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chapter six
COFFEE SHOP
INTERVENTION
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LENA'S PARENTS FORCE HER to stay home the next day. Although the pounding in her head and lack of coordination have subsided, she still finds her brain twinging with pain after experiencing bright lights or loud sounds. That means no high school for the day. Midtown Tech would be a nightmare for her healing body.

Graham had dropped her things off early in the morning while she was still sleeping. Luckily, her parents hadn't asked why she had two sets of clothes (the ones in May's tote, and the ones in Graham's backpack) and instead sent him off to school with bibingka and his promise to give one to "that nice Peter boy."

Her phone is charging on her bedside table when she wakes up at ten a.m— a record amount of sleep for her. She checks it, slightly wincing at the blue light it emits, and discovers more than a few texts. Also a record.

GRAHAM CRACKER: why was peter parker helping you out last night?? and how do your parents suddenly know him and want to give him bibingka??

GRAHAM CRACKER: you have a lot of explaining to do when you wake up

GRAHAM CRACKER: but also i love you and i'm glad you're okay

PETER PARKER: Remember that intervention you were talking about last night???? I think we should have that today because Graham and Ned are very confused :/

NED LEEDS: peter told me you have a concussion. hope you feel better!

Lena smiles at the text from Ned. The entire Decathlon team has each other's numbers because they have a separate group chat to discuss meetings, group study sessions that never end up happening, and a lot of Charles accidentally sending unrelated texts to it because he thinks he's talking to someone else.

GRAHAM CRACKER: leaving me on read now? smh

LENA BENA: get back to class

LENA BENA: btw, love you too

Lena struggles to climb out of her bed and pads over to her bedroom door. Her head only has a dull ache, with no spinning or vision that blurs at random. Sleep is a miracle for the body to heal itself. Aside from a few bruises on her arms and stomach, along with a small twinge of pain in her ribs when she walks, she feels much better.

As soon as she heads into the kitchen, she smells something delicious. Ma must have begun stress cooking yet again, except this time, she had made pancakes earlier that morning and the scent still resides in the air. Lena will never stop being grateful for her parents' cooking abilities.

"Magandang umaga," Ma greets from where she stands at the sink as she rinses off the dishes from breakfast. The brightly-colored kitchen shouldn't come as a shock to Lena after all the years she's lived in this apartment, but her concussed brain receives a bit of a wake-up call. The walls are painted a warm orange that matches the falling leaves outside. Most of their utensils are multicolored as well— their spoons and spatulas are blue, pans yellow, and stools at the counter green. Some marks of crayon still reside on them from when Lena had decided to attack the chairs at the age of three.

"Morning, Ma," Lena replies with a yawn that she stifles with her hand.

"You need to eat," her mother says, drying her hands on a white dish towel and starting to reach into the fridge for leftover pancakes. "Your concussion isn't going to get better on an empty stomach. Are you nauseous?"

"No." The teenager slips into one of the chairs at the round dining table. Normally, she would assist in the preparation for her meal, but this is an exception. "I feel pretty okay— just a bit of a headache."

"You need to be careful next time. What would have happened if that Peter boy hadn't been there? You're lucky you didn't crack your head on the bottom of the pool."

"I know, Ma. I would promise that I'll be safer in the future, but I don't think I'll be going to any more parties anytime soon."

Ma nods in agreement at her decision. As she heats up Lena's meal, she hums a tune that she's been singing since Lena was a child. She still isn't sure what it is or where it came from; every time she asks, Ma merely smiles cheekily and continues on with the song.

Lena eats her breakfast as well as she can. She may not be nauseous, but her confused body seems to be rejecting the idea of food in her stomach. Her pancakes drown in maple syrup. As she watches the amber liquid sink in, she considers how lucky she is. The drop could have killed her. She could have landed on Peter and killed him. But if she takes it easy today and forces herself not to study, she could be back to school by tomorrow with only minimal side effects.

Maybe Tony was right. Maybe she should call it quits and wait until his supposed "backup" arrives, whoever that is. But she isn't the kind of person who can just stand by and watch when she knows something wrong is happening. She's always stood up to bullies, argued against injustice. This is the same thing. Except now the bullies are fully-grown adults with alien tech and a vulture dude with wings.

Her phone lights up when she receives a new text.

PETER PARKER: So we may have a clue, and I think Graham is going to explode if we don't tell him what's going on

LENA SANTOS: he hates being in the dark— he's not used to it. what's the clue?

