"Evie, get out of the bathroom! We're gonna miss the train!"

Evelyn rolled her eyes, tying the elastic around her curly hair. "Hold your horses, I'll be there in a minute!"

Peter sighed. They were going to miss the train and be late, again. Then again, he was the one who broke the alarm clock... but still. He straightened as his sister walked out, grabbing her bag and her book. They said goodbye to their aunt and uncle before sprinting down the stairs of the old apartment building.

Queens was a roaring buzz. Cars zoomed past, having no care for the pedestrians idling along the footpath. Horns honked, someone shouted, others chatted, the air filling with sounds. Peter winced. He was still trying to adjust to the whole over-dialled senses shindig. He dragged Evie along despite her protests and the fact that she ran faster than him, but he couldn't be late for math again. That was detention for sure.

They leapt onto the train just in time, their chests heaving as they crammed into the carriage. "Well, that's one way to get to the station," Evie puffed, straightening out her blouse. It had been May's, like how Peter's clothes were once Ben's, but hers fitted better. May Parker was a lot smaller than her husband, meaning it was easier for her niece to fit into her old clothes.

Peter sighed, checking his watch. "I didn't want to be late to math again or else I'll have detention. You know I hate those."

"Why? MJ's always there." Evie wriggled an eyebrow, much to Peter's disgust.

"No! I don't like her! Well, not that I don't like her. I like her, but not like that."

"Right." The female studied her nails. "You're in love with Liz."

Her twin's face grew red, proving her thoughts to be true. "Well," he spluttered, "You like that jock, don't you?"

"Well, he's not bad, but he doesn't have much going on up in his head. He also hangs out with Flash."

Peter rolled his eyes at the name. Eugene 'Flash' Thompson was every girl's dream man. Top in the class in gym, a footballer, even good-looking by society's standards, he had every girl falling for him. Well, almost every girl. There were the few who saw him for the bully he was. Flash enjoyed watching people squirm, having a deep lust for power and control. Evie said it probably had something to do with his home life but Peter was adamant that he was just a plain idiot.

The train pulled to a screeching halt outside of Midtown Station, the twins' cue to exit. The school was already packed with smelly teenagers catcalling and shouting over the mass of students in the halls.
They walked over to their lockers, spinning the dials and emptying their bags, Evie's below and diagonal to Peter's.

Someone tapped Peter's shoulder and he turned around, smiling at his friend. "Hey Ned," he greeted as they started their handshake. "How are you?"

Ned beamed. "I got the new Millenium Falcon Lego set yesterday and my mum said your welcome over at any time to build it. Hey Evie," he said, giving the girl on the floor a wave.

She waved back before returning to her book and Ned focused his attention on Peter, who was weighing his options. "Does that include this afternoon?"

Ned nodded.

"You'll have to ask Ben. And if I remember correctly, it's your turn to clean the kitchen this afternoon, and you have that English assignment."

Peter glared at his sister's smirk despite knowing that she was right. "I can do the assignment at Ned's. And can you fill in for me? I'll do it for you tomorrow."

Evie sighed, knowing very well that he wouldn't remember to clean or to do his homework. Despite them being barely minutes apart, you could tell that Evie was the one born first. "Fine. But if Ben gets cranky then that's a you problem."

"He only gets cranky at you," Peter snarled

"Riiiight, I forgot you were his favorite."

Ned stood there awkwardly, still not entirely sure what to say when they bickered. He knew that they loved each other and would be absolutely distraught if one of them left, but that didn't stop them from breathing down each other's throats.

"Well if it isn't Puny Parker and his hottie twin."

Evie, still on the floor, glared at Flash over the edge of her glasses. "Back off, Thompson."

The bully bent down and smiled, reaching for her cheek. "You look especially pretty today."

She smacked it away and stood up, shooting her death stare at him. Peter took a step forward in front of her in a protective way. "Don't talk about my sister like that."

Flash scowled, bending over Peter as he straightened up. It was obvious to even Evie without her glasses the massive height difference between them. On the slightly short side of average and, long legs were the twins while Flash towered a head taller than them, a bulky mass compared to their skinny limbs. "You wanna mess with me, Parker?"

Peter gulped. "N-no." He said, making himself smaller than usual, a habit he had when he got scared.

Flash guffawed. "That's what I thought." A fist went flying towards Peter's face, a crack audible as it collided with his nose. Peter yelped, trying to stem the downpour streaming from his now broken nose as Evie launched into attack. First, a hardcover copy of Little Women to the head then a kick to the shins. The bully recoiled, snarling at his attacker.

"You mess with him, you have to deal with me," Evie said cooly. While her brother had a very distinct flight response to danger, hers was fight. Sometimes that was incredibly helpful when someone tries to steal their money, but when it happens in a school hallway, things start to get messy.

"Evelyn Parker, in my office now!"

Peter grimaced apologetically from behind his tissue as Evie closed her eyes. Berating herself internally for not paying attention, she dragged herself behind principal Morita, preparing herself for whatever punishment she was about to face.

Peter dabbed at his nose, testing to see if it was still bleeding. It had stopped, thankfully, but it was still broken. Oh well, it'll heal. He looked at Ned and took the lead, Ned following behind closely as they walked to their first class.

~《☆》~

"So, who would like to tell me what techniques are used in this image?"

