The Web Heads

At exactly 6:45am on Monday, MJ waltzed  into Midtown High before the rush of students. However, buses were outside ready to let students in soon. So MJ calculated she had about half-an-hour to get these flyers into every locker possible before students stared roaming the halls. 

She quickly pulled her hoodie over her head. On Saturday, Peter and Liz created masks for the Web Heads that were replicas of the Spider-Man mask. The idea was for safety purposes in case a security camera caught them sneaking around the school and stuffing flyers into lockers. This whole plan was rather dangerous and if they were caught they might have an even longer detention sentence or worse they could get suspended, maybe even expelled. 

MJ raced through the halls, as fast as she could, stopping at every locker to slide a flyer inside. She glanced at her watch and rounded a corner. 

The school’s hallways must have been decorated by a manic-depressive, either that, or someone obsessed with grey. It reminded her of herself. The teachers had done their bit, hanging posters in color, yet the overall impression was drabness. It was perfect in MJ’s opinion, perfectly broken. 

She just finished zig-zagging the entire South-side hallway when she spotted Principal Morita entering the school through a side door. 

MJ’s feet slipped across the shiny marble floor as she tried to run in the other direction, around the corner. Her heart was beating fast. She waited with her back pressed against the lockers. Damnit, Mr. Morita. Why do you have to be so punctual? 

Carefully, she peaked her head around the corner to see if he was still there. MJ didn’t see any signs of her Principal so she went back to work.

The flyers were just back-up. The real invitation was emailed on Friday to the whole student body. 

As she continued to stuff the lockers, MJ worried about Ned skipping classes today. He already got in trouble for it once but the Web Heads needed his help to set up. They needed everyone’s help. This was only going to happen if they all came together to pull their weight. 

After going upstairs and stuffing flyers into those lockers, MJ bumped into Liz who was carrying two really heavy boxes of glow sticks. 

“Hey, here let me help.” MJ reached to grab a box, but Liz shook her head.

“No, no, no. I got these two. Go grab the other boxes out of my car.”

“How much did you buy?”

“A lot.” Liz replied curtly, the weight crushing her small arms. “Here, take my keys. They’re in my pocket.”

MJ did as she was asked, and soon she found herself transporting two boxes of her own into the auditorium. 

“There you are!” Flash greeted the second she burst open the door. He rushed forward to take a box from her hand. 

“Okay. Food and drinks are going to be over there. Parker is supposed to bring those deli sandwiches and a whole bunch of soda. Ned is going to bring the marching band. Liz already informed the cheerleading squad that she wanted them to preform a routine, so I think we’re good. How did the flyers go?”

“It went well.” MJ nodded. 

“Awesome! Okay. So can you make sure everyone gets a glow stick when they arrive?”

She nodded. 

“Perfect. I can’t believe we’re doing this. It feels insane, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, “Especially just for Liz to gain more popularity. She doesn’t really need it.” 

Flash shrugged, “I don’t know. I heard Kitty passed out cupcakes last week and gave an amazing speech about how if people vote for her, she’s going to advocate for free lunches.”

“This isn’t student government, this is homecoming queen. She can’t promise anything.” MJ huffed, placing her hands on her hips. 

“Yeah... I know. But apparently people will believe what they want to hear.” Flash said, sitting on the stage and looking at his laptop. 

“So Parker is going to be stuck in the back dealing with the lights.”

MJ frowned. Peter was always in the back. It wasn’t fair. He deserved to have some fun, get to experience everything first hand. But he was the type of person who chose to be in the background. She worried about him sometimes. He clearly had secrets, but she just hoped he could handle them on his own. If not, he really should talk to someone.

“Hey Flash, have you noticed anything weird about Peter?” She asked timidly, not sure if Flash was the best person to talk with about this. 

Flash snorted, “Weird, Parker? Ha, isn’t that his middle name?” 

“You know what I mean. He’s been... coming to school covered in bruises.”

Flash shrugged, pretending not to care. “I haven’t noticed much. But yeah, I guess he has a few on his wrists that don’t seem to fade.”

“Isn’t that weird considering he doesn’t play any sports?”

