You're What?

Science Fairs Can Never Be Boring

Peter was prepared. He had done his science fair project weeks ahead of time then perfected it with Mr. Stark's help. It hasn't been easy, but it felt great to be able to relax and know his project was well done. Standing behind his small table before the fair began, he couldn't stop smiling.

The fair would begin in five minutes with two special speakers and then the exhibits were open. While Peter was excited to show his off to other students and their families, he wished Mr. Stark could have come. He'd asked him a few days before, but according to Pepper, he already had something scheduled that day. Aunt May was coming, though, and unlike Mr. Stark, she hadn't seen his project yet. Peter had wanted it to be a surprise for her even if he did tell her everything he had done with Mr. Stark for it.

"Dude, I heard someone say Tony Stark was the guest speaker," Ned hissed, running up behind Peter. He pulled Peter over to sit with the rest of the group and muttered, "Someone saw him in the parking lot."

"You're kidding," Peter whispered back, his eyes widening. As much as he had wanted Mr. Stark to come, he didn't want him to draw attention which was a near impossible feat for the man.

"Not at all," Ned said, fidgeting in his seat beside Peter.

Peter groaned, closing his eyes and sliding down in his seat. Seconds later, he felt someone sit down on his other side and opened his eyes to see who it was. May was smiling on his right.

"Stark is here," she said. Peter groaned again and she frowned. "What's wrong? I thought you loved Tony."

"I do," Peter said. He sat upright in his chair and sighed. "But he's gonna draw attention to me and I don't want that."

May hummed and nodded in understanding. 

"I'll talk to him," she promised, patting his arm reassuringly.

Peter smiled thankfully at her as the lights dimmed and Principal Morita walked on stage.  Tapping the mic, he drew everyone's attention to him then smiled.

"Welcome, welcome," he greeted, raising his hands to quiet the gym. "Thank you all for coming. Our students have worked very hard these past few weeks and are excited to present their projects."

Peter and Ned shared a grin, both eager to get to their booths. Unfortunately, Principal Morita was still talking.

"It is my pleasure to welcome our keynote speakers today," he said, smiling at the crowd and the curtains behind him were pulled open. "Please give a warm welcome to Mr. Tony Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner!"

"Bruce is here?" Peter exclaimed, suddenly more excited about the visit.

Much to Mr. Stark's chagrin, Peter liked Bruce almost as much as he liked Mr. Stark. He had helped Peter with Biology several times and he was the only one other than Pepper that could keep Tony under some form of control. If Bruce was here with him, maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

Peter waited anxiously for Bruce and Mr. Stark to finish their talk. With the thought of showing Bruce his project, he was more anxious than ever to start the fair.

It felt like hours before Mr. Stark finished his speech and the lights came back up. As soon as they walked off the stage, Peter jumped up and ran to his project to set it up. When he's finished, he eagerly waited for his first visitor who turned out to be May. With a proud grin, he told her everything down to the finest detail before letting her move went next door to see Ned's project. The hospital was calling for her by the time she finished listening to Ned, but she gave them both tight hugs and told them how proud she was before racing out of the gym.

"What do we have here?" Mr. Stark asked Ned, appearing just as May left.

Beside him, Bruce smiled at Peter and listened as Ned stumbled through an explanation of his project.