SHE tapped her foot rapidly as she sat whilst listening to music that was blaring through her earbuds on the train. She looked around her surroundings, observing strangers here and there. Giving each stranger she observed a backstory of their own, her eyes catching a teenage boy around her age who constantly checked his phone. He seemed like he was in a rush or impatiently waiting for someone to answer him back. She couldn't really see the boy's face, but rather the back of his head and somewhat the screen of his cracked phone. Her phone dinged, pulling her out of her thoughts as she opened her phone to see that her friend had texted her.

-

[ private message ]
jade as jay ✨
lillian as lil 🌻

jay ✨
lillyyyyy
where are you??

lil 🌻
i'm on my way
what's up?

jay ✨
i'm surrounded by
idiots aksjsjsj
HELP MEEEEE

lil 🌻
i-
nO

jay ✨
gASP
hoW DARE YOUU

lil 🌻
read

jay ✨
okay, now that's
just rude

not only did you
just leave me on
read but you had to
text me that you left
me on read

wowwwww

lil 🌻
🤷🏻‍♀️

sorry?? aksksjsjsj

not sorry

-

Lillian turned her phone off before her friend, Jade, would reply back as she smiled to herself. The train made a stop as she put her phone in her back pocket whilst slinging her backpack across her shoulder. She got off the train as she pulled off her ear buds and wrapped them around her neck. She walked to her school's front door steps as she met up with a waiting Jade with arms crossed and a playful glare on her face.

"Well, hello to you too." Lillian teased as she stopped in front of Jade.

"How come your brother is here before you?" Jade questioned as she pointed toward the direction Lillian's brother was in.

"I woke up late and my mom decided to just take him to school instead of waking me up." Lillian shrugged as they both heard tires screeching.

"'Sup, Penis Parker!" The girls heard Flash shout out toward the boy Lillian noticed on the train.

She noticed Peter sigh and his demeanor had changed as he continued walking toward the double doors of the school.

"That's not his actual name, is it?" Jade asked softly between them two.

Lillian's attention drew back toward Jade as she shook her head, "No. His name is Peter." She said softly enough for Jade to hear.

"Oh." Jade paused for a second, "Isn't he the guy-"

"C'mon we have to get going." Lillian said cutting off Jade's sentence as she started making her way through the hallway to go to her locker.

Jade following closely behind her, "I've never seen you in a hurry to get to class before. What's up." She questioned curiously.

Lillian shook her head as she successfully opened her locker taking out her red folder for her physics class and her physics book as well. "I just don't wanna be late for class, is all." She shrugged as she closed her locker, turning to face her friend.

"If you say so." Jade decided to let it go for now as she crossed her arms against her chest.

"What?!" A familiar voice to Lillian shouted a little too loudly causing her to turn her attention toward Peter as he looked around him feeling embarrassed that his excitement got the best of him.

Lillian turned back around toward Jade noticing that she had a sly smirk on her face. "You sure you were just in a rush to get to class?" Jade asked rhetorically. "I wonder what that was about." She said, motioning toward Peter as she let out a small chuckle.

Lillian shrugged, "How am I supposed to know?" She said as Jade kept an eye on Peter and his friend, Ned, noticing that they were talking about the lego that Ned was holding in his hand.

"That's cute. They still play with legos." Jade cooed.

Lillian rolled her eyes playfully at Jade's antics. "Don't you play with legos?" She asked her as she laughed.

Jade scoffed, "No. I play lego video games. There's a difference, okay? Get it right." She corrected Lillian as she threw her hands up in defense.

"You're right. Oh my gosh, what is wrong with me." Lillian said sarcastically as she smiled, placing a hand on her chest.

"Shut up, Lilly." Jade laughed, but it quickly faltered when she looked behind Lillian.

"What?" Lillian asked curiously as she looked behind her to see that Peter was staring at her- or so she thought as she heard someone calling out Liz's name causing her attention to turn behind Jade, seeing Liz. She sighed softly, "C'mon, Jay. We gotta get to class." She said as she walked past by Peter.

"What was that?" Jade asked as she tried to keep up with her friend. "What just happened?"

