New Friendships

1

It had started when Reede had been chosen to have an internship with a renowned scientist, after a particularly interesting paper written of the theory of the multiverse. Of course they knew all about said multiverse, what with always being in contact with Miles and his friends. The small group of spider (people?) had started to get better at opening and closing small windows to talk when they wanted to.

The only issue was that the renowned scientist was Olivia Octavious. At first, Reede had been determined to hate her. Constantly arguing with any theories, (even if they knew she was right.) And a lot of the time they would be late for the daily sessions Olivia had set up.

But every time, they showed up late, Olivia wasn't mad. She was upset, yes but never mad. She would adjust days and times to make it easier on Reede, and constantly ask how they were. So over the course of the month, they had come to like Olivia. She was sweet, and funny, and kind.

When Reede wasn't fighting her that is. Reede was commonly known as the Velvet Spider in their city. Having been bitten by a radioactive spider no less than a year ago, Reede became the web slinging hero for their city rather quickly and suddenly. Maybe that was why they had been off their game the night Olivia managed to pull their mask off in a fight. She had ordered all other people out of the room, and they had a long discussion about what this might mean.

So, now here they were, in the bathroom at Visions Academy washing their face and checking for any cracks in their glasses. When they stood up and saw Olivia behind them in the mirror, they smiled and reached for a towel to dry off. "This is the Gender Neutral bathroom, Liv. I could report you."

She gave a smirk and reached to lock the bathroom door to keep any wandering students out of the room. "You very well could, but we both know you won't. How was school today?"

"Oh, it was okay. Those flashcards you gave me to study with really helped me on my math test today. I think I can bring that C minus up to at least a B plus by the end of the semester."

Olivia grinned and clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh, great! Just don't push yourself too hard, okay? Don't want you getting stressed, now."

Reeded reached into their bag with a smile and nodded, pulling the velvet, white and black suit out and heading for a stall. "Will do. Let me just get changed and we can start this fight, kay?"

"Of course, yeah! Speaking of which, I was thinking we should definitely change the schedule up. Reporters are getting antsy and I think they're a bit suspicious of us now-" She waved her hand dismissively, almost as if the topic had been too trivial for her. "-Maybe we could start just making plans over video chat on Sundays? That way it's not obvious?" She pulled her laptop out of her bag and opened it, checking a small E-mail.

Reede nodded at the suggestion as they walked out of the stall. Pulling their mask down and placing their glasses into the case, which was then set into their bookbag. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll have Rowena come in and grab my bag from under the sink later." They kicked the bag under the sink and looked at Olivia. "So we start spontaneously planning fights?"

"Yeah, just so we can keep it inconspicuous."

"Great, sounds good." They smiled and looked at Olivia. "So, who's winning this one again? Me, right?"

She nodded and zipped up her jacket, pulling her hair into a ponytail. "Yes, I won the last two and the morale in the city is pretty low because of it. Ready?"

Reede smiled and nodded, going to unlock the door. Olivia went to stand in the doorway as Reeded threw the first punch, sending her flying into the hall, as all the surrounding students gasped and pulled out their phones to film the fight. What they didn't know couldn't hurt them. And even as Olivia spun and kicked them in the jaw, they couldn't stop smiling at the thought of the friendship they had gained.