friday 29th of april 2016

"You're chipper this morning." Herb chuckled as he walked past J.D. She sat at the rounded dining table, already showered and dressed, eating Froot Loops and humming along to the song on the radio. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did, actually." J.D flashed him a grin, and bobbed her head to the music. She mouthed the words as she swayed in her chair. 

For once I can say

This is mine you can't take it

As long as I know I have love I can make it

For once in my life I have someone who needs me

Practically jumping up, she placed her bowl in the sink and kissed Herb on the cheek. She skipped off into the bathroom, waving at Mason as the tired teen walked over. Mason froze in place, staring back at the closed door. He looked over at Herb, his jaw dropped and eyes wide. "What the hell was that?"

Herb shrugged, an amused smile on his face. "Probably a boy."

Mason scoffed and sauntered over to the toaster, carelessly dropping two Eggos inside. "J.D hasn't had a crush on a boy in years."

"How do you know that?" Herb rose an eyebrow, before taking a sip of his coffee, as it was technically none of his business. 

"Call it a twin thing." Mason mused and leaned against the bench. "Sure, she's talked about Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles here and there, but I don't think she's had a crush on someone her age."

"Who's Jared Paralucki and Jensen Arkles?" Herb queried, and Mason snorted. "Didn't she have a crush on that girl when you two were in fourth grade? Marge Cooper?"

"Yeah, but that was before she knew that Marge picked her nose and flicked her boogers at Peter." Mason responded, and walked over to the cabinet to retrieve a mug, before pulling out a green tea bag. He began to make his drink and continued talking. "She also had a crush on Max Goodman, but she's always said that fictional characters have set her standards too high."

"Ah, of course." Herb nodded with a chuckle and grabbed his nephew's Eggos as they popped out of the toaster. "Well, you'll have to ask her sometime."

"Sure, but I doubt it's what you think." Mason responded, sinking his teeth into his breakfast. "It's probably something stupid like a sale on cassette tapes at Vinny's."

"Vinny's is a good store, I don't know what you have against it." Herb said, placing his mug in the sink and turning the tap on. 

"It smells like cigarettes and cat fur." The younger boy stated, scrunching his nose up. "I don't know if you remember, but I'm kinda allergic to cats."

Before Herb could respond, J.D exited the bathroom, and the pair both straightened up and smiled. She returned it brightly, and Mason lifted his mug towards her as a gesture of greeting. "You look nice today."

"Thank you." J.D beamed, and Mason was slightly taken aback. He walked over to her and placed his palm on her forehead. "What are you doing?"

"Yep, you've got a temperature." The brother joked, though his face was serious. J.D smacked his hand away. 

"Shut up, can a girl not be in a good mood?" She asked rhetorically, before turning and walking into her bedroom. 

Mason turned to his uncle with a look of realisation. "It's definitely somebody."

"Told you." Herb patted Mason's shoulder before retreating to his room. "You two should leave soon if you want to get to school early."

Mason nodded and sent his uncle a thumbs up, before his phone dinged. He picked his device up and stared at the screen, making a 'hmph' sound. "Cool."

He placed it back down, though the screen was still illuminated. 

New Superhero in New York? Enhanced Woman Saves Suicidal Man.

+++

J.D and Mason walked from the subway to school at a leisurely pace, as they had plenty of time to reach the place every child usually dreads. 

J.D was still in an extremely good mood. She smiled at everyone and didn't look at her phone antisocially once. There was still a fuzzy feeling in her tummy, and she couldn't help the giddy expression on her face. Her windbreaker was a mix of blue, white and grey, and she wore her usual black jeans, paired with her DMs that she absolutely adored. 

Her mood was obviously contagious, as Mason seemed quite cheerful as well. He looked over at his sister and grinned, happy to see her so chirpy. It was a once in a lifetime thing.

"Hey, guys!" Peter's voice made the twins turn around, seeing the young boy running towards them, a skip in his step. 

"Hey, Pete!" J.D responded, and Peter grinned down at her. Mason was stunned. Wow, everyone was in a good mood today. 

"Isn't it a nice day?" He asked, gesturing to the bright blue sky. The twins nodded, and J.D sighed happily. 

Peter was incredibly happy also. Kissing Bladerunner last night had awoken feelings he didn't know he had for his masked friend. She had this familiarity around her, and her voice was so well-known to him, but it was frustrating him that he couldn't put a face to it. The feeling of her lips on his made him flutter on the inside, and he couldn't stop thinking about her. Sure, he still had a schoolboy crush on J.D, but now that the feelings he had for Bladerunner were being returned, he knew he actually had a chance, even if it was his alter ego. 

They all began chatting happily, until J.D glanced over at a news stand to see dozens of papers with a large picture on the front page. She gasped and stopped in her tracks, shocked. Then she bee-lined towards the stand and picked up a paper in her hands. Her jaw was dropped and her ears fuzzed out the footsteps of Mason and Peter behind her. 

