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WITH SO MUCH SNOW HAVING DESCENDED UPON QUEENS, IT WASN'T HARD TO WONDER WHY SCHOOL WAS CANCELLED. Alissa was overjoyed, happy with the fact that she could sleep in and procrastinate on her homework even longer. Brian was a little saddened because—while he wasn't able to tell Nate that he likes him—he was going to try and do it during lunch as Nate had started sitting at Brian and Xavier's table with a few of his own friends, too. Carter was ecstatic, finding a reason to invite his girlfriend over so they could hangout.

"Wait," Alissa backtracked, standing in front of Carter's opened door, "Girlfriend? Is Liz your girlfriend? Finally?"

Carter smirked. "Yeah, I asked her yesterday," he answered, pulling his legs up on his bed, adjusting the Xbox controller that rested between his hands, his headset snaked around his neck. Their was quiet yelling coming from the TV, and she could already tell that it was Flash.

Alissa gaped at her brother, folding her arms over her chest. "Why didn't you tell me?" She hastily demanded to know. "What is it with you and B not telling me things anymore?"

Carter let out a small laugh. "I wanted to see if it would actually last a few hours," he answered before motioning to the headset he just plugged in. "Now, if you'll excuse, I got a date to kick Flash's ass in Battlefield." Alissa wasn't able to respond as carter pulled the headset over his head, leaving no chance. She didn't mind, though. She had other plans.

But so did her friends.

Alissa ran a hand through her hair as she headed back to her room, plopping down at her desk. Her unfinished homework was splayed out in front of her, having been dropped the very second she found out that school was cancelled when her father called out from the kitchen to her and her brothers. He wasn't sure if they even heard him, but he was quickly hearing cries of joy, making him and his wife laugh. Sadly, they still had to go into work, Kelli having stopped by her kids' rooms in the morning to tell them, but also to assure them that they've made a breakthrough at the lab which—hopefully—meant that they would continue to be home more often than not.

Alissa sighed, her eyes glancing to the TV. The remote was resting beside her, and she reached over, turning it on. The news was on, and Alissa wasn't paying too much attention until she heard the name of Wakanda. She titled her head, turning up the volume. 

"A bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna. More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations. . ."

Alissa gasped, blinking at the shocking news. So much horror was going on lately, and the fact that a bomb was set off at the meeting that was meant for the signing of the Accords, well, it was unsettling for Alissa. She sighed, running a hand along her face and turning back to face her desk. She had been planning to procrastinate on her homework that would have been due that day, but she had a feeling school would be in session the next day, and so it would be best for her to get it done rather than hope for something that most likely wouldn't happen.

Pulling out her calculator, Alissa began getting to work, jotting down equations on after the other. She only got to number four when she groaned, smacking her head against the desk. "Gah, this is stupid," she grumbled, lifting her head with a frown, glowering at the paper that was almost taunting her. "These are all probably wrong, anyways. . .I should just give up."

Alissa stood, going to grab her phone when the sound of something hitting her window made her stop. She paused, body tensed. 'What the hell?' She thought, glancing around her room. She waited a few more seconds, waiting to see if it would happen again, but it didn't. She brushed it off as nothing, continuing to walk again.

THUNK!

Alissa spun on her heels, hurrying towards her window, pulling back the curtains. A laugh escaped her lips as she stared down at her best friends. Rolling her eyes with a giant grin plastered on her face, she pushed up her window. "What the hell are you doing?" She chuckled, glancing over the group of four.

Mary Jane had a maroon beanie tucked over her locks, a matching coat and scarf bundled around her upper body. Gwen's white and fluffy earmuffs were thrown over her ears, pressing down her blonde hair, her boots ankle deep in the flakey mess of snow. Peter had a gray beanie on, too, soft curls peaking out underneath the soft fabric. A large plaid coat was zipped up all the way, most likely Aunt May's doing. Harry had his hood up, a coat and overalls on to keep himself warm. They were sure enough ready for winter, and for what Harry's proposition was.

Harry threw his arms out, grinning, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

"It doesn't have to be a snowman," Gwen, Mary Jane, and even Peter sang next.

Alissa's grin widened, shaking her head. "Give me five minutes," she said, closing the window quickly.

