Spideychelle: A new beginning

Chapter 25

MJ's POV:

As I walked out I treaded lightly. I overthought each step and could feel my heartbeat speed up. My train of thought got interrupted by Peter intertwining his hand with mine. "take a breath" he whispered. I did so and we all did a bow.

"Up here we have midtown tech decathlon team. Pupils on this team are: Abraham Thomas, Lily Howard, Emmy smith, Josh Brantly, Cindy Harris, Gwen Stacy, Betty Brant, David Hall, Oscar Thompson, Peter Parker, Ned Leeds and team captain Michelle Jones-Watson." the host said into the loudspeaker. Peter gave me a small smile and we all walked off stage.

Once off stage Harrington ran over to us. "right Abraham, Lily and Josh, Your up first. You have 15 minutes so run through last minute drills and make sure not to stress.....not like me..." he said. He rubbed his neck and walked away, tripping over in the process. I turned round and saw the 3 of them looking quite nervous.

"hey...guys you'll do great. just remember your facts and don't hesitate" i said. They all nodded. "Abe what's the heaviest metal?" I asked him. He thought for a second, "Uranium" he said with wide eyes. i smiled. "lily what's the lighest metal?" i asked. "Lithium" she said speedily. "great job. And finally Josh what's the second lightest metal?" i asked confidently. "uhhh....its...em....OH WAIT I KNOW Magnesium" he said after a bit. "Okay no hesitating" i reminded him. he nodded with a smile. "okay i'll be back here watching you guys and cheering you on. have a good round" i said with a reasurring smile.

I then walked over to Peter, who was arguing with Gwen. They were practically shouting and had drawn themselves some attention. I quickly slipped into the conversation next to Peter. "OH Michelle fancy you being here" she said looking me up and down. I rolled my eyes. "have fun" she said bumping into me as she left. Peter looked pissed. Damn I leave for 2 seconds and the whole system falls. He clenched his jaw. "Hey what just happened?" I asked him folding my arms. "she was just being bitchy" he said facing me. I nodded. "not surprising" I said chuckling. He frowned and leaned on the wall. "tell me later okay, right now we need to focus" I said. He followed me and we stood next to Mr Harrington.

Peter's POV:

"Right everyone, hello and welcome to todays Decathlon Championships. Today we have 4 schools competing head to head. Each question and topic will be different each round. There will be 8 questions each round and the finals will cover each topic. We have 12 schools in total competing at different locations and will have a different group of 3 students each round. The school with the most questions answered correctly by the end of the four rounds will compete in the finals tomorrow against the winners in the other places . Now lets begin!" the host said into the loudspeaker.

"Topic: Biology. Question 1: Bone marrow is the primary site of the production of what type of cell?" she asked. whispering was heard. *ping*. "Woodsmead High?" she said. "Blood cell" said a boy. "correct! Question 2: Which is the first oxygen-producing organism?". a ding was heard. "midtown tech?". "Autotrophic cyanobacteria" Josh said confidently. "Correct!" The host said. "yes" we whispered backstage..............

*a bell was heard* "that's the end of round one. At this time in the competition, we have riversdale high in first, midtown tech in 2nd, woodsmead high in 3rd and riverbank school of science in 4th. Please swap trios and we will begin round 2". The host said.

The guys then ran off stage and swapped with Cindy, Gwen and Emmy.

Round 2.......

"Midtown high?" Lady said. "Uranium" abe shouted. "Correct"............ "riversdale high?" She said. "Blood vessels?" Someone said. "Incorrect" the lady said. "Midtown takes the lead in this stage of the competition . "Yessss" we cheered backstage. "Please swap with round 3 students." The lady said.

Round 3......

"Good luck Betty" Mj said to Betty as she walked onstage. Ned gave Mj a dirty look and it didn't go I noticed. I pulled him aside. "Dude what the hell do you want!" He said annoyed. "What was that for?" I asked. "What was what for?" He asked. "That look you gave Mj" I stated. "Why does it matter?!" He shouted. Mr Harrington shushed us and Mj stared. "Would you keep your voice down" I asked him. "Fuck off peter" he said. "Who cares if I gave Mj a look it's not like your gonna do anything" he said raising his voice again. A cheer was heard from our classmates watching the group onstage.

