Boys Night Out
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2017, 12:53 PM.
The cafeteria was loud as always. Peter and Ned were talking back and forth about some Star Wars thing Harley really didn’t care about. So he sat with his head resting on the table half-listening to the two nerds beside him. The other half of his mind was busy at work. He was thinking of a new project. Well, he’d been thinking about it for years. But, now was the first time he’d ever thought about really building it.
With Tony out of town for the rest of the week, the lab would be empty. Perfect time for Harley to sneak in and build something.
“Harley, wanna join us tonight?” Ned asked, snapping Harley from his train of thoughts.
Harley was surprised at the sudden change in subject. “You guys watching Star Wars?”
“No, it’s uh… Spider-Man fan club.”
A grin spread across Harley's face. “You’re calling it ‘Spider-Man fan club?”
He said it to Ned but he was really asking Peter who was shaking his head. His shoulders shaking trying to hold back his laughter.
“I don’t know man! What else am I supposed to call it?” Ned laughed.
“Nah, I think it’s a great name,” Peter said. He sounded pretty serious. “So you wanna join us?”
Harley shrugged. “I’ll let you know.”
Ned didn’t seem upset by the answer. In fact, he acted as if Harley had just promised to be there. “I can show you all the dope stuff I built for the suit. I added a camera so now when Peter-”
The bell rang before Harley and Peter could shush Ned. The room somehow got even louder when everyone began grabbing their bags, pushing their chairs and filing out the door to class. Harley’s brain felt like it was being shaken in a jar. Even after almost a month at the school, he still had yet to get used to all the noise.
The three followed the crowd out the doors and into the crowded hallway. Harley could feel his chest tightening. Sure the hall was massive, but the number of students pushing through made it feel tiny. His mouth got a little dryer. Heartbeat a little faster. Breathing became more and more difficult until his vision swam.
Hundreds of students in one building all pushing past each other and shoving and yelling and running. The walls almost shrinking and collapsing towards him. Ned and Peter didn’t seem fazed by the sheer amount of people around them. They just effortlessly wove between the crowd. Harley felt like he couldn’t keep up.
The next thing Harley knew, he was shoving open a bathroom stall door and locking it behind him. His body moved almost on autopilot. He shook his bag off and dug through it wildly until his hand closed around a small orange bottle. He pulled it out and uncapped it, poured one pill out into his hand and, without a second thought, he swallowed it.
He could feel his pulse slow before he’d even swallowed it. Relief flooded his body. He took a breath out. Silence.
“Where’d you go?” Peter asked as Harley sped into the classroom.
“Bathroom,” Harley said, quickly pulling out his textbook from his bag. Chemistry was after lunch. Harley liked Chemistry. It was quick, simple, and easy for him to comprehend.
“Alright guys,” Mr. Harrington said, half jogging into the classroom. Peter was right when he said Mr. Harrignton was always late. “Today is a big day! We’re starting our partner labs.”
Some kids in the class groaned. Mr. Harrington groaned back dramatically, “I know, class amirite?”
Some blonde girl raised her hand but spoke before she was even called on. “Will we get to pick our partners this year?”
That set Mr. Harrington back into motion. “Nope, I got the station list right here. Listen for your names and move to your stations.”
Harley wasn’t too mad at the seating arrangements. I mean… Yea he was paired with some random girl he didn’t know but at least she didn’t seem horrible. Her name was Sally. Harley had seen her around the school before but had never really spoken to her. Actually, it was like that with almost everyone in the school.
Peter was paired with a girl named Michelle, whom Harley also hadn’t met. Ned was paired with the blonde girl from earlier as well.
“You’re that new kid, right?” Harley’s partner asked before even introducing herself.
“Yea,” Harley replied, opening his textbook.
“You know Tony Stark right?”
Harley shrugged. “Kinda.”
“That is literally so cool. Is he related to you or something?”
“No,” Harley really didn’t want to explain his relationship with Tony Stark to this random girl.
She seemed to get the signal to drop the subject. “So you moved from Tennessee, right? What’s it like there?”
“Small. Nothing really happens over there.”
“Bet you’re glad you moved here then huh?” She shuffled slightly closer to him and rested her hand on his arm.
Harley moved his hand from under hers and gave her an awkward smile. “Yea it’s cool.”
The rest of class went by kinda normally. Sally didn’t try to make a move again. Harley was glad she got the message easily.
