WALKING INTO SCHOOL THAT MONDAY, Kaelyn felt new. She walked with her shoulders back and her head high because word traveled fast around Midtown High (especially if Kaelyn Albright was the subject matter — they were seldom true but always fascinating). So, now probably the entire student body knew that Kaelyn and Peter Parker were a thing. She carried herself with pride throughout her day, knowing full well everyone's eyes were going to be on her. She met Peter in the hall after one of her classes, Beth by her side. Out there, in front of everyone, she kissed him on the cheek and walked off to class like it was nothing; like this had always been how things were. Something about being with Peter felt so unbelievably natural, it was weird to think about a world where they haven't been together. It has been a day and she already felt like they were normal. This was her new normal and she loved it.

After the last class of the day, Beth and Kaelyn were walking side by side where she turned a corner and saw Peter talking to Ned. She went to walk up to them, but she heard something out of the ordinary.

"First, we gotta put the glowy thing in the mass spectrometer," she could hear Ned saying to her boyfriend. Glowy thing? Mass spectrometer? What were they talking about?

The redhead grabbed her best friend by the forearm and pulled her behind the corner, just barely peeking past the corner where the boys had their backs facing them.

"Why are we spying on your boyfriend?" Beth asked, already knowing it was time to whisper, "Oh, your boyfriend, saying that is gonna take some getting used to."

"Hush, I can't hear what they're saying," Kaelyn motioned for Beth to close her mouth before focusing intently on trying to make out what the two boys were discussing.

She could hear Peter saying, "We gotta come up with a better name for 'glowy thing.'"

"You're right," Ned retorted.

"What glowy thing are they talking about?" she whispered to herself, earning a shrug and confused look from Beth.

Beth scratched her head as though it was representative of her thinking, "I mean, this is Midtown with lots of smart, sciency stuff, maybe things glow. It might be some assignment from chemistry?"

Something in Kaelyn knew that wasn't it, this was something else. She shook her head, her voice still warily quiet, "I don't think so."

Then, Peter stopped and looked up before grabbing Ned, "Crap. Come on, come on, come on."

Suddenly, the boys turned and ushered themselves right to Kaelyn and Beth's hiding spot.

"Shit, abort, abort mission," Beth muttered as the two girls tried to get out of there before being noticed. However, they failed as they were walking away, Kaelyn heard Peter call her name.

"What are you hiding from?" he asked with a furrowed brow. The girls walked back over to them in shame, disappointed they had been caught. Still, Kaelyn held her head high and acted like she hadn't just totally been caught in the act.

"What are you hiding from?" she tried to turn it back on him as she noticed Peter nervously eyeing the hallway around the corner.

Peter looked caught off guard by this, "I asked you first." Kaelyn crossed her arms and refused to budge until he answered the question. In moments, he caved. "Okay, that's one of the guys that tried to kill me. The night of the party."

"Oh, God, we gotta get out of here," Ned suggested and Beth nodded enthusiastically.

She made eye contact with her boyfriend, knowing damn well his curiosity and her nosiness would prevent both of them from actually leaving and staying out of danger. She shrugged, attempting to muster up some confidence in her tone, "I have a feeling that's not gonna happen."

"I gotta follow them," Peter said with a sigh, watching as Kaelyn's shoulders tensed up. They were teenagers, they weren't meant to chase danger, but that was all Peter did. It was a good thing he was an adrenaline junky or something because now he had Kaelyn who could protect him. Peter was reckless, but he wasn't invincible. Kaelyn, however, was both. "Maybe they can lead me to the guy who dropped me in a lake."

"You got dropped in a lake?" Kaelyn and Ned asked at the same time.

"Yeah. It was not good," was all Peter said in the matter. "Now, come on, I don't wanna lose them."

Kaelyn rolled her eyes. It was about two days in and she already disliked dating a danger-chaser, but she liked the boy so she was going to have to get used to it.

"Beth, Ned, get out of here. Peter, come on, I'll lead. If these guys are armed, we have much better chances if I'm the one in front." With that statement, the two took off, but Ned and Beth followed regardless of orders they were given. Part of Kaelyn was warm inside because she knew Beth was pretty ride or die (and vice versa), but at the same time, she just wanted to assure her best friend's safety. She had to admire the loyalty, though. They followed the henchmen, as Ned dubbed them. They went to enter the chemistry lab, but Peter held them back.

"They'll find us if all of us are in there. Stay out of sight, I'll wait in some spot and see what they have to say," Peter instructed as he looked around nervously. Beth and Ned scurried to find hiding spots as Kaelyn gave Peter a disappointed look.

