Make Way for the Spiders

I had stayed out with Spiderman until two in the morning last night. Needless to say, I was very tired at school, and struggled to stay awake in my first hour, which was Government. I glanced at Peter, and saw that he was also struggling to pay attention, and not doze off. Although, judging by the amount of books and homework he had brought home yesterday, I couldn't blame him.

I, on the other hand, only had myself to blame. Lucky Spiderman didn't have school to deal with, so he was probably sleeping, or relaxing until he got a call for help. Not. Fair.

"Rayne!"

I jumped, and looked back up at the teacher. "Yes ma'am?" I asked, mentally scolding myself for zoning out for so long.

"Ms. Siebert, I've asked you to repeat what I said five times now," Ms. Greene sighed, a look of scorn on her face.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Greene," I apologized. "I'm afraid I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Just pay attention," Ms. Greene said, and turned to face the board.

"Yes ma'am," I said, resting my head in my hand, trying not a close my eyes.

I glanced at Peter, whose head was about to hit the desk. I stifled my laughter, and reached my foot over to lightly kick the leg of his chair. He didn't budge, so I hit the chair a little harder. His eyes fluttered a little, and slowly opened them. He looked at me, and smiled a little bit, sitting back up, and pulled out a piece of paper and pencil. He wrote something down, then handed it to me when Ms. Greene wasn't looking.

I'm not the only one falling asleep. What's your excuse? He wrote.

I had to help Mom unpack some stuff, I wrote. And she insisted that I help her with her new obsession. You?

Homework. Lot's of it. What's the obsession?

I grinned, quickly writing down my reply. Spiderman. She witnessed him stopping a robbery, or something and is obsessed with learning more. Which reminds me, we pulled up some pictures of him, and saw that you took one. Explain?

I like photography, so I have job at the local newspaper, he wrote.

Before I could write a reply, the bell rang, and we hopped up to gather our stuff.

"So your mom's obsessed?" Peter chuckled, waiting for me.

I laughed. "Yeah. And she will be, for another three weeks, then she'll find something else. You should've seen her when Justin Bieber came out. You'd think she was a nine year old."

Peter laughed, holding open the door for me. "That," he said, "I would pay to see."

-_-_-_-_-

At lunch, I met Peter outside at the football field again. I had brought my own lunch today, so I didn't have to take any of Peters.

"It's only Tuesday," I complained. "This is why I hate school. They days go on forever, and the weeks never end."

"Calm down," Peter told me, taking a bite of his sandwich. "The day's almost over, and then we can go home and sleep."

"But I have homework. Homework! On my second day!" I whined.

Peter rolled his eyes at me, chuckling. "You're such a kid," he said.

"A wise man once said, that growing old was mandatory, but growing up was optional," I stated.

"And what wise man was this?" Peter asked, with his eyebrow raised.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I saw it on a t shirt once."

Peter laughed, and I threw a piece of bread from my sandwich at him when he wasn't looking. He quickly reached up and grabbed it, right before it would have hit him. He hadn't even looked up.

"Whoa," I gasped. "How did you do that?"

"Uh, instincts?" he said, but it sounded like a question.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"So, are we still going to the skate park this weekend?" Peter asked.

I nodded. "I'm still up for it. I'm still sure that I'm going to die though."

The brunette rolled his eyes, making them sparkle. I caught myself staring, and quickly turned away, blushing. Luckily, he didn't notice. "I already told you, you're not going to die," he sighed.

The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. I stood, gathering my things. "We'll see." Then I ran ahead, laughing at him trying to keep up.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Finally, it was Friday, and only a minute until the final bell would ring. Because it was Friday, and the gym teachers didn't want to deal with us, they let us have a free day. Peter and I had spent the whole hour making plans for tomorrow, when we would go to the skate park. We had decided that he would come to my apartment for lunch, then we would head over to the park after. I secretly hoped that my mom would have to work this weekend, because if she knew Peter was coming over, she would never let me hear the end of it.

Finally, the bell rang, and we all made a mad dash for the doors. I heard that girl Gwen calling for Peter, and he held back, motioning for me to go ahead. I shrugged, heading towards our lockers, and began to gather my books.

By now, the halls had mostly cleared out, all of the students rushing home for the weekend. I went through the mental list I had made of all my homework, not wanting to forget anything. I was so focused on my list, that I jumped when I heard Peter's voice.

"I don't know why you care anyway, Gwen," he said. "We haven't talked in forever, and then all of a sudden, you start trying to make conversation every time we see each other."

I glanced around, trying to figure out where they were. I looked both ways down the hall, but couldn't find them. They sounded like they were right beside me, but were no where to be found.

"I'm just worried about you," Gwen said. "It's just, that you didn't really talk to people, and then she shows up, and you two are instantly BFF's."

"She... was new. Everyone needs a friend, especially on their first day," Peter responded.

I started cramming everything into my backpack, trying to block out their voices. They were talking about me, and I really didn't want to hear what they were saying. But, alas, their voices continued, clear as day.

"But you jumped at the chance, Peter. She has you wrapped around her finger," Gwen argued. "I bet you told her your... secret."

Secret? Sure, Peter and I were close friends already, but not secret telling friends.

"You know I wouldn't tell anyone else, ever agian," Peter said softly.

The school had to be completely empty by now, other than teachers and janitors. I checked my watch, wanting to go home. I thought about just leaving, but I had promised to stay and wait for him, so we could walk home together.

"Listen, Gwen, I can understand how you would be upset, and maybe even a little bit jealous, but-"

"Me? Jealous of her?" Gwen interupted.

I winced at the hidden insult, and decided I had heard enough. I took out my iPod, and crammed my ear buds in, turning the volume up to block out their words. My strategy worked, and all the sounds around me disapeared. A few songs had passed, when I felt someone tapping my shoulder. I looked up, and saw Peter smiling at me. He offered his hand, and I took it, jumping up, and taking out my earbuds.

"Took you long enough," I teased, while he opened his locker.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I had something to take care of."

"It's no problem. Everything okay?"

He nodded, gathering all of his books. "Everything's... peachy."

I laughed at his word choice, and followed him down the hall, and out the doors. "Since when do you use the word 'peachy'?" I asked him.

"Since I felt like it." He stuck his tongue out at me, and stopped. We were on the sidewalk, almost halfway to my apartment building. "Are you busy tonight?"

I shrugged. "In the evening, but not after ten... why?" I tilted my head, and Peter blushed, looking at the ground.

"Well, I was thinking that we could hang out later," he said, "just the two of us."

I smiled. "Name a time and place."