Peter watched from the other side of the room as his sister raised her hand. She was given a week's worth of detention and a call home, meaning a month of being grounded. Ben was not happy. Neither was May, but she didn't get mad often.

Evie answered flawlessly, explaining the use of the technique in the image. This was another one of their differences. While both of them excelled in school, getting top marks in all of their classes, they enjoyed different things. Peter was more inclined to Mathematics and Science, enjoying the way how everything fitted together and exploring different theories. Evelyn preferred the subjects like English and history. She loved stories and analyzing absolutely everything. She had a knack when it came to emotions and looking at both points of view, making her a formidable opponent in debating. Neither of them particularly liked Health and Gym, though Evie was better in the physical sense and Peter in the theory component. It made working on homework easy, as they collectively had a vast expanse of knowledge on all subjects.

Flash whispered something about her comment and his friends laughed. She pretended to take no notice, but Peter noticed the way her ears reddened and how she was quiet for the next few minutes.

With their circumstances, it was hard not to be self-conscious part of the time. Everyone knew the Parker orphans. They often got weird looks in the hallway and pitying smiles that they both hated. People didn't seem to understand that that was the one thing they hated being labelled as.

"Peter?"

He jerked out of his thoughts, blinking his hazel eyes at his teacher. "Yes?"

"I asked you a question." Mrs Walker tilted her head slightly, waiting for his answer.

"Oh." His face flushed in embarrassment and he glanced over at his sister, who was tapping rapidly on the desk in Morse. "Um... yes." He stalled a little, figuring out what she was saying.

H-O-W  H-A-S  T-H-E  C-H-A-N-G-E  O-F  A-N-G-L-E  I-M-P-A-C-T-E-D  T-H-E M-E-A-N-I-N-G  O-F  P-I-C

Peter looked back at the board, formulating the answer as he looked between the images. "The high angle shot on the first image makes the subject look weak and inferior, but when you use a low angle shot  it gives the subject power and superiority."

"Excellent answer. As Mr Parker was saying-"

Peter zoned out a little, mouthing a thank you to Evie. She sighed in response and jerked her head at the teacher, telling him to pay attention. He rolled his eyes slightly but obliged, turning to the teacher and listening to her drone on about lighting.

~《☆》~

Peter opened the door, gesturing for a very dejected Evelyn to enter their apartment. After English, Peter got the joy of experiencing his sister pace nervously in one spot, smiling apologetically at the other passengers on the train. Now she had to face her punishment and probably a very mad uncle.

Ben looked up from the couch, walking over to the two of them. "Evelyn"

"Look, before you empty your anger, let me just say that it was only because that jerk punched Peter in the face and it was the first thing that came to my mind and I regret it and all of my life choices so I'm sorry and if you want me to I'll even apologize to Flash, though I'll probably die if I do, and I promise not to do it again. Maybe."

Ben blinked at the sudden rush of words, exhaling heavily. "Evelyn, I get why you did it, but you're going to have to learn to think before you act. Sometimes it isn't a big deal, but when you hurt someone else, that's when you need to stop."

"But-"

He cut her off, raising a hand. "Let me finish. You're still grounded, but- but, if you do well at school and at home, I might lift it."

If there was one word to describe Ben, it was fair. He was always just in his actions, listening to the other person before making a decision. So Evie sighed, accepted her fate, handed him her old phone and her book, and went to her and Peter's room.

Peter turned to Ben, not sure what to say next. "She really was only trying to defend me," he said quietly.

"I know, but I also know that she knows other ways to defend you that don't involve a violent bookworm. Now, you're asking if you can go to Ned's, yes?" Ben's eyes wrinkled as he raised his eyebrows.

Peter smiled. "Yeah. Can I?"

"Don't you have things to do?"

"Evie said it was fine if we switch days, and I can do the homework at Ned's." Peter put on his puppy dog eyes, knowing that they would do the trick.

"All right," Ben said. "Just be home by five."

"I will!" Peter ran into his room, shutting the door just in time before a snowball landed smack in his forehead. "Ah! Evie! What have I said about snowballs!?"

"Shh! May's in the kitchen! Also, it's payback from when you scared me on the ceiling." With a flick of her hands, the melting snow picked itself off the floor, transforming into water as it slid into her open water bottle.

As all twins do, they had secrets. Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider not too long ago, giving him spider-themed abilities. Evie, on the other hand, was exposed to a chemical blast of dry ice with some other ingredients a year ago, giving her the ability to control any liquid, specifically water in any form. Neither of their guardians knew: it was their secret.

Peter rolled his eyes and grabbed some items and stuffed them in a backpack. "Don't you have better things to do?"

Evie swung onto the top bunk. "Nope. I'm grounded, remember?"

"Actually you have a kitchen to clean. Stop it with the snowballs!"

Evie just cackled.

_______________

Thank you for reading so far! I hope it's not too boring or long so far, but I promise things are going to get interesting. If you have any suggestions on what these two knuckleheads should do, let me know and I'll be sure to tag you!

Evie, are you seriously writing a book about us?

Shush Peter, this is my book, not yours. This is the only way to keep me sane while I'm grounded for saving your butt, remember?

Riiiiight, yep. Ok, well, enjoy whatever nonsense she comes up with.

Hey! You take that back! I'll be back, I just have to catch this WEASEL! PETERRRRRR!