Sliding Doors ⧨ Peter Parker

9 | Midtown Meets Queens

Y/N

_

"Who the hell are you?"

Well... this was awkward.

I stood outside of the school, my backpack slung around my shoulder. Daisy's mouth was shaped into an "O", her eyes looking me up and down.

"Hey," I said,biting my lip.

"What the heck happened to you?" she asked, slumping down on the bench, "you look like you took a walk through the upper class."

"I'm just as surprised as you are, if I'm being completely honest."

"Where did you get all of- that," she said, staring specifically at my watch, "and how did you afford it?"

"It was a gift from my boss? Yeah, I couldn't afford even half of what this all cost."

"I'm going to be brutally honest with you," she said, opening her lunch bag, "I'm jealous."

"You are?"

"Heck yeah, you look like a celebrity. Oh, you know, you actually remind me of Tony Stark, I've seen him dress like that."

I laughed nervously, picking at my salad, "is that so?"

Daisy and I had always sat in this spot for lunch, two years and counting. I expected to feel a little more normal doing my usual routine, but I couldn't ignore the stares.

I scooped up some lettuce onto my fork, eyeing it suspiciously. I never trusted school lunch, but I needed to eat somehow. Looking up, I noticed Daisy's had wandered off behind me.

"You're kidding me," she gasped, "hey!"

She frantically waved her hands, hopping up from her seat and running off towards the gate. I almost dropped my salad in surprise, but turned to see what the fuss was all about.

A group of kids had gathered by the gate, all of them wearing the same symbol on thier clothes.

"y/n!" Daisy called out, "come here!"

I hesitated, unsure. I gave in to the girls pout, and trudged my way over there, not wanting to meet any new people. Upon nearing the gate, I realized some of them weren't new at all.

"Liz..." I said, a little dumbfounded, "hey!"

"Woah, y/n, I almost didn't recognize you," she smiled, "you look hot."

My cheeks turned red, burning with a mix of embarrassment and happiness. That adjective had never been applied with my name before, but I suppose it was because I'm a 'new me'.

"Uh-thanks," I stuttered, "what are you doing here?"

"Off campus lunch today," she said, "thought we'd swing by."

"To Queens Ac?"

"Well maybe there was a different reason," she grinned, "we wanted you to meet Brad."

My stomach dropped, as the figure of a boy stepped out from behind the group. I tried not to cringe at his jock-like stature, and blinked my eyes repeatedly.

"Hey, I'm Brad," he said cheekily, sticking his hand through the gate, "I was a little disappointed when you didn't show yesterday."

His eyes flickered up and down, and I wanted to grab a blanket and cover myself. I wasn't sure if he was trying to seem cool, or if he was just normally skilled at making girls feel slightly uncomfortable.

"I was busy," I nodded, trying to avoid eye contact, "working, you know..."

I nudged Daisy, desperate to get out of the situation. Unfortunately, she was chatting up a storm with Liz, and wasn't paying attention.

"You free after school?" Brad asked, leaning against the metal bars.

"Nope."

"Tomorrow, then?"

"Nope, still busy."

At this point I was desperate to tell him I was going to be busy for the rest of my life. I had zero interest in this guy, and I wanted to avoid all possibility of leading him on.

"She's a tough one," the boy chuckled, turning to look at Liz, "I like it."

I had never been more grateful that there were gates in front of the school. Distance well kept, I'd say.

INCOMING CALL FROM TONY STARK!

Thank god! I pulled my phone out of my pocket, picking up the call as fast as I could.

"Hello?" I said, using this as an excuse to get away from the group, "y/n speaking."

"Yeah, hey kid, where are you?"

"School, why?"

"Not going to work, I need you here at the tower."

"What's wrong?"

"Technical issues with the suit, need your insight."

"My insight? Tony, I don't know a thing about your suit designs..."

"Not my suit. The Parker boy's."

"Oh."

"I already sent Happy to get you, he should be outside. Friday, end call."

"Wait-"

The phone dial buzzed, the line ended. At that moment, the shiny black car came hurtling down the street, honking a horn. Liz, Brad, Daisy, and the other midtown kids all turned thier heads in shock, but I unlocked the gate and breezed past them.

The tinted window rolled down, Happy's face appearing.

"Hop in," he said to me, unlocking the door.

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this chapter sucked, sorry!

I'm not on my game atm...