Here With Me - A Y/n Barnes Story

Episode 18 - Homecoming

Home wasn't really much different from D.C. as far as commotion goes. Rumors spread like wildfire and soon everyone knew about all that had happened. The team kept calling Peter and I out for not being there and everything that we missed, but we just played along and smiled at each other whenever they weren't looking.

We were in Physics when Peter told me what had happened when he went to the bathroom. "Y/n, y/n, I'm going to need both your help and May's help."

"Why?" I ask, clearly confused.

"So, I went to the bathroom, right--"

"Gross," I interrupt. "Skip ahead, I don't need all of the minor details."

He smiles at that. "Anyway, Liz was in the hall, and . . ."

I stopped listening when he said her name. I hated the way his eyes lit up when he said it. I hated the way he rolled it off of his tongue, like it was the most precious thing in the world. I hated how he never said my name like that. I hated Liz for being the reason he's this happy. I hated myself because I knew he would never say my name like that.

". . . so then I was all nervous, but I asked her anyway, and she said yes!" he said. He was high on life, and I wasn't about to take that from him.

"Congrats!" I say, putting on a fake smile. What was there to be upset about, though? I still get to go with Killian and Val. It's not like I'm suspended from going to the dance.

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"I'm debating on whether or not to suspend you from the dance, y/n," the principal tells me. I knew it was coming. "All you have to do to secure your ticket for the dance is answer these questions honestly, without any further comments. Understood?"

I wasn't about to blow my shot because I was foolish and said no. I slowly nod my head.

"Good," he says, a little too satisfied with himself. "First question: are you a part of a Stark Internship where you can easily gain access to Mr. Stark and can have somebody else vouch for you?"

"Yes," I said. "I am very close with Mr. Stark as well as some other students in the internship. I thought-"

He glares at me, reminding me that he wanted no extra comments from me. He looks at me for a moment too long and I begin to think if he can tell that I'm only partially telling the truth. The internship, as far as I knew, didn't exist. But everything else in that statement I answered confidently and truthfully.

He begins to ask the second question. "Were you, in any way, involved with the accident in D.C.?"

"I'm sorry, how are these questions related to the dance?" I ask. Then, I quickly add, "It's a reasonable, honest question that I'm allowed to ask."

He sighs. "There have been suspicions that you and Mr. Parker were, in some way, involved with the incident, since neither of you were at the tournament when it began. Does that answer your question?"

My silence gives him his answer. "I'll ask again: were you in any way involved with what happened in D.C.?"

"No," I answered. "I was a bystander when the incident happened."

He seems satisfied with my answer which, once again, wasn't a complete lie.

"Final question, then," he announces. "Why weren't you at the decathlon tournament? The last time you were seen was at the hotel the night before."

"I was out studying with Peter. You can ask Liz. Then we went out for a walk," I said, trying to come up with another clever partial lie. "He told me to come back because it was late and we had a big day ahead of us. It's my fault we were kidnapped."