A STORM IS BREWING | PERCY JACKSON

Chapter Twenty Two

Peter silently followed the Vulture- Liz's dad- through the house to the kitchen. He was trying very hard not to freak out. He couldn't make the man suspicious. He just had to get through tonight and then he could take down Toomes.

"Won't that be a fun conversation? 'Hey Liz, I'm sorry but I'm the one who took down your father and now he's in jail. By the way, do you want to go on a date on Saturday?" he thought bitterly. No matter how this turned out, someone would be getting hurt.

Liz's mother, Doris, greeted him briefly before walking away to get Liz. Peter was left in the kitchen with Toomes, both of them standing there awkwardly. His spider-sense had dulled, only a faint pressure in the back of his skull, warning him to keep his guard up.

"You alright there, Pete? Want something to drink? Maybe some bourbon, or scotch?" Toomes asked. It occurred to Peter that the man was testing him. Not because he was Spiderman, but because he was a guy taking his daughter out to a dance. Toomes had even taken out a couple of knives to clean as an intimidation tactic.

"No, sir. I'm not old enough to drink," he said truthfully, trying to act unnerved.

"That's the right answer." Toomes smiled at him before he focused on something behind Peter and his eyes went wide.

Liz walked into the room. She was wearing a pink, knee-length dress overlaid with floral lace in a slightly darker shade. Despite the danger present, Peter's jaw dropped as he admired her.

"She looks beautiful, doesn't she Pete?" Toomes's voice cut through his slight haze.

He turned towards Liz and gave her a soft smile that she returned. He wasn't going to ignore her and he doubted that Toomes would try anything. He just had to stay alert.

"Yeah, you look really pretty," he said sincerely. "Oh, I got you a corsage." He hastily pulled it out of its box and slid it onto her wrist.

"Thank you, I love it." She beamed and Peter could feel the heat rush to his cheeks.

"How about we take a couple of photos and then you all can get going?" Doris suggested.

Peter stepped closer to Liz as her mom pulled out a small camera and started taking photos. His smile was set as he looked into the camera, trying his hardest to not look at Toomes who he could feel staring at him.

They were in the car not long after. Peter had tried to stop Toomes from driving them but the man had just said he was going out of town. That caused warning bells to go off in Peter's head.

"Happy is moving all the stuff out of the Tower tonight," he thought. "It must be his last chance to get any more alien tech."

A feeling of dread welled up in his stomach as he realized that he would probably have to leave Liz at the dance to go and fight her dad. The Fates really did hate him.

"So, Pete," Toomes said suddenly, causing Peter to snap to attention. It was a good thing because it reminded him that he had to stay focused. "What do think you're going to do when you graduate?"

"Oh, um, I don't know. Maybe something with marine biology," he stuttered. He wasn't prepared to be put on the spot like that.

"Really?" Liz asked, surprised. "But you have that internship with Tony Stark. Aren't you more interested in engineering?"

Peter didn't get the chance to respond before Toomes cut in. "Tony Stark? What do you do?"

He scrambled to come up with a believable lie. "Yeah, engineering is interesting but I've always found to ocean fascinating. I'll probably do something involving both. And I actually stop interning with Stark Industries at the end of the school year."