Tower of Secrets

Peter Parker

I was no where near ready for the trial I would soon face. My palms were clammy. It took all my will-power to keep my legs from giving out. Beads of sweat trickled down my temple causing flyaways to stick to my brow. I wanted to lock the door to my room and never leave.

"Pete, don't panic. Nerves are normal. You're going to be fi-"

"My middle name is practically 'panic,' Perce! There's no hope for me! Maybe I should cancel?"

"What? No way!"

"You're right. Michelle would kill me."

"I didn't say that!"

"It was implied!"

"No it wasn't!"

"Dude, have you even met MJ? She'd 100 percent kill me!"

"Peter!" Percy laughed, his hands finding their way to my shoulders. "Look at me."

I my eyes bored into his, searching for answers that weren't there. He smiled that lopsided grin of his - a vain effort to calm my anxiety about the upcoming evening. "How'd you even land Annabeth? Was it this hard?"

"Annabeth and I have been together for almost two years," he smirked. "I still have no idea how I did it."

I groaned. "Then it's hopeless!"

"Peter, I don't think love had anything to do with one person wooing another. It's about connecting with someone who understands part of you and is willing to meet in the middle with the parts she doesn't understand."

"MJ hasn't once met anyone in the middle her entire life!" I countered. "Once, back in sixth grade, we had to do a debate about slavery based off of the arguments we had learned about in class. MJ was supposed to be on the pro-slavery side and say some crap about the economy, but she just sabotaged her team."

"Man, sixth grade," Percy reminisced, successfully distracting himself. Distantly, I recognized that the quick derailing of the conversation probably had something to do with the older teen's ADHD. "My math teacher that year turned out to be a Fury." His math teacher was a furry? "Nancy Bobofit was a jerk." Percy, the definition of coolness, was bullied? "I did meet one of my best friends that year. You'd get along great with Grover."

I was appalled. "You had a furry as a math teacher?"

"Mrs. Dodds wasn't a-" He paused, thinking for a second before shaking his head with a smile. "Never mind. We got off topic, didn't we? Point is, you can dodge bullets; you can handle a date, Spider-Man."

"I definitely can't."

"You definitely can."

"What's going on over here?" I turned to see Mr. Stark standing in the doorway, a knowing look gracing his features.

"Peter's date is tonight."

"Already?" Mr. Stark questioned. "She just asked you yesterday."

"She texted me late last night asking if I'd be her plus one at her cousin's birthday party. She's younger, so MJ wanted some company at the roller rink," I explained.

"Are you sure you're prepared for the hazing her family will probably give you?"

I froze. I hadn't even considered the teasing I was sure to receive! Heat crawled past my neck and up my ears. "Y'know what? I don't care if she kills me later. I think I'm going to cancel." I moved to grab my phone from my dresser, but was too late. Percy dangled it just out of my reach, struggling not to laugh. Curse his tallness.

"You're no coward, Pete. You're just overthinking this."

"You'll be fine, Underoos," Mr. Stark sighed. "From what I've heard, she seems to really like you - awkwardness and all."

I glanced between the two of them and sighed. "If this blows up in my face, I'm blaming you two."

"It's a good thing it won't then," the billionaire shrugged. "C'mon, I'm driving you. Where are you two lovebirds meeting up?"

"He's going to Michelle's house to ride with her and her family to the party," Percy answered dutifully. "He's got the address in his phone."

"Can-can we please drive a normal car? I know you like being flashy, but no one at school, aside from Percy and Ned, knows about me living at the tower right now."

A pained look flashed across his face, although it seemed more for the drama than anything else. "Of course, kid."

Percy gave me one last pat on the shoulder paired with a reassuring smile. "Good luck, you've got this."

"Y-yeah, yeah, I've got this. Maybe."

_/\_

"Okay, kid, we're here," Mr. Stark beamed as he pulled next to the house. "What's the game plan?"

"Uh, be polite?" I stammered, fingering the handle nervously with one hand while the other played with a belt loop on my shorts.

"That's good, I guess. But, don't let them push you around, too much. The overprotective papa bear might come out, so stand your ground."

"R-right."

"And, if she falls, help her up."

"What if I fall?"

"Laugh it off, squirt. Have Karen message me when it's over."

I took a deep breath. I could maybe not screw this up too bad. "Thanks, Mr. Stark," I chirped, finally working up the courage to exit the vehicle. I strode up to the door, prepared to knock, but MJ beat me to it. "MJ! Uh, hi! You, ah, look nice?" Mentally, I facepalmed. She was dressed in athletic shorts, tennis shoes, and some random Midtown t-shirt.

She stared at me for a moment before stiffly rolling her eyes. "Hey, loser. Who's ghost did you see on the way here?"

"Mine," I laughed.

"Michelle? Who is that?" an older female's voice called.

"It's just Peter," MJ hollered back.

"Hurry up and invite him in then!"

We looked at each other for a moment. "You should probably come inside."

"Y-yeah," I agreed, stepping in as she moved out of the way and slipped the door shut behind me. Her house looked surprisingly normal. I wasn't sure what I was expecting - maybe a cave of eternal darkness - but she seemed to be living in a typical home. "Your house is nice."

"Thanks," she replied easily. "It belongs to my parents." Maybe it was the slight waver in her voice, or maybe it was the fight-or-flight stance she seemed to have taken, but suddenly it dawned on me: MJ was nervous, too.

A/N Happy V-Day!!!