Walking the Tightrope 🕷 Peter Parker [2]

three

Peter

Peter hated Tuesdays. They were almost as bad as Mondays—but it wasn't quite the middle of the week yet. So it was that weird in between day that should probably just be erased from the calendar all together. Ned would probably agree, Peter thought.

He still hadn't figured out what had bothered Alexandra so badly when she woke up, but he figured that if it was something really bad, she would tell him when she was ready. He figured. In the mean time, Peter had been focused on his web slinging and other duties as not only Spider-Man, but as a student.

Miles Morales sat with them at lunch again that day, and Peter had to admit, he was pretty cool. He liked to talk about Spider-Man... a lot. Miles seemed to be Spidey's biggest fan, which made Peter grin.

The day had been going really well, until his metal shop class. That day, their teacher, Mr. Dorris, had been acting as bored as he always did. Ned and Peter were working on their project while Alexandra and Kai worked at their table across from them.

MJ was sitting at her table reading a book, she had already finished whatever she had been working on. That wasn't unusual, MJ always finished before everyone else in class.

Everything was going as it always did, until Mr. Dorris stood up from his chair with a groan and walked to the front of the class. This prompted everyone to stop working and stare at their teacher, he never got up. In fact, he hardly ever looked up from his crossword puzzles. 

"So, I guess the principal thinks this class isn't—doing as much as it could be—in terms of the curriculum," He began, sounding very bored. "He thinks it would be—beneficial for us to take a class field trip."

Excited whispers were exchanged among the class—they all wondered where they would be going for the field trip. Peter and Ned theorized quickly amongst themselves, hoping that it would be somewhere cool, or at least somewhere they could hang out. 

"I've talked it over with some people, and the people over at the Stark Industries compound in Manhattan have agreed to let our class take a tour of the facility on Friday," Mr. Dorris said.

The blood drained from Peter's face as he frowned. He heard Ned say something to him, but it was all drowned out by Flash's laugh from across the classroom. "Hey, Parker, you think we'll see your buddy, Tony Stark?" He asked sarcastically.

God I hope not, Peter thought desperately, but otherwise ignored Flash.

When the bell rang at the end of class, Peter walked up to Mr. Dorris's desk and cleared his throat to get the teacher's attention. Mr. Dorris looked up, looking rather exhausted. "Yes, Mr. Parker?" He asked.

"Uh—Mr. Dorris, I was wondering if I could just—not go on the field trip?" Peter winced as he asked the question. "I—I just don't wanna get behind on homework, y'know? And—um—I have this project I'm working on—" He mustered a laugh.

Mr. Dorris stared at Peter for what felt like an infinite amount of time before sighing. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mr. Parker, the field trip is required for a grade," He drawled out.

Peter groaned internally before nodding. "What if my aunt doesn't let me go?" He asked desperately. 

Mr. Dorris eyed him curiously. "Then you would get a zero, Mr. Parker," He sighed. 

Peter groaned. "Oh okay, thanks anyway, Mr. Dorris." He quickly turned on his heel and left the classroom. Ned and the others were waiting outside of the classroom for him.

"So, Dorris didn't let you out of the field trip did he?" Ned asked with a small smirk.

He scowled at his friend and then sighed, shaking his head. "No. Maybe when we go Mr. Stark won't be there." he suggested hopefully.

"I thought you and Tony Stark were super buddy-buddy," Kai said. "What happened? Did he take the internship away or something?"

Peter had nearly forgotten that Kai (and MJ?) didn't know his secret. He tried to play it as casually as possible, shrugging slightly. "It's... complicated," He replied, which wasn't technically a lie. It was really complicated.

Alexandra grabbed his hand and shrugged. "Guess you'll just have to suffer through the tour with the rest of us." She offered a small smirk. Peter sighed.

"Guess so."

🕷

The rest of the week went by in a blur, the only thing on Peter's mind was the field trip on Friday. When he'd told May about it, she had refused to sign the permission slip until Peter told her that it was required for a grade and if he didn't go, he would get a zero.

"Well, if you have to go, I'll chaperone then!" May had said determinedly.

"You have to work on Friday," Peter had reminded her.

His aunt had cursed under her breath before reluctantly agreeing with her nephew and signing the slip, all the while muttering, "What sort of field trip is for a grade? That's just stupid! The American education system is crumbling..." Before handing it back to him, she had said, "If Tony Stark tries to give you any trouble, just call me. I'll give him a piece of my mind—pun not intended!"

So basically, Peter was just supposed to try to avoid and ignore Mr. Stark if he happened to see him on the tour. Hopefully, he would be somewhere else—maybe doing Avengers stuff. That seemed likely, right?

Friday finally rolled around, and most of the students in Peter's metal shop class were extremely excited about the field trip. Whether it was because they were genuinely interested or because it got them out of a day of school, Peter couldn't tell. Well, except for Ned. Ned was just straight up excited.

"I hear that this is where Mr. Stark stores his secret Iron Man armor blueprints!" Ned exclaimed as they climbed aboard the bus. "Like—in the mainframe or something!"

MJ snorted from her seat, taking a moment to look up at him. "I highly doubt Tony Stark keeps one of the most valuable things he owns in the mainframe at his—not even his—company's compound in the middle of Manhattan."

Ned frowned. "Don't stomp on my dreams, MJ."

"That's what I'm here for." She smirked at him.

Alexandra glanced at Peter and frowned. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly. He looked over at her and smiled softly. "It'll be fine, Peter," She said. "Try not to worry about it so much."

"I'll try." He sighed, thought Peter was sure the closer they got to the compound the more nervous he would become.

Today wasn't going to be fun.

🕷

Aaaaaand I finally updated haha!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

~Mads