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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xii. LIAR, LIAR!

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  HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED how much of your life is real? What about how much of your life is a lie? Do you ever think that maybe, everything you see in front of you is all one big fairytale? Maybe it's your name, maybe it's your friends, maybe it's your family, maybe it's the fact that your favorite shirt isn't as cute as your friends said it was.

  In books, TV shows, plays, and movies, we see our characters being lied to and how it affects them, submerging their lives into absolute chaos. Harry Potter was never just an orphan, Juliet wasn't dead when Romeo found her, and so on. We all know that lying can ruin someone's life, so why do we do it? Why do we lie? Some say we lie to protect the people we care about, but lying always ends up hurting them more than anything else, which brings up a new question.

  Do we lie for the sake of others or for the sake of ourselves?

   Riley didn't think she was a liar. When someone wanted her to be honest, she was. For example, one time, Flash asked her if she'd ever go on a date with him, she told him she would rather dive into shark-infested waters. Maybe it was extreme, but come on, it's Flash we're talking about!

   She never felt like she was a liar. Whatever people wanted to know, she'd tell them — just a condensed version of the full story. When someone at Midtown High would ask about her family, Riley would tell them that her parents died when she was young, which was true! She just didn't add the part that she accidentally murdered her parents and gained superpowers that made her one of the Earth's mightiest defenders.

   ...That didn't make her a liar, did it?

   No, Riley wasn't a liar. She was a good person with good intentions. But when she strolled into her 7th period to meet with the Academic Decathlon team and laid her eyes on Peter Parker, Riley sure did feel like one.

   After all, for two months, Riley had been keeping secrets from Peter, secrets he deserved to know about. Something about it felt wrong, despicable. Was it because she was becoming a little attached to the boy with the heart of gold?

   If Peter wasn't associated with the Avengers, if Peter wasn't Spider-Man, if Peter was just a normal boy being mentored by Tony Stark, maybe Riley would feel better about this whole thing. She was worried she wouldn't be able to keep up this act for much longer. Peter was her friend, a future Avenger she'd properly work alongside one day.

   She knew she was doing this for Tony, one of her best friends in the entire universe, someone she'd give her life for. She knew he just wanted to make sure his protege was transitioning into the hero world smoothly and keeping up with his responsibilities. But this whole thing was getting harder and harder to deal with. Maybe in the future, they'd look back on this situation and laugh, but right now, in the present, Riley didn't like lying to Peter.

   She had to keep telling herself she was just being dramatic, just overthinking, just worrying about nothing. Tony was right when he said she was. She just had to suck it up and wait until he decided the mission was over... whenever that was.

  With a kind smile, Riley joined Peter's side, somewhat surprised. "You're early," she greeted as she sat down next to him.

   She almost didn't notice it, but Peter tensed when he heard her. He turned to her with a forced smile. If she wasn't trained to notice things like someone's body language, she would've brushed it off immediately. He was good at pretending everything was okay. She just wondered why he was pretending. That wasn't like him at all.

   "Huh? Oh, yeah. I, uh, just dropped marching band, so my 6th period's, like, right down the hall now."

   Riley tilted her head to the side, puzzled. "You quit? How come?" she asked, curious. "I thought you were really into playing the trumpet?"

   Peter hesitated—which Riley noticed, too. "Guess I'm just not feeling it anymore," he admitted. "Besides, I had to quit. The Stark Internship's kinda taking up all my time now, and I've gotta be ready whenever Mr. Stark needs me. You wouldn't understand."

   Something about his words sounded off to her. But regardless of that, she hated how eager he was to give up his life for Tony Stark. Not just literally, but figuratively, too. Was being a hero really more important to him than having a normal life? With real friends and a real family? With hobbies and extracurriculars? Was it not enough for him? Oh, how Riley wished she could understand.

   "Yeah, you're right. That sounds exhausting," she said. "So, what'd you drop band for?"

   "Study hall."

   Nodding, Riley perked up when a thought crossed her mind. "Wait, that's your 6th period? No way, I have study hall, too! Maybe we can meet up in the library tomorrow or something."

