trying to be reassuring. 'It'll be a fresh start. And we'll all be together. Like always.'

I nod, trying to believe him. 'Yeah. You're right. Fresh start.'

He grabs my hand and I smile at him. Ned immediately places his hand on top of ours, making me want to laugh.

'Fresh start,' he says, nodding, then looking at MJ.

She rolls her eyes but puts her hand on top of all of ours. 'A fresh start.'