chapter ten; leonora carrington

Maggie's sneakers tapped anxiously against the wooden bleachers as her gym class began. She was squeezed between Michelle and another girl named Alicia Adams, as the grades were separated in tiers, meaning seniors like Liz were a few steps up. Peter and Ned sat below, muttering to each other a little too loudly for her not to listen in to.

"Hi, I'm Captain America," the righteous voice of Steve Rogers chimed through the box television set at the front of the group, where Coach Wilson stood, his usual blank expression coating his face.

Maggie tried her best to remain focused on the screen, but her attention was caught by Ned whispering to Peter in front of her. Her eyes fell below, seeing the boy lean over, his voice hushed but not that hushed. "Do you know him too?"

Maggie's thick eyebrows furrowed curiously, her ears perking for Peter's response. "Yeah, we met. I stole his shield, but then he beat me up."

The girl pursed her lips, shuffling a little uncomfortably. How was he speaking so freely about this? It was a wonder no one had figured out his little secret already, considering how loud Peter could be.

Later on in the class, Maggie drank from her water bottle like her life defended on it. Gym was by far her least favourite class, as she was quite unfit and not keen on exercise. She glanced over to the bleachers to see Liz, Betty Brant and a few others talking amongst themselves. Liz perked up at the sight of Maggie, waving her over. The girl swallowed nervously, before walking over and sitting down on the wooden seat.

"Jones, that's not exercise," Maggie heard Coach Wilson grumbled. The teenage girl's eyes flickered over to Michelle, who was lifting her book up and down to please the teacher. 

"Not with that attitude," the tanned girl muttered, not bothering to space a glance towards the Coach, who shrugged and continued walking around. 

"We're play eff, marry, kill," Betty grinned at Maggie, before she held up her hand. "See, for me, it would be...eff Thor,  marry Iron Man and kill Hulk."

"What about the Spider-Man?" the boy sitting behind Maggie asked, causing her to tense up. 

"It's just Spider-Man," Liz shrugged. "Did you guys see the bank security cam on YouTube? He fought off four guys."

"Oh my god, she's crushing on Spider-Man," Betty chuckled, and Maggie felt her cheeks flush. "No way."

"Kind of," Liz admitted, biting the end of her thumb and smiling. 

"Oh, gross," Betty groaned. "He's probably like thirty. You don't know what he looks like."

"I wouldn't care. I would love him for the person he is inside," Liz insisted.

Just as Maggie turned to look at the senior, she (and probably the entirety of Queens) heard Ned yell: "Peter knows Spider-Man!"

Everyone in the gymnasium fell silent, and Maggie's eyes widened. She didn't know what to do, her surprised gaze falling on Peter, who shot up and began spluttering. Every student (besides Michelle, who kept reading), had their eyes on the boy, who was trying to come up with an excuse. "N-No, no I-I don't! I-I mean-"

"They're friends," Ned insisted, standing up and following Peter as he advanced toward Liz and the rest of the group. 

"Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends," Flash snickered as he approached the other side of the gym from the ropes.

"I-I've met him...a couple times?" Peter tried to justify whatever lie he was trying to convince the seniors (and Maggie) with, who were watching on, unimpressed. "Through the...Stark internship. Uh, yeah, well, I'm not really supposed to talk about it."

Peter sent Ned a glare, and Maggie's eyes switched back to Flash, who was still trying his best to cause a scene. "Well that's awesome! Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz's party!"

Peter looked back at Liz, who seemed a little awkward after having been put on the spot. "Uh yeah, I'm having a few people over tonight, you're more than welcome to come."

Maggie didn't know what she was feeling when she watched Peter and Liz interact. She watched as his hands rung together, something she noticed he did when he was nervous, probably when he had a crush on someone. "Y-You're having a party?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be dope, you should invite your personal friend, Spider-Man," Flash taunted, watching Peter for a reaction.

"It's okay," Liz assured the boy with chocolate brown locks. "I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway."

"Come on, he'll be there, right Parker?" Flash stepped up so that he was even closer to Peter, who was clearly unsure what to do. Maggie hesitated, wanting to stand up for him but not knowing how.

Once the bell rang, she shot up and ran a hand through her hair, feeling her face flush and her heart race. Liz, Betty and herself began walking out of the gym and to the changing rooms, though they passed Peter and Ned on the way out. Maggie felt her heart break a little when she heard Ned speaking. "Liz has a crush on you!"

★☆

"I'm glad you came, Maggie," Liz beamed, handing the girl a red solo cup. Maggie glanced at the contents, raising her eyebrows slightly nervously. The host chuckled softly, patting her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, it's lemonade. My parents aren't too keen on teen drinking."