About halfway through the lesson, Harley looked over at Peter’s station. His partner was leaning on the table and reading. Peter stood across from her jotting down notes at the speed of light. It didn’t look like either of them had said a word to each other.
~
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2017, 5:32 PM.
The dark streets were glowing lamppost orange as Harley half-walked half-jogged down the sidewalk. Snowflakes reflected the tail lights of the cabs rushing past. Slush and snow splashing beneath his boots as he ran.
He double-checked the address Peter sent him for the third time before knocking gently on a dull yellow door.
It swung open almost instantly. Peter was grinning ear to ear. Some loud fake explosion sounds were echoing from somewhere in the apartment. Harley couldn’t help but smile. God, they were such nerds.
“Come in!” Peter chirped before bolting back into his bedroom. Harley took his time following. He had never been to Peter’s house before. It was big for New York. Or at least, what Harley expected of New York.
It had a very lived-in charm. Blankets were folded and laid out in almost every corner of the place. The walls were practically covered in paintings and family photos. The fridge was covered in papers and schedules. Clean dishes were drying by the sink.
“Harley’s here!” Peter announced.
“You’re just in time to see Han get frozen in carbonite,” Ned replied. “I know you probably haven’t seen this part yet. We should really start watching Star Wars in order around you.”
There were blankets and pillows all over the floor. Textbooks and snacks were littered across the bottom bunk and a laptop was playing a grainy rendition of some Star Wars movie. Ned was hunched over a Lego set and seemed very concentrated on the instructions.
It took Harley a minute to realize that Peter was sitting cross-legged on the ceiling. He had a microprocessor and a screwdriver in hand.
“Since when can you sit on the ceiling?” Harley asked. Ned and Peter looked confused.
“Since he was bit by a spider a year ago,” Ned said. Harley wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or helpful.
“What else can you do?” It was hard not to ask. Harley had only really hung out with Peter a few times outside of school. And most of those times their lives were in danger at some point. Harley just never really got a chance to see Peter’s abilities.
“Ned spent a whole day at school asking me if I had all these different powers. I don’t have that many.”
“I know you heal fast,” Harley said, lowering himself onto the floor beside the laptop. Han Solo was officially frozen in carbonite. “And you’re pretty strong.”
“Pretty fast too,” Ned added.
“I don’t know I’m just kinda different…” Peter seemed like he wanted to drop the subject.
“Wait… You don’t have an official list of all your powers?” Harley was aghast. He had no clue how long Peter had had his powers but surely it was long enough for him to know roughly what powers he had.
Peter shrugged. “I only got my powers like a year ago. I was kinda busy and I guess I just never really tested them fully.”
“So you’ve been just making this shit up as you go? No handbook, just headfirst into vigilante?”
“When you say it like that-”
Harley couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I thought you were smart Parker! You ever heard of the scientific method?”
Peter rolled his eyes and lowered himself from the ceiling gently.
“Wait, so it isn’t the suit that makes you stick to walls?” Sudden realization hitting Harley like a ton of bricks.
“No, it’s just me,” Peter laughed. “Why don’t we test my powers now? I’ll patrol later.”
A childlike feeling of excitement bubbled inside of Harley. He had read comic books his whole childhood and now he was basically living in one.
“Where are you gonna do that?” Ned asked.
A smile spread across Harley’s face. He knew exactly where they could go.
~
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2017, 6:31 PM.
In Harley’s defence, he didn’t know people were working inside the Avengers Compound 24/7. He also had no clue that the grounds were now covered in a two-foot-thick blanket of snow.
They drove up in Harley’s hundred-year-old car. He knew the car could go through snow, but he couldn’t help but feel tense the farther from the city they got.
Miraculously, they made it all the way to the compound completely unscathed. Harley parked it where Tony had parked the van the day prior and turned to look at the other two boys.
“Welcome to Avengers Compound,” Harley said to Ned who was practically swooning.
“Do you think they’re in there right now?” Ned asked.
“The Avengers don’t exist anymore. I don’t think any of them have lived there in years,” Peter replied.
Ned nodded sadly.
“So…” Harley needed to redirect the subject to more important things. “Last time we were here there wasn’t all this snow. I don’t know if this is the best spot anymore.”
The three sat and pondered the situation for a moment. Harley thought back to the day prior when Tony had brought them there. He must’ve said something about another good spot to train.
He kinda felt like a total dumbass when he realized he was parked beside one of the most advanced training facilities in the world.
“Easy solution; let’s go inside,” Harley suggested.
