ENOUGH FOR YOU « PETER PARKER

4. dinner for two

—DINNER FOR TWO

"I'M NEVER INVITING YOU OR PETER over to my place again," Stace groaned nearly a few weeks later. They'd made an effort to include Peter in some of the things they did, and it worked out fine when he deigned to grace them with his presence. Juliette had thought she would never know anyone busier than seventeen year-old Gwen Stacy, but Peter Parker had the blonde beat by a mile.

Letty's fingers tugged gently at the rips in her jeans as she thought about it.

That boy was busy every damned day. He was also frequently late to school, but for now, his grades were good. Whether or not he would graduate at the top of the class next year was a bit of a mystery, but Juliette wasn't sure he really cared either way.

She didn't know what he did outside of school, and it seemed that he wanted it to stay that way. He was an enigma but somehow still an open book. His emotions were readable, something Letty found out very quickly. He was as kind as he'd seemed, and he was always thinking—at least when his eye wasn't glued behind a camera, or he wasn't forcing Juliette to be the subject of his photos. Gwen hadn't fallen for his pleading eyes like she had when he asked them to pose the first time, and he never let Letty back out afterwards.

He had a chip on his shoulder—dead parents and a dead uncle could do that to a person, but they didn't talk about that much.

Gwen had said once that they looked at each other like they shared secrets, but that didn't feel true Neither girl even knew where he was then because he hadn't bother to return their calls or show up to school.

"Well, don't invite us over for studying when you really just want help babysitting," Juliette replied, sliding a few books from her locker into her bag. Gwen had three younger brothers, Philip, Howard, and Simon. The oldest was only fourteen, and neither Captain Stacy nor Mrs. Stacy trusted the boys alone. So, Gwen was tasked with supervising them. Not wanting to be alone, the girl invited both Juliette and Peter over to study, but they spent more time entertaining her two younger brothers than anything else.

Simon had insisted that they play heroes and villains, which meant that they were the villains, and he was Spiderguy or something. Juliette didn't watch much of the news, but she was pretty sure she'd heard of the masked hero a few times over the past month. She knew that Captain Stacy wanted him jailed and that he did in fact swing through the city like some type of spider, in spandex no less.

She thought it was a little hilarious actually, but that was a discussion for another day.

They let Simon defeat them and caused Gwen a headache in the process. It was Friday afternoon, and she was still grumbling about the previous night's events.

"You two were supposed to help me, not join their ranks," Gwen sighed, pressing her notebook to her blue sweater, right over her chest.

Juliette only laughed because it had admittedly been a rather fun time, regardless of what Gwen thought. "It was fun, Stace. We've got all of next school year to make up for it."

She sighed again, snaking an arm around Letty's as they headed outside. "At least you're in a good mood. Has your aunt been better about your playing?"

Juliette felt herself deflate just a little at the mention. She tugged on the hem of her old TLC t-shirt with her free hand. She'd worn it as a show of defiance of her aunt's expectations. You're at the one of the best schools in the city. It wouldn't hurt you to present yourself— "We haven't talked much lately, but I'm assuming that no, she hasn't."

They passed other students walking to the outdoor common area, and readily greeted familiar faces as they made their way to their usual table. Seated on the bench there, a hood hiding his face and white earbuds peaking out from beneath it, was none other than Peter Parker. Juliette sat on the table top, and Gwen opted for the bench. The girls sat beside, and across from him respectively.