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"IT LOOKED SO INSANE," Ned was ranting about what had happened that night, from his own perspective, which he probably saw as the coolest thing in the world. "That whole — Like, it was just crazy."
Students were helping in removing all the Homecoming dance signs and posters, not paying the trio any mind as they walked right past them through the school hallway.
"He — He was just, like," Ned imitated a weapon firing. "And you were like, 'Aah!'. And then I just hit him with the: whoosh. It was so — Oh, my God."
"I mean, you saved us," Peter said after he'd shushed him about keeping his voice down, not wanting to draw attention.
"Yeah, it was cool," (Y/N) agreed and continued walking with the boys, stopping in her tracks when she realized that they had stopped.
She turned to see what they were staring at and saw how Betty Brant embraced Liz in a hug, both girls looking sad at the fact that Liz was going to move out of the state. Mrs. Toomes was with her too, holding a box of all the trophies Liz had earned along her days in the school, the principal giving one last nod before he walked away.
Peter walked forward. "Hey, Liz."
Liz removed herself from Betty's grasp and said her last farewell, drying her tears away as she gave her back towards Peter, who was calling her name. She sighed in annoyance at seeing him, still mad about him leaving her at the dance.
"Liz, look, I'm so sorry," he said.
"You say that a lot. What are you sorry for this time?" she asked. "The dance? That, um, was a pretty crappy thing to do."
"Well, yeah, but — I mean, your dad, I can't imagine what you're going through," Peter looked extremely apologetic. "If there's anything I can do to help. . ."
"I guess we're moving to Oregon," Liz said. "Mom says it's nice there, so that's cool. Anyways, Dad doesn't want us here during the trail. So. . ."
"Liz. I — " Peter fumbled with his words, staring at his feet.
"Bye, Peter. Whatever's going on with you and. . ." she trailed off, her eyes turning to (Y/N) when she said that, who was busy talking with Ned to notice the stare. "I hope you figure it out."
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THE MEETING OF the Academic Decathlon team was held after a few hours, the entire group being gathered in the library where they all packed up one of the tables, Mr. Harrington sitting in the head of it.
"Congratulations, decathlon national champions," he clapped and placed the trophy in the table. "I'll gonna have to put this back in the trophy case soon but just for motivation right now at this practice. I'm a little ahead of the game, but we will need a new team captain next year. So, I'm appointing Michelle."
MJ raised her head from the book at the mention of her name, the entire table breaking into claps and cheers besides Flash. (Y/N), who was sitting right across from her clapped the loudest and gave her friend a proud smile.
"Uh, thank you," MJ said, looking startled. "My friends call me MJ."
"I thought (Y/N) was your only friend," Ned spoke up.
"She was, until now," MJ confessed.
(Y/N) didn't get to respond to that statement since her phone buzzed right at that moment, followed by an identical sound beside her, which was Peter's phone. She pretended to not look interested in it, checking it slightly as she read out what it said, 'Go to the bathroom.'
Peter read his message and immediately tried to stand up. "I, uh, gotta go."
"Hey, where you going?" MJ frowned. "What are you hiding, Peter?"
Peter stayed uncharacteristically quiet, pointing over his shoulder since he didn't seem to come up with an accuse. To avoid suspicion, (Y/N) was planning in waiting a few seconds before lying her way out of the meeting, not wanting to cause the scene that Peter had to create, as always.
"I'm just kidding. I don't care. Bye," MJ shrugged. "All right, so we should run some drills. . ."
After Peter stood up and left the library, (Y/N) counted ten seconds in her head before making the excuse of going to the restroom, which nobody seemed to grow suspicious about, though she missed the way MJ looked at her with an unreadable look. (Y/N) had thought she'd been discreet.
She joined Peter and the two walked through the empty school hallway, growing closer to the bathroom there were sent to visit. Much to (Y/N)'s dismay, it was the men's restroom.
The restroom was quiet and there was no sign of anyone inside, other than the figure of a man giving his back to the teens before he slowly turned to face them, his hands in his pockets as he offered a tight smile.
"Hey, Happy. Come here often?" (Y/N) crossed her arms and Peter seemed to be shocked by the presence in front of him.
Happy rolled his eyes at her words and kept on with his original words. "I really owe you one. I don't know what I would do without this job. I mean, before I met Tony — "
He was cut off by the sound of the toilet flushing, his normal annoyed look returning to his face. A boy came out of one of the bathroom stalls and frowned at the sight of Happy and Peter, but especially being fazed by (Y/N)'s presence. He took his sweet time in washing his hands, still being confused but not uttering a sound as he walked towards the door, giving one last frown.
"So, uh, how long you been here?" Peter asked.
"Long enough to be awkward. Boss wants to see you," Happy said, pointing at the two.
"Is he here too?" Peter lowered his voice and whispered out his words, looking at the stalls.
"In the toilet? No, he's upstate," Happy informed before making his way to the door.
"Upstate?" (Y/N) seemed surprised. "The upstate?"
"Yeah, let's go."
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"TAKE A LOOK," Happy announced from his place in the driver's seat, where he was driving (Y/N) and Peter towards their destination. "It's pretty impressive, huh? They just finished remodeling the whole thing."