“He’s a klutz, MJ. He trips over his own two feet.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Everyone does that once and a while. It doesn’t leave bruises on their wrist.”

It was Flash’s turn to narrow his eyes. “What are you saying? You think Parker’s getting abused? By his sweet little Aunt? Did you see that woman? First of all,” he whistled, “She’s smoking hot. Second of all, she’s like the nicest person I ever met.”

“Yeah, she is. I’m not saying she’s the one hurting him.”

“Then who?” Flash snapped. He turned away, focusing on his laptop to avoid her gaze when he whispered, “I’ve thought about it before, okay? But I can’t figure out who or why. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know who. But maybe he’s not being beaten, maybe he’s just secretly into wrestling?” MJ said, half-jokingly, half serious. 

Flash shrugged again. “It’s possible I guess.  He definitely is hiding something. He wouldn’t let me see whatever he’s got hiding in his closet.” Flash laughed, “Hey that could be taken figuratively too. You know, skeletons in the closet.”

MJ rolled her eyes and began opening the glow stick boxes.

“Why the sudden interest in Parker?” Flash asked. 

She stilled in her movements. “I’ve just noticed some stuff. He seems off, that’s all.”

“You mean he seems different that normal? But does that mean you like... stalk him even when he was acting normal?”

MJ felt her hands tremble. This was the first time anyone ever called her out like that, and dammit Flash was right.

“I don’t stalk him!” She said because sure she might observe him a lot, but she doesn’t stalk him every moment of the day. 

“What’s his favorite lunch?”

“He buys pizza the most, but his second favorite is chicken tenders because he alternates between those two and if the school isn’t serving one or the other, he doesn’t buy lunch and instead will get a cookie or a salad at the dollar line. I think it’s because he’s saving on money. He had a bit more to spend at the beginning of the year but now he’s really rationalizing.”

Flash was smirking, and MJ internally cursed her fast reflex to discuss all the knowledge in her mind.

“I’m not obsessed with him, I’m just observant.” She replied heatedly. 

“Sure.” Flash laughed, hopping off the stage and walking over to the doors. “And I’m dating black widow.”

MJ was about to retort, but Flash announced that the marching band had arrived. Sure enough, Ned and his marching band buddies entered the auditorium doors with instruments in their hands. MJ joined them in the back. 

“Explain to me what’s going to happen again?” Ned asked. He shifted closer to MJ trying to be quiet so his marching band friends couldn’t hear.

“They are going to perform a small routine at the beginning and then we’re going to play music from an old boom-box and hook it into the stage speakers for when the cheerleaders perform. So don’t worry about the routine being too long.”

Liz entered the auditorium and interrupted whatever response Ned might have had with her loud clapping.

“Flash, go get the snacks out of my car.” She commanded, and Flash bent forward like a butler.

“Of course, madam. Anything else?” 

Liz slapped his arm playful, and nearly shoved him out the door. He laughed, shuffling away to fetch some food. Liz turned to the Marching band and started directing them like she owned the place. 

The passing hours bled together. Liz got the cheerleaders together and began doing their makeup, MJ continued to open the glow sticks and prepare them. Ned and the Marching Band were practicing where to walk, and Flash was busy with food and drinks. 

At last, MJ was met with a familiar mop of brown hair entering the auditorium. He was late, as usual, but at least he showed up. Flash was probably going to give him an earful for being so late.

With that thought, MJ dashed forward, pirouetting around a group of cheerleaders huddled near the stage to get to him. She placed her hand on Peter’s shoulder, gently tugging Peter around to face her. She had a friendly greeting on her lips but her mind went blank as Peter stumbled out of MJ’s reach like a frightened animal cowering away from a threat. He froze when he realized it was only her, and he tried for an apologetic smile, but it fell dead on his lips. 

MJ gasped involuntarily. She had felt the way Peter had tensed under her hand, but still, it did nothing to prepare her for the ugly purple bruise that stained Peter’s fair face. 