   Peter's eyes lit up, an enthusiastic smile on his face. "Yeah, that's a good idea!" he agreed, matching her energy. He simmered down rather quickly. It was like he suddenly remembered something that upset him. His entire tone and body language changed again. "...Isn't it weird how we have so many classes together? 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th, and... now, 6th."

   Riley shrugged. "Hey, I wasn't the one who made my schedule. And you were the one who changed your 6th period, not me," she reminded him. "Sounds to me like you have a stalking problem."

   Peter scoffed, but he didn't say anything back. Weird... What the hell was his problem?

   She glanced back at Peter, eyebrows furrowed. His gaze was pointed straight ahead as Mr. Harrington made his way to the front of the room. Meanwhile, Riley studied the boy beside her, trying to understand what was wrong with him. He wasn't like himself. He was tense, dry. If Riley didn't know any better, it was almost like he was secretly conspiring against her.

   But why? Did she slip up somewhere? Was Peter onto her? No—that's impossible. Riley had been meticulous, wary. There was no way Peter could know a thing, not unless someone told him.

   Riley tried to relax, but she had a feeling he could tell she was uncomfortable. "...Hey, are you okay?"

   Peter perked up a little bit. "Hm? Yeah, yeah. Never better!"

   "Uh-huh, okay, liar, liar, pants on fire," she retorted, offering him a little smile to show that she was just messing with him. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong, but... don't lie to me. I'll see right through you."

   Peter shook his head. "Why would I lie?" he gently challenged.

   Riley shrugged. "I dunno. Lots of reasons," she excused. "It's like that reverse psychology thing we were talking about, remember?"

   There it was again—Peter tensed. He tried to play it off, but Riley noticed it. It made her nervous. "Reverse psychology? Did we learn that recently or something?" he inquired. "I don't remember talking about that."

   Riley froze. Shit. Of course, Peter didn't remember talking about that. That was a conversation between Valor and Spider-Man. Shit, shit, shit.

   She paused for a moment, trying to make it look like she was thinking about it. "Oh. Maybe I was talking to Liz about it then," she dismissed.

   Was Riley a complete fucking idiot? How could she mess up? She never slipped up—not like that, at least. Ever since Riley started getting in her head about this whole thing, overthinking as always, she'd been less careful. She needed to get her shit together. For Tony.

   Peter smirked, nudging her. "Maybe you're the one that's not okay."

   This time, Riley rolled her eyes. Still, this was a good thing. Maybe he didn't even notice her slip-up? Little did she know, he definitely noticed. This whole undercover stuff was a piece of cake!

   "You know what?" Riley invited. As she spoke, she pulled out some notes from her backpack that she'd been memorizing for the upcoming Academic Decathlon. "You're right. And I'm Spider-Man."

   That caught Peter by surprise. He even laughed. "Shut up, you wish you were Spider-Man."

   Giggling, Riley shook her head. "No, I'm serious! This whole time, I've been pretending I'm a normal girl when I'm really a superhero. That's right. I'm Spider-Man. That's why I tell everyone I hate bugs so much. It's to trick them!"

  'Oh my God, oh my god, SHUT UP!' Riley thought to herself. 'This is exactly why everyone tells you you talk too much. Do you WANT to ruin everything, you moron?'

   "Like reverse psychology?" he mocked.

   "Exactly like reverse psychology."

   Peter chuckled. A good sign, in Riley's book. "You're such a weirdo, Riley," he pointed out.

   Riley brushed her hair over her shoulder. "You have no idea," she teased. "Now, stop distracting me before Liz yells at us again."

   "You started it," Peter remarked. "You're the worst influence."

   Riley dramatically gasped. "Me? As if!"

   "Riley! Peter!" Liz called from the front of the room, a tone of warning laced in her sweet voice.

   Riley and Peter glanced back at the team captain, mumbling half-assed apologies, quietly laughing and nudging each other at the same time.

   Although they were back to bantering like normal, Riley found herself growing worried, even more than she was expecting. Something was wrong with Peter. He wouldn't start acting out of character out of nowhere, and as far as she knew, everything in his life was in order. There was something she was missing from the picture, and if she didn't figure it out soon, everything could fall apart.

   Little did she know, Peter Parker was keeping a close eye on his newest friend. He was onto her, and he wasn't giving up until he had proof that she was Valor... even if he secretly wished she wasn't.