"Hey, it's that new hero." Mason pointed out, and though J.D couldn't see it, Peter was smiling even wider. "I read about her this morning on BuzzFeed. Looks like Spider-Man's got some competition."

Peter let out a laugh. "I dunno, from what I've seen they're both pretty badass. Maybe they could make a team, like the Avengers."

"This sucks." J.D muttered, and Peter handed over two dollars to the man in the stand before pulling his friend away. Him and Mason both guided her through the crowd as she walked with her eyes glued to the picture. 

It was of her in her suit, though half of her was covered in the shadows. The left side of her face was completely on show, revealing her mask and pulled up hair that she hadn't put much thought to. Her expression was strained and her hands were thrown in front of her. 

"What do you think of her, J.D?" Peter nudged her and she was snapped out of her thoughts. 

"Oh, um." She began, furrowing her eyebrows. She shook her head quickly. "It's fake, surely. Probably got it off some troll's tumblr or something. I mean, have you guys ever seen Spider-Man in real life? It just effects on a computer."

Peter looked slightly disappointed at her response. 

"And even if it was real, isn't it totally insensitive and rude to take a photograph of someone who clearly didn't want their picture taken?" She pressed on, her tone clearly convincing the two boys standing behind her. They were falling for it, she realised. Thank god. 

"How could you possibly know that she didn't want her picture taken?" Mason tried to reason. "I mean, she isn't exactly hiding."

"Look at her body language." J.D argued. She pointed at the pictures, at the clear hesitant stance the Bladerunner had. "She's strained, and obviously scared. And in the second one, she's looking at the camera absolutely terrified. If she wanted her picture taken, she would've smiled or tried to look badass, you'd think."

"Anyone with superpowers is a badass." Peter attempted to defend Bladerunner, but J.D wasn't having any of it.

"If they can prove they have superpowers, then sure." She shrugged. "Maybe if Spider-Man saves me from getting hit by a car, then I'll believe it. Actually, if I see her, face to face, then I'll believe it."

Peter stood up a little straighter. If that's all it took.

"But I doubt she ever will. She's probably too busy for any of that." J.D shrugged. "So I'll settle for Spider-Man saving me. He can use those web things to carry me off into the sunset."

Peter scoffed and took the paper from her, looking down at the picture. He was silent for a moment, before smiling slightly. "I think she's kinda cute."

J.D furrowed her eyebrows. Peter thought she was cute? Well, he thought Bladerunner was cute.  Why did that affect her?

+++

thursday 5th of may 2016

J.D walked down the street in a hurry. It was rush hour, and there were yells echoing down the road and car horns beeping. It was five thirty, and she had just finished self-defence class. 

Clutching her duffel, she glanced up and let out a yell of surprise when she saw the bus she was meant to be on leaving the bus stop. "Hey, wait!"

She broke into a run, but when she reached the bus stop it was already down the street. She clenched her jaw and continued running. She wasn't waiting forty minutes for the next bus. 

Without thinking she ran onto the road in pursuit of the vehicle. Her converse clad feet hit the asphalt and she began to catch up. She knew the driver had seen her and was taking the piss and being a jerk by not stopping. 

After that, it all happened so quickly. She ran to the side of the bus, not seeing the oncoming car. She banged on the window of the bus and let out a yell of frustration. Then, she gasped when she heard the horn of a car. She looked up and in a split second she saw the bumper of the Mercedes, then a flash of red. 

Then, she was flying. 

J.D looked up and saw the familiar stupid goggles and ski mask. She let out an annoyed grumble. "Oh my god."

Her feet hit the pavement a few blocks away from her apartment and she let go of Spider-Man, stepping back. She folded her arms and rose an eyebrow. If she was going to hide her identity from the guy she had a crush on, she was going to do it well. 

"Thanks." She muttered, and began to turn on the heel of her foot before her arm was grabbed by the boy. 

"Wait," He stopped her. "You aren't going to ask how I did it? Name your first baby after me?"

"Why? Have people done that?" She queried, and he scratched behind his head. "You saved my life, so I said thanks. It's not that incredible."

"Saving your life isn't that incredible?" He asked, almost stunned. "You would've ended up in hospital."

J.D waved him off. "It would've been the worst thing I've had to endure."

"What?" He exclaimed. "Jeez, most people would vow to marry me or invite me over to their house."

"Do you go?" She asked, and he shrugged. 

"I've got a life, you know." He responded and she snorted. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just funny to think about the masked hero running late to class or something." She mused, and he scoffed. "So why haven't you left yet? Don't you have a life?"

"You aren't impressed by me, are you?" He questioned, and she shrugged. 

"Let's just say that I've seen better." She said and he paused. She took this time to leave him behind, walking down the street and exhaling a breath of relief. 

Nailed it.

"What do you mean you've seen better?" He called out after her, and she threw him a wave over her shoulder. 

WOWZA WEIRD SENTENCE TO END IT ON BUT WHO CARESERESRSES