° ° °

When Alissa finally exited the house in overalls, a blue coat, and earmuffs, she was met with silence. She stood on the porch, a frown coming to her face when she didn't see her friends waiting for her like she was expecting. "Guys?" Alissa hollered, hopping down the steps of the front porch, frowning as she glanced around. "Where'd you go?"

"Now!" Harry shouted, the boy popping up from behind Carter's car in the driveway. Alissa let out a shriek when a snowball hit her in the nose. She clenched her eyes shut, using her mitten covered hands to quickly wipe away the snow, shivering as she did so. "Hey, what the hell happened to all of us ambushing her?"

Alissa rolled her eyes, shaking her hands out at her sides to shake the excess snow off. Her gaze landed upon Harry, watching as the other three stood, glancing from Alissa and then to Harry.

"Sorry bud," Peter patted Harry's shoulder with an amused laugh. "We didn't agree to it."

"You just thought we did," Gwen giggled.

Mary Jane smiled, stepping around Peter to stand beside Harry. She rested her arm on his shoulder playfully. "It's okay," Mary Jane sweetly cooed. "We can be a team." She glanced to the others, a coy smirk playing on her lips. "What do you guys say?"

"Peter's on my team!" Alissa quickly shouted, raising her hand. Gwen and Mary Jane shared a look with a Harry. Alissa blushed a little, hoping it wasn't that noticeable. Peter grinned, jogging over towards her without thinking twice about it.

"What about me?" Gwen glumly pouted, realizing that she was all alone; a one woman team.

"I'll be on your team." The front door slammed shut, Carter happily hopping down into the snow, tugging on some gloves as he made his way towards Gwen. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something, too."

Alissa raised a brow. "About what?" She wanted to know. In the many years of her friendship with Gwen, Carter had never once needed to speak to Gwen. He tended to randomly talk to her, and Mary Jane, during dinner when the girls were over and they ended up hanging out with the older boy, but that was about it.

"Not that it's any of your business," Carter said, turning to face his sister once he was beside the slightly concerned blonde, "It's for Liz, not me." Relief washed over Gwen's face, Carter looking a little offended when he noticed the way her face was scrunched and then was gone. "What? Did you think I was coming to steal your lunch money or something?"

"Enough chit-chat," Harry snipped our, scooping up some snow and forming it into a ball. "We got a war to start. Now, who's ready to get their asses kicked by HJ?"

"What's HJ?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Harry and MJ," he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Keep up with the times, Pete."

"I guess I am a little behind," Peter softly said, earning a giggle from Alissa. His head turned to her, noticing the rosy pink tint on her cheeks. He figured it was just due to the cold weather and chilling wind that fluttered past, not that being so close to him was making her heart beat rapidly against her rib cage.

Alissa shook her head. "Nah, I think Harry's just a little ahead of the times," she assured Peter, making the boy smile, feeling a little better. "He's always been on top of the trends. Remember what he wore to homecoming?"

At the mention, the two laughed, clenching their eyes shut. Homecoming had come and gone quickly, no one really ready for it, but it was still a blast as the teens had all went together, wearing the same color scheme; red. And while Peter and Ned went with black suits and red ties, Harry opted to wear all red. Of course, it looked good on him—he's Harry Osborn, after all; everything looked good on him. While they did like it too, it had caught them slightly off guard, Harry having to explain that it was next years supposed prom hit, so, they would just have to see if he had been ahead of the style.

"Hey, lovebirds, enough with the chit-chat," Carter interrupted their nice conversation, eyes narrowed. "Find a hiding place; the war commences in 10 minutes! Go, go go! Wait—no, Gwen, this way!"

Alissa snatched up Peter's hand, dragging him towards the backyard. However, he stopped midway, pulling on her arm to make her look at him. "Wait, I think I have a better idea," he murmured, a wicked glimmer spinning in his eyes, catching Alissa off guard. "Whatdya say?"

Putting all of her trust in him, she smirked, nodding. "Yeah, let's go."

° ° °

"How are you so good at this?" Alissa whispered to Peter, hissing when her foot slid. Peter paused, holding his hand out for to take so she didn't fall. "It's like you've done this before."

Peter nervously laughed, shrugging. "I-I'm just good at balancing, I guess," he nonchalantly answered. Alissa nodded, continuing to walk on the overhang roof that was right under her parents bedroom window. Peter tightly gripped her hand when she slid off to the side again, stealing a glance into the front yard, letting out a breath of relief when the others didn't see her or Peter yet.

