Chapter 15
*super long chapter ENJOY!*
Once again, school.
It's weird. I love school. Don't get me wrong. Yet with everything that's been happening something is crashing in my mind. The only way I can actually describe it it's like Cognitive Dissonance. I read it once in a Psychology book. It's when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs that cause a discomfort feeling in the person. And in my case, I love school. The Syllabuses and the tests but in real life, school is actually monotone, tedious and way, way judgemental. So yeah, that's what I think early in the mornings...
Right now I'm in front of Peter's apartment door. He invited me to walk with him and Ned to school and me being me, a not so experienced teenager about street life, agreed.
"Don't forget it's laundry day and I need you to pick all those clothes from the floor" I hear May's disembodied voice inside the apartment, someone unlocks the door
"Oh hi, Tannie!" Peter smiles holding a pile of books in his arms, he peeks his head inside and shouts "I larb you aunt May!"
I quirk a brow "I larb you?"
"Yeah, local joke" he snorts and we start walking to the lift
I stretch my arms at him "Need help? it's a huge stack of books, you need a backpack"
"I'm fine thanks, though" we step into the lift "... I have lost five backpacks in two weeks..."
I snort and ignore his comment and grab three books from the pile "How was your weekend?"
He breathily laughs "I enjoyed it... I've been replying Ned's questions only with emojis"
"Well, he's downstairs, you better start rehearsing..."
"Tannie..." he whispers making me turn to look at him
"Uhumm?"
"We need to do something about those guys. Something inside me is telling me that they're planning to do bad things"
I rub his arm making him look down at me "We will... We're going to investigate, ok?"
He purses his lips in a smile and the doors of the lift open revealing Ned that strides at us
"You promised me answers and I'm here to get some" I dart my eyes to Peter reading his eyes that shout 'there's no escaping from this one'
We begin walking to school. Peter in the m iddle and Ned at his left. After turning right and then left I turn to Ned and sigh.
"You should probably start asking now..."
Ned chirps and walks faster "Ok, here I go. You have a laser on your hands? what happened to you? You were born like that? Oh my god, are you an alien?!"
"Ned!!!" Peter squeals at him with a frown in his face
I laugh and shake my head "I-I can't remember much but uh... I fell on a portal, entered to the Quantum Realm. I don't think it's a laser and no... I want to believe I'm not an alien"
"We're actually experimenting with her powers, you should see what she's capable of Ned"
Ned jumps as he walks and chuckles "Give me a sneak peek!"
"I'll better tell you... her powers manipulate things from an atomic level" Peter finishes smiling proudly at me
"What?! you're so cool Tannie! I definitely need to see that"
I shrug "Enough about me... ask him something" I jerk my head at Peter and Ned broadly smiles at him
"So what about you huh? You got bit by a spider? Can it bite me? Well, it probably would've hurt, right? You know what? Whatever. Even if it did hurt, I'd let it bite me. Maybe... How much did it hurt?"
"The spider's dead, Ned" Peter gently snaps at him
I pat his back in an attempt to make him forget when he got bit. I see how Ned stops meters from the 21st St Station stairs and I follow his eyes.
"oh no..." I gasp seeing Mr. Delmar's store.
In the day it looks like it's going to fall down at some point. The store name is almost illegible and police tape with barricades are surrounding the area. Peter also follows my eyes and then he stares at me. His brown orbs panicking. I peek my head at the other side of the street and recognize the familiar face of Mrs. Hoag. She used to go to the Tower.
"You both were here?" Ned asks
"Yeah," Peter and I say in unison
"Whoa...You could've died" Ned whispers to us
We stand there absorbing the scene. Peter's finger twists the hem of my sleeve in a repeating pattern until Ned's voice breaks our thoughts.
"Do you lay eggs?
