Chapter 4: Where They're Normal
"Obstacles are put in your way
to see if what you want is really worth fighting for"

Two Months Later

Two hours. That's how long she was sitting in a dirty ally with a coffee in hand, waiting for a boy that wasn't about to show up. It had been the same story for the last month or so. Every morning Ember would sit in that corner, waiting for the masked boy who once begged for her help, but now it seemed he was to important to show or even call to announce his absence. Why she keeps waiting, she would never now, perhaps it has to do with the blind hope she has towards her fellow hero. Ever since the two returned from their fight in Berlin, things changed. Spider-Man stopped meeting her at their spot, which led her to wait and be late for school practically everyday and today was no exception.

The blonde girl ran through the empty halls of Midtown High, cursing the Spider boy in her mind . Ember entered the room with her head hanging low as she silently made her way to her sit, praying that the teacher who was currently with his back turned, hadn't noticed her arrival.

"Snow, you're late. Again" said Mr. Watson, still with his eyes glued to the board. "What was it this time? A car accident or the so called Spider-Man ran you over with his batmobile?" continued the man, earning a chuckle from most of the class. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter does it? Detention for a week, starting tomorrow " he said finally turning to look at the embarrassed girl before starting with the lesson.

Ember was about to start working when she realized she didn't even stop at her locker to grab her stuff. "Brilliant" she muttered, hiding her head in her arms.

"Y- you alright?" whispered someone to her right. Peter Parker, a name Ember had known from quite a young age,they were together in kindergarten but they never talked much until last year, when the two got paired up for a project' you could say the two had been growing closer since then.

"Just stressed, don't worry about it" Ember said, sending Peter a small smile.

He felt his face getting red, at the sight of her smile, making him try to avoid her emerald green eyes, hoping she hadn't noticed the sudden change on his cheeks. "I could, uh, lend you my notes later, if you want?"

The blonde furrowed her brows in confusion until she realized he was looking at her empty desk, she flashed him a bright smile and nodded her head "That would be great. Thanks Peter."

The boy stared at her for a couple seconds,before snapping out of it and turning around to pay attention in class, trying to make his notes as neat as possible.

❅

"He didn't show up?" asked Michelle Jones, appearing next to Ember at the cafeteria, startling short blonde.

"You scared the crap out of me!" exclaimed Ember, bringing a hand to her chest, trying to control her heartbeat. "I waited for hours and nothing!" the blonde complained.To anyone around them, hearing their conversation, it sounded just like a teenager complaining about her boyfriend, but it wasn't. Michelle Jones knew everything about Ember Snow, including her secret identity. Back in elementary school, the two girls where nothing but outcasts who seemed to gravitate towards each other, now, they were best friends. Ember was Michelle's only friend and Michelle was the only person Ember trusted completely outside of her family. "I do something nice for him and he is a total jackass, he could at least call"

"I told you, people suck" she said, grabbing her friend's chips and eating them, returning to her book once she noticed Peter and Ned standing behind the blonde.

"Uh, hey Ember, Michelle" said Peter, making his presence known to the girl "I, uh, have the notes you needed" he added as he handed the blonde his papers.

"Thanks Peter, you're my hero" Ember complimented, only for the boy to grow nervous at her statement and almost running to the other end of their table with Ned right behind him.

"They're weird" said Michelle still looking at her book.

"Like we aren't" chuckled Ember, earning a shrug from her friend.

"Did Liz get a new top" the girls heard Peter ask his friend while they looked dreamily to Liz Allen. For some reason Ember felt her blood boil at the attention Peter gave the senior, it wasn't anything out of this world, Liz was gorgeous and unbelievably nice, everyone liked her. So why did Ember felt the need to freeze the brunette girl like a popsicle the more Peter stared at her?

"No. We've seen that before, but never with that skirt" answered Ned.

"Probably stop staring before it gets creepy, though" Peter sighed dreamily.

"Too late" Michelle said, breaking their little trance.

"Oh, Liz is so hot, oh Liz please notice me, please Liz, I'm desperate for your love" teased Ember a she overacted her words, giggling at the boy's glare "Pathetic"

"You guys are losers" finished Michelle, trying not to chuckle at her friend's antics.

