monday 18th of january 2016

"Have you studied for the math exam?"

If there was one thing J.D was sick of hearing, it was that one question. It wasn't even eight in the morning and she had heard it at least twenty-five times. Her eyes were rimmed with sleep deprivation, though she couldn't help it, she barely ever slept anymore.

Her gloved hand clutched a travel mug filled to the brim with hot chocolate. Other students rushed around with coffee, but she couldn't stand the taste, let alone the smell. Her grey eyes flickered back and forth around the hallways as she crept through them, watching as many pupils stressed over the test. She would've smiled in amusement, but it was too early for that; she didn't like to smile until noon or after.

When she reached her locker, she twisted in the combination and looked blankly at the contents. Inside was a picture of her and Mason, then a bright yellow sticker with a cartoon bee saying 'you're the bees knees!' in the top right hand corner.

"Morning Purnell." A tired voice mumbled from the locker on her right side. J.D unzipped her bag and began placing her books inside the safe compartment.

"Morning Parker." J.D replied in the same tone, not looking past her door where Peter Parker was carrying out the exact same routine as she was. They had this conversation every single morning, he would say hello, she would say hello back, they would mingle politely then walk to math together. They were quite close, they had known each other for years, and shared many classes together. "Sleep well?"

"I didn't at all." He replied with a humourless chuckle. "You?"

"Got about an hour in." She spoke softly, her voice working faultlessly. Peter paused and noticed how she wasn't rambling nonsense like the would in the early morning.

"What's bothering you?" Peter asked, his face still buried in his locker, as was J.D's. His ears were perked for her reply.

J.D's eye twitched when she heard the question being asked again to her left: "have you studied for the math exam?"

"If I hear that bloody question again I'm going to rip someone's tongue out." She grumbled, and slammed her locker door shut, making Peter jump. He looked back and rose an eyebrow, before smiling slightly.

"You didn't study?" He queried, not as confused as others would be from her answer. He already knew she wasn't big on revising, in her opinion, it wasted valuable time that could be spend doing something useful, like baking. "What am I saying? Of course you didn't study."

He shut his door when the shrill ring of the bell sounded, and fell into step alongside J.D. She took a sip of her hot chocolate and reached into her hoodie pocket, swearing soon after. She was about to ask Peter for a pencil, but he was already holding one out in front of her, as if expecting the question. She sent him a thankful smile, though it wasn't really a smile, because she didn't like smiling when she wasn't fully awake. "Thanks, Parker."

"No problem, Purnell." He responded easily, and came to a stop beside her when they reached their classroom. Several students were lined up outside, some flicking through notes and others looking like they were going to be sick. J.D looked up at Peter, who looked slightly pale. She couldn't stop the tiniest smirk rising. Won't they be mad when they find out.

Miss Kim, the math professor rushed out of the classroom with bright red cheeks. She was a tubby woman, who had curly grey hair and thick spectacles on the edge of her round nose. She wore long dresses that hung off her body like a potato sack, which inexpertly hid her curves. J.D didn't mind her though, she wasn't as horrible as teachers go. "I have some very important news that many of you will not be happy hearing."

The class went silent, all of them wide eyed and anxious.

Miss Kim took a deep breath before clearing her throat. "The exam papers have gotten lost and we haven't been able to find them all this morning. It would take much too long to print out the four hundred papers we need until at least next week, so the exam has been postponed for now."

Many pupils gasped, one almost fell to the floor in shock. J.D hid her growing grin behind her travel mug and cleared her throat so she wouldn't laugh accidentally. Her gaze travelled up to Peter, who's expression was one of confusion and relief. He looked down at the brunette with furrowed eyebrows, showcasing his perplexity on the subject.

"Since nothing has been planned for this lesson, the department has agreed on giving you free time, though you must stay in the classroom. If you have any homework or tests to study for, you may do that as well." Miss Kim announced, and began to usher everyone inside. Since the seating arrangement was in alphabetical order, J.D and Peter went to their assigned chairs next to each other.

J.D immediately pulled out her laptop and signed into Youtube. Peter's eyes trailed over to her screen and he scoffed. Her recommended was literally just baking videos and the Avengers news clips. "Why are you so obsessed with the Avengers?"

"Cause they're awesome." J.D lied through her teeth. She wasn't prepared to tell anyone the real reason just yet. When she noticed Peter staring at her from the corner of her eye, she sighed and began to elaborate believingly. "I mean, Iron Man's suit is so incredibly crafted, and I admire the way that the agents all move, I'd love to be saving the world like they do."

Okay, that was partly true. She did see the appeal of the Iron Man suit, and she would give anything to fight like Black Widow, but she already had some training and that was enough for her. What she was completely lying about was how she'd love to save the world. Did nobody realise the pressure you'd be put under and the target that would put on your back? Maybe it was the social embarrassment and anxiety she had gained over the years, but she wouldn't want her face all over the newspapers, which was why she was glad the ability she had gotten was invisibility.

