Peter left the hotel room only to be confronted by Liz, dressed in a bathing suit with a white towel thrown over her shoulder. He looked flabbergasted as he didn't expect to see Liz that night, let alone in such an outfit. His lips, now red and swollen, were covered by his hand as he spoke in a muffled voice. "Hey, Liz."

A rush went past Peter as a group of his teammates, also dressed in swimming attire, followed Liz. Liz smiled at Peter and motioned for him to follow. His eyes widened and he shook his head rapidly.

"I gotta go," Peter said in a hurry while pointing over to the end of the hallway.

Liz rolled her eyes slightly and shrugged as Peter ran off down the hallway. She was about to turn back around to follow the group of teens when the sound of a door opening interrupted her. Liz looked around to see Thea slowly exit from what seemed like Peter's room.

Thea carefully exited the room and looked to one side, making sure no one was there. But she failed to look to the other as Liz approached her quietly.

"Thea?" Liz said softly.

Thea turned around quickly and jumped slightly, placing her hand on her chest in fright. She breathed deeply and forced out a smile. "Liz? What are you doing here?" She asked with clenched teeth.

Liz cocked a brow in confusion. "I'm just seeing if anyone else wanted to go swimming? Hey, also, isn't that Peter's room? What were you-"

"I would love to go swimming!" Thea interrupted Liz's words quickly. She waved her hands wildly trying to keep Liz off track.

Liz frowned slightly but smirked as she saw something that Thea failed to hide. Her eyes went straight to Thea's lips and saw the state of them. She crossed her arms and chuckled slightly. "I get it now..." She paused and Thea stood frozen, knowing she had been caught. "You and Peter, right?"

Thea gulped, not knowing how to answer that without making it seem worse than it already was. She rocked back and forth on her heels, trying to do something to calm her nerves. "I-uh," she stuttered, her eyes not meeting Liz's.

Liz snorted, and grabbed Thea by her hand, tugging her down to the pool. "Come on, let's go swimming if you don't want to talk." Thea breathed a sigh of relief at this but looked back down the hall for any sign of Peter. There was none.

But on top of the building, Peter was crouched, overlooking the pool scene. Thea was now dressed in an extra swimsuit that Liz had and was seated next to her. She was smiling at whatever Liz had said and Peter wished he could be with them all. But Thea promised to keep an eye on things here as long as he was safe.

~~~~

The next morning, everyone had to wake up early for the big day. Liz was rushing around, trying to gather everyone and organize everything perfectly for the day ahead. Thea, herself, was preparing for today too. Although this was a cover for her to come to DC with Peter, Thea did still have a journalism project to work on. However, after swimming last night, Thea got into her room with MJ and passed out on her bed.

Thea, now ready for the day, exited her room with her items and immediately went to Peter and Ned's room. She did find it weird that Peter never texted her how last night went, but she chalked it up to him just being super tired himself.

"Peter? Ned?" Thea called out as she knocked on their door. A few seconds of silence passed and Thea's brows furrowed in confusion. She hit the door once more, waiting for someone to open it up.

"Thea?" Ned whispered out as he cracked the door open a smudge. His eyes wandered across the outside, making sure no one was around. When he found no one else besides Thea, Ned gestured for her to come inside.

Thea was even more confused at Ned's strange behavior, but it grew even more when she entered the hotel room to see that Peter wasn't in there with them. "Ned, where's Peter?" Thea asked. Her eyes scanned every corner of the room, thinking that maybe this was some sort of prank and that Peter would really pop out from somewhere.

"I don't know," Ned spoke rapidly. "I thought maybe he'd show up sometime last night after I'd fallen asleep, but when I woke up this morning he wasn't here!" Ned's hands flew up to his hair as he tugged on it stressfully.

"Ok, ok, ok, maybe... I don't know. We just have to see what happens, maybe he shows up?" Thea told herself more than she told Ned.

"Ned, Peter? We're gonna be late, come on let's go," a distant voice called out from outside the room. Thea's eyes widened as she realized that they still had the academic decathlon to compete at.

Thea cursed under her breath and pulled out her phone, calling Peter. It immediately went to voicemail and Thea tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. She tried once more, only for it to have the same reaction. She slipped her phone back into her pocket as Ned began to pack up his backpack for the day. Her calculative eyes scanned the room for the dangerous item they had been harboring when they stopped on the dresser. Stuffing the glowy thing in her backpack with her pens and journals, she walked over to the door, waiting for Ned.