Peter stepped up, going towards the other side of the house so they could hide on the roof of the garage. The only rules were that they had to stay outside and in the front yard; they weren't breaking any of the rules.

Alissa grabbed ahold of Peter's hand with her other one, trying to keep herself steady. He seemed scarily balanced, never once slipping or sliding as they moved across the slick roof. Alissa impressively watched, shaking her head as they nestled their bodies on the roof.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Peter queried.

Alissa laughed, too, nodding and scooping up some snow to make some snowballs.
"No, I guess not," she said, pushing some his way, too. "I still don't get how you're so balanced."

Peter didn't really respond, not wanting to blow his cover. He already knew that she had a weird feeling about Spider-Man whenever she talked to him. He could see it in her eyes, the way she'd tilt her head when he spoke as if she was wondering where she'd heard his voice before. She knew that she knew him, and Peter was well aware of that. He didn't need her to see the changes in himself that would give him away. He didn't want—need—that. If she found out he was Spider-Man. . .he didn't even want to think about how she would possibly react to the news.

A timer went off from Carter's phone that was safely placed on the porch, away from all of the snow. Alissa ducked her head down, taking a deep breath as she stole a glance at Peter. He sent her an assuring smile, the boy grabbed a snowball.

Alissa peaked her head over, noticing Carter coming out from behind his car with Gwen. That was when her attention was brought to the other side of the yard, a gasp coming from her lips when Harry and Mary Jane jumped out from behind the trash cans, pelting their snowballs at Gwen and Carter.

Carter groaned when Mary Jane's snowball hit him right in the face, pieces of snow sliding down his coat. "Oh, god! No, not down the shirt!" He shrieked in agony, shaking his body, making Peter and Alissa have to hold their hands to stifle their laughter. Harry let out a victorious holler, throwing a snowball at an unsuspecting Gwen. The girl screamed, anger flashing over her face as she bent down and piled some already made snowballs into her arms. Harry's smile dropped, surprised by the snowball cache she had managed to make within the ten minutes they had to prepare.

Alissa giggled again, eyes flicking to Peter as he scooted closer to the edge. He waited for a second, making sure none of them were paying attention, and he threw a snowball at Harry, hitting the boy right in the back of the head.

The boy whipped around. "Hey, who did that?" He demanded. "That one hurt!"

"It looked like it," Alissa giggled.

Peter smiled back, grabbing another one. "Come on," he motioned for her to move closer. "You gotta help, too."

Alissa playfully rolled her eyes and scooted up, taking her own snowballs with her. She shivered, licking her lips as she got right beside him. She felt a sudden warmth radiate throughout her, but she ignored it, closing her eyes before she grabbed a snowball. She glanced around, seeing that Carter wasn't paying attention. She sat up more, sucking in a breath and chucking a snowball at him. It stuck him in the neck, a holler coming from him. She laughed, eyes closing, but sure enough, she was getting hit in the shoulder. Her smile dropped from her lips and her eyes snapped opened, slowly sinking when she saw the other two teams were now gawking at her, and now, Peter as he popped up beside her.

She sheepishly turned towards him. "Oops?"

"It's okay, they were gonna realize soon enough," he said.

"Hey, you can't be up there! That's cheating!" Carter bitterly accused.

"Actually it's not! We're following the rules," Peter noted. Carter narrowed his eyes at the boy, and Peter quickly averted his gaze. Alissa smiled again, glancing to Peter, finding that he was already staring. A laugh came from her lips, eyes dipping down to her hands.

While they may not have managed to hide as long as they had hope for, one thing did happen, and it was that Peter realized two things: maybe the cold wasn't the reason for Alissa's reddened cheeks, and it wasn't the reason for him, either.

° ° °

Okay, okay, I liked this chapter 😳👀. I feel like it's lacking some, but overall, I do like it. I was going to make the fight longer, but I didn't want to drag it out, but I'm content with the length, mostly!

But also, look at these little cuties! This might just be the cutest scene I've ever written for this book and it makes me happy. They were all just pure and innocent little beans and it's very special 🥺🥺. Though, I will say that—just maybe—they won't be so happy next chapter?? I'm sorry, but ya know, the plots gotta keep moving and all, so, hopefully you will still like it!

Anyways, don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!