"Nothing happened." Lillian told her as they both entered their class. Lillian made a beeline to her seat as she placed her books on the desk.

"Lillian, that was not nothing." She said softly as students started to pile in the classroom.

"Jade, it was nothing. Okay, will you please just drop it?" Lillian pleaded as she sat down and got ready for the class to begin.

Jade let the topic go as she sat beside Lillian. Once class started Lillian was taking notes as Jade was doodling in her notebook to make it seem like she was taking notes.

"Okay, so how do we calculate linear acceleration between point A and B?" The teacher asked the class as she looked around to pick on a student for the answer. "Flash."

"It's the product of sine of the angle and gravity divided by the mass." Flash answered as he put his raised hand back down on the desk, feeling proud of his answer. Lillian shook her head at how wrong his answer was.

"Nope. Peter, you're still with us?" The teacher called out as Lillian turned around to see Peter focused on his laptop.

"Uh, yeah, yeah." He said as he shut his laptop, looking up at the board then the teacher.

Lillian turned back around to face the front as Peter answered the question. "Um, the uh mass cancels out so it'll be just gravity times sine." He says as he gives the teacher a small convincing smile that he's actually paying attention.

"That's right. You see Flash, being the fastest isn't always the best if you are wrong." The teacher said as the class let out small chuckles.

"You just got flamed." Jade called out toward Flash as everyone laughed even more.

"Shut up, Beckett." Flashed spat toward Jade, then turning toward Peter, "You're dead." He whispered toward him.

"Make me, Eugene." Jade spat semi-playfully.

"Alright. Jade, Flash. Cut it out, okay? Let's get back to the lesson, shall we?" The teacher said as she waited for the two to keep quiet. "Thank you." She smiled as she turned around to face the board to draw another problem.

Lillian leaned toward Jade, "I can't believe you just did that." She whispered as she smiled in disbelief.

Jade shrugged as if it was nothing, "He had it coming." She whispered back. "Oh and don't think I'm letting you off the hook about the whole Peter thing." She said as Lillian rolled her eyes.

...

ONCE class was dismissed, Lillian and Jade walked out together to Lillian's locker. "I'll see you at lunch?" Lillian asked, opening her locker to shove her things in from her last class in as Jade shrugged.

"I dunno, I'll think about it." Jade joked as Lillian smiled at her answer whilst shaking her head.

"I hate you sometimes, you know that?" Lillian said.

"But you love me," Jade smiled, "You know why? Because I'm your person." She said answering her own question. "Well, I'm gonna head to AP biology. Good luck in chemistry." Jade winked toward Lillian as she made her way to class whilst Lillian shut her locker and made her way to her class.

Lillian entered her chemistry class, seeing Michelle and a few others already in their seats. "Hey, MJ." Lillian said softly.

"Hey, flower." Michelle responded as she didn't remove her gaze from her book.

Lillian took her seat at her desk beside Michelle's as Lillian chuckled, "Very creative." Lillian joked.

Michelle shrugged, "Not my fault you're named after a flower." She smirked lightly, giving Lillian a side glance.

Lillian sighed as she shook her head, "Believe me, if I could change my name I would."

Michelle put her book down, turning her body toward Lillian, "Don't. It suits you." She reassured, giving Lillian a small smile.

Soon enough the rest of the class came in along with Peter, who decided to sit next to Lillian which caused Lillian and MJ to notice. MJ gave Lillian a knowingly glance as Lillian shrugged in response. Lillian minded her business as the teacher began teaching the class. As the teacher told the class that they were going to be doing some experiments today and how they had to wear their safety gear, Lillian noticed how Peter seemed fidgety and always checking the clock.

"Hey, you okay?" Lillian whispered toward Peter which caught him off guard.

"W-What? Uh, yeah. Yeah, everything's cool." He smiled lightly as he nodded.

Lillian eyed him cautiously, "If you say so, Peter." Lillian said letting it go and focused back on the teacher's lecture.

