Here With Me - A Y/n Barnes Story

Episode 19 - An Unexpected Visitor

When I walked in the gym, which was dark except for a few light up decorations and spotlights, music hit me like a tsunami. Most people were mingling, and I was grateful that only a few people were dancing on the dance floor.

I see MJ with Ned and a few other kids from decathlon and make my way over with Killian and Val on either side of me. Everyone says hello and they resume chatting amongst themselves. Occasionally, I'd join in, but it's mostly me listening to conversations and everybody else, including Killian and Val, talking.

I must've looked anxious because Ned made his way to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Hm?" I turned over to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is . . . Have you seen Peter come in yet?"

He shook his head, and I don't know whether to be relieved or even more anxious. "He was going to be riding with Liz and her dad, though."

Sure enough, Liz comes in with a short deep pink colored dress. It would've been fine if I hadn't hated how good it looked on her. What a blessing it was to have a body like Liz's.

No wonder why Peter's head over heels for her.

I'm not sure why, but I watched her closely, analyzing her every move. She made her way through the growing crowd gracefully, eventually finding her friends.

"Y/n, I should probably tell you something," Ned said from behind me. "Peter . . . he kind of lost the 'Stark Internship'."

"What do you mean, the Stark Internsh--" I start to ask, but then start thinking about what it was a cover for. If I had even a slight smile on my face, it immediately fell. "You mean . . ." I lean in closer. "Did his suit get taken away?"

When I lean back, I see Ned with a sad expression on his face. He just nods.

I looked back at Liz to see that she had turned. I thought she was going to look at me, and my stomach dropped at the thought of getting caught staring. But she instead turned and saw Peter. I hadn't noticed he had even come in.

Her face lit up with so much joy at seeing him, I couldn't help but become jealous. I couldn't see his face, but I imagined his lighting up the same way.

Peter must've said something. Liz's face dropped. Then he left the room as quickly as he came. She was left alone on the dance floor, and I couldn't help but feel a little joy in seeing their interaction.

Ned gently shook me out of my daze. "Come on," he said.

He gently pulled me to follow him. "Why? What are you doing?"

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Ned said.

I reluctantly let him drag me towards where Peter left. "Lead the way, Solo."

We're not even halfway through the hall when I hear commotion on the other side. Crashing. Tires screeching. Glass shattering.

It sounds so similar but so different to what happened to my mom. I propel myself forward and forcefully barge open the double doors. I see Peter get thrust into a bus by a guy with a mechanical glove that's radiating an otherwise pretty blue.

I'm about to run to tackle the guy when Ned pulls me back. "Hey, just wait!"

The guy uses his glove to punch the bus and send Peter flying inside the rolling bus. "Well, we can't just stand here and watch!" I say back.

Ned gives me his jacket so I can keep warm. "Stay here, I have an idea."

Peter crawls out of the bus and, like Ned told me, he doesn't have his normal suit. Instead, he has a homemade one on, and it just looks like a bunch of scrappy pajamas.