//------------------------------//
// Loose Lips make Partnerships 
// Story: Shimmering Spider 
// by Sense of Humor 
//------------------------------//

What a crazy, crummy morning for Samantha.

It was cloudy today, possibly meaning to break into a light shower or two when the time came. It brought dappled light down onto the sidewalk she trekked, amongst several other people that had done little more than glance at the sky.  The only one who didn't seem to be as melancholic as everyone else was a little girl, the same one from the train to be precise, and that was merely because she was busy playing with a small doll. It was a toy marked with red coloring and black lines to resemble a tiny, crude version of Spider-man. Samantha groaned and didn't look down at the kid again.

That Spider-man.  He was the reason she'd been up for most of the night, thinking over the offer she turned down. She didn't regret making the firm decision, yet she couldn't help but think about what things could have been like if she said yes. Maybe with more usage, her 'powers' would eventually fade away into nothingness and she'd be normal again. It would have been nice to know the extent of her temperature; to see just how hot her palms could really get. Maybe she could be like Iron man, with his repulsor rays.

Listen to yourself. You sound like some optimistic kid. She agreed with that thought. People like Spider-man didn't want her so they could teach to her control her strength--they wanted it for their 'hero' cause. Hell, the only reason that she'd been noticed was because she flipped a car in the street. It wouldn't work; she didn't like the idea of punching someone, let alone a crook who could easily kill her or even shoot her.She wasn't an urban myth with bulletproof skin, after all.

But all the logic in the world couldn't stop her from imagining that kind of lifestyle. Samantha tried to envision herself in a funky, spandex costume and shuddered--What a horrific, embarrassing thought. But when she thought about helping people--maybe stopping house fires or saving citizens from the wake of a bridge collapsing--she found that it was easy to think about.  At least with work like that, she'd never have to punch anyone.

The group of sidewalkers began to shift themselves on the street to cross it, and Samantha checked her phone for the time. In a little over half an hour, school would start. Hopefully the train would be ready and waiting when she arrived at the station. Halfway onto the other side of the street, she saw the light turn green and frowned at its speed in changing color. A car honked behind a big truck and the deiver, who was reading a newspaper boredly, pressed into the gas. His large eighteen wheeler lurched forward with surprising speed, it's driver never removing the paper from his eyes.

Time seemed to slow down for Samantha when she saw the little girl in the middle of the road, reaching for her fallen toy, eyes widening at the approaching vehicle. The teenager gasped herself and stretched out a distant hand to reach for her. She was too far away with not enough time to run and pull her out of the way!

A thick tendril of orange energy suddenly exploded outwards from her palm and shot at the girl with a surprising quickness. She blinked with a dumbfounded gaze as the tendril wrapped swiftly around the girl's  middle and tugged her over to the sidewalk just as the truck crushed the area the kid had once been in.  Samantha watched the coil dissipate into thin air and then the face of the child as it contorted into a look of pure awe and surprise. The teen swallowed, finally comprehending what had just hapened.

"Are you okay?!" She asked her nervously, wringing her hands around each other as if it might prevent another random outburst of energy.  "I-I'm sorry if I hurt you, I just--"

"Joan!" The voice of the mother cut into the conversation, before the real deal scowled to a kneeling halt in front of her daughter. As one might expect, she scanned the girl skeptically. "Joan! What are you doing back here, away from mommy?  I told you yesterday that you don't talk to strangers."

The girl, Joan it would seem, nodded sheepishly but gratefully at Samantha as she began. "I know, but I left Ms.Annise in the street by accident so I went back to get her. Then she pulled me out of the way of the big car!"

Joan's mother gasped in shock, carefully looking over her  daughter a second time and then giving a surprised look to Samantha. "Thank you. I've always told her to keep up with me on the sidewalk, but...I shouldn't move so fast to begin with." She nodded with a shaky sigh. "Just...Thank you."

The kid grinned even wider at her now. The teen stood stiffly at the attention she was getting; apparently bystanders could overhear the car rescue and were sending approving looks from afar or nearby.  Samantha looked at each face, anxiety written over her own, but gradually adopted something more proud and pleased. She'd gained a feeling that she knew would remain with her all the way to school and perhaps the way back home. It was something very difficult to explain, but it felt too real to be ignored.  She'd saved someone, without the need for violence, and it felt...good. Pretty good, indeed.





"Just like that? Just no?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Of course not just like that. She had her reasons, and all but...it was still a good offer. I mean, Mr. Stark doesn't just offer an internship to anybody, y'know."

