2. A Proposition

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The school day was a drag. Peter was itching to escape the confining walls of the building and swing through his beloved city. He looked at every exit door wistfully when he passed it, which landed him in an awkward situation when he wasn't looking where he was going and bumped into Principal Morita. He tried his best to play it cool as he scampered away with a rushed apology. From then on, he passed the sluggish hours by talking to Ned about the robbery and making theories.

"Why are you so obsessed with it?" Michelle suddenly asked, and Peter once again jumped at her voice. He always forgot that she sat at the end of his and Ned's table at lunch, just within listening range. However, she was so quiet he would often forget she was there.

"Like, why do you care?" She asked again, and Peter realized he was leaving her hanging.

"I don't know, it's just interesting to me," Peter answered, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Well, I'm heading down to the crime scene to see if the Spider-Man shows up," Michelle said, looking back down at her book.

"You like Spider-Man?" Ned questioned, raising an interested eyebrow at Peter, causing him to blush lightly.

"I don't like him, but the Bugle put out an ad asking for pictures of him. They'll pay good money for them too," she explained, giving an irritated look at Ned.

"The Bugle? Like the Daily Bugle? The newspaper?" Peter asked, never figuring Michelle as the photographer type.

"Duh, dork," she muttered, attempting to return to her book, but stilled before she could resume. She gave Peter an intrigued look, her dark brown eyes narrowed as she thought. Having them so focused on him made a shiver run down his spine, but he couldn't make himself look away.

"If you really know Spider-Man, which I doubt, could you get him to maybe pose for me? I'd just want one or two," she asked, quirking her mouth as she awaited his reply.

Peter didn't know how to respond, because he didn't know how he felt about being a model for someone. He felt awkward just thinking about it. But since Michelle never asked him for anything, he thought he could oblige just this time. Maybe it could be an opportunity to get to know her better, even if it was as Spider-Man. As he maintained their heavy eye contact, he realized that he actually did want just that.

"S-Sure, yeah. If I see him, I'll make sure to ask," Peter agreed, nodding with a small grin. Was he being weird? He felt like he was being weird. Why did his skin feel like it was on fire?

She closed her book and got up from her seat. "Thanks, loser. Way to be a pal."

When she had gone, Ned stared at Peter, mouth agape in shock.

"You're really gonna pose for her?" He asked, acting appalled by the very notion of it, "What if she recognizes you?"

"First of all, stop saying the word "pose" because it's starting to sound weird," Peter started, holding up a finger, "Second, what's the harm in it? She never asks for anything and I'll just disguise my voice anyway."

"Pete, just think about what you're doing," Ned prompted him, "Don't do something stupid because you need a rebound."

The words hit him like a runaway train.

"A rebound?" Peter echoed, shocked that Ned would even think such a thing, "You think MJ's a rebound from Liz? Come on! I don't even like her that way!"

"See, you're even using her nickname," his friend pointed out, getting up from his seat, "Just saying, man, know what you're doing."

Peter shook his head as he followed his friend. There was no way the snarky loner would be anything more than just a friend, or at least an unlikely acquaintance. He didn't like her that way, and believed he never would. No matter how much her dark eyes had captivated him.

Wait, what?!

Boom, second chapter. There it is, and if you're reading this, then here you are. Stay tuned for further updates!

~Fargone5

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