2 | the unreliability of peter parker
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chapter two
THE UNRELIABILITY OF
PETER PARKER
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GRAHAM DROPS HIS PLATE of cheese fries onto the lunch table with much more force than necessary. Lena, as well as everyone else at their table, jumps at the abrupt clanging sound. Her friend has a sour expression on his face, lips twisted into a murderous scowl as he plops onto the uncomfortable plastic seat next to her.
"What's wrong?" Cindy questions, thin eyebrows creased in concern. Her glossy, pin-straight hair slides over one shoulder in concern.
Cindy Moon is also on the Decathlon team with Lena. She's very nice, but tends to babble on and has a certain flair for being dramatic. She comes from Korean descent and the food she sometimes brings as leftovers is not entirely different from the kind Lena has at home. They've been acquainted ever since the start of Freshman year.
"Flash made me drop my first plate of cheese fries," Graham spits in response. He's glaring heatedly at his food; when he's angry, he tends not to look at anyone. It's fair enough considering his evil eye could cut steel. "The lunch lady saw, but did she let me have my second one free? No, she told Flash to have a good day and threw a pile of napkins at me. I hate this school."
Proclaiming his detestation for Midtown School of Science and Tech isn't an uncommon thing for Graham to do. He truly wants to attend a performing arts school instead, but his parents force him to stay here in the hopes he'll pursue a STEM career like his uncle. And although he's gifted at what their school excels in, music is where his talents truly lie. He does his schoolwork to pass the classes. Graham puts his heart and soul into the arts— it's a piece of him, something you can't have without the other, like peanut butter and jelly. To deprive him of music or theater would be like draining the life from him.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Lena says somberly, then promptly steals one of his fries.
Graham swats her hand away a second too late. "Paws off. I spent all of my money on this. I can't even buy a water."
"There's a fountain over there." Lena begins to point to the space where they're usually located, but falls short. The Homecoming Committee is busy putting up a banner right above the drinking fountains. Their leader, Liz Allan, a senior and therefore one grade above them, stands on a ladder to make sure the sign is positioned high enough. The rest of her team swarms below like bees— Betty included.
She sighs. "Never mind."
She loves Liz — who doesn't? The girl is sweet, responsible, and even though her parents are very well off, she's not snotty by any means (unlike some people). Her wavy black hair is always perfect, dark skin without a single blemish. If Lena shared the same sense of style, she'd want to raid her closet. She constantly appears flawless in pencil skirts and adorable knit sweaters. She'll probably be voted Most Likely to Become President for the year's mock elections.
"I already have my Homecoming dress," Cindy notifies them with an excited grin. She'd seen the sign, no doubt, and had taken the opportunity to bring up the very thing that the entire school has been talking about ever since the school year began. "What about you, Lena? Are you finally going this year?"
She purses her lips in distaste. "'Dunno."
The truth is, she isn't sure about whether or not to go to Homecoming because of the money. Tickets are expensive for some stupid chaperoned dance and snacks in the gym, and she doesn't own any dresses suited for the occasion. Her parents would buy her one if she asked, but...
"You have to!" Cindy gushes, reaching across the table to clasp Lena's hand. Her entire face is so full of hope that it squeezes the brunette's heart; she hates to let her friends down.
Graham busily pokes at his cheese fries. He knows Lena won't outright agree, but keeps his mouth shut to avoid crushing their friend's spirit.
"I'll think about it," is what she responds with, and it seems to be a good enough response.
As Cindy releases her hand with a cheer, Lena feels a prick in her mind, like someone is staring. She sweeps her gaze around and finds it landing on Peter from where he sits alone with Ned two rows away. Her eyebrow quirks for a minute before she realizes he's not looking at her. Rather, his faraway eyes are locked on Liz as she finishes setting up the banner. But his line of sight slides to her after a second, a flush creeping up his face from being caught.
Lena smirks at him and mouths, "Take a pic."
But someone else must have caught his attention, because he shoots them an incredulous expression, and she's forgotten.
-♕-
"Let's move to the next question," Liz sighs as she shuffles the cards in hand. She rests her elbows against the podium below the stage, reading from the world's largest stack of notecards that she probably created herself. "What is the heaviest naturally occurring element?"
Charles Murphy rings his bell immediately after she finishes. "Hydrogen is the lightest." Lena shoots him a confused look before he mutters, embarrassed, "That's not the question, okay..."
Abe Brown rings his next, slightly exasperatedly. "Uranium."
Outbursts from Charles are not uncommon. Peter isn't the only underclassman with the hots for the Decathlon Team's president, and the freshman boy never ceases to impress her in any way he can.
Lena thinks back to Mrs. Warren's words from that morning: "Being the fastest doesn't always mean the best if you are wrong." It seems that also applies to Charles in this case.
"That is correct!" Liz praises with a proud grin. "Next: what enzyme breaks down immature HIV viruses?"
It's a close call between Cindy and Lena this time as they both ring their bells in sync. Their heads whirl to face to one another for a tense second, then look back at Liz for her judgment. Friendships outside of practices mean nothing once the mock competitions start. Especially between the two girls, who are likely the most competitive on the team. It's like Mario Kart— Lena would blast anyone with a blue turtle shell without hesitation if it meant winning.
