Lovebug ── PETER PARKER¹

27. Tony Stark Jr

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         School without Peter Parker seemed odd in a sense that it's never happened before. Sure, it may have been one day, but that was still more than Peter's usual zero absences. There was nobody for Luna to turn around to and ask for answers, or for Ned to excitedly boast about how he got the answer right when someone else answered it wrong. There was no Peter Parker for an entire day, and that just wasn't right.

           So when Luna stepped into school, and spotted the boy digging in his locker just two down from hers, she grew excited. Picking up her pace, she was practically skipping down the hall at that point, eager to hear of his adventure with Tony Stark.

           "Hey!" She cheerily greeted, making him jump in the process. Peter lifted his head to meet Luna's excited smile, and lit up eyes. However her smile quickly faded, and she instantly reached forward. "Another black eye? It wasn't–"

          "I got jumped," Peter interjected, waving it off as if it didn't matter. "What's up? You sounded excited."

          Luna frowned as he changed the subject, but decided not to press further. "So, somebody told me that you went to Europe with Tony Stark?" Peter visibly stiffened, but he managed a smile for the girl. "I'd like to think that I jinxed you that evening, so I'm expecting a thank you."

           Her smile faltered as she remembered the other events of that evening. She hadn't given up on her search for the book, retracing her steps with watchful eyes, hoping to catch a peak of that 2010 Bieber hair. But it never revealed itself, leaving her to wallow in self-pity for hours on end. The longer the book spent missing, the more she questioned why it was created in the first place. They weren't five years old, and they weren't in Mean Girls, so why did the idea of a book filled with secrets seem so appealing to them? Had it never been created, they wouldn't be in this predicament.

          "Thank you," he voiced, drawing Luna away from her thoughts and back to him. "I think I've got a full internship with him now."

          For a moment, Luna considered throwing her arms around the boy in celebration, but quickly recoiled as she remembered the outcome of the last time she'd done that exact thing. Instead, she grinned widely, clapping her hands excitedly. "I told you that you were Tony Stark Jr." She nudged him with her elbow, emitting a laugh from the boy.

           Peter's eyes quickly flickered to the clock, and he was instantly straightening up. Three minutes. He had three minutes to impress her. "Yeah, I guess I am." He shrugged. "He even told me everyone was impressed with my work." It was necessarily a lie; Tony did say that, even if it was just for a video they made for May. He never clarified if it was true or not, so as far as Peter was concerned, it was the complete truth.

          "Oh yeah?" Luna's eyebrows raised in curiosity, and she leant against the lockers, her arms crossed. "What'd you show him T.S. Jr?"

          Peter had to stop himself from grinning at the nickname, following her and leaning against the lockers. "Just something I've been working on for a while." He'd hoped she would get the hint and not ask any questions, because he wasn't sure how he'd respond to them. There wasn't much he could tell her without blatantly lying, and as of right now, he couldn't bring himself to tell the girl another lie. Not after the plethora of lies he's already told her.

           Luna almost blurted out the name of the paper she spotted in his bedroom, but quickly fell silent as she remembered she was technically invading his privacy. It wasn't her place to snoop through his belongings, especially something he'd made clear was to only be known by him. "That's so cool Peter," she gushed, and her lips quirked up as a blush dusted over his cheeks.

          The teens fell silent after that, eyes still locked as smiles lingered on their lips. All Peter Parker could think was how? How had he managed to only attain feelings for the girl now? Of course, there had always been a physical attraction, but that was what almost every boy in their grade felt towards her, because who wasn't attracted to the pretty girl with dark eyes and a bright smile? But he spent one on one time with her–he got to see what sense of humor she had, he was able to marvel at her intelligence, he learned her little quirks, he figured out her insecurities, yet his feelings didn't sprout until now.

           And she felt the same way. That made him feel even more foolish. For months, she kept those feelings hidden from him, well aware that they were unrequited. He didn't understand. How could a girl like her pine after someone like him, it didn't make sense. But he didn't want to, not now. Not when he was slowly gaining the confidence to make his move.

           He opened his mouth to speak, but of course, the moment had to be ruined. "Penis Parker!" He flinched as the shout rang through the hall, breaking their eye contact to look behind him. Much to his dismay, Flash was making their way towards them, his usual taunting smirk in place.

          Luna couldn't help but roll her eyes as Flash appeared beside the two. At first, she didn't particularly dislike the boy, he was so outspoken that she found it amusing. But what was once amusing became repetitive, and she quickly grew irritated with the boy who actually thought wearing his collar popped was a good look. "Giraldo." He grinned, throwing his arm around the girl's shoulder, only for it to be removed a second later. "What are you doing talking to...?"

         Luna's irritation with the boy only grew as he didn't even bother to address Peter by his name, just nodding in his direction, as if he was somehow less of a person than him. "Because unlike you, Eugene, Peter is my friend," she scoffed, making an effort to step closer to Peter, who stood in silence. "Do me a favor, and fuck off? We were in the middle of a conversation."

          Her bitter tone did nothing but amuse the boy, his lips curling into a smile as he took a step away from the two. "Oh, I see." He pointed between them, causing Luna to instantly frown. "See, I heard rumors, Giraldo, but I thought they couldn't be true. But I guess they are." Luna's face paled as soon as the word rumors left his lips, her body going stiff with fear. He couldn't have the book, could he? It was highly possible he did, what with the smug smirk on his face, implying he knew something he shouldn't. "See you around."

         "I'd rather not," Luna muttered, glaring at the back of the boy's head as he walked away from them. She turned back to Peter, letting out an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry about him, he's just..."

         "An ass?" Peter finished. He was unsure where it stemmed from, or why, but Flash Thompson made it his mission to poke fun at the boy whenever he got the chance. It was exhausting, knowing he couldn't go a single day without at least one comment from the boy about something. But he dealt with it, because what else could he do? Fight back? He wasn't the fighting type before the thing happened, and he certainly wasn't now, at least Peter Parker wasn't.

         Luna nodded in agreement, "He's an ass." She offered a smile to the boy, hoisting her bag further up her shoulder. "I'll see you later, okay?"

          "Yeah," Peter breathed out, Luna already beginning to walk away. Ignoring the people rushing past him to get to class, he worked on opening his locker again. When it finally budged, his fingers curled around the book, and he promptly shoved it into his bag. He needed to return it, but the question was, how did he do it without getting caught?