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“Yeah, and that is the lab, Mr Stark lets me use,” Peter was showing Ned around in the Stark Industries building, where he was doing his not so fake Stark internship. Recently he and Tony actually worked on things together, even though it was mostly superhero stuff. “And that is the one he only lets me use when he has a really good day,” he pointed at another. Ned was in awe but tried to keep his cool and nodded along. These semi-secret labs were situated on the underground floors of the new Stark Industries headquarters.
“Hey,” they both turned around like they were caught red-handed, even though they had their passes hanging around their necks. Happy made sure of that. A girl, around their age, was coming up to them in the foyer. Her long red hair was almost floating after her. “You must be Peter,” she offered her hand with a smile.
“Oo, I am,” he took it with a confused look. In her delicate summer dress, she seemed very out of place.
“I am Rylie Potts,” she turned to Ned as well.
“Ned Leeds,” he smiled back. She was definitely one of the most gorgeous girls he has ever seen. “Potts as in Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries?” he was putting it together now.
“Nice to meet you. Yeah, Pepper is my aunt,” Peter could see the resemblance now, besides the hair she also got the strong and lean figure from her aunt. “Tony told me so much about you, Peter.”
“Really?” he felt like words were escaping him. Tony was talking about him? “I am sorry but I have never heard about you,” he was a bit abashed.
“I am glad. I don’t really need the Iron Man kinda attention anyway,” she laughed. “I live in California but I got an art scholarship here for the school year.”
“Hope you will like it here,” Ned put on his best smile.
“It’s not too bad,” she returned it with one full of life and energy. “See you boys around,” she waved at them and proceeded towards the elevator.
“Sorry, May let me in,” Rylie knocked on Peter’s room. Upon entering she only found Ned sitting on the bed, playing a videogame.
“Hey,” he said in a suspiciously high voice. “Rylie, what are you doing here?” she was wearing a green jumpsuit and carrying a big folder.
“Pepper sent me over with some paperwork about the internship, to make it 100% legit,” she put down the folder on the messy desk. “Where is Peter? Her aunt said he was here,” she did not seem disappointed at all for having an obvious lack of Peter Parker.
“Why not just send it in an email?” he was avoiding the Peter topic with an awkward smile.
“Apparently, neither Tony nor Peter is good at filling out stuff and sending it back on time. So, I came by,” she looked around the room. “I guess Peter is out doing the spider thing.”
“What?” Ned opened and closed his mouth. He closely resembled a gaping fish at that moment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, so we are not gonna talk about it?” she chuckled. “So, in theory,” she drew quotation marks in the air. “If Peter sneaked out to do whatever he is doing with Tony, I guess you would be covering for him,” she raised her eyebrows with a smirk.
“In theory,” Ned repeated still trying to process. “That could be the case,” he decided not to fight it. She was the niece of Pepper Potts anyway, who probably knew everything.
“In that case I will wait for him, to fill these out,” she sat down next to Ned on the bed, turning her attention to the TV. “What are we playing?”
“It is ‘Kingdom of the Thousand Sunsets’, a new RPG game where you have to travel through the world and save dragons from extinction,” Ned started to explain while searching for the other controller.
“Ahh, I heard of that game,” that was first for him, a pretty girl who was up to date with the latest videogame releases. “I love the studio who made the graphics for it,” her face lit up with excitement.
“It looks amazing, and the game mechanics are also top notch,” Ned said. Her enthusiasm was contagious.
“Can I make my own character?” she wiggled with anticipation.
“You bet,” he handed her the controller. She hoped Peter would be away for quite a while.
After his last class, Ned was looking for Peter, they were going to the robotics club together. He found him by his locker talking to Rylie.
“Ned,” she waved at him enthusiastically. She was so loud some heads turned in confusion.
“Hi,” he waved back, puzzled. “Some more paperwork for Peter?” asked looking at the notebook in her hand.
“No. I'm actually doing some sculpting classes here. Your Aunt May suggested them the other day,” she turned to Peter for a second but all her attention was pointed towards Ned.
“We have some pretty great extracurricular classes,” Ned nodded.
“I was hoping I would run into you,” she stepped closer to him with a shy smile. “I was thinking that we could make a video game together. I could do the graphics and you could do the programming,” she hyped herself up.
“That would be awesome,” his eyes sparkled with excitement. “Definitely should be an epic fantasy game.”
