SUMMER JOB || Peter Parker X Reader

Chapter 2: A Stark Difference

The Stark building loomed up in front of you, challenging you to enter.

It had been a few days since you had arrived in the city, and Laurie and Uncle Tommy had gotten you settled in to your new room. You were staying in Laurie's room - she and Uncle Tommy had moved the extra bed from the basement into her room and rearranged a little to fit. Laurie had shown you around the neighborhood, and Uncle Tommy had taken you on a guided tour of the city (he had only gotten lost once).

You were already in love with New York.

There were so many people, and you could watch them flow of the city for hours. Laurie had shown you hidden gems she had found over the years, little record shops and cafes and restaurants and comic books stores... there were so many exciting places. You had known Colorado was bland and empty, but now seeing the difference, you never wanted to go back.

And Uncle Tommy's Brownstone was pleasantly different from home too. Instead of the perfectly kept rustic styled environment your mother kept, Uncle Tommy kept his house like a group of college students lived there. It was comfortably messy, full of old books and comics and records and band posters on the wall. He had quite the vibe going on.

You had to keep focus though, you were here for the internship after all. Last night you had gone to bed nervous about the next day, and sleep hadn't faded the feeling. Standing in front of the building, about to enter, wasn't helping either. Forget butterflies in your stomach, these were grasshoppers.

"Terrifying, isnt it?"

You turned to your left, looking at the boy who had come up next to you. He was slim and wispy, like a good kick to the knees would send him keeling over. He had shaggy loose curls, a little lighter than Laurie and Unlce Tommy's. "Kind of, yeah."

"I'm assuming you're here for the internship?" He asked. He had a sleepy kind of voice, a little raspy and low. He could have been an asmr narrator.

"Yeah." You said. "You too?"

He nodded. "Theo." He said, offering his hand for a handshake.

You shook, smiling. "Y/N."

"This is my first time in the city too." He said. "I'm from Montana, so I'm really not used to all of this. You probably see this building every day."

"Oh, no, I'm not from here either." You clarified. "I'm from Colorado."

"Oh." Theo looked pleasantly surprised. "Guess we're both newbies then."

"Yeah, I'm staying with my uncle and my cousin for the summer." You said.

"Grandparents." Theo said. "This place is crazy, I dont know how they can live here and not explode."

"Oh no, I've only been here for three days and I love it." You said. "It really is a magical place."

Theo shrugged. "I guess whatever floats your boat." He glanced at his watch. "We should probably head in, it's almost 10."

You nodded, walking beside Theo through the revolving glass doors. The inside of the building was just as impressive as the outside, all smooth surfaces and stylized glass. It looked like the future, and it was everything you'd ever wanted it to be. It was a busy place - people were everywhere, and even just in the lobby you could find some real pioneers of science; robots scanned passes and served as secretaries while three dimensional holograms explained the history of the building.

"Crazy." Theo breathed. You nodded.

Someone tapped your shoulder. "Passes please."

You turned to see one of the robots holding out their hand towards you. You pulled your lanyard off (you had almost forgotten to grab it that morning but Laurie had reminded you as you were almost out the door) and handed it to them. The robot's palm lit up as it scanned your pass, beeping happily. Theo grinned, handing his own pass to the robot.

"Thank you for joining the Stark Internship Program." The robot chirped. "Please join the rest of the incoming interns in conference room 1, on the second floor."

With that, the robot walked away, marking a direct path towards the next person near the entrance. You watched it go, monitoring it's movements. It was really remarkable; it didn't move like a robot at all.

"This is awesome." Theo said. "I feel like I'm dreaming."

"Did you see the way it moved?" You asked. "It was so... fluid!"

"Right?" Theo asked excitedly. "There must be some kind of specialized shock-absorption method or hydraulics, but it's such a small frame, I dont know how they'd do that and keep it sleek."

As you and Theo walked towards the elevators, you passed more and more miracles of science gathered in the lobby, almost like Tony Stark was trying to show off (and from what you had seen of his personality on television and the internet, he probably was).

You joined an elevators full of kids your age, most likely coming here for the internship like yourself. The walk from the elevator to the conference room was short, and the room itself was easy to find, a large number one frosted onto the glass doors. Everything you had seen of the building so far was sleek and really fit the futuristic motto.

The conference room was already relatively full of kids, but luckily you were able to spot two empty seats near the wall on the side.

"Hey, there are two seats over there." You said, getting on your tiptoes to point to where you were looking. Theo followed your gesture, eyes locking onto the seats.

"Let's go before someone else snatches them." He said, cutting through a group of girls. You followed him around the table, plopping down next to him and setting your bag under your chair. Uncle Tommy had insisted you bring a snack and a fresh notebook, and Laurie had given you one of her drawstring bags.

The room was full of quiet chatter, the various groups of kids excitedly talking to each other as you all waited for... something.

"What happens next?" You asked.

Theo shrugged. "Someone will probably give little speech, and then I would guess a tour. I dont know what we're going to be working on though, so it could be anything."

"Yeah, I was expecting the acceptance letter to be a little more specific." You said.

"I kind of like the mystery." Theo said. "Are we going to be getting coffee for lab workers or are we going to be building robots?" He joked.

You smiled. "Hopefully the latter-"

The lights in the room flickered off, and you jumped in your seat. The room fell deadly silent, everyone waiting for something to happen. In the semi-darkness, you could see Theo start playing with the rips on his jeans.

"Good morning and welcome to Stark Industries."

The lights flicked back on, and standing at the podium at the front of the room was Tony Stark himself.