The following night, Thea, Peter, and Ned all decided to go to Liz's party. Thea still disliked the idea that Peter was going to use his alter-ego to boost his high school moral, but she couldn't stop him.

Thea was stuck in the back seat of Peter's aunt May's car. She was seated right next to Ned who was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt underneath a red striped one. Sat on top of his head was a dark brown hat. Thea was wearing a large and puffy blue jacket over a long-sleeved shirt. Covering her legs, she wore ripped skinny jeans paired with sneakers.

Thea looked outside the car window at the house where the party was held. The street was packed with cars, leaving no room to park. Bodies of teenagers filled the house and the surrounding area to the brim, and with more pouring in every second. Exciting, and upbeat music was flowing out of the house, reaching their car on the street, letting them get a taste of the sounds of the party.

May slowed her car to a stop right outside the house. "House party in the suburbs. Oh, I remember these. Kind of jealous."

Peter, Ned, and Thea's gaze were all watched the bustling party and wild teens inside.

"It'll be a night to remember," Ned spoke with a wide smile on his face.

May laughed sweetly at Ned. "Ned, some hats wear men. You wear that hat," May spoke confidently at Ned.

Thea's expression quickly changed from one of happiness into one of worry and confusion as she noticed Peter's face held an expression of stress.

"Yeah, it gives me confidence," Ned replied.

Thea leaned forward, Her body resting against the back of Peter's seat. Her arm propped up on his seat, right below his headrest as she asked in a worried voice. 
"What's wrong Pete?"

Peter removed his gaze at the party and cleared his throat and while looking at Thea behind him he said, "Uh-nothing." He then turned his gaze towards May, "This is a mistake. Hey, let's just go home."

Thea was shocked at this statement. She tilted her head slightly as May sighed out.

"Oh, Peter. I know." Peter nodded along with May. "I know it's really hard trying to fit in with all the changes your body's been going through." Peter's worried expression quickly changed to one of confusion. His eyebrows narrowed down, feeling absurd in the conversation. "It's flowering now," May finished.

Peter looked away from May and rolled his eyes slightly, chuckling. Thea, too, chuckled at May's sentence.

May turned to the pair in the back and whispered out, "He's so stressed out lately."

Ned looked at Peter directly and stated, "What helps with stress is going to a party. We should go to a party." Ned smiled at the end of this sentence, nodding his head in a friendly manner.

"Yeah, let's do it. Yeah. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go," Peter said while opening the car door and stepping out.

Thea and Ned quickly followed suit by leaving the car and stepping out, behind Peter. Peter stopped walking when May called his name. "Peter."

Peter quickly turned back around and leaned in to listen to his aunt by the open window. Thea and Ned listening in behind Peter.

"Have fun, okay?" May said.

Peter nodded at May, "I will."

Thea smiled at Peter as he finally shut the door and turned around to Ned and herself. Thea turned to Ned, who had a smile present on his face.

"Bye May!" Ned shouted as he waved.

Peter caught up with Thea and Ned as they walked toward the house. Thea took one final look back to see May driving off, down the street. She sighed out as she looked up at the huge house, blasting with upbeat music. She saw unfamiliar faces scattered across the lawn, conversing with one another.

Thea, Peter, and Ned all walked side by side on the path up to the house. Ned patted Peter on the back as he asked him in a quiet voice, "Dude, you have the suit, right?"

Thea watched from beside Peter as he lifted up his right sleeve to show Ned his suit underneath. "Yeah," Peter confirmed.

"This is gonna change our lives," Ned spoke excitedly.

Inside the bustling house was crowds of teens doing various things. Some were dancing, some were just talking, and the odd few were even making out in the corners of the room. Thea watched in disgust at these pairs of people but quickly moved her attention to the rest of the crowd.

Thea watched Peter and Ned as their expressions changed to ones of anxiety and nervousness. Thea looked around at the modern looking home. The lights were dimmed as strobe lights replaced them. Two girls in front of the trio were shouting over the loud music.

Right by the entrance to the backyard was a DJ station set up. Flash was manning the station. He controlled the music playing and even mixed some songs together. He was absorbed in his own music; his headphones covering one of his ears wasn't helping his case.

Thea stood by the doorway in shock as she heard a robotic male voice say, "D-D-DJ Flash."

