Tower of Secrets

Peter Parker

Ever get the Wii theme song stuck in your head for weeks on end?

Yes?

Why do I ask?

Because it was so freaking stuck in my head that it was beyond amusing, and I just wanted to blow out my eardrums.

Just kill me now, I thought miserably in class. Do! Do! Do! I tried to focus on the work I was attempting, but I couldn't pay attention with all the Bum. Bum, bum, bum. Ba-buuu-bum's coursing through my brain.

Granted, there were worse problems. From the looks of it, Percy's Dyslexia was making the Physics equations ten times harder to look at. He kept rubbing it his eyes and fidgeting in his seat. Once, he even accidentally flung his pencil to the floor when he lost his grip while tapping it aggressively. He seemed frustrated.

Quietly, I moved to sit next to him. "You good?" I whispered.

He spared me only a moment before his focus returned to his work. "Could be better. Gods, this is hard."

"You were doing fine yesterday. What's different?"

He rubbed his eyes again. "Seeing the Greek letters mixed with the English letters is messing me up. I can read both, so my brain's been shuffling the equations into words," he groaned.

"Need a break?"

"Probably, but I've got a lot of work to do."

"Well," I decided, "you should work on something easier for now. We can work through the Physics together back at the tower. I've been having trouble focusing, too."

He smiled a weary smile and shot me a nod. "Sounds good. Thanks, Pete." Before I got up, he continued to speak. "Is it the nerves from starting our internship this Monday?"

Dimly, I registered that having the Wii song stuck in my head and being nervous for our upcoming mission were two very different excuses. Oh well. "Yeah, you know how much is at stake."

He gave me a sympathetic look. I almost felt guilty for lying about what was distracting me. "Just let me handle excuses and stuff, okay? I've got a special card up my sleeve that works on most mortals."

...mortals?

Instead of pointing out his strange diction (my AP Lit teacher, Mrs. Conners has been trying to make us use those words lately, so she'd better be proud of me for incorporating it here), I plowed on. "What is it?"

"You'll see."

Would I?

_/\_

"Happy birthday, Peter!" Ned beamed as he slid into his seat next to mine at lunch. "How's it feel to be sixteen?"

I smiled at my friend. "Feels pretty normal, honestly. I guess I'll be driving soon."

Percy seemed to choke on his water. Ned and I shared a look. "I honestly forgot that you guys are too young to drive. Wow."

"How do you just forget that? Mr. Stark just had to drive me out to MJ's house this week."

"You could honestly be five right now, and I'd forget it. Age isn't something I think about often, y'know?"

Ned stifled a laugh, but I didn't care if Percy knew I found it funny. Apparently, MJ didn't care either because she was laughing her cute, quiet little laugh as she sat down across from us. "Happy birthday, loser."

"Thanks, MJ."

"Your little 'get together' is at five, right?"

"Yep." I turned to Percy. "I don't know if I've straight up said this yet, but you're welcome to come, by the way. Don't feel like you have to wait to celebrate with the other interns because, and I think I speak for all of us when I say this, you're becoming a pretty permanent part of our group."

He grinned. "Yeah, I'll come o-"

"Ew, Parker - vocalizing that thought is making me feel things."

"Careful M, you wouldn't want to start feeling things. That'd only make you human," I remarked.

She raised a brow. "Well, we can't have the whole world knowing I'm human, can we?"

Percy shifted awkwardly in his seat, finally working up the courage to start on his apple for lunch. Breakfast might have been a bit too much for him, but he seemed to be keeping everything down.

I made eye contact with my girlfriend, remembering that I might make it awkward for my friend if I accidentally brought attention to his diet by staring too long. "What a shame that would be."

"Anyways," Ned interrupted, clearing his throat. "What are you hoping to get for your birthday?"

I shrugged. "I'm honestly just happy that we'll be able to make some memories. Life is short; I wanna make the most of it while I still can." Yikes, I did not mean to be subtly depressing. Everyone seemed to shoot me looks of sympathy and understanding. Dimly, I realized that they were all probably thinking of the dangerous activities I carry out while operating as my alter ego, but they all probably thought everyone else was thinking of my less-than family history.

I should probably tell them that they all know soon, but I need to make up an excuse for how Percy knows.

"Anyways, how's everyone doing? Ready for the Gov test today?"

"Born ready," Percy smirked.

MJ rolled her eyes. "I've had our system and every single one of its many flaws memorized by heart since the third grade."

Ned offered me an uneasy smile. "I read the notes last night. Once."

"Honestly, same."

Percy shook his head. "I wish I could get away with barely studying like you guys can. I've missed a bit of school, so it feels like I've got to do extra work to stay on top of my grades."

"Well," MJ said, "at least this is your last year trying to manage six classes at once. You'll be taking way less next year in college."

His shoulders slumped. "I don't even want to think about college."

"I feel you," I groaned. "I wasn't prepared to be a senior so soon. I have to take the SAT next weekend."

"Good luck, dude."