“What the hell happened to you?” MJ demanded. The question fell from her mouth harshly, without a seconds thought. She had to ball her fists at her side to keep from exploding. But her anger wasn’t directed towards Peter. She was mad at whoever did this to him. Peter’s eyes darted towards her fists, and MJ swore she might have seen a glimmer of fear in his eyes, which would be ridiculous. MJ was the last person in the world that would hurt Peter. 

“It- It was an accident.” Peter laughed shakily as if it was really that innocent. “I tripped over my bed.”

Peter was clumsy. It totally made sense for him to trip over his bed. He’s tripped in the hallway a million times, and he’s tripped in class. Hell, Flash just admitted that Peter was a Klutz. So this wasn’t unbelievable, but for some reason MJ didn’t believe it. 

Her instincts were screaming something was wrong. He was really late to school. Tripping over your bed doesn’t make you extremely late unless it’s down the stairs or something like breaking a bone with the fall. So where the hell was he? 

She should ask. But Peter was already going over to Flash, slowly, like an old man with Parkinson’s. He was shuffling his legs as if every step was killing him. 

Maybe he did fall and twisted his ankle or something. Maybe it was as easy as that and MJ was once again looking too deeply into things. 

“There you are, we need you to do the lights - are you okay?” She heard Flash’s concern when he spotted the black eye. Told you so, she wanted to say. 

“Yeah,” Peter muttered, “Show me what you want me to do.”

Flash took Peter to the back where the lights were, and MJ went to her table. She waited for a while, played games on her phone and then started drawing in her notebook. 

“Hey.” Liz called as she walked over to MJ’s table. “Thanks for sketching the flyers. I couldn’t have done this without your help.”

There it was again. A compliment. MJ wished they would stop complimenting her. She could handle being yelled at, insulted, or even punched. But being complimented meant someone cared, and being cared about led to pain. 

“It was nothing.” She dismissed again, trying to avoid the praise she didn’t feel she deserved. 

“So I guess I was wondering, do you think I should add anything to my speech? Kitty promised a bunch of stuff but I’m not sure if I should do that too?” Liz asked, as if she actually wanted MJ’s opinion. 

“No, I think promising things you can’t keep is lying.” 

“Yeah, but, isn’t that what all candidates do?” 

MJ frowned. “No, not all of them.”

Liz sighed. “MJ look, it’s like this, to be popular you have to be liked, and to be liked you have to embellish the truth a little.”

“What’s wrong with saying the truth? I’m obsessed with telling the truth, actually.”

“Exactly.” Liz said. “And because of that people are scared of you.”

MJ huffed, and crossed her arms over her chest. “People aren’t scared of me.” 

“Uh, yeah, they are.”

MJ shook her head, “Whatever. At least I have real friends who like me for me. Instead of having fake friends who like a fake me.”

It was Liz’s turn to look offended. “I don’t have fake friends.”

“Then why were you so afraid to admit to your so called ‘friends’ that you got detention? I heard you tell Betty you had surgery on Saturday just so she wouldn’t find out. If she was really your friend, she wouldn’t judge you for having detention.”

“I was worried she might spread the news. Populars gossip, you know?” Liz tried to explain. 

“So why are you friends with her? Just because she’s popular?” 

“No. Of course not!”

“Is she friends with you because you are popular?” MJ pressed.

“No. I don’t think so.” Liz said. 

“Then why can’t you just be yourself around her?” 

“Because the real me is embarrassing, okay? The real me eats Doritos too loudly, can’t fit into size one jeans, and doesn’t get invited to cool parties. That’s why I throw my own! I’m humiliating.”

“Liz, none of those things matter. They are just little quirks” 

“I can’t have quirks. People don’t like them.”

“Well, I like them. I like the Liz that eats ice cream on Sunday's at 2am and watches cartoons while I’m working my ass off on her flyers. She was pretty cool.”

Liz made a face, but she didn’t pursue the conversation any further. “I have to go.” she said, moving quickly to the cheerleaders that were piled in the corner of the room. MJ stayed frozen in place for a while, taking refuge in trying. 

More hours flew by, and eventually students started to show. 