Ned stared at the bustling party while he spoke in a whispered voice to Peter, "Okay. We're going to have Spider-Man swing in, say you guys are tight, and then I get a fist bump or one of those half bro-hugs." Ned looked at Peter, who was staring off at nothing, listening intently to him.

"I can't believe you guys are at this lame party," Michelle spoke from the side of the trio.

All three of them quickly turned their heads to see Michelle flipping her hair back behind her head. She began to spread jam on a piece of toast.

"But... you're here too," Ned said slowly.

Thea just watched in confusion as Michelle took one questioning look at the trio before she said, "Am I?" She placed down the knife that she uses to spread jam, took a bite of her toast and left the trio to be confused.

"Oh my gosh!" The familiar voice of Liz sounded from the hall.

Thea's eyes went wide with joy as she saw Liz walking down the hallway.

"Hey guys," Liz said to the trio. Looking at Ned she said, "Cool hat, Ned."

On cue, the two boys both said, "Hi, Liz" at the same time. Peter's eyes were wide with surprise as he watched her stop right in front of the trio.

"I'm so happy you guys came. There's pizza and drinks. Help yourself."

Thea smiled sweetly at Liz. "Thanks, Liz, it's a great party."

"Yeah, what an awesome party," Peter said with a squeaky voice.

Liz nodded and smiled. With a soft voice, she said, "Thanks."

The sudden sound of glass breaking caught all of their attention. Thea gripped the side of her thigh with her hand, preparing for the worst. She breathed through her nose slowly, calming herself down. No one else noticed this though, not even Peter, who stood right next to her.

Sheepishly, Liz spoke, "Oh, I... My parents will kill me if anything's broken. I gotta-"

"Yeah," said Peter breathlessly.

"Have fun," Liz spoke one last time.

The trio all said goodbye to Liz before Ned turned to Peter quickly. "Dude, what are you doing? Spider it up!"

Thea stared at Peter, judging whether or not he would go through with his plan. Peter stood silent for a moment before he said, "No, no, no. I can't... I cannot do this," Peter stared directly at Ned. "Spider-Man is not a party trick, okay? Look, I'm just gonna... be myself."

Thea sighed out in relief at Peter's statement. She was worried he wouldn't make the right decision; that she would have to pick up after him.

Ned rolled his eyes and sighed out at Peter, "Peter, no one wants that."

"Dude," Peter said while furrowing his eyebrows. He began to walk away, feeling hurt by the remark.

Thea quickly followed him. She caught up to him and placed a gentle hand on his back. "I think you did the right thing. I-"

Flash interrupted Thea by shouting over the loudspeakers, "Penis Parker, what's up?"

Thea groaned as Flash pressed a button that blasted loud horn sounds over the speakers. Peter froze in place, staring at Flash with anger and shock.

"So, where's your pal Spider-Man? Let me guess. In Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?" Flash retorted. He played the obnoxious horn sound over the speakers again as the crowd laughed. "That's not Spider-Man. That's just Ned in a red shirt."

Thea clenched her fists together as she saw Peter look over to Ned for a moment. She sighed out and followed Peter outside while Ned stayed in.

"Peter, you know you're better than this," Thea spoke to him as he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the suit underneath. She waited in silence as Peter didn't respond. "Whatever," Thea sighed out. She turned back into the house, where Ned waited by the wall.

Thea looked at Ned for a moment before she decided that maybe it would be better to wait away from him when Spider-Man comes swinging in. She sighed and looked around the room. The house was big, but it felt like it wasn't big enough for Thea to get away from all the noise and the crowd. She breathed deeply before she walked to the front door and stepped outside on the green and well-maintained yard.

Silently, Thea sat down on a curb, her back laying on the wall of the house. Her knees buried themselves into her chest as he hands rested on the concrete curb she was sitting on. Thea closed her eyes and just listened to the sound of deafening music. She stayed like that for a while when she heard the sound of the front door open. She never lifted her head though, she'd rather stay in her own space. However, the person who exited the house didn't see her sitting on the curb right outside the front door. With her eyes still closed, Thea felt a harsh hit of someone else's foot against hers. She opened her eyes quickly to see a guy falling to the ground hard.

"Ugh," he groaned as he sat up carefully.