Once the teacher gave everyone the okay to start putting their safety goggles and start with their experiments, Lillian followed the instruction the teacher left on the board on how they should do their experiment the correct way. Lillian heard a small ruckus beside her causing her to look over and see Peter frantically doing something to try not to cause any attention. "What are you doing?" Lillian asked Peter loud enough for only him to hear.

"N-Nothing. I almost dropped... something." He said.

Lillian nodded, "Okay, well can you relax a bit? Your fidgeting is making me anxious." She chuckled a bit.

He nodded, giving her a light smile, "Yeah," He breathed out, "sorry."

She gave him a small smile before going back to her classwork.

...

WHEN class was over and everyone had cleaned up their stations, Lillian made her way to cafeteria with Michelle as they made small talk and grabbed their lunch.

"Are you sitting with Jade and I at lunch?" Lillian asked.

Michelle shook her head, "Not today, I'm gonna try and sit by myself so I could finish this book." She said honestly.

"Okay, just know that you're always welcome to sit with us." Lillian told her as Michelle nodded.

Michelle made her way to an empty table that was soon accompanied by Peter and Ned as Lillian waited for Jade.

"Did Liz get a new top?" Lillian heard Peter ask which caused her head to turn in his direction. She then looked over toward Liz putting up a homecoming banner. Lillian quickly pulled out her phone to text Jade.

-

[ private message ]
jade as jay ✨
lillian as lil 🌻

lil 🌻
hey, r u busy with
hoco committee?

jay ✨
yep n so is ur
brother, srry 😪

-

"We should probably stop staring before it gets creepy though." Peter said as Lillian slipped her phone back in her back pocket and sat down next to Michelle.

Michelle put her book down, looking over at Peter, "Too late..." She then looked at Ned and then back at Peter. "You guys are losers." She says going back to her unfinished book after giving Lillian a little head nod.

"Then why do you sit with us?" Ned asked Michelle in confusion as Peter threw his hand up in a confused manner.

Michelle put her book back down as she looked at the boys, "Because, I don't have any friends."

"Ouch, you wounded me Jones." Lillian joked, placing her hand on her chest.

"I wouldn't even consider you as a friend-"

"And to think I was gonna share my fries with you." Lillian said taken aback as she playfully glared at her.

"You didn't even let me finish," Michelle shook her head as Peter and Ned shrugged, continuing with their own conversation. "I consider you more as a family, Flower." She said stealing a fry from Lillian's tray.

"I'll let it slide this time." Lillian said throwing a fry into her mouth. "Although, you could've just told them that you sat here first." Lillian shrugged, laughing lightly.

"Nah, I like messing with them." Michelle laughed. "Where's Jade?" She asked.

"Stuck doing some homecoming stuff along with my brother." Lillian said as Michelle nodded.

"How is your brother on the committee?"

Lillian shrugged, "My theory is that he only joined because of Jade or Liz. I honestly can't keep up with who he likes anymore."

"Your brother has a-a crush on Liz?" Peter asked Lillian once he heard Liz's name being said.

"Um, I guess?" Lillian said unsure as she noticed Peter's timid state, which bothered her a little.

"O-Oh." Peter sighed as he nodded.

Lillian rolled her eyes, "I should go. I'll see you later MJ." She said leaving her tray of food for Michelle and headed out of the cafeteria to go meet up with Jade.

"Lilly, what's up?"

Lillian turned around, seeing her brother running up to her. "I was just looking for Jade." She told him.

"Oh, she's on her way to decathlon practice. I thought you skipped school, considering you didn't wake up on time." He laughed.

"Like I would skip. You and I both know mom would kill us if either one of us skipped school, Nathan." She chuckled. "And you're an ass for not waking me up by the way."

Nathan shrugged, "Speaking of mom, she wanted me to tell you that she's going to be working late tonight."

Lillian nodded, "Okay-"

"Oh, have you seen Liz?" Her brother asked his smile beaming.

Lillian rolled her eyes, "She's in the cafeteria putting signs up." Lillian told him.

"Thanks sis, love you." He rushed, giving her a quick hug and kiss on her head.

"Mm-hmm." Lillian forced a smile as she watched her brother chase after a girl that everyone seemed to have a crush on. She groaned as she rolled her eyes once more, continuing her way to the room where the decathlon practice is being held. Opening the door, she walked in seeing Jade setting things up.