~~~~

Inside the big auditorium, teams from all over the country were seated, waiting for their turn to prove themselves worthy of the national title. The decathlon had already been going on for about an hour. Some teams took their losses while others enjoyed their wins. Thea had been jotting down facts and information she observed from her time inside. However, she wasn't able to contact Peter anymore while she was inside because the security made it clear that any technology would mean an automatic forfeit for the team, even if you weren't on the stage.

It was down to the last round of the decathlon, Midtown against another rival school. Only one more point needed to win the championship. Thea, although not usually interested in this type of entertainment, was grinding her teeth in anticipation. She pleaded for Midtown to win so she would not only have a great story for journalism, but also for the sake of her friends on the team.

The moderator of the competition was a well-dressed woman who stood, overlooking the teams that were competing. "We have now entered sudden death."

This statement rattled the teams and the audience. Deep breaths were taken in order to calm nerves, and even Thea found herself taking sharp inhales. The students on the stage placed their shaking hands on the buzzers, waiting for the question to be asked. "The next correct answer wins the championship."

Thea held her breath as she waited anxiously for a team to answer first. She eyed Midtown, hoping that it would be them to win. MJ buzzed her button first, startling Thea. Her eyes immediately fell on the impassive look of the seated girl.

"Midtown Tech?" the moderator asked cautiously.

MJ paused for a moment, looking almost bored with the answer as if it was too easy. "Zero," she replied.

Thea held her breath as she looked to the moderator for the result. The older woman looked to the audience and paused. "That is correct!" Thea let go of the breath she was holding. "Midtown takes the championship!"

The audience and the winning team on the stage erupted in roars of screams of joy. Ned hugged MJ tightly on the stage as every rejoiced. Thea smiled brightly, happy that her friends could win what they had been working so hard for. She wrote down in big letters in her notes, 'Midtown wins!'

To celebrate their winnings, the team and Thea went across the street to the Washington Monument to tour its great stature. Thea had never been to DC like this. Maybe once or twice as she passed through to get to somewhere else, but never for an actual stop. The team all crossed the street, all of them, except for Thea were dressed in their yellow blazer jacket. But every single one of them had a wide smile on their face.

Thea was still worried though. She didn't know where Peter was and it was beginning to stress her out the longer she went without seeing if he was okay. She hid behind a fake smile when Flash said, "Told you we didn't need Peter."

"Flash, you didn't answer a single question," Ned said.

The group went ahead into the monument. Thea eyed the group for the familiar face of MJ, but couldn't find her either. Thea looked over her shoulder to see MJ, with an open book in her arms, and Mr. Harrington talking.

The team was briefly stopped at security before they went up into the monument. Thea and Ned both placed their backpack on the conveyor belt that went through an x-ray scan, similar to what airports do. Thea's phone and the glowy thing were both placed in her backpack, safe in the inner compartments. She walked through the metal detector without a problem and waited for Ned on the other side. But right as Ned was about to go through, his phone rang. Thea's brows creased as Ned never got many calls. But her brows moved up in shock as Ned called out, "Peter?" The larger teenager moved back over to the conveyor belt, letting more people pass through the metal detector, but blocking up the x-ray machine. "Are you okay?" Ned whispered.

"Ned, Ned, where's the glowy thing, the glowy thing!" Peter shouted in worry.

"Ned!" Thea called out over the barrier behind the security. "Is that Peter?" she asked, worried. Ned looked over at her and smiled with a thumbs up, confirming her question.

"Don't worry, it's safe. It's in Thea's backpack," Ned reassured the frantic teen. "Look we're at the Washington Monument-"

"No, Ned, listen! No, no, Ned the glowy thing is dangerous!" Peter exclaimed over the phone, but his shouts were fruitless as Ned was distracted by Thea waving her hands frantically at him.

"Ned! Give me the phone!" Thea shouted, hopping slightly in an anxious manner.

Peter's brows shot up as he heard Thea's voice in the distance. "Ned, Ned, give the phone to Thea! Give it to her!" Ned groaned out and stepped forward, blocking both the x-ray machine and the metal detector. Thea reached her hand out over the barrier, trying to grasp the phone. But Ned stopped short when a man called him out.

"Son!" the security man shouted. "You're blocking traffic! Keep it moving."

Ned's eyes widened with realization and before he placed his phone down on the conveyor belt, he called out to Peter, "Sorry I have to go for a second. I'll call you back!"

"No, no, no!" Peter's voice shouted from the other end.

