MAGIC TRICKS [PETER PARKER]

FOUR

"HEY LOOK, IT'S PETER!"

I found myself frowning at Abraham's words, turning around to see Peter and Ned walking up, Ned dressed neatly in his yellow blazer all the members of the Academic Decathlon team received. I grinned at Peter, but my eyebrows were still pinched together in confusion. "Peter?" Liz asked, bewildered.

"Hey buddy," Charles, a scrawny, slightly awkward kid greeted when he saw him. Peter gave him a quick, uneasy smile. "I was hoping I could rejoin the team..." Peter told them. Liz's face lit up, and mine followed suit.

"No, no way," Flash grunted, pushing his shoulder into my back to love me out of the way, "You can't quit on us and then stroll up and be welcomed back by everyone-"

"Hey, Peter, welcome back," Mr. Harrington said as he came around the corner of the big yellow bus, throwing a jacket at Peter's head, "Flash you're back to First Alternate, Nadia, looks like you're ranked third again." I bumped shoulders with Peter as we started to board the bus and cracked a smile. "It's okay, second place is first loser."

Peter rolled his eyes playfully, snickering, throwing a smile in my way. That wasn't Peter's usual, sweet, friendly smile he always gave me. Was that flirting? I saw Liz's smart-alec sneer from the corner of my eye and I laughed shakily, blushing at the pavement.

Flash's mouth was gaping open. "What?" he exclaimed. Ned sent the boy an arrogant smirk. "He's taking your place."

"Excuse me, but can we go already?" Michelle Jones, a slender, tall girl with a mop of curly brown hair, "I was hoping to get in some light protesting in front of an embassy before dinner." Mr. Harrington nodded, pointing at her. "Protesting is patriotic. Let's get on the bus!"

A few of them gave weak cheers and we clambered onto the bus. I came up behind Peter; I said lowly into his ear, "What are you doing here?" Peter shivered when my hot breath hit his ear, and he slid into an open seat quickly. I sat beside him, and he began, "You remember the guys that tried to kill me?"

I scowled. "The ones in the bank?" Peter shook his head.

"The other ones."

"Oh, of course," I acknowledged,  head bobbing like it was obvious which blood-seeking criminals he was talking about. "Well, I put a tracker on one guy, and it lead to some place in Maryland," Peter recounted. My eyebrows shot up, and I ducked my head a little lower. "So, like a secret evil lair?" I murmured, admittedly a little more excited than I should've been.

"That's exactly what I said," Ned butted in as he plopped into the seat beside us. He handed us each a bell, just as Liz stood at the head of the bus, flashcards in hand. Peter didn't have to finish his story- I could conclude that he came to sneak out and catch these guys when we arrived in Washington D.C.