Sunset Secret (Peter Parker x Reader)

Chapter 21

sorry this is late, i was spending time with family. also, these are real math facts, so feel free to use them in advanced geometry if you need to!!
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YOUR POV:
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I look at the little placard on the principal's desk, reading the name. "Hi, uh, Principal Morita? I'm (y/n), it's my first day and I believe I need to check in here?" He looks up from his computer, glancing at Peter beside me. "If you could excuse us for a second, Mr. Parker? Please just take a seat outside, I'll call you in later."

Peter nods, giving me a reassuring smile and heading to the door. I turn around when it closes, seeing Mr. Morita gesturing for me to sit down in front of his desk. I do so, and he turns back to his computer, "So, Miss... Rushman," he starts, typing in something, "you were enrolled by Tony Stark."

His voice is laced with awe as he reads my enrollment form, "And he says that you are incredibly intelligent for your age. How do you know him, if it's alright for me to ask?" I nod, smiling at Tony's compliment, "He's just... really extended family. I think he's the fifth cousin on my mom's side? Something like that."

I twiddle my thumbs under the desk, hoping the lie seems believable. "I see. Well, welcome to Midtown Tech!" He spins around in his chair, taking something off of the printer and handing it to me. I look down at the paper, seeing a timetable for all my classes. "Thank you. Also, will it be a problem if Peter's late? I really don't want to get him into trouble," I say, worried since the bell rang not too long ago. "Actually, if you could call him back in, that'd be nice."

I open the door, gesturing for Peter to come into the office, holding it open for him. "Mr. Parker, (y/n) will be your shadow for today. I believe your schedules are fairly similar, so just make sure she doesn't get lost on the way to her classes." Peter nods in acknowledgement, and we exit the office. "Hey, can I see your schedule?" he asks, and I hand him the sheet of paper. He frowns a bit, his hair falling over his eyes slightly. "We only have four classes together. But my best friend Ned has the other three with you, so he can show you around, too!" I smile at his excitement and he starts walking down the hall.

First period: Advanced Geometry.

Lovely.

Peter opens the door, cutting off the teacher from what was quite possibly a boring monologue. "You're late," she says, sternly, and Peter gives her a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I was helping a new student." As I walk in, everyone turns to me. So much for not sticking out like a sore thumb. I sigh, waving slightly as the teacher calls me up to the front of the classroom. "And what is your name?"

"(Y/n) Rushman," I reply, looking her in the eye. She nods, "Very well. And why don't you show us how good your mathematical skills are?" Ah, I see. No wonder everyone in this room looks so grumpy. This is the teacher that tries to put you on the spot on the first day of school. She obviously takes joy in a student getting ridiculed by their classmates, and judging by the looks on their faces, they all were embarrassed. Except for maybe Peter; he seems to like this class.

The teacher steps up to the whiteboard, writing a word problem with a series of math equations that takes up nearly the entire length of the board. I tilt my head, squinting my eyes slightly as I stand in front of it. Is this what's determined difficult in high school geometry? I mean, it's understandable, considering that it's an easy problem practically disguised as a hard one.

"But Mrs. Jones, none of us have even learned this type of problem before. That's not fair to give her that to solve," Peter's voice comes from the back, and I turn around. "It's okay, Peter, I'll still do it."

I look at the problem again, going through it in my head within a matter of seconds, occasionally writing down some of my work so I can see it, and then giving the three answers.

"Impressive," the teacher muses, her hard look softening, "But how did you get that answer?" I shrug, pointing to the numbers and symbols with the marker.

"I actually learnt this not too long ago."

'Like four years ago.' I shake my thoughts away and continue:

"Finding three points on a circle is simple. Most people typically overlook the fact that you have three separate equations with the exact same variables. It's a system," I explain, writing the equations so everything lines up neatly.

"You have your 'h's, 'k's, and 'r's all together right here. You just need to individually solve for each one. It does take a while, but it's really easy. The hardest part is finding the radius, as it's easy to forget to square root it. But if you plug it into a system function with three equations in a graphing calculator, it'll really just do everything for you. It's practically just one step then, and the answer should come out the same. So 'h' equals 5.6, 'k' is 3, and 'r' is the square root of 7.2," I finish, turning around to see the surprised and awed looks from everyone in the class.

I mentally cringe, hoping that I haven't given away too much of my advanced education.

The teacher, lets me sit down, and I walk through the desks, feeling everyone's stares on me.

I sit down in the only empty seat, the one next to Peter, trying to shake everyone's gazes off of me. "That was really cool," Peter whispers, leaning over so I can hear him clearly. "Thanks," I say, smiling, "but let me guess, you already knew how to do that?" His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, nodding. "H-how..?"

I smile, slumping down in my seat slightly. "Let's be real, Pete," I start, turning my head to him as everyone groans about their assignment.

"You're the only other one who isn't complaining."

END OF SCHOOL DAY
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I walk outside, weaving my way around the hundreds of students, trying to stay calm. As I break away from the crowd, I hear someone calling my name. I turn to see Peter and Ned running, and I wait for them, smiling. "So...?" I laugh at Ned's question, smiling as I answer, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

They high five, each exclaiming, "Yes!" I laugh again, giving them each a hug, "And it's all because of you guys. Seriously, I don't know what I would do if you two weren't in my classes."

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow, right?" Ned asks, and I nod, smiling. "I don't think she would drop immediately after her first day, dude," Peter says, nudging him. My phone buzzes, and I see a text from Happy:

Messages to: "Grumpy Hogan :D"
Grumpy Hogan :D
I'm where I dropped you off. You probably want to come quickly.

I frown, wondering what could be a cause to hurry. Peter notices my furrowed eyebrows, "Hey, is everything okay, (y/n)?" I look up, forcing a smile. "Yeah, it's fine. I actually have to go now," I start, walking backwards and raising my voice as I move farther away so they can hear me, "Thanks again, you guys! See ya!"

I turn around with a little skip in my step so things seem fine, and right as I'm out of sight, I start to run. I get to the limo shortly, opening the door and jumping in. "What's wrong?" I ask Happy, slightly out of breath, as he sets off to the facility. "You should see for yourself."

I tap my foot, impatiently, as the road seems to become longer each second. When Happy pulls up to the tower what feels like hours later, I sprint to the door, tossing my backpack onto the floor. A cluster of scents is coming from a few levels up, so I shift and run up the stairs, reverting back to human form at the top of the staircase and speeding to the conference room.

I step inside, no one noticing me, and hear Steve say, "If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose."
I tilt my head, curiosity filling me as he continues.

"What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own."

"If we don't do this now," Tony retorts, calmly, "It's going to be done to us later." His head turns to face me where I stand, my back leaning against the wall. "(Y/n)," he says, softly, and I push off of the wall so I'm standing up straight.

"Okay, what the heck is going on here?"