From Worlds Apart - Marvel FanFiction

III - That was... interesting.

"I didn't know your locker was so close to mine," I said to Peter. It was my second day of school, and I planned for it to go better than the first, even if it was just a tiny bit of improvement. He looked across at me.

"Neither did I," he grinned. I couldn't stop picturing what his reaction would be if I told him my real name. Most outcomes I came up with were bad, so I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. A boy appeared behind him, to which Peter responded, "Hey, man."

"Hey, Peter," he replied with a big grin, then turning to me.

"I'm Ned," he held his hand out. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Ariana." I gulped, unsurely studying him. I shook his hand, immediately regretting it. I cursed internally.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, to which my heart sank. "You're cold! Maybe you should put on a jacket or something." Ned seemed really kind, and I was so relieved he shook it off and didn't give my coldness a big notice. Peter's cheeks flushed a little.

"You know, I think we should hang out more," I said. "Do you mind if I hung with you for a little while today?"
"Sure, why not?" Ned replied, his smile still beaming. Peter nodded, then leaned on the lockers with his arms crossed. "We probably have loads in common."

"I'm sure we do," I answered, my eyes flickering to Peter. "A lot of things we might not have guessed."

Between classes and at lunch, Peter, Ned and I spoke lots. We spoke about science, Star Wars, I even remember talking about Lego briefly, but it was much, much easier making friends with them than I expected it to be. It was also much easier making friends with them than it was anyone else.

"So, whereabouts do you live?" Ned asked me. I squirmed under the pressure of finding a suitable answer. We were the only ones sat at our table, at least.

"Nearby," I muttered.

"How do you get into school?"

"I walk."

"Ah! So pretty close, then!" Ned acknowledged. I nodded eagerly, thankful that Ned seemed to be able to read between the lines and not require anymore detail from me, because I wouldn't have been able to give it to him. Then, Hazel and her puppets walked past, her and Ria glaring at me. Stephanie turned around after they had gone past and flashed me a quick smile. I returned it, but she had turned around already so didn't see.

"They're... nice, from my experiences," I said with all sarcasm.

"Tell me about it," Peter replied. "Hazel looks at everyone down her nose."

"Stephanie's really is nice, though, isn't she?" Ned stated. His eyes were still on her, and almost seemed to sparkle. I smirked impishly.

"She really is, yeah," I agreed. I looked across the table at Peter, who smirked back at me. Ned came out of his trance and looked at us both.

"What?" he asked, paranoid. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong," I murmured cheekily, "but it seems as if you have an ever-so-small crush on someone?"

"What? No, I don't have a crush on Stephanie," he denied immediately. I laughed, then Peter started to as well.

"She never said it was on Stephanie, Ned," he chuckled. Ned looked frustrated.

"I know you didn't say that," he said defensively, " I just guessed you meant Stephanie... or, I..." He looked at us both with an expressionless face for a moment.

"You're digging yourself a hole, and I think you need to just stop talking," I giggled. All three of us then burst into laughter.

"Yeah, maybe I have a little crush," he concluded shyly. I grinned at him, and he smiled bashfully back. Peter and Ned began eating again, while I played with my food, my fork hanging carelessly in my hand. Peter looked at me with wide eyes after a minute.

"Not hungry?"

"Not really," I replied, sighing. Gosh, it was hard pretending to be human.

Though I'd only hung out with them for one full day, I could already tell that Peter, Ned and I were going to be great friends. Most other people didn't bother to speak to me, so I guess hanging out with my type of people worked better – nerds and popular kids didn't mix. Luckily the funny looks from other students had stopped coming my way. Maybe I had finally become part of Midtown High School!

Walking down the corridor, I hugged my books to my chest. Peter and Ned stood either side of me; we were walking to class, as we had one together.

"How are you getting home tonight, Ariana?" Peter asked me.

"Walking, as always," I replied, smiling and pushing my glasses slightly further up my nose.

"Be careful, then," he said, a serious expression on his face.

"Why?"
"Haven't you heard?" Ned questioned. "People around here have been getting beaten up, and there have even been some murders."

"I don't think you should go out alone," Peter added earnestly.

"It's too late for me to make other arrangements now, but I will tomorrow." I turned to face him. "Thanks for being concerned, though."

Peter smiled stiffly, but quickly redirected his eyes from mine and looked down. I looked at Ned instead, and he gave me one of his cheerful smiles, which made me smile equally as happily back at him: his smiles were infectious. But before I knew it, my books were decorating the floor, and I was colliding with something.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"You don't have to be sorry," I answered, squatting and beginning to regather my books. "I wasn't looking where I was going." The boy did the same, and handed the ones he collected back to me. I instantly recognised him – the boy from the cafeteria. He had a grin on his face. He towered over me: I was shorter than both Peter and Ned, which meant he was a lot taller.

"I'm Callum," he introduced himself. I readjusted my glasses.

"Ariana," I replied a little awkwardly. We stood there for a moment, before he broke the almost unbearable silence.

"See you around, then, Ariana," and with that he departed. I span around to see a startled-looking Peter and Ned.

"Well, that was...interesting," was the only way I could explain it.

"How did he not see you?" Peter inquired. I shrugged. We continued walking to class, chatting with each other. All we did during the boring-as-hell class was whisper between ourselves.

***

On my way back home, I formulated a plan to put my mind at ease a little. First, I'd keep spending time with Peter and Ned. Then, I'd find out whether Ned knew about Peter being Spider-Man. If he did, I'd tell Peter and then Ned that they were actually hanging out with Dakota Fell, who was actually the Crimson Shadow. If not... just more agonising pretending, I suppose?

I walked into the room, where Tony was sat on the sofa.

"Hey, Tony," I said to him. He looked at me with a blank face.

"Hey kid," he said. I heard someone enter behind me and span on my heel. Nat came and sat on the sofa opposite Tony.

"Hi, Nat."
"You certainly look different," she smiled. "For school?"

"Yeah," I sighed, ripping it off my wig and glasses and throwing it into my room, doing so in 1 second. Sometimes I did like having super-speed. A thought then sprung into my mind.

"Why are both of you here?"

They looked at each other knowingly. I folded my arms and leant on the breakfast bar, studying them.

"What's going on?"

"Someone's here to see you," Tony said. I looked at him quizzically, waiting for more information. I got that information when a man walked in. He had an eyepatch over his left eye, and was wearing a black coat. I stopped leaning on the counter and stood up straight as soon as I saw him.

"Nick Fury?" I asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I have something to ask of you. And the fate of your friends and your school may depend on it."