The Avengers compound stood right in front of them, shining in all its glory. The design was filled with silver colors, as the Avengers logo was written on the side of the main building. A quinjet was lowering itself down on the platform, closing in the wings as it touched the ground.
The car got closer to the entrance and in a couple of minutes, (Y/N) was already standing on the inside of the compound, feeling strange of being in the enormous place.
"You don't see that everyday," Happy said as they all saw a quinjet fly off the compound.
"Oh, there they are," Tony's familiar voice boomed through the place, walking up to join the group with his confident strut. "How was the ride up?"
"Good," Happy nodded.
"Give me a minute with the kids," Tony said to him, his eyes being fixed on Happy behind the yellow glasses.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah," Tony confirmed. "I gotta talk with the kids."
"I'll be close behind."
"How about a loose follow? All right? Boundaries are good," Tony left his side and walked in between Peter and (Y/N), wrapping an arm around the two as he guided them forward.
"Sorry I took the suits," he began. "I mean, you had it coming. Actually, turns out it was the perfect tough-love moment that you needed. To urge you on, right? Wouldn't you think? Don't you think?"
"I guess," Peter shrugged.
"Let's just say it was," Tony sighed.
"Mr. Stark, can I — " (Y/N) tried to speak when she thought that he had finished, when she was cut off by the same voice.
"You screwed the pooch hard, big time. But then you did the right thing," Tony walked them to a closed area. "Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies. . .All right, not my best analogy. I was wrong about you two."
"I think, with a little more mentoring, you could be real assets to the team."
(Y/N)'s eyes widened in surprise and shock when she heard him, thinking all this was a cruel joke. Peter caught her eye from Tony's other side, looking equally shocked.
"You mean, the real team?" she asked.
"Yeah, anyway. . .there's about 50 reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers," Tony tapped his watch, and two doors opened automatically. "When you're ready, why don't you try that on?"
The doors slid open to reveal a new tech suit for both Spider-Man and Blue Dame. For Peter, the colors of the suit were shining in a metallic design, which looked similar to the Iron Man suit. For (Y/N), it had the same features, the blue and black having a metal texture but the mask was different, having the mask be a full helmet.
"And I'll introduce the world to the newest official members of the Avengers," Tony said. "Blue Dame and Spider-Man."
Peter took one step forward to see the suit clearly and let out a chuckle. "I — "
"Yeah, give that a look," Tony encouraged. "After the press conference, Happy will show you to your rooms, your new quarters. Where's the between for Peter? He's next to Vision?"
"Yeah, Vision's not big on doors," Happy said. "Or walls."
"(Y/N), you got lucky, you got to be neighbors with Rhodey," Tony continued. "It's fun. You'll fit right in."
(Y/N) took one look at the suit and resisted the urge in not growing attached to it, knowing that there was something that Tony was hiding under his sleeve. It seemed to be staring back at her, convincing her to accept and one part of her was telling her that this was a test or a challenge.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter said first. "But I'm good."
"I'm gonna have to agree on him with this one," (Y/N) added. "I'm fine with what I have."
"You're good? Good — ? How are you good?"
"Well, I mean, I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while," Peter explained. "Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Somebody's got to look out for the little guy, right?"
"You're turning me down? The two of you?" Tony took off his glasses. "You better think about this. (Y/N), you are the voice of reason. Look at that."
"Look at me," he then continued. "Last chance. Yes or no?"
"Pass."
"No."
"Okay," Tony shrugged. "It's kind of a Springsteen-y working class hero vibes I dig. Uh, Happy will take you home. Yeah?"
"Yeah," Happy replied. "Mind waiting in the car? I need a minute."
"I wasn't expecting it be this easy," (Y/N) muttered before looking up. "But thank you, Mr. Stark."
"Yes, Miss Schmidt, Mr. Parker, very well."
"See you around," Peter clasped his hands together and walked away, following behind (Y/N), who was already making her way to the door.
Tony closed the doors with the suits and Peter stopped in his tracks, "That was a test, right? There's nobody back there?"
"Yes, you passed," Tony had his hands behind his back. "All right, skedaddle there, young buck."
"I knew it," (Y/N) fist-bumped the air and whirled on her heel.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter continued.
"Yeah, thank you."
Peter and (Y/N) walked down the steps of the Avengers compound, making their way to the car exactly like Happy had asked them to do. (Y/N) wasn't sure what was in store for the two of them, but she knew that they'd take on it no matter what.
She was waiting for their next big adventure, not knowing what was ahead of her and that she wasn't prepared for that at all.
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(Y/N) THREW HER backpack at the floor of her bedroom, shrugging off the jacket she had on for the day and took off her shoes to make herself comfortable, waiting for Kiara to come home from work.
Before she was able to throw herself in her bed, (Y/N) noticed the paper bag standing in the middle of it, a small note written on the side of it with a black marker. 'This belongs to you. -T. S.'
(Y/N) smiled at the phrase and grabbed the bag, pulling the suit that had been gifted to her when Happy had taken her and Peter to Germany. It was freshly washed, no dirt or grime stained all over it, and she held it close before draping it in front of her, admiring it to herself.
Or so she thought.
Kiara dropped her bag as she saw the scene in front of her, her eyes widening at the scene. "Now, what the actual — "