Chapter 2
Friday morning, 2:28am. 6 hours and 32 minutes until the bus left for Stark Industries.
Peter was wide awake, unable to sleep. He knew Pepper would be there. He knew he could go to her if things got overwhelming, but still, just the thought of going near Tony’s space was almost enough to send him into another panic attack.
Friday morning, 6:45am. 2 hours 15 minutes until the bus left for Stark Industries.
Peter finally got out of bed and went about his morning routine. He got dressed, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, and said goodbye to May. Then he headed down towards the subway station to catch the train to school.
Friday morning, 8:34am. 26 minutes until the bus left for Stark Industries.
Peter was tapping his foot on the floor and trying his best to listen to Mr. Harrington rattle off the safety rules and procedures. MJ kept squeezing his hand, trying to bring him back to reality and out of his head.
Friday morning 9:00am. 0 minutes until the bus leaves for Stark Industries.
Peter was sitting near the back of the bus. His senses were dialed to 11. He could hear every conversation and feel every slight bump in the road. He sat next to Ned with MJ right in front of them. Her nose was buried in a book, spare the frequent glances towards Peter to make sure he was okay.
The bus wound towards New York taking the familiar path upstate. Flash was surprisingly quiet, maybe he was saving himself for when they actually got to the tower. Peter just put in his headphones and focused on his music. Overall the bus ride was uneventful and seemed to pull into the Stark Industries parking lot all too soon.
The students piled out of the bus and filed into the lobby. Even though he spent so much time in the tower, Peter had only seen the lobby a handful of times, and he had to admit it was impressive. In true Tony Stark style, it was large and over the top. It had huge marble columns and plush, velvet furniture. The far wall was lined with reception and security desks. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.
Mr. Harrington guided his students over towards the reception desks. “Hello, this is the Midtown Tech tour group” he introduced himself to the women behind the desk. “I’ll get you guys checked in. Your tour guide should be down in a moment. My name is Celeste if you guys need anything” she responded.
“Hey everyone!” came a familiar voice from behind them. Peter turned around to see Harley Keener standing behind them addressing them. Ever since the funeral, Harley had been staying in New York. In that time, he and Peter had become quite close of friends. “You guys are Midtown Tech right? I’m Harley Keener, your tour guide for the day. On our tour we’ll get to see both the business side and the science side of Stark Industries. We’ll have to go through security so please empty your pockets and follow me.” Harley led the group over to the security checkpoint
“Behind here is a small museum dedicated to both the history of Stark Industries and the Avengers. You’ll have about twenty minutes to look around before we move on.” Harley explained. Peter stuck to the back of the group as they made their way through security. Luckily everyone was too entranced by the Ironman suit prominently displayed to notice F.R.I.D.A.Y. welcome Peter. “Welcome back Peter. I’ve alerten Mrs. Potts that you have arrived.” Peter thanked the AI before moving on to join his class.
While everyone else was browsing the various exhibits, Peter made his way to the back of the room and leaned against the wall against Harley. “Pepper made you do this didn’t she?” asked Peter. “She wanted me to make sure you were doing okay and to keep an eye on you.” Harley replied. “So,” he continued, “How are you doing?” Peter paused for a minute before he said anything. “Everything is just a reminder that he isn’t here. I can’t stop thinking that maybe, if I tried harder, I could have gotten that gauntlet off on Titan. I was so close. What would have happened if I did?” “Hey,” Harley said softly, “this isn’t your fault. You did everything you could. You risked your life for him. Don’t blame yourself.” No one noticed Peter’s eyes go stormy as he talked with their tour guide.
Peter stayed where he was for a little while longer before he went to join Ned and MJ over by the Spiderman exhibit. “Really guys. The Spiderman exhibit. I mean come on you pick the one Avenger you already know everything about” Peter said jokingly. He stopped talking when he saw what they were looking at. Next to Peter’s IronSpider suit was a handwritten note:
It doesn’t matter where or how you start,
what matters is your heart.
You started in sweat pants and I started in a
cave. You’ve already filled my shoes, now go
on and be even better.
I love you 3000
-T. S.
Peter stared shocked at the note. He knew he didn’t come down to this floor a lot, but this note was put in recently, probably when Peter was dusted. Did Tony know he wouldn’t be coming back? Did Tony really think Peter could be better than him?
Had it not been for the slight tingle on the back of his neck, Peter wouldn’t have noticed Flash sneak up behind him.
“Still claiming you know Spider-man huh Penis” Flash as he laughed. “As if Spider-man would ever hang out with a nobody like you.”
“Shut up Flash” Peter said with his eyes still glued to the note.
“You always claim to have an internship here. What’s your job? Getting coffee for reception?”
“I work on Spider-man tech, Flash”
“Very funny Parker.”
With that, Flash turned and left, seemingly thinking he somehow won the argument.