"Then, why do you two sit with us?" questioned Ned, both him and Peter a little confused.

"Cause we don't have any friends" Michelle answered, going back to her book.

"So," began Ember, turning to look at the boys, knowing her friend was lost in her book "Either you planning to invite Liz to the dance or are you the type of weirdos that prefer to admire from afar?"

"She probably has a date already. Every pretty girl does at this point" shrugged Peter.

"Well, we don't" said Ember, looking directly at Peter's brown eyes, pretending like his words hadn't hurt "Are you saying we're not attractive enough, Parker?"

Peter stared wide eyed at her green orbs, opening and closing his mouth trying to say something "T-that's not, uh, I didn't mean, uh"

"Relax, she's joking" Michelle interrupted the boy, knowing his rambling could go on forever.

"Well, we should go to the meeting, see you there" Ember said quickly, grabbing her friend's arm, dragging her out of the cafeteria, running from Peter Parker.

❅

They were practicing for nationals, Liz asked the two pairs some questions, while the rest of the team studied until it was their turn. Ember sat quietly next to Mr.Harrington, coping the notes Peter lended her, it was her attempt at forgetting about how the boy's words made her feel. She felt hurt, embarrassed and she didn't even know why. For years she has tried to grow into a person she proud of, after all that's what mattered, usually she doesn't care what anyone else thinks of her, it was a lesson she had learned since her mother ran away from her. And yet, here she was worrying about Peter Parker's opinion, for some reason she cared about what he thought of her, for some reason his words made her feel extremely self conscious, he had her comparing herself to Liz and that was not okay.

"Peter is not going to Washington" those words managed to interrupt the blonde's thoughts and bring her back to the real world.

"What? Why?" she asked, Peter looked her way at the sound of her voice.

Ember hadn't said a word since the cafeteria and he hoped it wasn't his fault, Peter would never forgive himself if he hurt the blonde beauty in any way. Ember Snow was very important to him. While the whole team complained about his quitting, he just kept looking at her, all the other voices seemed to drown and it was only him and her and for a split second he considered changing his mind and going to Washington if that made her happy. But he couldn't, he just shook his head, trying to get her out of his mind and turned to look at Liz Allen, much to Ember's annoyance.

"Really? Right before nationals" complained the senior, looking at Peter with obvious disappointment.

"He already quit marching band and robotics club" interrupted Michelle, making everyone turn to look at her weirdly "I'm not obsessed with him, just very observant" That was sort of a lie, the truth was that, yes, Michelle Jones was in fact observant, yet, she hadn't known about Peter quitting anything until a certain blonde girl brought it to her attention.

"Flash. You're in for Peter" announced Liz, interrupting the awkward moment.

"I don't know. I have to check my calendar first, I've got a hot date with Black Widow" answered Flash,uninterested.

A few minutes later, the meeting was over and everyone was leaving to their next class.

" Don't you find it suspicious?" asked Michelle, walking next to Ember. The blonde turning to look at the taller girl, not knowing what she was talking about "Peter and his Stark internship" the brunette continued as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Noticing her friend's was still oblivious at what she was implying, she rolled her eyes as she proceeded to explain it "Ember, have you ever thought about the possibility of Peter Parker being Spider-Man?"

Her friend's words making Ember, stop and turn to look at her as of she had grown another head "Peter Parker? You think Peter Parker, the nerdy boy who can barley do a sit up, is Spider-Man? Like, crime fighting, unbelievably annoying Spider-Man?"

"Think about it. He got his internship, that nobody knows what it's about, around the time Ice Sorceress and Spider-Man went for their mission in Berlin, also, his freaking internship is with freaking Iron Man of all people" Michelle's little rant was cut off by the bell.

"Perhaps, you're just overthinking it, MJ" she said with a small shrug, trying to make the topic go away. Deep down, Ember knew it was a possibility, the thought had crossed her mind at least once, but she was in denial. She wanted to believe that it was impossible for Peter Parker to be anything but normal, Ember didn't want him to be different from the boy she met in the playground.

❅
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The gif from the beginning was made by the wonderful yousxna.
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