"Lena was first," Liz ultimately decides, causing Cindy to sigh in disappointment and take her hand off her bell. The shorter girl slouches in her chair in disappointment.
"Protease," Lena answers easily, causing Liz to nod in approval.
Their meetings have become more frequent now that Nationals are just around the corner. The mere thought of it brings more nerves to her body than usual, especially since they hadn't made it this far last year. That's why Liz is working so hard to make their team the best in the nation— maybe then, they won't fall short again.
Liz has decided they'll meet during school instead of afterward. The meetings are always held in the cafeteria, with two or three tables set up on the stage depending on how many members are attending. Currently, the other participants are Cindy, Charles, Ned, and Abe with an empty spot next to Lena where Peter is supposed to be. But instead, he's speaking to Mr. Harrington about something she can't hear. If he's thinking about quitting now...
"Lena!" Liz calls. She jumps, snapping her focus back to the girl who raises her eyebrows expectantly. Oh God, she'd been staring at Peter. Now Liz is going to think— "Page ten."
As she scrambles to find the page in her handbook, Flash's arrogant voice unfortunately fills the room. "You've never even been in the same room as Tony Stark."
Here we go.
"Wait, what's going on?" Cindy asks on behalf of the rest of the team who'd missed the beginning of the conversation. And because it's her hobby to find out everything about everyone.
"Peter's not going to Washington," Sally Avril responds matter-of-factly from where she's laying stomach-down on the floor, books and papers sprawled out in front of her. She doesn't sound surprised and Lena doesn't blame her. She can feel disappointment inflating her like a balloon. Part of her had known this was coming, and yet she'd still clung onto the hope that Peter would stick to at least one after school activity.
"No, nononononononono," Cindy protests in a jumble before ending it with a final, firmer, "No."
Abe's face scrunches in confusion, his Ghanaian accent becoming more pronounced in his question. "Why not?"
"Really?" Liz asks Peter in a defeated tone. She gives him a puppy-eyed expression that must cause him to melt right down into his New Balance shoes— she's been the recipient of that look before, and it really does succeed at twisting your gut. "Right before Nationals?"
"He already quit marching band and robotics club," Michelle Jones adds from against the wall, causing Lena to face her in surprise. The girl is relatively quiet, choosing to sit on the sidelines with a book instead of interacting with others. When Michelle realizes almost everyone has looked to her in questioning, she says more carefully, "I'm not obsessed with him, just very observant."
"Flash, you're in for Peter," Liz announces with a sigh, making Lena groan and put her head in her hands dramatically.
"Oof, I don't know," Flash says sarcastically, not looking up from his notebook. He's sitting alone at the closest table with his feet propped up on another chair— how can he look like such an asshole when he's not even doing anything? "I've got a hot date with Black Widow coming up."
Abe rings his bell with a stoic expression. "That is false."
"Yes, because I'd be surprised if Flash had a date with anyone," Lena pipes up, smiling innocently when the arrogant boy shoots a deadly glare at her.
"What did I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes?" Mr. Harrington chastises in a slightly defeated voice. The fluorescent lights shine brightly on the gel smoothing back his dark-brown hair, marking his age more than the full beard on his face and the wireless frames that complete the nerd-teacher aesthetic. He's tired— that much she can tell by the way he rubs his face so his glasses tilt to one side. She isn't entirely sure he wants to be here. Nationals are putting a certain strain on all of them, and his outward appearance has only deteriorated since they won States last month.
Lena sighs and leans her chin in her hand as she waits for the next section to begin. She catches Peter turning to look at the clock again and squints, a scowl still pulling down her lips. That clock is the bane of her existence. So is the Stark Internship, causing Peter to skip out on literally everything, and making her have to sit with Flash instead. She'd rather jump into twelve feet of water.
She can't swim.
Her left hand begins shaking uncontrollably when she puts it down, so she clamps her right one over it. Then her leg bounces so violently that it hits the underside of the table. But there's also a throbbing sensation under her skin that no amount of trembling can satisfy, and it can only mean one thing.
She pleads with her brain, Not now, not now, anytime but now.
Her brain does not listen.
Lena rings her bell with so much force that it stings as her palm strikes it. Her voice is somewhat strained when she asks, "Can I go to the bathroom?"
Liz nods and jerks her head toward the door. "Yeah, just hurry up."
But she's already scrambling out of her seat before the sentence is over, nearly tripping over her own two feet while she jumps over Michelle's legs and bursts into the hallway. The familiar sensation of her lungs constricting begins to take over her chest. Her blood is pulsating in her veins. Lena glances to her right, catches a camera hiding in a corner of the wall, and sprints as fast as she can to the nearest restroom.
Luckily, it's empty. She's able to crash inside without disturbing anyone this time. Now that she's alone and sure nobody can see her, she can let some of the pent-up energy inside of her out, providing some relief.
Her eyes close as she concentrates. The power inside her is restless, so it takes an effort to gather it up in a way that isn't destructive. She can sense it storming around inside her like a hurricane, begging to rage upon something. Words echo in her mind and direct themselves toward the hammering of her heart. Not a weapon, not a weapon, not a weapon.
