Who's This?

13

The school day went smoothly, with only a few block-ups. Some kids that Peter had never talked to came to say how cool it was that he was gonna have an internship, that Peter was so smart, and that they should be friends. Peter, of course, said thank you to any compliments and awkwardly laughed when they offered friendship. They didn't care about him before, so why would he be friends with them only when they want something from him?

Thankfully, Peter hadn't had any physical interference with Flash but he did receive quite a few glares and rude hand gestures. Peter could deal with that, that was simple. However, he was afraid that since Flash didn't have his "punching bag" anymore that he would take out his anger on others. The teen was also concerned for his bully's well-being since it seemed he was being threatened. Threatened by a stranger, and threatened for an unknown reason. They certainly weren't trying to protect Peter since he knew no one with that kind of power, so the attacker was obviously up to no good. Sighing, Peter exited the school doors and began his walk to Stark Tower. It would be much easier and quicker to swing there, but Peter couldn't risk being seen. Plus, he was kind of dizzy and tired anyways.

Carefully avoiding any gum on the sidewalk, Peter trudged to his dream come true. It was only a fifteen-minute walk, but it felt like hours as he watched cars zoom by. Peter thought he saw Flash in one of the cars, flipping him off when driving past him. Rolling his eyes, Peter glanced at his phone and realized he had seven minutes to get to his destination. The problem is he was around ten minutes away and he certainly didn't have the energy to run. Groaning, Peter picked up his speed into a half speed-walk half jog in hopes it would get him there in time. Swerving around pedestrians, Peter finally arrived at Stark Tower with thirty seconds to spare. Entering through the heavy glass doors, Peter came face to face with four other kids, one of them being Flash, and a receptionist.

"Um," Peter slowly walked to the counter. "I'm here for my internship?"

"Name, please." The lady didn't even look up from her computer. Peter glanced at her name tag before answering.

"Peter Parker, ma'am." Peter smiled, hoping to lift her obvious sour mood. She tapped away on her keyboard when Peter suddenly felt someone's hand on his shoulder. Turning around, low-and-behold, a fuming Flash stared right back at him.

"You shouldn't be here, Penis." Flash glared with flaming hatred, "I don't know how you got in, but honestly you should be ashamed of yourself. I bet you sold your body to someone here, right? I don't know why anyone would choose you, though." Flash gagged and walked away, sitting down beside a girl who was peacefully reading a book.

"Here you go, Peter." He turned back towards the receptionist who warrily eyed him and Flash, handing Peter a lanyard with a blank white card inside. "Friday will allow you on any floors that this gives you access to. You can't trick her, though, so don't even try." She eyed the teen up and down. However, Peter didn't care that he was being scrutinized; he was going to be working in Stark Tower!

"Thank you so much, Ms. Blythe," Peter gave her a gummy, lopsided smile. "I really appreciate it." The lady, now known as Ms. Blythe, softly smiled at the boy as he turned around and sat with the other interns.

Examining the lanyard, he noticed that the card inside really was just blank white. No name, no pictures, no nothing. Just a white plastic card. Thinking back to his conversation with his friends, he wondered if maybe Mr. Stark really did get rid of the names. Grinning, Peter wrapped it around his neck and relaxed into the chair. The waiting room was pristine and had a leftover scent of cleaning supplies. Abstract paintings lined the wall behind where Peter was sitting, and the wall in front had a large flat screen TV that was playing a random oldie show. A small glass table sat in front of him with a variety of different magazines that Peter would probably never touch.

A soft ding erupted through the quiet room, and the elevator opened. Lo and behold, there stood Pepper Potts. Stepping out of the elevator, she smiled at all of the teens, her eyes lingering on Peter for a little longer than the others. Peter nervously checked his clothes to make sure he didn't have anything embarrassing on it. After feeling satisfied with his once over, he looked back up to Ms. Potts who was talking to the other interns.

"Welcome to Stark Tower, everyone!" Pepper smiled, turned to the receptionist, and softly thanked her. "Follow me."

Everyone stepped into the elevator which was much more spacious than it probably needed to be, but if you're a billionaire why not have a massive elevator, right?

"Welcome back Ms. Potts," A feminine voice echoed through the small space, "Allow me to scan the other's before I take you to your destination."

"Of course, Fri." Pepper glanced at the five teens who nervously stood beside her. One of the kids quietly shuffled closer to Peter and proceeded to step on his feet. Pepper wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't already intrigued by Peter's presence. Frowning, Pepper decided to let the teens be teens. Maybe they were friends?

"I welcome you all to Stark Tower," Friday spoke up once again, "I would usually greet you all by name and status, however, due to a request from Tony Stark, I will not be announcing any personal information while others are present."

"Thank you, Friday. Please take us to floor three." Pepper asked, and the elevator immediately started moving upwards, a soft ding going off after passing each floor. Once they reached their destination, the doors slowly slid open and Friday began talking once again.

"Enjoy your stay." Friday spoke and closed the elevator doors once everyone had exited. Peter looked around, admiring all the people and random tools that laid about on tables and shelves. Pepper began walking again and the teens immediately started following, gawking at everything they passed.

"This is where you guys will be working," Pepper paused, turning around to look at the teens. "You will each get your own cubicle and we will provide you with the materials you may need for any projects." Pepper turned around once again and looked at her clipboard. "Please choose one of these five cubicles. Remember, if you want to be treated like an equal and an adult, you have to be responsible. We will not hesitate to send you home. Understood?"

"Yes, Ms. Ma'am Potts." Peter stuttered, watching as the other teens nodded and excitedly went to choose their work spaces. Peter waited beside Pepper, allowing the others to choose whatever they wanted so that he could just take the last one. Pepper looked at the boy from the corner of her eye and gently smiled. He looks just like a little puppy.

"Are you excited for your internship, Peter?" Pepper asked, quietly saying his name so that others would not hear. Tony made it very clear that none of them were allowed to hear the interns' names. However, since Pepper had already done her research and had met the boy already, she figured she could quietly say it.

"Oh, um," Peter stumbled over his words, trying to find the ones that would most accurately depict his feelings. "I feel like I'm in a dream, and will wake up at any second." Peter pulled his sleeves down past his arms, nervously fiddling with the loose threads. "And, thank you Ms Potts."

"I'm glad you're excited, but what are you thanking me for?" Pepper raised an eyebrow, slightly tilting her head to the right in confusion. Peter anxiously looked up at the empowered woman, giving her a small closed lip smile.

"You stopped to help me the other day even though I'm sure you were busy." Peter grinned, bowed his head, and quickly walked away to the last vacant cubicle, leaving Pepper who was smiling from ear to ear.