Present day
"I'm in advanced computer mechanics next.", they all start walking out of the lunch hall.
"Me too!", Peter exclaims.
"Cool, you must be smart.", says Ned.
"I don't know, I've been home-schooled for my entire life, but I'll try and keep up.", Josie shrugs.
"Well I'm in history because I'm not a genius like Peter. See you guys later.", Ned says, then walks down the corridor in the opposite direction to Josie and Peter.
They walk in silence until they get to a classroom, "This is it.", Peter says awkwardly.
They enter and Peter takes his seat, "Hi, I'm new, my name is Josie.", she tells the teacher.
"Smith?"
"Yes.", Josie nods.
"Go take a seat next to Liz.", he points to the only other girl in the room.
"Okay.", she takes her seat, "You must be Liz."
"Yeah, you're called Josie, right?", she sounds nice enough.
"That's me. So, is this class hard?", Josie asks.
"Depends, I'm quite good at this stuff, but none of the boys can keep up.", she laughs.
Liz and Josie chat for a while, she's really nice. The two girls are so deep in conversation that they don't even notice the lesson starting.
"Miss Smith, if you think you can so easily pass my class that you don't feel the need to listen, why don't you answer the question on the board?", the teacher says.
She turns around and sees an equation, then stands up and walks over to the board. Taking the pen, she looks at the question, it's a simple equation, she could do it in her sleep. Easily, she works out the answer in her head, then writes it out on the board.
"There you go.", she says, handing back the pen and sitting down.
"Wro-", he checks over the equation, "Oh, that's right. How did you get it so fast?"
She shrugs, "I'm a fast-thinker."
The lesson continues, and she breezes through all the work, whilst still chatting to Liz. When it finally ends, she gets up to leave, but the teacher asks her to stay behind.
"You're very smart, Josie.", he says, once the rest of the class has disappeared.
"Thanks."
"Have you considered any extra-curricular activities?"
"No, not really.", she answers. Truthfully, she really wants to join the cheerleaders or dance team, but her dad would never let her and she's fairly sure the advanced computer mechanics teacher wasn't interested in her athletic abilities.
"I think you'd be a very useful attribute to the academic decathlon team.", he tells me, "We have practice on Wednesday, you should come."
"I don't really know if I'd be allowed. My dad is quite strict.", she tries to explain.
"So strict, he won't let you take part in an academic opportunity?", he asks.
"Yeah, pretty much.", she mumbles, so quiet he can't hear. He gives her a funny look, so she says something else, "I'll try and convince him."
"Good, since Peter quit, we could really use another member.", he tells her.
"I- Uh- I'll think about it.", she nods and leaves.
Peter is waiting outside the class for her, but she doesn't see him at first, "Hey, Josie.", he says.
She spins around quickly, so she's facing him, "Oh, hey, Pete.".
"What was that about?" he asks, looking at the door to the classroom.
"Oh, he wants me to join the, um, academic decathlon team. Apparently you used to be on it, but you quit.", she says, as they begin to walk towards the exit.
"Academic decathlon? Yeah, I quit last week to focus on my internship.", he explains.
"Huh, what exactly is academic decathlon?", she asks.
"You just go to competitions and answer quiz questions, basically. Sometimes we go on field trips with the STEM club and stuff like that."
"Competitions? Field trips? Where?"
"The next one is just in New York, with the STEM club, I think. Oh, and there's a competition in DC soon."
"Out of state? Yeah, there's no way in hell I'd be allowed to go.", she mumbles, as they walk out the building.
"Why not?", Peter gives her a funny look.
"Overprotective Dad, all that jazz.", she shrug, looking down at the ground, "Speaking of an overprotective Dad, I best get home before he gets worried.", she eyes the black car, with the tinted windows, that she knows Happy is in.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Jos.", he smiles.
"Jos?", she raises her eyebrows.
"I just thought, if you have a nickname for me, I should have one for you. Uh- If you don't like it I can sto-"
"No, I like it, it's sweet.", she blushes slightly, then wants to slap herself in the face. You're a Stark, stop blushing.
"I- Uh- I'll see you, I guess.", Peter turns to walk off.
"Um...", she grabs his shoulder before he can walk off, "Thanks for making my first day easier, Pea Pod.", she then walks towards the car, "Later skater!", she calls behind her, throwing up two peace signs to him.
A large grin is plastered on her face, as she swings open the car door and takes her seat.
