EIGHTEEN | GOOD LUCK, BABE!

SCHOOL TRIPS WERE A TEST MARINETTE COULD QUITE NEVER STUDY HARD ENOUGH FOR. Everything she did was futile. It didn't matter if she laid out her clothes neatly the night before or set a hundred million staggered alarms, Marinette was doomed to be a hurricane tearing her bedroom apart ten minutes after she was supposed to leave. All her preparation was tossed down the drain as she threw things about in search of crucial items that she'd forgotten to pack with the lovely, soothing background music of her mother yelling for her to hurry up ("You have five seconds to get down here or you're not going!")

With a heaving chest, Marinette slunk into the front seat of her mother's bubble-shaped car. The teen caught sight of herself in the rearview mirror and recoiled at her frizzy hair and crimson-stained cheeks. Oh, how she wished she hadn't skipped out on makeup now (Adrien couldn't see her like this!). As she rummaged through the glove box for any stray products floating around to mend her frazzled appearance, a hulking shadow was cast over her.

"I hope you win," her father said sweetly, pressing a loud kiss against her temple through the passenger window (which was a struggle for him to fit through when he was almost the same size as the car itself). "I know you'll be great," he added, ruffling her hair up even more (who knew it was possible).

Marinette offered him a faint smile, her gaze lifting to meet his as she fought away the twitch in her eye and she tried to remember how deep in her bag she'd packed her brush (her memory was saying it was right at the bottom). Tom Dupain-Cheng took a half-step backwards when the car roared to life, waving frantically as Marinette leant out the window to call out, "Bye, Dad!" as they reversed onto the busy street.

Once the bakery was completely out of view, she fell back into her seat with a tired huff. She was already exhausted and the day hadn't even properly begun yet. Beside her, Sabine Dupain-Cheng had been ranting about the importance of time management (a speech her daughter had heard a million times over). Her mother's words passed right through the girl as she looked down at her phone, which had been non-stop buzzing all morning.

FUTURE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

LIZ ALLEN: @Marinette, have you left the house yet?

MICHELLE JONES: her snap maps say she's still at home

FLASH THOMPSON: It's so pathetic that you have to check.

MICHELLE JONES: @Flash ur whole existence is pathetic
[message liked by Ned Leeds, Nino Lahiffe, Alya Cessaire, Sally Avril Adrien Agreste, Betty Brant, Cindy Moon, Charles Murphy & Mylene Harprele.]

ABRAHAM BROWN: Gottem!!!!!!!!!!!!

MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG: Just left now.
[message liked by Liz Allen.]

FLASH THOMPSON: Screw you guys.

[Flash Thompson left the group.]

NED LEEDS: do we have to add him back

CINDY MOON: I vote no

LIZ ALLEN: Guys.

[Liz Allen added Flash Thompson to the group.]

With a faint smile, Marinette flicked her phone screen off in an attempt to conserve its fleeting battery life (she may have forgotten to plug her charger and power bank in overnight). She was in for a long trip, the last thing she needed was for it to die amidst an intense Candy Crush level (she'd been stuck on 1648 for weeks!).

In what felt like the blink of an eye, the tall buildings of New York's downtown had blown by and were replaced by the dilapidated Midtown Science and Technology bus lot. Oil stains and run-down yellow school buses were the only scenery around. Marinette's feet caught on the car door as she tried to climb out, stumbling back into one of the parked cars and earning a dirty look from someone's parents. Shrinking into her shoulder blades, Marinette rounded the other side of the vehicle to escape.

Sabine climbed out of the car, holding Marinette's duffle bag. Handing it to her daughter, she smoothened the girl's collar and shook her head thoughtfully. "Now, are you sure that you remembered everything?" She asked for what felt like the hundredth time (not that Marinette could blame her, really. One time in the fifth grade, her class had got all the way to Disneyland only for Marinette to realise she left her luggage in the parking lot next to the bus—her mother was less than thrilled to send her money to replace everything).

Marinette sighed, adjusting the straps of her bag to be more comfortable. "Yes, Mom," she groaned, looking over her shoulder at the classmates congregating around the bus as Sabine pulled her daughter in for a tight, bone-crushing hug.

As she broke away from her mother's grip, someone looked around and spotted them. "Marinette's here!" Nino announced, elbowing Alya playfully. Her red-haired friend looked up with a wide smile, checking her watch to see how late her friend ended up being.

