Two Months Later

My head throbs and aches from the glow of the gym's florescent lights, and I rub my temples in the hopes to alleviate some of the pressure that's lingering from the lack of sleep and continuous glare. Maybe Dad's right. Maybe I can't keep this routine up for long.

I let myself slip as I look over to Peter and Ned, who I've been mildly avoiding these past two months. It's been harder than I thought it would be, but what else was I supposed to do? Lie to them even more everyday? Because I certainly can't tell them about being Phantom, or that I'm a Stark, and I definitely shouldn't say anything about my feelings for Peter.

No, it seemed better to leave them alone.

My focus is broken as coach stops the video saying "So apparently, this guy is an international war criminal now, but I'm required to show it by the state." I look at the screen, where the image of Steve in the Captain America suits still lingers.

If only people knew the truth, maybe they would take a moment to reconsider putting that label on him. Or, perhaps they wouldn't care enough to put the effort into thinking about what their opinions should be. It probably wouldn't matter to them that there was a larger threat occurring at the time.

I pick at my sleeves and feel the spots where the long-faded bruises still seem to ache. Maybe it really is better that people don't know the entire truth. At least that way, they aren't constantly worrying or looking over their shoulder like me.

"Okay, everyone, hit the mats. We're starting with sit-ups." Coach shouts, which makes me nearly ready for a fight at the sudden noise. Luckily, neither him nor my approaching group of "friends" seem to notice as they form their usual cluster with me in the near center.

"What about you, Lia? Has anyone asked you?" Betty asks with a devious grin tugging at the edge of her lips.

I shake my head to dispel the lingering fog, "Asked me what?"

Giggles erupt at my question as they seem to find some humor in it that's lost to me. "Asked you to homecoming, obviously." Liz chimes and nudges my shoulder with the look that's silently asking if I'm okay.

"Oh, um, no. No one has asked me." I tell them and tug at the edges of my sleeves. It takes everything in me to not look towards Peter on instinct. Of course, he's the one I would want more than anything to ask me, but that's highly unlikely seeing as how he's completely infatuated with Liz.

"But there's someone, right?" She asks seeming to pick up on how I curl in on myself. "Is this that mystery guy you're always talking to?"

"No, that's my best mate from home. It's someone else."

"So there is someone you're crushing on." Seymour teases as they lean on their elbows. "Spill, who is it?"

"Guys, just leave her alone. It's none of our business." Betty interjects when she notices me twisting and pulling at my sleeves like I always do when I'm anxious. "Don't let them pressure you."

I meet her eyes with a tight-lipped smile, and she merely nods softly in affirmation as she rejoins the conversation as it shifts to other trivial things. "Okay, eff, marry, kill—Avengers edition."

The words make my stomach drop to the gym floor with a resounding thunk as I try to hide my dismay and disgust. "I'll start!" Seymour cheers as he happily lists off the heroes in his preferred order—one of whom is my dad, and it takes every ounce of my self-control to not gag or visibly cringe.

"C'mon, who would you eff, marry, and kill?" Liz asks as she nudges my shoulder with a well-knowing smile. While we haven't talked too much about superheroes—for obvious reasons—it hasn't stopped her from trying to pry information about crushes of any variety.

"I don't think I would do that with any of them." I reply as I crinkle my nose at the thought.

"You have to pick someone." Seymour insists, and I let out a heavy sigh.

"I—I'd probably not eff anyone, kill Vision—" I stare down at my hands as I mumble the honest answer to the last option and hope no one can actually hear it.

"Hold on—what was that last one?" Liz questions, clearly excited to hear me actually admit to actually having a crush.

I grit my teeth and take a glance up to where Peter and Ned are talking in hushed tones. Well, if I'm gonna go down, might as well do it confidently. So, I roll my shoulders back and say it loud enough to actually. "Marry Spiderman."

"Seriously? You're crushing on the Spiderman?" Seymour questions with a look of surprise and dismay.

"Why not? He's pretty awesome in my book with how he's out there protecting normal people too." I tell them and keep myself from shrinking under their gazes—not to mention Peter and Ned's exasperated looks. "I mean, did you see that video of him on YouTube?"

"Right?" Liz agrees, "He took down like four guys by himself."

"Not you too." Betty chuckles and leans on her elbows. "He's probably like thirty or something."

"Or just really ugly. You don't even know what he looks like."