PETER PARKER: I'll tell you at the intervention we're definitely having today before your friend shoots me dead with his laser eyes

Lena sighs and stuffs several pieces of pancake in her mouth at once before adding Peter, Ned, and Graham to a group chat.

LENA: alright, we clearly have a lot to talk about. meet me at the café, ristretto, after school. go with graham because he knows exactly what i'm talking about

Ristretto is supposed to be her and Graham's place to hang out when they need caffeine to power them through a particularly boring study session. She hopes he won't be upset by bringing Ned and Peter there, but he's a nice person. Even though Peter is making him sound like a demon, Lena knows it's just because he's confused and hurt that Lena is keeping secrets from him.

NED: i'm scared

GRAHAM: i have band practice but i can skip

PETER: Sounds good :)

Lena goes back to stuffing her face with pancakes after Ma sends her a meaningful look from across the kitchen. She just hopes this won't blow up in her face.

-♕-

Lena taps her fingers against the booth she'd managed to snag in the back of the café, secluded enough that people will be less likely to overhear their conversation. She still hasn't ordered and is slightly afraid they'll kick her out soon. It's been ten minutes. Her favorite worker, Eli, is nowhere to be seen. He could have vouched for her. After two years of Lena and Graham coming here, the boy two years their senior had become their friend.

Lena hadn't done much to better her appearance before she'd taken the subway. She's dressed plainly in an oversized knit sweater with blue and white stripes, black leggings,  and blue sneakers, making for a comfortable outfit. Her tousled waves spill over her shoulders messily— she hadn't really bothered to brush them.

She straightens upon catching sight of three boys appearing in the large glass window near the door. Graham opens the door for Ned and Peter, who shuffle inside awkwardly and very obviously search for her in the slightly crowded café. In the end, it's Ned who spots her in the back.

"I got your homework for you, just in case," Graham informs her as he sinks into the empty spot beside her and sets his overflowing backpack at the foot of the table with a thud. "Peter told me what your class did in Physics. Cindy also helped me out."

"Thanks," she says appreciatively, though schoolwork is the farthest thing on her mind for once.

Ned and Peter slide into the seat across from them. There's a terribly awkward silence that stretches for a few moments as the four of them realize that they have no idea where to begin.

"I think we should order first," Graham suggests, breaking the stretch of quiet. "That lady is giving us dirty looks from behind the counter."

"Is it Helen?" Lena asks bitterly. "I hate Helen."

"It's Helen."

"That bitch."

Graham's lip quirks in a grin as he begins to slide out of the booth again. "Why don't you guys figure out what you're gonna say while Ned and I get the drinks?"

Ned doesn't realize what Graham means at first and merely sits there. Then, after Peter gives him a not-so-subtle nudge, he jumps and bumbles after the dark-skinned boy with the promise of grabbing two medium-sized coffees. From the look of Peter's undereye bags, he needs it.

"So, how did you get your... you know..." Peter makes vague gestures with his hands, acting as if he's summoning energy. The action is so adorable that it makes Lena smile.

"I didn't 'get' them," she replies, grin fading as she recounts her confusing backstory, most of which is unknown to her. "They've been a part of me for as long as I can remember. The parents you met aren't my birth mother and father— I'm adopted. So maybe I was born with them, but I'll never know, because my real parents..."

She trails off. Saying, "My parents are dead" has never been easy for Lena. There's always a lump in her throat that prohibits her from speaking the words aloud, but Peter seems to catch her drift anyway, because he nods with a rivet between his eyebrows.

"Same with mine," he informs her somberly. That must be why he lives with May, but she'd never really thought about it until now. "So I know how you feel. Kinda."

Lena gives him a halfhearted lift of her lips in thanks for his empathy. He gives her one back, then averts his gaze down to the table between them. His hands are folded, sleeves of his brown jacket nearly swallowing them. It's an obvious sign of his nerves.

"How did... how did you know it was me?" Peter questions in a quiet voice.

Lena cracks a wider grin. "You may be the best web-slinger around, but you're terrible at keeping secrets."

Graham and Ned reappear in the next moment, each with a paper cup in both hands. Graham hands Lena her usual order — a caramel mocha — before resuming his spot beside her. Ned copies his actions to Peter. Soon, they're all sitting again, only it's not as awkward as before because they get started right away.

"Okay," Peter begins, blowing air out of his cheeks and puffing them out. "Let's just rip the band-aid off." He lowers his voice and looks Graham dead in the eye, channeling all of his strength to get the words out without stuttering. "I'm Spider-Man."

