Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

1. Stick To A Theme

"We don't get a lot of guys these days, unfortunately." Peter follows the middle-aged lady, his gaze lingering on the frames covering the hallway. Pictures of girls wearing tutus on brightly lit stages, fill the walls. The images vary from kids in regular dance wear to adult women, thin like sticks, wearing tutus with the most intricate details on them. Their make-up is intense and their smiles are beaming.

The lady walking in front of Peter quickens her pace and he follows quietly. Her heels click on the aged, tiled floor, her pencil skirt limiting the extent of her stride. She has a donut bun on her head and Peter can tell she must've been wearing it regularly her entire life, as her hairline has started receding a little. Her eyes skim some papers through a pair of tiny glasses.
"What sparked your interest to learn ballet?"
"I've always admired the physicality of ballet," Peter says without missing a beat. He practiced this. Of course, he wasn't going to tell her that Spider-Man was running out of new moves and that he needs regular practice to keep his flexibility at the right level. He had all his answers ready. She wasn't going to catch him off guard. Sure, he might as well have gone to a circus school or find somewhere he could practice gymnastics, but somehow all of those skills also require knowledge of ballet. Might as well start with the basics, right? 

The lady, who had previously introduced herself as Madame Touha stops in her tracks and looks back at Peter.
"The physicality?"
"Yes, uh- the fact that you can make it look easy but it never is? Flexibility and strength, that kinda stuff."
"You can learn that with any type of dance." Madame Touha squints and leans closer. "You are hiding something." Peter presses his lips on top of each other. How did she already see through him? What is he supposed to say now? Of all the scenarios he planned, he somehow didn't plan for a lady with a lie detector. He didn't exactly lie, but he wasn't telling the truth either. Obviously, he's hiding something. He is Spider-freaking-Man. He's said less than 5 sentences to her and she already knows he has a secret agenda. Great. 

Madame Touha turns her head to one side. "Most older guys who come here now aren't here for the dancing. They come here for the dancers. These are my girls and I will not have them be preyed upon, am I understood?" Of all the things she could say to him, he didn't expect her to mistrust him based on his gender. Or his hormones.
"No," he stumbles. "I mean yes, I mean- I understand." Madame Touha leans back and eyes him from the top of his head to the tips of his toes with her hands on her hips. Her raised eyebrows come back down as she turns and continues walking.
"I don't mean to scare you, but my students are my priority."
"I understand, Madame." Peter hastily continues following her. "You're just trying to keep them safe." She shoots a glance at him. Maybe he said that with a little too much understanding in his voice. He meant it, though. He knows all about trying to keep the people he cares about safe. It doesn't always work out the way he would like to, but nothing is more important to him.

Madama Touha stops at one of the doors in the long hallway and rummages through her papers, looking for something. Muffled sounds of a piano playing staccato fill his ears. And something else. Weird... Tapping? It's an odd sound that Peter would one day grow familiar to hearing. It's a deep sound, but always short and never loud. Peter can't help his curiosity and peeks through the vertical glass strip next to the door. He can't see much from where he's standing and he bites the inside of his lip out of quiet frustration. What is that?
"You won't be joining that particular class, Mr. Parker." Madame Touha smiles. Peter jolts back into position, looking at his feet, embarrassed that he got caught staring. He glances into the room one more time from where he's standing, but he still can't see what's happening in there.
"What are they doing?"
"That's pointe class."
"The uncomfortable shoe-thingies?" Peter could hit himself in the head. That was the stupidest question he could ever ask. To his surprise, Madame Touha laughs.
"You can look if you want, but please don't disturb the dancers." Peter takes a few small steps towards the window until he has a better look of what's happening in there. He's immediately glued to the group of graceful women gliding over the floor on those- pointe thingies. They must be a very high level, doing turns and jumps with an ease that's almost scary to him. They don't even have super powers and they do this stuff. By themselves.