Peter and Ned took a moment to process.
“Absolutely not,” Peter refused.
Ned deflated. “Oh come on, Peter! That’s like my dream come true.”
“Yea! Come on, Parker. Ned’s number one wish is to be in that building and you’re gonna say no?” Harley grinned.
“It’s too risky. What if we get caught?” Something about the way Peter said it reminded Harley of Abbie. He felt a small pit form in his stomach. “We can’t just walk in there they have security. Your car was only let in because its profile is saved in the Stark Private Server.”
“If I can sneak into Avengers Tower then I can sneak us into the Compound.”
“When did you sneak into the tower?” Ned asked.
“Can we focus please?” Harley said before Peter could lecture him about ‘breaking and entering’ or something like that.
“You know how to get in?” Peter asked slowly.
Harley nodded.
“If we get caught, Mr. Stark will kill us both…” He hesitated for a moment before pushing open the car door and sliding out. The other two followed quickly behind him.
Before they knew it, they were running full speed through the grounds of the compound. It was really awkward to run in the two feet of snow though.
When they reached the building, they rested against a wall while they caught their breaths. Harley hadn’t expected it to be that cold out. The wind was like shards of ice stabbing into his face.
“I have a plan!” Harley exclaimed despite the fact that he did not have a plan.
“We’ll follow you’re lead,” Ned replied.
“Alright just follow me. Act like you’ve been here hundreds of times and don’t draw any attention to yourselves.”
The other two nodded quickly.
Harley took a deep breath before moving away from the wall and toward the entrance. White light spilled out from the glass walls onto the snowy grounds. Grid-like shapes and patterns were projected onto the snow like subway tiles.
He didn’t think he had a chance of getting into that building. But even so, he pulled open the door and walked in. He didn’t look around in amazement like he wanted to. He had to look like he belonged there. He was already at a severe disadvantage due to his outfit and the other two teenagers following behind him. One teenager is a little suspicious but three? Forget it. Another problem he noticed was the security cards. Everybody had them. The elevator was right near the front entrance but they would need an ID card to access it.
Still, he kept walking. Act as if you belong. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Simple rules to follow. Impossible to fuck up.
Instead of walking to the elevator and messing with the ID card scanner, Harley walked toward the front desk.
Peter grabbed him by the arm. “Dude, what are you doing? Don’t draw attention to yourself.”
Harley shrugged. “Sometimes you gotta break your own rules a bit. Wait here I’ll be right back.”
The front desk lady didn’t look even slightly amused by his presence. She hardly even looked at him. Just a quick up and down look before glueing her eyes to the computer screen and typing on a really loud keyboard. She grunted to acknowledge him.
“Do you know where the training rooms are?” He asked quickly.
“Elevator’s that way.”
“I need an ID for the elevator,” Harley said.
“Yes you do,” The woman replied finally looking up from the screen.
Harley smiled awkwardly at her. “Is there any way you could just… open the doors to the elevator and just pretend you didn’t see us?”
Again, she wasn’t amused. “Or I could just call security and have them remove you from the property.”
Alright, he’d had enough. Time for his real plan that he totally had planned before and not at that second. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “You know… I don’t think my father will be too pleased when I’m late for training because of you.”
He tried to channel his inner spoiled rich kid by folding his arms tightly across his chest and popping his hip out.
“And your father is?” The lady asked. She wasn’t believing a second of it.
“You seriously don’t know? I’ve been here for how many months and you don’t know Tony Stark is my father? Jesus, I’ll deal with this myself,” Harley pulled out his phone and walked back to Peter and Ned.
“Alright you tried let’s go before they arrest us or something,” Peter whispered.
Harley shushed him and pretended to type in a phone number. He pressed the phone against his ear and rolled his eyes.
“Who are you calling?” Ned asked.
“Nobody. Shut up,” Harley growled.
The two boys went silent. Waiting impatiently to see what would happen next.
Harley started whispering into the phone. He wasn’t saying anything understandable. He didn’t have to. As long as he looked like he was pissed.
The lady returned to her computer for a moment before her eyes flicked back to him. Fear flashed across her face. It was working.
“Are you kidding? Firing her sounds a bit extreme,” Harley said loudly into the silent phone. “Maybe she does deserve it…”
“This really isn’t necessary, Mr. Stark!” The lady shouted from the desk. She typed on the keyboard for a moment and then there was a ding. One of the elevator doors slid open.