“Take a glow stick,” MJ said to the two girls that arrived first. More and more students began to pile into the auditorium, however, and MJ started handing them out left and right, just throwing glow sticks at people as they walked past. 

Already the crowd was insane, there had to be about 100-200 kids sitting in seats, but what amazed MJ was the line was still going. As kids packed into the theater they grabbed snacks and mingled with their friends. 

Because this was a secret rally, there was a certain hype involved. Excited whispers blew through the air mixing with rumors and gossip. It was the perfect climate for a spirited homecoming queen candidate.

Depending on how the speech goes, Liz very well might have homecoming queen in the bag. Once the line dwindled down, MJ motioned for Ned to get started. 

Clapping eight times, Ned yelled. “Band, Ten HUT!” Every freshman Marching Band student stood at attention, eyes full of Tiger Pride. 

“Our time is now. Let’s show ‘em what we’re made of.” He yelled, getting really into his part. 

MJ watched the crisp movements of the bright white uniforms moving across the stage. There was a cleanliness of each and every note escaping the horns and drums that were marching perfectly in sync. Then as if it were magic, the second the music stopped the lights went completely black. 

The only thing anyone could see in the room were the hundreds of glow sticks attached around everyone’s neck. 

The illuminated image and silence was enough to send chills down MJ’s spine. She waited patiently, realizing she was holding her breath for the next phase. 

It happened quickly. Music started blaring through the stage speakers, and the lights started flashing red, blue, and green colors.  

“1...2...3.” The cheer captain shouted, ruffling her PomPom’s. “We are tigers, and we are proud. We’ve got skills and we’re super loud!” 

The crowd watched quietly, confused at the simple performance. All they were doing so far was moving in unison and waving their Pompoms. 

The cheerleaders didn’t seem too concerned as they continued. “And if you cross our path, you better watch out, cause we are Tigers.”

“Everybody shout!” One of the girls screamed at the top of her lungs and that was the cue to change the music. The cheerleaders discarded their pompoms to pose with their hands on their hips. One by one the girls went into an energetic dance routine eliciting howls of excitement from the crowd. 

Students were on their feet, clapping and dancing along with the cheerleaders screaming whenever someone did a backflip. 

After a few flips and tricks, the cheerleaders huddled in the center of the stage and then emerged from the circle just to stand on top of each other’s shoulders, linking arms to stabilize themselves. They held the pose for a few minutes, soaking in the cheers. 

At last, they purposefully dropped, catching one another. 

As the routine came to a close, the cheer captain was talking to the crowd, asking them if they were having a good time. She was preparing them for the big reveal. MJ crossed her fingers, silently hoping that Liz would do well. Despite the tiny flare of jealousy in the pit of her stomach, MJ recognized that Liz put so much time and effort into this, it was only fair for her to do well. 

“Put your hands together for Liz Allan!” The cheer captain said before cartwheeling off stage. Liz appeared to take her place. The lights switched into a spotlight, and all eyes were on her. 

She waited until the clapping settled, nervously pushing a strand of dark hair behind her ear, but Liz kept that smile plastered to her face. 

“Hello everyone, my name is Liz Allan in case you don’t know me. I want to thank you all for coming here, and I want you to have a really good time tonight. We’re going to play some music and I hope you get a chance to talk and dance, but first I want to give a short explanation why I would be honored to represent our class on the court.” 

MJ felt small under Liz’s gaze. The girl was looking directly at her.

“I’ve always loved this school and have been involved in many activities throughout my four years here. I love going to football games and being hyped up by the cheerleaders. Some of my favorite high school memories are around the homecoming dances where I loved seeing everybody get dressed up, and be themselves and not care about what anyone thinks of them for a night.” 

Liz paused for a long moment, holding her flash cards in shaky hands. She set them down, and folded them. 

“And I think it should be that way all the time. Homecoming Queen is often viewed as a popularity contest, but what does that actually mean? I think I am popular, but not because everyone knows who I am, or what I’m wearing all the time. I think I’m popular because I try to be nice to everyone. I like you for you. And I’ve recently discovered that real friends will like you no matter what, even if you’re secretly a geek and you like math, and you don’t go on dates.” Liz chuckled at herself, getting a little misty eyed. 

