Chapter Text
In the concrete jungle known as Manhattan, the Fantastic Four battled an alien invasion.
In Queens, Johnny was stuck in AP Chem.
Since the incident, Sue had started telling him that grades mattered more than heroics right now. She said that Johnny should focus on being a kid.
But Johnny didn’t want to be a kid. He wanted to be a star.
As he stared out the window, he couldn’t help but dream of flaming on, zipping through the city, and absolutely torching those bitches.
Instead, he was stuck in a lab on his first day of school.
All Johnny wanted was to kick alien ass.
From the moment he saw Johnny, Peter Parker was intrigued. Astronaut at 17, a superhero at that same age. Everyone else wanted his autograph, or a selfie, or to be his BFF just to say that they’re friends with a superhero.
Peter just wanted to get to know him.
He figured they could be, like, super-friends together. Teaming up, fighting crime, and looking amazing while doing it.
Unfortunately for him, Johnny Storm had no clue who Peter Parker was. And Peter didn’t have the courage to go up and show him.
Today, he had his chance.
By some miraculous stroke of luck, Peter and Johnny had AP Chem together, and they were seat partners! Peter would finally get his chance to talk to this new kid, to learn all about him.
All Peter wanted was a friend.
All Johnny wanted was to kick alien ass.
Somehow, their wants would collide.
As Johnny sat down next to Peter, he felt ready to explode. He wanted to be engulfed by the flames. He wanted to fly.
Peter wanted to be down in Manhattan, too. Of course he did! But, for some reason, he stayed in class.
He wouldn’t ever admit it, but maybe it was just to meet the new boy.
He looked at Johnny for a bit too long. His goldenrod hair shone in the autumn sun, and his eyes were as blue as lightning. His skin was fair and unblemished, and his cheekbones were defined. He had an aura of coolness surrounding him. Peter couldn’t help but look.
Johnny looked at Peter, who swiftly turned his head to look out the window, silently panicking.
“Hey.”
One simple word, and Peter’s stomach flipped. His voice was like honey, smooth and sultry. Even in his despair, his tone still portrayed a sense of liveliness. His face portrayed the opposite feeling.
“Oh, um, h-hi.”
God, why was he being so awkward?! It’s just another kid. Keep it together, Peter!
As he struggled to keep himself together, the teacher passed out a worksheet on the periodic table.
Johnny groaned. Ugh, why couldn’t he be fighting aliens? He should be with his team! Instead, he was stuck with a nerd.
He assessed said nerd, trying to understand him. He had tan skin, basic brown hair, and startling hazel eyes. He was good-looking enough, Johnny supposed. But, he wasn’t hot or anything.
Johnny? Johnny was hot. Literally and figuratively. Everybody knew it, including Peter.
Peter stared down at his worksheet, trying to ignore the guy next to him. He got nervous just looking at him! Why???
Peter took a deep breath, composing himself and his thoughts. He decided to try and strike up a conversation. You can’t make friends without talking, right?
“Soooo, you’re new here, right?”
“Mm-hm.”
Johnny didn’t want to talk. He was too busy wallowing in self-pity. But Peter was not backing down that easily.
“How do you like it?”
Please say more than one word, please say more than one word…
“It’s nice.”
TWO WORDS!
Look, it was a start.
Johnny stared down at his worksheet, trying to ignore the guy next to him. God, he seemed clingy. However, Johnny couldn’t deny that he had a certain charm going for him. Nerd rizz?
Whatever. It’s not like Johnny cared.
At that moment, Reed sent an “all clear” text to Johnny. The crisis was averted, and Johnny had missed everything.
He sighed deeply, and Peter asked, “ Everything good?”
“I missed all the action. For chemistry.”
He buried his face in his hands dramatically, pushing his hair away from his face. Peter had a small moral dilemma before softly patting Johnny on the shoulder. “There’ll be other invasions.”
Johnny let out a small chuckle, despite his crappy mood.
That chuckle was the first step to friendship.
And Peter was ecstatic.