You arrive to school on Monday thirty minutes early, something that's never happened before. As more and more students begin to show up, you scan the crowd for Peter. You recognize MJ as she climbs the steps, and you stop her saying, "Hey, have you seen Peter?" The look in MJ's eyes is a mix of worry and irritation when you say his name.
"No, but he'll be here today." The tightness in her voice makes you lean in,
"Do you know what happened to him?" She looks at you hard, but her expression isn't hostile. It's more tired. Run down.
"Not specifically. I'll let him tell you though, I don't want to speculate." You frown,
"Is there something you and Ned aren't telling me?" MJ pauses and looks at you.
"Again, I think he should tell you because it's really not my business to guess what happened, you know?" You nod, frustrated but understanding that MJ isn't a gossip. You actually would applaud that in most situations, as it's a trait you pride yourself on having, but not today. Not when it comes to Peter.
"See you inside." You respond, and turn back to scan the swarm of high schoolers outside of the building. You spot a familiar mop of brown hair and when his face breaks through the crowd, you gasp.
His cheek is cut and bruised, as is his jaw. He limps when he walks. He pulls a hood over his head as he climbs the stairs to avoid recognition, but you grab his arm before he can slip past you. You lock eyes with him and you can see his pain. "Peter, what happened to you?"
His voice is hoarse and you notice his lip is also split when he says, "I'm sorry, y/n, I didn't mean to scare you last night. I'm okay, just got mugged last night. I have to go to the office to get a new student ID. They stole my wallet."
"Oh my god, Peter! Did you go to the police?" Peter shrugs,
"There's no point in reporting something the police can't do anything about now. Besides, jokes on them. I'm broke and I don't have a credit card so they got a grand total of $14, a Barnes & Noble gift card with $3.24 left on it, my library card, and student ID." He grins at his weak attempt at humor, and you lightly punch him in the arm.
"Don't joke about that. You could have been seriously hurt." Before he can respond, the bell rings and he pats your shoulder.
"I'm okay, y/n. I'll see you later."
...
You look around the lunch room to find MJ, Peter, and Ned all sitting in a table in the corner of the room with their heads together. As you get closer, you catch snippets of their conversation.
"-catch them?"
"-Stark-,"
"How many-?" They all stop whispering when you arrive at the table and Peter greets you with a smile.
"Hey, y/n."
"What are you guys talking about?" You ask, sliding into the open seat beside Ned.
"Uh, porn?" Ned offers and MJ hits his arm while Peter says,
"You really need to find a different excuse to be your default, dude." Ned shrugs and you frown, wondering why Ned would feel the need to lie to you. Peter continues, "She knows I got mugged last night."
"Ooh, okay. Then yeah, we were talking about his mugging." Ned tells you, taking a bite of his food.
"What, is it a secret or something?" You question, crossing your arms.
"No, not really. I just don't want word to get to Flash and his crew. They'd never let me hear the end of it." Peter answers, shaking his head. You nod, understanding.
"Yeah, he's pretty awful. I'm pretty sure anyone who is in high school and still brags about being in the giften program in elementary school is not as gifted as they'd like to think." Ned snorts and MJ actually laughs out loud. Peter grins at you and says,
"I couldn't have said it any better."
"So what are you guys doing after school? Wanna hang out or something?" You ask, and Peter looks at MJ.
She nods and says, "Well, we all have an academic decathalon meeting after school but that only goes 'til 4:30, so wanna meet at my place at 5? We can order in. Watch a movie." You nod and so does Ned, but Peter shakes his head.
"Sorry guys, I can't. I got an e-mail from Mr. Stark today that says he needs me to clarify some of the research I did for his internship tonight."
"Bummer!" You say, but continue, "I expect you to hang out with us sometime this week, Mr. I-have-Tony-Stark-on-speed-dial-and-can't-hang-out-with-my-friends-because-of-it."
"You got it." Peter responds, smiling.
YOU ARE READING
Passion for Parker
FanfictionYou are new to Queens, New York and feel a little isolated until Peter Parker decides to include you with his friends. He knows what it's like to feel like an outsider and you two immediately hit it off. Then you discover a huge secret about this n...
