//IRON DAD//SPIDER SON//MARVEL ONE SHOTS

Field Trip- Part II

Peter had always been afraid of the dark. 

Maybe it had something to do with past trauma-

-His parents leaving him with his aunt and uncle in the night, before disappearing forever- 

-Ben being shot and killed in a dark alleyway-  

-Those terrifying minutes beneath the rubble of a warehouse, blocked off from light and fresh air-

He supposed he had reasons- didn't make it any more convenient, though. It didn't happen often, but their apartment building would sometimes get power outages- those were the worst, because they were so unexpected. He'd be doing life -talking over dinner or doing home work- and then it would just go dark. If it was during the day, it wouldn't be too bad- there was enough natural light too see and they would just go about their business as usual. But at night...the lights would turn off and the dark would just- smother him. It felt so heavy and alive. It covered his face and kept him from breathing...

He remembered the first time it happened- Aunt May had been out shopping for groceries at the time, so Peter was completely alone when the building's electricity shut down. He had flipped out. The outage only lasted a few minutes, but by the time the lights came back on, the living room was a wreck- he'd never forget Aunt May's face as she walked in to find the couch  flipped on its back, the coffee table broken in half, and her nephew, curled up in a corner, crying silently into his hands. They had learned that day to always have flashlights at hand, in case of another outage. Peter even had one in his back pack, if something happened at school. 

And still he managed to find him in situations like this-

It was dark. So dark. And usually Peter would be having a panic attack by now, but for some reason he only felt- dreamy. He felt light, too- like he weighed nothing. It was kind of nice. Something was going on at the back of his mind, like he should be remembering something, but that didn't seem to important  at the moment. He was content to simply float in peace, not thinking about anything. 

But then something happened. A discomfort grew from that something in the back of his mind. It came slowly, like a nagging thought, but steadily grew until the lightness was forgotten and Peter began to remember things. He remembered waking up with a headache- sensory overload. Then he had walked to school, and then a car had almost hit him, and then- oh. Peter recalled that angry lady honking her horn at him. It was the loudest thing he had ever heard- he really wouldn't be surprised if his ears were bleeding. His head throbbed at the memory. 

So how did that lead here? He felt warm, like something was wrapped around him. That was nice. But the dark? Peter was getting less chill about that- he could feel his breath getting faster, and a familiar stinging behind his eyes made him blink- WOAH! A blinding light flashed when he opened his eyes, and he quickly closed them again. Oh- so his eyes had been shut- that makes sense. Peter giggled to himself at his own slowness. He must be really out of it. Before he could do anything else, a hand placed itself on his forehead. Peter flinched in surprise, and realized it felt normal- it seemed his sentivity calmed down. 

"Peter? Are you awake?" Oh- it was Mrs. Corina, the school nurse. Peter new her pretty well since he made semi-regular visits to her office, thanks to Flash's dedicated administrations. This time Peter was prepared for the light- still, his eyes watered at the brightness of the overhead bulbs. He blinked away a few tears, and focused on the nurse's kind, yet  concerned expression. He had always thought Mrs. Corina  was pretty, despite the wrinkles and worry lines that now stood out under the fluorescent lighting. "Hey, Mrs. Corina." She smiles gently down at Peter's face, and removes her hand. "How are you feeling?" Peter did a mental body check. Nothing felt off except his head, which kind of hurt still; but, other than that, he was fine. Even his senses were back to normal, well as normal as they could be for someone with enhanced abilities. "I'm- good, actually." Peter sat up, finding himself to be lying on the familiar examination table. There was a thin blanket wrapped around his torso, so he untangled himself and keyed the bundle down beside him. He notice Mrs. Corina examining his movement, probably looking for signs of dizziness or pain. Of course, he had fainted- oh crap. He'd fainted in front of the school- in front of all his fellow students and their moms! Peter covered his face in embarrassment- he couldn't even hope flash didn't hear about, if he hadn't actually seen it himself.  