We turn our heads to him in sync
"What? no!" Peter lets out an embarrassed laugh
"Mamma Peter..." I whisper to him who shakes his head at my comment
We arrive at school just before the bell buzzes, I spot Harley who is waiting for me but he's pushed by his friends before I could say hi to him. I walk to the classroom and wait for Peter and Ned to appear. Fortunately, we have a quiz so Ned's gonna be quiet the whole time. After that, we stroll to Chemistry.
Peter slumps between me and Ned. The Chemistry table is long enough for us to have space to work in. I lean back and see how Ned feverishly writes something down, probably all the questions he wants to ask us. We start working on the activity Cobbwell assigned us.
"What if we put just two drops of this here?" Peter asks me
I read my notes and hum "ummm... and then only two of this"
Peter nods scribbling in his notebook. Sidelong I see Ned rolling over in his chair towards us.
"Can you spit venom?"
"No"
"Tannie, can you see through our clothes?"
I cringe at the image and wrinkle my nose "ugh no, Ned..."
"Can you summon an army of spiders?"
Peter suppresses a sigh and hands me a small test tube "No, Ned"
When chemistry was over we go to Physics and Ned to Music. Mid the class I get a text from Harley asking me if we can eat together in the cafeteria. When recess begins I take my things and spot the squinted eyes Peter is flashing at me.
"I'm eating with Harley...see you at P.E. ok?"
"No, don't go" he mutters making me snort
I bring my hands to my hips "Give me a good reason not to, Parker"
"mmm, Ned is going to fire too many questions"
"You can handle Ned for some minutes, Spidey..."
I spin and walk to the cafeteria. Numerous cardboards announcing the upcoming event. I finally spot him at one of the tables and playfully push his head forward.
"Keener" I sit next to him and he smiles when he sees me
"Stark, brought you some cake" he hands me a container making my brows raise
"I didn't know it was my birthday today..." he takes out two forks "Thanks?"
"This weekend was my cousin's birthday" he explains "...so eat with me"
"I'm not saying no to cake so, yes, sir!"
The rich scent of vanilla fragrance hits my nostrils and I instantly dig in.
"umm so, I was thinking that Homeco.... that the Homecoming is coming hehe" Harley nervously stumbles over his own words
"'80s themed, huh? You can actually go dressed as Rick Astley... you know? 'Never gonna give you up... Never gonna let you down...'" I hum
Harley snorts at my idea and ruffles his hair scooting closer to me "That's the-that's the point... you love music from that decade what uh what better way to dance it off, right?"
"Totally.."
"I was thinking, that maybe... you and I could go..." he finishes clearing his throat and averting his eyes to the cake in front of him
"Sure! it's official then, let's go to Homecoming" I smile taking a bite of the cake
Well, this was easier than I expected it to be
Harley deeply exhales and turns to me "Yes, ok. Homecoming, together"
I wave a finger at him "FYI, I love dancing and I'll probably be doing that all night so... if you don't know how to dance... maybe it's time to take some lessons"
"We'll see about that Stark. I know my moves"
We wave goodbye and I stroll to the girls changing lockers. When I finish folding my clothes I walk to the gym and see how everyone is settling in neat rows on the bleachers. Coach Wilson struggles to drag a TV across the wooden floor... oh I hope he's not playing that sex-ed video my dad tried to show me once. My eyes catch Peter's waving arms at me, he scoots aside for me to sit between Ned and him.
"is everyone here?!" coach Wilson shouts "ok! class! today we have something special for all of you!"
I look up and I bite my tongue for the sudden image in front of me... What the fuck, Steve?
"Hi. I'm Captain America. Whether you're in the classroom or on the battlefield..."
Ned leans towards me "You probably don't need this... you trained directly with him. Hey Peter... Do you know him too?"
"Yeah, we met" Ned's eyes widen in awe and his jaw goes slack "I stole his shield" Peter boasts tilting his head and Ned's jaw hits the floor
"Yeah, he did" I whisper back
"...fitness can be the difference between success or failure..."
Geez, Steve. When did you have time to do these videos?
