Flower Child (Peter Parker, MCU)

Let's Ride

Vroom Vroom — Charli XCX

The city sounds of Venice were far different from the ones Lila was used to in New York. Boat engines rattled along, and people yelled at each other in Italian, not in English. Even for the morning, Lila was surprised at the level of energy that was waiting outside their hotel. Then, when she approached the breakfast array, the espresso staring back at her answered any questions she had in regards to Italian energy.

MJ had gone downstairs earlier than she had, and was returning to their shared room to pack up her things by the time Lila awoke from her melatonin-induced sleep. Lila didn't have to worry so much about re-packing everything, her travel regimen newly involved packing cubes, and so outfits were cubed per destination. It left her with very little to re-pack, and for that reason, she let herself sleep in longer than most.

She filled her plate with fresh fruit and pastries (she really couldn't believe how much bread was eaten in the morning), coupled with strips of bacon and fresh juice. Eyeing the tables available, she spotted only one familiar face and headed for him, eager to check on his well-being. "Ned," she said, and the boy in question looked up from his plate of eggs. "Can I join you?"

"Hey, Lila, sure thing!"

"Thanks," She grinned, sitting across from him. To his right was a bag she recognized wasn't his, and she realized they might not be dining alone. "Oh, is Betty gonna j-join us, too?"

Ned's face lit up with a bright smile, "Oh, she just finished. She forgot her hand sanitizer in her room, though. Betty has this certain brand that she uses that's super gentle on her skin. And I'm not complaining, her hands are like, so soft."

Lila smiled, tilting her head. "You seem to know her so well in the—" she checked her watch, "— f-forty-eight hours you've been d-dating."

Ned looked at her like he suddenly gained wisdom beyond measure and simply answered, "Well, Delilah, when you know it's love, you just know." All Lila could do to not laugh was hum in response. She nearly choked on her orange juice when he asked, "She grabbed my hand in that bit of turbulence and the rest is history. I'm sure you know what I mean. Like, when did you first know with Peter?"

It took Lila a decent ten seconds and another large sip of orange juice to clear her throat. This certainly wasn't the direction she'd expected the conversation to turn, but one look at Ned had Lila fighting off the urge to deny everything. Several trains of thought happened in a few moments, the first being that she was actively trying not to deny her feelings for Peter anymore. She was going to tell Peter how she felt in a few hours when they got to Paris anyway, she shouldn't have to hide from that. What would it hurt — one more person knowing how she felt?

The second thought was that even though it had only been forty-eight hours (less, really), Ned was in a relationship. He was actively embracing being in love with someone else, and wanting to talk about it. Lila didn't have many people her age she could talk about these things with. Sure, Harry didn't mind talking about Lila's feelings with her, but he was (in his words) a serial monogamist who enjoyed the fleeting company of others from time to time. There were things he wouldn't understand (though he had gotten a lot better about it after he kissed her).

Then there was Michelle — who really didn't want to talk about Peter. Anytime Lila mentioned him, she always grew suspicious. And whenever Lila owned up to her feelings for Peter, MJ would shake her head in disapproval, citing that he kept too many secrets for Lila's own good. And Lila, feigning ignorance and swallowing enormous guilt at doing so, would always ask her what secrets, to which she would refuse to answer. That didn't mean she didn't know, but she didn't want to share with Lila on the off-chance she was wrong, or on the worse chance she was right. That was always what Michelle said, and Lila had to accept that her suspicions of Peter were likely dangerously close to Peter's secret. Because if there was one person who could figure out his secret on her own, it was MJ. Lila simply had to hope that she never get the concrete evidence she needed to be proven correct.