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WHEN AMARA GOT HOME FROM NEW YORK, HER FATHER WAS THERE TO WRAP HER IN A TIGHT HUG. She had convinced him to let her go to her room as soon as they got home but had checked on her at least five times within the first ten minutes of her being in her room. Once he figured that she was safe, he went to bed but Amara still lay awake, tossing and turning in her bed.
The day continued to play over in her head like a video and stopped her from being able to sleep. All that she could think about was that she had almost died and Spider-Man had somehow managed to be there to save her yet again. She still had no idea who he was even though he had saved her life multiple times, not to mention her friends and family.
With a loud sigh, she threw her covers back and got out of bed, heading for the window like the nights before. As she passed her desk, she caught sight of the orange bottle sitting on it like it been for several days. She picked it up and turned it in her fingers, looking at the label that read 'MISS AMARA WAVERLY' in bold letters with 'LITHIUM' written below her name. Glaring at the bottle, she took the hoodie from her chair and shrugged it on, stuffing the bottle in her pocket.
She continued her journey through her window and up the fire escape, to the roof. When she got to the roof, she passed the bean bag and deck chair and walked to the opposite end of the roof and stopped at the edge. She took the bottle from her pocket and popped the lid off, scattering the pills inside off of the edge, letting them fall into the back alley. Once the bottle was empty, she dropped it to her feet, stomping on it until it was just shards of broken plastic.
A loud breath of what must have been relief left her lips and turned into a cloud of mist from the chill in the air as she dropped to the ground, her legs crossed. Her eyes shut as wind blew through her hair and she breathed the cold air deeply. When she opened her eyes again, she could make out a redness moving through the buildings that were lit dimply by street lamps. A smile appeared on her face as it got closer and she recognised it as her hero/friend.
He landed on the roof in a crouching stance and Amara began clapping enthusiastically. The boy bowed as he walked over and Amara let out a laugh. He sat beside her on the concrete and they both stared into the lit up city.
"Thanks for saving me again." she spoke through the silence.
He shrugged but a slight look of pride was on his face, "It's what I do."
"Yeah..." Amara muttered absentmindedly.
The boy noticed how distracted she seemed and turned to face her, "Is something wrong?"
Amara stayed silent for a few moments before answering.
"Just...everything," she sighed, twiddling her thumbs in her lap. "Sorry, that was really vague. I just don't want to spill everything to you when I don't even know you."
The boy's face twisted in hurt as the girl looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed as if she was trying to figure something out, "You know me."
Amara scoffed, "Do I?"
He was about to answer but stopped himself, realising who he was right now.
"I feel like I do but I don't even know your name so how well can I know you?" she questioned the boy who was filled with guilt as he looked into the girl's hurt eyes.
"Amara, I want to tell you, I really do but..."
"But you can't? That's what I thought," Amara turned back to the city, shaking her head at the boy before her she turned back to him, a shocked expression on her face. "Did you just say my name?"
Peter's eyes widened as he furiously shook his head, "What? No, nope, I didn't say anything."
A grin grew on Amara's face, "I do know you, don't I?"
There was no reply as her grin grew larger and more satisfied. She stood from the ground, "Goodnight, Spider-Man."
Peter watched her walk away until she disappeared down the fire escape and he covered his face with his hands, groaning, "What did I just do?"
◈⟐◈
DESPITE HER FATHER'S PROTESTS, AMARA HAD DECIDED TO GO TO SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY. The day had been fairly ordinary apart from several coming up to her and asking her about her near death experience to which she would rely on Michelle to make them leave. She got a break from the constant intrusions at lunch when she met with the rest of the Academic Decathlon team for a 'meeting' that was just Mr. Harrington congratulating them for their win and their responsibility at the Washington Monument.
At the end of the meeting, Amara grabbed her bag and was ready to leave the room so that she could get something to eat, her appetite finally coming back when she was stopped by Charles jogging over to her.
"Hey, Amara! Wait up!" he stopped her as she was about to leave.
"Hey, Charles. What's up?"
A nervous look appeared on Charles' face as he began fidgeting, struggling to get words out.
"T-There's this thing coming up soon. It's called Homecoming and it's this dance where—"
"Charles, I'm from Tucson, not space.I know what homecoming is." she chuckled.
"Oh, right. Well, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to..." Charles began mumbling, the end of his sentence getting lost.
Amara bit her lip to stop the laughter from coming out, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I said, Iwaswonderingifmaybeyouwantedtogowithmemaybeifyouwanted."
A grin spread on Amara's face at his string of words, "Charles, will you go to homecoming with me?"
Charles' face lit up and he nodded, "Yes! I mean, sure, if you want to."
"Great, I'll text you my address."
Amara pulled her phone from her pocket and they both shared numbers. As Amara walked back to Michelle who was still in her chair, reading another book, Charles cheered quietly before leaving the room.
Amara tapped Michelle's shoulder and she looked up from her book, "'Sup?"
"Guess who's going to homecoming with Charles,"
"What? Why?" a voice came from behind her.
Amara turned to see Peter and Ned, a shocked look on Peter's face. She gave him a confused look, "Because he asked me?"
"But you're like way out of his league." he said, dumbfounded.
The girl scoffed, "I'm not out of anyone's league, Peter."
"Anyway, I'm going to go get some food...bye, guys." Amara said before walking away from the group.
Peter turned to Ned, an urgent expression on his face, "What do I do now?"
"You should have just asked her, dude." Ned shrugged.
Peter let out a groan and fell back onto his chair, a defeated expression on his face.