"Today, my good friend, your gym teacher..." coach Wilson waves at us and I suppress the loud laugh in my throat "...will be conducting the Captain America Fitness Challenge."
"Thank you, Captain. I'm pretty sure this guy's a war criminal now, but whatever"
Oh. fuck you, Wilson.
"I have to show these videos. It's required by the state. Let's do it!" he blows his whistles
I was paired with Amanda Smith but I told her I was doing it alone. She awkwardly walks away and I sit on the mat next to Ned and Peter. Peter is doing crunches like it's as easy as walking. I lay on my back and start counting. Minutes later, Ned sighs.
"Do Avengers have to pay taxes?" he finally asks
"shhh!" Peter whispers
"Of course, they do... or at least my dad does" I do another crunch and Ned nods
"What does Hulk smell like?"
I stop in the middle of a crunch and Peter slaps Ned's arm
"Well, personally. I haven't seen him as Hulk but Bruce smells like the new Hugo Boss cologne... sometimes like antiseptic"
Peter spins his head to me "Really? mmmm..."
"Then he smells nice," Ned says absentmindedly
"you need to shut up Ned" Peter whispers at him
"Is Captain America cool, or is he like a mean, old grandpa?" Ned turns to me knowing I will answer
"Definitely cool, he tries his best. He's a little conservative though" I whisper and his faces light up for all the information I'm giving him
Peter doesn't even wheeze doing the high-speed crunches "Ned, just, shh, okay?"
"Hey, can I be your guy in the chair?" Ned asks, pleading actually
Peter frowns confused "What?"
"Yeah. You know how there's a guy with a headset telling the other guy where to go?... Like, like if you're stuck in a burning building, I could tell you where to go. Because there'd be screens around me, and I could, you know, swivel around, and... 'Cause I could be your guy in the chair"
"Ned, I don't need a guy in the chair." Ned's face falls quickly so I scoot closer to them
"Maybe I do. If he won't take you... I will" I smile at him and Peter rolls his eyes at me
"Looking good, Parker... Stark...quit the chitchat" coach Wilson points at Peter as he passes our mats
I turn to look at Peter who instantly winces pretending as if the exercise is really taking a toll on him. Some giggles make me spin back to the bleachers where Betty, Seymour, Jason, and Liz are talking.
"Now, see, for me, it would be F Thor, marry Iron Man, and kill Hulk," Betty says sure of her answers and looks at me "...oh, sorry Tannie. I know they're your friends and dad" she shrugs
"'s ok.." I murmur
"Well, what about the Spider-Man?" Seymour question makes me roll to lay on my stomach and Ned and Peter also spin at the name
"They're talking about me!" Peter whispery exclaims
"no shit..." I whisper back
"It's just Spider-Man," Betty says not giving too much importance to him
"Did you guys see the bank security cam on YouTube? He fought off four guys" Liz defends him and Ned nudges a stiffen Peter
"Oh my God, she's crushing on Spider-Man," Betty says through laughs and I look at Peter's wide eyes and parted lips
Seymour joins Betty's laughs "No way"
Liz shrug rubbing her temple "...kind of?"
"Ugh, gross. He's probably like, thirty"
He isn't
"You don't even know what he looks like. Like, what if he's, like, seriously burned? I prefer the girl that was fighting next to him, she looked hot" Seymour states
"Yeah, man. She was flashing these things to the robbers. She knows how to defend herself!" Jason adds and I roll again to hide my reddening cheeks
"That girl looks pretty badass yes but guys... I wouldn't care. I would still love him for the person he is on the inside"
"PETER KNOWS SPIDER-MAN AND THE GIRL!"
Peter and I spin in sync to look at him. Everyone in the gym simultaneously drops their assignments and stares at Peter while he hurriedly gets up and offers me a hand to stand beside him. He takes doubtful steps to the bleachers and I drag Ned beside.