A small amount of energy rushes to the surface like a tidal wave. It leaves her in the form of a blast, blowing her hair from her face and rustling the strands. The doors on the stalls rattle gently. As the blue-tinted cloud evaporates, Lena feels her nerves beginning to settle down. As much as they can, at least. They're always zooming through her at top-speed no matter what she uses to try and calm them.
She reaches into the pocket of her jacket and pulls out the orange bottle of Adderall, feeling her stomach sink from knowing the medication will never work. Even so, her parents insist on purchasing it for her. They don't realize that nothing can ease her rambunctious nerves.
And as Lena shoves the pills back into her pocket and observes where she's at now, she wonders how soon it'll be before this truly becomes a problem she won't be able to fix.
-♕-
"HELLO FAMILY," Graham calls as he pushes the door to Lena's apartment open. Her parents, who are busy making dinner in the kitchen, aren't fazed by his abrupt entrance and instead immediately offer him to try whatever it is they're making, as always. Lena sometimes suspects that's the only reason he comes to her house so often— to eat their food.
It makes sense, too. Because Lena's adoptive parents both came from the Philippines at young ages, they've tried hard to keep their culture alive in their daughter as well. That means the language as well as the food. Whether it's chicken afritada or desserts like bibingka, they always have something delicious for her friends to taste.
"Hey, Ma," she greets, kissing her mother on the cheek. She does the same to her father. "Pa."
"How was school?" Ma questions immediately, handing Graham a spoon with her special sweet spaghetti sauce on it. Jessa Rivera is a relatively short woman with soft features and laugh lines around her warm, brown eyes. Her hair is a few shades lighter than Lena's and is cut short just below her shoulders. She always smells like lavender, which is one of the things that her daughter has always loved about her.
Her father, John, is built naturally muscular. His form is stocky and intimidating, with a resting expression that makes him look constantly angry. But when he smiles, it's like sunshine after a rainstorm. His black hair is always neatly combed, sleeves of his button-down shirt rolled up to his elbows so he can cook.
Her parents. Lena loves them to death, but if they knew what really lurks beneath her veins...
They've always been practical people, which has partially influenced their daughter's love of science. Pa had to give up his dream of continuing college to become a technician in order to help raise her. She refuses to let his sacrifice go to waste, but also understands that his love of fact has the better of him. He thinks people like the Avengers are barbarians after his coworker had been killed in the Battle of New York. Anything out of the ordinary is atrocious to him.
"Same-old, same-old," Lena sighs in response, dipping her index finger into the pot of spaghetti sauce. Just as Ma goes to swat her hand away, she sticks her finger in her mouth, eyes crinkling playfully at the corners. Ma shakes her head fondly and waves her wooden spoon in a mock threat.
"Tigil na, Lena, or you won't have any more sauce left for your dinner," her mother warns dramatically. Lena knows her well enough to deduce that she really does need to stop sampling the food before it's done– Filipino parents can be especially scary.
"How was your day, Graham?" Pa questions before chopping up some chives. Lena's friend hovers around the counter in case there are more samples for him to eat.
"Spectacular," he responds, to which Lena playfully rolls her eyes.
She glances at the television nearby, discovering that the indistinct background noise she heard when she walked in is actually the local news station. The headline reads: VIGILANTES: HEROES OR MENACES?
And on the screen, is her.
Graham, who'd been licking a spice off of his finger, catches sight of it and widens his eyes. His cheeks stay momentarily suctioned around his finger in shock. Lena tries to shoot a discreet look of panic at him without attracting the attention of her parents.
Of course, even if they saw, they wouldn't know it was her if they didn't look closely enough. She and Graham made sure of that when choosing her costume. Along with the cheap black jumpsuit and combat boots, there's a black mask to go around her eyes and a platinum blonde wig that obscures her natural hair color.
She basically looks like the Black Canary, but hey, she had to get inspiration from somewhere.
Unluckily for her, Pa catches her figure on the news before it switches to a shot of the infamous Spider-Man. He shakes his head in disapproval as he sprinkles seasoning into a pot. "Lena, if you ever see those two imbeciles on the street, go the other way, you understand?"
Lena swallows the lump in her throat as Ma nods in agreement. "Yes."
"It's only because I want you to be safe, mahal," he continues.
Her mouth tastes sour now. "I know."
As Graham shakes himself from his stupor and smoothly changes the subject, Lena finds herself watching Spider-Man swing himself around Queens on television. The reporters are discussing whether or not New York's local vigilantes are to be feared or praised, and as the lump in her throat grows, one thought passes through her mind.
This is why they can never know.
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put ! more ! cultural ! representation ! in ! books ! 2k18 !
also poor peter lmao he's acting so shady and lena's catching on
-kristyn
update 2020: rip all of the comments that disappeared after i edited this ): sadly, me in 2018 apparently didn't know how to spell "judgment" in the paragraph about the blue turtle shell in mario kart
TRANSLATIONS:
Tigil na: Stop it
Mahal: My love
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