Crossed Wires (Peter Parker x OC)

Chapter 2

Two months later

Arriving at school, Rosabella picked at the cat hairs stuck to her shirt. Through the shoves and chatter of her fellow students rushing to see their friends before the first bell, she searched for Liz and the others.

Ro didn't have many friends. Liz Toomes was her best friend which meant she hung out with a lot of people, but she could never quite bring herself to call them her friends. They were Liz's and they just so happened to be nice enough to include her in everything they did. She couldn't read minds, not in the way she could read machines, but it was clear there was a barrier between them. Ever since she'd gotten her powers she'd become more secretive and closed off. Other teens picked up on her hiding a part of herself. No one suspected her to have powers, but the suspicion that there was more to her than she let on was enough for her to push everyone away.

Everyone but Liz. She'd befriended Liz in her freshman year and while she's never told her more than others about her nightlife their friendship was strong. She'd joined the decathlon team with her, she volunteered to be a part of the homecoming committee when Liz asked for help, Ro's social life would have been close to nothing without the other girl. She was the technopath's anchor to civilian life. It sometimes felt like their friendship was the last shred of normalcy in Ro's life.

The others found her first. Betty spotted her and the group jumped at the opportunity to share the latest gossip they'd been discussing.

"Did you hear about Mr. Ramsay's new car?"

"The one he brings up every two minutes during math? I think everyone has. "

"Flash almost crashed into it this morning."

While not one to keep up with Midtown's gossip, imagining Flash Thompson freaking out about almost ruining his dad's car while simultaneously receiving detention from Mr. Ramsay instantly put her in a good mood. Gossip and the high schoolers sharing it could be cruel, but this felt like karma. Flash was a bully and when he was held accountable for his actions, Ro always made sure to wave at him from the sidelines.

"I wish I could have been there to see his face." She said.

The others returned to sharing details of the events they probably had not even witnessed first hand either. As they walked to their first class, Liz pulled her ahead, looping their arms together.

"I forgot to ask you, but can you help me hang the banner for Homecoming during free period?"

"Have I ever told you no?"

***

"Is it crooked?" Liz asked from the top of the ladder.

Betty gave her instructions while Rosabella continued to hold the ladder. The two girls had been acting suspicious ever since they'd started working on the hanging the homecoming banner. Betty kept mentioning wanting more serious "co-workers" on the school's news show. It was no secret she and Jason did not have the best chemistry on screen, but while everyone who'd seen them as co-anchors had felt the cringe, Betty made a point to never acknowledge it.

Liz had been making cryptic comments about trying new things even though she'd never had a problem doing that in the past. The two girls were talking to each other, but about totally different things, it was almost as if they weren't even listening to each other. Ro knew that they had something in mind, the long pause in their conversation was telling her they were tiptoeing around something.

"So... Betty, what's the new segment about again?" Liz asked, failing to sound casual.

So this was about a new segment in Midtown High's news show, but why were they hesitant to talk about it around her? Ro had never shown an interest in the show. The whole thing was made without much students, budget or equipment. The result was a painfully awkward experience, but it was theirs and at very least you could laugh at it. That was the most thought Ro had given it, not that she'd ever tell that to Betty. The girl was determined to make it work and everyone knew she basically carried the whole thing on her own.