"No, I don't. No. I... I mean...-" Peter stutters staring at Liz
"They're friends!," Ned chirps and I punch him to stop talking
"Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends" Flash sways to us letting a wink to me
"I've met them. Yeah. A couple times. But it's, um... through the Stark internship. Mm-hmm"
I avert my eyes to Ned's face "Yeah, well. He's not really supposed to talk about it!" I mutter under my breath
"Well, that's awesome. Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite them to Liz's party. Right? You can come with me, Tannie..."
"Yeah, I'm having people over tonight. You're more than welcome to come"
On a school night?
"Having a party?" Peter whispers without taking his eyes off Liz so I pinch his arm to stop him from being this awkward
"Yeah, it's gonna be dope. You should totally invite your personal friends"
"It's okay. I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway, so... you're so invited Tannie" she smiles at me and I smile back
Flash gets closer to us "Come on. He'll be there. Right, Parker?"
The bell buzzes and I swiftly turn to Ned. Peter grabs his shoulder with a scowl in his face and throwing his hands in the air.
"What are you doing Ned?" I ask him
"Helping Peter out! Did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on him! Dude, you're an Avenger and you're Tony Stark's daughter and you have powers...If any one of us three has a chance with a senior girl or a junior boy, it's you" he points at us walking away
I read his eyes, how he bites his lip and knits his brows together
"Peter...."
he shakes his head "Uh? yeah, yeah... what?"
"Could be nice if they show up... think about it... see you at art"
-----------
"Combine the acrylic colors and start doing masterpieces!" the teacher instruct us, I start doing my best on an empty canvas, Peter peeks his head towards me
"You need a new name or something... they call you 'the girl' "
I huff "What are you thinking of? 'Atomic girl'?"
"mmm, you are Tannie..."
"Very observant..." I sneer and he shushes me
"... and your powers are atomic... you could be like Tamic instead of Tannie... get it? and your powers are related to the subatomic process so... the flashes you project are like gamma rays... you could be 'GammaTamic'!"
I snort smashing the brush in the canvas "I... don't know. Your suggestions are cool it's just, a name marks me you know?"
"What about 'Tamic Torch'?!" He jumps in his seat slightly chuckling "or ... Miss Atomic Bomb?"
I spin my head at him and snort louder "ha! I believe The Killers have the copyright on that name, shame, it would've have been great!"
"So... we're going to that party right?" he asks after some seconds
"Yeah, it could be fun, you know? do you think you can give me a ride? Happy is quite busy these days"
"Sure! yeah, I didn't ask you because I thought we would pick you or something... I'll see you at my place then?"
With that, we continue our paintings. When the bell buzzes and everyone starts going to their respective club, I see Peter getting ready to go to the "Stark Internship". He waits for me in the not so crowded hall.
"I know what you're going to say...." he mutters playfully rolling his eyes at me
"It's called caring. You know? So swin-"
"-Swing safely... yep. Got it" He shows his teeth and runs to the other way of the hall
Robotics was somewhat bearable. Harley wasn't being a pain in my ass as he usually is. Maybe it's the Homecoming thing that has him in good behavior. After that, I walk to the exit already taking my phone to text Happy I'm on my way to the subway but I stop when I see him waiting for me.
I jog to him and hug him "Hey stranger! The new job makes you busy, huh?"
"You have no idea. We're moving all these high tech stuff from three whole floors. Everything needs to be perfect. Hop on"
I rock my body inside and he starts the engine "Hey did you see about the ATM robbery?"
"Yeah, yeah., yeah. I heard about it too many times" he tonelessly remarks and looks at me through the mirror "Good to know you live far from that borough"
I huff "Totally"
--------------
"Anyone?? Dad? Mom?" I ask walking upstairs to the living room
"Baby!!" my mom's head peeks from the pantry and strides to me stretching her arms "Ow, come here"
"Mom... can't breath..." I choke against her shoulder
"How was school?" she asks letting me go so I sit on a bench
"Tolerable... hey, did Steve told you that he did some instructional videos? It's so weird to watch those..."