“Real friends will still like you. So being homecoming queen isn’t about being popular, it’s about making everyone around you feel special for their own unique traits. It’s about being around people that make you happy, and making other’s happy. That’s what I want to do, if you vote for me to be your homecoming queen. Thank you.” 

A cacophony of applause and cheering, whooping and hollering, stamping of feet and clapping could be heard through the entire auditorium. 

For once, MJ could see a genuine smile on Liz’s face, one that came from deep inside to light her eyes. She was proud, and MJ was proud too.

An old song by Bob Scaggs began playing, one called Lido. But it had a catchy chorus and the crowd was digging it. MJ had to give Flash credit, he was good at getting people excited. 

Liz rushed off stage and gave MJ a tight squeeze with gentle arms. It was the weirdest thing MJ’s ever experienced. At first she felt uncomfortable. There was a fear in her mind, seeing someone reaching out to her both physically and figuratively. When you’ve been raised to believe you are less than others, the first non-judgemental touch of someone that actually cares about you can cause a feeling of overwhelming relief, surprise, and acceptance. So MJ allowed herself to relax, to accept the hug. 

“You did great.” She said, as Liz pulled away. 

“Thanks for being honest and saying all those things earlier. I needed to hear it.” Liz said sincerely. 

MJ could see Flash walking up behind Liz. He tapped on her shoulder. “Hey, that was some speech.”

“Thanks.” She shrugged as if she didn’t like the compliments either. 

“Do you want to dance?” He asked, and for the first time MJ heard a quiver in Flash’s voice. All be dammed, he was nervous to ask Liz to dance. The famous Flash Thompson. 

He had no reason to be nervous, Liz accepted the offer like a bee drawn to a flower. 

“Lido, whoah oh oh oh oh oh. One more job oughta get it. One last shot then we quit it.” Flash was singing loudly, dancing really badly, but Liz was loving it, clapping and trying to imitate him. 

From the corner of her eye, MJ saw Ned doing the robot dance which was totally wrong for the song, but hilarious nonetheless. He was having fun. That’s all that mattered. 

A few moments later and MJ saw Peter sneak-up beside her ever so quietly. He didn’t say anything but he started tapping his feet to the beat. 

A smile turned up the corner of her lips, but she didn’t dare look in his direction again. She wanted to say something to him, maybe ask him to dance, but MJ was frightfully good at ruining a nice moment. And if Peter was having a good time standing there, she didn’t want to embarrass him, or herself. 

The music faded away until the room was completely silent. There were a few voices scattered here and there, but it felt so awkward. Then another song began playing, one louder than the last. MJ let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

She glanced to her side and made eye contact with Peter’s warm dark eyes. They both snapped their heads away, looking directly in front of them at the mess that was Flash and Liz. 

When Flash threw his hands to the sky and started wiggling them, both Peter and MJ snorted a laugh at the same time. 

“He looks like one of those floppy balloons in front of car dealerships.”

“Yeah,” MJ agreed, “An arm flailing tube man.”

“Wanna wiggle your arms with me?” Peter instantly cringed at his question, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

But it sent MJ over the edge. She had to hold her stomach she was laughing so hard. 

“Oh I would love to wiggle my arms with you, dork.” 

There was a sparkle in Peter’s eye as he dragged her to the stage floor, warm hands holding hers as he led her closer to where Flash was. 

Then they danced, wiggled their arms back and forth, stepped on each other’s toes and nearly collapsed on the stage floor. But it was exhilarating. The best feeling in the world. MJ was flying.

Until it all fell apart. 

A custodian shut the speakers off, cutting the music short. “What’s all this?” He yelled, already reaching for his walkie-talkie. 

A few startled students began rushing towards the exit door. 

“We gotta get out of here.” Flash said, running past Peter and MJ, and backstage to grab his belongings. 

“Principal Morita. We have a situation in the auditorium.” The custodian said into his walkie-talkie while more kids fled. 

Soon the whole pack of students made a rush for the exit doors, and the Web Heads were no exception. 

“Security! I need security!”