Chapter Text
The light flickered. Noise clattered and buzzed in a low whisper throughout the classroom, small yet determined raindrops raced down the window occupying my mind way better than whatever Mr Harrington was writing on the board. Gusts of wind had blown inwards from the winter skies, as if it too wished to escape the harsh biting cold of a classroom in the middle of February. Fog blocked up the window blocking me from actually daydreaming or searching for an ‘internship’ related excuse to leave class early.
“Quiet please everyone! Stop talking for a moment, we aren’t quite done with class yet!” Mr Harrington half joked, gaining a laugh from exactly zero students, me included.
“As I’m sure you are all aware, every year we have a school trip and ours is coming up in two weeks time on Friday. I'm going to be handing out permission slips now, and remember, no slip, no trip! Please ensure you’ve handed it to me before the day of the trip itself.”
Excited whispers of where we could be going fill the room. Flash is already acting cocky as if he’d funded this whole trip and not the school board, although I wouldn’t put it past his father’s money to do so.
“This year, our trip will be extra special,” Mr Harrington continues, and Ned is already looking as if he is going to burst from excitement and I’m about to tell him to calm down before MJ beats me to it.
“Imagine if it’s actually cool like a trip to the Avengers/Stark’s Tower, I mean I know that’d be normal for you but just imagine how amazing that’d be! Like it will never actually happen, like when I say I won't spend any more money on Lego but I buy another set a week later, you know?”
“Haha, yeah! I mean the trip to technically my house would suck but as you said, it’s super unrealistic. I’d honestly settle for anywhere that doesn’t cause chaos because of the y’know” I gesture shooting a web as subtly as one can underneath my desk but Ned clearly gets my reference and sympathises with the hell our past school trips have been.
MJ leans over her desk behind us joining in, “You nerds act like this trip is gonna be life changing and not just another weak attempt at expanding the school’s reputation.”
“It’s not me who's excited, I mean when has a field trip ever gone right with me on it?” I wouldn’t tell her that I was at least a little looking forward to a break as this term had been killing me, with all our mid-year assessments and a group project for History being due in the same week, the whole school was tired of it.
“C’mon this could be different! Plus he said this trip is extra-special! Have some faith guys.” Ned loves school trips probably the most out of anyone I’ve met in my life, and I’m never sure if it’s for the time off school or the actual contents of our trip.
Mr Harrington clears his throat, “As I was saying, this year’s trip is extra-special because after multiple years of me applying, our school has been accepted to go on a trip to the one and only… Stark Industries!”
The whole classes excitement levels skyrocketed, Ned is shaking mine and MJ’s arm and rambling about if we are going to see real avengers, MJ reminding him that
A) we probably wont see real avengers and
B) that both Ned and MJ have visited me when I live there.
Shit.
Shit.
Aunt May is away doing charity work at a hospital across the country, so I’ve been living with Mr Stark for the past two months, which isn't uncommon recently, with how busy Aunt May is and with the medical bay being easy access after a patrol gone wrong, I spend maybe half of my time living there rather than with Aunt May; they call it ‘co-parenting’.
I groan, pressing my forehead to the cold desk, as MJ and Ned connect the dots, clearly forgetting how close I am with the residents of that tower and how much Flash hates me.
Speak of the devil, “Oi! Penis! Worried that we will find out your little internship is all a lie? I hear Mr Stark isn’t kind to liars like you! I bet he’ll kick your sorry arse out the second security hears your stupid rumour, real people like me actually aspire to work somewhere like that you know?”
“That’s enough of that boys, and Flash please watch your language.”
“Wow Mr Harrington’s actually acknowledging Flash’s bullshit this time.” MJ deadpans at me.
“Dude, this is your chance to show everyone how cool you are! Please tell me you aren't going to bunk this trip, it’s literally the biggest tech company ever! And the avengers are there!” Ned pleads with me clearly not seeing the million and one ways that this could end horribly.
“Yeah, I mean how bad could it be, I’ll probably just try and get Mr Stark to switch my name in the system to a regular intern’s title.” I whisper and turn back because Mr Harrington is clearly on the verge of losing his patience.
“Now, since Stark Industries is such a confidential place, any and all tour groups are required to sign NDAs and we have been told to tell you explicitly there is no way around these, so read them carefully and sign them with your parents and guardians once you are home,”
Betty Brant raises her hand with that permanently curious look on her face that she gets whenever she wants to talk journalism.
“Sir, does that mean I am not allowed to use anything I’ve learnt to put in the schools newsletters or announcements?”
“While I myself am not completely familiar with the contents of the NDAs yet, having not signed my own yet, I would assume that no journalism is allowed to be based off of the contents of Stark Tower, especially since a number of avengers reside there, Betty.”
She sighs defeatedly, but honestly seemed as though that was the answer she was expecting.
