Beyond Responsibility

Chapter 10: Trigger Part 1

"Definitely. She probably saw you as an enticing little Guinea pig to toy with."

"Hey, I gave her what she wanted, what's so bad about that? Though I think she was pretty shocked to see me actually put in the effort, I guess she thought I had been coasting off of your work or something. After that, she deigned to really run me through the ropes."

"Now that sounds more like the intellectual narcissism I remember from Whitman. Probably got some sadistic glee out of watching you run in circles."

"Okay, she was admittedly a little smug about it, but it got me through the test, so I'm grateful for all the drilling. Oh yeah, and did you know there's a diner right by the library that sells malts? Turns out the dates were good for more than just studying after all."

"Yes, yes, you're overflowing with charm, get on with it."

Harry chuckled at that. "Well when I told Debra that I'd have to reschedule because of the election, she was pretty skeptical at first, but once she found out about all my extracurriculars she softened up on me a bit. She must have been impressed with my credentials, either that or she just felt sorry for me and volunteered to help out with my workload out of guilt. Either way, she's been a big help. I'm honored to have such a good team. Couldn't have done it without everyone lending a hand like this."

"Wait, are you testing out your acceptance speech on me right now?"

"No. In my acceptance speech I'll say 'I'd like to thank the academy,' and then I'll say 'I couldn't have done it without everyone's help.' Completely different." Harry deflected with that effortless sarcasm of his.

"Bet that was also Debra's idea, wasn't it?"

"Well... she is better at composition than I am."

"Busted."

"Shut up, Pete." The two laughed twice as hard that time.

"Well it's good to know you're hanging in there alright now that I'm gone, even if you did replace me with Whitman." Peter couldn't stop the slight wisp of jealousy from creeping into his voice.

"Ah, come on Pete, don't be like that. We're still the most daring duo this world's ever seen. No distance is gonna change that," Harry replied, and Peter was more than willing to agree.

"Better believe it, just the two of us dudes against the world. Like Captain America and Bucky." Peter responded.

"Sure, Pete, you're Captain America." Harry said sarcastically. "Maybe back when Captain America was scrawny and Bucky had to stop him from getting beat up."

Peter mentally winced at that. Maybe a bad example, have to remember my quirk is supposed to be a secret, then again, I'm going to have to come up with some kind of excuse and break the news before he finds out about Simian on his own. It is a pretty short chain that goes from the school to Mr. Osborn to Harry.

"Okay... Then you're like the Han Solo to my Luke Skywalker," Peter suggested instead, trying to do damage control.

"Try again buddy. While Bucky and Han Solo are pretty cool, you're way too much of a nerd to be Luke Skywalker. But you could be the Hermione to my Harry Potter," Harry teased.

"You know what I mean!"

"Yeah yeah, I get it. And you're right. We do make a pretty cool team, the two of us, don't we? Just Harry and his pal Pete."

"Just me and my hombre Harry."

"Mi compadre and me"

Eventually the two started going back and forth.