Spider-Man Imagines I

Join Me And Together | Ned Leeds

You were the only teenager you could see in front of the toy store. Typically that would be embarrassing, but you'd never been embarrassed by your hobbies - collecting action figures, comic books, and Lego sets.

A mother holding her two toddlers scolded her husband beside you. A large man stood on your other side, talking about birthday gifts into his cellphone. Minutes passed and you saw another person walk up to the toy store; a guy around your age, his face buried in his phone.

The lights turned on inside of the toy store. You straightened up, watching the tired looking employee walk to the gate with a key in hand. He glared at you, looking a little annoyed that people would actually show up at eight in the morning to shop for toys.

As soon as the gate was up and the doors unlocked, you rounded around the wall of cash registers and hurried down the pink and white Barbie aisle. At the back of the store was a shelf of Lego sets, everything from superhero to princess to Star Wars. Your eyes scanned for one in particular and - there it was, a shiny yellow box, a picture of Lego versions of Darth Vader and Palpatine on the front - the Death Star.

Brand new, just released last night, and the last one on the shelf. You grinned and stooped down to snatch it. Just as your hands grabbed it, two other hands appeared and held on too.

You looked up to see the teenager from outside. He looked just as surprised to see you as he just stood there, not letting go, his mouth twisted open with words he didn't know how to say.

"Excuse me," you said. "I am sorry-"

Your voice shook slightly, although you willed it not to. You weren't good at talking to people in general, but when it came to guys your brain decided were attractive, you lost the ability to sound coherent at all.

The guy's light brown cheeks were flushed, whether from annoyance or embarrassment, you weren't sure. He wore a grey Star Wars tee over a polo shirt, a royal blue color poking out of the neck.

"My bad," he echoed your apology.

No one moved.

Between the beats of silence, the boy stared at you with dark eyes. Your hand gripped the box tighter and you shifted nervously, feeling awkward but too afraid to let go. If you did, maybe he'd think he'd won. Maybe that's how the winner of this will be determined.

"Um," you said. "I... I need this."

"So do I," he replied.

"Oh. Well..." You pulled a little harder, lifting one shoulder in a half shrug. "I'm sure they have another in the back somewhere-"

"I'm sure they don't," he said, bringing the box closer to him. "If they did, they would have put them out since the store just opened. This is the hottest and lost valuable set of Legos out in the world right now."

"Yeah, I know. That is why I need this. My hand was on it first."

He gave you a pleading look. "I'll give you one hundred for it! Right here, right now!"

"What? No way! This thing goes for way more than a hundred at any other toy store in Queens. This is my only shot at getting this! My paycheck isn't that kind to me."

"Dude, please," he said, tilting his head.

"Dude, no!" You raised your voice a little.

"Is there a problem here?" a dry, sad voice asked. The worker.

You looked at him and felt tingles of embarrassment all down your sides and under your arms. Weakly, cowardly, you dropped the Lego set, letting it smack against the boy's torso, blocks smacking against one another inside.

"No," you mumbled, crossing your arms.

The worker scowled before yawning, trudging back to his post at the cash register.

You looked back at the boy, who was admiring the Lego set - now his Lego set - in his hands. You felt a cloud come over you. The rude boy had ruined the one thing you'd been saving for for weeks.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number, completely ignoring you. You scoffed and turned around, heading out of the aisle with a wave of red anger rolling over your body. You clenched your firsts, trying so hard not to feel disappointed over something as stupid as a cute boy not letting you have the last Death Star.

"Yo, Pete," he said. "I finally got it. Call me back whenever you get this... I know you're busy and I-" He cut himself off, eyes trailing upward and gluing on your back. "I will... talk to you later, man. Bye."

You pushed your hands against the glass door with way more force than necessary and stepped outside. Just as the door swung shut, it opened again, and out came the boy, Lego set it hands.

"H-Hey! Wait!" he called.

You turned around. He was speeding towards you, juggling the box in his arms. An alarm buzzed from inside of the store. You pointed to the entrance.

"Did... did you pay for that?"

"No," he admitted. He cringed. "I, uh, for some reason... I thought it would be better to come and talk to you. And apologize for acting like that... I-I really like your t-shirt-"

You glanced down at the shirt with your favorite superhero on it. "Oh, thanks."

"And I think you're, like, really cute-"

"Oh." That was flattering.

"So anyway... I'm sorry," he said.

You shrugged. "S'okay. Really, it is. It's just a Lego set." That is incredibly hard to find for less than one hundred dollars.

He shook his head. "No, it-"

"Hey!" the employee, angry now, threw open the doors. "Get back in here and pay for that, pal, or I'll call the cops!"

"Y-Yeah," he said. "My bad! Just..." He turned back to you and coughed nervously, face red. You stifled a laugh and he pushed the box into your hands. "Here, take it. I was pretty much a jerk and totally forgot the rules of ladies first. Also, I think I will get arrested if I go back in there."

"Wow." You finally laughed. "Um... you're probably right. And thank you-"

"Ned," he said. "Ned Leeds."

You nodded. "Ned Leeds," you repeated. You smiled, blushing and walking around him as you hurried to the store, hand reaching for your purse. The sooner you got your money out to pay, the sooner the employee would calm down and hopefully not call the cops."

"Wait!" Ned exclaimed. "I-I was working up to ask for your number!"

You stopped midstep and turned around, mouth open. Your heart and stomach flipped, going somersaults around one another as you stared at him with unbelieving eyes. He wanted your number.

"U-Um... Wait right there!" you blurted.

You went inside, paid for the Legos, and then ran back out. Ned was still there. While you ran, you gasped out your number (too quickly, you had to repeat it). He put it in his phone.

"And your name?"

You gave it to him.

"Awesome," he said. "O-Oh! And your name is pretty. That's what I'm supposed to do, right?"

You snickered. "I don't know, but I think it was nice."

He smiled. It was all teeth and he was still flustered and flushed, and wow, did you think he was cute.

"Thank you again, Ned Leeds. For everything. I'll keep an eye out for another one of these at a reasonable price. And if they restock here, I'll let you know and pick it up for you because I have a strong feeling you're going to be banned if you aren't already."

Ned laughed loudly until he saw two mall security guards round the corner, trying to look like they weren't keeping an eye on him, even though they definitely were.

He sighed. "Yeah, I most definitely am."