𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐊

14. 𝗽𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗱𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿

TONIGHT WAS THE DAY OF HOMECOMING, AND ESZTER WAS OVERLY EXCITED. She built the courage to ask Peter to be her date--after having a long conversation with Ned--but it took a lot of convincing for the enhanced to think it through. Eszter didn't want to ask Peter for several reasons: to not make things awkward. Pepper was probably more excited than Eszter, but she definitely didn't want the woman to drop her off. So, Pepper isn't allowed to go with Eszter and Happy--much to Pepper's dismay, but she was okay with it.

Eszter ended up riding the train alone this morning, seeming as the enhanced hadn't seen Peter board. It wasn't until early this morning that Eszter had discovered Tony had taken away Peter's suit, grounding him. Peter hadn't bothered to text the girl all night, most likely devastated. Not only did he have to deal with Tony, but Peter had to deal with the disciplinaries from school.

The enhanced exited the train and makes her way toward the school, her phone pinging with every new notification from Ned, informing her that he was with Peter. He was sent to the principal's office, and Ned was following him there to offer support--however, he is bad about giving that. Nevertheless, Eszter was worried about what kind of trouble Peter might've put himself through.

Once she entered the building, Eszter makes her way into the main office, looking for her friends. Ned was sitting in the chair against the wall, across from the office where Peter was in.

Eszter purses her lips and makes her way closer to Ned, though the enhanced doesn't bother to sit as she stands beside the boy.

Ned notices Eszter. "Hi."

She nods in a silent greeting before lifting her gaze to Peter. "How's he doing?"

"You act as if he's sick," Eszter gives Ned a look, making him huff. "I don't know. He's upset but doesn't exactly like to show it."

"I didn't think Tony would actually take the suit away from him."

"Did you see what happened, though?"

Eszter frowns; she didn't know how much about what happened, only that Peter had lied to Tony about his whereabouts. That must've been why Tony was in such a hurry. Eszter didn't know exactly of Peter's plans, though she is certain that he must've ignored the fact because the enhanced often criticizes.

Ned clicks something on his phone, handing it over to his friend; Eszter grabs the phone and reads it, finding an article with a photo of Spider-Man and Iron Man. It seemed like they had worked together to pull the ferry boat together. By the looks of it, Eszter can tell that Peter's plan didn't go according to plan, considering the boat appeared to be ripped in half.

"So, that must've been why he was there," Eszter hums, scrolling through the article.

"Apparently, yeah," Ned nods. Eszter hands him back his phone. "Mr. Stark wasn't too happy to see the mess Peter made. Guess that's when he took the suit." Finally, the principal's door opens, and Peter finally exits. together, Eszter and Ned follow him. "Are you expelled? Do you have to go to that high school where the principal has a crossbow?"

"Pretty sure that's an urban myth," Eszter smiles weakly, glad that Peter managed to find a small bit of humor in a bad situation. "And, no, I'm not expelled."

Ned shakes his head, sighing in relief. "You're so lucky."

Peter doesn't respond as she trails slightly behind the two, but Eszter noticed once he was no longer beside them. Glancing over her shoulder, Eszter sees Peter with his head down, frowning to himself. The enhanced wishes she could lift her friend's spirit, but she knows there's no healing Peter. But now he knows what it's like to disappoint Tony, to have something revoked.