xi. to washington

                                    

                                          






chapter eleven!
to washington






                          
    "HEY," Felicia's face stared back at Nina's from her phone as she waited with the rest of the Decathlon team outside the school near the bus. Donned in her Midtown yellow blazer over a denim skirt and lace-collared shirt, she stood by herself at the front of the group, her small overnight suitcase at her side. Mr. Harrington was going through the roll before they were to step up into the bus to head to Washington, and Nina took up the time waiting for everyone to arrive by talking to Cia. "So, what happened yesterday. You totally just hang up on me."
                          
    "Yeah," Nina said softly, glancing briefly at the others and hoping they weren't listening, "I had to get something for my friend."
                          
    Felicia's eyes widened, "Oh, okay," she looked to be walking towards the subway to get home since the Decathlon team decided to leave once school finished and not beforehand. "So, are you guys like partners, now?"
                          
    "I don't know," mumbled Nina, suddenly bitter all over again. "I think we had a sorta strange fight last night. We had different ideas of this helping thing, but we also sorta had a ... I don't know ... moment?" 
                          
    "Moment?" Felicia repeated suspiciously. "What do you mean moment?"
                          
    Nina shrugged, careful to keep her voice at a whisper, "I don't know," she answered. "You know, a moment moment. That type of moment. But I think I ruined it."
                          
    Felicia sighed, exasperated, "Nina."
                          
    "I don't even know him!" Nina argued back under her breath. She didn't say that the real reason was that she still wasn't over Peter, because she knew Felicia's response to the exact, and she didn't want to hear it right now. And besides, that wasn't technically incorrect either. Nina didn't know Spider-Man, at all, she just believed she did because it was so easy to talk to him. 
                          
    Her friend rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Good luck at Decathlon, babe. See you when you get back," Felicia gave her a big kiss over the phone in which Nina responded with blowing her one of her own.
                          
    "Bye," she said before ending the call.
                          
    As Nina pulled out her earphones, a familiar voice butted in, "Who was that?"
                          
    She arched a brow at Michelle who was now standing near her. "Uh ... Cia?"
                          
    Michelle narrowed her eyes, as if this was something uncommon or suspicious. "Okay."
                          
    Nina slipped her phone into her skirt pocket, a little confused. "Okay."
                          
    She expected Michelle Jones to walk away, but at a surprising turn of events, the tall girl just stood there beside her against the yellow of the bus, opening the book she held in her arms and began to read without another word. Nina frowned. She went to ask what Michelle was doing in the nicest way possible when Abe Brown spoke up:
                          
    "Hey, it's Peter!"
                          
    Immediately, Nina's gaze snapped around, wide and shocked. She was embarrassed by how her lips parted to see him rush towards them with his school bag, dressed in a usual flannel and jeans with a science-pun shirt underneath. "Peter?" she said, surprised. 
                          
    His eyes met hers briefly, and Peter stammered a little. "H━hey, guys," he greeted, fiddling with the straps of his bag. Nina's heart sped up a little bit, wondering why he was here. He had quit for the Stark Internship and now━what━he was back? Why? It struck Nina as odd, very odd. "I was hoping maybe I could━like━rejoin the team?"