Dancing Around // peter parker

10

After an hour of taking pictures, I gave it a rest and started to listen to music for a while. Peter next to me eventually pulled out a strange comic. I asked him about it, surprise to see he would read something that looked so weird. He only shrugged his shoulder and said, "Yeah, I guess I do like weird things." Liz made him put away the book and participate in their practice.

Not long after Peter got a phone call. He moved past me and walked towards the back of the bus where Ned was. I only looked back for a moment, before looking at the now open window seat. Happy, I moved closer to it, looking at the different types of land as my music played. I wondered if we were almost there?

Someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned, expecting to meet Peter only to see Flash there smiling without a yellow blazer to call his own. I turned around, looking back at the window and increasing the volume of my music. He tapped my shoulder again. I pulled out one of my earphones, looking at him with what felt like an annoyed expression. "What?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't look okay?"

"Can you quit assuming how I am? I'm fine. I'm dandy. I feel like running in a field of daisies right now, so there is no need for you to ask me that question, okay?"

He looked down at his lap. "Okay. I'm sorry about the party."

I shrugged. "Okay."

"I really did just want to help. I didn't mean to be a savior or something. It's just," he shifted his body towards me. "You hear about all these bad things that happen to girls, you know? And so, you ask yourself, like, what can you do about it? How can you help? I didn't realize that I was what I was trying to protect you from until you pointed it out. It slipped away from me."

"I don't need your protection. Want to help? Don't assume you know best."

"Right. I get that now," he looked at me. "Sorry."

"You can stop apologizing." I placed my earphone in, only for him to gesture for me to take them out again. "What now?"

"I heard what you told Peter, about how you had a friend take you home. Was that friend Al?" he asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I heard that you and Al...were together." I sighed. I stood up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm moving seats since clearly you're not going to," I moved past him. For a moment I thought that maybe I should take my bag with me, but I felt too awkward to reach out my hand.

I walked into the small aisle and saw that Peter was off his phone. I hurried to the back, sitting next to him again. Ned was sitting in front of us. He hurried to hide something I couldn't see. I didn't think much of it.

"I'm not trying to follow you like a lost puppy, I swear, I just need to ask you something," I said. Peter looked at me before his eyes slowly moved to meet Ned's. I looked at Ned too. "Hi, Ned," I said.

He waved. "Hi, Marina. I didn't know you were with the school newspaper. Nice."

"Thanks." I looked back at Peter. "At the party, you obviously saw me with Al, right?"

"Uh...I - I mean-"

"Peter you literally saw me go into the room with him."

"Right. Yeah, I did," he said.

"And I'm sure that you have heard some things about what happened." I looked at Ned, "And I'm sure you have too, Ned."

"I don't believe in any of it," Ned assured me.