Illegitimate Prodigy

Liar, Liar.

Peter's school was located in the borough of Queens, more specifically Forest Hills. Annabelle recalled Midtown High School competing against the one she attended in Scarsdale. It was only thirty minutes away, and brought back weird memories. Pulling her blatantly obvious crimson and gold colored Prius up to the curb of the school, she glanced at her digital screen to see it was only 1:30. The kid wouldn't be out for another two hours. An exhausted breath escaped her lungs, her brown hues panning across the building until she noticed the front doors.

Annabelle felt guilty for sneaking behind her father's back like this-- and she knew her father would not be the least bit pleased with her. She was now taking extreme measures to find out more information and potentially putting herself in danger. If she continued, her father would no longer be the only Stark with a red target on his back.

Approaching the school, she adjusted her prescription glasses(ones she rarely ever wore) on the brim of her nose, and tucked a lock of her long brown hair behind her ear. Annabelle was suddenly in the tabloids and newspapers after being revealed as Tony Stark's daughter, so it was possible that anyone could recognize her. When she opened the double doors to the front of the school, she felt a rush of cool air hit her face, causing a slight shiver to go down her spine. It had the icky school smell that Annabelle never became accustomed to, and certainly did not make her miss it.

A school secretary lifted her gaze from her computer screen, her eyebrows furrowing with confusion as the young Stark walked in. Smiling slightly, she approached the window to the front desk that was walled off by mostly glass, and the only entrance in had a keypad lock. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, hi. I'm actually here to pick up my cousin, Peter Parker."

The secretary gave Annabelle a confused face, her green eyes dropping back down to her computer screen, fingers quickly typing on the keyboard. "I have no notifications saying he was suppose to be released early."

"The hospital didn't call you?" She let out an annoyed groan, and even gave a small eye roll. Even she impressed herself with her acting. "My mother May--Peter's aunt-- is in the hospital. Obviously Peter hasn't even been notified yet." Her hand lifted to her forehead, rubbing her temples in a frustrated motion. The secretary, as naive as she was, gave a small look of concern. Reaching for the phone on her left, her fingers typed in an extension. "Yes, could you send Peter Parker to the front desk. Tell him to bring everything, he'll be leaving class early today." The young Stark avoided smiling mischievously--her "mother," after all, was in the hospital.

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"Mrs.Norberry, I was told to come to the front office? Am I in trouble?" Peter said, his voice a little uneasy.  Standing up from her desk, she pointed to the bench on the other side of the office.

"Your cousin is here to pick you up. She has not so great news, I'm afraid."

"My cousin? Wha--"

"Hey Pete, lets go. My mom is waiting at the hospital for us." Peter turned his gaze on Annabelle, and when he did his mouth dropped. He could barely utter a word.

"Your... your mom?" He stuttered.

"Yes my mom, silly. Your aunt, remember? Jeeshh." Before the secretary could put two and two together that Peter and Annabelle weren't really related, she hooked her arm in the crook of his, practically yanking him toward the front doors. The secretary tried to yell something reassuring to Peter, but Annabelle couldn't hear it as she was focusing trying to just get him out of the school. Escaping the front doors back into the heat, Peter yanked his arm away from her.

"Are you crazy? My aunt doesn't have any kids!" Annabelle turned to face him, her hands lifting to remove her glasses. "Well I had to make up something, AND could you talk any louder? The classroom windows are open. Let's go, we need to chat." She paced quickly toward her car, Peter following slowly behind. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she nearly had to catch her breath once getting into the driver seat.

As the passenger door open, she beamed her eyes in Peter's direction. "Annabelle, I can't do this. Whatever it is you need. Your dad would kill me if he knew I was even talking to you right now."

"Don't pay any attention to my dad. You CAN do this, and I can't track down the Vulture on my own."

"Don't pay attention? Your Dad is Iron Man. I can't even imagine how your boyfriend feels," Peter averted his gaze, glancing back at the his school. Annabelle turned the key, put the car in drive and plunged on the gas. The tires screeched, and Peter braced himself.  "Annabelle you don't understand. This guy is dangerous. Plus your dad told me to call him if you tried to get in contact with me. I expected a phone call not you to show up at my school impersonating a cousin."

"Just forget about my dad, okay? If you don't help me, and I do find this guy, I could get ki--" Her sentence couldn't even be finished, as her speakers began to ring. Glancing at the dash screen, she saw her father's picture. Peter's eyes bugged out so far she thought they might pop out of his head.  "Don't say a word." Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she answered. She didn't even glance at him, her eyes focused on the road.

"Dad, I'm driving."

"I thought your phone wasn't working," Tony's asked, his tone sounding very curious.

"Uhm, it wasn't working this morning," she glanced at the phone casually, and then looked back at the road. She finally hit a main street in Queens, and hit traffic that was at a complete stop. Peter twiddled his thumbs nervously in the passenger seat. "I finally started working when I left the tower."

"Darling, why are you in Queens?"  It was obvious he wasn't actually listening to her responses--because he knew she was lying. Her eyes averted away from his stare. He wasn't even wearing his serial killer sunglasses, so seeing his piercing brown eyes was so much more intimidating.

"Are you tracking me?" She let her attitude appear at the drop of a hat, her gaze narrowed into a glare. "I'm just meeting a friend for lunch. Queens has a really good Pho restaurant." The young Stark swallowed the lump in her throat. He knew. He knew and she didn't even need to tell him.