Harley grinned ear to ear as he returned to the woman’s desk. He peeked back at his friends. They were in absolute shock. The lady had called Harley Mr. Stark.
“Thanks, Dad. She opened them.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket and motioned for Peter and Ned to follow him in. Harley turned back to the front desk woman. “Will you let my friends in? Or are you gonna harass them too?”
The woman’s face flushed bright red. “Sorry about that Mr. Stark. It won’t happen again.”
“Dude, that was amazing! How did you do that?” Ned practically screamed as the elevator rose.
Harley shrugged. “I have my methods.”
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open again. The boys all stopped short. The room they were met with was massive. It was kinda like the school gym but somehow bigger and more full of equipment.
The roof was maybe twenty-five feet high. One corner seemed to be dedicated to a bunch of regular-looking gym equipment. The rest of the room was bat-shit crazy. A massive area was covered up by a rock climbing wall. On the ground bordering the wall, was a pool. It stretched all along the wall and extended ten feet out. Harley could imagine the Avengers training by climbing up the wall and jumping off back into the pool.
The majority of the gym was cluttered with fake walls and small half-destroyed buildings. It almost looked like a paintball arena. The walls were all singed and beaten up.
Above the whole thing was an obstacle course hanging by ropes. It didn’t look as sturdy as everything else. It looked like some Indiana Jones shit. Like it’ll-break-the-second-you-look-too-hard-at-it kinda ropes. It stood out amongst all the high-tech machinery and sleek designs.
Against the back wall, a small observation booth. Harley couldn’t think of who would watch from there. As far as he knew, the Avengers were self-run. Tony funded them and Captain America was in charge. So who was watching from the booth?
For the most part, it was pretty well kept. It just hadn’t been used in some time. Nothing they couldn’t handle.
“The Avengers’ training room,” Ned breathed. “This is literally the coolest day of my entire life.”
“I would call you a nerd but I feel the same way,” Harley replied.
“Yea, this is insane,” Peter chimed in.
“We’ve got some work to do,” Harley said, finally finished taking it all in.
~
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2017, 11:58 PM.
The front door creaked despite Harley’s best efforts to close it behind him slowly. It wouldn’t have mattered though. His mom was once again waiting for him at the door.
“It’s midnight,” She said. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest and her foot wouldn’t stop tapping against the floor.
“Okay.”
“I thought you were coming straight home after school.”
“Guess I didn’t.”
“This isn’t a joke Harley. I thought something happened to you, it's been hours.”
“What, you thought I was out doing drugs?” Harley mocked.
“How should I know? You didn’t text me where you were!”
“Why should I?” The conversation was getting more and more annoying as it went on. Because yes, Harley was being an ass. But so was she. Something in him just felt like she didn’t deserve to know where he had been.
“I’m your mother,” She argued.
“Then act like it,” He hadn’t meant to say that. It just slipped out before he could filter it. “I don’t mean that… I just-”
“No,” She held her hand up to stop him from talking. “You’re right. This is what I’ve been trying to talk to you about for weeks. I’ve been sober for a month and I want to fix our relationship. I can’t do that if you don’t let me. I need you to talk to me.”
“You can’t just tell me you want to fix it and think I’ll just trust you again.”
She moved her hand towards him. He backed away.
“I know I’ve said this in the past but I feel better now. I feel like a different person. I want to do the right thing and that’s to be your mother again. Will you let me?”
Harley shook his head. He couldn’t believe she was doing this again. As if the past month didn’t happen. “You said that after you went to rehab the first time. And the second time. What makes this any different?”
“You know the second time wasn’t my fault. It was court ordered and I told you I didn’t want to leave.”
“And the first time?”
“If your father hadn’t crashed the car I wouldn’t have relapsed.”
Harley rolled his eyes. “Right because it’s never your fault. It’s always somebody else’s fault.”
“Believe me when I say I want to make this right.”
There was a loaded pause. It was excruciating. He felt weighed down by all the words he wished he could say. All those years of bottling it up.
The silence was a little too intense for him so he spoke up. “Okay… What’s your plan?”
She seemed shocked by his answer. Almost as if she hadn’t expected him to give in so easily. “Well I read a book on parental relationships and they had some good tips. I’m seeing a therapist. We’ll eat dinner together or something.”
“Yea and that’s supposed to magically fix everything?”
A vein throbbed on her forehead. “Give it a chance. You don’t have to be such a pessimist.”
“Sorry,” he sighed. “Let’s give it a shot.”