Chapter 198: Ned's Social Disaster
"You finally made it, Ned." Peter greeted his friend with a hug as soon as Ned stepped out of the car.
"Sorry, the traffic was a nightmare," Ned said with a grin.
Click~
A girl with dirty-blonde hair stepped out of the vehicle, an excited expression on her face. She took a deep breath of the mountain air and sighed, "Mmm~ the scent of nature~"
"Uh... Ned, who is she?" Peter whispered, frowning. He realized things might not be as simple as a boys' trip anymore.
"Oh! I forgot to introduce you. This is Audrey Sif," Ned said proudly.
"Hi everyone! Just call me Audrey," she said, waving with a smile.
"Peter Parker."
"Misty Barron."
"Silas Parker."
The three of them introduced themselves in turn.
"This is actually my first time camping," Audrey said, clearly eager to get started.
"Ours too," Misty added.
After chatting for a few minutes, Silas took the lead. "Let's head up the mountain first, otherwise we won't have any lunch to eat by noon."
"Good point." Misty nodded, realizing they had lost track of time.
Silas took the initiative to pick up the heavier outdoor cooking equipment, while Peter chose to carry several other heavy bags. The rest of the smaller, scattered items were left to Ned and the girls.
"Whoa~ I really couldn't tell just by looking. You brothers don't look that big, but your muscles are surprisingly solid." Misty walked over to Silas and squeezed his arm as he hoisted the gear.
"Yeah, we've only been walking for five minutes and I'm already exhausted just carrying this little bit," Ned panted. Sweat was already drenching the back of his shirt.
Audrey pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket and wiped Ned's forehead. "Let me help you with that."
"Thanks, Audrey." Ned suddenly felt a second wind of energy.
Sigh~ Peter felt tired—not physically, but mentally. He finally understood what Silas had been hinting at the other day. It was a clear sign: You need to find a date, Peter.
After walking for ten minutes, the group had to stop because Ned was out of breath. They rested for a while before continuing. After thirty minutes of stop-and-go trekking, they finally reached a spot beside a small stream with a pond further ahead.
"Alright, this looks like a good spot. Let's set up the tents here," Misty said, surveying the water.
Thud!
"Phew~" Ned collapsed onto the grass the moment Misty spoke. "Thank goodness, we're finally here."
Peter set down the three tents he had been carrying. "How do we even put these together?"
"There's an instruction manual, Peter," Misty said, pulling a sheet from the packaging.
Peter took the manual, muttering, "If Uncle Ben were here, he'd probably claim to be a 'Camping Tent Master' or something."
"Haha~ he probably would," Silas laughed from the side.
"A master of what?" Misty asked, looking confused by the inside joke.
On the other side, Audrey helped Ned up. "Oh my god, you're so heavy."
"That's because people say men need to be a bit bigger to provide a sense of security," Ned said with a goofy smile.
"Haha, you're so cute." Audrey giggled, covering her mouth.
"Not as cute as you, Audrey. Your eyes are like the stars in the sky," Ned said, staring into her eyes.
"Like stars?" Audrey asked.
Ned nodded. "Twinkling."
Peter watched the whole exchange in a daze. Can people actually talk like that?
"Take notes, Peter. Maybe you'll finally get a girlfriend," Silas said, patting Peter's shoulder. Silas had noticed the "thick-skinned" strategy Ned was using.
"I think that's just cringey, Silas." Peter felt goosebumps just listening to them.
"I'm going to go check out the pond," Audrey said, standing up.
"Go ahead! Leave the tents to me!" Ned waved her off. He watched her walk away, looking a bit mesmerized.
"Hey... Ned, why did you bring a date along?" Peter asked, sitting down next to him, feeling a bit left out.
"A date? Oh, no no," Ned explained. "We haven't officially confirmed the relationship yet."
"Speaking of which, what happened to Andrea?" Silas asked as he finished pitching a tent.
"We had a peaceful breakup," Ned sighed. Andrea had been the girlfriend he was most satisfied with so far.
"If you haven't confirmed things yet... we only have three tents. Is she supposed to sleep with Misty?" Peter asked, looking at Audrey by the water.
"Just watch, Peter." Ned gave him a mysterious smile.
By noon, the group had set up the cooking gear. Just as they were about to start grilling meat, a commotion broke out behind them.
Silas turned toward the sound. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Me too," Peter added.
Sure enough, Flash Thompson and his group appeared in their line of sight.
"Hey! It's Flash!" Audrey said excitedly. Flash was, after all, a school celebrity.
"Look, it's Peter Parker and the others," one of the students pointed out.
Flash was internally speechless. He had specifically chosen a more remote, undeveloped part of the woods to avoid Peter and his crew, yet he had run into them anyway.
"I feel like this trip just got a lot less interesting," Ned sighed.
Audrey, however, ran over to Flash's group with enthusiasm. "Hey! Flash! I'm Audrey Sif."
"Hello." Flash noticed Audrey and remembered her as the fat kid's date. "Interested in joining our camp instead?" Flash started poaching her on the spot.
Audrey frowned. "But I promised Ned..."
"You can go back and ask him. Are you Ned's girlfriend?" Flash asked smoothly.
Audrey shook her head. "No, we haven't confirmed anything."
"Great. Go back and ask him then." Flash was confident that with his charm, stealing Audrey away would be effortless.
Audrey hesitated for a moment before jogging back to Ned. "Um... I want to go with Flash..."
"Go ahead. We've already broken up anyway," Ned said, choosing to strike first. Being passive would only make him look worse.
"Broken up?! Please, Ned, we weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend!" Audrey was offended by the phrasing; it made it sound like Ned was the one dumping her.
"Are you done? If you're done, you can leave," Ned said expressionlessly.
Audrey huffed in frustration. "You... fine!" She turned and ran back to Flash without looking back.
Flash waved at Ned from a distance—a blatant act of provocation.
"Uh... Ned, that was..." Peter felt like Ned must be hurting inside.
"It's fine. She was just a 'spare tire' anyway," Ned said nonchalantly. In reality, he was fuming. Even if he had other options, being abandoned like that in front of everyone felt terrible.
"If you say so..." Peter didn't know how to comfort him. After all, he'd never even been in a relationship.
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