The Tangled Web | Peter Parker

Chapter 2

The bell rang, dismissing us from class. Flash quickly rose from his seat and tried to make his way to where I was gathering my things. He wasted the majority of class trying to get my attention.

"Em," he called, running after me as I walked out of the classroom. "Emerson! Wait up."

I pretended to not hear him and continued walking down the hall. Maybe if I walked faster and ignored him, he would give up. Wishful thinking.

"Emerson! Hey!" he yelled while running up behind me. His hand reached out to touch my shoulder, causing me to tense up.

"What?" I snapped, turning around to face him. My eyebrows furrowed as I glared at him, shaking my head slowly. I really didn't want to be late to another class today. "What do you want, Flash?"

"Woah, why are you yelling?" he asked, pulling his eyebrows together. "I just want to make sure that you'll still help me during study-"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes. "I will still help you with your stupid essay."

"Lower your voice," he hushed as he lightly grabbed my shoulder, pulling me into the hallway near the bathrooms. He looked around a few times, making sure no one was around to listen to our conversation. His gaze landed on me, softening as he saw my annoyed expression. "Sorry, I just don't want people to know that I-"

"That what?" I laughed, annoyed. "That you need help in school? I'm sure that wouldn't come as a surprise to some people."

He closed his eyes, shaking his head with a pained look on his face. Shit. I probably shouldn't have said that.

"Sorry," I added, sighing loudly. "It's really not that big of a deal, honestly. Lots of people need help with certain subjects," I shrugged my shoulders, tightening my grip on my book as I held it over my chest. "Like, me, for instance. I'm horrible at chemistry."

"You have an A in chem," Flash grumbled, lowering his gaze as he raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, true," I whispered, looking down at the ground, embarrassed. "But I still suck at it. I get help from time to time."

"You do?" he asked, pulling his eyebrows together, and staring at me quizzically.

I said nothing but nodded my head.

Flash let out a loud sigh, closing his eyes while he tilted his head back. "I just don't like people thinking I'm dumb," he explained, lifting his hand to scratch his head.

"Well, you are on the basketball team," I teased, nudging him with my elbow. "It kind of fits the whole 'dumb jock' stereotypical opinion people have of you, regardless if you are or not."

He tilted his head slightly, staring down at me. His expression was a mixture of confusion and offense. Great job, Em.

"I only mean that people are going to think whatever they want to think," I shrugged, offering a sympathetic look. "So, it really doesn't matter what you can or can't do. At the end of the day, they will still have their opinions, but they don't matter. What matters most is what you think of yourself."

Flash continued to stare at me, blinking several times with his mouth slightly hanging open. Great, looks like I'm digging a deeper hole for myself.

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment, trying to think of a different way to explain what I meant. "I just mean that-"

"Is there a problem here?" Peter's voice called from somewhere behind Flash. Shit.