Adrien, hearing her name, turned absently to look at her with a smile and a faint wave. It took everything in the girl not to trip over her own feet and let the butterflies partying in her chest win. She'd never seen him this early in the morning—with the golden sunrise wrapping up behind him, making his hair even more majestic. While everyone else still looked half asleep, Adrien was bright-eyed and perfectly put together.

"God, finally," Flash scoffed, leaning against the yellow bus clad in the crisp mustard yellow blazers the school had supplied the team. Marinette didn't think the colour suited his complexion in the slightest (and she also had to rack her brain to be sure she remembered to pack her own blazer).

Alya rolled her eyes at him as she took a step forward while Marinette shuffled over, letting her bag drag against the ground loudly (man, with her luck, all she could do was pray it didn't rip open). "Hey, fifteen minutes late is good for her," Alya remarked, waving enthusiastically at her friend.

"Hey, guys. Sorry, traffic was bad," Marinette lied, dropping her bag at her ankles as she stretched her strained wrist (why couldn't her superpowers carry over to her civilian form, ugh).

Before Flash could interject with some sort of rude comment, Mr Harrington stuck his head out of one of the bus windows and said, "That's alright, Marinette. We're waiting on one more anyway," before disappearing back inside.

Everyone exchanged looks, confused by what the hell he meant. "We are. . . ?" Marinette mentally ran through the team list as she did a head count, perplexed at who she was missing. Was there a last-minute second chaperone joining them that she didn't know about?

As her brows furrowed and she restarted her count, Abraham called out, "Hey, it's Peter!"

"What." Marinette's head shot up immediately and her entire body spun around, convinced this was just one of the boy's many jokes to get under Flash's skin.

But alas, it was no joke and Peter Parker, in the flesh, jogged towards them sheepishly. Marinette's gaze was magnetically drawn to Peter, his neatly combed hair catching in the sunlight as it tousled in the breeze. His blue flannel shirt swayed with each stride, adding to the easy, casual energy he carried as he sprinted toward them. It brought the twitch in her eye back. "Hey guys," he muttered, grip tightening on his backpack straps as all eyes rested on him.

"Peter?" Liz questioned, hands on hips as she wore an incredulous look.

"What are you doing here?" Marinette blurted out, asking the question that was on the tip of everyone's tongue. Her last conversation with him hadn't indicated anything about him wanting to rejoin the team.

Peter's brown eyes met her blue ones for a split second before he turned back to Liz, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, I was hoping maybe I could rejoin the team," he stuttered out and Marinette couldn't help but frown. She looked around the group, everyone's faces etched with equal confusion (well, all except Ned, who must've been in on whatever this was supposed to be).

Marinette's vision was stained scarlet as she turned to glare at Peter once more. The audacity he had at this moment was off the charts.

It seemed Flash and Marinette agreed upon something for once. She watched on as he pushed off of his spot against the bus and shoved to the front of the group with an enraged look. "No, no way. You can't just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone," he seethed, crossing his arms as he looked around for support.

Marinette got halfway through a nod before Mr Harrington emerged from the bus, clipboard in hand. "Hey, welcome back Peter," he called cheerfully, only half paying attention before turning to the rich boy. "Flash, you're back to first alternate."

Marinette and Alya exchanged looks as Flash guffawed at the words coming out of their teacher's mouth. "What," he choked out, looking for anyone to give him some support.

"He's taking your place," Abraham cut in, beaming widely as he placed a sarcastic hand on Flash's rigid shoulder. The boy shrugged him off, annoyed.

Michelle, whom Marinette hadn't even got the chance to speak to yet, took a step forward looking unimpressed by the whole ordeal. "Excuse me, can we go already? 'Cause I was hoping to get on some light protesting in front of one of the embassies before dinner, so. . ." She tapped her fingers against her book, narrowing her eyes at Mr Harrington, who needed a second to process her words.

"Protesting is patriotic," Mr Harrington said, his step having an extra pep to it now that Peter was back (Marinette couldn't help but be annoyed at the lack of questions asked by their teacher—where were his consent forms, for starters). "Let's get on the bus," the bearded man told the rest of them.

There was a loud ruffle of fabric as Flash, resembling a toddler in a temper tantrum, shook off his blazer and shoved it roughly at Peter. "Take it, jerk," he spat before stomping up the bus steps.

