So I went on a Spidey binge and watched the Spider-Man Trilogy. Helloooo nostalgia!

Is it bad that I still know the words? Probably.

"Hey, Harry!" Peter greeted his best friend as he climbed into the limo. "Thanks for giving me a ri-"

He stopped short when he realized that Harry wasn't the only one inside; sitting across from the youngest Osborn with a black notepad in her lap and pen in hand was a girl that was around their age, maybe a little older. She had long, dark brown hair, almost black, straightened professionally; striking green eyes with traces of gold around the pupil and long eyelashes; fair, pale skin, and a slim figure. The unfamiliar girl wore all black; a silky short sleeved shirt tucked in a high-waist pencil skirt, tights, and strapped heels.

...Okay. She was pretty.

Both Harry and the girl looked up at him, the former tilting his chin up in greeting and the latter giving him a once-over before her attention diverted back to the rich teen. "Will that be all, Mr. Osborn?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Felicia." Harry waved Peter in. "Hey, buddy!"

"Hey! Uh...sorry for, um...interrupting?" Peter closed the door behind himself, and the limo eased forward with a soft purr beneath his feet; he sat next to his male companion, looking from him to the girl named Felicia.

"Nah, you're fine. Peter, this is Felicia - she worked for my dad before he...you know. Felicia, this is Peter," Harry introduced the two.

"Hi," Peter waved awkwardly.

"Mr. Parker," Felicia nodded back.

His smile was just as bashful, finding himself looking at Harry again expectantly for more insight. Chuckling, Harry went on, "Since my dad is M.I.A., they're putting me as head of Oscorp. Felicia's my assistant."

"That's great, Harry!" Peter clapped him on the back.

I'm really happy for him...but I don't think Norman will be too happy about this. He isn't exactly dead.

Peter sneaked one more look at Felicia.

Is it bad that I think she's cute? Like...really cute?

"I know," Harry whispered to him knowingly, as if he could read his mind.

Peter found himself grinning just as stupidly. 'Dude! How old is she?' he mouthed.

'Eighteen,' Harry mouthed back.

They were seventeen. 'Dude.'

'I know.'

'Does she go to our school?'

'No. She has a poor background and barely got through high school. Her internship at Oscorp helps her with college and finances and all that stuff.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. And since her classes are online, I get to see her all the time.'

'Does she stay in the loft with you too?'

'She has nowhere else to go...'

Felicia was seemingly oblivious as the two boys stared at her, but she was too busy scrolling through schedules and reminders on her phone.

Poor Felicia...Peter thought.

"Mr. Osborn, you have a meeting at four o'clock."

"Alright."

"Mr. Parker, is there anywhere you would like to go in particular?"

Peter stammered, still getting used to her direct acknowledgement, "M-Me?"

Her lips twitched slightly. "You. Mr. Osborn has places to be. As his colleague, you have my services as well. Under his permission."

"U-Uh...well...home, I guess?" He didn't wanna be a bother, and he needed time to think.

Felicia nodded and looked over at Harry.

Harry lounged back and raised his voice so the limo driver could hear him, "We're going to Aunt May's, Bernard."

"Right away, sir!" the elder man replied.

"Who is this Felicia girl?"

"I don't know, but from the way he was drooling about her, I'm guessing she's hot."

Ava and Mary Jane walked to lunch together, side by side, the redhead listening to the Latina as she spilled the beans about the girl Peter and Harry couldn't shut up about. While ranting - er, talking - Ava was so oblivious that she didn't notice the way Mary Jane was looking at her. Almost like...like she was smug.

"Who knows? Maybe she's a model."

"A model for an assistant?" Ava snorted. "That only happens in horrible cliche films."

"What's wrong with horrible cliche films? They're fun to laugh at."

Speak of the spider devil.

"Hey, Pete! Who's the hot chick Ava told me you were talking about?" Mary Jane greeted casually, leaning around Ava's shoulder to peer over at her best friend. Peter went pink in the face, eyes flitting to Ava in disbelief.

"Wh -? I never t - How di - Which means y - but t - How did you know about that?" Peter stammered in embarrassment.

"Well, you talk loud enough about her. The whole school probably knows by now." Ava rolled her eyes.

Peter groaned, dragging his hand down his face. "Great..."

"Ooooh! Does someone have a cruuush?" Mary Jane sang.

Ava's heart made a strange leap, and she suddenly had the urge to throw up. Oh god. Why was she reacting this way? It's not like she cared! ...Right?

"Wh-What? No! I don't have a crush on her!" Peter exclaimed, bringing Ava out of her weird thoughts. "She's just...really pretty."

Ava snorted and picked up her speed, the other two awkwardly bolting forward to keep up with her. She didn't want to hear anymore of this. Hmph. Who does Parker think he is? Did he not think MJ was pretty? Did he not think that she was pretty?

Whoa. Whoa. Calm down, Tiger, she told herself. You're just over-thinking things, that's all. He's a boy. He's stupid. Of course he's gonna be attracted to short skirts and high heels upon first glance. How pathetic.

"Are we not pretty enough for you?"

Ava would have turned and laughed at the bewildered look on Peter's face from Mary Jane's intimidating question, feeling herself smirk. Oh man. MJ was the best. Why didn't she see how great she was before?