Lena isn't sure what she thought Graham's reaction would be. A gasp, maybe. An exclamation of "What the hell?" or a smile of excitement. But she certainly didn't think he would start laughing.

It's not a mocking laugh, but rather a lighthearted, disbelieving one that says, "Ha, you're funny, now tell me the real stuff." He only stops when he notices Ned and Lena staring blankly at him and how Peter is flushing beet red.

"Oh my God," Graham says, eyes sweeping between the three of them. "You're serious. Wait." His head gives a shake as if he's trying to rid himself of immense confusion. "Lena, you knew?"

"Yeah, how long did you know?" Peter asks as if he'd just now realized that she figured out his identity before he learned about hers.

"I found out, like, two days ago," she responds with a nonchalant wave of her hand. Peter's brain calculates what happens on that specific day, his eyes going wide. He looks like he wants to crawl into a hole and never come out.

"Okay," Ned says, face pinched in confusion. "I still don't understand how this involves Graham and Lena."

Graham casually positions his coffee cup beside Lena's hand so it'll be obscured from anyone who happens to glance their way. Carefully and slowly so she doesn't summon too much energy at once, she forms a small pool of blue above her palm, thankful her powers seemed to have returned after all the resting she's done.

Ned's face is priceless when she drops her hand back down to the table. His mouth hangs open in a gape, deep brown eyes practically bugging out of his head. "Holy shit. You're Havoc! Wait, Peter—"

As if he knows what Ned is going to say, Peter hits him in the arm and shoots him a pointed glare. "Shut up, Ned."

To save the conversation from having another awkward lapse, Lena begins explaining last night's adventure with Peter occasionally chiming in certain details, like what had happened after she'd passed out. The story of the alien tech. The man with wings. Their dip in the lake. How Tony ended up saving their asses and gave them a very harsh scolding from across the world.

"So that's why Lena's parents wanted to give you bibingka," Graham muses to Peter as if their story sums up everything.

Peter's shoulders deflate and his wounded puppy eyes activate, turning large and brown and pulling at Lena's heartstrings. "You were supposed to give me bibingka?"

Ned's confused gaze flickers from Peter to Graham. "Who made bibingka?"

"Never mind about the bibingka," Lena interjects dismissively with a wave of her hand, sick of the word already. "What matters is that those guys are still out there. Peter, where is that thing we found?"

"My sock drawer," he answers somewhat hesitantly as if he's waiting for backlash. Graham gives Lena a somewhat horrified expression, to which she merely shakes her head at in response. She's glad she left the part out of their story where Peter crashed through people's backyards— Graham would have been appalled to learn that the guy he's been idolizing for months is actually extremely clumsy in comparison to the countless videos of him on Youtube. His adorableness makes up for it, though.

"You have a piece of alien tech in your house?" Ned whispers excitedly. Lena is appreciative of the fact that he remembers to keep his voice down at that bit of information. "Dude, that is so cool!"

"I was going to bring it to school tomorrow and try to take it apart in Woodshop during sixth period," Peter continues. "Graham, you have that with Ned and I, right? You can help."

"Sweet," Graham replies with a pleased smile. "I love being included in stuff."

"Hey, speaking of that," Ned says, resting an elbow on the table and pointing at the boy across from him. "What's your role in Lena's superhero life? Like, what are you called?"

Peter appears dismayed at this change in subject. He dramatically rolls his eyes heavenward. "Ned—"

"What am I called?" Graham wrinkles his brow in perplexion. "The... guy who came up with the costume? The awesome best friend? I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. Why?"

"No reason," Ned answers cryptically with a meaningful glance at Peter, which tells Lena that there is definitely A Reason and they're just not sharing. It's understandable, though. The four of them are forming a strange sort of bond that's still extremely new; Lena doesn't expect them to start spouting all of their secrets or inside jokes immediately.

The boys begin to form their plan for Woodshop while Lena stays silent and drinks her coffee. This newfound friend group is highly unexpected, but definitely not unwelcome. If she'd wanted anyone to be Spider-Man, it would be Peter. Thank God it's not someone like Flash... or Flash himself. She trusts that he truly cares about the people he's saving and he doesn't want to do it for fame or money— the poor boy just wants a chance to be recognized. Lena can sympathize with that.

One thing is for sure, now: Her life of monotony is over. From this point on, nothing will ever be the same.

____

why did i read that last line in the guy's voice from the time warp boogie??

but yaaay the duos are now combined to create one awesome nerd-squad. i'm so excited to write their dynamics!!

-kristyn

TRANSLATIONS:

Magandang umaga: Good morning