The Road Trip [Stark's Daughter]

Part 1- Peter Parker

Sage drew her hood up to protect herself from the cold air as she entered the school that brisk Friday morning. She struggled to get out of bed that day and ended up almost late for school. She couldn't wait for the weekend and just wanted to get through the day as quickly and quietly as possible. Sage kept her eyes down and had her music turned up just a little too loud. She was completely oblivious to the world around her. Unfortunately, so was Peter Parker.

Peter was running to his first hour class which happened to be Sage's first hour too. He was afraid that he would be late for class and was determined not to get detention again. Sage on the other hand didn't bother with punctuality.

Peter was running so fast that when he tripped on his own two feet, he fell directly into Sage and knocked her to the ground. Her headphones fell out and Peter dropped the books he was carrying. The linoleum floor wasn't exactly a soft landing.

He scurried to the other side of the hall and stared in disbelief. He'd just knocked Sage Bradford to the ground. She was the apex of high school popularity. She was feared and respected, she walked around the school as if she owned the place. Peter wouldn't be surprised if she actually did. She was so mysterious that people constantly made up stories about her, his personal favorite was that she was in witness protection. "I am so sorry." Peter said, his eyes wide.

Sage turned to face Peter but didn't say anything. She just shook her head and stood up.

Peter sat on the floor and watched Sage walk away. He couldn't believe how oblivious he'd just been. He'd just unitenally tackled the prettiest girl in school.

The bell ran and shook him from his stupor. He scolded himself for being tardy before picking himself up off the floor.

Sage had just sat down in her first hour AP chemistry class when the bell rang. The teacher started to take attendance as Peter charged through the door. The teacher sighed but ignored his tardiness. When she was done, she stood up and addressed the class, "I've made a new seating chart." the class groaned. "So everyone please stand up and wait for me to call you up to get an assignment as well as a new seat."

Sage went into autopilot and gathered her stuff. She waited for her name to be called, watching her classmates go up and get their assignments. "Sage," Ms. Lyndon said. "And Peter."

Peter looked over at Sage from the other side of the classroom, he couldn't believe his luck. They both made their way to the teacher's desk to get their assignment and were told to go sit at G table which was near the back of the class by the windows. When they sat down Peter tried to smile and make conversation. He extended his hand, "Hi, I'm Peter.

Sage looked at him, "I know."

Peter closed his hand awkwardly and pointed, "Right, okay."

They both faced forward.

When the teacher finished handing out assignments and everyone found their seats, she started to explain, "If you'll look at the assignment I just gave you, you'll see that it's a week long project. Your new table mate will be your lab partner."

Peter looked over at Sage but she was doodling in a notebook with her headphones in, she wasn't paying attention at all. He peaked over her shoulder to see what she was drawing, it looked like water, the beach or something.

"Today will be a research day and the real project will start on Monday. For the time being I want you to fill out the paper with your new lab partner."

Peter angled himself towards Sage and pulled out a pencil. Sage continued to face forward and pulled out a pen. She signed her name at the top of the paper and began to fill out the assignment. "Wait," Peter said, "What are you writing? We're supposed to do this together."

She turned to him, "Look, Pete,-"

"It's Peter, actually."

"This isn't a difficult assignment."

"I know it's not," Peter said. "But it is a group assignment, as in together?"

Sage stared at him, but she couldn't read him. She didn't like people that she didn't understand. His brown eyes were looking back at her and they seemed sincere. Slowly, Sage started to nod which made Peter smile. "Okay," he said. "Let's get this done and then maybe we can meet after school or on Saturday to get this ready for next week."

"Sounds good," Sage said and before they started to work she added, "And for the record, I do know your name."