"Yo, dude. You never mentioned anything about rejoining the team. What about your internship?" Nino queried, approaching Peter with Ned and Adrien on his heels. Marinette, feeling so blindsided by this, couldn't even stop and enjoy the way Adrien effortlessly swept his hair across his forehead like he did in the Calvin Klein ad he was in.

Peter scratched the back of his neck awkwardly once again as the girls joined them in front of the bus, "It was uh. . . a last-minute decision. Mr Stark gave me the weekend off," he said unconvincingly, biting the inside of his cheek as he prayed that was enough information to keep his friends at bay.

"I feel like you don't tell me anything anymore, man," Nino muttered, frowning at his lifelong friend sadly.

"What, that's not true. . ." Peter replied, face falling. It was the first time he'd properly seen the wedge growing between them; a divide growing so large he almost couldn't see the other side anymore. How does one stop the earth from splitting in half? They didn't make duct tape strong enough for this stuff.

There was a loud huff behind them and everyone turned to see an annoyed Michelle glaring. "Can you losers hurry along?" She barked, shooing them forward with her thick paperback.

"Michelle, be nice to my boyfriend," Alya retorted, reaching for Nino's hand.

Marinette did a double take. "Boyfriend?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked the pair up and down. Alya had pointedly never mentioned a label whenever she discussed Nino (partially because of Marinette's one-sided beef with that friend group).

"Since when?" Peter asked, feeling out of the loop for the first time.

"Um. . ." Alya coyly shrugged, smirking playfully as she dragged Nino onto the bus. He grinned smugly back at them before disappearing down one of the aisles.

Marinette called after her, getting lost behind the others brushing past her onto the bus. "Alya, get back here, I—!"

Marinette collided with Peter, and the impact was more solid than she'd anticipated, nearly knocking the wind out of her. She stumbled, catching herself against his chest, surprised by the firm resistance beneath her hands. For someone she'd imagined as gangly, Peter had an unexpected strength that left her momentarily speechless. His arms steadied her instinctively, and she looked up, blinking as she registered the quiet confidence in his grip—a far cry from the easygoing image he usually projected. "Crap, sorry," he said, voice barely above a whisper.

Her mind ventured back to the time on the train when they'd ended up in this same position. "I'm starting to think you like bumping into me, Parker," she joked, radiating a lot more confidence than she normally carried herself with.

Peter could only stare at her, hands still gripping her shoulders as if she would blow away the second he let go. "I. . ."

Marinette looked up at the bus for a moment before looking back at Peter again. "I would watch your drinks around Flash for the rest of the trip," she remarked, taking a step back out of his grip. "He'll be out for vengeance." (She didn't add the part where she was also out to prove a point, too.)

"I still have to test which poisons I'm immune to anyways," he boasted, liking how much freely they spoke lately. He wanted to impress her (without considering the implications of what the fuck he had just said).

Marinette had to do a double take. "Pardon?"

The colour drained from Peter's face as he racked the depths of his mind for any sort of explanation. "Uh—"

They were still stood in front of the bus and a window squeaked open above them, revealing an annoyed Liz Allen. Even displaying negative emotions, Liz was still gorgeous. "Marinette, Peter, hurry up," she huffed, eyeing them skeptically—it was well-known amongst the team that Peter and Marinette didn't talk.

Marinette watched the way Peter looked up at Liz; the admiration and respect in his eyes. It filled the girl with bitterness and she shoved past him, grunting a half-hearted apology to Liz on the way past her. 

                         CHILDREN OF DIVORCED PARENTS OFTEN TALKED ABOUT BLENDED FAMILIES BEING THE WORST. The awkwardness, the forced relationships, the way you're just expected to accept this new dynamic and pretend everything fits together neatly. Marinette Dupain-Cheng however, had to strongly disagree with that sentiment. Blended friendship groups were the real enemy.

At first, it had just been a few awkward exchanges between her friends and his—a necessity for the sake of Alya and Nino. Then there had been the party, which she hadn't noticed at the time was a testing ground to see how well the two groups meshed. But before she even knew it, there was Peter Parker integrating himself more and more into her already chaotic life. And the worst part? She hadn't even realised it was happening until their worlds had completely collided. If someone had told her back at the start of the school year (literally a month ago) that she'd be sitting on a cramped, noisy school bus next to Peter Parker, trying to pretend the awkward silence wasn't crushing, Marinette would've laughed. Or maybe she would've burst into tears. Either way, she would've needed to be admitted into the nearest hospital—because the idea of sitting next to him, of all people, would've sent her into a coma (or a psychotic episode, depends on the day).

