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FIFTEEN | NUMBER ONE PARTY ANTHEM
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THE LOW HUM OF THE RADIO FILLED THE COMFORTABLE SILENCE SHROUDING HER PARENTS' HATCHBACK AS MARINETTE'S FATHER DROVE THEM TO LIZ ALLEN'S HOUSE PARTY. Sitting in the passenger seat, the part-time vigilante felt a sense of dread wash over her as she swiped through Snapchat story posts hyping up this party—from Betty Brant and Cindy Moon posing with wine coolers to Flash Thompson flexing his expensive DJ set-up. Even Adrien Agreste posted an outfit photo to his adoring fans (which Marinette may or may not have screenshot and saved for later. . . No one check her camera roll, please).
Her friend, Alya, was practically dragging her to the event, insisting that house parties were a normal teenage right-of-passage that "everyone had to experience." But with her responsibilities as Ladybug always looming in the back of her mind, it was a bit hard to enjoy the normalcy of mingling with her peers during prime patrol hours. And her parents, who were supposed to discourage irresponsible stuff like parties, had jumped at the idea when Marinette had brought it up ("You're always cramped up in your room studying," her mother had said. "This will be good for you.").
And so, there she was, in the pink party dress she'd sewn over the summer. Alya had been enthralled with the idea of Marinette wearing it since she'd seen it sitting on her mannequin in the background of one of her Snapchats. Marinette ran her fingers across one of the seams, frowning at some of the imperfections. They weren't obvious to the untrained eye but she knew they were there.
Leaning her head on the window, she stared out as the skyscrapers were slowly replaced by neat suburban houses with picket fences. Of course Liz Allen grew up in the pristine suburbs—could her life get any more perfect? She already had the looks, the smarts and all the boys like Peter Parker tripping over themselves in love with her.
Speaking of her nemesis. Marinette couldn't shake the curiosity about whether Peter Parker would in fact show up with Spider-Man on his arm. She couldn't help but wonder if the boy knew who was under the mask. Every inkling of information she got only made her more perturbed by Spider-Man's existence; what could he possibly have in common with Peter if he wasn't also an annoying geek? Marinette had to internally slap herself when she found herself slipping into an almost daydream about whether there was more to Peter than met the eye—that could explain why he claimed to be friends with Spider-Man (rather than just an acquaintance).