"Uh... actually I was the one that made the reservation for the studio they used to film that..."
I snort swiveling on the bench "So weird..."
"So... Any news about a special boy?"
I look up frowning at her "Huh? what are you talking about?"
"Your dad told me you brought a boy here..." she casually opens some cabinets
"Yes, Peter... we were working on a project from school!" I explain it to her
She smirks taking a pan "ok, ok, ok. I was just curious..."
"Mom?"
she stops and turns to me "Yep?"
"There's a party, tonight..."
"Tonight? it's Monday..." she whispers and I simply shrug "ok... talk to Happy and not so late ok?"
"Yeah, of course. You know me... I just dance"
And maybe make a little appearance as a superhero.
"oh and Happy told me he's busy but May, the aunt of my friend is driving us and picking us too"
"Who's your friend with an aunt named May?" she inquires-
"mmm....Peter...." I whisper
She rapidly spins her head, her eyes shining at me"Oh! the same Peter who was here?"
"Oh god mom" I facepalm and jump to the floor to walk to my room
"I'm making us some lunch! come here in one hour!" she shouts when I disappear into the hall
I quickly do the little homework I have, I text Peter to know what time I need to be at his place. Weirdly, I don't change to my pajamas. I put some light makeup and go with my mom to eat. She then walks to her office so I stay in the living room playing with Friday.
I take the subway and see my reflection on the doors. Damn, I look hot. I mean, I always look good but oh boy, today, I'm better.
"...Hey..."
A nasal voice wakes me up from the self-admiration and I spin to see a guy with a black beanie and shaggy clothes.
"Hey..." I say back
He jerks his head at me "Aren't ya Tony Stark's daughter?"
"Uh, yes. I am" I rub my temple seeing how he frowns in confusion
"But you're in the subway..."
I internally snort and sigh "Yeah, the private is damaged"
He shakes his head and smirks "What a bummer girl ..."
After that strange encounter, I check the time. I arrive 12 minutes later. I take the lift and knock twice on the door.
"I'm sorry, the model agency is on the third floor" May giggles and fully opens the door "Come on honey, it's your place. You look so beautiful.Peter is still getting ready, he tried like seven shirts"
I sit on the couch and she slumps next to me "You want anything to snack on?"
"Thanks, May, I already ate with my mom. Also, thank you for dropping me there and...-"
She nudges me with a smirk "-no, no, you're Peter's special friend, you're so welcome, honey!"
The creaking of the door makes us both lift our eyes and Peter paces to us looking down at his blue plaid shirt.
"I think this is the one, it says casual but cool right?"
"Sure! yeah! I'll be downstairs ok?" May quickly jumps to grab the keys and closes the door
I stand up and he flinches at my sudden appearance. His Adam apple throbs as his jaw go slack
"Whoa... Tannie! You look nice... like nice-nice"
"Well, Thank you." I step closer to him "And you ironed your shirt? and even showered? You do know what you're doing!"
He lets out a breathy laugh and grabs the neatly iron neck of his shirt "So uh, you think it looks ok that the first button is buckled?"
I snort waving my hand all over him "Yes sure. There's a very elegant vibe all over you"
Peter huffs and gently pushes me to the door. We hop on the car and pick up Ned that happily exits his building wearing a Texan hat. He opens the backseat door where I'm in and his mouth goes agape.
"Girl, you're atomic today!" Ned chirps earning a laugh from Peter for the intentional pun
The whole drive May feverishly narrates to us about her old parties and how she used to play charades and dance to Whitney Houston's songs. She very likely knows that now teenagers play beer pong. When we finally arrive at Liz's house, May slows her car, upbeat music pours out from the house and I'm so ready to dance.