The nurse seemed to have picked on Peter's distress, as she put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's ok, Peter- your friend brought you to me, and he said no one was outside except for him and a few parents." Peter looked up at the mention of "friend". Ned? "Is he still here?" Then, as if summoned, the door to the office opened, and Peter's best friend peaked his head in. "Hey, Mrs. Corina- is Peter-?" His eyes widened when he found his friend awake. "Hey man! You ok?" Ned fully emerged from the doorway and approached the examination table. "You've been out for about half an hour- everyone's on the bus waiting for you." Peter frowned in confusion, then he remembered- the field trip. "Oh man- I'm so sorry-"

"Don't sweat it- though Flash tried to convince Mr. Harrison to just leave you behind. Don't worry- no one else went along with it- not when MJ threatened to sabatoge the bus from the inside." Peter laughed at that, and slipped off the table to land on his feet. He didn't expect the sudden weakness in his knees, so he barely caught himself before colliding into Ned. "Woah, man! You ok?" Nurse Corina came put a steadying hand on Peter's  back. "Maybe you should sit back down, Mr. Parker-" 

"No- no. I'm ok, really. Just a head rush." Mrs. Corina's expression reminded him of Aunt May when she didn't buy Peter's excuses, but the older woman eventually let it go with a sigh. "Ok, Peter. But if you're feeling badly at anytime, please tell Mr. Harrison." Peter nodded silently, feeling the lie would be worse if he promised out loud. However, Mrs. Corina seemed satisfied with his answer and gently pushed the two boys towards the door. "Goodbye, Mr. Parker. I hope not not see you again for a while." Peter smiled at the nurse's usual parting comment. "Me too." He replied, before Ned guided him out into the hallway. 

For a minute, the two walked in silence, Ned's arm still wrapped around Pater's middle. Finally, as they approached the front doors, the shorter boy turned to look at his friend. "Pete, level with me. Are you game to go?" Peter considered lying, but he knew Ned would see through it. "I-I don't know, man. My senses were going haywire this morning, but they're better now. I've got a headache, but besides that... I'm game." Ned considered his friend's answer, then nodded his head decisively. "Ok- keep your protective gear handy, and tell me if things get too intense." Peter rolled his eyes at Ned's phrasing, but nodded. That being findished, the boy's went through the double doors and out into the bustle of morning Midtown. 

The school bus was parked out front, so Peter didn't have to endure the curious stares of his fellow students too long before boarding the vehicle himself. When he got on, a few kids asked him what happened, if he was ok. He mumble an explanation, and caught Flash's disappointed gaze. Seemed like someone didn't want him to come. Behind the bully, Peter spotted MJ, looking up from her book to smirk at the boy. "Finally, Parker- I was about to come and wake you up myself." Peter didn't doubt it. But before he could respond as such, Flash's voice rang out- "Who faints because they almost get hit by a car? I thought that was for little girls?" Peter sat down on the other side of MJ -deciding  to ignore Flash, as usual- but Ned turned to face the older boy. "You would know, wouldn't you Flash?" At that, MJ and Ned shared a high five. Peter rolled his eyes, knowing his friends weren't helping the situation, but it warmed him to know his friends had his back. 

"Alright, kids- we have everyone, right?" Mr Harrison stood at the front of the bus, mentally checking off names from the paper in his hands. "Ok- we have Parker, which makes that thirty. We're all set." Before the teacher could sit back down, one of the students spoke up- "Wait, Mr. Harrison, where are we going?" With that, several other people voiced their curiosity, and Mr Harrison raised his arms, signaling for them to quiet. After everyone calmed, he asked- "Do you want to know now? Or find out when  we get there?" A chorus of young voices responded, most of which were "nows". Mr. Harrison cleared his throat, silencing the  students once more- "Ok-ok. I'll tell you- this year, we have been invited to take a tour...at Stark Industries!" 

What?