“Obviously,” she was not far from jumping from excitement. “I was thinking that the style could be somewhere between Thousand Kingdoms and Skyrim,” she opened the notebook showing him some sketches.
“Ned, we do have robotics in 5,” Peter cleared his throat.
“Oh, damn yeah,” he looked up at Peter. “Sorry, we have to dash.”
“I have to go too. Sculpting class,” she said reluctantly. “We have to continue this,” she shot a wide smile at Ned. “See you guys later.”
Ned was in the computer lab of the school when someone knocked. Rylie poked in her head.
“MJ said I would find you here,” her smile was back on. It was big and just radiating sunshine and rainbows.
“How do you know MJ?” he was happy to see her, as always, but a little surprised.
“We are doing the sculpting class together. She offered to take me to some museums. That is why I am here,” she rambled a lot. “Me, MJ and Peter are going to the Met now to see the temporary exhibition, and I was wondering if you wanted to join,” she was fiddling with her thumb as she finished the sentence.
“Thanks, but I think I will pass on that,” he smiled at her then looked back at his work on the computer. “I am more of the ‘Guy in the chair’ type.”
“Ohh, okay,” she tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. “I will see you on Thursday then, for the game planning?”
“Sure,” he looked up one more time as she left. No warm smile from her this time.
MJ, Peter, Ned and Rylie were sitting on a big picnic blanket in Central Park. They have met up after school, each just doing their own thing. Ned and Peter were doing math homework, MJ was writing an English essay and Rylie was drawing. Three of their phones went off.
“We just got the invite to the prom,” MJ checked the email. “Looks like this year’s theme is going to be the ‘Glamour’. Whatever that means,” she frowned but also made side eyes to Peter. Only Rylie noticed.
“So how does this work?” Rylie turned to Peter trying to be casual. “Do you ask out people to go together? Can you invite people who don’t go to your school?”
“Yeah, most people go with dates,” when he said the word date his eyes started moving towards MJ but he quickly diverted them. “And I think you can take anyone you like.”
“Planning to ask out anyone Parker?” MJ looked at him with her iconic stoic expression.
“I am not sure,” Peter was slowly but surely turning pink.
“What about you Ned?” Rylie looked at him curiously with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
“Nah, I don’t think I’m going to go,” he said without looking up from his notebook. This way he missed as Rylie’s smile started to melt away.
“It sounds like a lot of fun tho,” she tried again.
“Most of these are stupid parades of the high school hierarchy. Anyone mature enough would stay at home,” he explained.
“Well, I think, you will miss out on a lot,” Rylie closed her notebook a bit too hard. “I lost my momentum, I think I’m just gonna go home,” she got up and rushed off. MJ could swear that she saw her reach towards her face when she was far enough.
“Dude,” she poked Ned with her pen.
“What?” he looked up clueless.
“That was not cool,” MJ rolled her eyes at the fact that he still did not get it. “She wanted to go with you to prom,” looked like she had to spell it out.
“He was asking Peter…” he was still doubting her. MJ looked at Peter who obviously also did not get the memo.
“Oh my god,” she grabbed her stuff too. “You are idiots,” she left in the same direction as Rylie. The two boys looked at each other in utter confusion.
The night of the prom MJ and Rylie arrived together. The boys standing in the corner of the room both had their jaws dropped. MJ was wearing a short, silver, A-line dress. Peter was pretty sure he has never seen her in a dress. As soon as she took a step it was more like her because she almost fell over in the high heels. They were definitely not hers. Rylie got her hands on an old gown of Pepper’s. She said it brings good luck. It was a long, dark blue dress, with a low back. They walked up to them and upon arriving MJ made some really obvious head gestures at Peter. When he didn’t move, she sighed and grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him away.
“I thought you said you were not coming,” Rylie brushed some hair behind her ear.
“Peter kinda forced me,” he was avoiding her eyes. “He has this stupid idea, that you like me, but I told him that there is no way a girl like you would like me and anyway you most likely like him, since he is you-know-who…” he was speaking so quickly it was hard to understand.
“Ned,” Rylie stopped him and put her hand on his arm. “I do like you,” her face was now matching her hair. “I like You. Not Peter, not anyone else. I like the guy in the chair,” she leaned down a bit and kissed him. It was short, almost just a peck on the lips.
“Ohh,” was all he could say.
“Are you gonna ask me to dance or what?” she laughed awkwardly and when Ned nodded enthusiastically, she grabbed his hand. They joined Peter and MJ on the dance floor hand in hand.