𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 [𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐎𝐧𝐞

A couple days had pasted and Madison was leaning on the side of the school bus, ready to head off to Nationals.

It had come a lot quicker than she had expected. Even though she was still considered the new kid of the school, she felt comfortable and confident with the Decathlon team. And it helped that her friends were on the team, even if Peter wasn't coming.

Madison tucked a loosed strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. She looked down at her yellow jacket she was wearing. It was the team jacket.

She was also wearing a pink shirt and black jeans. Which didn't really go with the yellow, but Madison had to wear the jacket anyway. The whole team was wearing it, and it made Madison feel more apart of the team.

The girl started to pick at her nail polish when Abraham spoke, "Hey, it's Peter."

Everyone looked towards the boy as he jogged over. Madison gave Peter a shocked expression.

"Guys," Peter greeted as he came to a stop.

Madison stepped forward with a smile on her face, "Hey, buddy."

"Yeah, I was hoping maybe I could rejoin the team," Peter spoke, giving the group a half smile.

Flash the pushed through the crowd, "No, no way. You can't just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone."

"Hey, welcome back, Peter," Mr. Harrington smiled as he walked off the bus, "Flash, you're back to first alternate."

Madison laughed at the irony of the whole situation. Flash's face fell into confusion, "What?"

"He's taking your place," Abraham laughed, earning a high five from Madison.

Michelle, who had been in the back the whole time, spoke up, "Excuse me, can we go already? 'Cause I was hoping to get in some light protesting in front of one of the embassies before dinner, so."

Madison smiled at the statement. She loved Michelle for her views, that's one of the things they bonded on after the party.

"Protesting is patriotic," Mr. Harrington commented, "Let's get on the bus."

Flash shoved his yellow jacket at Peter and climbed on the bus in a huff. Everyone else started to pile into the vehicle and Madison stopped in front of Peter. She put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm glad you came."

With that she got onto the bus and sat in the very back and started to do her homework. The team immediately started to practice more. Even though their team was ready, Liz wanted to be one hundred percent sure.

An hour had passed and Madison had just finished writing her English essay that was due as soon as she had gotten back. She was about to start her Chemistry homework when Peter caught her eye by standing up.

He had a phone in his hand and he said something to Liz. The girl nodded her head and Peter walked down the bus and sat next to Ned. Madison watched at the two gestured to each other as Peter talked on the phone.

Once the call ended, Madison stood up and walked over to where they were sitting and sat in the same seat as Peter. She noticed Ned quickly put something away as she fully slid in the seat and sat her bag next to her.

"What's up guys?" She asked with a smile.

Peter shook his head, "Uh N-nothing."

"Who was on the phone?" Madison questioned, catching on that something might be off.

"Just May. She just wanted to make sure I was doing okay," Peter answered quickly.

Madison gave a smile, thinking that she would be crazy to think Peter would lie to her. "Well you're as safe as you can be. And we're no longer in danger of losing because you're back and took Flashes place," She joked.

Both boys laughed at the comment, and Madison gave a smirk. The girl then pulled out her Chemistry book and placed it on her lap. The boys looked at the book and Ned cocked his head to the side.

"I thought you're supposed to take Chemistry Junior year," Ned commented.

Madison looked up as she turned the pages, "I doubled up on science and math this year. That way I can get them out of the way and my last two years of high school will be pure fun."

"That's smart," Peter replied, giving Madison a smile. The girl felt her heart race as she looked down at her book once more, finally finding the chapter she was looking for.

"Thanks," was all the girl said as she began to read.

Ned pulled out his own book and Peter was reading off of Madison's textbook. She could feel his eyes on her, watching her while she worked. However, normally Madison would feel creeped out, but she didn't feel that way.

Instead she was nervous; mainly because Michelle's words were coming back to her. She remembered what she said about Peter looking at her like she was the world. Madison wanted to know if that's what he was doing now. She wanted to know if the looks were true, but she was to nervous to actually look up and into his eyes.

So she just focused on reading the chapter, not noticing how tired she was. And eventually she ended up falling asleep with her book on her lap.

Madison's eyes slowly opened once she felt the bus come to a stop. The team was starting to get off the bus. When she fully woke up she felt something touch her head. When she sat up, Madison realized that she had been leaning on Peter's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep," Madison stated, feeling her face heat up.

Peter gave the girl a small smile, "It's okay I just kinda looked out the window."

The brunette let out a yawn as she stretched out her back, "I guess I didn't get that much sleep last night."

Which was true. Because Madison had the same nightmare she always had. Madison stayed up all night, talking with her father like she usually did.

"Well glad I could be of service and be your pillow," Peter grinned.

Madison gave a laugh and shook her head. The girl the stood up and said, "You're such a loser sometimes. Let's go before the whole team leaves us behind."