The Masks we Hide Behind || Peter Parker [1]

twenty-two: just some kids

      "Mads." Ned states, staring me down from my seat at the lunch table. He sits directly across from me, MJ sits beside him, and Peter sits beside me like usual. I had been staring off into space for quite some time now, silently eating out of my huge tube of Pringles I had bought this morning.

"Can I pleeaassee have a Pringle?" Peter whines like he has been for the past three minutes.

"I told you, no, they're mine." I say flatly.

"How many Pringles can you eat at once?" Ned asks.

"I don't know, let's find out." I say, digging into the tube of chips. I grab as many as I can and set them into the table, reaching back in to grab another handful.

"You're killing me. I swear to god." Peter states. I look over at him, and he's looking st me like a sad, lost little puppy. I roll my eyes with a sigh and reach down into the tube, chuckling to myself just slightly.

"Fine. Half." I sigh, breaking off half of a chip and handing it to Peter.

"THANK YOU."

"Alright. This is a stack of 26." I say, holding the thick stack of Pringles up to my mouth.

Why am I doing this?

I chomp down onto the stack of chips, and they crack into my mouth and poke the insides of my cheeks as I crunch down on them. The salty flavor bursts into my mouth, and I practically start drooling then and there. God, I love Pringles.

"Okay, serious question, how did the Spider-Man and Spider-Woman get their powers? Are they even powers? Like, who the hell thought 'hey, I'm gonna dress in a fucking onesie and swing around New York on my spiderwebs that magically come out of my ass!'" MJ asks, looking generally lost and confused. Just as she says this, I nearly choke to death on the chips that are now stabbing what feels like giant holes in the insides of my cheeks. For some reason, Peter starts laughing uncontrollably, too.

"Okay, first of all, the webs don't come out of their asses." Ned says, completely serious.

"I was being sarcastic." MJ replies flatly as I try to start breathing again.

"Second of all, they're not onesies! They're so badass!" Ned exclaims.

"They look like onesies."

I look over at Peter once I've swallowed the Pringles (with some pain involved), who's still laughing uncontrollably. We share amused glances as we finally control ourselves and listen to Ned and MJ's banter. As the pair continues to argue on about whether the webs come out of their asses or not, I find myself eyeing Peter for the remainder of lunch. The way he laughs and smiles is so eye catching, it's almost like I'm watching it in slow motion.

He glances over at me one final time before lunch ends, and our eyes meet, and they hold contact. A soft smile spreads on my lips, and Peter is just about to say something once the dreadful shout of the bell sounds through the cafeteria of Midtown High. The four of us stand up and part ways, and I find my mind on my best friend for the remainder of the slow, boring day.