Spider-Man Imagines II

I Hope They Remember You (part two) | Peter Parker (TH)

3 YEARS LATER

Peter stood awkwardly in the middle of the room while he waited for Mr. Stark to meet him. Happy had sent Peter a text saying that Mr. Stark needed him, and that it was urgent. But when he arrived, he was offered a muffin and was told to wait. 

He finished his second muffin and threw the wrapper away. "Look, Happy, I love hanging out here," he said, "but I have a test first period and am gonna be late..."

"He'll be here, kid," Happy said without looking up from his phone.

Peter sighed and sat down on one of the sofas. He stared at the floor and hummed the Star Wars theme song under his breath. The seconds ticked by so slowly, and he almost sighed with relief when Mr. Stark came into the room. 

"Oh thank goodness," Peter said, standing. "I'm gonna be late, Mr. Stark-"

He held up a hand. "I already called and excused you," he said. 

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. "Wow, thanks... but what for?"

"I have a job for you, kid," he said. He put his arm around his shoulders. "So. You're part of that... decatha-whatever thing, right?"

"Decathalon?" Peter asked. 

"Right. Okay, well. When's your next meet?"

"Uh, Friday," he said. "Well, we leave on Friday to D.C.. It's our last one. Why?"

"Because my daughter is going to come with you," Tony said. 

Peter raised his eyebrows. "___? But she's, like, twenty," he said. "Why?"

"She can pass as a senior. Kid, she needs friends that aren't... thirty to one hundred year old Avengers." He gave him a slight smile. "Now, I'm not giving you a pass to make out with my daughter or anything, but I'm giving you the go-ahead to be her friend."

Peter pressed his lips together. He liked you okay. You were pretty funny sometimes and were nice. But to take you to the competition with him? His last senior trip with his friends? He didn't like that idea, really. 

But Mr. Stark had done so much for him-

"Fine," he said. "Yeah, I'll take her." 

Tony dropped his arm. "Perfect. I'll have her and Happy in a car at your apartment an hour before your bus arrives." He touched his watch and repeated that reminder into the device. "Great. That's all I needed, kid." He smiled. "You can go."

...

Peter woke up to his alarm buzzing at six a.m.. He smacked his hand on it too hard and smashed it. He rose his head off his pillow, drool on the side of his cheek. He groaned when he saw the bits of what remained out of his alarm clock. 

"Great," he said. He peeled himself out of bed and pulled on a graphic t-shirt from the floor. He went to his dresser and pulled out some clean socks, put them on, then looked around for a pair of jeans. Most of his clothes were packed away in the duffle back by the door. He grabbed his phone and his charger, checked his messages, and saw one from Happy. He was on his way. 

Peter almost verbally groaned. He hated that he had to take you, and not because he didn't like you or anything. He really did like you, but he felt like he was babysitting. 

Babysitting a woman two years older than him. 

He was picked up in front of his apartment. In the car, he sat on the other side of the bench from you. You were staring out the window. 

"Hey," he said awkwardly. "Are you, uh, excited?"

You looked at him. "Oh yeah, I love when my dad forces me to go on trips in hopes of me maybe making friends."

He blinked. "Wow. Um..."

You looked away. "I'm just sorry I'm going to ruin your trip," you said. "It must suck to babysit."

"That's... what I saw it as, too," he said. "But I think it'll be fun. You and I have fun together, so."

"Yeah, but this is the most humiliating thing in the world," you said. You shook your head. "My own dad doesn't think I can make friends, so what does he do? He sends his almost twenty-one year old daughter to a high school field trip."

Peter frowned. "I'm sorry."

You shook your head. 

A minute passed. 

"How's college?" he asked. 

"I dropped out," you replied. 

"You did? Why?"

You looked at him and frowned. "I couldn't do it. I... I'm not supposed to be there. I don't know what I want to do or where I'm supposed to be, but it's not there. There was nothing for me there."

He nodded. "That's gotta be exciting, though. You get to start again and find something new. I applied at a few places, but I think I will be going somewhere close to home. Ya know, closer to the base..."

"Yeah," you said. "I bet you got accepted at a lot of different places."

He shrugged, but it was true. He had about a dozen acceptance letters on his nightstand. 

"How is your senior year going?" you asked. 

"It's fine," he said. He smiled. "I wish it was just over."

"Pretty soon," you said. You looked sad again. "I'm sorry if I totally screwed up your plans. You really don't have to babysit me, Peter. I may be the ultimate disappointment, but I'm capable of taking care of myself. I can buy my own food, stay in my own hotel room... I'll be fine."

"I wasn't going to take care of you," he said. "We're friends. We can just hang out." He grinned and pulled out his phone, then leaned close to take a selfie with you. "Gotta make memories here. Our first road trip!" He took the picture. "Give me your number, I'll send this to you," he said, saving it. 

You stared at him for a moment, smiling. 

...

"___, this is Ned," Peter said, tossing his backpack to the floor. He slid in the seat, all the way to the window. You sat down next to him and looked back at the boy sitting behind you. "Ned, this is ___ Stark."

"Hey," you said.

"Whoa-" The boy nearly shot up from his seat. "No way, you're a Stark? Holy crap. I have so many questions."

"Ned..." Peter mumbled.

"Is your allowance gold coins? How many bedrooms do you have? Is your toilet paper made of twenty dollar bills? Fifty?"

"Dude," Peter snorted. "Chill out."

You smiled and laughed. "Uh, no. To all of that. And I have one bedroom."

"Well that's disappointing," Ned said. "Are you at least a superhero? Like Iron Woman or Iron Girl? Iron... Daughter?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Sorry," he mouthed to you.

"I don't have any suits like him, no," you said.

Ned fell back in his seat. "Why the heck did you bring her then, Peter?" he asked.

You laughed and Peter shook his head. He pulled out his earbuds and popped one into his ear. He handed the other to you. You shyly took it and he turned his music up loud.

The ride was silent for half an hour or more. The city was disappearing behind you and you were finally starting to relax. You had your eyes closed and your head leaned back when you felt Peter grab your leg, right over your kneecap. You opened your eyes and looked at him. He was staring out the window.

"Peter, what is it?" you asked, pulling the earbud out of your ear. You leaned around him and saw the thing floating in the sky. Your breath hitched in your throat. 

"Call your dad," he said.