Walking the Wire | PETER PARKER [1]

| 6 |

"A gas sample at constant temperature has a volume of 250 mL at 3.50 atm. What volume will the sample occupy if the pressure is changed to 1.55 atm?" Eloise quizzes, looking over the worksheet at Elena.

She touches her wooden pencil to the scratch piece of paper, but it doesn't get any further than that.

"How do I set up the equation again?"

Eloise explains to her the steps of setting up the equation so she can solve for the volume. She fills in the steps with the correct information and attempts the problem.

Eloise sits back and scans the library. It's nearing midnight, and the only people in the library presently are Eloise, Elena, and a single elderly librarian. That is, until the front door opens and Eloise's neighbor Peter walks in. He's wearing a hoodie with the hood over his brown hair, his hands in his pockets and earbuds in his ears. He doesn't notice Eloise as he walks straight to the back where the comic books are.

Eloise watches him in a non-creepy way as he browses through the selection.

She stands up from her seat and pushes out her chair. Elena looks up at her briefly before returning to solving the problem.

"I'm going to be right back."

Eloise quietly walks past book shelf after book shelf until she's standing a foot behind Peter. With his hood up and his earbuds in, he's completely oblivious to her presence.

She taps on his shoulder.

He turns around. When his eyes meet hers he immediately takes out his earbuds and puts down his hood.

"Eloise." He runs a hand through his messy hair. "Hi."

She smiles. "Hey, Peter."

He awkwardly sets his hands on his hips, then folds them across his chest and leans against a comic book stand, almost knocking it over. In the last second, however, he catches it, along with a stray comic that falls from the rack. He plucks it from the air and places it back where it belongs.

Eloise raises her brow, impressed. "Nice reflexes."

He sets his hand on top of the rack, his other hand on his hip, and crosses his ankles. It would've been cool if he didn't seem so nervous and fidgety.

"Oh, um, thanks."

Eloise doesn't really know what to do next, or why she even came over to him in the first place, so she asks, "What brings you here this late?"

He motions towards the comics, then lets his hands slap against his thighs. "I just needed some more reading material." He slips his hands into his front pockets. "What about you?"

Eloise motion to Elena over her shoulder with her thumb. "Last minute studying with my friend."

Peter glances over her shoulder at the bronze-skinned beauty that is Eloise's friend.

"What class?"

"Chemistry," She replies, but then grows embarrassed because Peter goes to Midtown, which means he probably took chemistry a few years ago.