Maggie nodded, taking a refreshing sip of the fizzy drink and glancing around the crowded house. There were kids from their school and from the high school down the road, and Maggie was overwhelmed. "There's a lot of people here."

"Yeah, it's kinda intimidating," Liz hummed in response, before smiling once more. "But they'll probably clear out soon, seeing as Flash is doing the music tonight."

Maggie looked over to the end of the main room, seeing the cocky boy tapping at a computer and swearing under his breath as it lagged slightly. 

Tugging at her peach coloured skirt, Maggie jumped a little as Liz gasped in excitement and marched past her. Following the girl, Maggie saw that it was the two people who were causing her the most stress at the moment.  "Oh my god, hey guys! Cool hat, Ned."

"Hey, Liz!" Ned grinned, before waving enthusiastically at Maggie. 

"Hi, Liz," Peter stuttered, hardly noticing the girl behind the Senior. 

"I'm so glad you guys came," Liz said cheerfully. She placed her hand on her hip and nodded towards the food and beverages on the counter. "There's pizza and drinks, help yourself."

"WhAt a grEat paRty," Peter's voice went slightly higher in pitch, something Maggie had noticed would happen when he was nervous. She smiled a little, thinking it was quite sweet, regardless of the circumstances. 

"Thanks," Liz chuckled softly, before a loud shattering of glass echoed throughout the house. The older girl flinched and looked back at the two boys. "Oh, I...my parents will kill me if anything's broken, I gotta-"

Peter and Ned both nodded quickly as she rushed off, leaving Maggie with them. Ned then turned to Peter and lowered his voice. "Dude, what're you doing? Spider it up!"

"No, no, no, no! I can't do this! Spider-Man is not a party trick okay?" Peter hissed back, and Maggie quirked her eyebrows in confusion. "Look, I'm just gonna be myself."

"Peter, no one wants that," Ned rolled his eyes, and as much as Maggie wanted to oppose, she held herself back from doing so. 

"Dude," Peter shook his head with hurt spreading across his face. He then glanced over and saw Maggie for the first time, so he smiled at her slightly awkwardly. "Hey, Maggie."

"Hey, Peter," she responded, so quiet the music almost drowned her out. 

"Penis Parker!" Flash yelled out over the microphone before Peter could reply, drawing the attention of the room. "So, where's your pal, Spider-Man? Let me guess, in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend? That's not Spider-Man, that's Ned in a red shirt!"

Maggie gripped her cup a little too tight as she grew frustrated at the horrible words leaving Flash's mouth. How could someone be so awful? 

Peter clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut, before turning to his two friends. "Fine, I'll do it."

Ned cheered, and Maggie looked between them with pure confusion written across her face. "Do what?"

"He's gonna come in as Spider-Man and say he's friends with us, then he impresses Liz and gets Flash to shit himself!" Ned squeaked excitedly, and Maggie's eyes widened. She took a small step towards Peter and lowered her voice. 

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" she queried, and he pursed his lips, before shrugging his shoulders. 

"It's all I got," he muttered, before rushing off. Maggie sighed softly, watching as he swerved past other kids to get to the backyard. 

"Are we seriously gonna let him do this?" Maggie asked Ned, who was grinning from ear to ear. At the tone of her voice, he deflated a little, before bouncing from foot to foot. 

"He'll be sweet," the boy assured her. "Besides, we'll be the most popular kids in school if everyone thinks we're tight with Spider-Man!"

Maggie pursed her lips and decided not to argue. She hated the idea that Peter was going to abuse his powers, but then again, why should she have a say? God, she wished she were ballsy. She wished she could stomp right up to Flash and give him a piece of her mind, but she didn't have it in her. She was too much of a pushover, too passive, too weak. What she wouldn't give to be anything other than those. 

Around a quarter of an hour later, Ned began to get fidgety. Peter hadn't come in as Spider-Man yet, therefore it was starting to get stressful. He sat beside Maggie and tapped on Peter's contact name, anxiously tapping his foot against the ground. 

"Peter, where are you?" He exclaimed, lowering his voice so that no one else heard how embarrassed he was. "The hat's not working. This is not cool."

After leaving the voicemail, Ned rested his head on the wall behind him. Maggie turned a little so that she was facing him and poked the rim of his headpiece. "I think your hat looks amazing."

Ned glanced over and smiled a little. "Really?"

Maggie nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! It's great, Ned."

The boy straightened up in the seat, before he held his hand out. "You wanna dance?"

Maggie grinned. "I'd love to."

★☆

uhh hahah this is terrible

long time no see

also

i kinda ship maggie and ned fml they're so cute i love theM