A hitch in the experiment

"What a fucking loser," the girl said, slamming the books out of a young Liv's hands. She'd been cornered at the lockers by those bitchy cheerleaders again. She was an easy target for them; she was mousy, quiet, nerdy... Most of all, she was alone. No one was there to comfort her or defend her; she didn't have a boyfriend or even friends for that matter. So, she steeled herself and dealt with the torment. As they hurled insults her way, she picked up her books and closed herself off to their words. They were simple idiots. Of course they hated her; they could never understand her.

She didn't need friends or colleagues. All she needed was herself and her mind. She could get out of any situation and solve any problems as long as she thought it through. It was this mindset that pushed her towards knowledge. She hungered for it; when things fascinated her, she would dive right in without any thought given to the how or why. Emotions and morals were not attached to her way of thinking.

At least, she thought that.

Even though she spent most of her time at the lab, she needed to keep up appearances. MJ was a model, so that made Liv a model. To have her body leered at and desired... It felt good? Sure, she wanted to strangle the pigs that would touch her or make snide comments about what they'd do to her. But... it felt empowering to be noticed; to be considered sexy.

And then there was her new home life. When Peter had the time, he would surprise her with small candlit dinners or picnics on the Empire State Building. He was wooing her.

Well, sort of. He was wooing his wife. He was romancing Mary Jane Watson-Parker. It didn't bother her. Or, well, it shouldn't bother her. But she couldn't deny that her heart would flutter when he'd talk to lovingly and delicately to her. The way he would praise her and encourage her. But it was all for MJ. All of these accomplishments... anything she did would be attributed to someone else.

That, if nothing else, enraged Liv. She needed to figure out a way to deal with this, or else she was worried her emotions would get the better of her and blow everything up. She couldn't let what Mary Jane said get to her.