The rest of my weekend passed in a haze of tears, migraines, and wondering if Peter will ever speak to me again, all of which made facing Monday at school so much more daunting and nauseating. My only goal is to keep my head down and fade into a deserved oblivion for who knows how long.

Of course, like always, things never really work in my favor.

I make it all the way to lunch before it running into Peter and Ned, the second of who calls me over the moment I walk in, but I immediately duck my head down and take a seat at another table by myself. "Activating advanced reconnaissance mode." ARTI flashes across my lenses as he tunes in on Ned and Peter's conversation, despite them being halfway across the cafeteria.

"Dude, what's going on with Lia?" Ned questions, and I assume Peter must have some sort of sour expression judging by what's said next. "Wait, are you—are you mad at her or something? Did you two have a fight? 'Cause I'm sure whatever it is, you two can make it up. You know I'm not exactly good with conflict, and I really don't want to have to pick between my two best friends."

"We didn't have a fight, Ned." Peter replies with a bitter tone. "I just found out that's she been keeping a huge secret from us for a long time."

"Is it really that big of a deal? I mean, she's our best friend, but everyone has secrets."

"No, this is different."

"How?"

"Because she's Phantom, and she never told me." He says in barely more than a whisper, which makes me feel like throwing up on the spot.

"Really? That's so cool! I have two best friends, who are both Avengers." Ned cheers excitedly before realizing that Peter was upset by the information. "Dude, why are you mad about that? She's practically your girlfriend and your butt kicking partner."

"Yeah, but she kept that from me for almost three years, Ned. How am I supposed to be okay with that?" Peter retorts, and I can't say I blame him. He has every right to be upset with me.

It just doesn't seem that Ned agrees. "You're supposed to because she's your best friend and the girl you've been secretly crushing on for the past two and half years. Let me ask you this, if you had the choice, would you have told anyone about your secret?" The question seems to get the best of Peter as he struggles to form and answer. "That's what I thought. So why should you get mad at her for not telling hers when you would have done the same were the situations reversed?"

I feel a lump form in my throat as I push aside my food and leave the cafeteria. My heart feels like it's breaking as I force my head down and pass by the pair of them, who are still talking in hushed tones, oblivious to the fact that I heard everything.

"Lia," Peter calls as he follows me out, "can I—can I talk to you for a second?"

It takes me a moment to process that this is real and that he's actually speaking to me right now. "Yeah. What's up?"

"I wanted to apologize for not letting you speak the other day. When you told me, I was just surprised and got really upset, but if you're still willing to talk, I'm ready to listen."

"How about after school? We can meet at Tony's, if you want."

"Yeah, that sounds great." He pauses for a moment, looking down at the floor as he asks, "So, you're really not upset with me for how I acted?"

"No, I get that it was a lot to process. It'd be hard to blame you for reacting." I tell him with a shrug as I tug my sleeves down over my hand. "Like I said, I still get it if you hate me or whatever."

"I don't though. Pretty sure I couldn't hate you if I tried." His words ring so loudly in my ears I barely notice him getting closer until he takes my hand in his. I glance up and see him already staring back at me with that tender look in his eyes that makes heart melt. "I have to ask though."

"Yeah?"

"Do you really think I have a cute butt?" He asks me through a laugh, and I feel my palms grow sweaty.

"Oh god. I can't believe you remembered that." I tell him through a nervous laugh as I bury my face in his chest. "But if you really want to know, then yes. Like I told you before, I endeavor not to lie if I can help it."

"So does that mean you've liked me since—?"

"Since about the first month of knowing you? Yeah." The revelation makes a smile break across Peter's face as he looks down at me. "It's part of the reason I started hanging out with Liz. After everything that happened before, I wasn't ready to admit to myself that I liked you. Obviously, things changed a little."

Peter is still smiling as he wraps his arms around me and presses a kiss to my forehead before resting it against his. "You know, I was pretty much in the same situation? When you came, I thought I still liked Liz, but when she left, I told myself it was MJ, which was mostly because I never wanted to lose you as a friend and had no clue you felt the same way until MJ said it."

"At first, I was really upset with her, but now, I'm glad she did." I reply as I look up at him with a soft smile. "Even if it did make things a little more complicated, I have a feeling it's gonna turn out pretty well."

Unfortunately, we're interrupted by the bell ringing, signaling that we both have to go our separate ways for the rest of our classes. Peter lets out a sigh as he pulls me closer to his chest. "I'm glad Ned convinced me to talk to you, otherwise AP Bio would be really awkward."

"Remind me to thank Ned later." I smile and pull away so that only our hands our still intertwined, "I'm just not really looking forward to all the inevitable questions about being Phantom and life as an Avenger."

Peter's face scrunches, "Wait, how did you know that I accidentally told him."

I smile and tap my glasses. "You have Karen, and I have ARTI."

"Wait, your AI is in your glasses?"

"Yep. They were a gift from Tony since I have to wear the glasses either way."

"And you call him ARTI?"

I nod and lean against the wall as we wait for Ned, "Mhm. It stands for 'Augmented Reality Tactical Intelligence.' I helped program him, which probably explains why he's so sassy, sarcastic, and has a mind of his own. If I'm being honest, he's really been rooting for you since day one."

"Well in that case, thank you very much, ARTI."

