"𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 I've ever known, Mirium." the boy on the other end paused, "Not smarter than me though."

Although he couldn't see, Mirium rolled her eyes and closed her textbook, "Oh please, your rich boy sciences could never go to war with my street smarts. Have you figured out the train system yet, smartass?"

And although she couldn't see, Mirium knew his eyes just rolled to the back of his head. "Okay first of all, i was like eight—"

"Mmh you were eleven as far as I remember."

"Well clearly your memory is your greatest enemy because I was eight." He argued

"Eleven."

"Eight."

"Eleven and don't talk back."

There was a beat of silence on the other end, "Yes ma'am."

Mitzi chuckled and rolled over in her bed, "Good boy, Harry Osborn. Always doing as told, guess nothing has really changed, huh?"

"10 years of all this, you should know by now, Minnie." The boy teased, Mitzi made a fake gagging noise and threw her head into the nearest pillow.

"I told you to stop calling that, Osborn. It's humiliating." She mumbled into her pillow

Harry's contagious laugh echoed from the line's other end, "Oh c'mon, it's cute! That Halloween costume you wore on the day we met was truly your best work. Minnie the fashionista."

"I'm hanging up now."

"No! No! No! No! Okay, okay I'm done! You win!" He exclaimed loudly, Mitzi smiled in victory but jumped in surprise when her ringtone erupted from the phone suddenly.

Taking the phone away from her ear, Mitzi recognized the contact immediately. "Oh shit...oh fuck!"

"Hello?"

"O-I'm so sorry, Harry but I forgot I actually have something to do for Imane so I gotta go—" Mitzi couldn't stop speaking, which was ironic considering anyone barley ever heard her speak, but when she was with the youngest Osborn it was like the words spilled out before she even had time to think.

It was always different with him around.

"Woah, calm down, Minnie. It's cool, say hi to Imane for me, okay?" He reassured her softly, Mitzi took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay, yeah, yeah. Call me when you can, okay?" She bit her lip, anticipating his answer. Sometimes it was a yes, sometimes it was a maybe or no, but she knew that anytime the boarding school allowed phone calls, Mitzi would be his first call if not for his father.

The silence made her nervous but when he spoke up, a wave of relief flooded through her system. "Anything for you, Minnie."

As soon as the call ended, Mitzi snapped out of her trance and ran over to her closet, yanking out the long plastic covered coat her best friend had left at her house the night previous. She slid on the first pair of shoes she found at the front door and ran down the stairs of her apartment building, not being one of the lucky people to get a new elevator installed in their apartment. It was either the elevator or the rent being raised and, in Mitzi's opinion, the stairs provided an easy gym session, no membership required.

Pushing in the streets of New York wasn't uncommon but Mitzi never thought she'd be the one doing the pushing. People complained but it all fell on deaf ears because Imane would simply kill her if she didn't bring the bag back to her at Oscorp. In sweats, a Mickey Mouse pajama shirt and white vans, Mirium Solis was running like Johnny Depp was in town.

As it turns out, panic was consuming the air of New York, including Peter Parker himself. The brown haired boy messily took off his suit from behind a random dumpster, changed into his regular civilian outfit and ran out of the alleyway, only to be abruptly halted by his spidey sense that stopped him in his place. It was only when he looked up from the ground did he find the person he almost took down.

"Mirium? Wha-what are you doing here?" He asked, taking her unusually wild appearance.

"Peter?! I'm taking this to- wait, are you busy right now?" She huffed

"Me? Wha...no I was just going...to..." his eyes drifted down to the bag she was holding and faintly read out the word, "...Oscorp?"

Her face lit up, "Really?! Amazing! Can you bring this to Imane at Oscorp for me? Really important and fragile, make sure it gets to her. Okay bye!" She explained briefly, handing him the bag and backing away slowly before running off back in the direction she came in.

"Wait, Imane works at Oscorp? What is this bag? Wait, Mitzi! And she's gone...okay." He mumbled the last bit under his breath, watching the girl run off and leave him with no explanation for anything.

Accepting his fate, Peter blew a raspberry and began jogging towards the tall building. As his feet came closer and closer to the glass doors of the building, the sweat glands in his hands seemed to multiply with the simple thought of having to go in and see Imane. Despite not knowing she even worked at Oscorp only five minutes ago, Peter's mind couldn't help but wander to what she looked like. What she was doing. Was she working at the lab? Or maybe she worked in reception? No, no, she's too smart for such a simple job as that.

"Sir? May I help you?" He blinked and stared blankly at the woman at the desk, different from the one he'd lied to the day he got bit in this exact building.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I have to give this to Imane. Imane Morris, is she here?" He asked, holding up the bag.

"Yes she should be in. I'll call her in. Wait here please."

Feeling anxious is normal and natural. It is part of the system that evolved to keep you safe and well. It is an alarm system of sorts, one you should heed. For when we are anxious it impacts both the functioning of the brain and the body. Find the real cause, address it, and this difficult symptom should fade. Yet Peter couldn't stop rubbing his sweaty hands on his fucking jeans. His mind was racing, his heart was beating out of chest, god, he couldn't even remember his goddamn name.