"You sure?" Ned asked with a faux tone of curiousity. "Didn't he hire you?"

"Man, shut up.  She had...qualifications like me that would've landed her an easy job." Peter explained somewhat truthfully. It never got old; making up stories parallel to his Spider-man life by using the term 'Stark Internship'.  "It's not like there would've been anything too hard for her, you know? Just the usual stuff that people do in an internship."

"What  do people do in an internship?"

"Uh...internship stuff?"

"Fair enough...Is it bad that it feels like a Friday to me?" Ned rubbed at his eyes tiredly, evidence that he hadn't had much rest since 'recovering' from his sickness. The doctors had him off for so many days that Peter thought he might actually be switching schools, but a surprise return said otherwise. "It feels pretty bad."

"Ned, it is Friday." Peter laughed softly. "What type of medicine are you taking, man?"

"The deep stuff, if I'm being honest with you. " He groaned. "I didn't know Claritin even came in a liquid version, that is just too weird."

"Really? A liquid? What's that taste like?"

"Piss. Literal Piss."

"You know what Piss tastes like?"

Ned chuckled weakly and elbowed his side, earning more laughter from Peter. The goofing around left them unaware of where they were walking, which happened to be on the left side of the hall towards the corner. By the time Peter realised he was about to turn on the corner, he ran straight into a slightly shorter, feminine body and nearly knocked her over. "Oh, sh!t! Sorry, my bad m--...oh." He blinked in mild surprise at the familar yellow and red hair. "Uh, hey, Sorry Sam. Ned, this is--uh--the new girl I mentioned. Samantha, this is Ned."

Before Ned could really say anything, Samantha held up a finger. "Hi, Ned! I'm sorry to interrupt you, but could I talk to Peter for a sec, please? I've been waiting for the perfect time to talk to him all day long!"

Peter tilted his head. She seemed a lot more excited than he knew her to be in the past two days, and that was saying a lot. He looked to Ned for his reaction, and the shorter teen shrugged at him. "Sure. Go ahead." He elbowed Peter again. "Jackpot, Tiger."

Peter's skin turned slightly red, but he shrugged off the odd feeling to focus on his failed partner in crime-fighting. "Uh, yo. What's up? Anything you wanted to hear about our Spanish homework or...?"

"I changed my mind about the whole superhero thing. Well, kinda. " Samantha leaned against the wall and be her bottom lip as if trying to find the right words to say. "I mean, I have certain terms that I want to discuss. I don't have that many terms, but I just wanted to...you know, let you know."

Despite this being sudden music to Peter's ears, he had no idea why she was telling him this and not Spider-man...not that Spider-man would know to ever have a second meeting."I'm...not sure I follow. What do you mean, superhero thing?"

Her eyebrow quirked upward. "Eh? Yesterday on the roof? We spoke about being your partner and all? I said no? Just stop me when you start remembering. Waaait." She leaned forward a bit too far into his personal space, staring intently at her AC/DC shirt. "How does it work? Are you wearing the Spider-man suit under the shirt? Or is it in your backpack?"

"I-I don't get it." He glanced around nervously; she was talking really, really loudly around all these people. "Why would I have a--uh-- Spider-man suit? "

"Because you're Spider-man, maybe?"

"Me?" Peter adopted a dry, but clearly nervous laugh to drown out her statement. A few girls gossiping glanced at them but rolled their eyes and continued to talk in the background. He stasted to sigh in relief, but cut that off with another laugh. "Ha, you're funny. I didn't take you for a comedian."

"I didn't take you for someone who could flip a car with one hand! And yet here we are." Peter swallowed at her expression--she knew he was trying to blow this off. "There's no need to be secretive!  After all, you blew that yesterday on the roof when you said, and I qoute: 'Your gloves had ketchup on them from the lunch table, anyway'. "

Well, sh!t.

"And I know for a fact that that it wasn't Michelle in that suit, even if your voice is a bit...feminine." Samantha remarked and caused Peter to roll his eyes. "I just wanted you to know that I changed my mind sooo...What happens next?"

Peter narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger in her face as angrily as he could fake it.  "I am not Spider-man--so sorry, but you should look somewhere else. " To continue his annoyed, angered facade, he started to walk past the disappointed girl. He paused just behind her, head turned halfway. "Heck, me being Spider-man is a stupid idea. If I were him, I'd probably be found after school at that Mexican Bakery down the left side block. But that's IF I was actually him. So chances are he won't even be there."

Samantha blinked in surprise and turned to look at Peter, but he was already half way down the next hallway.