Thea groaned as Ned walked through the metal detector and walked up to her. She was near the rest of the group but separated from them by a few feet. She raked her fingers through her hair and tapped her foot on the floor.

"He's fine Thea," Ned assured. "He's probably coming right now."

Thea huffed out. "Fine."

Ned and Thea met up with the rest of the team as they climbed into the packed elevator. Both of them were the last people on so they were the closest to the closing doors. Thea eyed Flash, who stood by her and next to Mr. Harrington. He held the large championship trophy in his hand, proud to carry it.

"Hey Mr. Harrington, can I be the one to tell Peter he's expelled?" Flashed asked.

The teacher rolled his eyes at this comment and chose to remain silent.

The tour guide, who was an impassive middle-aged white woman, introduced herself with a monotone voice as the elevator began to move up with a slight rattle. A wall of the elevator was made of glass in order for the tourists to see the stone that made up the monument. Just as the tour guide was showing the different stones used for the monument, a sudden jolt shook the elevator, scaring everyone inside.

The ceiling of the elevator was cracked and the glass fell all around them. Thea winced from a sudden heat radiating from her back and she threw her backpack on the floor. The top of her bag was burnt, revealing the glowing rock inside. Thea's eyes grew wide as she realized what must have happened and looked over at Ned who too, seemed like he understood.

"Oh my god, look at the ceiling," Flash said breathlessly. The ceiling was sizzling from heat and parts were cracked so badly that light from above was shining in.

"Just stay calm everyone," Liz reassured.

"Oh, we are all going to die here, " Abe said, shaking slightly while looking up at the ceiling.

Thea looked around the elevator for a way to save everyone. Her eyes scanned the area, trying desperately to see if she could use her powers without everyone knowing. Ned stared at Thea desperately, knowing that she was the best chance in saving everyone. Thea gulped as she knew there would be no good way to use her powers without everyone seeing. It was either, wait for rescue and possibly die, or save them all but have the world know who she truly was.

"Ok guys, I know that was scary, but our safety systems are working," the tour guide assured everyone. "We're very safe in here."

Teens clung to one another as the elevator shook slightly. The tour guide opened the top hatch of the elevator, letting in light from above to shine down at them all, like a light from the heavens. Thea knew this safety wouldn't last much longer with everyone moving. The elevator was too unstable.

Many of the team were able to leave the elevator safely. Cindy was one of the first to go as she was one of the tiniest. Mr. Harrington helped lift students up with his hands but was struggling too, as he wanted to survive just as much as them. Liz was supposed to be next in line to get up and out of the elevator, but Flash pushed her out of the way and began climbing with the trophy in his hands.

Just as he touched the roof of the elevator, the entire elevator shook and rattled with the sudden movement. Everyone squealed and screamed as they felt the elevator move down slightly.

Ned was latched onto Thea with a tight grip, thinking that maybe if anything happened, she would have the best chance of survival. Thea kept a close eye on any opening she could use to save them all. Her eyes peered up at Flash, who was being pulled up by the rescuers at the top of the floor and then they widened as she saw the ceiling start to give way to the weight and movement. Thea scanned the area one last time and behind her, she saw a small hole that was caused by the sudden scraping of the metal against it, leaving her the perfect area to use her powers hidden from Mr. Harrington and Liz.

Just as the metal ceiling began to rip away from the rest of the elevator, Thea ran to the hole and stuck her arm through. The sudden free fall of the elevator shook Thea from her spot against the wall, sending her to the opposite side of the elevator. As her back laid against the cold metal floor of the elevator, her eyes gazed up at the hole above. In the distance, a single strand of a web shot down at them all, stopping them momentarily. Everyone in the elevator was screaming, everyone but Thea, who looked up at the now far away ceiling of the elevator shaft. But as nice as the stopping of the freefall was, it began again as Spider-Man's foothold gave away.

The masked superhero fell down the shaft right as the elevator hit another snag in the metal workings, slowing them for a moment. But this sudden stop didn't last long as Spider-Man's body fell down into the broken elevator. Thea's eyes widened at the incoming figure and rolled out of the way of it. The superhero's body hit the floor with a thud, sending the elevator falling through the stories of the monument once more. In a split decision act, he sent a web straight up at the shaft's ceiling and used the last remaining part of the elevator's actual ceiling as a foothold. This stopped the elevator from falling to the ground, ending the occupants' certain death.