Her eyes wandered the bus, at everyone else. Ned and Adrien, having got on the bus before them, were sat behind the pair discussing the question Liz had just asked from the front of the bus. In front of them were Nino and Alya (shocker) with their heads resting together while they shared earbuds and giggled. Across the aisle, with her feet perched up on the seat beside her, Michelle blocked the world out and read quietly. Everyone was equipped with their bells as Liz persisted on getting in last minute practice.

Liz, flicking some hair off her shoulders, neatened her cards after going over a pot hole. "Focus up, everyone. Our next topic is the moons of Saturn," she announced eloquently.

"You've gotten so fast at this," Peter whispered, leaning into Marinette slightly after she'd just answered a hard physics question right.

Normally she would recoil from his proximity but instead the corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "I know," she replied smugly, looking straight ahead at Liz.

Peter blinked slowly, smiling as he took her in. "Of course, you do," he breathed, voice barely above a whisper.

A compliment from a normal person about something mundane—like her outfit or the way she styled her hair—was easy enough to come by, but it always felt shallow, empty. People often gave her praise for things that required no real thought, no effort. It was just a way to keep the conversation going, to tick a box. But when Peter Parker, of all people, complimented her on something academic, something she'd actually worked hard on, it wasn't just another casual remark. It was different—because it was Peter Parker. The guy who, despite all his supposed charm (gag her with a spoon), always seemed to somehow have it all together. The guy who was always one step ahead, even when it came to something as trivial as an opinion on her schoolwork.

And yet, in that moment, when he noticed something she'd done, it felt like a hollow victory. A small, fleeting moment where her effort was acknowledged, but only because he'd been forced to notice. It wasn't enough to make her feel good about herself—it just reminded her that she was constantly trying to prove something to him, even if he didn't know it. His praise felt almost patronizing, like he was throwing her a bone, and yet, for some twisted reason, it was still something she couldn't ignore. It wasn't real validation. It was just a reminder of how much she hated the fact that, no matter how hard she tried, Peter Parker would always be the one who got the recognition.

Marinette hadn't heard the question, being so lost in her mind. She blinked back to as Cindy Moon called out the answer, "The second law of thermodynamics!"

Her eyes found the window momentarily, taking in the states that bled by. She'd been disappointed to learn their driver was sticking close to the highway for the majority of the drive, meaning the scenery was extremely mundane. Barren fields and the odd road sign were all she had to stimulate her brain.

90 miles to Baltimore, 126 miles to Washington.

Marinette focused in on the questions again, just in time for Flash to call out, "Fort Sumter!" loudly.

Only for Abraham, in the row behind him, to ring his own bell and say, "Flash is wrong," earning him a dirty look from the boy. Marinette couldn't hold back the low giggle as she watch Flash try to explain why he had to be right.

"Okay, guys, let's focus. Next one," Liz said over the top of the bickering pair, shaking her head.

Mr Harrington, who had spent most of the trip explaining all the details of his recent divorce to the poor bus driver, turned back for a moment to say, "Liz, don't overwork them."

Michelle made a crude hand gesture, that distracted Marinette long enough for her to miss the questions again. A loud ring from beside her made the girl jump. "Uh, strontium, barium, vibranium," Peter answered, racking his brain for any elements he may have missed.

"Very good, Peter. Glad to have you back," Luz praised, albeit hesitantly. Marinette's eyes narrowed and her grip on her own bell tightened.

"Glad to be back," Peter replied, smiling like a clueless puppy (Marinette was more of a cat person, anyways).

As Liz opened her mouth for the next question, Peter began squirming beside her. She turned to glare at him but hesitated when he pulled his phone from his jean pocket. Marinette tilted her head, trying to get a clear view of the caller ID (she was nosy, sue her). The name, Happy, was unfamiliar to her but the contact picture rang a bell deep in her brain—one she couldn't quite place. She could've sworn she's seen that guy before, she just had no idea where.

"What is the current standard unit of radioactive—"

"Can I take this real quick? I'll only be a sec," Peter asked urgently, already standing up.