Mr Harrington then walked over to us. "Boys, whatever your issue is please sort it out later. When we are here we are representing our school. Now, come over and support your classmates" he said. Ned barged into me as he walked over to everyone. I walked and stood next to Mj. "What was that?" She whispered. I shook my head. "Peter" she protested. I sighed "it's stupid. I'll tell you later" I said. She took my hand into hers and we watched our teammates.

"YESSSS" we cheered as they'd won the 3rd round for us.

Round 4....

Mj's POV:

The 3 of them came off stage and we had a few minutes until me Peter and Ned went on due to technical issues. I was standing a bit away from everyone just to go over some basic facts. I suddenly felt my shoulder get tapped. I turned around to see Gwen.

"What do you want?" I asked her. "Nothing. Just seeing if you know everything. Making sure your mind won't go blank" she said raising her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes. "Remind me, what's the pH of solution made when potassium oxide dissolves in water?" She asked poking me. I ignored her. "Come on Mj. Don't let the answer go away". "Is it pH 2...." She said. "Stop it" I said. She didn't. "......pH 8..." she continued. "Your not gonna make me forget the answer" i said. "I'm just trying to help you. pH 9" she said laughing. "Are you done?" I asked turned round to face her. "No but you will be soon" she said pushing me a little. Peter then walked over.

"Mj we need to go on" he said. "Don't screw this up jones" Gwen said. I rolled my eyes and followed Peter onstage. Our teammates cheered as we went on.

The lights weren't as bright this time but the other schools students looked very intimidating. I took a breathe and sat down.

A few minutes later......

The questions were getting harder by the second and we'd answered 3 so far correctly. But so had riversdale. We were on the last question and if we got this one wrong we'd not be competing in the finals tomorrow.

"Last question, what's the pH of solution made when potassium oxide dissolves in water?" The lady asked. I vaguely heard a laugh and presumed it was from Gwen. Wait I knew the answer. I pressed the bell. "Midtown tech?" The lady said.

Suddenly, I met eyes with someone in the audience. They looked so familiar and were sitting with a girl. They made eye contact with me and I immediately knew who it was. I got interrupted by the lady. "Midtown tech do we have an answer" she said. My mind went blank. Gwen's words repeated in my head. "Umm.....pH 13?" I said. Peter scrunched his face a little. Uh oh.

"Incorrect. Riversdale takes the win and competes in tomorrows finals" she said. I looked over and my teammates backstage looked pissed and sad at the same time. Mr Harrington looked disappointed and I think Gwen just enjoyed me being embarrassed. I walked off stage with Ned and Peter. "Okay guys. What a shame. Atleast be proud of getting this far" sir said. A few glances were made at me. "We could've won if it wasn't for Michelle!" Gwen said. I felt a pit in my stomach. "Yeah thanks a lot!" Ned replied after. I turned round and walked off.

Betty tried running after me but I saw Peter pull her back. I guess he knew I just wanted time to myself. I ran out the building and sat on the side of the road. I buried my head into my knees and couldn't stop thinking about the face I saw. Why was he here? He left ages ago. How'd he even know I was here? Or did he?

I then got tapped. "We need to talk" the person said. I took a breath and got up.

A/N:
Haven't updated in a few days so thought I'd put this chapter out. Not the best but hope y'all like it. Love doing cliffhangers maybe I'll do more aha. Also......HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZENDAYA!!!! Omg she's 26 today💓 I've been a fan of hers for like ever and I hope she has had an amazing day on her special day❤️ still waiting for that post from Tom but Ik he's taking a break rn. Glad he's putting his mental health first🖤 also loved Twuaine and Darnell's post for her🤩
Anyway enjoy the chapter and love y'all
~Layla🕸