Spider-Man Imagines I

The Decathlon | Ned Leeds

You had met Ned and Peter last year, when you went to decathlon practice with your best friend, Michelle. She had warned you about the losers that she always had to sit with at school (thanks to your mother, you were a homeschooled student for the unforeseeable future) and often begged you to come to practice and competitions with her.

You never complained - especially not when Ned Leeds, one of the losers, took a liking to you.

You didn't see him anymore than once a month, but even in the handful of times you had seen him, you knew he was the kindest, funniest, most amazing guy in Queens (probably - you didn't meet new people often).

"Ned sent me this," you said to Michelle, sitting next to her on the bus. You showed her your phone suppressing your amused smile as she looked over the meme he sent you.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the window. Clearly that was the only response you would get.

"What? It's funny!"

"You've been stuck at home too much," she insisted.

"Well, that's not my fault," you grumbled, pouting.

"Plus, you like him too much-"

"MJ!" you hissed, smacking her on the arm. "I don't like him, okay? He's a good friend is all."

"Mhm." She crossed her arms. "I love you, ___, and that's why I'm not hitting you upside the head for liking him. I genuinely want you to be happy, so I am happy to tell you that, one, he likes you a lot, and two, he's getting on the bus right now."

A sharp intake of air and a skip of your heartbeat turned your cheeks pink and your eyes wide. "He likes me-"

"___!" Ned half shouted from the front of the bus. Your head snapped towards the front and you felt light as he waved excitedly.

You waved right back, your smile turning shy.

Ned walked to the back of the bus, where you sat next to MJ. He stopped by your seat, adjusting the hat on his head.

"I-I didn't know you were coming," he said. "It's so awesome to see you."

"You too," you breathed.

He likes me. He likes me.

Michelle let her head fall back against the seat. "Hey, how about you go sit with Ned, ___? It's hard for me to read with you talking during the whole trip."

You looked at her. "Um... okay, i-if that's cool with Ned-"

"Oh yeah, definitely!" Ned said.

Peter, who was still standing behind him, sent his friend a glare. "Hey!" he said, his eyebrows furrowed. "Where am I going to sit?"

"Not with me," Michelle said, plopping her books down next to her as you stood up.

Peter rolled his eyes and shook his head. Ned was grinning like a goofball, telling you to pick whatever seat you wanted. You took the window in the seat behind Michelle. Ned plopped down next to you and Peter took the seat behind him, looking grumpy and left out.

"It's so cool that you came," he said.

"Yeah. I wasn't going to, but MJ said it'd be a good idea," you said. "I've never seen D.C., so I'm excited to finally see it."

"You've never been?" he asked. "Oh man, it's cool. I'll be your tour guide if you want. I don't think I'll be going to Washington Monument though - not after last year."

You smiled. "I don't want to go near it, either. It's a good thing Spider-Man was conveniently there to save you, huh?" You glanced behind Ned's head at Peter, who looked at you pleadingly.

You had your suspicions about the whole Spider-Man thing.

"Yeah, we sure were lucky," Ned said nervously. He laughed shortly. "Anyway, it'll be cool to give you a tour and be able to hang out with you. It's been a while."

You looked away, smiling with tightly pressed lips and pink cheeks. You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and nodded. "Yeah, it has. I'm excited to hang out with you, too."

Ned grinned.

...

"And, by a surprising turn of events, we are tied! The team to answer this next question correctly will win the championship and be our winner."

You sat back in the crowd, breathing heavily into your palms. Being the only one of your friends in the crowd, you sat back, silently offering any sign of support you could.

The final question was read. A rush of quiet ran across the audience and the students on stage. Some of them scribbled work on papers, others tapped pencils against their temples. Flash was squeezing his eyes shut and mouthing the same curse words again and again.

Finally, Ned buzzed in.

"Yes?"

"Uh... nine point three," he answered.

"That is correct! Midtown takes the win for the second year in a row!"

You shot out of your seat, cheering loudly, arms up in the air. Ned was being hugged by everyone at the table, but his eyes were on you. You were grinning as you ran up to the front of the stage, arms still out.

Ned was walking towards you, fingers brushing against yours before he grabbed your wrists. You laughed with delight as he leaned forward, bringing your arms around his shoulders.

"Ned, you did it!" you exclaimed. You pulled back to beam at him. "Look at you - you did it!"

He nodded, seeming almost in shock - and then he looked at you differently.

You laughed again, slipping your hands off his shoulders and feeling his hands around your fingers. Then he was helping you up on stage, his friends cheering and clapping and celebrating behind him.

An adult was trying to hand Ned a trophy, but he wasn't paying attention. As soon as your feet were on the stage, his head was dipping down, hat falling off his head, hair all messy and frizzy, and he was kissing you.

Your whole body stiffened with shock and Michelle's eyes went wide. Flash and Betty stopped cheering and Peter's jaw dropped.

Ned kept kissing you and quickly, excitedly, you warmed up, squeezing his hands and shutting your eyes - and you kissed him right back.

He broke it off, eyes wide as they stared at you. "Um. Sorry," he said, shaking his head. "Sorry, I just-"

You shook your head, dropping his hands. "You did it," you breathed. "I'm so proud of you, Ned, you did it-" You made fists around the front of his yellow blazer and pulled him towards you, your lips knocking against his in another kiss.