"Hey. Lunch over already?" Jade asked her, looking up at her.

"Uh," Lillian sighed, "It should be in a little bit." She said.

"Are you okay?" Jade asked, giving her full attention as she placed the papers on the table.

"Just a little annoyed." Lillian shrugged. "I'll talk to you about it later." She said as Jade nodded.

"Is it what I think it's about?" Jade asked, eyeing Lillian knowingly.

Lillian rolled her eyes playfully, "Yes." She sighed giving in, knowing she can't keep her feelings bottled inside especially from Jade. They tell each other everything.

"Oh and your brother's been acting weird around Liz." Jade laughed.

"Trust me, I already know," Lillian chuckled as she shook her head, "it's annoying enough to have him as a brother let alone hear about how he's fawning over a girl that almost half of the boys in this school are crushing on." She mumbled loud enough for Jade to hear as the decathlon team walked in.

"Okay, we're definitely talking about this later." Jade chuckled.

"Talking about what later, ladies."

"Nunya." Jade shrugged in response as the girls turned to see Flash look at them in confusion.

"Nunya?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"None of your business, Flash." Jade smirked.

"You dig me." Flash teased as he smirked which caused Lillian to double over and Jade to dramatically gag.

"That's funny. You're funny." Lillian laughed.

"Oh my g- He really s- I can't." Jade said in between laughs, "In your dreams, Eugene." She smiled as she patted the top of Flash's head.

Flash shook his head, "This isn't over, Beckett." He said, leaving the girls.

"I should go practice, we have nationals coming up soon." Jade said as she tried to calm down her laughter.

Lillian nodded as she lightly push Jade to go. Lillian took a seat at an empty table where Michelle was sitting in front of reading her book. Few of the kids were doing practice round as Liz was asking questions. Flash sat in the back with Mr. Harrington as Peter came rushing in.

"Mr. Harrington, can I speak with you? It's about the uh, the trip." He said as Mr. Harrington took a seat at another table with Peter.

"Continue." Mr. Harrington told Liz before Peter started talking to him as Liz nodded.

"What is the heaviest naturally occurring element?" Liz asked.

"It's Uranium." Lillian mumbled as one of the kids answered the question wrong.

Abraham pressed his hand on the bell, "Uranium!" He shouted proudly as Liz smiled at him telling him he was correct whilst telling everyone else to open up their books to whatever page.

Lillian looked up at Michelle who was already looking at her. "What?" Lillian asked.

Michelle shook her head, "Nothing... just observing." She shrugged as she continued with her reading.

"Peter, it's nationals. Is there no way you could take one weekend off?" Mr. Harrington asked Peter.

Peter shook his head, "I can't go to Washington because if Mr. Stark needs me then I have to make sure that I'm here."

"You've never been in the same room as Tony Stark." Flash pointed out.

"Peter, I'm sure Mr. Stark will understand-"

"What's going on?" Cindy asked.

"Peter's flaking out." Jade said which caused Lillian to give her a slight glare as she shrugged in response.

"No, you can't quit. We need you." Cindy said frantically.

Abraham rang the bell, "Why?" Abraham asked.

"Really, you're gonna quit on us before nationals?" Liz said in disappointment, "Peter, you're the best one we got on the team." Liz smiled which caused Lillian to inwardly groan.

"Peter always quits, he already quit the marching band and robotics lab..." Michelle stated catching everyone's attention, realizing she said her thoughts out loud as she looked up from her book, "I'm not obsessed with him. Just very observant." She said as Peter turned around to face Michelle with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Looks like I'm one step closer to taking your place, Parker." Flash shouted teasingly as he changed the subject.

Liz sighs, "Flash, you'll be taking Peter's place."

Flash laughed, "I don't know about that one," He said blowing as raspberry as he shook his head, "I gotta check my calendar first, don't wanna miss out on my hot date with Black Widow." He said mockingly which caused Peter to roll his eyes.

The sound of a bell caught everyone's attention in the room followed by Abraham speaking up, "That is false! Flash doesn't even have a girlfriend." He chuckled which caused a few other students to laugh.

