As Luck Would Have It

5) In Ned of a Friend

Peter walked slowly through the crowded halls of Midtown, still thinking about the previous night. It really brought his spirit down, plus he knew that he would have to say goodbye to Ned later, so that didn't help much either. He hoped that the feeling of being on the last day of school would brighten his day, but he still felt a bit depressed.

As he gathered his books for the last time, he observed the students around him gathering in little groups to sign yearbooks. Peter felt a little left out when it came to this. Ned was his only real friend, and any other friends he would have would be on the decathlon team. He was unsure if they would be willing to sign it anyway, though he wouldn't have blamed them if they didn't. He bailed on the team on numerous occasions, and he was sure they didn't want to be associated with him, particularly Flash Thompson. Peter knew that if he agreed to sign, he would have written something vulgar and would probably have written a "Penis Parker" somewhere. Despite this, he tried to avoid the thought as much as he could.

Ned hadn't shown up at his locker yet, and there were two minutes until the first bell rang. He knew that he wouldn't have class with him until 3rd Period History, so he waited a little longer in the hope to talk briefly. Ned still didn't show, and Peter frowned in his absence. He left his locker and stepped quickly for his first class.

Because it was the last day, most of the teachers had either a movie playing or they just let the students mingle amongst themselves. Unfortunately, Peter didn't find either one of them interesting, and he just buried his face in his arms on the desk. The time moved slowly through his first two classes, then he slunk miserably into his seat in History. Seconds later, Ned entered the room and sat in front of him.

The sight of his friend momentarily brought him back to his cheerful mood, but Ned still looked spent. He leaned against the back of his chair as if he were trying to lay out on it. "Hey..." he exasperated, letting his body rest.

"How was last night man" Peter asked, wondering what had happened after he abruptly hung up on him.

"It got a little better... I was mostly packed when you called, and things went smoothly afterwards."

"Do you know when you're leaving today?

"Either the middle of 4th period or after."

Peter was about to react when his teacher interrupted the class. He stated that he did not to hear any noise from them as he put in a movie to watch. He put on a Bill Murray movie called "Meatballs." Murray plays a camp counselor who jokes about his fellow female counselors and the ridiculous reputation of a rival camp across the lake. As the film progressed, it kept getting funnier and funnier, until someone let out a small chuckle. The teacher quickly snapped his head into the direction of the laughing student, and his staring ceased the commotion.

Peter was entertained by the movie for the most part. For one thing, he couldn't help but watch Ned try to hold back his laughter. For another thing, he took interest into one of the campers in the film, Rudy Gerner. He saw many similarities between Rudy and himself given their circumstances. He wasn't a superhero or anything, but he was being tossed into summer vacation without any friends. He would have to start from the ground up and make new connections and look out for himself. Peter saw Rudy's predicament paralleling his own.

Once the bell rang, Peter and Ned walked somberly to the gym, which was their next class. Peter desperately wanted to dish out the details of what May had discussed with him, but was unsure if he should, given what Ned was experiencing. Thankfully, Ned broke the silence first. "So, what are you going to do while I'm away," he said with interest.

"Well...," he said, trying to think of the best way to describe what he was in for, "May wants me to get a job by the end of the summer."

Ned looked up in astonishment, "How are you going to get a job, let alone find one, when you're out doing what you do?"

"That's what I keep asking myself" he complained.

They walked into the gym where students were arranging themselves into little groups on the bleachers. Coach Wilson wasn't in the mood to do anything today, so he took attendance and left the students to socialize. Peter and Ned sat toward the bottom left side of the bleachers, away from everyone else. Once they had settled in, they picked-up their conversation once more.

"Do you even know where people are hiring?" Ned asked, "cause I'm not aware of any."

"I don't know, I thought about helping Mr. Del Mar with his store, but I feel like that wouldn't be my style."

"That's not a bad option either," assured Ned, "you and Del Mar would make a good working pair, plus you could get great food discounts.

Peter could see the points Ned was making. He did enjoy being in Del Mar's company and he felt like he could be open about his life with him. However, he did feel guilty about being responsible for his store's destruction when he fought a couple of ATM robbers under a year ago. "I don't know man, I don't think it would be a wise decision, given my experience with the store."

Ned rolled his eyes, "Dude, it's been almost a year, I'm sure he's over what happened."

"He may be, but do you think his checkbook is" Peter asked seriously. He really didn't want to think about working in an environment that reminded him of one of his mistakes, and that it cost a good man's livelihood.

Ned's smile drowned quickly after his question, and he decided to leave the thought with one last statement, "Just keep the idea in your back pocket, it might be the only good option you have." Peter reluctantly nodded in agreement, but he made sure that it would be a last resort.

"Do you wanna sign my yearbook" asked Ned with a cheery disposition, and Peter chuckled with delight. "Thought you would never ask" he relied sarcastically, taking the book from his hands.

He flipped the front cover over to reveal a page of a dozen signatures and notes already written on the first page. Peter turned is head toward him in amazement, but he kind of figured that Ned would try to get a few signatures in. Ned was always a more confident person than he was, so the fact that he had signatures in his yearbook didn't seem out of the ordinary. He searched for a blank spot large enough for him to write his message and signature. Once he did, he quickly wrote down,

This year has been a crazy one with you. I hope that it continues to grow as we thread this path together. You are my guy-in-the-chair, my partner, and most importantly my best friend. I hope you have a great summer in Oahu with your family. Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. Your web-head of a friend, Peter Parker.

Peter shut the book and handed it back to him. He then searched through his bookbag for his copy for Ned to sign. "Would you like to be my first signer" Peter asked, and Ned of course was happy to do it. Just as he was lifting the cover up, Coach Wilson was calling over to him that his parents were here to take him to the airport. Feeling rushed, Ned took enough time to write something quick and off the top of his mind. Once finished, he handed the book over, said goodbye, and left.

Peter then searched through the pages to find his signature. He soon found it within the back pages, and read his friends hasty message.

Hope your summer goes well. Wish I could be with you through it all. Your guy-in-the-chair, Ned Leeds.

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A/N- And here is Chapter 5, wow. I knew what I wanted for this chapter when I started, but there were a couple of things that popped up as I was writing. I hope everyone enjoys, please vote and comment if you did.

Another update next weekend, hope you all have a great week.

On a side note, who saw Ant-Man and the Wasp this weekend. I thought it was probably the funniest MCU movie yet, and the action is top notch. Wasp is such a bad-ass. And that first credit scene, WTF!!!