Chapter Text
Mary Jane grabbed her books from the study hall table, pushing past Olivia and Liz, ignoring their staring eyes and their judgment. Her heeled black boots clicked on the scuffed library floor as she made her way to the door as quickly as she could without looking like she was trying.
Getting to the doors, she paused for a moment. She sucked in a breath, stopping the tears that were threatening to form at the corners of her eyes. There were footsteps behind her. Whether they were Olivia and Liz or just others trying to get out of study hall, she didn’t know. Putting on her best “Mary Jane face,” she pushed open the double doors and stepped out into the halls.
As her boot clicked against the older, worn-down linoleum tiles of the halls, she was hit by a wall of heat from the sea of teenage bodies flowing through the overly narrow halls—built back when they only had half as many students.
She let out a silent groan as she let herself get absorbed by the river of teenage bodies all flowing together.
Peter, back before everything, in one of their study sessions where she asked for some biology homework help, said their school was like one big body. They were the blood flowing where they needed to go, with the bell being like the heartbeat. She had laughed, thinking the analogy was cute.
God, she missed him.
Wiggling her arm into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and looked at it.
12:53
Looking up, she pushed her way through the sea of students. Ignoring the bumps and touches, which might have mostly been accidental, she made her way to the bathrooms.
She ignored the smell as she stepped in. Two flickering lights poured a dim orange light down, giving barely enough illumination to see what needed to get done in here. Which was why it was empty. When she transferred in about a year ago, back when she moved in with Aunt Anna, Liz told her it was one of the oldest parts of the school. Something the administration hadn’t touched since the 1920s, and she believed it.
Checking her phone again, she started scrolling for Peter’s number. She could be a few minutes late to her next class without getting more than a few looks. And right now, that seemed more like an annoyance than a price.
“Mary Jane.”
Jumping, she looked up, eyes wide in the dim light.
A single person stood by the door, alone. Her long, straight brown hair and tanned skin blended into the darkness.
“Olivia? Why are you here?” Mary Jane said, turning off her phone screen and sliding it into her back pocket as if she was trying not to get caught.
“Hey MJ…. I just…” Olivia started, taking a step closer to Mary Jane, then glanced at the redhead’s face and paused. “What’s happening?”
“What do you mean? We just had a big talk about just that,” Mary Jane snapped.
“No, I mean… That was Liz telling you…. Fuck. Just talk to me!” Olivia blurted out.
Mary Jane paused, a sinking feeling in her gut. “Okay, what do you want me to talk about?”
“Anything! Last week we were on a call for hours about Liz and her stupid breakup, then the next day you’re quiet. Monday you’re weird, and then yesterday you won’t even talk to us,” Olivia said.
“I…” Mary Jane started, trying to find the words. “I just had a lot going on. I just needed….”
“Just because you feel bad about that Parker kid?”
“I don’t feel bad for him,” Mary Jane shot back. “I told Liz as much.”
“Yeah, I get it. I’ve seen him. He has a cuteness to him with those hazel eyes and that awkward sweetness. But really, Mary Jane?” Olivia said, hands on her hips, taking a step closer.
“Really what?”
“He’s not going to last more than a month,” Olivia said, then rushed on before Mary Jane could react. “Come on, MJ—we both know you have about as much interest in a serious relationship as a fish has interest in the Nevada desert. Parker was gone, you feel bad for how you treated him…”
“And how did I treat him?” MJ cut her off. “Peter was a friend, a friend I liked! I don’t care what you or Liz say. I wasn’t using him!”
Olivia took a step back, raising her hands. “Hey, I didn’t mean to start something, it’s just…”
Mary Jane looked at her, green eyes still flaring. She glanced down at her phone—12:57.
“Fuck, almost gym,” Mary Jane said, shooting a look at Olivia. She made to storm past her.
“Hey, Mary Jane, I’m sorry I…” Olivia started, voice dropping as the anger leaked out of her into the dim bathroom.
“Whatever,” Mary Jane said, making for the door.
“I mean it. I…. can I call you later and us talk? I mean, just you and me?”
She looked back at Olivia, eyes narrowing, and shrugged. “If you call Saturday, I’ll pick up.”
Olivia nodded in the gloom as Mary Jane pushed out back into the hallway to gym. Hoping Peter was okay. Hoping gym would end early. In time for her to sneak back for a call.