"As if that really changes anything?" I counter and steal a glance at Peter—suddenly even more grateful for my lenses since no one will notice—only to find him watching the scene play out with wide eyes.

"But what if he's like seriously burned?" Seymour presses still looking exasperated by my and Liz's opinions. "He could look like a giant prune!"

"I wouldn't care. I'd love him for the person he is inside." Liz says with a dramatic flourish, and I try not to roll my eyes knowing she's just doing it for the response it will get.

"Peter knows Spider-man." Ned shouts, which makes my head snap in their direction.

"No, I don't. No. I—I mean—" Peter stutters, clearly flustered and terrified on having to deal with the current situation.

Not that it gets any better as Ned interrupts him with another shout of, "They're friends."

I internally groan at Ned, and I can see Peter doing the same. "Yeah, sure." Flash teases as he saunters closer. "I bet it's like how Captain America and Coach Wilson are friends."

"Or like how you and Phantom are totally dating?" I quip, thoroughly sick and tired of Flash's constant stupidity and bullying. It earns me a scornful look from Flash, and a grateful smile from Peter that makes my heart pound a little harder than it should.

"I mean, I've—uh—I've met him a few times," Peter manages to say with minimal stuttering, "But it's through the Stark Internship. I'm really not supposed to talk about it."

"Well, that's awesome. Hey, since you two are so tight, maybe you should bring him to Liz's party tonight." Flash antagonizes, and I resist the overwhelming urge to just shadow slap that stupid smirk right off his face.

Liz seems to tense up at the mention of her party, and I watch as her body language shift as her anxiety rises with every word. "Yeah, I'm having some people over tonight. You're more than welcome to come." It's clear she's only saying it to be nice, which hurts because I know how much it will mean to Peter.

Peter's eyes seem to light up at her invitation, and there's that lovesick puppy look that serves as a deep cutting reminder of how it's Liz he's infatuated with. I get lost in it for a moment as the normal part of me takes over, and I can't help but wonder what it would be like if he looked or even thought of me like that.

"It's okay," Liz offers with that tense smile she gets when she's trying not to be too rude but wants to make a point. "I know Peter's way too busy for parties, so..."

There's a small edge of taunting to her voice, one that everyone but Peter and Ned seem to pick up on. I give her a nudge and shake my head, but she pretends not to notice. Instead, she just listens as Flash continues on his grand display, "Come on. I'm sure he'll be there. Isn't that right, Parker?"

Peter doesn't get a chance to say anything else as the bell rings, and everyone moves to get cleaned up and rush to the next class. Except, I linger for a moment to give Peter a soft smile. "If you can, you should come. It'd be nice to have a friendly face there." I tell him and pray that this divide I've created isn't too large to bridge, that maybe this can be the first step.

He doesn't say anything. Instead, he remains silent as I turn to leave with the rest of the crowd, barely catching Peter's next words to Ned before I'm out of earshot, but ARTI seems to take it upon himself to eavesdrop on them. "What are you doing?"

"Did you not hear her?" Ned questions. "Liz has a crush on you!"

"ARTI, stop. Please." I whisper to the AI since I'm definitely not in the mood to listen as Peter gushes over my friend. "I don't wanna hear this."

"Of course, Lia. Although, you should be made aware that they were discussing you earlier." He tells me and pulls up an audio file, where the video of Steve can be faintly heard in the background.

"Did you meet him?" Ned's voice asks in a whisper.

"Yeah, I stole his shield."

"Dude," there's a pause. "Wait, so have you met the new one—Phantom? Is that why you're like her biggest fan?"

"I'm not her biggest fan, but yeah, I've met her."

"And?"

There's a moment of silence, only mildly broken by the video and other hushed whispers in the background. "She told me I had a cute butt."

"Seriously?!" Ned cheers, completely oblivious to the awkward tension in his best friend's voice. "I'm pretty sure that's like the highest compliment you can get from a girl."

"ARTI, please." I mutter as I try to fight the burning in my cheeks. "Huh. I never took Peter for a hardcore Phantom fan after Germany. I guess it's nice that some things didn't change."

"Incoming call from your Dad."

"Decline it. He should know better than to call me in school." I sigh, suddenly bristling at the reminder that my two lives keep intersecting in ways I'd rather keep far apart. "And while you're at it, let him know I'll be out late tonight."

"Should I specify the reason?"

"Yeah," I feel a wave of confidence as I glance back to the closed gym doors. "I'm going to a party."