She had noticed when she was in Sokovia that the powers the trio gained reflected their personalities. Pietro was quick witted and made rash decisions, so he gained the talent of speed. Wanda was intelligent and had a mysterious charm about her, so she attained incredible mental power. J.D herself was a teenager who hated showing her face in a crowd, who hated attention being on her, so she gained the power of invisibility. It had all begun to make sense. The chemicals flowing through them had adapted to the way the lived, the way their brains worked, and altered their DNA to fit the way they already were.

"I like Iron Man the best. Did you know that Tony Stark graduated MIT when he was our age?" He gushed. "Man, I'd give anything to be as smart as him."

"You're smart enough as is." J.D chuckled dryly. "I'm only at this school because it's way safer than Metropolitan High and Uncle Herb was too paranoid I'd be snatched off the street again."

"He has the right to worry, you know." Peter replied, though he didn't really want to cross the line with her. She hadn't burst out on him before, but he had seen it enough for him to never want it to happen in his direction.

"I can take care of myself now." J.D replied and Peter furrowed his eyebrows together curiously, expecting more, but she didn't elaborate.

+++

Later in the day, after lunch, it was the only subject J.D actually enjoyed. She was one of the only students in her class that appreciated Physical Education. It took her anger out and her mind off the things she was thinking about. Whether it was something as simple as going for a run or playing volleyball, she took a great liking to it.

Because she was one of the sportier people in the class, she had earned respect from people like Flash Thompson, who was one of the jocks of the school. She didn't have anything for him though, she actually despised the way he treated Peter.

"Today we'll be playing dodgeball." Mr. King announced, ignoring all of the grumbles from his pupils. J.D rolled her eyes and looked back at Peter, who shared this class with her as well. They shared at least four together, but were split up for the rest. She also shared this class with Mason, who loathed the subject completely. "Split into two teams and sort yourselves out."

The class quickly separated, friends with friends, and Flash beckoned J.D over to his team. Her thick eyebrows raised and she folded her arms. She knew Peter and Mason were watching her movements carefully, trying to get her to stay through mind control or something stupid like that. She rolled her eyes and jogged over to where the muscular teenager was standing. Though she knew Peter and Mason were probably a little upset she didn't stay with them, she wasn't going to get on Flash's bad side and become a target for the lesson.

J.D stepped beside the bully and looked forward, locking eyes with Mason, who's eyes narrowed in irritation. She scoffed and looked over at Peter, who looked somewhat betrayed. Without tearing her eyes away from the boy, she spoke firmly to Flash. "If you touch Parker, you'll have me to deal with."

Flash dismissed her and spun the ball around in his meaty hands. "You aren't the most intimidating, cupcake."

"Neither are you when people find out your real name is Eugene." She retorted, and broke her stare with Peter to send Flash a mischievous grin. Flash's jaw clenched and he sent her a glare, but she didn't back down. "Also, remember that time I broke your nose in sixth grade? I'm sure I could do it again."

"I could take you." He responded, though J.D sensed unsureness in his tone.

With a smirk, she faced the other team and popped her knuckles, which was a normal thing for her to do at least four times a day. Flash rolled his dark brown eyes and waited for the whistle. When Mr. King blew it, the four balls on either side were thrown in their respective directions.

Flash avoided hitting Peter to J.D's relief, and instead aimed for Mark Heisen on the other side. Peter froze slightly when he first threw the ball, expecting it to hit him, but he was shocked when it flew straight past him. He instantly looked over at J.D, but she was busy throwing at her brother.

Her dark hair was pinned behind her head in an attempt to keep it from flying into her face, and her brows were knitted together in concentration. She had already gotten six people out, her and Flash working in conjunction.

By the time the whistle was blown to end the game, Flash and J.D stood on their side of the court with four of their team members behind them, cowering slightly, and the other side was completely empty. The two players hi-fived each other in victory and Flash ruffled J.D's hair, the girl scowling at him.

"Alright, go get changed." Mr. King muttered and waved them off ten minutes before the bell went. J.D jogged over to Mason and Peter, nudging Mason's shoulder slightly. He pulled a face and shoved her back, which she returned quickly. It almost turned into a fight until Peter, pushed himself in the middle of them.

"What did you say to Flash to make him not throw the ball at me?" Peter asked J.D, who shrugged.

"Maybe he just did it out of the kindness of his heart." She replied, and the two boys snorted. "Don't worry about it Parker, the important thing is that you didn't get a black eye."

Peter scoffed and rolled his eyes. He always felt so weak and helpless in her presence. She was tough, he was pathetic, she wasn't scared of anything, he looked over his shoulder too much, she wasn't afraid to sock someone, he got too overwhelmed by the mint of his toothpaste. All he wanted was to return the favour of protection to her, as she had stood up for him throughout the time they had known each other. He wanted to break someone's nose for her like she had done for him in sixth grade.

He wanted to be the strong one for once.

hey this chapters shorter by a lot which is good because having to write long chapters puts a lot of pressure on me and i don't need that no thanks

ok here's peter and a bit more of mason cutecutecute ok

and there's also some stuff that will be explained later on bc it's important stuff

ok bye then enjoy your day