As the elevator came to a halt, Thea stood up from the ground shakily. She had almost let them fall to their deaths. All because she didn't have a good grip on the wall. But she now did, she gripped the wall of the elevator with a white fist and looked to see Spider-Man, upside down, with his feet pressed against the ceiling.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I got you," he said in an obvious fake Queen's accent. He pitched his tone lower, in order to make himself sound more mature and to disguise his real voice.

Ned looked at him in awe and began to hop up and down, swinging his fist in relief while screaming, "Yes! Yes!" This sudden movement caused the elevator to shake slightly.

"Hey, hey, hey. Big guy, quit moving around," Spider-Man called out to Ned.

Little by little, Spider-Man managed to pull the entire elevator up to the top floor where rescue men were waiting. He groaned and panted at the weight of everyone as he struggled to lift it all up using pure body strength. As soon as the elevator came close to the top, the rescue workers opened the shattered glass door carefully, shoving everyone out of the dangerous lift.

"Alright, this is your stop," Spider-Man grunted, his fake accent clearly gone.

Ned and Mr. Harrington were the first ones to leave while Liz stood in front of Thea. A sudden groan of the metal surrounding them shocked Thea and she quickly shoved Liz out of the elevator and onto the safe flooring. As Thea predicted, as soon as Liz was safe, Peter's foothold broke apart, sending the elevator straight back down the shaft with surprising speed.

"Thea!" Ned called out in worry.

Thea yelped at the sudden movement and reached her hand straight up to Peter, who when he saw this, sent a web immediately down to catch her. She dangled by her wrist with a web attached to her, the only support saving her from a dark and dangerous drop below.

Peter's eyes were wide with fear as he gripped Thea tightly with a web, making sure she wasn't going to fall. "You're okay, it's okay!" he called out calmly. Carefully, Peter pulled her up by the web until his hand grasped her shaking one. Thea gasped when her feet hit the solid ground as Peter helped her to safety.

His webs began to snap, one by one, when everyone was safe on the floor. Thea stared back at the masked face of Peter, who looked at only her in silence. He was contemplating something, but Thea couldn't work out what.

"So uh-," Peter begins. "Is everyone okay?" His eyes scanned the room.

Thea nodded silently, her eyes still holding Peter's gaze. And Peter's lips parted as if he was going to say something, but the web holding him up snapped suddenly, sending him hurtling down the shaft. Thea gasped as she looked down while holding onto the wall next to her, careful not to fall in.

"Thank you," Mr. Harrington called out.

"Are you really friends with Peter Parker?" Flash yelled down the shaft, his voice bouncing back up to him with the echo.

~~~~

Later that night, the entire team packed up their things and drove back to Queens. Everyone was still fairly shellshocked with everything that had happened in the past few hours. As soon as they all got home, families of everyone had heard the news and met up with their children at the school late at night.

Thea and Peter waited around together for May, seeing as May was Thea's guardian in this manner. Tony Stark won't dare show up at this time for fear of everyone finding out about her relationship with him. Peter was wearing his hoodie with the hood up, masking his numerous bruises along his body while Thea stood next to him dressed in the same outfit she wore earlier in the day.

"Peter?" May called out to the teenager. She rushed over to the boy and covered his body in a warm hug. Thea smiled at this exchange and was shocked when May, too, hugged her tightly.

"Hey May," Thea said softly, tapping her on her back while she squeezed the female teen.

"Let's get you both home," May said with a smile as she released Thea from the crushing hug.

The ride to their apartment complex was silent. No one said anything, especially not May for fear it was too soon to say anything to the pair. Thea thought it was awkward but kept with it by not saying a word.

Once they arrived at their apartment complex, Peter told May he was going to Thea's for a few minutes just to grab a few items he had left there. This was a lie. In reality, Peter was going to Thea's to talk about what happened in the security of her place. Peter couldn't talk about the Vulture or anything before then for fear of someone listening in and hearing what he said.

Thea, silently, opened the door to her dark apartment and flipped on the light as she entered. The fluorescent lights brightened up the open area, illuminating the kitchen and living room. She dropped her bag off at the kitchen counter while Peter followed behind her and closed the door to the apartment. Continuing her path, Thea walked into her living room and flung herself down on the couch with a groan. She covered her eyes slightly from the bright light above her and waited as Peter sat down next to her.

"So," Thea said, straightening herself up to eye Peter. "What's the news? Why were you gone for so long? You had me worried."

Peter paused for a moment, thinking of the right words. "I went to track the bad guys like I said I would, but I ended up stuck in the van they were following and long story short, I was trapped in the Damage Control vault for the entire night. And the glowy thing is a bomb and is really called a Chitauri energy core"

Thea's eyes widened at the word Chitauri but she ignored it. "So, the bad guys are getting their weapons from...Damage Control?" She crossed her legs as she kept her eyes on Peter.

"Exactly, but I don't know how to find him, or where to go next!" Peter exclaimed as he threw himself against the back of the couch. He grunted as he hit a part of a bruise that formed.

"Hey, hey, don't stress. We'll figure something out," Thea whispered reassuringly to the teen as she placed a gentle hand on his knee. Peter tensed up under her touch but didn't brush it off. "In the meantime..." Thea tugged on the front of his hoodie, straightening him back up to look at her. "You need to go to bed and rest. After all, you did good today. You did save me." Thea said with a smile. "Come on." She patted his knee once before she stood up, Peter soon following suit.

Thea grabbed his bag from the counter and threw it at the teen. Peter caught it without a hassle and trailed behind Thea to the door. Thea held open the door for the tired teen and waited for him to pass her, but she was confused when Peter stood by her instead. Peter looked down at the brown-haired female with soft eyes. And with no warning, Peter leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

This shocked Thea who gasped faintly at the warm and kind gesture. Her eyes scanned the boy for any answer she might find but she came up empty when Peter smiled at her before he walked to his apartment.

Breathing through her nose deeply, Thea shut the door to her apartment before she ran her fingers through her hair, stopping at the place where Peter's lips touched. Her digits gently traced the area and she felt warmth take over her face at the thought of it.