"Abraham, don't use the bell for comedic purposes, please." Mr. Harrington reminded as he held in his laugh.

Lillian noticed Peter leaving as if he was in a rush, but ignored it as the class continued on with their practice.

"Wait, why is Lillian even in here? She's not a part of the decathlon team." Flash asked as he remembered she was in the room.

"I have a free period and I've been coming in here for the past week to support my friends," Lillian said in confusion since everyone else already knew why she was in the room. "For someone who's name is 'Flash', you're pretty slow." She retorted.

"Dude, what is up with you getting flamed today?" Jade laughed.

Abraham rang the bell once again, "That is true." He laughed.

"Abraham." Mr. Harrington said, pointing at the bell with his pen.

"Sorry, Teacher." He apologized playfully as he rang the bell once more.

...

AS the day went on and it was time to go home, Lillian made sure she had all of her homework with her.

"You ready?" Her brother asked as she nodded. "Good, we're walking."

Lillian's eyes widened, "What? No." She complained. "Why can't we take the train or-or you drive us home? You're literally old enough to drive on your own."

"'Cause I don't have a car and I don't feel like getting on a train and being surrounded by sweaty gross people." He retorted.

She groaned, "I hate you." She said.

Nathan chuckled, "The feeling's mutual." He said playfully as they started walking their way home. "What do you wanna eat for dinner?" He asked.

"Um, pizza." She answered.

"We had pizza two nights ago." He stated as he motioned Lillian to follow him on his short cut.

"You asked, I answered." She said matter-of-factly as she shrugged, "Are you sure this is a short cut?" She asked.

"Yeah, I take this short cut whenever you go home with Jade." He said, "How is she by the way?" He smirked.

"You're disgusting." She groaned, "Jade is off limits, Nathan. You know why? 'Cause she doesn't like you like that." She said.

"That can be arranged." He teased as they made their way to their apartment building.

"Gross." She muttered, "What happened with Liz? I thought you were hung up on her." She asked even though she hated the fact that she had to.

"It's getting there." He shrugged.

"Then stay away from Jade." She spat as they went on the elevator. She pushed the button to their floor as the doors shut and took them up. Once the doors open and they both walked out of the elevator, Lillian noticed Ned making his way toward the last door in the hallway. "Hey Ned." Lillian greeted.

"Oh, hey Lillian." Ned smiled as he waved happily.

Nathan scoffed, walking past Lillian and noticing the sphere-like legos Ned was carrying in his hands. "Losers." He mumbled as he entered their apartment.

Lillian rolled her eyes, "Don't mind him." She apologized for her brother. "Is that a Lego Death Star?" She asked which caused Ned's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Y-Yeah, I didn't pick you as a girl who would play with legos." Ned said in confusion. "No offense."

"None taken." She chuckled, "I actually don't, but I play lego video games with my friend, Jade. She's really into legos." She corrected as Ned nodded in understanding. "I didn't know you live in this building."

"Oh, I don't. Peter does. I was just stopping by to show him my new masterpiece." Ned stated.

"Lillian, come inside mom has some stuff for you to do." Nathan said poking his head out of the door.

"I should go, but good luck on your masterpiece." She told Ned with a smile.

"Thanks, Lillian." Ned smiled.

"Oh, you can call me Lilly." She chuckled softly.

"That's pretty." Ned geeked.

"Thank you," Lillian chuckled as she waved goodbye, "I'll see you tomorrow." She said as she went inside her apartment, closing the door after her.

"There's a list for you on the counter." Her brother said as he threw an oreo in his mouth.

Lillian walked over to the counter, checking over the list of reminders/chores she needed to do. Taking the list with her to her room, she closed the door and changed to her pjs. She went through her list, doing the things she needed to along with her homework. While she was doing that, her brother called for pizza. As time passed, Lillian fell asleep at her desk after she had eaten half of her pizza as she finished her homework. Her brother fell asleep on the couch as he waited for their mother to come home. While they were sleeping, their mother made it home from work to them both sleeping as she made her way to her room to fall asleep as well.