Noelle sighed, yanking her hair out of the ponytail it had been in. She slipped her jacket and tennis shoes back on, heading out of the tower and about a mile down the street to a little coffee shop that had recently opened up. Halfway there, she groaned, looking down, and nearly cussed. She wasn't wearing her prosthetic arm. She sighed, but kept walking. There wasn't any point in going back now. And if she did, someone would realize where she was going, and she would turn into the coffee delivery girl again, and she was not in the mood for that today. She went in, closing her eyes and pausing for a half second, taking in the amazing smell of freshly roasted coffee beans. There weren't many things that could make her smile, but that smell was one of them. She went up to the register, not completely paying attention to the teenage boy who was standing there, working the machine.

"What would you like?" He asked, and she didn't even need to look at the menu, already pulling out a ten-dollar bill. He
"One iced caramel macchiato, and two dark chocolate, sea salt and caramel cookies." He quickly rang it up, looking back up at her.
"$8.89...." His voice nearly cracked when he finally got a good look at her, and she handed him the bill, looking away. He quickly gave her the change, his heart pounding.

"Umm....N..Name for the order?" He asked, fighting to keep his voice from shaking. She just barely looked up, playing with her jacket's empty sleeve.

"Noelle." She murmured, and stepped aside, allowing the next person to move forward. The boy headed back, getting her drink and pastry. The shop's manager, Elissa, smiled, having watched the exchange.

"Get her stuff a carrier." She called to the young man, who looked up at his boss, startled.
"Sorry?" Elissa nodded to her very subtly gesturing to her empty sleeve.
"Thought you would've noticed. She can't carry both. Get her a carrier, and then get your butt outta here. Your shift ended ten minutes ago, ya doofus." She teased, and he grinned, placing the cup and bag in a small carrier, and then grabbed a sharpie, scribbling something on the side of the cup. He looked up, moving back to the counter.

"Noelle?" She quickly stepped forward, taking the carrier.
"Thank you." She murmured, turning before he could say anything. As she headed for the door, she glanced down at the cup, and stopped in her tracks. In place of her name was two words. "You're Beautiful." She glanced back at him, and their eyes met for a moment. She just barely smiled, and then slipped out. He headed for the back, hanging up his apron and grabbing his backpack, and then hurried out the door. He looked around, finally spotting her, and sprinted to catch up with her.

"Noelle!" He called, and then she slowed down, turning to see him. She bit back a smile, and then turned away, still walking.
"You know, when I go there, the baristas don't normally follow me." He slowed down, walking beside her.
"I'm not really following you. The subway stop that goes to my apartment is this way. I mean, that goes to my aunt's apartment. I don't have my own yet. I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Parker." She smiled slightly, holding back a giggle.

"I know who you are. The Spider-Kid. One of my family members has talked about you. Horrendous costume, by the way. You look like you're in your pajamas." He stopped in his tracks, and she turned, giggling softly at his expression.
"It is not! And they do not! And how do you know that I'm the Spider-Kid?" He slapped his forehead, groaning softly.
"Spider-Man, not Spider-Kid. And just out of curiosity.... Who are you, and do you have a prosthetic?" She giggled, taking a sip of her drink.
"I'm Noelle Barnes. And yes, I have a prosthetic for my missing arm. It's metal." He gasped slightly.

"You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude!" She gasped softly, stopping about a block away from the tower. She took a deep breath, and turned to him.

"It was nice to meet you, Peter Parker. Goodbye." She slipped around the corner, and it took Peter a minute to catch up.
"Whoa, hey! Wait!" He ran down where he had seen her go, but she was gone. He sighed, heading back out to the main road.

"I wish you could see how beautiful you are, Noelle Barnes." He said aloud, not realizing that she was still nearby and could hear him. She took a deep breath, and headed back into the tower. As they headed their separate ways, neither of them knew that whatever was pulling the strings and manipulating them was going to bring them back together in a few months....... When they would fight against each other in a civil war that neither of them truly belonged in.