"Peter Parker?" His head snapped up and away from his shaking hands to meet the eye of the girl he'd been searching for longer than he himself realized. "What are you doing here?"

And again, the element of oxygen escaped his lungs with no mercy or warning. All he could see, hear and smell was her. Her mid length brown hair that was curled today, the burgundy low cut top that worked beautifully with her dark gray blazer and accentuated her sharp collar bones. Her plump lips that put everyone else to shame were coated in a thick matte brown lipstick that fought against the attention of her umber skin that never failed to remind Peter of a Western Coneflower the pair once saw in childhood.

She is enigmatic.

"Oh nothing, nothing, Mirium asked me to bring this...don't really know what this is but..." He extended his arm out with a wide smile as Imane looked away from his face and down at the fabric she told Mitzi to bring her hours ago.

"Thank you." She took it in her arms. "And you know, you can call her Mitzi, right? We've been friends long enough to get over the formalities."

Peter went quiet and stared at her for a moment, "We're still friends?"

Imane opened her mouth for a moment but closed it as her head tilted to the side and her legs took a step back, slightly offended. "Are we not?"

Noticing the window of opportunity closing, Peter shook his head. "No-Yes! Yes, yes! We're friends- well at least I think we are I just-" he stopped talking and gulped, "I thought...we haven't seen each other in a while so I-I thought you didn't consider me a friend anymore...." He stuttered out finally, looking down at the floor and putting his hands in his pockets nervously.

"I'm friends with Mitzi, right?"

"Well yes but-"

"Harry?"

"Yes but-"

"Then why do you think I'd like you any less than I do for them?" She pressed, Peter let out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, okay. I get it. I just thought—"

"Well, you thought wrong." Peter chuckled and stopped his wandering eyes to look back into her darker brown ones. "We're still friends but...maybe we just gotta get back into the groove of things, you know?"

"Yea-Yes, yes, of course. Uh, how's your brother? Runako? Last time I saw him he would take all your chips, suck on it and give it back." The two giggled at the memory, Peter's nerves finally loosening up.

"Bleh, he was a gross little thing and he still is, don't get me wrong, but he's gotten better. As soon as he entered middle school, he thinks he's the shit." Imane said, Peter listened intently and laughed, thinking about how much older her brother would be by now. How much time had passed since they got to be together like this.

"Hope you're putting him in his place."

"Oh trust me, I'm the only bully he needs in his life." She joked

"Hey, let me know if anyone's bullying him, I'll make sure to tell New York's recent hero." Imane smiled and nodded,

"Ah, the friendly neighborhood Spider-boy, right?" Peter's heart skipped a beat

"Spider-man."

"Eh, same difference." She shrugged

Peter placed a hand over his heart dramatically offended and scoffed, "How rude, Miss Morris."

"Aw, are you a fanboy of his, Mr Parker?" She teased as Peter rolled his eyes

"Only of you, President Morris." He raised and dropped his hands in a praying manner jokingly and laughed as Imane's eyes widened, looking around the area before placing her hands over his arms to drop them and end the embarrassment.

"Don't ever do that again." She warned, only being half serious as she fought the smile on her face.

"Whatever you say, my queen." Peter nodded, standing up straight with his hands behind his back. Imane pinched the middle of her eyebrows and shook her head. Peter's dark sepia colored eyes refused to look away from her face, he felt as though if he looked away, even for a second, she'd disappear again. And if there was anything he could do to keep her in his life again, he would do it in a heartbeat.

"Peter!" Exclaimed a voice from afar, "What a lovely surprise." The two teens turned around to find the infamous Dr Curt Conners walking towards them with a slight smile and wrapped his arm around the younger woman's when he reached her. "I see you've met my youngest prodigy, Miss Imane Morris."

"Of course, I've devoted my entire life to be the number one Imane Morris fan in preparation for when she discovers something revolutionary." Peter grinned, Imane shook her head and avoided his eyes.

"That's what I keep telling people but, hey, who's gonna listen to this old sap, right?" The older scientist shrugged and pointed at Peter, "Treat her well, son. And come back to the lab soon, Morris." He winked and walked away, not hearing Imane choking on the air in her throat and coughing into her elbow as Peter did the same. If anyone else had walked in on them at this moment, they would've looked just as they were— two nervous blushing high students with no clue how to act around each other.

She had no doubt the Doctor purposely let those words slip.

"Right uh- Anyways, I actually need your help with something." Peter brought up after the blush tinting his cheeks subsided.

"Mhm?"

"Uh...it's kinda hard to explain right now, can you...can you come to my house later? I swear it's important and not some ploy to get you into my room. N-not that I don't want you in my room but- wait that sounded bad.... I don't want you in my room like that, I just wanted your opinion on something because I can't really figure it out and I think I need a second—"

"Peter."

"Yes?"

"Breathe." She commanded, the nervous teen nodded and followed her words, taking a deep breath in and out. "I'll go to your house and help you with whatever you just said." She held out her hand to his palm up as he looked down at in confusion.

Imane rolled her eyes again and grabbed his hand, picking a pen out of a small pocket in her blazer and writing her number down on the palm of his hand. A classic cliche move that made the young Peter Parker weak in the knees.

"Call me when you need me."