"W-What are you talking abo- Of course I think you're pretty!" Peter's face put roses to shame, avoiding Mary Jane's teasing gaze. "I-I think the both of you are...pretty...and, uh..."

"Nice save." Mary Jane patted Peter on the back.

Ava snickered.

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Eugene Thompson, a.k.a. Flash ( a.k.a. freakin' Agent Venom! ), had just gotten his lunch tray and was now looking for a place to sit. Since his personality turn-around, he's been debating for a while whether or not he should try to mingle with other people that weren't a part of the same...clique as him. He's trying to change for the better, and since he got to know Parker better than he ever had before, he's starting to think that the little dude was rubbin' off on him.

Did this mean he had to lose a few friends in the process? Probably. 'Sides, who cares? He was a superhero now!

Uh...superhero-in-training. But hey, it did have its perks! His living situation hadn't been the best until now, and his new home was at the Triskelion with the New Warriors and Parker's team. He got his own room, which was huge, and, like, dude, just wait until you see the bathroom -

His inner monologue came to a screeching halt when he saw his ex girlfriend, Liz Allan, walking passed him as if he was nothing but a stranger. He sighed. He didn't blame her. He hadn't been the best...boyfriend. Looking at her now made a wave of nostalgia wash through him. Like that Ayala girl, Liz was Hispanic, with a lighter, olive-toned complexion; dark brown, curly hair with lighter highlights; a cute little figure; and man, those chocolate brown eyes...

Snap out of it, man! he scolded himself. Thinking about her only makes it worse!

He sighed, trying to avoid the popular table ( where she, and most of his ex best friends, sat ), and searched for another place to sit. Parker and the others weren't there yet, so maybe he could...Ah! There!

Shuffling over to the table to the right, he sat down across the table from a blonde girl with a black headband and blue eyes. When she looked up from her book, her eyes widened a fraction in surprise.

"Hey, Sta - I mean, Gwen," he greeted her. "Ya don't mind if I sit here, do ya?"

The girl called Gwen smiled, although he could tell she felt baffled; they weren't exactly seen together in public that much. "Um, sure. How are you doing, Eugene?"

He wanted to cringe at his real name. Gwen Stacy was one of the smartest girls in school, and she had been his on and off again tutor for the past year and a half. He liked to keep things on the down-low. "I'm uh...I'm alright. How you doin'?"

"I'm okay. So did you need something, or-?"

"W-Well I just thought I'd sit somewhere else for a change and...uh..."

"Did you friends kick you out of the table?"

"...Yeah..."

"It's because you've stopped bullying. Isn't it?"

Leave it to Gwen to know everything. But then again, with someone like him, people noticed when he stopped doing anything. He gave her a sheepish nod, opening his milk and downing it with one hand.

"Then they weren't your real friends."

Flash paused mid-slurp, slowly lowering the carton. "What?"

"Real friends accept you for who you are, not for what you do to stay on top of the 'food chain'," she held up quotations at the end, rolling her eyes. He found himself grinning before he could stop himself.

"Hey, Gwen..."

"Hm?"

"Do you wanna be my friend?"

At that, she giggled, untwisting her water bottle. "I thought I already was?"

"Hey, Flash!" Peter waved, his lunch tray in hand. The arachnid hero noticed who Flash was sitting with and vaguely recognized her. What was her name...?

"Hey, Parker!" Flash gestured for him to join them, muttering a few words to the girl to probably get her approval.

Peter turned to the rest of his friends. "How 'bout it, guys?"

His team, along with MJ of course, nodded and made sounds of agreement, and he led the way over to the table. As he got closer, he got a better look at the blonde girl. Now he remembered! They shared a couple of classes together in the past. She was so smart it was rad.

"Hey, Gwen!" Mary Jane beamed at the other girl, who smiled back. "Guys, this is Gwen," she introduced her to the group. "Gwen, this is Peter," ( "Hiya!" ), "Ava," ( "Hey."), "Danny," ( "Namaste." ), "Sam," ( "'Sup!" ), "and Luke!" ( "How ya doin'?" )

"Hey," Gwen waved back bashfully. "I remember you, Peter. We had some classes together, didn't we?"

"Yeah. We did." Peter grinned. "Mind if we join ya?"

"Not at all."

The heroes sat down with Flash and Gwen, some having to pull up extra chairs to fit in on the opposite ends of the table. Mary Jane and Gwen burst into chatter, and the boys immediately picked up where they left off earlier.

Peter, however, drifted off into his thoughts once more.

Gwen's a nice girl. She's definitely a good rival if you wanna get a good grade...I wonder if she and Ava could get along?

"Parker," Flash muttered in his direction, voice low so Gwen and Mary Jane couldn't overhear.

"What's up?" Peter whispered back, knowing that this wasn't just any ordinary topic.

"Are we patrolling tonight?"

His eyes danced with barely concealed excitement and determination, and Peter grinned at his former enemy. He recalled the days where Flash would beat him up and make fun of him all the time. Now Flash was fighting for the greater good, side by side with him. He would have never thought he'd live to see the day.

"I don't see why not."

Sorry for keeping you guys waiting so long. I hope you all are still here with me! The beginning of this chapter has been rewritten and thought of, like, a billion times until the muse started flowing. Anyway, give that review button some love if ya liked it! uwu