She leans forward analyzing the place "House party in the suburbs. Oh, I remember these. Kind of jealous"
"It'll be a night to remember" Ned cheerfully says squeezing my shoulder
May laughs as well and I see Peter who is eyeing the scene like if he's about to die
"Ned, some hats wear men. You wear that hat" May reassures him
"Yeah, it gives me confidence," Ned widely smiles
Peter turns to May with paler skin than before "This is a mistake. Hey, let's just go home, we can play charades the four of us"
"Oh, Peter. I know. I know it's really hard trying to fit in with all the changes your body's going through. It's flowering now"
I choke letting a snort at that comment.
"uh-uh" he laughs
May turns to me "He's so stressed out lately"
"What helps with stress is going to a party," Ned says smiling
"We should go to the party" I add and May nods and pushes Peter out of the car
"Yeah, let's do it. Yeah. I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go" Peter opens the car door and steps out, Ned goes first and he hands me his hand to help me out
"Guys!" May calls us and the three of us stop and lean in to listen to May through the window "Have fun ok?"
"Yep, we will" Peter nods and May drives away
The three of us start walking to the entrance. It's quite a modern place. Can't complaint, this looks like a miniature version of my place.
"Dude, you have the suit, right? Tannie, you have...your powers?" he says and Peter pulls up his sleeve in order to offer Ned a glimpse of his Spider-Man suit under it
Ned grabs our shoulders shaking us to the entrance "This is gonna change our lives!"
Peter opens the door letting me get in first, the house is so crowded. My eyes travel to the dancing people across the living room. I spot Peter who is rubbing his hands against his jeans.
"Blink, Peter..." I whisper and he gulps looking at me
"Tannie, hi!" A girl shouts from the living room and I simply jerk my head at her
"Tannie, what's up?" A guy smoking passes in front of me and winks, I turn to Peter who is looking all over the place
"You're popular among Seniors!" Ned whispery exclaims
I see Flash is running a DJ station and saying "DJ Flash!".
"Okay. We're gonna have Spider-Man swing in, then you Tannie jump and both say you are friends with Peter, and then I get a fist bump or one of those half bro-hugs and a kiss on my cheek, ok?" Ned whispers
"just checking... you want Peter to kiss you on your cheek, right?"
Peter pinches my back and I jump back nudging him on his chest
"Can't believe you guys are at this lame party"
We turn to Michelle Jones. I personally don't know her but she seems nice and strangely spreading jam on a toast.
I frown "But you're here too"
"Am I?" The toast crunches as Michelle takes a bite out of it and walks away
"Oh, my gosh" Liz says walking down the hallway to us "Hey, guys. Cool hat, Ned. And you look so beautiful, Tannie"
"Same to you..."
"Hi, Liz," Both say in sync
"I'm so happy you guys came. There's pizza and drinks. Help yourself. Trevor is asking me about you Tannie, you should definitely meet him" She playfully pokes me
"What a great party" Peter's squeaky voice slips from his lips
"Thanks!" Liz rolls her eyes
OMG she's flirting!?
But suddenly the sound of glass breaking catches her attention and slightly pouts
"Oh, I... My parents will kill me if anything's broken. I gotta-"
I nod at her "Yeah, of course... go"
"Have fun!" she walks away
"Dude, what are you doing? She's here. Spider it up, and you" he points at me "go and atom yourself or whatever"
"No, no, no. I can't... I cannot do this. Spider-Man is not a party trick, okay? Look, I'm just gonna... be myself...." Peter stutters looking down at me
"Okay..." I reassure him
Ned sighs "Peter, no one wants that"
"Whoa... rude..." I mutter to Ned
"Dude!" Peter whispers hurt of the remark and walks a little away from us
"Penis Parker, what's up?!!" Flash shouts through a microphone and then looks at me "And Tannie Stark! looking good gurl!"
I purse my lips and drag Peter to us "Come, lets go..."
"So, where's your pal Spider-Man? Let me guess. In Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?!" I roll my eyes at the childish chuckles everyone gives and then a honking noise erupts through the speakers "That's not Spider-Man. That's just Ned in a red shirt!!"
Peter spins to me and I'm ready to leave the party if he wants to but he drags me to the corner and nods
"Coming Tannie?"