𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 - 𝐏.𝐏

III - gymnasium

Lyn unenthusiastically dragged her feet into the gym hall along with all the other groaning teenagers around her. After sitting through the presentation video on the old small television Coach wheeled in, featuring a cringe-worthy performance by Captain America himself, the teenagers dispersed across the room to their own activities. Lyn faltered for a second as she saw Peter and Ned immediately paired off to do situps on the blue mats, diving into a hushed conversation. Liz and her friends had somehow managed to get away with sitting on the bleachers against the wall, chatting away enthusiastically instead of doing any of the fitness training everyone else reluctantly began. A few mats down from Peter and Ned, she spotted Michelle lying on her back and using an open book as a substitute for weights, lifting it up and down over her head. She contemplated joining her but thought Michelle probably chose to be alone for a reason and didn't want to bother her (she also didn't need the awkwardness of rejection).

A strong hand clamped over her shoulder, making her jump in surprise before turning to the owner of the hand. Coach Wilson looked down at her with his usual bored expression. "Do you have a partner?", he raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head slowly and kicked herself mentally, didn't she realize how suspicious she looked standing there by herself just staring at others?

"Great, you can work with Michelle.".

Then he was leading her towards the said girl, giving her no time to protest. As they stopped in front of Michelle's mat, Coach Wilson cleared his throat to get her attention, "You two are partners now, start with situps first. Also, you probably shouldn't be reading a book during gym class...". Michelle looked up at him with a blank expression that rivaled his own. Lyn stood between the two awkwardly as a silent argument seemed to be had between the two, Coach eventually giving up and walking away with a sigh.

Lyn licked her lips nervously and pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her fingers as she decided what to say next. Deciding to sit in front of Michelle first, she tried to speak - hoping she didn't sound as awkward as she felt. "If you want to I can do the setup and you can hold my legs down while you read? O-only if you want to of course.." her eyes flickering around as Michelle continued to stare blankly. After a few moments of awkward silence, Michelle nodded in acceptance. Lyn smiled at her, relieved, and quickly got into position.

A few minutes later, Lyn had begun to tire and was about to ask Michelle to swap places but was interrupted by a loud familiar voice.

"Peter knows Spider-Man!"

A hush fell over the entire gym as everyone turned to look at Ned, with Peter next to him opening and closing his mouth like a fish, struggling to form proper words. He finally seemed to have come to his senses as he scrambled up, panic in his eyes as he stuttered towards Liz's direction.

"Uh- no, I don't, no, I mean-"

"They're friends", Ned insisted from behind him.

She turned her head at a loud thump as Flash jumped down from the rope with his usual swagger and an annoying grin. "Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends" he looked around proudly as a few students sniggered.

Peter, still stuttering wildly, defended, "I-I've met him, yeah, a couple of times. But it's um..through the Stark..Internship..". Now everybody, including Liz was looking at him doubtfully, Flash tilting his head tauntingly at Peter.

"Yeah well, I'm not really supposed to talk about it" he spoke through gritted teeth in Ned's direction. Ned looked at a loss for words, mirroring how Lyn felt. Peter had never mentioned meeting Queen's most beloved new vigilante, at least not to her, and she felt slightly hurt that Ned had received this information before her.

Flash spoke up again, still teasing Peter and obviously enjoying the attention and the humiliation he was putting Peter through. "Well, that's awesome. Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz's party. Right?".

Peter furrowed his brows and swiveled his gaze back to Liz in confusion. Liz, looking slightly uncomfortable that the attention was now on her replied, "Yeah, I'm having people over tonight. You're more than welcome to come". She smiled sweetly at Peter afterward, leaving him starstruck, staring at the girl as a deer stuck in headlights, mumbling something softly.

Flash continued his confident strides towards Peter, "Yeah, it's gonna be dope. You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man.". Peter looked as if he was about to break out into a nervous sweat or pass out at any moment.

"U-uh-"

"It's okay. I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway, so..." Liz interjects, saving Peter from embarrassing himself any further. Lyn narrows her eyes in the girl's direction at the tone of her voice and the implication behind it. Flash saunters over even closer to Peter, still smirking annoyingly.

"Come on, he'll be there. right, Parker?". He passes by Peter as the bell rings, but not without giving him a not so friendly punch to the shoulder, chuckling softly to himself as he exits the gym. Peter stays frigid, stuck in one place even as everyone else stands up to leave for lunch.

Lyn releases a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding from all the tension. Getting ready to leave she stands up and turns to Michelle who also hadn't moved the entire time, only to find her studying her face closely with surprising intensity. Her face heats up in embarrassment as she wonders how long she had been watching her, especially surprised at how Michelle wasn't even trying to hide her stares. Clearing her throat awkwardly she stands up and politely waits for the taller girl to join her side before leaving the room, casting one last glance at her two closest friends who were once again whispering loudly at each other suspiciously.

She makes eye contact with Peter as he turns her head slightly, him giving her an awkward half-smile while she simply frowns at him slightly in suspicion with furrowed brows. She sighs and turns away from the two boys, making a mental note to confront Peter about everything another time; though deep down she knew that with Peter's busy schedule that conversation wouldn't be due for quite a while.