Red Line

Part 16- Best Friends

Mj glances at my siblings then out the window, "Do you want to go talk on the porch swing?"
I nod. Will she be this calm once there's no kids present?

She lazily plops down on the porch swing and I perch on the railing across the way.
She crosses her arms, "I'm listening."
I sigh and run a hand through my hair, "How much do you know?"
"Let's see........" She scoffs, "everything I believe."
My jaw drops.
"Don't worry, Peter didn't say anything. He told us you moved which is the most clear BS I ever heard. Ned and I figured it all out months ago. We had a bet going to see how long it would take you to tell us."

"How?" I ask.
"Well, I saw your muscles in the locker room. That is not just from farm work. You are absolutely jacked. And you speak Russian. I mean like, come on."

I let out a light laugh, "You and Ned hacked into Tony Stark's computer, didn't you?"
She smiles, "Yes we did."
I shake my head, "The government should hire you, they don't even realize I exist."

She crosses her arms, "I'm not even upset you lied, I could tell you really cared, I'm upset you ghosted me."
"I thought you'd be mad, and it'd be harder for Peter." The last word comes out thick.
Her face softens, "He really misses you, you know?"
I shake my head, "He misses the girl he thought I was, not me."
"Deep down, aren't you the same?"
"He can never trust me like he trusted her."
"Give him time."

I let the silence hang between us for a moment, "What about you?"
"I don't want to date Peter for you." She kids.
I laugh, "But seriously."
"As far as I'm concerned you're still my best friend, but if you lie to me again I will kill you."
I nod, "that's fair."
"And don't you dare ghost me again."
I make an x over my heart, "I swear."
"Good, then are you going to introduce me to your family or...."
I smile, "come inside."

Peter's POV

"Is it just me, or was MJ acting weird when she left?" I ask
"Just you." Ned answers quickly.
"she was being dodgy, and she left me on read."
Ned glances at me anxiously, "I don't know. I'm sure it's nothing."
"You're making your lying face."
"What? No I'm not."
"No offense, but you're not a good liar."
"Fine." He relents, "We just didn't want to upset you."
"We?"
"I just knew." He says defensively, "She went to go see Y/n."

My jaw drops, "Y/n?"
"We may have done some.....extra legal research a while back. When she just disappeared, and you wouldn't talk about it, we figured she told you."
"You knew?"
"Im sorry I didn't say anything. Iknew she loved you, really, and I knew she would tell you when she was ready."
At this, I break down in tears. Ned gives me an awkward hug in an attempt to comfort me.

"We didn't want to make you talk about it, so we didn't tell you we knew. I'm sorry." He apologizes again.
"I'm not mad at you, or her." When I say that, I realize I'm not talking about MJ. I'm not mad at Y/n, I just miss her.
"No more lying, I promise."

Y/n's POV

I eye Cooper's water ice in disgust, "I'm not even sure I want to let you sit with us."
"It's good!" Cooper says defensively.
"It's not just the cookie dough water ice, it's the fact that you got gummy bears on top." Lila says.
MJ shakes her head, "Honestly, psychopathic."
He crinkles his nose at her, "I don't want to hear it from someone who got chocolate water ice."
"You're both psychopaths!" Lila chimes back in, "Get Swedish Fish flavor like normal people."
I cheer my cup with hers, "Amen."

Lila laughs and smiles at MJ. It's amazing how quickly Lila and Cooper took to her. They absolutely loved her immediately.
MJ rolls her eyes playfully, "Let me live. At least I'm not eating moist cookie dough."
"That should genuinely be a crime." I agree.

A group of people sit down at the table next to us.
"He's so old." One girl argues.
"He was frozen for like, 100 years so it doesn't count. Plus I like older men." A second girl defends.
MJ and I glance at each other in confusion. Are they talking about Steve?
"You guys are sleeping on Bruce Banner." A third girl chimes in.
The second girl crinkles her nose in disgust, "He turns into a giant green monster."
"That's the best part." The third girl said with a smile.
The first girl shakes her head, "Guys, the hottest avenger is definitely Tony Stark. I met him one time, he's so beefy in person, and he's rich."
I look at MJ again in both disgust and surprise, and can tell she's trying desperately not to laugh.
"The hottest avenger is definitely Thor." A boy says, "he makes me question if I'm actually straight."
The third girl nudges him playfully with her elbow, "You better be."
He smiles and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before returning to his ice cream. Must be her boyfriend.

My thoughts wander back to Peter and all the days it felt just like that, minus calling my father and his friends hot.

"What about Spider-Man?" The second girl muses.
MJ gets very still across from me.
The first girl thinks for a moment, "Nobody's ever seen his face."
The second girl shrugs, "I bet he's cute."
He is. Forms on the tip of my tongue, but I push it back and try not to think about it.

MJ takes a deep breath and smiles, "I saw a mini golf place down the street. Wanna play?"
I smile back, thankful for an alternative, "Only if you're ready to get absolutely destroyed."
"By Cooper." Lila adds, "Y/n is not very good at mini golf."
I let out a surprised laugh, "Hey!"
"You know I'm right."