BRRING!
Gods I hate that bell, it's so loud, even more so since I was bitten. The inevitable shuffling starts and I load my bag up onto my shoulder because I finished early and had been sat here for five minutes before the school trip nonsense began.
MJ and Ned stand up and begin to walk out with me, Ned rambling about the statistics and probability of meeting Captain America and MJ says she honestly only wants to meet Pepper Potts, which checks out considering that one time I had told her that I have family dinners with her and she looked genuinely awestruck.
The door is closing behind me the breeze of cold wind slipping through behind it as I mentally prepare for the shittiest experience anyone with super senses can go through… a crowded hallway with screaming teens, I mean that was a bit of a hyperbole but I’ve gotta impress my English teacher somehow, even if I am in a STEM school.
“Peter! Sorry to delay you on your way to lunch, but I would like to have a word with you.” Mr Harrington’s voice rang out over the students clamouring. Ned turns around gesturing to MJ to go grab our seats, so I can only assume he insists on waiting with me. I flash him a quick smile and tell him to go catch up with MJ because I have a feeling I know what the conversation would be about.
THe door yet again swings behind me and I’m back in his classroom, the irony is not lost on me of Dr. Bruce Banner’s portrait sitting on the wall as we discuss the trip to where not only I currently live but also where he resides.
“So, Peter… You’re a bright student, with a brilliant future ahead of you, I have no doubt, but I am concerned about this lying issue. Peter, I chose to ignore your little game with Ned and MJ and let you tell them you had a so called ‘internship’ at Stark Industries, but with us visiting there, as Flash mentioned, it may be better to drop the lie before it gets you, or worse the whole group into some serious trouble.”
He pauses, "I know it can be embarrassing to admit when you’ve made something up, which is why I’m letting you say so now in privacy first.” He has this sad look on his face, like its pity he feels for me instead of distrust clearly ignoring the emails from both Aunt May about my emergency contact being switched from Ben to Mr Stark so I’d still have two contacts in an emergency, or from Pepper about the internship where it was a signed document to the school, with official formatting and everything.
“Sir, I’m not lying, I didn’t mean for word to spread but-”
“Peter, I know you didn’t intend to start a rumour but denying it is a serious problem, Stark Industries as said by Flash when you first began this nonsense Stark Industries only takes interns when they reach college and they also have to be exceptionally talented, now as I always encourage, my students to do anything they put their minds to… but rules are rules and this could ruin a potential future you have at a place like that! Don’t throw this away for a bit of an ego Peter!”
“I’m not, I promise! There are documents and emails, you must have missed them, Ms Potts would be happy to resend them if you need, I can-”
“Peter, stop!” He’s starting to raise his voice now, “I don’t want to hear of forgery or any other lies today, please go, enjoy your lunch and keep a low profile. Do not be late for the trip either. That’s all I ask of you Peter.
“Yes sir.”
༺☆༻
Ned waves me over to the table and my bag swings down thudding onto the floor underneath the table, MJ looks up from whatever she’s drawing and honestly I wouldn’t be too shocked if it was my face that she was drawing due to the stress of this trip, but no it’s a disturbingly accurate impression of one of the young lady who works the pay section of the canteen, she has awful anger management and is currently yelling at a teaching assistant who used her free staff meal pass to feed a freshman, who was looking rather guilty.
“So, what was that about?” MJ asks feigning apathy, despite the fact Ned and I know she’s actually super nosey and just hides it insanely well.
“Oh, you know, nothing important, just… You know how Flash likes to make fun of the ‘fake’ internship I have, well, he kinda agrees with Flash and told me it will ruin my future if I don’t admit to my lies before the trip.” My sentence ends with my voice trailing off as it sounds worse the longer I talk and I really couldn’t care less for this conversation right now, having skipped breakfast due to my alarm not going off and my spider-metabolism really doesn’t help that, so all I really want to do is eat the schools shitty attempt at a lasagna and move on.
But Ned won’t let that happen.
“What the hell, man! That’s actually ridiculous, there are emails to back it up, Tony Stark is your second emergency contact for Gods’ sake!” He stage whispers
“It is pretty stupid of them, but then again he believes Flash and what did we expect when we know his dad funds like half of the schools budget just because he can and it makes him look like an involved father,” MJ rolls her eyes before attempting a warm smile, “You know it’ll be okay, right? Like they are both idiots and you are the only person in the world with an internship like that, which as much as it pains me to say it… it makes you a pretty cool dork.”
“Thanks guys,”
MJ elbows me, “Don’t get too used to it nerd.”
We collectively laugh and move on to debating Star Wars media and which versions are the best because Ned is objectively correct and as he said “MJ wouldn’t know true sci-fi brilliance if it hit her in the face with one of our huge biology textbooks.”