~~~~

The news of what happened to the Academic Decathlon team spread quickly all over the school. And by the next school day, everyone knew what occurred and who saved them. Although everyone was grateful that the team was safe, the entire student body thanked Spider-Man for saving them all. The masked hero was now adored by the school as a savior of their fellow classmates.

Peter and Thea walked the halls of Midtown together as the school bustled around them. Almost everyone talking about Spider-Man. The tv even showed students talking about the 'Spider-Man mania'. The man himself seemed content with the new-found status at school, even if no one knew it was him. And Thea could see this change too as Peter walked happily instead of the groggy mood of the other night.

The bell rang right as Thea and Peter hopped down the stairs to the bottom floor of the school.

"Dude, dude, dude, dude," Ned's voice called out from down the hall. Peter and Thea both stopped in their tracks and turned around to see Ned rushing toward them. "What is it like being famous when nobody knows it's you?" Ned whispered to the teen boy.

"Crazy, dude," Peter said with a smile as he gripped his backpack straps tighter.

"It's crazy. Should we tell everyone?" Ned asked with complete seriousness.

Peter's smile was wiped as he replied, "No."

"Should I tell everyone?" Ned asked again with a smile.

"No, dude. That's not a good idea," Peter shook his head.

Ned looked over to Thea and winked at her, indicating that she should tell people. Thea snorted and rolled her eyes while Peter's eyes widened at this.

"Okay, come on, we'll be late to class," Ned said while turning over his shoulder, walking back to class.

"We're not going to class," Peter said.

Thea and Peter both agreed earlier this morning when they were walking to school, to find the villains before anything else happened. Whether it meant skipping school or not, Thea didn't care.

"You're already in so much trouble for ditching the decathlon," Ned sighed out as she slowly turned around to Peter.

"Dude listen, I figured it out, right," Peter whispered as he and Thea inched closer to Ned. "The wingsuit guy is stealing from Damage Control. And what he takes from Damage Control, that's how he builds the weapons." Peter eyed a figure who walked past, making sure no one was listening in. "So all we gotta do is catch him." Peter pointed at Thea and himself.

"But we have a Spanish quiz," Ned sighed.

"Ned, we're probably never gonna come back here. Mr. Stark is moving the Avengers upstate-so when we bring this guy in-"

"Dude," Ned interrupted. "You wanna be a highschool dropout?"

Thea smirked, "To be fair, I was never in high school in the first place."

"I'm so far beyond high school right now," Peter said as he began to back away from Ned. Thea turned to follow Peter but was stopped short when principal Morita was waiting for them by the exit.

"Parker, Quinton, my office," he said as he walked over to the teens. Thea groaned as she followed behind Peter and the principal into his office. 

~A/N~

Now that I finally have time with school and work being canceled, I can actually update every story.

I'm planning on updating Beating Pulses again sometime this week with an even longer chapter, so look out for that!