Thea's eyes widened as she straightened her legs out, her hunched over figure now opening up. "Oh my god, are you okay?" Thea asked the injured man.

Thea eyed the man on the ground. He had dark and curly hair that was now sticking up all over from his trip. His deep brown eyes were squinted in pain as he groaned out, "Yeah."

Thea cursed as she stood up quickly, sticking out a hand for him to grab. He took it hesitantly, his strong and calloused hands grasping her soft hand gently. Thea hissed out as she saw his injury. In his deep pigmented skin, he had scratches and cuts along his forearms.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Thea asked once more.

The man brushed off his clothes, straightening them out before he looked up at Thea. "Yep, I'm doing just fine. Nothing a little Neosporin can't fix," he laughed.

Thea half smiled and said sheepishly, "I guess it wasn't the best idea to sit right outside the door." She stared into his almost black eyes. His jawline was sharp and broad. Lips that were full and chapped slightly at the edges. Thea swallowed at the sight of his towering figure over her. He stood a few inches above Thea, her face just barely reaching his chin.

"I guess not... I'm Miles by the way. Miles Morales," he said with an obviously fake deep voice

Thea giggled at his fake voice he used, "I'm Thea Quinton."

"I don't think I've seen you around Thea," Miles said while combing back his hair with his fingers, "You do go to Midtown right?"

"Yep, but Midtown is a really big school, so maybe you'll see me there now that you know me," Thea said.

"Well... I-um-I could keep a close eye out if I got your phone number," Miles said sheepishly. "Plus, I think you owe it to me since you did make me scrape up my arms," Miles said with a half smile.

Thea chuckled and smiled at him, "Sure thing." Thea reached into her phone and pulled out her phone. She slid open the lock screen and recited her phone number for Miles, who already had his phone out and was typing it in.

"Annndd, sent you a text," Miles spoke out with a smile.

Thea's phone immediately began to buzz, showing that she got his text.

"Well Thea, it was nice to trip over you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met you," Miles said in a low voice.

"I'm glad I could be of assistance," Thea said with a cheerful voice.

Miles smiled at Thea while walking backward towards the street. Taking one last look at her, Miles turned around to walk but failed to see a step going down into the street. He stumbled on his feet, almost coming crashing to the ground, but a bush to his side caught his fall. He held himself up in the bush, branches poking him and leaves sticking to his clothes. Miles smiled sheepishly and shouted out in a high voice, "I'm okay!" Before he brushed himself off and left down the road.

Thea laughed at Miles falling into the bushes and watched as he ran down the street.

What a weird guy, Thea thought.

Thea cleared her throat and turned to the front door. She sighed out, expecting Spider-Man to be swarmed inside the house. But when she opened it, there was no swarm of people, nor any Spider-Man. Confused, Thea squinted her eyes, trying to find Ned.

Her eyes almost glazed over his body in the edge of the room. Quickly, she ran over to him, her eyes full of worry and confusion.

"Hey Ned, did I miss him?"

Ned looked at Thea with confusion as he said, "No, he isn't answering my calls. I don't know where he is."

Thea stood there, in the dim light of the house party for a moment. She thought about what Peter could have done, and where he would have gone, but nothing came to her mind.

"Shit, come on Parker," Thea whispered to herself quietly. She looked down at the ground before she quickly glanced up at Ned. "I'm going to go and find him." Thea then reached into her back pocket and pulled out the familiar broach that stored her suit.

Ned looked at Thea in bewilderment as she did this when his face suddenly turned to one of realization and excitement. "You're going to go and find him as Dark Matter?!" Ned whispered loudly.

"Yes Ned, I'll see you later when I find him," Thea sighed out. She quickly turned to the backyard sliding door and ran out it. Thea checked her surroundings in the backyard, making sure no one would see her climb to get to the roof.

Swiftly, Thea began to scale the side of the house with the help of her powers. Once on top, she looked down at the broach in her hand and took a deep breath before she pressed it onto her chest. The cold fabric quickly surrounded her body completely, leaving nothing but a portion of her face visible. Without thinking, she placed her hands down next to her side and sped off into the night sky, a trail of purple mist floating behind her. 

~A/N~

Soooooo, Thea finally met Miles!!!!!! He's going to play a big part in Thea's life. I hope I can do him justice!!!!!