It's a Little Strange

13. HERO

The weekend came and Peter was freaking out. He and Ned sat side by side on his bed. They tossed a foam ball to hit Peter's closet door so it would ricochet to the other person's hands. Peter called Ned over to hang out and then go out and find something unhealthy to eat. Peter was craving churros at the moment.

But his hunger for churros was unimportant compared to the massive weight on his chest. He sat with his shoulders slumped.

Ned saw that Peter wasn't feeling the ball toss and he let the ball roll off of him. Ned cleared his throat. "So... what was it like?"

Peter turned toward Ned, lifting his leg to rest on the bed and let the other one dangle off to the side. He seemed eager to answer. "It was better than my first. But it's a really weird, indescribable feeling, man."

"Huh..." Ned rubbed his chin. "So kissing is overhyped?"

"No, no, no!" Peter gasped. "It's totally worth it. Although it takes some getting used to. It's really awkward the first time, trust me on that. And... I think I tasted barbecue sauce when MJ and I kissed." He didn't sound too sure.

Ned cocked his head to the side in disgust as his eyes narrowed. "That's... disgusting."

Peter shook his head, his voice slightly going higher. "It was surprisingly pleasant and kinda tasty. And besides, you put hot sauce on everything like an animal!"

"You go big or you go home!"

"You don't need to go big every time you eat something!" Peter scoffed.

"Wait, if she tasted like hot sauce, does that mean that you'd feel the burn from the spiciness?"

Peter did a double take. He opened his mouth to refute and say that you wouldn't be he wasn't entirely sure, so he just stuttered, "No! I-maybe... probably. I guess. I don't want to find out, Ned."

Ned blissfully stared off into the distance, lost in thought. "I'm going to kiss a girl with hot sauce and it's gonna be hot."

"Why don't you talk to that cute girl, Dulce?"

"Hey now," Ned warned with a slight chuckle, "careful who you go calling cute. Your girlfriend might get jealous. And I dunno... Dulce is way out of my league. I think Betty likes me, but she has a boyfriend and that's problematic."

"Ooh," Peter cringed. "That is problematic. But MJ made it explicitly clear that we are not dating. No labels. No boyfriend, girlfriend. And don't put yourself down, Ned! Dulce would be lucky to have you."

"She's kinda scary though. Lacross makes her intimidating. She's big and tough... I think she threw Flash before."

"Anyone can throw Flash." Ned nodded in agreement. Peter gave him a smile. "But she always talks to you in class. I think she likes you."

"Haha. Funny." Ned fiddled with the foam ball, squeezing it with his thumbs, clearly uncertain of himself. A moment passed before he spoke again. "I hope she tastes like hot sauce."

"That's gross."

"You're gross for kissing a girl that tastes like barbecue sauce!"

"We both had ribs, man!"

"God, now I'm hungry!"

"Me too!"

The two of them lurched from the bed and made their way out of Peter's room. As they left, Peter snagged some loose change from his desk and his brand new backpack with his Spider-Man suit. They said goodbye to his aunt while she worked on grading. The plan was that they would go out together and get something to eat while Peter did some patrols as Spider-Man in hopes of finding some answers for the terrorist attacks... somehow.