With a sigh, she kissed him briefly on the lips before commanding, "Stay safe, dumbass. Don't get caught. If you do, just yell and I'll be right there in front of you, okay?"

"I can handle myself, Kae."

"I know you can, but my job is to make sure you don't have to. Good luck, don't do anything stupid," she pushed him gently and ran to hide behind a trophy case alongside Beth. Attempting to hide how nervous she truly was, she offered Beth a reassuring smile, but the dark-haired girl saw through her like always.

"He'll be okay," she nodded, putting a hand on her best friend's shoulder as a sign of support. Together, they watched as the henchmen entered, conversing amongst each other. A few minutes passed. Too many. About a beat after Kaelyn was about ready to burst out of her hiding spot and rip those henchmen to pieces (as best a high school cheerleader could), the two men came out of the classroom scratching their heads. It seemed they hadn't found anything, which had Kaelyn breathing a deep sigh of relief. Peter was okay. A minute or so after they disappeared, Peter came out of the room with a triumphant smile on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" the redhead asked as she left her hiding place and gave the boy a tight hug.

Peter just smiled, "I put a tracker on one of them, I'm gonna find those guys."

The redhead's face fell as she slapped his face gently, "You're a dumbass. Wherever you go, I'll go with you."

"I don't need a babysitter," Peter scoffed, "I can do this on my own!"

"I left you alone and you got dropped in a lake, your point?" she spoke with a small, nervous laugh, "I'll see you tomorrow, Peter, try not to do anything dumb until then. I mean it."

Peter rolled his eyes, but a smile was ghosting at the corners of his lips as he kissed her on the cheek. "You're overprotective and very lucky you're cute. Text me when you get home, please."

"You know I will. Come on Beth, you're still coming over, right?"

"Oh, you know it."

When the girls got back to her apartment, there was a strange figure in the living room. It was a man with dark hair and his back turned, conversing with Caden on the couch. When the door closed, they both turned to face the teenagers. Kaelyn didn't know who she expected to be the figure on the couch, but she certainly didn't expect it to be Tony Stark.

"Caden... What the hell is going on?" Kaelyn asked, addressing her brother instead of the billionaire. Meanwhile Beth just shamelessly gawked at the man.

"Kaelyn Albright, I'm assuming? You might know who I am, I hear you're dating my uh... intern. Peter."

"You're dating someone? Why didn't you tell me, Kae?" Caden stood up with a start, looking shocked. Kaelyn just held out a finger and didn't acknowledge him.

She shook her head, looking the man straight in the eye. "You can cut the shit, we know he's Spider-Man. Yes, we're dating, what does that have to do with you? I don't care how rich and famous you are, why the hell are you in my living room?"

"Mister Albright, you can leave now. This is confidential. The friend can stay, I heard she was a witness."

"Witness to what? What do you need my sister for?" Caden asked, but Tony shrugged him off with promises that all would be explained. With a defeated sigh, the man retreated to his room.

"What do you want? Did Peter tell you about my... incident?" Kaelyn crossed her arms, all of her defenses on high alert.

Tony nodded, "Yes, I know everything. That boy can't keep his mouth shut, I'm surprised the whole country doesn't know he's Spider-Man yet. Thanks, for telling your brother and your best friend, by the way, it's not like that was top secret information or not. Anyway, my point, you have some kind of powers. We don't know how or why right?"

"Nope, just showed up out of nowhere. A bullet bounced off my hand and I haven't been the same since. What's your point?" She spoke with a completely straight tone and expression, trying to hide how nervous she was facing this man.

"We at Stark Industries, by we I mean me, want to help you figure that out. While I do that, I would like you to work closely alongside Peter since he's reckless and you're a human shield, make sense?" She nodded. "I'm not gonna kidnap and dissect you or any sci-fi shit, we just wanna find out what you can do and how you can utilize it."

"How am I supposed to help Peter? I'm a fucking cheerleader, not an Avenger."

The man held up a finger, motioning her to wait. "Well, neither is Peter, for that matter. I'll figure it out, but for now, I did what I do best." Tony moved to reveal a bulletproof-looking case sitting on the coffee table. He pressed a button and entered some four-digit code. The case opened to reveal a red and black uniform of sorts. It appeared to be a black spandex suit with red patterns and a red and black mask that looked like Peter's, but there was something more than the color scheme that felt different. Everything in her soul was screaming at her: This one was hers.

"What?" Beth exclaimed, "I want one!"

"You can be a little more behind the scenes, okay?" Tony suggested, "Trying to keep the ones without superpowers out of danger. So, Miss Albright, you in?"

Something told her she was going to regret this, but she ignored that part of her. She nodded. "I'm in."

im so ready for the superhero storyline y'all have no idea