Chapter 6
"So, does he know?" Ned asked the next morning at school.
Peter paused, craning his neck around to see if Harley had made it back from his locker yet. When he didn't see the other boy, he leaned in. "No, Tony told him I know Spiderman and help out with his equipment, but not anything else."
"So keep it on the DL," Ned said, winking at Peter.
Harley slouched into the chair beside Peter. "Hey," he said to Peter, then tilted his head at Ned.
"Oh! This is my best friend Ned," Peter told him, leaning back a little so they could see each other better.
Ned grinned at him and waved. Harley nodded back. Peter frowned, wondering at the practically cold reception Harley was giving Ned compared to yesterdays' confidence.
"Yo," MJ said, sliding into her seat as the bell rang. "Leeds, Parker, Keener." She nodded to each of them as she spoke their names and then stared at the teacher.
Harley looked startled at her appearance and looked over at Peter. "You'll get used it," Peter whispered, pulling his book out of his bag.
--
By lunch, Harley had thawed the slightest bit and was talking about the Mandarin Situation to Ned and Parker. MJ was listening in every few moments but also scribbling away in her journal.
"So then, Tony-" Harley said, but got cut off when another person stopped at their table.
"Not another one," Flash groaned out. Jason and Seymour stopped to see what Flash was talking about and smirked at Harley.
"Another what?" Harley asked, his mouth turning down. Peter's spider-sense started to warn him of danger, but he wasn't sure if the warning was coming from Harley or Flash.
"Another loser trying to use Tony Stark's name to gain some sort of social standing in school," Flash explained slowly as if Harley was an idiot.
"I mean, it's not like some hick from Bum Fuck knows Tony Stark," Jason agreed. Seymour snickered, covering his mouth.
Harley blinked and then grinned at them. "Right, yeah, because why would I come to a new school and talk about people I don't know with such familiarity. Clearly, it's so people will like me. I mean I know I don't have money to make friends for me like you do, so I just make people up."
Peter snorted before he could help himself. "Shut the hell up Penis."
Peter's face instantly went warm, and he ducked his head to hide his anger.
"What the fuck did you just say," Harley asked. His voice lost any humor it had at the beginning of the conversation and dropped to a lower register. His voice was quiet, but high schoolers were like sharks, always ready to sense a fight. The noise in the cafeteria instantly fell from a dull roar to a murmur. Peter felt Ned tense up on the other side of him.
"Awwww, do you have a little crush on Penis, New Kid?" Flash asked, leaning in close to Harley. "I wouldn't, he's a little-"
Harley grabbed his shirt collar and yanked him close. "Shut the hell up," he turned, still holding Flash's collar. "How long has he been fucking with you, Parker?"
Peter opened his mouth. "Lies," MJ said, pointing at him before he could even do such a thing, and then flipped to a page in her journal. "Two years, six months, and 15 days."
Harley used his free hand to point at her. "See, I like you," he told her. "Teachers?"
"Peter won't narc," Ned said, and Flash took a moment to try and shove Harley away from him. Harley's grip was still tight on his collar.
"Ahuh, well, that's fine, you've got me now," he said and slammed his fist into Flash's mouth.
"You've got some nerve, coming over to our table and trying to be a dick on my second day of school. I can only imagine you call Peter such nice things because yours is small and makes you feel inadequate. I can't help you with that, I can, however, help Peter with the pest problem he's seemingly had for two years though."
"Harley," Peter said but didn't feel like he was protesting enough. He now knew why Tony and Harley got along so well. They were the same person.
Mrs. Warren and Mr. Morita were headed towards the table, faces stormy. Flash was cradling his jaw, and Harley let go of him, sneering at Jason and Seymour, like they were next.
"Say that shit in front of me again and you won't get off so easily next time," Harley said, standing up and handing his tray off to Peter.
"Dump that for me, please?" he asked and nodded at Morita, who had finally reached their table.
"What is the meaning of this?" he snapped, looking at all of them. His eye caught on the bruise developing on Flash's face and his back straightened.
"Unlike any previous schools you may have attended Mr. Keener, we do not take physical violence lightly." He said.
Flash smirked, as well as he could with a hurt mouth.
"What about bullying?" Harley asked. "Because my guardian won't hesitate to pull me out of this school regardless of your reputation if you put up with as much bullying as I've seen in the less than two days that I've been here," Harley snapped.
Peter was staring at Harley, his blue eyes were clear, like ice, and his arms were crossed over his chest. His face was flushed red, and his fists were still clenched like he'd still like to try and rearrange Flash's face.
"The only bully I see here is the one who has punched another student without provocation," Mr. Morita said.
Harley and MJ both scoffed, and even Mrs. Warren looked a little wary at that statement.
Mr. Morita didn't back down from his statement, and Harley stood straighter at that. "Well it looks like you're going to get your wish, Flash, and you get to meet Tony Stark in the flesh. He might even pull me out of school for this shit," Harley snarled. "Lord knows he's gonna yank Parker out once he finds out that Parker's been bullied for two years."
Flash blinked and looked at Seymour and Jason as if they were any more aware of the situation than he was.
"Oh nooo," Peter groaned, dropping his head on to the table. "You didn't, it's for emergencies Harley."
"Your aunt is in surgery all week, and Tony hates board meetings," Harley said with a shrug.
"10 to 1 he shows up in the suit," MJ muttered, and Peter groaned again.
"Mr. Keener, you will stop this at once and come to the office. Tony Stark has no authority over Peter Parker's education-"
"What," Harley said, and even Peter looked up in confusion.
"Tony Stark has been on my guardianship papers for months now, Mr. Morita."
"Peter, honey," Mrs. Warren said sympathy in her voice, and Peter blinked.
Ned and MJ looked at each other with wide eyes. Peter sat back. His teachers thought he had been lying about his Stark Internship. His teachers thought he had been lying about even knowing Tony Stark. Not only that, they had completely disregarded an actual Legal document that his Aunt May had submitted to the school.
"As nice as it is to realize that you all think I'm crazy, Tony Stark has been my co-guardian for the last six months. It's a legal, binding document that means that Tony Stark does have the authority to remove me from this school if he has a reason to, and he clearly does," Peter said.
His voice had cracked several times during that statement, but he swallowed his tears down. He was not going to cry in the middle of the cafeteria, where people already thought he was crazy. He picked up his bag and handed his tray off to Ned.
"Does anyone want to explain why I got a panic call and why my interns look like they're about to cry or murder someone?" Tony Stark asked, the suit disengaging as he walked into the cafeteria.