Tarantula (Spider-Man)

The Physical, Chemical Sense

     Valerie arrives at her usual lunch table to find a familiar face mysteriously absent.

"Hey, where's Harry?" she asks, sitting down with Peter, Gwen, and Eddie.

Peter and Gwen angrily stare at each other, before turning away.

Trying to ignore the two, Eddie shrugs, "Who knows? Hey, did you hear about the accident?"

Valerie perks up her head, "No...what?"

"Well, I figured with you working at Oscorp and all, you'd know," Eddie figures, "There was an explosion in the Oscorp Power Core. Apparently at least one employee is expected to be dead."

"No way...wow..." she leans back in her chair. Hang on, isn't Max Dillon the one who designed the Oscorp Power Core?

Valerie lurches forward in her seat, "Do you know who the employee is?"

Eddie shakes his head, "Nope, I don't think any names have been released yet. Not until they can fully assess the damages."

He takes out his phone, "Personally, I've been fascinated with the design of the power core myself. It would've had to take someone...I don't know...falling in to destruct that thing!"

On his phone, Eddie shows Valerie a diagram of the Oscorp Power Core, "It's powered by tanks of genetically engineered eels. Pretty cool, right?"

She nods, "Pretty cool..."

Just then, Valerie gets a text on her phone. It's from Harry.

"Out by the front. Can you meet me there?"

Valerie puts away her phone and gets up. Eddie turns around.

"Where are you going?"

She pauses just a bit before responding, "...Harry texted me."

A sullen expression appears on his face, "Oh..."

Eddie rests his chin on his fist, as Valerie puts her hands on her hips, "What?"

"Nothing..."

Valerie's stern expression softens just a bit, "Uhm...well, if there's anything I can do-"

He shakes his head, leaving her even more confused, "Well...alright..."

    Valerie arrives out at the front of the school, where Harry sits hunched over on the front steps. Valerie takes a seat next to him.

"You...wanted to see me?" she asks, her tone hushed.

He turns toward her, and smiles, "Of course."

Harry leans in for a kiss, but Valerie turns away. Seeing this, Harry wraps his arms around his knees, "You're thinking about Eddie, aren't you?"

She twists her lips, "I'm not sure."

"That's what you always say..." he mumbles.

Valerie turns back around, and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Harry I...I like you a lot. But that's not the only thing on my mind. I have an arm of Oscorp to run. There's already enough drama going on in our friend group with Peter and Gwen...and...there's just been a lot going on right now."

Now it's Valerie's turn to curl up her body into a ball, "I try to be the adult in the room...I mean, I have to. But when I think of us...of choosing between you and Eddie...I feel like such a kid. It's usually just easier to put the issue out of my mind, to not think about it. But I realize...sooner or later, I have to face the decision. It's just...I don't know when that's going to be."