"Hiya, Hap.", she says, not taking her eyes off Peter, as he walks off.
"Hey, Josie.", he greets her.
"How 'ya doing?", she asks, still staring out the window, not really paying attention to the conversation.
"Good.", he replies.
"Not gonna say hi to your dear old dad?", Tony asks.
She almost jumps out of her own skin when she hears him, and quickly looks away from Peter, "Holy shit, Dad, are you trying to give me a heart attack?", she says.
"Are you trying to make Cap cry with that foul language?", he raises his eyebrows.
"Did you seriously just say foul? Whatever. Why did you come to pick me up?", she asks.
"Why are you so annoyed at me?"
"Why do you think I'm annoyed at you?", she narrows her eyes, "Have you done something for me to be annoyed at?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?"
"I'm not.", she says, defensively, "Why are you asking so many questions?"
He doesn't say anything for a second, "Who's the guy?"
"What guy?", she acts oblivious, though it's clear who he's talking about.
"You know what guy. The one you were just talking with, then gazing at dreamily out the window.", he mocks her, "Who was he?"
"I was not gazing at anyone dreamily!", her voice goes high-pitched. She wasn't gazing at Peter dreamily. Was she? No! She's a Stark. Starks don't get school girl crushes.
"I tried to get Friday to do a facial recognition scan, but we were too far away. So, what's his name?", he asks.
"Her name. She was a girl.", Josie lies.
"Didn't look like a girl to me. The hair, the outfit, the way you stared at him."
"What? First off, girls can have short hair, it was a pixie cut. Secondly, girls can wear trousers. Thirdly, I was not gazing dreamily! If anything, the only thing that'll come out of this is you looking like a sexist prick.", she glares at him.
"Say what you want, that was a boy. I don't want you talking to boys.", he declares.
"I'm fifteen, Dad, I'm allowed to talk to boys."
"No you're not, didn't I just make that pretty clear? Wait, did you just admit to it being a boy?"
She rolls her eyes, "No. Are you not even going to ask me how my first day of school in nine years went?"
"Well from what I can tell, you arrived, got a boyfriend, then left. Seriously, next thing I know, you'll move out, then you'll both run away to Mexico and get eloped, and I won't see you again until you come home asking for money, and reveal that you have three kids and are in debt to the mafia. At this point though, I've worked up so much anger at you, I refuse to speak to you. This breaks your heart, so you retreat back to Mexico, but as soon as you get back, you and your kids, Anthony, Edward and Star-K (she's a girl), are captured by the mafia. Thing is, as soon as I'd refused to speak to you, I regretted it and followed you to Mexico, but when I arrive, you'd joined the mafia and I never hear from you again. Until one day, the Avengers go on a mission to take down the mafia, not realising it's the same mafia you and your four children are members of. Except, you aren't members anymore, now you run the mafia. When we go to fight the mafia henchmen, you emerge from your evil, mafia lair, but one of the newer, less experienced Avengers accidentally shoots and kills you and your five kids. I'm so overcome with grief, that I kill the Avenger that killed you, which causes another all-out civil war between the Avengers, which I obviously win. After that, the Avengers split up and I am so upset over your death, that I live in a deep pit of my own self-loathing, until I eventually die a slow and painful death.", he rambles.
She gawps at him, "... What? You are so- What? Jesus Christ, you are so dramatic. Where did all the extra kids come from? I started out with three, then it went to four after I joined the mafia, then it got to five when I died."
"You had three with your boyfriend from school, then the mafia killed him when you couldn't give them their money, but you were already pregnant with a fourth child, he was a boy called Iron. Then you fell in love with the mafia boss and had his kid, the fifth one, she was called Man. However, after she was born, you murdered the mafia boss and stole his job.", he explains, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I have so many questions. Why was I in debt to the mafia?"
"Um, you didn't pay your mortgage? I've personally never been in debt to the mafia, so I wouldn't know how people get in debt to them."
"Why did I run off to Mexico to get eloped?"
"Because you did."
"Who's this new Avenger that kills me?"
"I can't see the future, I don't know."
"Why the hell would I name all five of my kids after you?"
"Because I'm awesome."
"Why is my daughter named 'Man'?"
"Because I'm awesome."
"Stupid story. That would never happen.", she crosses her arms.
"Might do."
"I was still talking to a girl before. Her name is, uh, Piper, and she has a pixie cut."