Liz, sick of being cut off by various teammates, rolled her eyes and shooed him to go to the back of the bus. "Yeah, fine," she huffed.

Marinette turned to watch him shuffle back, momentarily flashing his screen to Ned as he passed by. The bigger boys eyes widened and he instinctively followed Peter, leaving a confused Adrien behind.

"Hello?" She hears the boy answer the phone, hesitance clear in his tone.

Marinette, whose tunnel vision had been so adamantly fixated on Peter, hadn't noticed any other movement around her. "Hey," Adrien whispered, dropping down into the seat beside her.

"Hey," she squeaked, feeling her neck almost snap at how suddenly she whipped around to look at him.

Liz cleared her throat. "Okay, focus up, everyone."

As their team captain fired off another round of questions, Marinette looked back with her brows furrowed in confusion. That's when she heard it—Peter's voice, clear as day, cut through the lie hum of the bus's engine. "Look, Happy, I gotta say, you tracking me without my permission is a complete violation of my privacy," she heard Peter say into the phone, sounding exasperated, before waving off something Ned muttered to him. "That's different."

Marinette froze. Her mind immediately began to spin in fast pirouettes that left her feeling motion sick as she tried to wrap her brain around what she'd just heard. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her to hear off things—with little to no context—come out of Peter's mouth but this was a new level of bizarre. This felt different. This wasn't the usual casual weirdness she was accustomed to when it came to him. She couldn't even fathom a rational explanation for this. Her first instinct was to chalk it up to Peter's usual chaotic energy—he often rambled, sometimes said things that didn't quite make sense—but this? Tracking? Without permission? That sounded. . . serious. And the fact that he sounded so defensive only made her feel more uneasy. Who was this Happy guy? Why was someone—presumably an adult—tracking a teenage boy in the first place?

Next to her, Adrien faded away as the questions buzzed around Marinette's head. The curiosity was gnawing at her, but she couldn't seem to make sense of it. Her thoughts scrambled for an explanation but nothing rational came to mind. This wasn't a case of Peter getting caught in some harmless lie or exaggeration that pissed her off. No, this felt. . . different. The kind of thing that Ladybug wouldn't get involved in, not her high school classmates.

The girl looked back over at Peter, her wide eyes narrowing. He had slid his phone back into his jeans pocket but there was something about his posture that seemed off. He leaned over the front of the chair to look at something in Ned's lap—something she'd normally just write off as a school project or a geeky Lego set. But the way he was leaning, the way his attention was divided so intently, made her instincts twitch. It was as thought he was trying to distract himself from something—or someone. What was going on with him?

Her mind continued to race and she thought back to her theory in wood-shop. It might be a massive stretch but given the oddities she'd witnessed and the fact they matched the archetype perfectly. . . Was her theory about a bomb correct? It wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility and the secrecy surrounding the two boys was making her question everything. The way they acted, the way they kept themselves at arms length from everyone lately—there was something under the surface, something they didn't want everyone to know.

Marinette quickly shook her head, trying to clear away the ridiculous thought—she'd been hanging out with Michelle and Alya too much. But the thought didn't quite leave her. It lingered, bouncing from one unsettling question to the other.

"Man, I don't get them," Nino muttered, looking back in the same direction as her. Marinette turned to face him, frowning. "It's like they've got some secret life going on behind my back now or something."

"I'm sure whatever it is, they'll tell you when they're ready," Alya told him soothingly, gaze lingering on Marinette for a moment before she kissed Nino's cheek gently.

Marinette looked back fleetingly one last time. What had they gotten themselves into?

🐈‍⬛ karla yaps !

sorry i missed a week and a bit of uploads, i went on holiday lol BUT IM BACK & READY TO GRIND. the washington segment is always my least favourite part of peter parker books so im going to try to grind out all the parts as fast as i can before i go away again. my goal to get act two completed by the end of the year is looking less & less attainable but i've not given up yet.

when i went into this chapter i was expecting it to barely crack 2000 words so im pleasantly surprised with my yapping skills. even though nothing really happened, i feel like this was still a fun chapter. LOTS. OF FORESHADOWING.

also a huge thank you to everyone who's supported this book <333 we just hit 10k reads & 1k votes & i want to cry. i appreciate all of you so much. without your kind words, i probably would've lost motivation but it means the world to me everytime someone feels something over this fic :')