Chapter Text
‘Hey Pete,’ Ned greets him as soon as he enters the school building with their secret handshake, ‘you finally ready to rejoin school like a normal person?’
‘Oh yeah right the kid who has literally been adopted by a billionaire and team of superheroes is going to be a normal person,’ MJ scoffs coming up behind Peter and clapping him on the shoulder. ‘Still good to see you. Not that I missed you or anything but, you know,’ she shrugs.
Peter just laughs. ‘Good to see you guys too. And I’ll be honest, some normal would be nice right about now. We only just finished repairing the facility after all the stuff that happened over summer and I think everyone is ready for a break.’
‘So, you come back to school?’ MJ raises an eyebrow. ‘You’re weird. And this is coming from me.’
‘I thought you guys were supposed to be moving to live somewhere else right?’ Ned asks as they collect their books.
‘Yeah, but we agreed it was better to finish repairing the facility and get that all up and running again before we start on the house.’
‘Hey Parker! Your pimps decided to let you come back to school then?’ Flash’s obnoxious voice calls out as they enter their classroom.
‘What the hell?’ Peter frowns. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Well, you just disappeared in the middle of Europe so we all assumed you’d gotten bored of taking Stark’s money and decided to go make your own in a sex ring or something.’
‘That is the first thing you thought when I left the trip early?’ Peter counters. ‘Not the fact that, I don’t know, I flew home? That maybe because there were two attacks on the team they decided to get a known affiliate back where they could keep an eye on them and where I wasn’t potentially going to put you guys at risk? Come on-’
‘Alright everyone, settle down,’ the teacher cuts off Peter’s retort as he enters the classroom. Flash and Peter take their seats, both frowning at the other. Peter only breaks their staring contest when Ned elbows him in the side and he turns back to face the front.
‘Now I have an exciting announcement,’ Mr Harris says once he finishes taking the register. ‘Our school has been chosen for the pilot of a new scheme! I’ll be sending home letters with all of you along with permission slips that you’ll need to get signed. We have been invited to spend a couple of days up at the newly renovated Avengers Facility as a trial for a new scheme they’re starting, working with schools across the country.’
‘What?!?’ Peter’s isn’t the only shout to interrupt Mr Harris. He can feel his heart pounding in his ears.
‘I’m sure we have Mr Parker’s presence in our school for the choice the Avengers have made,’ Mr Harris gives him a grateful smile, but Peter is too busy trying not to be sick to take it in. ‘We’ll be taking part in different activities, seeing how the team works, and will get the opportunity to meet most of the Avengers themselves. Plus, we’ve got a new student starting that week so it’ll be a fantastic opportunity for them to meet everyone. Now I want you to make sure you all get your parents to sign these slips, the trip is happening in two weeks…’
Peter tunes him out and tries to relax his hands from the tight fists in his lap. What is happening? He thinks. How could no one have warned me about this?
‘What’s the matter, Parker?’ Flash sneers as the chatter levels increase again now Mr Harris is busy handing out forms. ‘Did your buddies not think it important enough to tell you about this? Sure you’ve really moved up from being errand boy?’
‘Just ignore him, Pete,’ Ned says, drawing his attention back to his friends. ‘He’s just jealous because he knows you’re going to show him up when we all get there.’
MJ frowns. ‘You really didn’t know about this did you?’
Peter shakes his head. ‘No one told me,’ he admits quietly so only his two friends can hear. Why did no one tell me? He wonders.
Peter is in a bad mood all day. He can’t focus properly in lessons and gets pulled up by the teachers a couple of times each lesson, meaning he’s on the edge of getting a detention. He’s short with his friends, and by the end of the day even Ned isn’t trying to engage him in conversation. They say goodbye on the steps with MJ telling him to ‘lighten up’ before tomorrow or she’ll kick his ass.
‘Hey Champ,’ Happy smiles in greeting, taking off his sunglasses, ‘how was your day?’
‘Don’t even go there,’ he huffs, then feels bad at taking out his frustration on yet another person who doesn’t deserve it. ‘Sorry Happy, just been a rough first day back.’
‘Anything you want to talk about?’ the big man offers.
Peter smiles at him. ‘No, it’s alright. Thanks anyway.’
‘Well how about you ride up front with me?’
‘Really?’ he’s pretty sure his eyeballs nearly fall out of his head. Happy never lets anyone ride shotgun with him.
‘Yeah, come on, we’ll swing by and get cheeseburgers.’
Peter jumps forward and gives the big man a hug. ‘Thanks, Happy.’
‘Yeah alright you can let go now. We are still at your school you know,’ Happy grumps.
Peter laughs and lets go before heading round to the passenger door. ‘How’s things with Pepper?’ he asks as they close the car doors on the noise outside. ‘You popped the question yet?’
‘How do you know about that?’ Happy asks.
‘You’re really not as subtle as you think, Happy.’
‘Hmph,’ Happy starts the car and pulls out of his parking spot. ‘Not yet, I don’t really know how to if I’m honest.’
By the time he’s climbing the stairs up to the common area, Peter is regretting agreeing to the cheeseburger as its currently doing flips in his stomach. When he finally walks through the door most of the team is gathered there.
‘Hey Pete!’ Sam greets him. ‘How was the first day back at school?’
He really does mean to answer Sam’s question first, perhaps bring the conversation round to Mr Harris’ announcement. He really does. Instead, what comes out of his mouth is: ‘Why did no one tell me my school is coming up here for a few days?’
The room goes quiet.
‘I thought we talked about it last week?’ Tony frowns. ‘When we were down working on those new surveillance bugs.’
‘You mean when they exploded and we had to evacuate the lab?’
‘Oh yeah I forgot that happened before we got round to that,’ he rubs his forehead. ‘Shit Pete I’m sorry, I thought I’d told you.’
‘And no one else thought to mention it?’ he asks the others. ‘No one thought to bring it up and ask what I thought?’
The team exchange looks and Peter tries to keep his hands from trembling as he feels his anger rising.
‘We thought your school might be a good one to start with seeing as they are all known quantities to you,’ Natasha answers, ‘so it’ll be easier to work around them.’
‘That’s the exact opposite to what it’ll be like!’ he explodes.
‘Pete-’
‘No! You don’t get it!’ Peter cuts off Sam. ‘This is the one place, the one place, I don’t have to hide who I am and what I can do. The one place I can be me and not have to worry. And now you’ve just sprung all my classmates arriving here on me, without warning, and I have to go back to hiding everything in the one place I’ve always been able to relax. Why didn’t anyone ask me?’
If he wasn’t so pissed off he’d find the expressions on everyone’s faces pretty hilarious right now.
‘Peter, we didn’t think,’ Tony says, tone calming, ‘we’re sorry, why don’t we just take a couple of breaths and then we can-’
‘Stop treating me like a kid!’ he snaps.
‘Then stop acting like one!’ Tony counters, patience apparently ended. Peter can see Bucky wince out of the corner of his eye.
‘Fuck you,’ Peter growls, more angry than he’s been in a long time.
‘Peter!’ a couple of voices reprimand him.
‘Fuck you!’ he shouts, throwing his backpack into the wall and spinning round to get away from the shouts after him.
‘If that’s what happens when they become teenagers can we find an anti-ageing serum before Cassie hits it please?’ he hears Scott say as he breaks into a run down the corridor.