"You're very welcome, Peter," ARTI replies just loud enough for him to hear, which makes Peter's eyes widen, "but if you break her heart, I have the capabilities to ruin your entire life within seconds."

"Who's ruining whose life?" Ned ask as he appears from the crowd. "Also, did you guys make up?"

"We have a lot to still talk through, but yeah, we're good." I say and lean into Peter's embrace. "Now, we really have to get to class. Miss Oberlin will never let us forget it if we're late again."

It feels like I only blink before the day's over, and I'm leaning against Peter's locker waiting for him so we can continue our conversation from earlier. I text Dad a quick update on the situation, which he is more than understanding and supportive of.

"You ready?" Peter asks as he adjusts the straps of his backpack. I nod happily, and we head out with one last goodbye to Ned before heading out.

It's a little tense as we finally make it back to the apartment; lucky for me, Dad and Mum aren't home, which helps ease some of my nerves. "So, um, I guess I should start from the beginning?" Peter nods as he bites his lips.

I force myself to take a deep breath and recount everything to Peter from the nightmares, to the car accident, to the full story of what happened that night with Henry, all without the detail of Tony being my dad. The entire time, Peter is attentively listening and patient, only asking questions when he's really lost, until we get to now with the REM trials. "Tony and I decrypted some of the files we got from OSCORPS. It looks like they've been running the trials for at least a decade—but I have a feeling it's been a lot longer than that."

"Did you find anything else?"

"Yeah, we did." I reply and hand him my tablet with the files pulled up, "We confirmed that Jim, my step-dad, has been running the bio-chemistry team, and from the data in the files, it's—it's pretty clear that I was one of the trials original subjects on testing REM DNA limitations and modifications."

"Wait," Peter questions as his head snaps up to look at me with wide eyes, "you were part of the trials?"

I nod and chew on my bottom lip, "I had a growing suspicion when I first found out about the trials, but then Tony and I started doing research into it and my own medical history. It became pretty obvious that subject seventy-four was me. From what we found, it looks like they initially claimed to be a medical trial that was researching rare conditions for treatments. I think my mum must've taken me for my eyes and eventually met Jim along the way. Trouble is my history with them paints a target on my back since I seem to be their sole 'success story,' and if anyone finds out that I'm Phantom, that target transfers to everyone I'm close to."

"Then I guess, we'll have to make sure that doesn't happen." Peter replies with a smile as his hand finds mine. "I promise you, Lia, I'll do everything I can to help you stop these trials. I'm always going to be here for you."

"Thank you, Pete." I smile and rest my head on his shoulder. "I was really scared I lost you for a little bit there."

"I was too, but I'm not making that mistake again." He replies with a smile and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"Also, I was thinking," I pause to look up at Peter before continuing, "maybe we could finally have that first date? All this made me realize, I don't want to wait. Everything that happened in my past should stay there; it shouldn't hold me back from living my present."

"Really?" Peter asks with a beaming smile. "Okay, awesome. How about this Friday?"

"Isn't that when we're going to MOMA?"

"Yeah, but maybe we can go out that night?" He questions as his face pulls together in worry. "If—if that's okay with you?"

"It sounds perfect, Pete." I reply and peck his cheek. "What would you say to skipping patrol for one night? We can order pizza, hang out, and maybe study for a bit—since there's that physics test Wednesday?"

Peter smiles and wraps an arm around my waist as his other hand holds onto mine. "Do we have to study?"

"Not really, I was just trying to see what it felt like to be a responsible student for a second."

"I keep forgetting to ask." Peter pipes up after nearly a half hour into the movie. "How did you figure out I was Spider-Man? 'Cause obviously, you found me before Mr. Stark."

"Oh," I reply and feel my palms growing sweaty, "Tony asked me to track you down. So I did some snooping in a couple systems I technically shouldn't have accessed, correlated cell tower patterns with Spidey sightings, and confirmed what I had already assumed." Peter just laughs and shakes his head at me. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I just never took you for the snooping type."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I made a promise Tony to stop a few weeks ago." The comment just makes Peter laugh even harder, and I'd be lying if it didn't make me realize just how much love I have for this boy.

We enjoy the rest of our afternoon, talking and laughing, and it's one of the moments that make me realize, despite the insanity that surrounds us, perfect, happy moments like this are still possible.

Dad and Pepper come back a few hours later; both of them pretending to not notice Peter and I curled up under one blanket. Of course, their presence makes Peter's cheeks turn pink. "Why are you living here with Tony? I mean—I know you told me about what happened with your mom, but doesn't your dad live around here?"

"It's complicated, and I really wish I could tell you more."

"No, I get it, with the trials and everything; you need to keep them safe." His words make tears build in my eyes as I begin to wonder how I got so lucky to meet someone as genuine and understanding as Peter.

"I promise, when this is over, no more secrets—unless it's like a surprise party or something, those will stay secret."

"I think I can live with that." Peter replies with a smile and presses a gentle kiss to my forehead, which makes my cheeks burn. It just feels so easy to relax and feel safe in when he's around, and while I know that the quiet can only last for so long, for once, I want to take it while it lasts, however long that may be.

Who knows? Maybe things will stay quiet long enough for us to enjoy our date this Friday and to eventually find the courage to tell Peter how I've felt about him for so long. I just need to find the words—and the courage—to say that I love him way more than I ever thought a person possibly can.